__ Just Outta Beta __
__ High-End High Definition __
TV aficionados are growing old waiting for the networks to upgrade to HDTV signals. Broadcasters, in turn, blame the delay on slow-moving set manufacturers.
That's why Unity Motion, a DBS provider that offers satellite-based HDTV, has turned some heads. "We don't care what people claim high definition is or isn't," explains Vice President Sean Henry. "We'll show people the picture and sell the superior image."
In June Unity Motion rolls out its first channel, serving up 24-hour high-definition programming. By year's end the Saint Louis-based company plans to have six to nine channels with around-the-clock movies and sports.
Of course, the service itself amounts to only a small part of Unity Motion's business model: Standard TV sets can't receive or display high-definition signals, so the company must convince consumers to buy satellite dishes, set-top boxes, and even progressive scan monitors - almost US$15,000 worth of equipment.
This price tag means only well-heeled home-theater buffs can afford Unity Motion's service. But the existence of HDTV programming shows just how nimble satellite-TV companies are, compared with their terrestrial counterparts.
__ Windows CE Inside __
There are some characteristics that distinguish Microsoft's Palm PC from U.S. Robotics's PalmPilot; the most significant is the Palm PC's operating system, Windows CE 2.0, and its seamless compatibility with your Windows-based desktop computer. Yet the physical resemblance between the two is so striking, you can't help but conclude that Microsoft, sensing a successful product that it hadn't yet driven out of the market, copied the PalmPilot's look and gave it a Windows feel.
__ X-File Factor __
A new form of the truth is out there, and it's not just the big-screen offering. Fox Interactive's X-Files CD-ROM uses the VirtualCinema engine to furnish its 30-plus locations - FBI offices, laboratories, and morgues, for example - with a realistic filmlike quality. The game even features the real voices and visages of David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, proving that Fox wants to stay true to the TV show that spawned the franchise.
__ Banner Idea __
Imagine entering purchasing information directly into a Web banner without ever having to go to the advertiser's site. Would software that turns advertisements into email-order catalogs make ecommerce more persuasive? Concerned parties will find out when Narrative Communications releases Enliven, which does just that.
__ Coder Dreams __
So you wanna be a programmer? Before you buy a pair of Birkenstocks, check out Daniel Kohanski's new book, The Philosophical Programmer. This exploration of the coding life starts readers off with a metaphysical introduction and then delves into the nuts and bolts of creating computer systems - the physical structure of computers, the languages of machines, and the ins and outs of the trade. About the only aspect of the profession Kohanski doesn't cover is where to buy those spiffy NHS glasses.
__ Apple's Forbidden Fruit __
What exactly is Rhapsody? Is it: (a) the next Apple OS for high-end Power Macs, (b) an operating system for PowerPC and Pentium clients and servers, (c) a development environment for creating cross-platform applications, or (d) all of the above? The answer is (d), but these multiple choices demonstrate Apple's ambivalent statements about its plans for the new technology.
In short, Rhapsody is Apple's new operating system based on technology developed by NeXT Software that offers multitasking, protected memory, and other updated features. But Rhapsody also includes Yellow Box, a powerful programmer's environment that the company claims software developers can use to build cross-platform multimedia, Java, and Internet applications.
One thing Rhapsody isn't, though, is a native Mac OS. In fact, Rhapsody needs Apple's Blue Box software to run Mac applications. The presence of these tools demonstrates that Apple needs new markets and is serious about pushing Rhapsody onto new platforms, such as Pentium-processor machines and other PC compatibles.
By forsaking the Mac OS, of course, Apple runs the risk of alienating its sometimes fanatical fans. That's why Steve Jobs has been courting the core Mac addicts in the publishing industry lately. Ultimately - and perhaps ironically, for a company like Apple - the market will end up deciding what Rhapsody really is.
