Here's an idea a long time in coming: sidewalk caricature artist replaces pen and paper with a Tablet PC in London's fashionable Leicester Square.

This could be the coolest multi-format media player on market.  Picture this: You're on a family summer road trip vacation and you've filled up that CF card with pictures- dump them to the Vision and you're ready to go. The kids can take their favorite TV programs to watch in the back seat. You stop at Aunt Ethel's house and she wants to see pictures from your kid's b/d party, you can connect it to her TV easily or show her over dinner.

What's more this little gem works with it all- WMV, DivX, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, XVid, and even TiVotoGo. No mention of Media Center support but I'm hazarding a guess it sync's just fine. 120 hours of video, 4.5 hour battery life.  Organizer syncs with Outlook, Photos, and hot donkey, it even works with PlaysforSure subscription stores like Napster and MSN. Holy cow it even supports subscription stores for music and movies too. 

Finally, finally a new device pops to the top of my "Most Wanted" list. More on Creative's site.

via eHomeUpgrade

I'm not at all a fan of the uninspired design of the Zen Neeon (mono LCDs with 7 backlight shades and side rocker controls are so 2002), buy hey, with a $199 price tag and 5GB of storage in a 1.8 x 3.1 x 0.6-inch package (that's smaller than a iPod Mini).  This could be an interesting competition.  It's skinnable as you can see here and has specs that should shame the competition:

• MP3, WMA, PlaysforSure support, and WAV
• USB 2.0 (includes charging support yea!)
• Voice Recording
• FM radio

I'm willing to bet it has a bookmarking feature as well to pick up your Podcasts where you left off- a feature I LOVE in my Zen Micro. If anyone has one, would love to hear your take on this little gem.

<Note to Creative>Someone over at Creative should really think about putting another item- a hand, an Apple (heh) next to this device to show its scale- it looked bulky to me! Also how about getting into bed with an accessories manufacturer like Belkin for some inspired accessories?</Note to Creative>

By the way, where's the Zen Micro Photo?  We're still hoping to get our hands on that one.

Charlie and I were in a meeting yesterday and he was mock-offended he wasn't on my blogroll anymore.  "I link to you..." well, given, you're the #1 Charlie Owen on the Internet, I'll link to you once again - a small oversight on my part Charlie.  And since I also know the #1 Matt Goyer on the Internet, I'll add him back into my blogroll as well.

Want to be on my blogroll?  Just ask and explain why you're addicted to digital media.

As Thomas Hawk likes to say, "Hot Donkey!". There's a new Microsoft Sync Powertoy now available from Microsoft for Windows XP customers and it's free!*  This should work great for backing up your files and folders across multiple PCs or syncing recorded TV between multiple MCE PCs. From the download page: 

Increasingly, computer users are using different folders, drives, and even different computers (such as a laptop and a desktop) to store and retrieve files. There are new sources of files coming from every direction: digital cameras, e-mail, cell phones, portable media players, camcorders, PDAs, and laptops. Yet managing hundreds or thousands of files is still largely a manual operation. In some cases it is necessary to move files from one place to another; in other cases there is a need to keep two storage locations exactly in sync. Some users manage files manually, dragging and dropping from one place to another and keeping a mental card catalog in their heads. Others use one or more applications of one sort or another to provide this functionality for them.

Now there is an easier way. SyncToy is a free PowerToy for Microsoft Windows XP that provides an easy to use, highly customizable program that helps users to do the heavy lifting involved with the copying, moving, and synchronization of different directories. Most common operations can be performed with just a few clicks of the mouse, and additional customization is available without adding complexity. SyncToy can manage multiple sets of directories at the same time; it can combine files from two folders in one case, and mimic renames and deletes in another. Unlike other applications, SyncToy keeps track of renames to files and will make sure those changes get carried over to the synchronized folder.

HowTo Whitepaper: "Synchronizing Images and Files in Windows XP using Microsoft SyncToy"

This is what I call value-add!  Rest assured however that resources were not taken off of Windows Vista to do this.

*Windows validation required blah blah

What's made in China and looks like an iPod Shuffle? Well, other than the iPod Shuttle (Designed in Cupertino, Made in China), the Morestar  MP270 is the latest rip-off to reportedly improve on the shuffle experience with the addition of a 7 color LCD screen, MP3 and WMA support, FM radio and recorder, voice recorder and still maintains a 12-hour battery life. USB 2.0 transfer is also supported.

This brings to mind the Luxpro EZ Tangent (aka SuperShuffle). I had an opportunity to play with one of these a little while ago and it was ok. The addition of an LCD and WMA support were very welcome additions, however I'm generally not a big fan of solid-state devices unless I'm at the gym. And you can forget devices with out a display for listening to Podcasts- I'm not memorizing the show # of  Adam Curry's The Daily Source Code (which he announces at the beginning of each). Hey Adam- how about giving us the date of the Podcast so we can scan through? Same goes for all of you Podcast providers out there.

via Engadget.

Apple and Ivory have partnered to deliver a breakthrough cleaning technology! Wait, it's a two button mouse!  Wait, there are no buttons, just "capacitive sensors"! Wait... oh forget it.

From Engadget

In case you've been living under a rock (or actually have a life away from a computer during the summer), Microsoft launched "Virtual Earth Beta" a number of weeks ago, offering an interesting view of our world.  By merging geomapping data with aerial and satellite photography in a super-neat way. For people like me who like landmarks when driving, this could increase the chances of me getting to my destination.

Now some folks are starting to "hack" VE - check out these neat hacks to overlay GPX (GPS data), an RSS-based Photo feed, and  even San Francisco Crime report data on VE.

An even cooler Photo hack with VE is here. And of course Google has some neat hacks as well for Google Earth. 

Now we just need more Digital Cameras with GPS built-in and we can all start geotagging our photos effortlessly. ;)

Space shuttle astronauts to make unprecedented fix to shuttle in-space.

Matt Goyer writes that the TweakMCE Powertoy is going to be updated for this fall. This is great news!

Here are a few things I'd like to see exposed:

• Volume Leveling for Music (via WMPlayer)
• Crossfading for Music (via WMPlayer)

Post yours over at Matt's blog.

Looks like Mark Cuban's HDNet and Cinemanow have partnered to start offering more movies and programming in downloadable HD including over 100 episodes/selections from the HDNet library. Some of this is good, semi-educational stuff for family viewing (I recommend The Living Sea also available on DVD) but I'm still waiting for the seminal moment when a major theatrical release is available for download in HD. Motion Picture Industry = Music industry redux. <sigh> The movies are available in WMV HD.

From Engadget:

Not sure how this one slipped by us, but Nokia’s coming out with a new pair of Bluetooth stereo headphones called the HS-12W Wireless Stereo Headset that are designed specifically for use with their new 8801 fashionphone. The headphones’ll actually work fine with other Bluetooth-enabled gadgets, too, but you can only rock out in stereo if you use a phone or an MP3 player or whatever that supports a stereo Bluetooth profile like A2DP (our suggestion: learn what that is now, since you’ll be hearing it a lot around these parts). They’re positioning this thing to ride the crest of musicphones that are coming around the bend, and besides being able to automatically interrupt what you’re listening to when you get a call, the HS-12W also comes with a small one-line LCD that can display track and caller ID info (or also let you know when you’ve received a text message) and a built-in FM tuner. Should be out in Q3 of this year.

My prediction: Apple has an "iPod Blue" is just around the corner, complete with bluetooth headphone support. I have nothing to substantiate this except for analyzing trends. From the folks I've talked to on the mobile side, battery life can actually be improved on a cell phone or music player when using BT headsets because:

1. You can split the power load between the device and the headphones in a user-friendly way.
2. The phone/music player actually sips less power via BT than using a DA-AD converter and amplifier for wired headphones.

There are already accessories that add Bluetooth Stereo support to the iPod.  I wonder if Creative or iRiver are paying attention?

Ed Bott has a great tip today which I use daily.  Did you know you can customize the the Common File Dialog (used for Opening and Saving files in most Windows apps) to show file folders and shares you access most often in the order you want? Simple and powerful- thanks Ed!  It even works with Sharepoint!

Kam also provides an excellent HowTo for getting "Aero" - the new Desktop Compositor with glass and transparency effects running on Windows Vista Beta 1. It turns out ATI and nVidia have both put up pages detailing which of their cards can do Aero and links to the drivers.

Kam VedBrat just emailed me with congrats on the new job.  Kam is one of the PM's responsible for the way users will interact with the desktop in Windows Vista.  Robert Scoble links to Kam's roundup on coverage, including some surprising (and favorable) comments, in particular:

David Coursey at eWeek wrote:

Windows Vista is the best-looking OS Microsoft has ever produced and is competitive with, and in some ways better, than Apple's recently-introduced Mac OS X 10.4, aka Tiger.

John Clyman of PC Magazine did a write up on the UI changes alone. He wrote:

Our first impressions of the Aero interface are positive. We were particularly pleased to find that the visuals were engaging but not gratuitous. In fact, they often add information that makes using the PC faster, easier, and less error-prone, as well as more aesthetically satisfying.

Wow.  Even I'm a little stunned. PC sales are up, and the press are starting to actually sound optimistic. Maybe the post-DotCom hangover is starting to subside?

Just wait. There's more to come. :)

Ok Ed, this one is for you.  Here comes the ridicule as my wife and my son's music shows up first time out of the gate.

10 Songs Picked by WM Player 10 at Random
Library count: 5145 items

1. In the Flesh - Pink Floyd
2. Bleed the Freak - Alice in Chains
3. Beyond the Sea - Fred and The Blue Sea Mollin
4. Before I Fall in Love - Coco Lee (Runaway Bride Soundtrack)
5. That's Not Her Style - Billy Joel
6. Obvious - Christina Aguilera
7. All I Really Want - Alanis Morissette
8. Gotta Serve Somebody - Bob Dylan
9. Heaven Beside You - Alice in Chains
10. A Love Before Time - Coco Lee (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon Soundtrack)

I'm going to kick it up a notch however- time to see how much is available on MSN Music vs. iTunes Music Store ;)

• MSN Music Hit Score: 7 out of 10 songs
• iTMS Hit Score: 9 out of 10 (missed Before I Fall in Love)

Winner: iTMS

OAB Software has just released a promising new add-on for Media Center, "MCE SIP Phone":

With MCE SIP Phone you can have real video conversations, while making use of the standard SIP (session initiation) protocol to connect to your family and friends.

It's a version 1, so it might be a bit "rough on the edges". The developer asks that you post your comments here in the forums on The Green Button.

What I'd really like is a webcam + array mic product that sounds as good as my Tablet PC does (great with Skype via WiFi), and can track my son as he's zooming around the family room. If Media Center sales keep trending up, this could be a weekend-warrior style project for the Fry's crowd (getting more crowded every day). Hello Logitech?  How about some MCE support for your webcams we hear are so good to use! :)

Welcome to the brand-new look for Addicted to Digital Media. As many of you have noticed, the site has been up and down over the past few months.  Unfortunately a combination of an overloaded server and a few issues in the previous release of DasBlog combined to create a bad situation.  Then my hosting provider was taking the site offline without notification. <sigh>  But that's the past. We're moving to new hosting off an OC-48.

A Personal Note.
So where have I been?  A lot has changed since May. I took a blogging vacation, then a business trip to the OEM Partner Summit in Greece where I had an opportunity to demo IE7 and Windows Vista for a number of EMEA (European/Middle East/Asian) OEMs. (It was a big hit with spontaneous applause which is rare among this group.) When I returned, I took stock of the past eight years of my career.  What a wild ride. My roles have been increasingly challenging but more of a traditional marketing and business-management-focused role. I was looking for something with more of a technical slant to it. My career has taken me from Web development to DevTools marketing at Microsoft, to Streaming Media, to Windows XP, to Windows XP MCE, to Longhorn. I've had the opportunity to demo with or present with every Windows VP up to Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates. Our team got the consumer side of marketing ramped up for Longhorn Beta 1 and beyond - did I want to stay on into the next phase?

Moving to a new position.
People who know me, know I thrive on challenging projects in new and emerging technologies. So when I learned about a new emerging technologies project that was being spun up inside Microsoft, I decided it was time to engage my other passion, and the other half of my MIS degree. That's one of the great things about working at Microsoft- you can work on many different connected or disparate technologies or disciplines provided you demonstrate in an interview process that you have the qualifications for the job. Yes, the interview process is rigorous but respectful even for internal hires- we owe it to our shareholders to make smart decisions when hiring even internally.  For me, this is the first jump of this scale in nearly 6 years- it's exhiliarating and scary- just as any new job should be.

What is it already?
Ahh yes, more cloak and dagger. ;) I'm still in the Windows org, but I'm not in Windows Vista marketing.  I'm working more directly with the development teams in an area I cannot talk about yet.  It's a challenging opportunity and a talented group I feel honored to be a part of it and look forward to contributing to it.

So what about Addicted to Digital Media?
Redoubling efforts - this site has never been an official part of my job- it's been a passion of mine even after moving on and will continue to be so.  In the coming weeks, what you will see is a small shift to a slightly more breadth-based coverage of cool tech, tips and tricks, and gadgets.  With Windows Vista around the corner, I'll be talking more about that and providing all sorts of little items.  I'm also working on a new blog that will be related to my new job, which will launch some time... in the future ;) Sorry but to say more would be a "Career Limiting Maneuver" (CLM).

Keep the news tips, feedback, and conversations coming.  Let me know what you think about the site (graphics designers wanted).  We're back :)

Every once in a while, you have an experience where you really wish you had a way to do a 7-second skip back in your life, just like Media Center. Seeing this ad for Power Compress on The Green Button was the culmination of that moment for me.

This is just so wrong on so many levels- share in the misery and try and beat the caption. :)

Good news: The site is back up- hobbling along on another server until I can get add'l resources to move it over to a faster link. Needless to say my ISP once again didn't tell me the site was down and it's time to move on.

More good news: Windows Vista Beta 1 shipped!  I'm upgrading my office machines overnight- half on Beta 1 "tree", the other half on the Beta 2 "tree". Why?  Because there's even more cool stuff coming. 

I'll give my thoughts on Beta 1 in a future update- for right now, it appears the main answer for folks looking to get Windows Vista Beta 1 is via MSDN Subscription at http://msdn.microsoft.com/subscriptions/.  Sorry, I can't give those out for free.

And so... a new category emerges- Windows Vista.  I'll migrate the others soon.

The Secret is Out.

Watch the video.

This just came around internally from one of the Beta coordinators for Longhorn:

Dear [VP name removed],

This is the first time in 10+ years involvement with customer beta programs that I’ve received an unsolicited bribe to get on the program– two pounds of inscribed chocolate showed up at my office via Fedex today.

People want Longhorn!

You've got to give the sender kudos for this one. I cannot comment on whether he got in, but bribery is not required- just a good business case and dedication to helping us ship quality product. I'm checking into how you can nominate yourself - will post more here later.

And to the guy who sent this out, the "Longhorn Shiproom" wants to say thank you very much ;)

James Doohan, the actor who played, "Scotty" on the original Star Trek, has passed away at the age of 85.  He was battling Parkinsons and Alzheimers. 
Doohan lived in Redmond, WA where Microsoft is based. From time to time you'd hear about sightings up until a few years ago.

From CNN: The Canadian-born Doohan fought in World War II and was wounded during the D-Day invasion, according to the StarTrek.com Web site. He was enjoying a busy career as a character actor when he auditioned for a role as an engineer in a new space adventure on NBC in 1966. A master of dialects from his early years in radio, he tried seven different accents.

"The producers asked me which one I preferred," Doohan recalled 30 years later. "I believed the Scot voice was the most commanding. So I told them, 'If this character is going to be an engineer, you'd better make him a Scotsman.' "

My favorite note- Doohan's last child was sired at the age of 80.  More power to ya Scotty :)