Seeking Nerdvana

For those of us seeking Nerdvana in our lounge rooms, the universal remote control has to be one of the greatest inventions ever. I got sick of buying cheap Dick Smith ones, with buttons that would break after six months, so last year I splashed out on a fantastic Sunwave SCR-300 backlit touch screen remote. They were about $AU200 at the time, but I got one for $AU100 at Dick Smith, as the DSE 8-in-1 LCD Touch Screen Learning Remote Control is really just a rebadged SCR-300. A Sunwave by any other name looks just as kool and even my wife thinks it's fantastic, which I think is the ultimate test when a nerd likes me inflicts new and expensive tech on his loved ones.

In Seeking Nerdvana's lounge room, the Sunwave SCR-300 is the one remote to rule them all

The SRC-300 is nice - I highly recommend it - but it's still entry level. If you've got some serious cash to blow on a remote there's some truly awesome gear around. Logitech makes some sweeet universal remotes that control your HTPC and your AV gear but unfortunately those prices are in US green backs and a little rich for my blood until Google's $US1.6 billion bid for Seeking Nerdvana is finalised. Logitech has released the mid-range $US150 Harmony 670 but if money is no object than for $US500 you can be the proud owner of the Harmony 1000;

Logitech's Harmony 1000 - ooooohhhh yeahh, chiga chiga

Now *that's* Nerdvana.

With so much confusion surrounding home entertainment technologies right now, transforming your lounge room into a digital entertainment centre is a daunting task.

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Netgear has released the first "Digital Media Adapter Verified to Work with Intel Viiv Technology" - a whole seven months after the launch of VIIV.

$AU539 is a lot to ask for a media player that doesn't even have an optical drive

Netgear's EVA700 Digital Entertainer looks like it offers most of the features of the Zensonic Z500 in terms of streaming content from your home network, but it lacks a HDMI output and an optical drive so you can't play DVDs or DviXs. Asher Moses has given it a good review over at CNET but, considering the Zensonic and the Netgear are around the same price, it's hard to see why you'd opt for the Netgear. It seems the only advantage of the VIIV compatibility is easier installation, but you'd be foolish to forgo features such as an optical drive just to save a few minutes on the set up. If you can live without an optical drive, the Mediagate MG-350HD is an excellent choice and is half the price.

Considering that the battle for the digital lounge room is hotting up, it's amazing that Intel has let VIIV languish for this long but, now Netgear has dipped its toe in the water, expect an onslaught of similar devices from all the usual suspects. They'll all claim to have revolutionised home entertainment, even though such products have existed for several years. Make sure you look past the hype to look at what these new devices can, and more importantly can't, do before you put down your money. Don't expect innovation from any of the big players, most of whom as more worried about bowing to the wishes of industry giants rather than end users - such as the use of draconian Digital Rights Management. Keep an eye on vendors like Zensonic and KiSS if you want to see the full potential of the digital lounge room.

After more than five years of shimmering in the distance, Microsoft's upcoming Windows Vista desktop operating system is finally available for all to see with Release Candidate 1.

Read the full review at http://www.theage.com.au/news/upgrade/vista-a-vaster-windows/2006/10/09/1160246068517.html

For too long little more than a shimmer on the horizon, Microsoft's upcoming Windows Vista desktop operating system is finally within view. "Vista" means a view far into the distance and would seem an apt name for an operating system which hasn't seemed to get any closer as time has passed. Microsoft began spruiking Vista around the release of XP in 2001, under the code-name Longhorn and scheduled for release in 2003. In 2002, Microsoft head Bill Gates indicated Vista would be ready in 2005, then later 2006, but in July he admitted there's only an 80 per cent chance of Vista hitting the shelves by January 2007.

It's going to take more than fancy effects to get people to upgrade to Vista

In yesterday's Age and Sydney Morning Herald I took a look at businesses trialling Vista. The general vibe I got from talking to people about Vista is that it has solid benefits for businesses in terms of deployment and administration, but the benefits for end users are less tangible. I wrote my own review of Vista Release Candidate 1 and, while it's nice to use, there's not enough in it for home users to justify upgrading a perfectly good XP box. Apart from the hardware costs of getting an old computer Vista-ready, there's the incredibly steep retail pricing;

Windows Vista Home Basic $AU385
Windows Vista Home Premium $AU455
Windows Vista Business $AU565
Windows Vista Ultimate $AU751

Vista's good, but it's not that good. For most people I'd say Vista can wait til you're ready to buy a new PC, not when Microsoft is ready for you to put more cash in its coffers.

Well, I was wrong about Google not being serious about buying YouTube - but I'm consoled by the fact I wasn't the only one who doubted it.

It's a deal that offers more questions than answers. Why does Google think YouTube is worth $US1.6 billion? What will it do with YouTube? What does this mean for Google Video. I was wrong last week, so I guess your guess is as good as mine.

According to the San Jose Mercury News, at a press conference Monday afternoon, YouTube's co-founders, Chad Hurley and Steve Chen, said Google's promise to help YouTube create a system that could sort through the copyright mess was key to clinching the deal.

Considering that legal action was obviously the biggest threat to YouTube's business model, it's probably a good deal all round. The fact they're working on a "copyright-protection system" may not be such a good deal for end users. They're hoping to reveal more details next month.

This week, Seeking Nerdvana's TechVidReview looks at Handheld Entertainment's Zvue 200A portable media player.

While Google contemplates snapping up YouTube, Yahoo!7 (Yahoo's partnership with Australia's Seven television network) is also getting in on the video action with the launch of Yahoo!7 Video in Australia. Read the full press release here.

An initial glance would indicate Yahoo!7 video combines the strengths of both Google Video and YouTube, as I discussed on Friday. Like Google, it clearly dedicates space to old skool media players like Reuters but, like YouTube, it gives users the chance to create their own home page to showcase their videos. Like YouTube, Yahoo!7 also allows you to enter a reasonable amount of meta data with your videos.

The affiliation with a television network will also give Yahoo!7 video a head start in the content department, but it will also add extra pressure to pull down videos that infringe copyright.

Off all the big players, Yahoo! probably has the best suite of integrated of services - especially if you're after Australian-based services. It will be interesting to see how video fits into the picture and how much of a community Yahoo! can build up around it.

Only Friday I was commenting on the strengths of YouTube over Google Video, then the very next day strong rumours sprung up that Google is looking to buy YouTube for roughly $US1.6 billion. Perhaps Larry and Sergey are Seeking Nerdvana readers ;-)

Is anyone safe from assimilation by Google?

According to The Wall Street Journal, "Google Inc. is in talks to acquire popular video-sharing site YouTube Inc. for roughly $US1.6 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter. The discussions are still at a sensitive stage and could well break off, this person says."

Considering Google's massive war chest and propensity to buy up online services to integrate into it's own, YouTube would seem an obvious target - but I'm not so sure. Larry and Sergey are pretty smart and make strategic acquisitions to complement what they already offer, Writely being a good example. Would Google have put so much effort into Google Video if it was planning to buy YouTube?

I for one hope Google doesn't get its hands on YouTube. Sure the "do no evil" search engine giant probably has admirable intentions, but YouTube has a very different feel to Google Video and I'd hate to see that lost. Google can't own everything. Who do they think they are, the Borg? Hang in there YouTube, resistance is not futile.