| Ceton Echo Windows Media Center Extender Review Posted: 09 May 2013 02:45 PM PDT Xbox? We don't need no stinkin' Xbox! Until the Echo hit the street, the Xbox 360 was pretty much the only Windows Media Center Extender still on the market. Companies such as D-Link and Linksys discontinued their extenders years ago—probably because they couldn't compete with the subsidized price of Microsoft's gaming console. 
You're looking at the best Windows Media Center Extender we've tested. In case you've forgotten what a Windows Media Center Extender is, here's a quick refresher: Plug one of these networked devices into your TV, pair it with a Windows computer on the same network, and the Windows Media Center user interface from that PC—along with all the movies, photos, and music that PC can access—will stream though the extender to the TV. If the paired PC is outfitted with a TV tuner, you can also stream live TV. We tested the Echo with an over-the-air USB ATSC tuner (AVerMedia's model H826SK) connected to an outdoor antenna and got great results. If you subscribe to cable TV and equip your Media Center PC with a CableCARD tuner (from Ceton or any other manufacturer), you can stream any channel you subscribe to, including premium channels such as HBO and Showtime (but not on-demand programming). On top of that, you can record live TV onto the PC's hard drive, much like a TiVo or other brand of DVR that you might rent from your cable company. The Echo sells for $180—about the same street price as a 4GB Xbox 360. But being about the size of a paperback book, the Echo is a fraction of the Xbox 360's bulk, and Ceton claims that it draws about 90 percent less power. The Echo connects to your TV via HDMI, and it draws power from a supplied USB power adapter. It requires a hardwired Ethernet connection, and the company recommends that the host PC also be hardwired to your network. If you don't have CAT5 cable in your walls, the company recommends deploying either a powerline or MoCA (Multimedia over Coax) network. The Echo user experience is pretty much identical to using a DVR, with a couple of exceptions: Ceton's remote control is craptastically generic. More importantly, you can fast-forward and rewind recorded TV; but unlike a DVR, you can't rewind live TV unless you're also recording it. You can cure the first problem by purchasing Ceton's Companion app for Android or iOS devices ($5 each) to turn your phone or tablet into a remote. As with those "whole-home DVR" systems you see advertised on TV, you can pause playback on the TV that's connected to your PC in one room, go to a TV connected to an Echo in another room, and pick up where you left off. Up to five Echo devices can be linked to a single PC running Windows Media Center, and if that PC is equipped with multiple tuners, each Echo can tune to a different channel. If you want to stream Internet video and media stored on your network, something like Western Digital's WDTV Live is a better choice; out of the box, the Echo supports only the media formats that Windows Media Center supports. That list includes codecs such as MPEG-2, H.264, and MP3, but not container formats such as MKV or lossless audio codecs such as FLAC. If you want to tune into and record cable or broadcast TV, and you don't care about Xbox games, the Echo is the way to go. $180, www.cetoncorp.com |
| Samsung Galaxy S4 Teardown Reveals $229 BOM (U.S. Version) Posted: 09 May 2013 12:09 PM PDT  IHS iSupply tears down the Galaxy S4 from Samsung.
Barring a sale price or a promotion, you're liklely to pay $200 for a Samsung Galaxy S4 handset, not including the overall cost of a two-year service agreement to qualify for subsidized pricing. Data fees notwithstanding, that's $29 less than the bill of materials (BOM). Manufacturing costs add another $8.50 per device, so on paper, Samsung is paying $237.50 for every Galaxy S4 device it builds. That's according to IHS iSuppli, which examined the BOM of both the U.S. and South Korean versions of the Galaxy S4 and determined that they're "as different as kimchee and coleslaw." How so? The South Korean build uses slightly different parts, including a higher end Samsung Exynos 5 Octa (5410) processor versus the Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 quad-core chip found in the U.S. variant. There are a few other hardware differences that make the South Korean model a bit more expensive to build at $244 for the BOM and $252.50 for the overall cost. "With at least four different known incarnations of the Galaxy S4, Samsung is demonstrating its strategy of offering a mobile product that has appealing features and pricing—and then adapting the device to suit the tastes of varying markets or regions," said Vincent Leung, senior analyst, teardown services, for IHS. "This approach is in stark contrast to the one-size-fits-all philosophy used by Apple Inc., Samsung's primary competitor in the wireless space. While the Korean and U.S. versions of the S4 look pretty much the same and have in terms of their core electronics many same core features—such as the enclosure, display, camera and battery—the products are as different from each other as kimchee and coleslaw." The primary difference between the two is the processor, as stated above. Samsung's Exynos 5 Octa chip is an eight-core part, though not in the way you might be thinking. It has four 1.6GHz Cortex A16 cores that fire up when playing games or other processor intensive-tasks, and four 1.2GHz Cortex A7 cores that handle less demanding tasks. Only one cluster runs at any given time, so in reality, it still functions as a quad-core phone. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Newegg Daily Deals: Lots of Love for Logitech Posted: 09 May 2013 11:41 AM PDT |
| World of Warcraft Waved Goodbye to 1.3 Million Subscribers Last Quarter Posted: 09 May 2013 10:11 AM PDT  WoW, where have all the subscribers gone?
World of Warcraft's subscriber-base is on the decline. That's hardly shocking for a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) that was launched over 9 years ago. But this isn't just any online game, it's the world's largest subscription-based MMORPG and it lost 1.3 million players in the last three months. Who knows where they went, but more importantly, what can Activision Blizzard do to retain its remaining 8.3 million subscribers? That's a question the game developer has to figure out. In the meantime, Activision Blizzard is busy celebrating a better-than-expected quarter to kick off 2013. For the quarter ended March 31, 2013, the company reported net revenues of $1.32 billion, up from $1.17 billion in the same quarter a year ago. On a non-GAAP basis, net revenues totaled $804 million, up from $587 last year. "Our first-quarter performance was driven by continued consumer interest in all of our key franchises. Blizzard Entertainment's StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm was the No. 1 PC game for the quarter. Additionally, during the quarter, Blizzard's World of Warcraft remained the No. 1 subscription-based MMORPG in the world with more than eight million subscribers, although the game saw declines of approximately 1.3 million subscribers, mainly from the East, but in the West as well," Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, said in a statement (PDF). Yes, WoW is still a cash cow, and yes, it's still the world's leading subscription MMORPG, but the recent decline in subscribers did "raise concerns, as do continued challenges in the global economy," Kotick added. Where things get tricky for Activision Blizzard is that WoW operates on a somewhat dated business model. There are many free-to-play online games these days, and even though some non-subscription MMROPGs boast more players, Activision Blizzard is squeezing more money out of its WoW players than other titles. At some point, however, the WoW ride will come to end, and then what? Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| NZXT Takes Another Stab at the Sentry Mix Fan Controller Posted: 09 May 2013 09:38 AM PDT  Sometimes the sequel is better than the original.
Truth be told, NZXT's original Sentry Mix fan controller was kind of ugly. The general design wasn't bad, but the big grey sliders stuck out like a sore thumb on any black themed case. NZXT's new Sentry Mix 2 improves upon the original with a better aesthetic design and PWM-ready connectors, giving users of all types (mainstream, gamers, and overclockers) fine grain control over a variety of fans. The Sentry Mix 2 offers six channels, each of which is fed 30 watts of continuous power. To change the fan speed speed, simply slide the dial up or down. It's not particularly fancy nor does it seem complicated from what we can tell. It's basically an improved version of the original with a mesh-black faceplate, glossy black sliders, and integrated color LED lighting with five different colors to choose from. The Sentry Mix 2 will be available soon for $30 MSRP. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Slacker Adds Six Million New Listeners Since Relaunch Posted: 09 May 2013 08:44 AM PDT  No slacking at Slacker as it sees millions of new subscribers join in three months.
Have you given the recently overhauled Slacker service a whirl yet? Millions of others have. According to Slacker, more than six million new listeners have joined the streaming music service since its February relaunch, with 3.5 million listeners jumping on mobile. Not only is Slacker seeing an influx of new users, but they're listening longer than before and they're subscribing to the service, Slacker says. Slacker went for a complete redesign three months ago, shedding its old digs for a fresh new look and feel. You can listen to Slacker's entire library of songs for free, or pony up $3.99/month for Slacker Plus (commercial free streaming with unlimited song skips) or $9.99/month for Slacker Premium (on-demand access to songs). "We're thrilled with the results of our relaunch; since mid-February millions of new people are tuning into Slacker, they're spending more time listening, and our paid subscriber base is growing fast," said Jim Cady, CEO of Slacker. "And with our proven business model, Slacker is the only digital music service that is gross margin positive on every listener – whether they're ad-supported or a paid subscriber." I've been using Slacker Premium since the relaunch and have to admit I'm pretty impressed. I'd describe it as the best of Spotify and Pandora rolled into a single service, and with a catalog of more than 13 million songs, it's not too often I find myself jonesing for a melody that can't be found, except for Gangstagrass, unfortunately. If you haven't checked it out yet, give it a listen and post your thoughts in the comments section below. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Origin PC Starts Shipping Beastly EON17-SLX SLI Laptops, Bundles Gaming Peripherals Posted: 09 May 2013 08:20 AM PDT  Desktop power in a laptop form factor.
When you fire up Origin PC's EON17-SLX SLI laptop, it should play George Thorogood's "Bad to the Bone," lest anyone can think of a more appropriate song to describe the hardware inside. As the name suggests, this badass notebook has been fed not one, but TWO Nvidia GeForce GTX 680M graphics cards, both of which Origin PC takes the time to overclock before shipping out. The ready-to-ship configuration includes an Intel Core i7 3840QM processor, a quad-core chip clocked at 2.8GHz (3.8GHz via Turbo) with 8MB of cache. You're not going to want for power with this thing, which also wields 16GB of Corsair Vengeance 1600MHZ RAM, 240GB solid state drive, 1TB hard drive for storage duties, a DVD burner, and Windows 7 Home Premium. This particular model isn't customizable, hence the ready-to-ship status, though you can opt to increase the standard 45-day zero dead pixel guarantee to 90 days and/or increase the 1-year warranty up to 3 years, both for a fee. You can also add software and accessories to the package. In addition to the above parts, Origin PC is bundling a few gaming peripherals, including a Razer Lachesis mouse, Corsair HS1A headset, and an Origin brand messenger bag. Ready for the price? Take a deep breath -- it checks in at $3,399, a hefty sum for a laptop these days, albeit representative of a $500 savings, Origin PC says. Should you take the plunge, your system will ship out the next business day after payment is processed. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
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