Don't beat your kid over remote control

I have no qualms about stabbing a husband over the remote control, but for goodness sake, don't smack your kid.

In Tampa, Fla, Jacqueline Williams allegedly grabbed her 13-year-old son by the throat and struck his face and head, according to a police report.

She was charged with felony child abuse.

[via Tampa Bay Online]

New!! Matthew Polk Action Figure!

Matthew Polk, founder of Polk Audio, is retiring. In his honor, we have created a limited-edition action figure, available for $59.99.

Also available: Jeremy Burkhardt Action Figure, Noel Lee Action Figure, Bob Carver Toy

Thanks, 39Cent @ Guijaboard

Embarrassing spelling stories

I don't know how it happened, but Google Analytics tells me someone wandered to my site using this search term:

"embarasing femail stories"

Amazon fixes misleading White Glove ads

Quietly, Amazon changed its ads promoting "Free White Glove Delivery" on products that actually do not qualify for the service.

I criticized Amazon earlier this month for duping customers (like myself) into thinking their big-screen TVs came with free white glove delivery.

The offending ad looked like this when I purchased my TV:

Click to enlarge.

The small print reads:

When you purchase this TV from Amazon.com, it receives our special white-glove delivery service. After your purchase, an agent will call you within five days to arrange delivery. At your home, delivery experts will: carry your product to any accessible room in your home -- including upstairs rooms -- provided the package will fit; unpack your product and place it on assembled furniture; provide a setup checklist; and remove all packaging materials from your home if you wish.

Novice Web shoppers like myself (and others who commented on the original story) might infer that the featured TV came with white glove delivery. No?

In fact, it did not, because the "real" supplier of the product was TigerDirect, a third-party vendor.

An Amazon customer service rep clarified the small print: "You bought it [the TV] on Amazon.com, not from Amazon.com."

And here I thought I knew a little something about semantics.

Several folks commented on the original article that I was an idiot. Evidently, there are a lot of idiots out there like me who were duped by the ad.

A few days after I posted my original story, the ad disappeared on products that did not qualify.

A couple of weeks later, the revised copy appeared:

Small print reads:

... Applies only to purchases made from Amazon.com. Does not apply to purchases made from other merchants on the Amazon.com Web site.

Now, we Web-shopping dummies have no excuse.

And while my own experience was fine, I think I'll go with a local shop next time. Did I really save that much?!

Our politically correct Paulson/Jacobson holiday card

Forgive my poor photoshopping skills.

A happy, healthy holiday and a prosperous new year to all!

Honeywell power products for gentiles?

I just received a press release entitled, "Honeywell Delivers New Fire Alarm Power: ULC-listed power supplies provide flexibible alarm power."

Attached to the release was an image called, "Gentile Fire Power Install."

Yet there was nothing in the press release saying anything about gentiles, and nothing in the image that seems to indicate the relationship between gentiles and Honeywell's new product.

Is the guy in the picture a gentile? Or is the customer a gentile? And what does that have to do with anything?

If you ask me, the installer could pass for a Jew.

Go figure.

UPDATE: Talk about a Freudian slip! I misspelled "flexible" as "flexibible"

Women - an odd category for tech bloggers

HP did this thing -- HP Magic Giveaway -- where they let 50 bloggers give away 50 computers.

I was amused by HP's categorization of bloggers: college, Spanish, tech enthusiasts and women.

Women?!

Is that a category of bloggers?

I checked out a couple of the women bloggers, and I found some nice recipes, pictures of children, and musings on Michelle Obama.

Where are the categories for Jewish bloggers (technology for the Sabbath), Minnesota bloggers (hibernating with technology), and old farts (we don't need no stinkin' technology)?

My bladder problems outed at CE Pro

We do a healthy Web business over at CEPro.com, but occasionally we use an agency to fill the unused ad inventory on the site.

Lumber Liquidators pops up there from time to time. No problem.

But I was taken aback by an ad that showed up for Levitra -- you know, to help with bladder problems.

So I email all of our Web guys and senior management suggesting they should filter out that particular ad.

And they tell me (cc'ing everyone of course) that the ads are auto-generated based on my cookies.

So my whole company now knows that I surf the Web for the best deals on adult diapers.

OK, so now you know.

New! Jeremy Burkhardt Action Figure!!

Collect them all!

Thanks, 39 Cents

Home Tech Stocks in the black, beating DJIA

Since we started tracking Home Tech Stocks (consumer electronics, home building, and related), the news has been dismal, mirroring other indices.

In the past couple of days, though, the Home Tech Portfolio has seen some plus signs.

Since Nov. 3, we're in the black for the first time.

The Home Tech Portfolio is up .19%. Hey at least it's up.

In comparison, the Dow Jones Industrial average is down 4.2%.

Here are the winners and losers in the Home Tech world from Nov. 3 til today:

Winners

Losers

New!! Noel Lee Monster Cable Action Figure!!

I'll see your Bob Carver toy, and I'll raise you!

Thanks, 39 Cent Stamp

Minnesota man deserved to be stabbed for usurping remote

My local newspaper, the St. Paul Pioneer Press, makes a big deal about a woman who stabbed her boyfriend because he wanted control of the remote.

I mean … duh.

My three late husbands wanted to watch their shows while I was happily popping bon bons to Oprah. Duane knows better. No sports for him!

According to the report, Brittney Love Venton stabbed Nicholas Ervin Smith in the gut over some TV-related disagreement that he cannot recall.

The Pioneer Press quotes a neighbor, who heard the fracas:

"One person wanted to see one thing, one person wanted to see the other, so she stabbed him in the stomach," said Juanita Luke, who lives in the apartment downstairs from the rental unit where Smith lives. "It was like a movie or a music video. It was between that."

They should make soup of their remote control.

Hopefully he learned his lesson.

Obama's WPA

In his Dec. 8 weekly address, Barack Obama the pledges to make broadband internet access available in every corner of the country.

"Here, in the country that invented the internet, every child should have the chance to get online, and they'll get that chance when I’m President," he says.

There's a name for this: WPA (WiFi Progress Administration)

Thanks, Ernie

New!! The Bob Carver Toy, just in time for the holidays

You can even even change his hair style! (Thanks, Dave)

Coming soon:
The Jeremy Burkhardt Toy!
The Bill Schafer Toy!
The Will West Toy!
The Mitch Klein Toy!

At last a reason to subscribe to Sirius XM

SIRIUS XM Radio is bringing back ABBA Radio, "the exclusive 100% commercial-free music channel dedicated to international pop supergroup ABBA."

That's the good news.

The bad news? It's only offered for a limited time: Dec. 12 - Dec. 20.

For the channel re-launch, Benny Andersson of ABBA sat down for an exclusive interview to describe the "headline-making moment" when the four members of ABBA attended the premiere of MAMMA MIA! The Movie in Stockholm.

Andersson will also discuss his cameo in the movie with Bjorn Ulvaeus as well as his opinion on Meryl Streep's singing performance.

Who needs the chit chat? Bring on those Abba tunes!

No joke, when I got married 8 years ago, I brought two CDs to the marriage: Abba and Neil Diamond. Actually, there might have been two Neil Diamonds.

Looks like Petters forgot to update CES listing

From the CES 2009 Exhibitor listing:

Petters Group Worldwide is invested in a dynamic collection of 60 companies with active management in over 20. These companies create, develop and invest in companies that source, develop, manufacture and market consumer goods. [Decription Based on 2008 MyCES Directory Listing.]

BrandNames:
Polaroid, Ubid.com, Juice Media, Broadsign, YFly, Campus1Housing, Suncountry

From the latest news story (Bloomberg) on Petters Group and CEO Tom Petters:

Petters Group Worldwide, the bankrupt owner of Polaroid Corp. and Sun Country Airlines, and founder Tom Petters were accused in a federal indictment of running a fraud involving more than $2 billion. …

The 20-count indictment alleges that from 1995 to September 2008, Petters used the company and its Petters Co. unit to issue fake documents to entice hedge funds to invest more than $1 billion in phony deals. Petters told investors their money would be used to buy merchandise that would be resold to retailers including Costco Wholesale Corp. Damages from the transactions exceed $2 billion, according to court papers.

Prosecutors accused Petters of siphoning money from business ventures to support an extravagant lifestyle. …

If convicted, Petters faces as long as 20 years in prison on each of the seven mail-fraud counts, 20 years for each of the three wire-fraud counts and 20 years for the single count of money laundering conspiracy, U.S. Attorney Frank Magill’s office said in a statement. Petters faces 10 years for each of the eight money-laundering counts and five years for conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud.

Shitty cars

RTI's two-way zigbee remotes to ship late Q1

RTI's Pete Baker says the company's two-way Zigbee-based remotes will ship at the end of Q1.

"We have working prototypes now, just tweaking it and staging the ZigBee products for production over the course of Q1," Baker says

Project: A house full of windows gets green

I'm a windows fanatic -- that's windows with a small "w", so I marveled at this project from Electronic Design Group, an integration firm in Piscataway, N.J.:

The clients' main objective was to have the ability to control all lighting and shading in their home, but to also have clean walls that were free of dimmers and switches. With roughly 17,000 square feet of space in the entire home, this was a large task which ended with an exceptionally breathtaking result. The clients requested motorized shades on the architectural style windows in the great room, as well as UV protection for their many rare and antique wood furnishings and fabrics they collect.

One of the challenges we faced was the size of the space. The living room is over 1,600 square feet of open floor plan, which posed a challenge when it came time to control all the shades with only a few options for keypad locations. There were limited options for control, so we created "user-friendly" intuitive shading "scenes" for all keypad locations.

The shading scenes were also programmed to manipulate the shades that cover the doorways so that owners can conveniently access the outdoor areas. We also included an infrared remote to easily control all shades in this large space from the different floors and the high-traffic locations in the home, such as the kitchen, dining area and office.

In addition to the home's living room with its striking windows and spectacular view of the New York City skyline, the home is also fully equipped with audio/video equipment installed in various media rooms throughout the home and a multi-room audio system. The large living room creates an unusual footprint within the home; from this main room stem many other smaller rooms, including the home's bedrooms, office, and kitchen.

SOLUTIONS

Overall, the home has more than 50 windows. The windows in the great room of this home extend from the basement to the second floor, creating a "window wall". The wall consists of angled glass in varying shapes and sizes, each of which required its own unique shading solution. With the use of integrated shading and lighting systems and the resulting energy savings, this project became a "Green" project.

Coordination with a shade contractor and a lighting designer produced the use of mullions, with pockets to hide the shades when they are not in use. A successful collaboration of efforts in regard to the dramatic windows of this home created the perfect solution in which the symmetry and aesthetics of the home were maintained while retaining a clear view of the New York City skyline.

Contact EDG at (732) 650-9800 or solutions@edgusa.com.

No DirecTV for Media Center?

Gearlog reports that DirecTV probably won't be tying into Media Center anytime soon.

According the story, DirecTV has suspended the development of the HDPC-20, which was to integrate the satellite provider's high-def content into the Media Center framework, a la CableCard.

At CES in 2006, DirecTV said it was working on a Media Center solution, with the help of Intel's Viiv platform.

Two implementations of DirecTV for the PC were discussed during the show--an internal tuner card, and a box connected externally, probably via 1394.

Gearlog quotes a company spokesperson:

DIRECTV has suspended the development of the HDPC-20 tuner project that was designed to integrate DIRECTV service into Windows Media Center after assessing the impact of missing the August 2008 release of Windows Media Center update and considering timing of the next release.

Both DIRECTV and Microsoft understand the desirability of offering consumers an all encompassing DIRECTV programming solution via Windows-based PCs. We are continuing to explore ways to integrate DIRECTV service with Windows-based PCs in the future.

The HDPC-20 tuner that appears on the driver list of a pre-Beta build of Windows 7 is an artifact that was listed prior to the decision to suspend the tuner project. As our plans progress toward a Windows Media Center-compatible product, we will make an announcement at the appropriate time.

That is not to say, of course, that a DirecTV/Media Center solution won't be forthcoming. At the Media Center Labs in Redmond (above), Microsoft continues to test all possible scenarios for satellite integration.

Sony doesn't ask for bailout

Image of Sony Westmoreland facility from Westmoreland County

The AP is reporting that Sony will close a 2.8 million-square-foot facility in western Pennsylvania that employs about 650:

[Pennsylvania Governor] Ed Rendell said Tuesday the Westmoreland County plant is a casualty of the worldwide recession and innovations in making flat-panel televisions lighter.

He said Sony officials told him that the plant will not close immediately and that laid-off employees will be eligible for state-subsidized job training.

How can we let that happen? TV manufacturing is a vital part of our American heritage! Congress should bail out Sony now!

Infoworld's 2008 geek gadget gift guide

Infoworld presents its 2008 Geek Gadget Gift Guide. Here are the products, listed in alphabetical order:

• Apple Time Capsule
• Botanicalls DIY Plant Twitter Kit
• Cathode Corner Nixie Watch
• EVGA GTX 200 Waterblock
• Eye-Fi Explore
• 4th Motion Gyroxus Full-Motion Game Chair
• MvixUSA MvixBox
• Sky Factory SkyV
• SRS Labs iWow for iPod Adapter
• Yoggie Gatekeeper Pico

View more 2008 CE roundups here.

Submit your lists to Julie Jacobson.

Electronic House's best green CE products of 2008

Electronic House magazine has named its best green CE products of 2008.

View more 2008 CE roundups here.

Submit your lists to Julie Jacobson.

APC - Back-UPS ES 750	Draper - Greenguard Screens	Knoll Systems - GSZ67 Eco-System Controller-Amplifier
Lightolier - IntelliSight Occupancy Sensors	Lutron - Light Greener, Light Better Meter	nuVo Technologies - Essentia EG6
Samsung - LN55A950 Series 9 LCD

PC World's 100 best products of 2008

The following products are the first 25 of PC World's 100 best products of 2008, in order of ranking.

View more 2008 CE roundups here.

Submit your lists to Julie Jacobson.

1. Hulu Review
2. Apple iPhone Review | Video test | Check prices
3. Facebook Site
4. Microsoft Windows XP Review | Check prices
5. Lenovo ThinkPad X300 Review | Check prices
6. Flock Review | Download
7. Eye-Fi Review | Check prices
8. Casio Exilim Pro EX-F1 Video review
9. Harmonix Rock Band Video review | Check prices
10. Wikipedia Site
11. Netflix Site
12. Microsoft Xbox Live Site
13. Apple iPod Touch Review | Check prices
14. Craigslist Site
15. Scrabulous Site
16. Nintendo Wii Review | Check prices
17. Apple Mac OS 10.5 Leopard Review | Video review | Check prices
18. Apple HD Cinema Display Site
19. Twitter Site
20. Pioneer Kuro PDP-5010FD Review | Check prices
21. Mozilla Firefox 3 Review | Video review
22. Apple Safari Review | Download
23. NPR.org Site
24. Adobe Photoshop CS3 Review | Check prices
25. Google Maps--Street View Video tour | Site

Bob Archer's favorite products of 2008

CE Pro's resident A/V editor Bob Archer picks his favorite products of the year. Click on the respective images to learn more about each product.

View more 2008 CE roundups here.

Submit your lists to Julie Jacobson.

Screen Research ClearPix2	Thiel Audio CS3.7	JVC DLA-RS10u
Meridian M810 System	Russound's CA4 System	Thiel Audio SCS4
Sooloos Media Management	Wisdom Audio Sage Series	Bryston B-100 Integrated Amplifier
Integra DTC-9.8 Preamp/Processor	Planar PD470 LCD	RTCom HS-88M Matrix Router
Torus RM-15 Power Conditioner	Transparent Audio MM2 Technology

CEA's top stories of 2008

The daily newsletter CEA Smartbrief has compiled a list of the most-viewed stories for 2008:

• Public finally gets a peek at "Android" phone (9/23)

• Panasonic unveils 11-foot-long plasma TV (1/7)

• Home-theater systems as tax deductions (4/2008)

• It's official: Toshiba exit to end HD format war (2/19)

• Apple unveils iPhone 3G, lowers price in bid for masses (6/10)

• Economy could put pinch on Blu-ray holiday sales (10/20)

• Vizio takes big bite out of flat-panel market (4/15)

• Pioneer introduces 16-layer, 400GB Blu-ray disc (7/7)

• Flat-screen sales surge as DTV deadline nears (8/21)

• CE companies showcase OLED-based TVs, ultrathin LCDs (10/1)

View more 2008 CE roundups here.

Submit your lists to Julie Jacobson.

Home Tech portfolio almost back to par

With help from today's surge on Wall Street, the Home Tech Portfolio was up 2.9% for the day, but well below the other indices:

DJIA - up 3.46%
S&P 500 - up 3.84%
Nasdaq - up 4.14%

All in all, the Home Tech Portfolio is down only 1.83% since tracking began on Nov. 3.

Silicon Image, HDMI technology developer, lays off 10% of work force

In an SEC filing today, Silicon Image (NASDAQ: SIMG), the developer of HDMI and related technologies, reported it was laying off about 10% of its workforce.

The entire filing reads:

On December 5, 2008, Silicon Image, Inc. (the” Registrant”) began a reduction in force of approximately 60 people, or approximately 10% of its workforce worldwide, to align its cost structure with current economic conditions.

Silicon Image's most recently filed quarterly report, for the period ended Sept. 30, 2008 indicated revenues of about $215, million for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2008, compared to $230 million for the same period one year earlier.

Net income for the period was about $5 million in 2008 compared to $11.4 million in 2007.

View our HomeTech portfolio.

Motorola Credit Downgraded To Junk Status

InformationWeek Reports: Motorola (NYSE: MOT) had its credit rating lowered to junk status by Standard & Poor's due to continued declining handset sales and a projected slowdown in handset purchases world.

View our HomeTech portfolio.

CES Sneak Peeks: Westinghouse, GE/Tatung, Lutron, Premier Mounts

Just a few sneak peaks of products to be unveiled at CES -- in the companies' own words. More to come...

Westinghouse Digital

• Anywhere HD” 19” and 22” High-Definition LCD HDTVs that feature a built-in HD antenna that enables HD reception
• An entire large screen lineup of stunning 120Hz 1080p LCD HDTVs at ultra affordable price points
• A vast array of high-resolution resolution LCD HDTV/ DVD Player combo units with unique functions
• A full family of commercial LCD displays including Digital Signage Solution products featuring Westinghouse’s neonNow, neonSource and NeonPlayer software and products

General Displays and Technologies (GDT) (GE/Tatung joint venture)

• GE-branded, IPTV-enabled HDTVs and other advanced technologies

Lutron

• iPhone/HomeWorks applications
• New major home systems innovation … The next generation of lighting controls will set the stage for future products down the road

Premier Mounts

• New Entertainment Series of flat-panel TV mounts. The new line boasts 14 of the sleekest and slimmest mounts — including the "World’s Thinnest Mount."

Monster Cable brings Diana Ross to CES

While other companies are slashing their entertainment budgets, Monster continues to party down. This year at CES, Monster is bringing Diana Ross to the convention.

She will perform at the Monster Retailer Awards on Friday, January 9th, 2009 in the Paris Ballroom of the Paris Hotel.

Tickets are required.

Short and sweet: why we shouldn't bail out the car makers

Economist Don Boudreaux writes the best letters to the editor -- pithy and smart. I have a little crush on him.

Here's the latest. More at CafeHayek.

3 December 2008

Editor, Toledo Blade

Dear Editor:

Detroit auto executives advocate "government getting a stake in the auto companies that would allow taxpayers to share in future gains if they recover" ("GM exec: bankruptcy not an option for industry," December 3).

I remind these executives that each American is already perfectly free and able, with no action from government, to "get a stake" in these companies. Of course, few Americans now choose to do so - a fact that reflects the considered judgment of millions of people that these companies are unworthy recipients of investment funds. If millions of investors, spending their own funds, refuse to invest in GM, Ford, and Chrysler, why should Congress force them to make such investments? Why should we trust that Congress will make wiser investment decisions with other people's money than these people themselves make with their own money?

Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
Enterprise Hall
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA 22030

Xperinet media servers - cheap, cheap, cheap

FIT, which made media servers for the now-defunct Xperinet, still has inventory to dump on the cheap. Here's the notice I received today:

New lower pricing on the remaining Xperinet inventory

Package Deals Available.

Make Your Best Offer…

Polaris II 3TB Server -- $1,599.00
Polaris II 6TB Server -- $1,999.00
Orion 3190HD Client -- $549.00
Taurus 3157HD Client -- $349.00

All units are brand new a come with a 1 year warranty.
All units are listed and can be purchased on eBay for convenience.

Contact:
Marc Wishnow
marc@futureitinc.com
Future Information Technology, Inc.

Strange way to sell security systems

I just got a call on my cellphone from the number 207-925-1732. I answered the phone, which is something I almost never do. I was feeling dangerous.

A computerized voice tells me: "If you put a sign in your yard, we will give you a $795 security system for free..."

Plus two free keychain remotes.

All I need to do is agree to the $29.95/month monitoring fee.

I meant to "press 1" to learn more, but I accidentally hung up.

Oh well, no free security system for me!

Tweeter hackers would have been good for business

Maybe if the Tweeter Web site had been hacked more often, the company would still be in business.

I'm sure all of the hacker press is generating more traffic to Tweeter.com than ever.

Gornik tells investors: We build in U.S., but we'd be happy to outsource

Kathy Gornik, president of Thiel Audio (and a dear friend of mine) is featured on Investors.com.

Most of Thiel's products are built in the company's own facility in Lexington, Ky., but that's not because Thiel is bent on "saving American jobs" and wearing the "Made in the U.S.A." lapel pin.

Kathy is the quintessential free marketer, and a champion of free trade. It's great to put the free-trade bashers in their place, through a vehicle like Investors Business Daily.

Here's an excerpt of the interview:

IBD: Have you ever been tempted to build your speakers in China?

Gornik: We have a couple of smaller products that are, in fact, made in China. But all of our expensive floor-standing models are made here in the states, primarily because it's hard to get the level of quality and craftsmanship that we need.

I'm not a person who thinks of the economy in terms of nationalities. We get products from companies all around the United States. For example, our cardboard cartons come from Ohio. We get bent plywood sides from North Carolina. We get some coils that we use in our drivers and our crossovers from Florida. And I see no difference between outsourcing those products to those states or to, say, China. ...

IBD: Are you concerned about the erosion of the U.S. tech manufacturing base?

Gornik: The worst concept that is perpetuated by political leaders is that economics is a zero-sum game — that China's gain in manufacturing jobs is a direct minus in the U.S. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Read Kathy's editorial on CEPro.com: Why Ron Paul is the Best Choice for the Custom Industry

Just what the wife ordered: the SnorePro

Would it be naughty or nice to put this in Duane's stocking this holiday?

The SnorePro can remind the user of their loud snores by sending electronic stimulations to the users’ skin. This biofeedback technique works like a wife who nudges her snoring husband and disturbs his sleep which causes him to change his sleep position. ...

This may very well save your relationship from interrupted bedmates who are losing sleep every night!

I like especially that it tracks the snoring because some people don't believe they do it!