Get Ready For TV Wars

Growing up back in the ’70s and ’80s the only thing I had to think about with regard to televisions was the screen size. CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) was what powered televisions back then – a cumbersome technology, which although still around, has been surpassed by LCD and plasma.

What they have brought to the television marketplace are clean, crisp pictures, a cleaner refresh rate, and the ability to take up less space in your living room.

Now a couple of new players are about to put their mark on television land – LED (Light Emitting Diode), and its more expensive cousin OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode).

So what do these units offer up that you can’t get out of your plasma or LCD? Well, LED televisions are super-thin for a start because they use LED backlights instead of fluorescent lamps like LCDs. They also use less energy, offer deeper blacks, and therefore an even sharper picture.

The cousin, the OLED, offers even deeper blacks and faster refresh rate, which means you see the picture ‘quicker’. OLED is seen as the top dog as far as technology goes, but there are two prohibitive factors that come with it – the lifetime of the polymers that make up the lighting aspect of a screen is lower than traditional LCD and plasma screens, and the cost. Sony have an OLED TV out at the moment that is an 11-inch screen and sells for a huge $6,999.

Also thrown into the mix is the wireless television from the likes of Sony and Toshiba and other vendors, and suddenly consumers are spoiled for choice. The most obvious benefit of wireless technology is you can put your gigglebox anywhere in the house without having to run cords all over the place.

Of all the technologies available, I think the LED units will stand the test of time as it is the one being embraced by most

Found It!

This morning on 2UE with Steve Price, caller Dave asked me for a rugged phone that could survive the smash, bash and wallops of everyday use. There was one I viewed recently, but I couldn’t remember the exact name of it. Thanks to the alert folk at a certain PR agency, I have the name of the phone. It is the Samsung B2700, which according the blurb on the Samsung website is “a robust anti-shock coating and an IP54 rating against dust and water”. There you go Dave, hope it helps. For more info on the unit, go here.

Why Australian Software Piracy Rates Have Dropped

A report out by market research company IDC has found that piracy rates of software in Australia has dropped 2 percent, from 28 percent last year.

Now before we start patting ourselves on the back about how honest we’re becoming, I don’t know if it’s peoples’ conscience at play here, or maybe a more practical reason for the decline.

I remember four years ago getting a letter from the anti-piracy folk who said we were running pirated management software on one of our computers. A disgruntled employee had told them this was the case, and to be honest, we had no idea. It took us a while to hunt down the item they were talking about, and as soon as we found it after an internal audit, we kicked it to touch.

But here’s the thing. We knew we had to find some legitimate software, but realised it might cost the earth. However, after roaming the net we found some open source software that meet some of our needs. To fill in the gaps that the open source gear couldn’t accommodate, we spent about $2,000 on licenses. In the end, it turned out it was not a very expensive exercise. And, I think you will find this is one of the main reasons people have decided to go legit – it no longer as prohibitive on their bottom line as it once was.

Of course, there is the “we’re getting more honest” argument to fall back on.