media

Billed by Twitter's inventors as a new platform for high-quality public discourse, Branch today opened it doors to anyone who wants to fork off into conversations of more than 140 characters in length.

Branch is essentially a modern, user-friendly version of the Internet forum. People create "branches" to discuss topics or links and invite their friends to participate. Thread participants can also branch off into their own separate but related conversations.

The small, San Francisco-based startup is backed by Obvious, the incubator-investor hybrid machination of Twitter creators Evan Williams and Biz Stone. Obvious announced last March that … Read more

Total Video Player is a free media player that can play most of the video and audio files most people need to be able to play, as well as CDs and DVDs. It's compact and doesn't require extra codecs, though if there's a type of file you need to play and TVP doesn't play it, you're better off with one of the open source players that can play any file type. What TVP has to offer over those others is simplicity: It's easy to set up and use, though it's not stripped-down or … Read more

LAS VEGAS--A group of consumer panelists shared their candid thoughts on online privacy during a tell-all panel discussion on Generation Y and digital media at CES.

Six extremely articulate young adults ages 18 to 28 fielded questions from moderator Xavier Kochhar and the audience about their social media preferences and attitudes. On the topic of privacy, Darius, a 22-year-old fashion designer who uses Twitter "for therapy" summed up the group's attitude with this statement: "We live in public."

Darius was keenly aware that everything he shares on Twitter or other social media platforms is "… Read more

Funky gadgets, next-generation hardware, and disruptive technology fill the halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center during CES. With a little future tech of its own, Salesforce is processing all of the tweets, Facebook updates, and Instagram photos from people oversharing about their proximity to the next big thing.

Stationed at the start of the CES Instawalk in the North Hall, the Social Media Command Center keeps an all-knowing eye on social chatter happening around the show. A wall of LCDs showcase a live feed of recent tweets, popular locations on Foursquare, social media updates from influencers, and interesting factoids … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Huawei's CES roll continues with the announcement of the Huawei MediaQ, a physical cube that shares content among multiple screens.

Huawei isn't divulging many details at the moment, except to say that the MediaQ -- a companion device for smartphones and tablets -- has voice search functionality and can facilitate HD video calls.

So far it doesn't sound like a complete imitation of Google's circular Nexus Q. I'll know more once I track the MediaQ down here at CES. Stay tuned for more details!

It doesn't get any cuter than Priscilla Pink or Charlie Chimp when it come to speaker equipment for kids.

Zagg -- which specializes in accessories for electronics -- introduced the Animatone Snug, a stuffed animal that doubles as a portable speaker, at CES 2013.

The company decided to drop its BoostPlus speaker into a fluffy doll and add it to its children's products line, Frogz. The BoostPlus is a speaker that amplifies the sound of a media device when it's placed on top of it, no wires or Bluetooth required.

Add a device pouch to the doll … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Toshiba is known primarily for TVs, laptops, and home theater gear, and at a pre-CES event tonight at the Mandalay Bay hotel, it trotted out its latest innovations in each category.

One of the most remarkable is the L9300 series of TVs, which marks the company's first U.S. foray into 4K TV and presages what are sure to be many more 4K TV announcements in the next few days at the show -- stupid as they may be. Shipping this summer, the series will be available in 58-, 65- and 84-inch sizes. Pricing was not disclosed, but … Read more

LAS VEGAS--One could argue that Blu-ray players have been misnamed for years. Yes, they play your Blu-rays, but they're even more about their embedded Smart TV suites that serve up streaming video and music.

That's the angle Toshiba is taking, rolling our four new devices curiously called "Media Box with Blu-ray Disc player capabilities." That's more awkward than it needs to be, but it's hard not to like Toshiba reversing the importance of Blu-ray and streaming capabilities.

The specific features are broken down in the chart to the right. Miracast is supported by all … Read more

Unveiled at CES 2013, Seagate's Wireless Plus won CNET's Best of CES for Networking and Storage category for a reason: it's a big step up from its predecessor, the Seagate GoFlex Satellite.

The drive now combines 1TB of storage space, 10-hour-and-then-some battery life, and a built-in Wi-Fi network that supports up to eight concurrent clients in one compact package about the size of a regular USB 3.0 portable drive. Connected clients can stream digital content from it and you can also back up content to it, using a mobile app or a network browser.

And, when … Read more