For Conservatives, Freedom Is Of Utmost Importance…At Least Until It Affects The Bottom Line

Posted by eric on January 9, 2012 No comments | 52 views

The biggest Internet names are talking about joining forces in an effort to raise awareness for SOPA, the Stop Online Piracy Act. This is a measure your lawmakers are contemplating passing into law while you’re reading this. Supported primarily by large record labels, movie studios and conservatives in Washington, SOPA would essentially allow judges to arbitrarily order any website to block any content it chooses.

Sound scary? It is. In a coordinated effort to raise awareness and convince the confused crew in D.C. to drop the dictatorship-like law from passing some of the Internet’s most influential powerhouses are joining forces. Among those are Google, Facebook, Amazon, Yahoo, eBay and others. They’re calling it the “nuclear” option.

This “nuclear” option may be a temporary inconvenience for many of us, but if it works, it’s worth it.

GoDaddy, on the other hand, originally supported SOPA. This caused an uproar and an attempt at a mass boycott of their domain registration services. There was a significant effort to convince and support GoDaddy customers in moving their domains to other domain registrars. Other services were even giving discounts for doing just that. As a result, GoDaddy has since renounced its public support of SOPA, but we here at ErixClix don’t believe the driving force behind GoDaddy’s politics actually changed their minds on the subject.

Regardless, it’s time to raise awareness of the oppressive, free-speech clobbering, law they are considering and fight it until it’s dropped.

Boxee for Mac, PC and Linux Discontinued

Posted by eric on January 3, 2012 No comments | 106 views

Boxee LogoA few days ago Boxee announced two things…1) There will be a new release of Boxee for PC, Mac and Linux coming, and 2) That will be the final release of the Mac, PC and Linux version.

The reasons stated indicate that Boxee believes the future of the Home Theater will become increasingly centered on the Set Top Box and less on Home Theater PCs. This is a non-sensical and simply untrue statement as hardware manufacturers, lawmakers, and most importantly consumers are all heading quite aggressively in the opposite direction of closed media solutions.

More and more Home Theater PCs are flying off the shelves and nearly all Video Card models and manufacturers include HDCP support (allowing you to connect your computer to a TV and play encrypted content…with proper sources).

Further, we already have the laws in place that require cable companies to provide “CableCard” support so you aren’t forced to rent a cable box. CableCards go into HDTV Tuners that connect to your PC. This enables full premium cable, DVR, guide and extra capability because of the computer’s resources and connectivity. In fact, the trend is finally moving so aggressively toward this goal as more companies have released CableCard devices (e.g. ATI, Hauppage and SiliconDust), and even more have been announced.

Ever wonder why your cable box’s user experience is so antiquated? Because the cable companies and the cable set top box manufacturers benefit by giving you the absolute minimum they can get away with and still provide service. Sticking you with a proprietary, closed and expensive solution that just barely gets the job done.

However, with a central PC in your home, you can have central storage and access for video, live cable tv, music, streaming media, updated tv guides and more from anywhere in the home. And, until it becomes outdated and dies, Boxee’s PC software version could have been at the core of your “Media Center of the Future.”

Strangely enough, while Boxee discontinues its PC software, they will simultaneously be releasing a new hardware product for Home Theater PCs, a tuner device for bringing over-the-air, local HD channels to your computer.

So why discontinue the software? Because Boxee not long ago started selling proprietary hardware. You don’t need a Business degree to know that by releasing PC software they are cannibalizing their new hardware sales.

Also, their final PC software release “gesture” will strip out Netflix and other premium playback capabilities. ..they cited “extensive DRM and Certification Requirements.” Interesting these concerns all popped up for the final version of the PC software and for ALL premium apps (Netflix, VUDU, Pandora).

On the surface and underneath this sounds like a classic corporate greed sellout…maybe not even solely by Boxee. It’s too bad as I (and many other upset consumers) would have paid for the Boxee PC software as many others are begging to be able to do. (And I mean FULL Boxee software with all of the Netflix, VUDU and Pandora streaming goodness we’ve had for some time now.)

By the way, a Boxee Box is actually just a Home Theater PC. A closed, proprietary, limited PC. I don’t want one. The trend is to move AWAY from these limited, controlled and closed systems. Anyone that doesn’t see that for the long term is either brain dead or lying to you. Yep.

MacOS Boxee Crashes When iPhone Remote Connects

Posted by eric on January 1, 2012 No comments | 218 views

There are several new reports on the Boxee Forums that the new Mac OS version of Boxee 1.5.0.23267 crashes when the iPhone Boxee Remote App tries to connect to it.

Boxee is no-cost Home Theater PC (HTPC) software that is easy to use and quick to setup. It allows users that have their Mac, Windows or Linux PCs connected to an HDTV to easily navigate music, movies, tv shows and other media using a powerful and intuitive interface with large on-screen controls similar to that of a cable box or other familiar set top box.

Aside from a few tweaks to their simple keyboard interface I highly recommend this solution. And when the iPhone Remote issue is fixed, it’s a dream to use your iPhone to navigate the media on your computer without a mouse or keyboard.

Boxee can be found here: www.boxee.tv

If you have a Boxee box of your own, post your experiences, comments and opinions here. Let us know what you think!

Apple tanks 5% after highest earning quarter in their history…why?

Posted by eric on October 19, 2011 No comments | 144 views

This week Apple announced their highest quarterly earnings in the history of the company. Sounds like a typical Apple success update doesn’t it? The stock probably went up, yet again, right? Actually, no, it didn’t. And for the most ridiculous reason.

It’s one thing to fear Apple’s future on the recent loss of their co-founder Steve Jobs, therefore causing a dip in stock price. It’s one thing to question where the innovation will come from. These can cause valuation decreases in a company’s shares.

However, this rather significant 5% drop is due to something more Wall Street manufactured. AAPL dropped over $20 in one day because Apple’s highest earning quarter was a tad shy of analyst’s precious quarterly projections, and for the first time in history, Apple missed its own guidance, which has historically been rather conservative.

So, does this warrant the fear and abandonment of the stock? Does this slight, but unprecedented miss justify the panic? I don’t think so. A success story like Apple missing their own guidance for the first time, while simultaneously having their best quarter ever is hardly ‘material’ enough for me to run for the exit.

The real issue is that the stock’s devaluation may be justified for other reasons. It’s no secret that Apple’s non-stop success for the past decade was the sole result of the leadership and vision of the late Steve Jobs. And it’s no secret that everyone is wondering where the innovation for the next 10 years will come from.

It’s almost certain that Steve left not only a great corporate culture and legacy, but also a road-map, at least for the near future. A few more significant upgrades to the iPhone (NFC Near-field communication for mobile payment, larger screen, pre-approved form factor changes), iPad (Retina display, additional smaller screen model, lighter, faster), etc, etc. But what happens after that? Who will invent the next super-cool thing that we didn’t know we needed but have to have? Tim Cook? While a very nice guy, and very capable of leading Apple through the existing road-map, is he capable of world changing innovation? Scott Forstall? Phil Schiller? A great team, a world class team. But, I don’t think so.

And it is for that reason, Apple’s monumental rise will, at some point, level out. Hopefully, the legacy, culture and pre-laid plans are enough to get Apple through the next 5 to 10 years safely and securely. At least until the next Walt Disney, Henry Ford or Steve Jobs emerges.

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