Wize Blog

What Is a Rolly?

The Rolly has to be one of those devices that where 30 years from now, you'll find it worth a bundle because of its super sleek, high tech, gotta-have-it look. The thing moves to the music (and voices, and animal sounds, and just about anything else that's audible). You just gotta view this thing below--

Oh, and just in case you gotta go--a Rolly is a moving MP3 player.

Movies-by-Mail to End in Not-to-Distant Future

Some of us get three or four movies a week on DVDs by mail from Netflix. Sometimes the DVDs get lost; sometimes they're never watched. An end to all that may be coming soon as Netflix announced a device that will let you download movies directly to your television.

The device, made by  Ruku, became available today for $99.

While Netflix has a library of 100,000 movies and television shows, only about 10,000 of them will be available for download.

You won't need to have movies around that you don't watch as downloading is instantaneous, letting you chose movies from the Netflix Web site.

“The key breakthroughs of The Netflix Player by Roku are simplicity and cost,” said Reed
Hastings, chairman and CEO of Netflix.  “First, it allows consumers to use the full power of
the Netflix Web site to choose movies for their instant Queue, and then automatically
displays only those choices on the TV screen.  That’s a major improvement versus the
clutter of trying to choose from 10,000 films on the TV.  Second, there are no extra charges
and no viewing restrictions.  For a one-time purchase of $99, Netflix members can watch
as much as they want and as often as they want without paying more or impacting the
number of DVDs they receive.”

Here are the tech details for a box that's about the size of a paperback book:

In the Box
• The Netflix Player by Roku set-top box (approximately 5”W x 5”D x 2”H) • Remote control (including 2 AAA batteries) • A/V Cable (Yellow/Red/White RCA) • Power Adapter • Getting Started Guide

Video and Audio Connections
• HDMI • Component Video • S-Video • Composite Video • Digital Optical Audio • Analog Stereo Audio

Network Connections
• Wired Ethernet • Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g)

10 Things an MP3 Player Can Do

Have you thought of buying an MP3 player and don't know where to start? If so, Consumer Reports offers a guide to buying the music players.

Here's what they want you to know.

1. They come with software that lets you organize songs and convert your CDs to a playable format.
2. The operating instructions for the player can be upgraded via the Internet.
3. Good MP3 players will show the content of the tracks from which you can make a selection.
4. Most MP3 players can show jpeg images.
5. Some models have video capabilities.
6. The bigger the screen on an MP3 player the better the image and video viewing experience.
7. Many MP3 players let you adjust the tone of the music being played.
8. Many have a "shuffle" mode, which lets you play tracks randomly.
9. Most players can function as a hard drive to move files from one device to another.
10. Some players have an FM radio tuner and/or let you patch the system to a car's audio system.

Sandisk Sansa E-260 Mp3 Player Video Review

If you're considering an alternative to an iPod, you might want to take a look at the Sansa E260 (rated 93 at wize.com) by Sandisk.

In the video below, the narrator unboxes the MP3 player. It's a tiny player like the iPod Nano. The narrator actually compares the two.

The narrator also shows you how to get music and video files from the computer to the player.

MP3 Player Guide on Consumer Reports

Consumer Reports has come out with an article about shopping for MP3 players. The article begins by letting consumers know that most MP3 players come with software that takes the music from CDs and converts it to the brand of MP3 player you have.

Other key elements about MP3 players are described including displays, photo formats for displaying images, video, speakers, remote control, music management, equalizers and external hard drives.

Much of this information is important because most MP3 players have functions that people just don't know about. For example, some models of MP3 players can connect to an external screen (television sets).

What is WiMax? A Video

Last month I defined WiMax for readers of the wize.com blog (that would be this blog). Below please find a video that shows WiMax in action inside two different moving vehicles.

The Internet will never be the same now that you'll be able to get it in your vehicle. The WiMax connection was fast enough to play a video from the FOD (Fox on Demand) Web site.

Bookeen's Cybook Makes for a Good Read

What is about 5x8 inches, weighs about 6 ounces and is used for reading ebooks. Well, it's the Cybook. It's no Kindle (Amazon's book reader), that's for sure as it has no Internet connection for immediate blog and multimedia access.

Here is a summary of all that the Cybook has to offer:

1. Within 20 seconds you can turn the thing on and start reading your book. It brings you back to the last page you read.
2. To put ebooks into the Cybook you connect it to your computer using a USB cable and then click and drag your files into the Cybook icon that comes up on your computer.
3. You can choose from a variety of font sizes so you won't need reading glasses to read.
4. The device supports MP3 files so you can listen to music while you read.

LG Vu Offers Mobile TV

I don't know about you, but the thought of watching TV on a tiny cell phone screen isn't exactly thrilling, but that's not stopping AT&T Mobile TV delivery.

LG Vu (pictured to the left) and Samsung Access are the two mobile phones that will offer what's called FLO TV, the service that provides the television programming.

The LG Vu has an interactive touch screen, a music player and a 2MP camera.

The service will begin in May.

E-TEN glofiish X800 Video Demo

The E-TEN glofiish X800 pocket PC has many features including: Windows Mobile 6, 500mghz processor,  64MB RAM, wireless communication, WIFI, videoconferencing camera and 2MP camera.

Here's a video that shows all of the features--

Are Viruses Likely in iPods Shipped to Stores?

It's widely known that when  you install third party applications onto the iPhone there is a risk for getting a virus. But, what's the possibility of buying an iPhone or iPod with a virus (or viruses) already in it.

iPhone world reported that Installing third party apps and modifying the UI (user interface) can easily allow hackers to install malware or viruses through the installation, though luckily not many have reported such problems (probably because they don’t know they have any)."

Earlier this month, Seattlepi.com reported that some devices have viruses right from the factory.

The viruses can "pre-installed viruses that steal passwords, open doors for hackers and make computers spew spam," according to the Web site.

The viruses originate in Chinese factories where the devices are made.

With regard to viruses in the iPods, the article stated, "Apple disclosed the most information, saying the virus that infected a small number of video iPods in 2006 came from a PC used to test compatibility with the gadget's software."

To be sure, getting these viruses in your device is unlikely (it's been almost 2 years since it was reported that some iPods had viruses), but the headlines sure do get attention.