Tech Gadgets Reviews

Blockbuster isn’t content with putting a set-top box in your living room. The brick-and-mortar rental giant wants your nearest Circuit City too. According to the AP, Blockbuster is now publicizing its unsolicited $1 billion bid for the No. 2 electronics retailer.

It’s no coincidence that this is all going public now. Blockbuster quietly sent the bid to Circuit City back in February, but after receiving no definitive response, company executives decided to turn up the heat by making the offer public.

In all fairness, it’s not too bad of a deal either; at roughly $1 billion, Circuit City shareholders would receive a 25 percent premium for their holdings.

As for Blockbuster’s ultimate gambit? "We believe the combination will result in a compelling consumer proposition that will drive significant revenue and margin enhancements," says Chief Executive Jim Keyes. Or, to put it simply: Blockbuster wants its own retail space for combining services and hardware ala Apple.

Be sure to check out Keyes’s open letter to Circuit City after the jump.

February 17, 2008

  Mr. Philip J. Schoonover
  Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer
  Circuit City Stores, Inc.
  9950 Mayland Drive
  Richmond, VA 23233

  Dear Phil:

Since early December, we have had a number of conversations regarding the potential combination of our businesses. As a follow-up to those discussions, I would like to formally reiterate our interest in pursuing an acquisition of Circuit City. The purpose of this letter is to ensure that there is no ambiguity and to outline our proposal.

Our vision for the "new" Blockbuster is to be the most convenient source for media entertainment. We have undertaken a series of strategic initiatives including enhancement of our core rental business; a transition from solely rental to a concentration on consumer retail; and development of the fast- growing digital download market. We are pleased that these strategic initiatives have begun to improve our financial results and anticipate further improvement going forward.

The combination of Blockbuster and Circuit City will result in an $18 billion retail enterprise uniquely positioned for the convergence of media content and electronic devices. We would seek to differentiate products in both Blockbuster and Circuit City stores by offering exclusive content and content-enabled devices. Both companies would benefit from complementary products, marketing, management strengths, technology and distribution and the resulting synergies would significantly improve consolidated financial performance. Overall, I strongly believe that a combination of Blockbuster and Circuit City would deliver significant value to our respective shareholders, enhance the overall customer experience, and energize our employees.

Based on our review of publicly available information, we are confident that we can provide a substantial premium to your shareholders with an all cash offer in the range of $6.00 to $8.00 per share, subject to due diligence. We are also willing to pursue alternative structures which would enable Circuit City shareholders to receive stock and participate in what we believe would be an exciting future for the combined enterprise. Given current debt market conditions, we believe most of the cash necessary would be generated through the issuance of additional Blockbuster equity, most probably in a rights offering to our existing shareholders. We believe they, and the market, will recognize the merits of this transaction and we are confident that we can raise the required equity. The borrowing capacity of the combined business would provide the remaining cash proceeds.

Time is of the essence and we are focused on minimizing the risk of business disruption. We are prepared to commence a very short due diligence process immediately, on the basis of exclusivity, with the intention of entering into a definitive agreement shortly thereafter. Attached, as an appendix to this letter, you will find a concise list of the most critical due diligence items which we would need to review in order to confirm our final offer. We have reviewed this potential transaction with our board of directors, and it is with their full support that we make this request to move forward. Given the importance of this opportunity to Blockbuster and the strong desire to complete it as soon as possible, we would be grateful for your response no later than 5:00 PM CST on February 21, 2008.

Again, I thank you for the time you have spent discussing this opportunity with me. I am prepared to discuss the details of this proposal at your earliest convenience and believe that we will be able to quickly come to a mutually beneficial agreement. I look forward to working together on this exciting opportunity.

  Very truly yours,
  Jim Keyes
  Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
  Blockbuster Inc.

I have seen the future of television, and it is VideoClix. If you haven’t tried the wonder that is Clickable Video yet, just go over to the VideoClix site and watch the first few minutes of an episode of HBO’s Entourage.

VideoClix technology allows the user to watch a video and click on certain images for more information. For example, I clicked on one of the actors, and an information window gave me a description of his character. I clicked on the bowling shirt the actor was wearing, and I found out where I could buy it from. I clicked on the car the actor was in, and I saw the make and model. I clicked on the scenery the car was parked in front of, and I got information about the Grand Canyon!

In short, VideoClix makes the experience of watching television completely interactive. Considering that I do most of my television watching on the Internet anyway, I don’t see any reason why I can’t just rollover my cursor and find out more information about the actors, places, and objects on the screen. Sure, it’s an ingenious way of selling products, but at least it is fun for the user.

I have recently learned that VideoClix has teamed up with Revision3, a leader in exclusive Internet television, in order to “expand usability and interactivity for its viewers”. Revision3 plans to debut interactive episodes of their programs, including “Internet Superstar”, “Tekzilla”, and “The Totally Rad Show”.

I think we all know where this is leading: a time when all of our favorite network shows are in VideoClix format. That way, if we want to know more information about anything on the screen, it’s just a rollover away.

Source

I do a lot of my computer work on the road from my laptop. When I need to print a document, I have to go through this frustrating process of saving the document on a thumb drive, and then transfer it to a desktop with a printer.

Wouldn’t it be easier to have a portable printer that could give me hard copies on the go? This is precisely why the Canon Pixma iP100 portable printer was invented.

The Canon Pixma iP100 can print up to 20 pages per minute on normal 8.5 x 11 inch paper. It’s hard to believe that something this small can print in color, but the Pixma iP100 can even do color at a high resolution of 9600 x 2400 dots per inch.

The iP100 also uses two black inks. The first is a pigment-based black ink that delivers sharp text, and the second is for photos. That’s right, the iP100 can print photo-lab quality prints of many sizes, and can even touch them up using Auto Image Fix technology.

As for power, the user can use a car’s cigarette lighter, or purchase an optional LK-62 Lithium Ion battery for about $90. As for the price of the portable printer itself, the Canon Pixma iP100 is available for about $249.99.

Source

Cooking is a popular hobby, and like any hobby, there are approximately one zillion useless knick-knacks available to “Save Time!” and “Make Your Life Easier!”. These are fine as stocking fillers and birthday gifts, but after a couple of uses they’ll end up cluttering the bottom drawer, the lucky recipient too guilty to put them where they belong: In the trash.

There are a few genuinely useful, multi-tasking kitchen gadgets, like the food processor, but the kit below will do 99% of kitchen jobs with perfect results, even if it does take a little longer. And hey, cooking is fun. Pour a glass of wine, fire up the stove and enjoy it.

Knives

You need one. A good, sturdy chef’s knife. There are few things at which it doesn’t excel: boning joints of meat and (unless you keep it ultra sharp), slicing tomatoes are two, but for everything else, this is the knife you need.

The best have the blade and tang in one piece, and are drop forged. You’ve seen movies where a blacksmith beats a piece of red-hot steel with a hammer? That’s forging. Drop forged knives are beaten into shape from a single piece of metal and then ground and sharpened. The tang is the piece that ends up inside the handle, and having it be a continuation of the blade means a stronger and less flexible knife.

Unless you want a ceramic blade (and you don’t. They’re expensive and one good drop onto a hard floor will shatter it), you’ll be buying steel. Carbon steel holds a sharper edge, but is a little softer and can discolor, especially in acids. Stainless steel stays shiny and sharper longer, but won’t get the real, razor-sharp bite of carbon steel.

And avoid stamped blades. They’re the ones which are flat and flexible. They’re stamped like cookies from a single sheet and are great for boning meat, but their springy blades can leap from your hand and things will turn nasty.

Chopping Board

Big, heavy, wooden and in one piece. The fancy boards made from pieces glued together look great, but that glue will eventually break down. A big heavy board won’t slide (tip: if it does, lay a damp kitchen cloth underneath) and it’ll give you room to work, and also let you roll pastry if you have no good flat countertops.

Plastic, color coded boards might make you feel safer, but some studies say that wood is more hygienic, possibly due to bacteria-killing enzymes. They also look nicer, and they won’t melt when you use them as trivets for hot pans. And here’s another (non-gadget) tip: throw away the garlic press, put the clove on the board, chop coarsely and sprinkle with salt. Now smear the paste across the wood with your nice wide-bladed chef’s knife. Instant garlic puree.

Pots

You’ll need a good, heavy skillet or frying pan. Cast iron is good as it has a high heat capacity and can store a lot of heat. This means no hot spots, and it also means the pan won’t cool down when you throw in a hunk of castrated bull. Buy one with either a metal or a removable handle so it can do double-duty in the oven.

Avoid non-stick for cast iron. The coating will deteriorate at high temperatures. I have used the same, cheap cast iron skillet for the last 20 years and the patina (read: baked-in layer of grease) means an omelette will slide out as if it were on Teflon.

You’ll need a deep pot, too, preferably with a lid, but while it’s nice to have something good and heavy, even IKEA junk will get you through most dinners. Try to pick something with a heavy base to avoid burning, and metal handles (you only have to smell a burning plastic handle once and you’ll know why).

Thermometer

This might look odd in such a low-tech list, but more than any other gadget, a thermometer will improve your results. Buy one for the oven (the built in thermostat will likely be junk), and one instant read probe model. If you have a spare couple of bucks, spring for a frying thermometer, too, although in a pinch, the probe will do its job.

Here’s why. With a probe, you know when your meat is done without guessing. Whether it’s a flat steak, a rolled joint (not that kind) or a whole turkey, the only way to tell if meat is done is to take its internal temperature. Too high and it’s, almost literally, toast. Too low and you risk getting intimate with the toilet bowl. Timing and guesswork can be great with experience, but a thermometer will mean you get it right every time.

A Cheese Grater

Sounds kinda specialist, huh? Try grating cheese with a knife and you’ll see how essential a grater is. It’s also a very fast alternative to the knife when mincing vegetables, making breadcrumbs and grating, well, anything. I use Microplane graters, which have easy-grip handles and acid etched blades, which are a lot sharper than the stamped-metal kind. They’re cheap, at $15 apiece, but you might have to buy a few as they come in various grades of coarseness.

For the pedants out there, this post assumes that people have a refrigerator, oven and running water. If you can hold off the snark, post any additions in the comments. Favorite brands are welcome, as are generally useful, truly multi-purpose tools. Go!

Photo: Snapshot4665/Flickr

There’s a healthy (or perhaps unhealthy) scene for people who mod their Windows installs to look and feel just like Mac OS X, but German case-modder Phyro-Mane has done one better: The home-made iMacmini. He took an old Windows laptop, stripped it down and rebuilt into this custom aluminum case, complete with side-mounted USB ports.

The donor PC wasn’t capable of running OS X under the OSx86 project, so Phyro-Mane turned to Flyakite OSX, a free “transformation pack” which mimics the look of the Mac GUI. A sweet hack indeed. Now we want to see him do it with a cellphone.

Forum thread [Case-Modder via Hack-a-Day]

As you may have heard, though many people don’t seem to be giving it much attention, this year marks the 25th anniversary of Michael Jackson’s Thriller album. Now, thanks to a partnership between Michael Jackson, Epic/Legacy Records, Big Stage, and YouTube you will be able to star in your very own Thriller video. You heard me correctly–thanks to technology you can replace Michael Jackson with a 3D version of yourself.

To put yourself into your own Thriller video you need the latest version of Flash and three-close up photos of yourself taking with a digital camera. The video starring you is automatically created after you have uploaded the pictures. You can access the special “My Thriller Video” by going to the Michael Jackson website and registering for a free account.

For those children of the 80’s or those who simply remember how popular Thriller was this will be a nice nostalgic journey. I must admit I would have loved to have switched places with Michael Jackson back in the 80’s, but not so much now. Now, putting myself in a Thriller video is probably as close as I want to get to becoming like Michael Jackson.

Read more from the joint press release.

Here’s a great idea: Twitter+Location+iPhone. Twinkle is just that; a Twitter client which taps into the iPhone’s location finding feature to let you tune into tweets from nearby people. These location based services have been tried before, but by combining the double nerd magnets of Twitter and iPhone, the critical mass required to make them useful might finally be reached.

Twinkle is actually a pretty decent Twitter client on its own, but it is Twinkle’s specific features that make it, if you’ll excuse me, shine. As well as the location feature, which can be fine-tuned down to a one mile radius, you can also add photos to your posts direct from the iPhone’s camera. Neither of these show up in the actual, official Twitter timeline, but then, do you need them when you’re at your desk?

Right now the application is a little too crash-happy on my jailbroked ipod Touch, and it can’t grab my location, even though Google Maps manages it in seconds. Also, hitting the “camera” button while composing a Tweet takes me to the camera screen: obviously useless on a Touch. Better would be a redirect to my photo library. Still, it looks great and is currently only a beta, so we’ll cut it some slack. I’m looking forward to being able to do some proper cyber-stalking when Twinkle’s wrinkles are ironed out..

There’s no product page. You’ll need to install via your jailbreak’d iPhone’s Installer App.

Photo: Just Another iphone Blog

Omigod, a purple hardshell case from InCase! Definitely droolworthy! Purple is definitely up there on my favorite color list and this shade is just totally to die for. Augggh. I wantttt!

Just like the Speck cases, these cases have precise cut outs for the Mac Book. And what I totally love about this case is the ventilation!

Just take a look at those holes!

I can actually see my MacBook breathing thru these. Haha.

Too bad it’s only available for the 13″ for now! Also available in black, white and red and retailing for $49.95.

[ Image source from InCase ]

Having been of the feeling that may be losing the war, at least we have won a few battles with incoming spam in our business. There are two main problem areas that we have been looking into. Firstly, there is the scenario of When spam is not spam which we have finally managed to bring under some level of control and reduce the nearly ten thousand daily spam email down to a handier thousand or so. Secondly, and trickier to deal with is When spam should not be spam. Key words seem to be one of the few options available for dealing with information and these have played an important in a recent experiment we did Exploring search using keywords.

Following on from my previous post on virtualisation (The technology week in view: 7th April 2008) we have recently been fortunate to find some side benefits of virtualisation which more than anything has given us the opportunity to give several of our servers a well needed spring clean as well as deal with their appropriate power usage; we have been experiencing several power problems recently. I did like the infra-red feature on the  WattStopper’s Isole IDP-3050 Smart Surge Protector but I can just imagine the kids at home hop and skipping over the sensor just to confuse it!?  The simplest and most useful solution I have seen so far is the Concealed Multi-Way Adaptor with Surge Protection which has a lid to hide away the adaptors (and protect them against under desk feet).

The tip of the week related to Exchange 2007 and Resolving the issue: 5.3.4 Message size exceeds fixed maximum message size which caused us a few sleepless nights. I have often talked about the array of options in modern software platforms and how essential settings are seemingly buried deep within option screens - why do software developers not simply have one section called “Setttings” in their software where all of the available settings for the software can lie?

Posted in Networking & Internet

In a move that’s sure to get the attention of Apple’s lawyers, one company has started advertising a new $400 Hackintosh dubbed the “OpenMac.” Mind you, it’s not the desktop’s name that’s likely to cause trouble, but rather the fact that Psystar (the company selling the machine) is claiming it will ship with a fully compatible version of Leopard.

This is apparently accomplished with the help of an EFI emulator and a few drivers.

Says Psystar:

With the EFI V8 emulator it is possible to install Leopard’s kernel straight from the DVD that you purchased at the Apple store barring the addition of a few drivers to ensure that everything boots and runs smoothly.

Now, it’s clear the company is trying to market the OpenMac as a cheaper, more expandable alternative to a real Mac, which is great. But Apple’s End User License Agreement is pretty clear about where it’s OS can appear: that would be Apple-branded hardware exclusively. And while it’s one thing to do a little tinkering on your own, I suppose it’s quite another for a company to do it for you — and potentially make a profit off of it.

Note: Psystar is at least making people pay for certified copies of Leopard.

[Psystar via MacRumors]