I can’t say that I’m too surprised (especially after their dismal showing at CES this year) but it appears that Toshiba is letting HD DVD go silently into the night.

The format wars have been huge news these past few years, and it feels odd to say that Blu-ray has really won. I’ve said time and time again that physical media is going to be obsolete in the very near future (in favor of HD downloads) but I’m a little shocked that Toshiba is giving up the ghost so soon. But with getting dumped by Netflix and Wal-mart, I suppose it truly was only a matter of time. For some reason, I always felt like I was in Camp HD DVD. It was totally arbitrary side-choosing, but maybe spurned on by the fact that I was raised a Red Sox fan, and thusly (until very recently) a glutton for punishment.

Well, HD DVD, it was a pretty good run. I enjoyed using my Xbox HD DVD drive, but I guess I’ll be getting more play from my PS3 now. I wonder how quickly HD DVD will leave the store walls and become eBay gold (lol). Will a whole subculture of HD DVD enthusiasts spring up? Fans that refuse to let go? How does Microsoft feel about this whole thing? Do they care? (Answer: No.)

So many questions! What do you think?

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“There’s something in the air” for this year’s Macworld (and yes, it’s probably in some part eau de fanboi), and people are starting to speculate on what His Mighty Steveness will announce. Will it be a sub-notebook? (I hope so) Perhaps a higher-capacity, Widgets-compatible iPhone, along with the SDK? Maybe even a 3G version? Sure, that seems possible. WiMax-enabled laptops? Highly doubtful.
What do you think is coming? Any surprises you think they’ll throw in this year? Rumors you want to smash? And how annoying is it that Macworld and CES are overlapping once again in 2009 (curse you!!!)?

I’ll be there tomorrow on the show floor, checking out all the fun new toys. See you then!

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I’ve had my iPhone rebate burning a hole in my pocket for some time now, so I decided it was time to head on down to the Apple Store to pick up a little present for myself. I’ve been meaning to buy a speaker dock for a while, because I wanted an easy way to play music off my iPhone away from my existing setup in the office.

Yes, I know that technically you’re not supposed to use iPhones with standard iPod accessories, but it works just the same. If you can tolerate the occasional interference from the phone, that is (”deet deet deeedeeedee deeet!”). Anyhow, after a little poking around, I found this iHome2Go OutLoud dock. So far, so good! You can use it with only one cube, or both for stereo sound. The sound is very good, impressive considering the terrible acoustics in the apartment (and especially the totally square bedroom… major phase cancellation issues).

It comes with a tiny little remote, which is always nice, and it has line-in. We’re probably going to set it up for with the Squeezebox that I’ve been wanting to use for a while now. What I like best about the OutLoud is the design — all the other players had about ten different knobs and buttons on them. Yes, this may not have a clock radio built in, but that’s not what I needed it for. I already have an alarm clock, and I hate the radio. Three buttons are enough for me. Well, I’ve only had it for a night, so hopefully nothing will go wrong to shatter my good impression in the near future!

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Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and we all know what that means… It’s time for another Black Friday! Ah yes. The biggest shopping day of the year. Parents get up at the crack of dawn to race each other to Best Buy, Toys ‘R Us, Target, where ever, to get the presents that their kids want more than anything. Eyes will be gouged out, toes will be stepped on, and hair will be unceremoniously pulled from scalps.

It’s a very pleasant American holiday, trust me.

Naturally, it’s a big time of year for those of us in the tech industry. It’s also interesting to see what kind of deals various companies pull out of their behinds to make their product the Tickle Me Elmo of the tech enthusiast crowd. But what I’m trying to figure out is what the heck I want for Christmas! My family is giving money to Heifer International this year, but I still might get a little something-something for myself. Other than the gaming PC (which is a project in the works, for sure), I can’t really think of anything I need (or want).

What are the top presents you’re hoping to get this year? What are you buying for your family and friends? Is it mostly tech, or are you going another route? Are you going to wait for Cyber Monday, and buy everything online?

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