Jun 16

Comcast Cable Show 2011 demo features 1Gbps cable modem speeds, new Xfinity TV UI

Posted in: cloud, dvr, Today's Chili, ui, video

As promised, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts treated Cable Show 2011 attendees to a quick demo of the company’s latest and greatest tech earlier today. The presentation consisted of the new Xfinity TV platform with all its cloud processing and internet content from Facebook and others, as well as a speed test running on a Comcast cable modem that broke through the 1Gbps speed barrier on the production network. There’s no word on when home users might see such speeds but the company promised to “keep up the pace as the internet continues to evolve” — let’s hope that extends to the increasingly restrictive 250GB bandwidth cap. The demo of new DVR software also went off without a hitch, appearing to run smoothly and showing off a vision of “cloud processing” that speeds up search, personalization and recommendations in the program guide by handling them at the head end instead of on the box itself. We’re still waiting to get our hands on the RF remote and see if the experience is just as smooth ourselves, but for now you can get a taste in the 17 minute video embedded above.

Comcast Cable Show 2011 demo features 1Gbps cable modem speeds, new Xfinity TV UI originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Jun 2011 23:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceComcast Voices  | Email this | Comments

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Jun 14

Comcast to show off new Xfinity TV guide with Facebook tie-ins, Intel CPU Thursday (video)

Posted in: cloud, dvr, intel, set-top-box, Today's Chili, video


Thanks to one of our readers getting an early install, we’ve already dug deep into Comcast’s next generation Xfinity TV DVR, but on Thursday Brian Roberts will show it off in full (along with “new broadband speeds”) at the 2011 NCTA Cable Show . According to the press release the new guide that blends internet content with TV broadcasts will include customizations and sharing tied to Facebook along with hardware built by Pace around an Intel CPU — if anyone needs a suggestion for a service to add after Skype, we’re thinking OnLive could be a good fit. The detail we’re waiting to hear is when it will be upgrading the pitiful boxes currently available in our neck of the woods, but until then we have another tipster to thank for pointing out a cache of demo videos posted on the portal for initial testers in Georgia. The 17-minute compilation of walkthrough videos is embedded above, just try not to drool too hard over the HD formatted UI.

[Thanks, Cypherstream]

Continue reading Comcast to show off new Xfinity TV guide with Facebook tie-ins, Intel CPU Thursday (video)

Comcast to show off new Xfinity TV guide with Facebook tie-ins, Intel CPU Thursday (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Jun 2011 17:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceComcast Spectrum web portal  | Email this | Comments

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Jun 13

SugarSync adds mobile device management, lets you push digital delights directly to iOS (video)

Posted in: app, Apple, cloud, ios, iPhone, ipod, ipod touch, IpodTouch, mobile, Software, Today's Chili, video


Apple’s iOS is great at displaying content already on a device, but transferring documents from your computer to your iPhone or iPad has traditionally been a tedious, inefficient process. SugarSync’s new mobile device management sets out to help change that, allowing you to send files directly to your smartphone or tablet using a simple web interface. After selecting a connected device from the sidebar, you can click to upload content, booting it directly to your handheld. A push notification will appear, prompting you to download any or all of the files you uploaded, which will also remain in the cloud — so you’ll be able to access files synched with the SugarSync app from the Web, even when your device is offline. The feature is rolling out for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch this week, and will be available for Android and BlackBerry soon. It looks like the concept of emailing documents to yourself just to access them on the go is about to follow iTunes sync and tethered updates to a permanent group home in the sky.

Continue reading SugarSync adds mobile device management, lets you push digital delights directly to iOS (video)

SugarSync adds mobile device management, lets you push digital delights directly to iOS (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Jun 2011 17:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 13

HP reportedly in talks with major labels over cloud-based service

Posted in: cloud, HP, Music, Today's Chili, touchpad, webos
We’ve already seen some rumors of a cloud-syncing music store for the HP TouchPad, not to mention talk of “Music Synergy,” and it now looks like there could be some more movement on that front. According to Billboard.biz, HP’s discussions with the major record labels about a cloud-based service of some sort are now “heating up,” although that apparently doesn’t mean an actual launch is imminent. One major label exec told Billboard that the service could be “something like Qriocity for a variety of media, which can be delivered on any HP device,” but added that “we don’t know how serious they are,” which isn’t exactly an encouraging thing to hear. That uncertainty was echoed by other unnamed sources, who were reportedly unsure about how quickly HP could launch such a service (at least six months away, according to some), while one other said that HP is still “trying to narrow down what their service will look like.”

HP reportedly in talks with major labels over cloud-based service originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Jun 2011 12:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceBillboard.biz  | Email this | Comments

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Jun 12

Switched On: Apple’s cloud conundrum

Posted in: Apple, cloud, column, storage, switched on, SwitchedOn, Today's Chili

Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

It is hard to believe that Apple has been trying its hand at the Internet services space since the year 2000, when it launched iTools. Like nearly all of iCloud, with which it shares its trademark vowel prefix, iTools was free. Unlike iCloud, though, its collection of services was all over the map, ranging from Web page creation to greeting cards. iCloud marks the third reboot of Apple’s Web services suite since that foray. In the intervening years, we’ve seen .Mac (essentially a subscription version of most iTools features), and MobileMe, which paved the way for the contact and calendar synchronization that will be free as part of iCloud.

Modern-day Apple has shown an appreciation for seamless network access since the launch of the iMac in 1998, which eschewed floppy drives in favor of network-based sharing. One can even trace a belief in the power of the network further back to eWorld, AppleLink, and even the Mac’s early, simple networking technologies, AppleTalk and LocalTalk. Internet services are clearly complementary to advanced devices running sophisticated software — two areas where Apple excels. So why has the cloud rained on Apple?

Continue reading Switched On: Apple’s cloud conundrum

Switched On: Apple’s cloud conundrum originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 12 Jun 2011 20:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 10

iTunes Match not coming to the UK until 2012?

Posted in: Apple, business, cloud, itunes, Music, Today's Chili, uk

Music collectors in the US will be able to subscribe to Apple’s iTunes Match service this fall, but it looks like our friends across the pond will have to wait a little longer before lofting their libraries up to the cloud. According to sources within the British recording industry, licensing negotiations between Apple and the country’s major labels have only just begun and likely won’t be concluded until 2012. A spokesman for the Performing Right Society, an organization that protects the rights of musicians and songwriters, likened the situation to the launch of iTunes, which only spread to international markets some 14 months after launching in the US. Speaking to the Telegraph, Forrester Research vice president Mark Mulligan echoed these predictions, while offering some insight into the industry’s approach:

“Apple’s cloud music service will not launch in the UK until at least quarter one of 2012. These types of negotiations take a long time… For one thing the UK arms of all the major record labels are biding their time and waiting to see how the service affects download sales in the US before they sign up to anything.”

Neither Apple nor any of the major labels have commented on the negotiations, but if things drag on we’d be willing to share our cloudy iTunes in exchange for a crack at Spotify.

iTunes Match not coming to the UK until 2012? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Jun 2011 13:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceThe Daily Telegraph  | Email this | Comments

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Jun 08

Does putting your music library in the cloud make sense?

Posted in: amazon, Apple, cloud, Google, itunes, mobile, Music, Today's Chili

Technology companies are competing to put your music library in the cloud. In March, Amazon kicked things off with the launch of Cloud Drive which offers 5GB of storage accompanied by the Cloud Player for web and Android. Last month, Google announced their own cloud offering calling Google Music, currently in beta, during the I/O […]

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Jun 08

Microsoft details SkyDrive integration with Windows Phone Mango (video)

Posted in: cloud, Email, mango, Software, Today's Chili, update, video, windows phone, windows phone 7, WindowsPhone, WindowsPhone7, Wp7

We already knew Windows Phone Mango would include SkyDrive functionality, but Microsoft has now released a few more details on some of the cloud storage features we can expect to see when the update rolls out, later this year. With the update, SkyDrive users will be able to share their stored photos via text message, e-mail or IM, and to upload their videos to the cloud with the touch of a button. They’ll also be able to browse, share and edit uploaded MS Office documents directly from their handhelds, while searching through their entire SkyDrive via the Office Hub. Storage limits remain capped at 25GB, though Microsoft says we should expect to see more cloud-based features roll out in the near future (including a revamped, HTML5-based SkyDrive web interface), so more changes may very well be on the horizon. Soar past the break for some demo videos from Redmond, along with a hands-on clip from WinRumors.

Continue reading Microsoft details SkyDrive integration with Windows Phone Mango (video)

Microsoft details SkyDrive integration with Windows Phone Mango (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Jun 2011 10:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink WinRumors  |  sourceWindows Team Blog  | Email this | Comments

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Jun 06

Waiting for a taste of the iCloud? Check your iPhone

Posted in: Apple, cloud, ios, ios 5, Ios5, iPhone, itunes, Today's Chili
The waiting, a great man once said, is the hardest part. And while seeing all of today’s WWDC promises come to fruition will certainly take patience, iPhone owners can take some solace in the fact that the updates have already begun. At least a portion of the new functionality is now available by opening up the “Purchased” tab in iOS 4’s App Store, revealing a history of apps that have been downloaded with your account, including those not currently on your device. Those not presently installed will feature a cloud icon, making it possible to re-download them onto the handset. It’s not quite iOS 5, sure, but it’s a start.

[Thanks everyone who sent this in]

Waiting for a taste of the iCloud? Check your iPhone originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Jun 2011 19:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 06

Editorial: Engadget on iCloud and iTunes Match

Posted in: Apple, cloud, itunes, Today's Chili

Today, Steve Jobs revealed a great many things, but the biggest bombshell was this — Apple’s iCloud, which promises to sync all your content, automatically, even wirelessly, to Apple’s new server farms… for free. All that processing power in the picture above can’t have been cheap, and multiplied by the entirety of those data centers… well, let’s just say it’s a heck of a promise and we’ve got somewhat mixed feelings about how it’ll play out. Hit the break to see what we thought of Apple’s play for cloud storage.

Continue reading Editorial: Engadget on iCloud and iTunes Match

Editorial: Engadget on iCloud and iTunes Match originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Jun 2011 18:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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