DeviceGuru

Following closely on the heels of the December announcement of D-Link’s BoxeeBox, Syabas Technology today said it will ship a $129 Internet-based A/V streaming set-top box (STB) in March. Both new gadgets have the potential to give Roku’s popular Netflix-streaming STB a run for its money.
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Hey, we just discovered that our very own DIY BoxeeBox has made LifeHacker.com’s list of the “Most Popular DIY Projects of 2009.” This certainly shows the popularity of Internet-based multimedia streaming to the big screen in the family room — and of Boxee’s free, easy-to-use multimedia access platform. Check out LifeHacker’s article, and be sure to cast your vote for our BoxeeBox!

Technology market analyst ABI Research has published its annual prognostication of technology trends and events that won’t happen in the coming year. The 11-page article is available for free download (after registration) from the firm’s website.
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Shipments of Ultra-Mobile Devices (UMDs), including a range of emerging devices such as UMPCs (Ultra-Mobile PCs), netbooks, and MIDs (Mobile Internet Devices), are expected to grow to 385 million units annually within five years. Their main obstacle will be smartphones, such as the iPhone and various Android models.
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Lantronix has introduced what it claims is the “World’s Smallest Linux Networking Server.” Within an elongated RJ45 Ethernet LAN connector, the XPort Pro packs a 32-bit RISC CPU, 8MB SDRAM, 16MB flash storage, and a 10/100 Mbps Ethernet LAN port.
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DeviceGuru recently reported on a reader’s discovery that his “Energy Star compliant” Sony HDTV was consuming 200 times its advertised standby power. Now, he’s back with good news: the Environmental Protection Agency has decided to plug this gaping energy-draining hole via a new release of its Energy Star TV specification.
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In recent years, two new sub-$500 mobile device categories have burst onto the scene: the “mobile Internet device” (MID), with the iPhone representing its greatest success; and the “netbook,” popularized by the Asus Eee PC. Get ready for the third wave: the “netpad.”
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At last week’s TED2009 conference, two researchers from the MIT Media Lab demonstrated a “Sixth Sense” device that gives its wearer supernatural abilities. What’s next — Google implants?
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DeviceGuru recently was asked to recommend a platform for prototyping a consumer electronics device idea. Below are a few possibilities we came up with — readers are encouraged to add to the list.
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Amazon’s video-on-demand (VoD) service has just been added to Roku’s Internet-based VoD set-top box. The upgrade, pushed out to the devices over the Internet, is the first to expand the Roku box’s content beyond its Netflix-centric origins.
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Having recently constructed the BoxeeBox, I naturally was eager to check out Neuros Technology’s somewhat similar IP-TV set-top box. Though currently at a “gamma” release, the Neuros “Link” shows great promise.
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While attending the Real-time and Embedded Computing Conference in Silicon Valley last month, we spotted this tiny ATX power supply implemented in the form of an ATX power connector.
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Inspired by Roku’s awesome Netflix video download box and impressed with Boxee’s free A/V media center platform, it was merely a matter of time before I’d create the BoxeeBox, an Ubuntu-powered HTPC that I call my “one box to rule them all.” Here’s how it’s done.
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DeviceGuru recently reported on a reader’s so-called “Energy Star compliant” Sony HDTV that consumed 150 times its advertised standby power spec. After communicating with both Sony and the EPA, the reader eventually managed to put his insomniatic TV to rest. Here’s how.
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Myka, which recently began shipping an IPTV set-top box (STB), is offering a $100 discount to entice developers to roll up their sleeves and contribute to its device’s open-source, Linux-based software stack.
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A robot project reportedly has won the first monthly design contest sponsored by BeagleBoard.org. The site promotes the Beagle Board, a low-cost, fanless, single-board computer (SBC) based on a TI OMAP applications processor..
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DeviceGuru received an interesting email describing several less-than-satisfactory experiences with the power-saving modes of “Energy Star compliant” consumer devices. The writer’s observations suggest a pressing need to amp up regulations governing consumer electronics power management.
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[Updated Jan. 6, 2009] — Roku has announced two updates to its $99 box that streams Netflix movies directly to TVs via the Internet. The initial update adds advanced compression capable of streaming HD video over “average” consumer broadband connections, Roku says.
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The worldwide market for application processors will grow to nearly $2 billion by 2012, fueled by strong demand for smartphones and other mobile devices, predicts The Linley Group.
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The USB Implementers Forum has completed its development of USB 3.0, aka “SuperSpeed USB.” The new specification, offering a maximum data transfer rate ten times that of USB 2.0, is now available for download.
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In a better-late-than-never move, Blockbuster has introduced a video-on-demand (VOD) service accompanied by a “free” set-top box (STB). Like TiVo, Roku’s Netflix box, and many other modern Internet-enabled A/V gadgets, Blockbuster’s new VOD STB runs Linux.
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The machine-to-machine (“M2M”) communications market will grow robustly over the next five years, with an estimated 95 million cellular M2M modules shipping in 2013, ABI Research predicts.
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Digi International has introduced a Linux-based server packaged within a somewhat elongated RJ45 connector. The ME 9210 comes with an embedded OS based on a Linux 2.6.26 kernel.
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Zilog, creator of the Z80 microprocessors that powered numerous circa-1980 microcomputers including the Osborne and Kaypro, has just introduced its first general purpose 32-bit microcontroller family. The “Encore! 32″ microcontrollers integrate ARM9 processor cores, are offered with Linux support, and target embedded devices.
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Transmeta, the turn-of-the-millennium startup that sought to “revolutionize mobile Internet computing” with an innovative “code morphing” CPU architecture aimed at replacing Intel processors in mobile devices — and former home to Linus Torvalds — is up for sale.
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