Retro Tech Tuesday: Sony Aibo

I try to live a life without regrets. I have to tell you though, one regret I will always carry was a chance to pick up a Sony Aibo at an FAO Schwartz going-out-of-business sale for less than $100. Little did I know at the time the Aibo would soon be discontinued by Sony, and the most advanced consumer robot was gone. Sure there have been others since, but nothing has quite matched the Aibo. Although most of them are a fraction of the Aibo's four-figure price.

From YouTube, here's a good look at what an Aibo can/could do:

Retro Tech Tuesday: The Sony Super Walkman

We can't get enough of retro electronics ads. Today, we take a look back at the early 80's with no, not the Sony Walkman, but rather, the SUPER Walkman!

Get out those leggings, and let's dance!

Blu-ray Sales Not Spectacular in PCs

Hmm...

Maybe Apple was right to (so far) sit out the whole Blu-ray in the PC movement. According to a recent article from Computerworld, Blu-ray players are only found in 3.6% of currently shipping PCs, and it doesn't appear that consumers are demanding the addition of Blu-ray.

While it might become more of a factor as/if Blu-ray adoption continues, but right now, do you need/want that extra definition on a laptop screen with tiny, tinny speakers? It's probably not high on the priority list for most. Citing numbers from iSuppli, they project only 16.3% of PCs shipping in 2013. DVD-RW are in the lead right now, and given their, well, re-writability, that will probably be the case for some time. By 2013, we should all be on 3D Blu-ray and, Apple hopes, digital downloads.

Do you think Macbooks should have Blu-ray?

Get ready to ditch multiple cable boxes. Maybe

Several industry giants, including Sony and Samsung have tentatively embraced WHDI. What's this WHDI of which we speak? In short, it's a wireless protocol intended to move HD video from TV to TV wirelessly around the house. Yes friend, imagine one cable box to get your HD channels anywhere in the house. At least that's the theory. Unanswered questions include how many different channels can be watched at once, and what happens when more house have these systems: What about interference? Apple is not part of the consortium, which isn't huge surprise since it's focused on TV manufacturers, and as of today, there's no "TV" in the AppleTV.

But for those in the Apple world, the question becomes will Apple products play nice? Will you be able to have an AppleTV in one room, and watch the content in other rooms without additional Apple TVs/Airport base stations/MAcs/etc.? This might just mean an extra box after all.

More E3 Bombs

Not to be out done by Microsoft, Sony announced its own movie download and rental service for the PS3 today. Oh and btw the service launches tonite!
How long before Apple TV follows in the footsteps of the Newton?
Maybe Apple needs to start taking their "hobby" seriously.