It’s not every day that I find a product that threatens to completely change an entrenched, mass-market segment. Perhaps the Kindle and the iPhone are two recent examples, but in mass market terms those two devices are oddities, two exquisite outliers that will change the way we read and make phone calls in the years to come but in terms of market penetration will probably maintain a low profile for years to come. Dash.net’s new Dash GPS device, however, comes at us out of left field and promises to change the things we value in a standalone GPS device. I’ve been following these guys for almost two years now as they inched closer and closer to launch and today I’m glad to announce that you can finally buy the Dash device at Amazon and a number of other retailers.

So what makes this thing so special? In short, it is the first GPS device that is more than a digital version of the ratty old road atlas in the trunk of your car. Sure, it gets you from point A to point B but, commuters will love this, it also tells you about traffic spots and connects with your PC through the Internet for quick address updates and searches. In short, it gets you from point A to point B on time and helps you avoid traffic at all points in between.

The map portion of this device isn’t as fully featured as some GPS devices we’ve used. There are no waypoints, for example, so a long trip from San Fran to New York will give you the shortest route without stop overs in Las Vegas and Scranton. The hardware itself is quite large compared to similar devices and the processor is a bit aged. It does have gesture-based map redrawing, so you can slide your finger across the screen to look at the terrain. However, the redraw speeds are quite slow and sometimes disconcerting. This is 1.0 hardware, however, so I’ll forgive it its minor problems and talk about what really makes it good.

The Dash unit constantly reports your speed and position — hopefully anoynmously — to the servers of a company called Inrix. Inrix works with many other devices and data collection groups and processes all the information in real time, feeding it to the Dash and other devices. These servers also send out real-time traffic updates and sometimes estimates based on activity on that particular road at any particular time. For example, if there is no historical data for a road, it will probably remain dead. If there is some data — either taken from a third-party provider or a Dash customer who travelled that way perhaps a week ago — it is a colored dashed line. Finally, if the road has been recently driven and there is current data, it will appear as colored solid line. The traffic readout is fairly simple: red is bad, yellow is OK, green is super great.

The biggest problem? The Dash is a flocking device. This means that many people have to own Dash devices for the service to make sense. This number doesn’t have to be big, however. Los Angeles and parts of New Jersey have about 40 beta testers each wandering the roads and even with one beta tester in Brooklyn — who I suspect was actually Erick Schonfeld — gave me some info on the expressway that always seems to be clogged at the Battery Tunnel.

Dash is for commuters. it is not for the family of 5 in an RV road-tripping across America. Every time you choose a route, it offers at least two possibilities and ranks them based on estimated time. If the highway is clogged, for example, it will route you around the traffic. That, friends, is a lifesaver.

This minor point — that the GPS device can talk to other devices and servers — is the key to this brave new world of directional devices. Sure, you cellphone can do this as well, given the right software, but cellphone GPS hasn’t quite taken off. Folks like mom and grandma don’t want to be squinting at 3-inch screen. They want something big, that talks to them, and that can route them around accidents. That the Dash can also do Yahoo Local searches (type in “plunger” or “hamburger” and get lists of hardware stores and diners, respectively) is just icing on the cake. You can also right click an address in most browsers — on Windows or Mac — and send it to the Dash over the air. You’ll never need to bring your device in for map updates or software improvements again. Best of all? It gives local gas prices for nearby gas stations and you can build little “itineraries” i.e. waypoints that you can visit in order. The example Dash gave was an Entourage collection of points in Los Angeles. Yes, you too can eat at the places Ari ate.

All of these features are accessible via the Dash.net website.

In terms of usability, the Dash’s interface is actually simpler than most other GPS devices. Because so many devices now add in Bluetooth and “POI” support, their menu structures are complex and messy. The Dash, because of its fairly narrow focus, has none of that. It is considerably larger than most other GPS devices but it comes with a comically large dashboard mount that actually worked better than most other mounts I’ve used.

All is not completely rosy with the Dash device. It costs $349 and $9.99 a month for service. This is considerably better than the original $599 they were about to charge, but the service charge might be a little steep for some. For commuters, however, it is a lifesaver. If you spend any time in your car, the Dash’s features wlll woo you immediately.

Is Dash the iPhone of the GPS industry? No, but it is the Kindle. The package isn’t perfect, but it is powerful and intelligently built and it is, in short, the future.

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A day late and several thousand experience points short, I forgot to mention that World of Warcraft Patch 2.4.0 went live yesterday. Compared to the previous release, 2.3.0, this latest upgrade doesn’t seem as significant, though it still adds a decent amount of new content.

There’s a whole new island to explore, for one. The Isle of Quel’Danas, aka Sunwell Isle, which has on it two dungeons for players to explore.

As with most patches, Blizzard has changed the dynamics of the several classes; doesn’t seem to be any nerfs this time around, however.

Also, in a classy move, Blizzard dedicated the patch to the memory of the recently deceased Gary Gygax, largely responsible for Dungeons & Dragons and the inventor, so to speak, of modern role-playing.

Below, my favorite WoW video.

Was this a hoax? I remember thinking it was genius two years ago, long before I started playing. I’ve since stopped playing the game, for the record.

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The headline on my previous post regarding an interview with THX chief scientist Laurie Fincham was misleading. Fincham doesn’t actually state that Blu-ray is dead, rather, just that optical media, in general, is on a slippery slope.

Here’s what THX PR Manager Graham McKenna had to say,

“THX recognizes the quality and benefits that the Blu-ray HD format brings to the home theater experience. We are dedicated to supporting Blu-ray with new THX technologies and other initiatives. At its very core, THX is about advancing the quality of the entertainment experience, whether that is on optical disc, downloads or other emerging media. I believe Mr. Fincham’s comments reflect that broader goal.”

Some of you pointed out that inaccuracy but read the quote correctly and for that you get a cookie. It’s in the mail, I swear. How long will optical media last? Would you carry around a USB drive to your local video store to get fresh new movies? Are you already on the DLC bandwagon or would you rather have an optical disk?

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As previously mentioned in this week’s Orientation, Linux is not limited to just desktops. It’s far reaching, actually. Not that you’d have a Terminal app on it or anything, but you could. Some of you may have a mobile phone running Linux and you probably don’t even know it. The most popular phone in the world runs Unix. That’s right. The iPhone, my arch nemesis, runs on Unix. Are there any other cool mobile devices out there running on Linux or Unix? Of course there are. Enter, dear friends, and be amazed.

Motorola’s forthcoming ROKR E8 for T-Mobile isn’t the prettiest thing they’ve ever produced and that’s probably why their design team got the axe and the business is being split apart, but I digress. Moto’s latest venture into the music phone realm doesn’t have the best looks, but its features make up for it.

It runs a hybrid Linux/Java OS and the “ModeShift” interface is quite nice and causes less confusion when you’re trying to distinguish the phone controls from the music-dedicated controls. It simply morphs from one UI to another. It’s also the first Moto to sport a haptic keypad and the “FastScroll” crescent control whips through menus quickly. It’s not a bad music phone, really. I suggest you go to the store and play with it and decide for yourself.

The Nokia N810 is not a phone per se, but you can make VoIP calls on it so that’s why we’re including it. The Internet tablet is rumored to integrate WiMAX and we’ll find out for sure next week at CTIA. Being Linux-based, the N810 features a full Mozilla-based browser though, an installable version was available for the N800. It’s just there out of the box now. If you remember the N800 was hacked to bits with silly apps such as an iPhone-like keyboard and kinetic scrolling.

OpenMoko is probably the first group to bring a truly open device to market in recent months. The Neo is reminiscent of Sony’s Mylo in terms of form factor, but that’s about it. The company is dedicated to bringing a completely open device to the masses. The OS is open to all so you can have your way with the code and now they’re opening up the CAD files for the hardware itself. Of course, the hardware has nothing to do with Linux, but the fact that you can is awesome. It’s the first mobile phone that allows you to dictate what’s on it and what it’s going to look like. We’ll see what the zzzPhone can actually do even though it doesn’t run Linux.

Taking on the Motorola Qs and Blackjacks of the world is the Grundig B700, a QWERTY-packing, Linux-powered smartphone with lots of media playback capabilities. Other highlights include an FM tuner, microSD, and a rather cool retro design. It’s GSM and Edge, and should work with AT&T or T-Mobile SIMs.

We like that when it launches (which should be rather soon) it’ll be inexpensive, great for those of you on month-to-month GSM contracts.

Motorola does love their Linux-based phones, and for good reason. Unfortunately for us we won’t ever see the MING. The PDA is only available in Asia, but I’ve heard great things about it. The GSM clamshell has a 240×320 touchscreen, stylus, and is affordable, with importers selling them unlocked for as little as $350 in the US.

The point is that Linux-based OS’s are abundant among the Windows Mobile and Symbian-based devices. You just have to know where to look. It might not necessarily be your cup of tea, but OpenMoko is a prime example of what could be possible in this space.

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Continuing with this week’s festival do Linux, I’ll be endorsing open source software today. Not so random, no. Only software that’s free as in freedom has been considered; freeware that I can’t futz around with the source code, not that I would know what to do, rightly, was ignored. Devastating, yes.

This endorsement is a twofer. First I’ll try to answer the tough question as to why, pray tell, you should give a damn about open source source, hereafter referred to as OSS. I write that sentence knowing full well that, oh, say, all of you already know what OSS is and why it’s worth your while. I’m merely following orders. Anyway, part two will be a few applications that you might want to check out… again, knowing full well that you’re probably aware of lots of them. Have you heard of Firefox? I hear it’s all the rage these days.

Anyhow, OSS. It’s cool. Use it.

You’re reading this, sipping your cup of coffee while, wondering, perhaps aloud (to the annoyance of your co-workers), just what exactly is OSS. And you should! The Open Source Initiative, sort of the BCS of OSS, has 10 criteria that a piece of software must meet in order for it to be considered, “officially,” open source. Wikipedia has all ten commandments, but the gist of it is that the software’s source code—the software’s blueprints, kinda—needs to be freely available for all to see and modify.

Firefox, arguably the most popular piece of OSS, has its source code available for all to see and modify. You can check it out here if you’re so inclined. (It’s the .bz2 file)

What are the benefits to you, the end user with a mortgage and kids who hog your big screen TV all day long? The community has your back.

Think of it like this. If a critical flaw is found in Internet Explorer—that’s happened once or twice I think—you’re at the mercy of Microsoft. If it takes one day or one month to release a fix, well, you’re waiting. Since Microsoft controls the source code of its wonderful browser, only it can alter it any way. Compare that to Firefox. Let’s say a critical flaw is found overnight tonight. Could happen. Theoretically, anyone with an Internet connection could help patch the security flaw. It all sounds very socialistic, people helping each other out. I don’t know, y’all get it, I trust.

Oh, also! If you read sites like Slashdot, digg, CrunchGear, etc. it’s pretty much a requirement to prefer OSS to closed source software whenever possible. That’s the sense I’ve gotten over the years, at any rate.

Would would someone want to make their software open source? Why would they prefer to give away their work, their labor, for free (under the GPL is many cases)? Part of it is that Craigslistian philosophy of wanting to help your fellow man. Real altruism. Real crazy, I say. (Not really.) Wired had a piece the other day talking about for-profit OSS, which just seems sorta weird. Not that the Mozilla Foundation doesn’t make money off Firefox—Google pays it every time you use the built-in search bar—but, to me, OSS always seemed to serve a higher purpose. OSS coders were the white knights, the good guys, riding in from the hills to save all of us from horridly written, horribly insecure (fast fact: I actually had written “unsecure” instead of “insecure” right there) software. They weren’t supposed to be in “it” for the money. Again, that was always the feeling I got.

So that’s my gross oversimplification of OSS. Back when I was 16 or so, I was way more into the whole “movement” than I am now. Something about having bills to pay and other real world issues to confront sorta sapped much of my interest in it. Same thing with video games.

Lo! the software! My God in Heaven, the software! There’s so much OSS out there for you to play with. SourceForge is a fine place to search, as is Open Source Alternative. Linux and Open Source Blog is a neat resource, too, as is ZDNet’s Open Source.

I recommend y’all check out the following: Firefox, VLC/MPlayer/Xine/XBMC, Adium/Pidgin, AIM Sniff, Gimp(shop), Audacity and Azureus.

Firefox
Hi-res version

There’s no way to avoid mentioning Firefox, what I consider to be the epitome of OSS. The browser first gained mind and market share among the Slashdot crowd, a generic term I use haphazardly for people who heavily use the Internet. Now it’s the preferred browser of 17 percent of all Web users.

What first attracted me to it way back when it was called Phoenix was tabbed browsing. That it was inherently safer than IE and not made by Microsoft sweetened the deal. (Youth truly is wasted on the young.) Nowadays…

The browser is slated to hit version 3.0 in the coming months, but, in my opinion, Firefox just isn’t what it used to be. I had it open a minute ago, idle, and it crashed—did I look at it the wrong way? I’ve switched to Safari as my browser of choice, but Firefox is still worthy of praise.

VLC/MPlayer/Xine/XBMC
Hi-res version

At least one of these three applications should be on your system at all times. They’re all based on FFmpeg, an open source Swiss Army knife of audio/video handling. They all support pretty much every file format known to man, save for the proprietary ones like WMV, which is only partially supported.

XBMC deserves a special mention. Back in the Xbox1 days, XBMC was what I used to watch movie rips on my impressive-for-a-dorm-room TV. Everything about it makes sense and everything works; it was my replacement Dashboard for quite a while. Note that it’s still in development, even though Xbox1 has long since passed the torch to the 360.

Adium/Pidgin
Hi-res version

Easily the best IM application(s) out there. Every time I see someone using iChat in class, I think to myself, in a football hooligan’s tone, “You don’t know what you’re doing!” Both are based on libpurple (formerly libgaim), an OSS implementation of the various IM protocols in use today. All of us here use at CrunchGear, except Doug (who uses AIM Pro), use it for our everyday, excruciatingly mundane AIM needs. Yes, I know they don’t support video chat, and that’s terrible, but I’ve video chatted maybe twice in the past year. For that, fire up iChat and call it a day.

Both are great because they’re customizable. I use a Mario sound set with Adium, so every time I get a message I’m reminded of happier days when all I had on my plate was figuring out how to get to Special World in Super Mario World.

Aim Sniff
Hi-res version

This application, as the name implies, lets you snoop AIM conversations, which I brought up during SXSW. Legal? I don’t know. But I do know that my dorm freshman year was filled with a bunch of dullards. The most interesting IM conversation I intercepted was one of my roommates having cyber sex. Big deal.

The program was a pain in the ass to setup on my PowerBook G4 since you had to compile the source and do all sorts of wizardry (MITM attacks on my dorm’s switch, etc.) to get it up and running. Maybe similar applications exist, I don’t know, but it’s what I used. Could make a fun little weekend project.

Gimp
Hi-res version

Gimp is sorta like Photoshop, only it’s not as good. Gimpshop is similar, only it’s designed to mimic the look and feel of Photoshop a little more. It is free as in freedom, however, and will take care of most of your photo editing needs.

Audacity
Hi-res version

She’s a fully featured audio editor. I use it when I’m editing my DJ mixes, but not for much else. Definitely one of those apps that, for me, sit on your hard drive for months at a time without being used. Still, it’s the OSS audio editor.

OpenOffice.org
Hi-res version

Before Google Docs, OO.org was the best way to read and write for free on any platform. Along with Firefox, OO.og was the best example of what open source software could be. Writer, Impress and Calc are the standout components here.

Azureus
Hi-res version

Azureus is a gigantic resource hog, but for whatever reason I find it seeds torrents much better than Transmission does. It could well be my imagination, but in my experience Azureus is bulletproof. It sucks that it’s all “Vuze this, Vuze that” now, but that can, and should, be simply ignored.

If you know of any “hot” applications I miseed, and I’m 100 percent sure I did, feel free to drop me a line and/or harangue me.

All About Linux 2008

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The poeple at iHome make some of the more attractive iPod accessories around. There are a gazillion docks out there, but most are made from cheapish plastics and look like a cyborg threw up.

The iH69 speaker system from iHome does not. The attractive, slim stereo speakers feature a dock for your favorite iPod and include a minimalist remote control. These would look great in the dorm room of my future trophy wife.

There’s another new offering from iHome in the form of the iP47, more of a do-all system, including Bluetooth audio streaming, large front-faced clock, and alarm settings. Interestingly, it has a microphone for iPhone users; say you get a call while your iPhone is attached, it automatically becomes a speakerphone system. Cool.

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The Consumerist is reporting that Microsoft is making good on re-licensing downloadable content for Xbox 360 owners who got replacement machines. Finally.

At issue is the fact that the Xbox Marketplace’s content is tied to each Xbox’s serial number. When you make a purchase the Marketplace checks your serial number and generates a license. That license basically says that Xbox 123 has access to content ABC. If you get a new Xbox, say you get the Red Ring of Death and you get a warranty replacement, that serial number is different, and thus the license doesn’t work.

As it stands now, it’s a long process, but they are honoring re-licenses, so if you’re patient, you’re in luck.

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Just got a chance to see AT&T’s latest product — a web browser called Pogo. That’s right: the folks that brought us the iPhone and three-way calling are working on a web broswer based on the Firefox. They’ve added graphics extensions to make viewing your history and bookmarks as easy as scrolling through a bunch of tiny windows in 3D space. The engine allows for different methods for viewing data, including a globe and a swirly snake-like thing that you move forward and backwards through. Is it groundbreaking? No. Will it look cool on your PC? I guess.

Most of this is proof of concept right now and it looks very pretty. When asked why AT&T wanted to create a browser, however, the folks we met with said they wanted to show that AT&T was on the cutting edge. Fair enough. However, the real question is why would I download it?

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Verizon’s petitioning the FCC to make it easier for customers locked into cable monopolies to leave in favor of similar services offered by ISPs, such as Verizon itself.

Verizon, AT&T, and others offer TV via data, an alternative to cable, and Verizon feels that customers much jump through too many hoops to switch as it is.

In essense, Verizon wants your TV to be hardware-agnostic; if it’s via cable or phone line or fiber, it shouldn’t matter. If you have the right hardware and a subscription, you should be able to watch your TV through whoever you want.

We’re for the idea, as cable monopolies are inherently bad for customers, as are cable companies.

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It flies like a real butterfly! I was actually quite surprised at the build quality on this thing. Usually these sorts of things blow into a million pieces on the first day but the Flytech butterfly withstood quite a few crash landings during our trials. The dog also bit it a few times, which is usually the kiss of death for toys like this.

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