Matt’s Desk: Editor’s Blog

I began looking for a book light for my Kindle about a week ago.  What I quickly found was that most solutions were clip-on, gooseneck lights that seemed to stick out too far with too much off-center bulk. That’s not really what I wanted.

Then, during a Google Images search, I stumbled across the Kandle, a cleverly-named, Kindle-inspired LED book light that’s also compatible with other eBook devices like the Sony Reader.

The Kandle is the only Kindle-compatible book light I found without a long, flexible neck to deal with.  Rather, the Kandle has a wide, two-hinged light that’s situated at the top of the screen.  This is exactly what I was looking for.

The only thing that makes me a bit hesitant to go with the Kandle is that it runs on two CR2032 “coin” batteries.  These batteries aren’t as easy to find as, say, AAA batteries, and I can’t imagine they’d last as long.  Still, Amazon has a set of 25 of these batteries for a little over $5, so that should last a while.

So, I think I’m going to take the plunge and grab a Kandle.  Any thoughts? 

The most frustrating thing about web video is that you have to jump through so many hoops to watch it on a TV.  I use the PS3 for streaming Netflix, but I can’t watch Hulu or other web videos on the console; for that, you really need a PC or Mac connected to your boob tube.

But TV manufacturers are beginning to tune into the fact that Internet video is here to stay and that it’s most naturally viewed on a TV. To cash in on this reality,  a new generation of TVs is emerging with built-in Internet connectivity, video playback and web software.  And it’s about time.

One of the first pioneers into this brave new world is VIZIO, a brand of TVs sold largely by Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club.  Three new VIZIO TVs will be available for purchase next week (the 42-inch SV422XVT, the 47-inch SV472XVT and the 55-inch VF552XVT) that include VIZIO Internet Apps, or VIA, which allow you to connect to the Internet (via 802.11n Wi-Fi or Ethernet cable) for watching Netflix, Amazon Video on Demand, Yahoo! Video and VuDu.  Hopefully Hulu will join the party at some point, but I won’t hold my breath. 

And the VIZIO Internet Apps aren’t just about web video.  There’s also social networking capabilities with Twitter and Facebook connectivity, Internet radio via Pandora, and photo viewing with flickr. 

That’s all well and good, but it’s the built-in web video technology that caught my attention.  It’ll be interesting to see how this trend develops.

My love for Dropbox is no secret – nor is my feeling that the service is too expensive if you need more than the 2GB provided free of charge (the cheapest paid option is $10/month for 50GB, more than twice the cost of Carbonite’s unlimited storage). 

But many users need more than 2GB of storage, though not necessarily the 50GB $10 a month gets ya.  So where’s the happy medium?

Until Dropbox wises up and offers a 25GB option for $2 a month, the only way to increase your storage without paying is by taking advantage of the service’s referral system.  For every new user you introduce to Dropbox, you’ll get 250MB of additional storage. 

So how do you refer people to Dropbox and get the additional 250MB a head?  Simple. Just visit this page on the Dropbox web site, sign in and get your referral link.  Send it to your friends, post it on Twitter, etc., and enjoy the additional storage.  Oh, and anyone who signs up using your referral link will also get the extra space.

If you’re not yet a Dropbox user (um, why?!), please use this link to sign up; we’ll each get more storage!

NOTE: You can only accumulate a total of 3GB of additional storage through the referral system.  Disappointing, but understandable.  Also, after signing up, the referee will need to download and install the Dropbox application before you’ll receive the extra MBs.

A few days ago, I wrote about how Google could take on Apple in the Tablet Wars.  In that editorial, I focused on Android because there are already tablet-style devices available running the smartphone OS.  I ignored Google’s other operating system, Chrome OS, and its utility for tablets for two reasons: 

First,  I have no experience with the Chrome OS, I’ve only seen stories about its development.  Second, it has yet to be used in any meaningful way on any consumer device; i.e., it still isn’t yet ready for primetime. 

But Chrome OS is just as much a part of Google’s tablet toolkit as Android, mainly because Chrome was always intended to run on midrange devices like netbooks and tablets. 

I mention this because I wanted to point you to a recent post on the Chromium Projects web site. The post contains several mockups of a tablet running the Chrome OS. 

According to TechCrunch:

“… it appears that these mockups were put together by Glen Murphy, Google Chrome’s designer. In other words, there’s a good chance that the final version of Chrome OS will resemble this.”

Pretty cool.

-M