AOL Tech

James D

Member since: Feb 22nd, 2006

James D's Latest Comments

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Luxist2 Comments
Engadget59 Comments
Download Squad1 Comment
Engadget HD8 Comments
Engadget Mobile29 Comments
Switched1 Comment

Recent Comments:

Engadget Mobile Podcast 040 - 05.27.2010 (Engadget Mobile)

May 30th 2010 11:21AM Well, it's official -- Chris is a Cylon.

@tront shouldn't feel too bad; I'm still rocking the original AT&T Tilt. Nothing says 2007 quite like Windows Mobile 6.1. It's been really frustrating having basically zero high-end options on AT&T besides the iPhone, and I really hope that someone - Palm, Motorola, whoever can manage it - gets some high-quality hardware on AT&T soon.

Verizon has managed to completely turn things around within the last 8 months or so, and they've now got the most complete smartphone lineup of any carrier. They've even given up their old ways of crippling devices arbitrarily (like blocking file sharing over Bluetooth) and now do things like offer the free mobile hotspot feature for the Pre Plus. Combined with their reportedly reliable network, I'm finding it hard to think up any reason to stay with AT&T besides an Apple fetish or 'rollover minutes'.

Ask Engadget HD: Best HTIB for under $500? (Engadget HD)

May 29th 2010 3:20AM @hodedofome I agree with this recommendation.
Onkyo makes quality stuff, especially considering the price/performance ratio of their gear. If I were looking for a HTiB right now, this would be my likely choice.
Plus, when I checked, it said it was $469 on amazon, which is a pretty great bargain considering you get a real (3D-ready!) receiver with 4 HDMI inputs. Even if you threw away the speakers that come with it, that would still be a decent deal, and the beauty of this system is that in a few years, you really *could* throw the speakers away and still use the receiver for your upgraded gear. iPod dock, full range of codec support, 3D ready, 4 HDMI inputs, etc etc...
The only thing this really lacks compared to more typical BD/DVD HTiB systems would be things like 'VieraCast', VUDU, Netflix, Flickr/Picasa, and Amazon On Demand streaming. Then again, the PS3 should handle that just fine anyway, and there is no shortage of little media boxes (Roku, Boxee, etc) you could connect to this if over-the-top services are something that interests you.

Ask Engadget HD: Best HTIB for under $500? (Engadget HD)

May 29th 2010 3:07AM @tainer I've had my Z-5500 set since 2004, and I still love it now as much as when I got it for my PC then.
With that said, I don't think it's an ideal living room solution.
- The inputs are pretty limited; if he's got a PS3 and a cable set top box, he has to hope the cable box has a digital coax audio output, something that's hardly guaranteed.
- He can't hook up a PS3 as his DVD/BD player with analog cables, since the PS3 only has stereo analog output. This limits him to the Z-5500's 2004-era codecs.
- Finding the codes to get the volume buttons to work on 'normal' remotes is a pain in the ass, if it's supported at all; I still haven't figured out how to get it to work with Comcast's remote, Logitech support said to call Comcast, and Comcast said to call Logitech.
- Codec support is insufficient for a new system, though it is good enough for DVDs and cable TV sound.

I'd still argue that there isn't a better PC speaker system out there, but for the lean-back viewing experience of a home theater, I think there are more compelling and complete options for under $500.

Google Buzz takes mobile location services to the next level (Engadget)

Feb 9th 2010 2:23PM @KennyB123 That is indeed an older, not-spectacular cineplex.
But, it's a 5-minute walk from Google's campus, so I'd guess the line would say something like, 'you can't beat the convenience of a 5 minute walk from work!'

Win An HP ENVY 13 Computer! (Luxist)

Oct 1st 2009 8:37AM This machine looks great. I'd love to take it on a trip to New York City or Chicago, two places I've really wanted to return to for a while now - This would make navigation and wayfaring that much simpler! It'd also look really sleek, which might help me blend just a tiny bit more smoothly.

Engadget's back to school giveaway, part 3! (Engadget)

Sep 16th 2009 9:53PM This is a sweet giveaway... Hope I get it!
There's always great stuff here on Engadget.

T-Mobile Touch Pro2 review (Engadget)

Aug 12th 2009 3:54AM Aw c'mon, that was tooootally 'Wide VGA' :) A little rush, maybe, but I didn't think it was 'Y'.
That's one of the things I kinda wished would've been featured more actually, I want to know how that WVGA resolution compares to an iPhone or Hero screen. Great review though Chris, pretty thorough for a device we've known a lot about for a while now.

Now if only it ran Android... and/or had that 5 megapixel camera from the Hero.

Ask Engadget: Best 20- to 24-inch LCD monitor with HDMI / DVI? (Engadget)

Aug 7th 2009 7:24AM If there's any feature that's perfect to be branded with something, the Ask Engadget feature is the one.

There isn't really any editorial content in these posts, they are, obviously, questions to the hive mind. Editors can't have a conflict of interest if they're not even answering the question to begin with.
Aside from that, I'm pretty sure they have a strict separation between the editorial staff on here and their ad-sellers at AOL. There was an ad campaign (or two) in the past that definitely provoked editor ire, and it was pretty clear they had no say in it. It's not as if Joshua Topolsky is vetting the ads on the site; they get sold elsewhere. They pay the editors' salaries, true, but considering these guys have been accused of being *EVERY* kind of fanboy*, I think that means they're generally pretty even in their assessments. They don't want any one company to succeed, they just want the perfect gadget, period.

*(Well, okay, except Josh Tops really is a Palm fanboy, and Chris Ziegler is an S60 fanboy, but even *then* they've seemed fair. :p)

Is Apple More Evil Than Microsoft? (Switched)

Aug 4th 2009 8:22PM Apple has, over the past few years and possibly earlier than that, acted in "evil" ways. Your main argument seems to be that they've not been grossly anti-competitive, which is another metric altogether.

To say their "small" size should protect them is no longer a valid claim. iTunes and the iPod are hugely dominant, with iTunes now the largest music retailer, period. Bigger than Walmart, bigger than Amazon, period. They have enormous clout and power in that market, and their practices have been hugely anti-competitive while their iPod line has been largely iterative, not innovative, for years because of their dominance. The world doesn't benefit when the world's largest maker of portable music players *still* doesn't even include a radio in any of their players, among other features/innovations that other manufacturers included long ago. Apple's treatment of the iPhone has been even more brutal, and its market share increases every day.

Regarding the claim that Apple is somehow too "small" to do more for the developing world, consider that as of February 2009, Apple was widely reported to be sitting on $15 billion in cash. $15 billion is a huge number to just sit on, yet that's what they've done while suing publications out of business, keeping prices (and profit margins) high, standing by while one of their employees kills himself after an alleged security leak, and claiming the iPhone could be used by terrorists.

At what point does their anti-competitive behavior become big enough to matter? When 90% of the population is shuffling between our iPod, iPhone, and MacBook while hunting for a power outlet to charge them all since they don't give consumers the option of using spare batteries?

Luxist Day At The Beach Prize Pack Sweepstakes (Luxist)

Jul 20th 2009 11:43PM This would be great.
Maybe I could recreate one of the afternoons at the beach we had when I was a little kid, but this time a little more upscale. It's been years since I went to that beach, so this would be a great excuse to return!