Harman and Sierra Wireless bring 4G/LTE connectivity to the car

I’ll admit it: I’m a Harman fan. From their Harman/Kardon home audio products to the AKG microphones and headphones I use, Harmon delivers quality at an affordable price. So when the announcement of Harman’s partnership with Sierra Wireless popped up, my eyes and ears perked up quite quickly.

Announced at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, Harman has partnered with Sierra Wireless to bring automotive customers 4G broadband connectivity in-dash. Harman will now support the Sierra Wireless AirPrime embedded modules for LTE networks, offering motorists robust in-vehicle wireless connectivity. So what does this mean? The AirPrime tech will enable high bandwidth (read:fast) telematics, navigation, and online information/entertainment applications. Think of it as a Plex for your car.

“Harman is leading the industry to bring the best “always on”, ultra-fast connectivity experience to enable the rich multimedia applications and information systems that drivers and passengers are coming to expect,” said Sachin Lawande, Harman Chief Technology Officer and Co-President, Harman Automotive Division. “Just as Harman is meeting today’s demands for integrated navigation and infotainment solutions, we are pleased to work with Sierra Wireless to address the emerging requirements of automakers for an increasingly connected car.”

AirPrime modules take advantage of widely adopted, industry standard API’s, thus opening the front doors, and inviting software developers to provide solutions for connectivity, location, and manageability. According to Sierra Wireless, users will be able to access wireless data at download speeds of 100 Mbps, with uploads as high as 50 Mbps on LTE networks. With these speeds, both firms are touting a, “true multi-faceted media, office, and online experience within the vehicle.” In addition to driver friendly real-time mapping and traffic updates, passengers riding in a Harman/Sierra Wireless equipped vehicle can take advantage of online services, available apps, and a wide variety of gaming, streaming video, and full internet access that can be shared across across multiple devices.

“We are excited about the potential for 4G/LTE in the connected car, with its ability to provide a richer multimedia experience that can increase both safety and convenience for passengers and drivers,” said Philippe Guillemette, Chief Technology Officer for Sierra Wireless. “This collaboration is a first step in realizing this potential, and we are thrilled to work with Harman, a recognized industry leader, to bring these solutions to life.”

According to Strategy Analytics, 70 percent of all vehicles produced globally in 2009 have some form of wireless connectivity, and they expect this number to increase to 95 percent by 2012. Harman is clearly pushing to establish themselves as the industry leader in this field, and this partnership with Sierra Wireless moves them one step closer to this goal. Outside of Sierra Wireless, Harman helped lead the expansion of the ngConnect Program to China in July 2010.

Sony brings Sports Illustrated swimsuits to homes everywhere – in 3D!

For the first time ever, fans of Sports Illustrated’s annual swimsuit issue will no longer have to view their favorite bathing beauties on the pages of their Sports mag, but in stunning 3D video. The 3D eye-candy is part of an exclusive deal signed between Sony Network Entertainment and Sports Illustrated, and leverages Sony’s unique technology, content, products and services one-two punch.

Launching in conjunction with the print version, the SI swimsuit 2011 issue hits streets and screens this coming February 15th. The 3D Swimsuit video will be available for rental or purchase via the PlayStation Network’s video delivery service on the PlayStation 3 (PS3), as well as their “Video On Demand powered by Qriocity” 3D compatible and network enabled BRAVIA HDTVs and blu-ray players. While aimed at the 3D market, Sony ensures that a 2D version of the video will be available, as well as a free three-minute sneak peak will become available later this year.

“Just when you think the bar couldn’t get any higher for the Swimsuit franchise, we’ve raised it once again with our partners at Sony,” said Mark Ford, President of the Sports Illustrated Group. “Swimsuit in 3D has extraordinary potential and we’re thrilled to deliver its millions of fans a new perspective through the exciting world of 3D video.”

And if smokin’ hot ladies in binikis isn’t enough for you, Sony has tossed in the entire kitchen sink, with 12+ hours of additional footage available for rent or purchase. This additional content includes a 1 hour “Making of” segment, as well as four 30 minute shorts featuring the 2011 Swimsuit photo shoot locations, presumably, in case you’re ready to make some hot shots yourself. These additional features also focus on the history of Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit issue. PS3 owners can purchase SI swimsuit focused Dynamic Themes that cover iconic SI model photos from the 1990s (mmmm…Elle MacPherson).

“The combination of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit brand with the amazing 3D capabilities of Sony’s network-enabled devices makes for a great consumer entertainment experience,” said Tim Schaaff, President, Sony Network Entertainment. “We strive to deliver unique content to our users, and are delighted to offer this first-of-its-kind high definition 3D Swimsuit video.”

Mac as Media Server via Plex

The holidays are a great time to step away from work and have a go at those ‘round-the-house projects you never seem to have time to get to. One such project in my house is the living room media server. I’m a proud PlayStation 3 owner, and prior to this project, was using it as my main media server. The drawback of using a PS3 as media server comes down to two things: format and size. Meaning, currently the PS3 will not decode Matroska format files, nor, because of its FAT32 format, accept any files on it’s internal hard drive over 4GB. To get around the file size limitation, I’d been streaming media to the PlayStation via the excellent PS3 Media Server. To skirt the .mkv issue, I’d been using ps3 muxer, converting to .m2ts files, and then watching via a memory stick. Working…but not exactly ideal.

The day after Christmas, some call it boxing day, I was digging through some bookshelves only to be reminded that I’ve got an old (and I do mean old – circa 2006) MacBook that’s just collecting dust. Hmmm…well, I didn’t get a mac mini for Christmas, but let’s see what the old black beauty can do.

After checking to make sure that I had all the cables and adaptors needed, I blindly started assembling my media chain. First and foremost, just to give everybody the best possible chance, I reformatted and applied all the updates to the MacBook. I then added the fresh Snow Leopard installed machine to my local network. Personally, I use a NetGear WNHDEB111 5Ghz N-wireless bridge from my Netgear WNDR3700 router, so I left airport off. A quick click on the sharing options from my main iMac, and the new MediaCenter (the black MacBook) can now see and access the files that I’ve designated within the sharing properties.

Great. I’ve installed VLC, and should be ready to go. Yes, but let’s be honest, VLC plays just about everything, but isn’t the snazziest of players to look at. I was on the hunt for something a bit nicer. After a short internet search, I stumbled upon Plex, and let me just say…this app has completely changed the way I view media in my living room.

Plex is a stand alone app that functions as a media interface for your mac. Initially, I started out with it only on the MediaCenter, but have quickly added it to all of my Macs, as well as my iOS devices. At it’s core, Plex does the exact same thing that Apple’s FrontRow will do, but does not limit you to the iTunes (read: .mp4 format), and…looks a whole lot better to boot.

Setup of Plex was fairly easy. Since the MediaCenter was already a member of the network, and I could freely trade files back and forth between the two, I only had to tell Plex where to look for my media. A quick setting here and there, and a library refresh, and boom – the best looking media server I’ve ever seen.

Not only will Plex keep your files organized in an easy to find and watch format, but will add value to the entire experience. If you’re familiar with how the Sony PlayStation handles media, you’ll know that it’s extremely basic: a folder and a thumbnail (if you’re lucky). It seems as though the development team behind Plex was just as disappointed in this interface, as they’ve gone in the complete opposite direction. In the Plex Media Server interface, you’ll find the option to update show, film, and music information as pulled from various sources around the internet. So instead of getting a thumbnail and a file name (PS3), I now get an overall synopsis of the show, and if I drill down further, specific information about the episode of Lost I’m about to watch. Pretty snazzy.

But the fun doesn’t end with just your own media. Thanks to the Plex Online feature built into the app, you can search hundreds of streaming media apps to install on your version of Plex. For example, I normally download the NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams video podcast. Or, I should say…did download, as Plex has an MSNBC app that will stream Mr. Williams smiling face right to my MacBook – no podcast needed. And better yet…with the Plex MSNBC app, I’ve got episodes on demand. Meaning, if I’d had the podcast, I probably would delete it the minute a new episode arrives, but what if there was something I want to show a friend from last week? I’m outta luck via iTunes, but with Plex…click, click….and streaming. Awesome.

Sadly, because I live in Europe, I’m forced to crumble under the laws of Geolocation, and can’t view everything I’d like. NBC (not MSNBC) for example is a no go, as is Hulu (that was the one I really wanted). During the setup phase there were also streams that I could hear but not see. As it turns out, this is a Flash problem, and not a Plex problem, with a very simple fix to be found here.

The Plex group even goes above and beyond in this highly detailed tutorial (and tool) regarding tuning your DVI-out display to perfectly fit your monitor. If you’ve ever experienced the dreaded Overscan option, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about and how to fix it. With that said, this calibration isn’t 100% necessary, as the app offers it’s own overscan compensation tool. But let’s be honest…if you’re reading this, chances are, you’re a Geek-Like-Me, and are going to tune it anyway.

The Plex media server for mac app is completely free, and available via plexapp.com. Sadly, I couldn’t find a “Donate” button, so I did the next best thing – I bought the iOS app. In addition to supporting an awesome group of developers, I now have the added benefit of being able to keep on watching Lost while I’m on my way downstairs to pick up the post. I know…I know…perhaps a bit “Do you really need that?”, but hey, at a total cost of $4.99, go ahead – live a little.

Plex for Mac – it changed my media viewing experience; what can it do for you?

SAFE Online IP finds similarities in Zynga and CrowdStar code

Cupertino, CA based Software Analysis & Forensic Engineering Corporation, or SAFE for short, has announced the results of a case study they’ve recently conducted that show similarities in the source code between social gaming giant Zynga’s FarmVille and competitor CrowdStar’s popular Happy Aquarium titles. The report shows what SAFE is calling, “interesting correlations” between the source code for the two titles, even after third party code, commonly used identifier names, automatically generated code, common algorithms, and common authors were excluded from the scan. In other words, all the “Secret Sauce” that makes one title a hit, and another not, are showing similarities too close to ignore, according to SAFE.

“One of the challenges for accurate forensic analysis of software IP is access to source code,” said Bob Zeidman, president of SAFE Corporation. “A unique characteristic of social games is that the source code is accessible online because of the technology used to develop and deliver the games. Using our proprietary online IP preprocessing tools with CodeSuite, we have created a service to proactively monitor this kind of online IP for copyright infringement.”

Zeidman also points out, however, that although there may be code similarities, this case study presented by SAFE does not confirm that nefarious actions took place, only that the matter deserves further inquiry. A nice way of saying, “Something’s going on here, but we’re not quite sure what. Yet.”

In SAFE’s tests they found that 116 out of 160 lines of FarmVille’s routine code matched those of Happy Aquarium.

In contrast, when Happy Aquarium’s code was put head to head with Digital Chocolate’s Millionaire City, there was zero code correlation between the two.

“IP protection is an important element of an online game company’s business. Monitoring online infringing activity can present numerous challenges. A service that proactively monitors such activities can help companies make sure they are protecting their rights to compete fairly in a newly emerging space,” adds Neel Chatterjee from Orrick, Herrington & Sutfcliffe LLP.

SAFE’s entire case study of social games, as seen from an IP perspective can be downloaded upon request (read: lead generation) directly from SAFE.

Gran Turismo 5 sells 5.5 million copies

Sony Computer Entertainment is reporting that the long awaited Gran Turismo 5 has sold over 5.5 million copies worldwide since it’s release only 12 days ago. With this milestone, the Gran Turismo franchise history now counts over 60 million units sold as of December 6th, 2010. Overall, Polyphony Digital and Sony achieved this number 12 years and 11 months after the initial début of Gran Turismo in December of 1997. A noble feat, considering there was a 5 year wait between the 4th and 5th installments of the titles.

According to Japanese gaming focused site AndriaSang.com, 486,389 of the 5.5 million units were sold in Japan, indicating that there’s a strong demand for the world’s premier driving simulator outside of it’s country of origin.

When it comes to the in-total 60 million units shipped front, Sony clarifies and notes that these sales numbers are derived from PlayStation, PlayStation 2, and PS3, as well as their portable unit, the PSP; racking up a massive 61.41 million units sold.

Despite the complaints (myself included) surrounding the widespread technical issues surrounding the online player vs. player, Gran Turismo took home top honors in the Best Selling category for the month of November, and as of December 4th, still holds the number 3 slot, just below Wii Sports, and above Kinect Adventures!

Hands on with the Nokia E7

This past weekend I moderated a panel at the World Blogging Forum: Vienna, and amongst the fascinating and talented people I met was a representative from Nokia Austria, who just happened to be sporting a pre-release E7. Always the gear hound, I pounced on that prototype like it was plum pudding. Let’s have a look …

Right off the bat, the first noticeable feature of the E7 is it’s gorgeous 4″ AMOLED display. When Nokia says ClearBlack, they aren’t kidding. Clearly this new display is targeted directly at Apple’s Retina display now found in the iPhone 4, but when compared side by side, as much as a fan of the iPhone that I am, the Nokia E7 wins. From what I could see, it’s not the resolution that looks any better or any worse, but rather, the colors on the Nokia just seemed to “pop” a bit more than the iPhone 4. Additionally, I’ve always found Apple’s “white” to be slightly too blue for my taste, an in this respect, again, the E7 wins. Nokia’s whites are white, and blacks are black. And when I say black, I mean…really black. Like squid ink black. If you’re wondering why I’m so concerned about whites and blacks, ever watch an episode of Colbert on your phone? If so, you know that the difference between, “Ah, a TV show on your phone,” and “Wow…what is that???” hangs on the richness of colors and deepness of blacks.

One feature about the E7 that really makes it shine is its integrated QWERTY keyboard beneath the main screen. And that’s not to say that there’s a lack of touch screen friendliness. As an iPhone user, I’ve become accustomed to touch screen typing, but every once in a while, I’d love the convenience (and speed) of a mini-keyboard along for the ride. Sure, I could add BoxWave’s Keyboard Buddy, but Nokia has provided the best solution yet: build it into the device, and let the user decide.

Admittedly, I’m not too familiar with the onboard Symbian OS, but the newest iteration of Nokia’s long successful Communicator line is fully loaded with the new Symbian 3 OS, which promises over 250 new features never before available, including pinch-and zoom support.

And now for said OS. While it took me a second or two to get used to a mobile device with an OS other the Apple’s iOS, that’s about it. A second or two. The main display screen isn’t the tidiest of presentations, but everything that I could possibly want was readily accessible; all with a single click (I later learned that you can have multiple home screens). With 256 MB of built in RAM, there’s plenty of power to multitask to your hearts’ content. Oh, and did I mention that the phone will perform system updates over the air? No need to dock and sync, the E7 is already on it.

If you (or the company you work with) are a Microsoft Exchange user, you’ll love the ease of which the E7 syncs your mail, calendar, contacts, and tasks. Word, Excel and PowerPoint applications are handled in an instant thanks to the Quickoffice application.

And once the “serious business” stuff is handled, Nokia’s E7 is ready to dish out the lighter side of mobile: fun! As any smartphone on the market today should; The E7 allows you to keep in touch with all your social networking contacts (via the home screen, no less). Photo and video capture and sharing is accomplished via a built in 8MP camera with a dual LED flash, that also doubles as a 720p video camera – including a built in HDMI output. Nokia’s even thought ahead, and offers low-cost VoIP calls via the E7. Now that’s smart.

And apps? Sure Apple and Android have the highest levels of visibility, but don’t quite count Ovi out just yet. I, personally, paid around $100 for the TomTom app for iPhone when it was first released, and while it’s a great addition to my iPhone, getting it for free would have been a bonus. Well, enter stage left, lifetime navigation and turn-by-turn voice directions – for free. Additionally, you can sync, backup and transfer documents and data via the Ovi Suite. These are just a few offerings that the E7 can run, and there’s plenty more at the Ovi Store ready to be consumed.

Overall, I’m impressed with the Nokia E7. With a revamped OS waiting under the hood, all the essentials (and then some) that you’d expect in a modern smartphone, and a screen that will simply have you coming back for more, I’d imagine the E7 will serve as a flagship in the Nokia fleet for some time to come. The Nokia E7 is competitively priced at a suggested market price of 495 € and available this December 10th (early 2011 for Austrian consumers), just in time to catch the eye of eager tech hungry holiday shoppers.

TEDxYouth goes big on November 20th

TED is a small group of nonprofit folks that started out in 1984 with a very simple credo: Ideas Worth Spreading. TED’s origins are derived from a series of conferences build around the theme of Technology, Entertainment, and Design. Since 1984 the concept, scope, and attendance of TED events have grown to massive proportions over the past 26 years. In addition to their annual TEDGlobal event held in Oxford, UK each summer, TED also conducts conferences in both Long Beach, and Palm Springs each spring.

Building on the theme of Ideas Worth Spreading, in 2009 the TED organization decided to allow others to host their own TED inspired events under the banner of TEDx. The first of these independent conferences was held at USC in 2009. Two days ago, on November 15th, 2010, TEDx celebrated it’s 1000th event; a true testament to the power of great ideas.

As mentioned, the TEDx events are independently organized, and there’s a very slim chance of two events overlapping anywhere in the world. However, this coming weekend, the exact opposite is about to happen, as TEDxYouthDay, which coincides with Universal Children’s Day will see organizers from around the world host events for (and by) youths. While the events range in size and scope, they will all share a common thread: inspiring curiosity, igniting new ideas, and empowering young leaders.

Some planned highlights from around the globe:

• TEDxYouth@NASA, who gave seats away for their event to area school districts to give to nominated student delegates, will include speakers from NASA including Jon Viet Nguyen, lead archtect for NASA’s “Eyes on the Solar System” software, and Lesa Roe, director of the country’s first civilian aeronautical research lab.
• TEDxYouth@TheSchool will be hosting speaker Stacey Murphy, founder of BK Farmyards, a nonprofit that turns private property into urban farms.
• One of TEDxYouth@Toronto‘s speakers is Rob Dyer, who founded Skate4Cancer, and skated across the United States and Canada to raise awareness for cancer, after finding out his mom was diagnosed with the disease.
• Kelly Stoetzel and Rives, hosts of TEDActive, will be hosting TEDxYouth@Castilleja, and speakers at the event include Twitter VP Kelly Stanton and Charles Huang, co-founder of Guitar Hero.
• At TEDxYouth@Metroplex, speakers are 8th- to 12th-grade students from three local ISAS schools in the community of Arlington, Texas.

And just what goes into a TEDx event? I personally have never organized one, but I’ve attended a number of them, and I can only say that while events, like the YouthDay, range in size and topics covered/presentation, I can confirm that these independently licensed conferences do their absolute best to emulate the TEDGlobal and Long Beach and Palm Springs events; Both in actual conference format, as well as the stellar archives of information available long after the event.

I had the pleasure to meet Dr. Sunddip Nahal via a project that I’ve been working on with MindMeister. She recently informed me that she’s been granted the license to host the TEDxYouthDay @ Vancouver – for 2011. That’s right. There’s an entire year of planning involved in hosting a TEDx event. If preparation is the key to success, you can imagine the bar that TEDx events are held to.

“I am SUPER EXCITED! I have always been an educator who believes that students should have a chance to let out their creativity and innovation in the classroom. This event is about encouraging students to learn from other students who have explored a creative concept or innovative idea. Youths also have the power to inspire change and make a difference,” comments Dr. Nahal.

Above is a mind map from Dr. Nahal’s presentation at this year’s TEDxUBC event. To learn more about her, and what she has in store for tomorrow’s leaders, visit her at www.classroommanagementworkshops.com.

The global TEDxYouthDay events kick off this coming Saturday, November 20th, 2010, and will be live streamed throughout the day.

Gran Turismo 5 release date confirmed

Fans of Polyphony Digital’s long awaited 5th installment of their Gran Turismo series have something to cheer about. While it’s not the first time that Sony Online Entertainment has promised delivery of the real-life driving simulator, it looks like they mean it for real this time.

Sony Online Entertainmant sent out the official word today that speed freaks and cruisers alike can dive right into their favorite driving simulator as of Wednesday, November 24th.

Over it’s history, Gran Turismo has shipped over 56 million units worldwide, and has been lauded as the authority on driving simulators. GT’s real life graphics, authentic physics technology and design have all led to revolutionizing the racing game category. Driving the Gran Turismo series is none other than professional racing driving and video game designer Kazunori Yamauchi. In addition to giving gamers a high quality racing experience, Gran Turismo is also seen as a highly desirable platform for auto manufacturers to showcase their cars and accessories on.

“Gran Turismo 5 is an ambitious project, with challenges and complexities which have made it our version of the Apollo Space Program!” commented Kazunori Yamauchi, President of Polyphony Digital Inc. “When we created the original Gran Turismo back in 1997, we wanted to set a completely new precedent for the racing genre. With the technological leap onto PlayStation 3, our objective with Gran Turismo 5 was to create another great revolution which would not only satisfy our own high expectations, but would meet or even exceed the anticipation of the fans.”

GT5 will feature the world’s most famous racetracks, all rendered in gorgeous high definition, with Polyphony Digital claiming that it’s, “as vivid as the real thing.” Classic circuits including Autumn Ring, Deep Forest Raceway, and the Grand Valley Speedway have found a home in the newest version of the Gran Turismo franchise, as well as real-world courses including the Nurburgring and Laguna Seca.

Over 1,000 cars will be on tap, ranging from legends of yesteryear right on through to today’s bleeding edge of automotive technology. Starting November 24th, horsepower hungry gearheads can get their hands on the Lamborghini Murcielago LP 670-4 SuperVeloce, the Lexus LFA, and the McLaren MP4-12C.

“Satisfying the loyal Gran Turismo followers is at the heart of all of our efforts, which is why it was such a difficult decision to delay the release of the game, and one which we did not take lightly. I can only apologize to everyone for making you wait so long, and I hope that when you try out the wealth of driving experiences available in Gran Turismo 5, you will not be disappointed,” adds Yamauchi.

More info and full car and track specs can be found at gran-turismo.com.