Mario covering Tech at CES 2009

Powermat enables the Kitchen of the Future- CES 2009

2009-01-24T22:22:07Z

This Powermat technology to charge and give devices power without wires is unbelievable. Watch the video to see what I mean and leave your comments below.

Dr. Dre talks with Mario Armstrong about his new tech headphones at CES 2009

2009-01-24T22:12:54Z

Beats by Dre! That's the name of the new headphones that people are lovin'. I'm a believer too! In 08 he launched his over the ear headphones--he basically wanted to create a pair of headphones that helps people hear the music they way Dre intended. THESE UNITS SOUND AMAZING! DJ's and any serious audiophiles need to start using these. Now in 2009 he launched the in-ear headphones these compete against other top line earbud suppliers. In the video below I speak with Dr. Dre, Jimmy Iovine and Noel Lee of Monster Cable the company who created the headphones with Dre.

The Gaming and Programmers office of future

2009-01-24T22:10:12Z

Check out the Emperor Work Station video. This thing was incredibly cool and comfortable BUT way too expensive! It costs $40,000 to own one. Take a look and let me know what you think in the comments below.

CES 2009: What type o' swag do you get this year?

2009-01-11T03:36:46Z

So what type of swag does one get this year in a tight economy? Hmmm..

Previous year's gifts have included laptop bags, free games, company swag from Microsoft, Sony, etc. and days and days of free internet access. What does this year bring? Check inside the bag of the You Tube video above...

CES 2009: Toshiba shows off pico projectors

2009-01-11T02:44:30Z

Toshiba has introduced its new line of pico projectors starting with the TDP-F10u model weighing about one and half pounds with a sticker price of about $599, according to CNet. (see video)

These pocket projectors are way too cool for school as they can project just one grade below full 1080p beauty (800x600 resolution) and they can fit into any nerds' pocket protector instantly making he or she the life of the party.

The pundits (read:the haters) are calling these picos useless but allow me to surrender the last bit of my blog post for a rebuttal posted by a user called manav

"I want (the pico) to read books by projecting them on the roof while I am in the bed.

How's that for useless, CNet?

CES 2009: 4G technology is crazy..

2009-01-10T01:01:41Z

It ain't nothing but a 4G thang baby! Okay, so you know we couldn't resist invoking Snoop Dogg's classic jam while introducing Intel's new 4G (that's fourth generation) wireless technology in a yellow low-rider with Intel CEO Craig Barrett. Woot! woot!...

CES 2009: Look Ma! No wires...

2009-01-10T00:40:10Z

We here at The Digital Spin have been railing against poor battery life and bulky battery packs for years and now at CES we are seeing the first steps toward true, long-lasting battery life. Check out the new Powermat that charges all of your devices--without any wires!--and allows you to finally break free of the short leash of your battery chord. It even cuts the devices off automatically after charging.

Big story: CES 2009 is year of gimmick says CNet?

2009-01-09T05:29:49Z

The big story running on the wires and through the squawking heads today on TV is that this is the "year of the gimmick" according to CNet.

The sad part about that accusation by the online news giant is that they don't acknowledge that CES 2009 is in a Catch-22. Despite a distracted nation and a troubled economy , CES 2009 has managed to set a spark across our collective synapses and bring us touch screen technology in watches, PCs and virtually everywhere else, new technology for the hearing and sight impaired--and did we mention 3D TV(!). CES is being accused of the very thing that it needs this year: a gimmick.

Almost like the World's Fair(s) of old when man dared to dream and fail and look silly in the name of the next big thing, CES needs to clone that excitement every year, in my opinion, and take us all on a blindfolded, candy striped trip down the rabbit hole known as the internet and technology just to show us that the technology of tomorrow is always brighter, bolder-- and yes, more useful-- than today.

What gives CNet? Why all the hateration on CES?

CES 2009: Theater of the Mind exclusive

2009-01-09T04:50:55Z

Here is M.'s interview with "Mr. Chicken & Beer", grammy-award winning artist, Luda!

Also known as Ludacris to you nerds who must say a rapper's entire name when you speak slowly-like-this almost sounding like an old 45 record slowed down. (Parenthetical thought, if you're under 29 then the reference that you will get is "screwed and chopped".)

CES 2009: The best of the best (so far)

2009-01-09T00:52:29Z

LG unveiled the world's first 3G touch screen watch and the showroom floor at CES 2009 went crazy like a Vegas crap table.

"Dick Tracy watch had nothing on this one!" gushed CBS News

"Hear this," said Engadget of the watch-phone. "It features the slickest three-button, watch-phone interface you've seen this side of Chester Gould."

"(The LG watch) fulfills every geek's fantasy while still satisfying the cool quotient with its sleek styling and touch-screen interface" said C-Net.

Umm, all we have to say is UN-believable!

This Panasonic Z1 flat screen is really flat with specs only Christopher Columbus can laugh at: 1" thick and a gaudy 54" plasma screen.

No details about price yet but you can bet your HDMI cables that it won't be cheap. Speaking of, the Z1 does not have HDMI cables because you plug it into a seperate receiver box for audio + video, that is how it gets so thin. Whatever the case may be, the Z1 sure is purty!

CES 2009: Exclusive look at Dr. Dre + Monster music collabo...

2009-01-09T00:08:43Z

And the beat just keeps going on with M. grabbing an exclusive interview with Dr. Dre on You Tube talking about his hardware deal with Monster music which has produced special noise cancelling headphones, a virtual 1-of-1 item, that retails for $350 (earbuds $150) in stores and promises to change the way you listen to music.

"Hearing is believing" is what the folks at Monster are saying who also have introduced High Defintion Sound (HDS) technology with both Ludacris and Dr. Dre with the promise of letting fans get true "in-studio" quality with any album.

M. laughing with Dre about old Motorola flip phone

CES 2009: Show me the money, says Microsoft keynote

2009-01-08T05:04:11Z

In his first inaugural speech to the CES 2009 faithful, Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, decided to talk not so much about the new technology of Windows 7 or gee-whiz new Microsoft innovation but to talk about how Microsoft will save you some money over their preternatural enemy, Apple computer.

This is a trite argument but one that has worked before and one still relevant in today's rough economy. "At this time economically when people are struggling to make every dollar count" the choice that offers the most power and most value for the money is a PC, Ballmer said.

Pivoting from the power of the purse to the PC, Ballmer also announced that Windows 7--the code name for the successor to Windows Vista which is probably the worst failure for Microsoft in 10 years since Windows ME, will be released as early as this holiday season, as late as 2010. Whew!

And one last point from Ballmer and Co. was that Microsoft was pushing towards being the being the king of the "three screens". That is, (1) TV (2) computer and (3) telephone, which will all become all networked together somehow, somewhere on an internet cloud in the future with Microsoft playing the role of genie and granting all three wishes to the US consumer by 2010, or so Microsoft hopes it will if they have their druthers.

Not exactly sure how Microsoft plans on pulling this off, but if I were you I wouldn't laugh at the guys in belts and suspenders from Redmond. They have done it before and they may do it again.

CES 2009: New Sony Vaio is a little knockout

2009-01-07T23:57:33Z

(L-R) Sony Vaio and regular laptop

And in this corner, weighing 1.4 pounds and no bigger than a business envelope, the future, lightweight champion of the wooorrrld! The Sony P series Vaio!!!...

Okay, so CES isn't over so it is not fair to the competition to declare a champion yet but the word on the ground at CES is that the new Sony Vaio is nauseatingly pretty and compact and all of the things that you want in a UMPC (Ultra moble personal computer). So here is a sneak peek at the specs:

Chic, compact design measuring about the length of a business envelope and weighing 1.4 pounds
Built-in GPS technology for navigating even the most unfamiliar places-- no internet connection required
High-resolution 8-inch ultra-wide LCD for viewing entire web pages on one screen-- no horizontal scrolling necessary
Available in five fashion-forward colors including garnet red, emerald green, onyx black, crystal white and classic black

CES 2009: Chicken & Beer + Digital Spin= Ludacris(!)

2009-01-07T22:39:31Z

CES 2009 breaking news: Not only will Mario interview Stevie Wonder this Saturday but he also nabbed an exclusive interview with "Mr. Chicken & Beer" himself, grammy-award winning artist Ludacris.

The Atlanta-bred rapper's new album "Theater of the Mind" will experiment with a new technology called HDS (High Definition Sound) which is basically a higher fidelity of surround sound that isolates Luda's voice and his instrumentals in a way that makes every single note clear.

Here's Ludacris on what he felt like when he first heard an album using HDS:

As soon as I heard the High Definition Surround (HDS) demo they sent over, I was like “Whoa, this is what I want for my album!” It was an opportunity to make history, the first rap record to be released in HDS, and I always want to be pushing into new things.

His album will be previewed at CES 2009 using HDS technology and not only be released on CD but in special BluRay format as well. We will post the interview-- in it's entirety--and more details on that later.

CES 2009: Tech/Fashion at the show

2009-01-07T17:56:56Z

One of the things we have always stressed here at The Digital Spin is that technology not only needs to have a simplistic UI but it also helps if you look good when you're using it.

To that end, we have trawled the showroom floor and happened upon Speck,a tech accessory company that specializes in Iphone cases,etc. and cool bags.

In fact, the bags had such swexiness (swag + sexy) that we decided to talk to Brent Baer (pictured), Dir. of Marketing for Speck, about the emerging market of tech accessories and his company's cool new designs.

Check them out...

Everybody say swexy time! One more below..