Ryan Block
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Microsoft prepping Feature Pack for Storage with Blu-ray for XP and Vista
by Ryan Block 
posted Aug 16th 2008 at 3:29AM
[Via ZDnet]
Worlds collide: YouTube comes to TiVo
by Ryan Block posted Jul 17th 2008 at 3:06AM 
Just in case you weren't already watching enough YouTube at work and on your home computer, on your iPhone, Ocean, etc., or on your Apple TV, now TiVo's getting in on the action as well. Originally announced earlier this year, TiVo users can finally expect the update to pop over your TiVo's regularly scheduled updates over the next couple of weeks. Oh, and our man Dave Zatz shot some video of the new feature and put it up on (where else?) YouTube -- check it out after the break.Apple TV gets the SSD treatment
by Ryan Block posted Jun 14th 2008 at 6:34AM
Well, it had to happen eventually: someone cracked open their Apple TV and transplanted the 2.5-inch drive with a 32GB SSD by Transcend. That's pretty much it -- just a bit of hacking, partitioning, re-imaging, and off you go. Do you really even have to ask if putting an SSD in something was worth it?DISH / EchoStar keep fighting back, sue TiVo again over DVR patent
by Ryan Block posted May 30th 2008 at 9:06PM
The timeshifting DVR patent that's been at the core of TiVo's closed-but-not-quite-closed lawsuit with DISH / EchoStar is being contested yet again by the very same company. Not content just appealing to the Supreme Court regarding the Federal Circuit's ruling against a rehearing for the last case, DISH / EchoStar has started up a whole new lawsuit against TiVo, requesting a Delaware court find the new version of their DVR software does not infringe TiVo's patents -- presumably as an embittered and pre-emptive measure before TiVo could kick off its inevitable next suit. Don't worry if you're confused as all hell, so are we -- the point is, despite the fact that decisions have been made and rulings handed down, these two companies are still managing to sue, re-sue, and counter-re-sue one another.Monster Cable at it again, sues mini-golf company
by Ryan Block posted May 26th 2008 at 11:48PM
If it wasn't already perfectly clear by now that Monster Cable's cables aren't really worth the price (or any price above the cost of a coat-hanger), and that they're only using those bloated markups to perpetuate their reputation as money-grubbing lawsuit-happy snakeoil peddlers, we'd call your attention to their latest target: Monster Mini Golf, a chain of glow-in-the-dark mini-golf courses based out of Rhode Island. Apparently Monster Cable claims that the Monster Mini Golf brand is confusing to the public and dilute their trademark. Of course, this suit isn't really any more absurd than their suits against Monster.com, the Chicago Bears (aka the "Monsters of the Midway"), or the Pixar film Monsters, Inc. -- that is to say, it's equally and completely ridiculous. But hey, when you're making 1000%+ margin on merch, you can only swim in entire pools of liquid gold so long before seeking out the thrill only found in wasting taxpayer dollars on frivolous lawsuits.Hey, so here's an idea: perhaps everyone should just stop buying anything made by Monster Cable. That or set up a dummy corporation with the word "monster" in the name, since you're basically guaranteed they'll spin their wheels serving a summons for merely existing. (Don't worry, you'll have limited personal liability.) You pick, whatever's easier.
[Thanks, Jason; also, here's the Monster Mini Golf site]
Vote on whether Engadget should blackball coverage of Monster Cable here.
Sumitomo set to produce 40-inch OLED panels in 2009
by Ryan Block posted May 11th 2008 at 4:37PM
[Via OLED-Info]
EVGA joins USB ATSC tuner game with inDtube
by Ryan Block posted Apr 30th 2008 at 7:08AM
Engadget gets a new look and adds Switched to the family!
by Ryan Block posted Apr 10th 2008 at 2:11AM
Our latest addition, Switched will be dishing out features for those with a more casual interest in tech, as well as highlighting fresh, hand-picked tech news from our network of sister sites. So expect to see hot stories from Engadget classic, Mobile, HD, TUAW, and Download Squad running over there, as well as news from other geeky Weblogs, Inc. sites like Joystiq, Xbox 360 Fanboy, and Wii Fanboy.
As for Engadget's new design, we went through and really cleaned up the joint, yanking out old modules and ads wherever possible. You might spot our new and improved photo gallery browsing and updated looks on things like comments and polls, but it's hardest to miss the new rotating carousel over on the right. Keep an eye on that thing, it's where we'll be plugging in our biggest stories and must-see features.
Of course, launching eight sites at the same time is bound to cause a few problems, so please tap that first adopter attitude and bear with us as we squish bugs and tweak styles. And definitely hit us up in comments to let us know what you think (or if you see anything wonky)!
P.S. -Big ups to the gang that worked tirelessly to make this happen: Matt, Mark, Erik, Gavin, Celly, Alex, Christoph, Charlie, Marty, and the rest of the crew!
LG adopts in-plane switching tech for new LCD HDTVs
by Ryan Block posted Mar 23rd 2008 at 9:51PM
[Via Far East Gizmos]
Toshiba swallows a billion dollars on HD DVD
by Ryan Block posted Mar 12th 2008 at 10:20PM
There are spicy meatballs, and there are spicy meatballs -- and now there's a figure that will be tossed around for decades to come, one which will instantly represent the caution companies should take when embarking on another format war: a billion dollars. At least that's what Nikkei is reporting that Toshiba's losses on HD DVD totaled in 2007 alone: a ¥100b, or about $982m USD. It won't drive Toshiba under or anything, but you seriously have to ask yourself, was it really all worth it? [Warning: subscription req'd][Via Reuters]
Philips and Lite-On push out external Blu-ray drive
by Ryan Block posted Feb 28th 2008 at 8:24AM
Samsung announces two gamer plasmas for Korea
by Ryan Block posted Feb 28th 2008 at 4:03AM
[Via Akihabara News]
Sony BDR-S350 and S550 profile 2.0 player hands-ons
by Ryan Block posted Feb 26th 2008 at 1:25PM
Sony S-AIR hands-on
by Ryan Block posted Feb 26th 2008 at 1:11PM
Gallery: Sony S-AIR hands-on
Sony's new high end theater tops out with $85k rack system
by Ryan Block posted Feb 26th 2008 at 3:02AM
- STR-DG520 - 5.1 channel, (2) HDMI, 1080 60/24p, 100 Watts per channel. Available in March for $200.
- STR-DG720 - 7.1 channel, (3) HDMI, 1080 60/24p, 105 Watts per channel, XM ready. Available in March for $300.
- STR-DG820 - 7.1 channel, (4) HDMI, Dolby Digital Plus, TrueHD, dts High Resolution Audio, dts-HD, xvYCC, 1080 60/24p, 110 Watts per channel, XM ready. Available in May for $400.
- STR-DG920 (pictured) - 7.1 channel, (4) HDMI, Deep Color (HDMI 1.3, xvColor), Dolby Digital Plus, TrueHD, dts High Resolution Audio, dts-HD, xvYCC, 1080 60/24p, 110 Watts per channel, XM ready. Available in June for $600.
- NHS-130C rack (pictured after the break) - 7.1 channel, 12-zone HD video and music distribution, Control4 integration, in-wall iPod dock options, 400 DVD changer, piddly 160GB music server, whatever Blu-ray player, XM and Sirius, three free components for your TiVo or PS3, and a starting price of $40k up to $85k. Good luck.
