On The Verge
In this blog, EDN Editorial Director Maury Wright focuses on digital consumer-electronics gadgets and the converged networks that feed them with video, audio, and data. [Editor's note: As of Feb. 2008, this blog is no longer active and is presented here for archival purposes.]
OLED Sony TV shines at CES from afar
I didn’t attend the CES show. This is the second straight year that start-of-the-year management tasks have kept me from the show. In this case, however, I didn’t miss much from most accounts. But as I promised in my most recent post, I have to commend Sony for their introduction of an OLED TV even if it measures only 11-in diagonally. I’ve regularly blasted Sony for obsession ...... Read More
Comments (28)Blu-ray might have won, but is there a prize?
Since the news about Warner came down last week indicating that the movie studio would only support Blu-ray high-definition technology going forward, I’ve meant to post this message. I was further prompted today when fellow EDN blogger Brain Dipert posted “CES: Blu-ray, my my, is HD DVD gonna die?” on the topic. As Brian points out, the Warner support likely means a win finall ...... Read More
Comments (34)Analyst broadband projections still miss the point
I don’t know why, but I remain infuriated with analysts and members of the media that continue to point out irrelevant issues in the broadband segment. I promise to post on some of the other items stacking up on my desk soon, but here’s another analyst missing the point. I’m not sure how a report from Mercator Capital ended up in my inbox, but in their IP Communications Newsle ...... Read More
Comments (5)Broadband reach is still the issue despite congestion projections
Some so called experts still don’t get the challenges of Internet technology. In the recent USA Today article “Video, interactivity could ensnare web users by 2010,” analysts and industry participants discussed the impending traffic crisis. And yes things such as video content or even Flash animation can slow the Internet experience. But the article squarely places the blame o ...... Read More
Comments (3)Wireless USB exec questions press reviews based on actual specs
I’ve heard some technology executives make some pretty strange and entertaining statements over the years. But Alereon CEO Eric Broockman really has me wondering if he’s actually serious with a recent blog post. In “A rose by any other name… Whatever… Or my frustration with wireless product reviews,” Broockman chastises members of the press for testing Wir ...... Read More
Comments (4)So Cal fires trump technology: catastrophe pales in Katrina comparison
For the second time in four years, many of us in Southern California spent last week dodging a fire storm. I know that the fires aren’t exactly news at this point. But I thought I’d share some observations and feelings from a hectic, seemingly-lost week. The fires introduced a helpless feeling to which I’m unaccustomed and my trusted technology-centric environment offered litt ...... Read More
Comments (7)Could females close the presumed engineer shortage in the US?
In all honesty, I still don’t have an opinion on whether we have a shortage of engineers in the US. I am constantly told that there are shortages in specific areas such as true analog experts. But overall, there are many engineers matriculating nationwide and even more on the global scale. In those US engineering programs, however, there remains a distinct imbalance between the number of ma ...... Read More
Comments (26)Municipal Wi-Fi press exceeds deployment
I just wrote a municipal Wi-Fi column for the next print issue of EDN about issues with planned deployments. A number of experts are suddenly questioning the validity of the concept, although most question the technical difficulties and cost. I think the real issue is that there is no one to pay for the service. I went looking for some more input on the topic and here are a bunch of quick links th ...... Read More
Comments (11)Complete survey, win iPod Touch
We’d like your opinion on a number of engineering career-oriented issues. Complete a survey today on our charity day and you will be entered in a random drawing for an iPod Touch. ...... Read More
Comments (34)Halo 3 doubtful as a console success predictor
It’s Wednesday night as I write this, and my son and his gang of gamers have been beating on Halo 3 for more than 24 hours excepting school and sleep time. They are an enthusiastic bunch. And they all profess to really like Halo 3. But for the life of me I can’t detect the kind of rampant enthusiasm that might drive Xbox 360 to the top of the game console market. The game was evident ...... Read More
Comments (4)Blackberry software development and global warming
How are Blackberry mobile devices and global warming related? Well it’s a tenuous link but regular EDN Europe contributor David Marsh recently wrote an article entitled “Blackberry sweetens SCADA solution” that did just that. David led with mention of a study that presumably proves that observed global warming can’t be tied to solar activity thereby presumably indicting ...... Read More
Comments (5)Back to blogging and Alex’s Lemonade Stand
I’ve been conspicuously absent from the blog world for a while. I have good excuses such as working on the launch of our video platform that has been well received at edn.com and working on our fourth annual Global Report due in November. Those aren’t however good excuses for letting my blog grow stale. It took our company’s commitment to a charity fund raising day to get me b ...... Read More
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