Amazon will be replacing its unloved Unbox service with a new direct streaming model called Amazon Video on Demand. The major difference is the way the Television shows and movies will be delivered. Instead of needing proprietary software, it will…

Amazon will be replacing its unloved Unbox service with a new direct streaming model called Amazon Video on Demand.

The major difference is the way the TV shows and movies will be delivered. Instead of needing proprietary software, it will work through the browser. Amazon is pitching the service against Netflix and the iTunes Store, and is making a lot of the fact that shows can be streamed instead of downloaded. Amazon’s Bill Carr told NYT’s Brad Stone that it will be “an immersive experience where people can’t help but get caught up in how exciting it is to simply watch a motion picture right from Amazon.com with a click of the button.”

Stone seems convinced, and he writes:

That’s different from most Internet video stores, like Apple iTunes and the original incarnation of Amazon’s video store, which require users to endure lengthy waits as video files are downloaded to their hard drives.

Which is simply not true. Netflix offers only streaming right now, and iTunes uses progressive downloads, so you can watch after a few seconds while the movie is sucked down in the background.

Still, Amazon is offering something the others aren’t. Called “Your Video Library”, it is effectively an online vault for your media. You can still download movies, but once you’ve purchased them they’re available to you wherever you might log in, obviating the need for duplicating or backing up. you can even view media on a Sony Bravia Television, thanks to a deal between the two companies.

We dig this. After what Amazon did with it’s MP3 store (DRM-free, all the major labels) we’ve hopes that this will be a huge boost for the business of video on demand. And, if you’ll grant a tiny speculation, the online-locker approach would be killer for music. Especially if Amazon puts out an iPhone streaming application. That would really annoy Apple.

Amazon Plans an On the internet Store for Movies and TV Shows [NYT]

Photo [Aaron Escobar/Flickr]

Via [wired.com]

Share This

Popularity: 2% [?]

Share This

StarPex Full-Size Wooden Guitar For the PS2 and PS3 [Starpex]

Playing Guitar Hero or Rock Band might make the average Joe feel more like a rock star—but the fact that you are playing on a tiny plastic guitar kind of ruins the fantasy. That’s where the StarPex comes in. It is the first full-sized wooden guitar for the PS2/PS3 and it features a 10-button design with solo-buttons and an Overdrive/Star Power button, chrome plated tuning pegs, a wired/wireless connectivity option and a modular design that’ll allow users to trick out their guitar. The StarPex will be available in late August for $179.95.

Peak Products Unleashes Starpex™, the First-Ever Full-Size, Wood, Playstation®2 and Playstation 3 Guitar Controller with the Authentic Look and Feel of a Real Guitar

For those about to rock…Peak salutes you!

Boston, MA– July 16th, 2008 - Peak Products, a gaming peripheral company dedicated to providing the ideal in instrument quality gaming controllers, announces Starpex, the first-ever full-size, wood, PS2™ / PS3™ Guitar controller with the look and feel of an actual guitar. Starpex boasts an instrument-quality, high-gloss lacquered finish with a hardwood body, neck, and headstock handcrafted by a leading guitar manufacturer giving the authentic guitar experience that Guitar Hero™ and Rock Band™ enthusiasts crave. Other one-of-a-kind features include…

* Full Guitar Hero and Rockband Functionality for PS2 and PS3 – Starpex is compatible with both PS2 and PS3, and grants users to experience the full list of game play features in both Guitar Hero and Rockband, including toggle effects switch and solo button functionality.

* Very special Speed Star Power / Overdrive Button provides the fastest and most accurate access to Star Power and Overdrive. Additionally, built in tilt sensor technology allows users to access Star Power and Overdrive in a more traditional way.

* Optimized Whammy Bar maximizes comfort, provides superior feel, reduces fatigue and provides a higher level of durability.

* High Quality Ten Fret Button Design features optimal button travel for enhanced feel, reduced fatigue, and higher score potential. Ten fret buttons means that players have the option of using traditionally positioned fret buttons, or rock out with solo buttons high up on the neck which also provide critical soloing capabilities in Rockband.

* Enhanced Strum Bar gives the perfect balance of tactile and audible feedback to maximize enjoyment and scoring.

* Connectivity Options – Dual wired / wireless capabilities allow players to use a 15’ wired cable or a 2.4 Ghz wireless connection (both included).

* Forward - Thinking Compatibility – Starpex’s modular design allows users to easily separate the electronic components from the body of the guitar which will allow for further customization including new guitar bodies, pick guards, and more.

“With well over 11 million copies of Guitar Hero/Rock Band sold on the PlayStation consoles, we see a tremendous opportunity in bringing Starpex to market” says Jamie Leece, Vice President for Peak Products. “Never before have Guitar Hero/Rock Band enthusiasts been able to shred with a hardwood, handcrafted authentic guitar controller that’s built with the look and feel of a real guitar. This will change the way the games are played.”

The Starpex will be available in Circuit City and various retailers with an MSRP of $179.95 in late August. For more information on Peak Products, please visit www.Go-Peak.com coming on line in August

About Peak Products
Peak Products is a gaming peripheral company dedicated to providing gamers of the music genre with the very best in instrument quality gaming controllers. Evolving out of a passion for both music and gaming, Peak Products comprehends the level of precision and quality that both musicians and gamers demand from their equipment. By fusing together the style and craftsmanship of professional grade musical instruments with the comfort and performance of gaming controllers, Peak Products is able to provide the user with an enhanced musical gaming experience. Designed by leading engineers and tested by gamers, Peak Products delivers the look of authentic musical equipment, the feel expected out of any precision instrument, and the score demanded by any serious gamer. Peak Products: Look. Feel. Score.™

Share This

Popularity: 2% [?]

Share This

The latest word on the street — or screen, in this case — is that Amazon plans to ship the second version of its digital book reader come October. According to CrunchGear, an Amazon insider leaked information on two new…

The latest word on the street — or screen, in this case — is that Amazon plans to ship the second version of its digital book reader come October.

According to CrunchGear, an Amazon insider leaked information on two new upcoming models of Amazon’s Kindle. The first model will be a minor upgrade to the original Kindle, which featured a 6-inch screen. The second model is the more massive deal, literally — measuring 8 1/2 by 11 inches, like a sheet of letter-sized paper.

Considering the Kindle sold out on its launch date in November 2007, it would appear the device is popular, even though Amazon has suspiciously remained tight-lipped about releasing sales numbers.

I just don’t see the appeal in the Kindle. Like my father’s new girlfriend, it’s aesthetically displeasing, costly and a hassle to take places. I find it tiring enough to read off a screen on my computer after some time, and the thought of reading a book off an even smaller, lower-resolution (800-by-600 pixel) screen than my laptop’s makes me want to take into account laser-eye surgery.

It makes sense that Amazon is coming out with such force with the Kindle, considering the say of the newspaper industry. But still, it’s difficult to envision that digital book readers like the Kindle will bring about the death of paper books. Call me a luddite, but I — and I think many bookworms — find reading lengthy material from a paper book so much more enjoyable than scrolling down a screen.

If Amazon wants to see a widespread mania of Kindles like we’re seeing happen with the iPhone, it’s going to have to do much more than increase the size of the device. The Kindle might be cooler if it featured a fully functional web browser like that of the iPhone. And if the screen were in color. And if it weren’t so ugly. All we’ve heard so far is that the cases will come in different colors, but that won’t help with reading.

And even if Amazon heeded my suggestions, I still don’t see this thing taking off. There’s just something grandiose that’s missing from the Kindle — and I can’t pinpoint what.

Kindle 2.0 Coming Around October 2008 [CrunchGear]
(Photo credit: troyh/Flickr )

Via [wired.com]

Share This

Popularity: 2% [?]

Share This

Apple Demands Recall of Every Psystar Mac Clone [Apple]

More details on Apple’s long-coming obliteration of Mac cloners Psystar: Not only have they hit them with eight claims of copyright infringement, breach of contract, trademark and trade infringement, and unfair competition, they’re asking that each Psystar Mac clone sold be recalled. That would obviously bankrupt them, and then Apple wants whatever’s left, asking for all profits made in addition to both actual and statutory damages. Here’s what we expect the proceedings to look like:

But just think, a Psystar Open Computer might become a sought-after collector’s item in a matter of months. Maybe buying one wasn’t such a bad idea after all! [Yahoo!]

Share This

Popularity: 2% [?]

Share This