smart

The one major streaming service heretofore absent from Samsung's TVs, Amazon Instant, is now available.

Today Samsung announced that the popular video service is available for immediate, free download to all 2012 Samsung Smart TVs. The Amazon Instant catalog includes more than 140,000 movies and commercial-free TV shows at a la carte pricing. The app on Samsung TVs also allows access to the more than 30,000 titles available for free to Prime members.

A Samsung rep told CNET that the app will not be made available to 2011 Samsung Smart TVs at this time, but couldn't … Read more

Your smartphone or tablet will soon be able to control and display games and movies from an Xbox 360.

Set to be released along with Windows 8 this Friday, Microsoft's new SmartGlass app is designed to bridge the gap between the Xbox and mobile devices.

The free app will naturally support Windows 8 and Windows RT tablets and PCs as well as Windows Phone 8 devices. But it will also run on iOS and Android devices.

As described in a blog by Yusuf Mehdi, chief marketing officer for Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Division, Xbox 360 owners will be able … Read more

Could Hewlett-Packard trump the iPad?

With Windows 8 general release due on October 26, it's a good opportunity to take a look at the competition coming down the pike.

In this case, from Apple's Silicon Valley neighbor, HP.

It took way too long -- Apple announced the iPad in 2010 -- but HP now has a real iPad alternative -- the Envy x2.

Or, put another way, should I think about swapping my iPad for the x2?

Personal musings aside, HP has a different design philosophy from Apple -- so it's not simply a question (for me … Read more

Take a walk through the labs of Bridgelux (PDF) in Livermore, Calif., and you see a lot of LED lighting modules being made on a more affordable platform: disused factories that used to make silicon chips. But while you'll see lots of lights, you'll hear mostly about connectivity. Bridgelux CEO Bill Watkins envisions a new array of smart, connected sensors, cameras, and other devices integrated with LED lighting over our heads.

The challenge is formidable: Most lighting consumers, large and small, think of lighting as a cost to be contained, not an opportunity to be maximized. So job … Read more

It's official, users will soon be able to surf the Web on their Xbox 360. Microsoft announced today that the Internet Explorer browser will be included with a new update to the Xbox 360 dashboard. The update will come with the release of Windows 8 on October 26.

"Starting today Internet Explorer will begin being rolled out on Xbox LIVE and will be available to Xbox LIVE Gold members," Internet Explorer's General Manager Ryan Gavin wrote in a blog post today. "IE on Xbox enables you to view content on the web on your TV … Read more

A little shock now and again can be good for you, if you happen to be a bedridden patient at risk of developing bedsores and the shock is delivered through your underwear at very specific intervals.

So says a team of doctors at the University of Calgary, who recently tested their "Smart-e-Pants" on 37 patients with spinal cord injuries -- some of the most challenging patients because they can neither move nor feel when bedsores are forming.

The researchers found that by placing two pads of electrodes on each, er, cheek, and stimulating each patient's backside for … Read more

Shopping for a new television can be an overwhelming experience. Confusion plagues even the most careful shoppers, and TV manufacturers, retailers, salespeople and numerous Internet sources can create more uncertainty as they push extra features, new technologies, and add-ons in the incessant pursuit of profit.

I hope that this guide, which I created in 2002 and have updated every year since, will help you cut through the confusion with unbiased information so that you can select a new television. It won't answer every question, and when you read it, it won't tell you "the perfect TV for … Read more

Linksys today announced the availability of its latest Smart Wi-Fi router, the Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router AC 1750 HD Video Pro router (model EA6500). This is the company's first router to support the latest 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard.

The new router is to compete with similar routers from other networking vendors, such as the Netgear R6300, the D-Link DIR-865L, and the Buffalo AirStation WZR-D1800H.… Read more