Netgear offers a networked hard drive for the masses, with a caveat

The tech industry is gradually persuading Americans to set up home networks, but it's had a tougher time selling consumers on the idea of storing all their data on a single device within their homes. The appeal of "network-attached storage" boxes and "home media servers" has largely been confined to the earliest of early adopters, even as the software to centralize and back up data has become increasingly user friendly. Today, Netgear makes a new bid to sell NAS to the masses, offering the $229 Stora. Its features and price are impressive, but I'm not sure Netgear has come up with a compelling new argument for consumers to go this route. That's because Hollywood isn't ready to play along.

The idea behind a NAS is that it makes all of your digital photos, music and documents available to any device in the home that's capable of displaying them. The emergence of networked TV sets and Blu-ray players means that a NAS can serve content into your home entertainment center, not just the computers scattered around your home. Granted, putting all of those files in one place could have disastrous consequences in the event of a disc failure, but it also makes it easier to back up all that data.

The Stora comes with a 1 terabyte drive ...

Why developers love Apple's Snow Leopard

Now that many Mac users have had a couple of weeks to install the new Apple Inc. operating system, Snow Leopard, and explore its new features, some aren't so enthused with the update.

There just aren't that many new features.

The additions are a far cry from the usual operating system updates that add new toys, like Spaces and Dashboards and new designs. The running joke is to call Snow Leopard a "service pack" -- the incremental Windows updates that Microsoft distributes as a free download.

To find just a handful of new gizmos, you'll need to dig through settings menus and really know what to look for. (For example, did you know the new operating system is HDTV-ready?)

Apple marketed the software that way from the start, quipping during its unveiling that it adds "zero new features." The goal, it seems, is to get Snow Leopard deployed on as many machines as possible with its affordable $29 price tag.

Why is Snow Leopard so important? To quote a sweaty, excited Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's chief executive, "developers, developers, developers." (We're quoting him out of context, but he makes our point: developers!)

"Snow Leopard's developer tools in particular have improved tremendously," wrote Steven Frank, whose company Panic builds software for website designers. "All Mac software, from Apple or otherwise, will improve as a direct result."

A lot of the additions, developers say, sit "under the hood" and provide the potential to build ...

No, Blizzard's DRM doesn't require players to always be online

Chill out, folks. You will be able to fire up your laptops and play StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty on the plane.

Last week, when we wrote about the anti-piracy efforts Blizzard Entertainmentwould be taking next year with StarCraft II, fans fumed. (Many assumed, though Blizzard would not confirm, that the same anti-piracy mechanisms would also be used for Diablo III, which the Irvine game developer said would come out sometime after StarCraft II.)

The stipulation that players must verify their copies of the game over the Internet by phoning home to Blizzard wasn't sitting well.

The concept reminded users of the bad taste left by digital-rights management locks that plagued the early days of legitimate music downloads, with Apple's iTunes at the forefront.

To clarify, you will indeed need an Internet connection when you first install the game. You'll also need a connection to play with other people. (To the chagrin of many players, Blizzard won't include LAN support-- the ability to play with others on the same computer network, such as at a dorm -- without going online.)

But you can freely disconnect and play single-player or challenge modes, wrote Blizzard spokesman Shon Damron in an e-mail. Obviously, you won't get ...

BlizzCon overflows with excitement after attendees play StarCraft II and Diablo III

Hundreds of fans play an early version of Diablo III while many more fans wait in line. Credit: Mark Milian / Los Angeles Times

When Activision Blizzard announced it was pushing back the release of its hugely-anticipated computer game StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty to 2010 from this year, fans began to worry that maybe the game's development wasn't as far along as they had expected.

Blizzard Entertainment, the game's Irvine-based developer, put those concerns to rest with a fully playable multiplayer version of the game that was presented to media and fans at its annual BlizzCon event at the Anaheim Convention Center.

The initial buzz among the conference's 26,000 attendees revolved around World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, the expansion to the massively multiplayer online PC game. But once gamers got their hands on the sequel to the most popular real-time strategy game for the PC, BlizzCon shifted its focus to StarCraft II.

The game feels complete. We didn't run into any bugs or oddities during several game sessions. Each faction appeared delicately balanced with teams able to achieve victories using a wide variety of tactics and mercenaries. The first batch of feedback from fans was overwhelmingly positive, developers at the show said.

In reality, the sequel isn't all that different from the original StarCraft, which first stormed store shelves in 1998. That's kind of the point, Blizzard Chief Operating Officer Paul Sams said. "The original formula is important," he said Saturday in Anaheim. "StarCraft is all about speed. It's all about big armies and the competition."

The competitive aspect is a big reason for the delay. Blizzard is prepping a new version of its online gaming platform ...

MacBooks vs. netbooks: Guess which one wins with students

Netbooks such as the HP Mini shown here have been gaining popularity. Credit: Hewlett-Packard.

Money talks. Especially when you don't have much of it.

Cash-strapped students returning to school may be looking toward less pricey computers called netbooks and shunning premium-priced products from Apple. Priced as low as $170, these minis have become popular among road warriors who want lightweight laptops with longer battery lives.

Now students may be taking a page out of the business traveler's handbook, according to a survey of 300 Americans released this morning by Retrevo, a technology review website based in Sunnyvale, Calif. A third of those polled said they planned to buy a netbook for school. About half said they would buy a desktop. A majority of students said they would not be buying a Mac.

“While Apple has done well historically in the education market, 2009 marks the dawn of the netbook,” says Vipin Jain, Retrevo's chief executive. “Students told us they wanted longer battery life, smaller size and a lighter laptop."

More than half of those polled, 58%, said they planned to spend less than $750 on their computer, while 18% had a budget over $1,000. Apple laptops start at $949.

"At a time when many people are experiencing economic hardship, having a new Apple laptop isn’t a necessity,” Jain said.

Of course, Apple has never counted on having a majority of computer users to be profitable. Apple has rarely claimed more than 10% of the market for computers. Big players such as Dell and Hewlett-Packard own much larger shares of the PC market, but nevertheless walk a financial tightrope as aggressive pricing slices away their margins. Meanwhile, Apple has been perfectly content to charge a premium to the minority of buyers willing to fork over the extra cash, even in hard times.

Would Apple follow the same premium pricing path for future products such as a tablet computer, for example? 

-- Alex Pham

Follow my random thoughts on games, gear and technology on Twitter @AlexPham.

Microsoft and Apple to battle it out in same Mission Viejo mall

Early design sketch of Microsoft store. Credit: Gizmodo.

It will soon be war at The Shops at Mission Viejo mall in southern Orange County.

That's where one of the two first Microsoft stores will be opening, according to a report by CNET News that was later confirmed by the software giant.The stores will be selling laptops, Xbox game consoles, games and the Zune music player, among other items.

The Mission Viejo mall already has a Nordstrom, Pottery Barn, Fragrance Hut and a little store called Apple.

Yes, the biggest rivalry in the electronics world will soon be under the same roof. But it's not sure when this will happen -- Microsoft will not say when its planned chain of stores will open. The other store that CNET said Microsoft would be opening will be in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Microsoft also has not disclosed what the stores will look like;however the company did acknowledge that sketches recently leaked to the Gizmodo site were real. The final look, however, has not been finalized, the Redmond, Wash.-based company said.

Let's just hope that Microsoft's Mission Viejo store is far from Apple's. Otherwise, it could be iPods and Zunes at 50 paces. 

-- David Colker

AT&T to sell cheap mini-laptops -- but read the fine print

Acer Aspire One netbook. Credit: Acer Inc.

AT&T will soon be offering the Acer Aspire One netbook at its cellphone stores nationwide at the bargain price of $199.99!

But wait, there's more. Unfortunately.

That bargain price for the mini-laptop, which elsewhere costs about $325, is valid only if the buyer signs up for two years of an online data plan.

The plan comes in two flavors -- $40 a month for a 200MB limit on data transfer or $60 a month for 5GB. That would bring the cost of ownership over two years to either $1,159.99 or $1,639.99. Plus tax.

AT&T's two-year requirement mimics its cellphone plans, which offer huge discounts on phones if you sign up for two years of service. 

But the netbook doesn't need a data plan to work online. In the presence of Wi-Fi, the Aspire One can browse the Web, send e-mail, do instant messaging and otherwise make use of the online world.

The AT&T package makes sense only if you need or very much want to use the netbook online away from Wi-Fi hotspots. With a data plan, the Internet becomes available in a car, on a train or from a park bench in most parts of the country. Handy, but expensive. And many people are already paying for data plans to work with their advanced cellphones.

But this kind of package deal could be a trend. Earlier this month BestBuy offered for a short time a mini-laptop for only 99 cents, plus a two-year, $60-a-month data plan commitment.

-- David Colker

Intel earnings point to possible recovery

Image of a silicon semiconductor. Credit: huangjiahui via Flickr.

Bottoms up!

Intel this afternoon gave investors a reason to hoist a beer mug or two, posting $8 billion in second-quarter revenue powered by sales of its Atom processor, used in fast-selling netbook computers, lightweight laptops that sell for as little as $200.

Intel Chief Executive Paul Otellini said the results "reflect improving conditions in the PC market segment with our strongest first- to second-quarter growth since 1988 and a clear expectation for a seasonally stronger second half." 

Translation: Computer makers are expecting a surge of back-to-school shoppers and better holiday sales than in 2008, when consumers reined in nearly all discretionary spending.

The Santa Clara, Calif., chip maker, however, posted a $398-million quarterly net loss, or 7 cents a share, primarily because it paid a record $1.45-billion fine imposed by the European Commission on charges that the company restricted competition in the semiconductor market. It had a $1.6-billion net profit in the second quarter last year. Its $8 billion in revenue represented a 12% improvement over $7.1 billion in sales posted for the first quarter of this year but an erosion from $9.5 billion a year earlier.

Even so, Wall Street loved what it heard, pushing Intel's stock up $1.20, more than 7%, to $18.03 in after-hours trading following the earnings release. The stock earlier in the day had closed up 34 cents to $16.83.

Intel's results kick off the earnings season for the tech sector, with Google coming up Thursday and Apple and Yahoo next Tuesday, followed by EBay, Microsoft and Broadcom later in the week.

-- Alex Pham

Google to launch operating system aimed at shattering Microsoft's Windows

Taking direct aim at Microsoft's dominance in personal computers, Google last night announced plans to launch an operating system that would compete with Windows and be available to consumers in the second half of 2010.

Dubbed Google Chrome OS, the operating system is designed to work with the company's Chrome Web browser, launched nine months ago and downloaded by 30 million users. Google said the software will be optimized for small, lightweight laptop computers called netbooks, a fast-selling category of inexpensive machines that sell for as little as $250 and are used primarily to surf the Web and check e-mail.

In a blog post announcing the product, Google's vice president of product management, Sundar Pichai, and its engineering director, Linus Upson, said:

Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS. We're designing the OS to be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the web in a few seconds. The user interface is minimal to stay out of your way, and most of the user experience takes place on the web. And as we did for the Google Chrome browser, we are going back to the basics and completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS so that users don't have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates. It should just work.

Google did not say whether it would charge for the software, but references that it would work with the open-source community of developers suggest that the company may make it freely available. Microsoft, on the other hand, charges about $200 for each copy of its Windows Vista operating system.

"The release of an operating system is just another part of Google's strategy to more rapidly and cheaply spread access to the Internet via a multitude of different devices -- desktops, netbooks, mobile phones, set top boxes, etc.," Ben Schachter, an analyst with Broadpoint AmTech, wrote in a note this morning to investors.

Schachter said Google wants to eventually lure businesses away from Microsoft's Windows operating system towards so-called cloud computing, in which businesses can use lightweight computers to access applications and data that are managed via large data centers and served over the Web.

"Longer term, Google hopes a free operating system may encourage more small and medium-sized businesses to move towards an enterprise software solution in the 'cloud' and away from Microsoft," Schachter said.

-- Alex Pham

Apple's Snow Leopard operating system hits Windows 7 in the wallet

Mac OS X Snow Leopard. Credit: Apple

SAN FRANCISCO -- Apple's upcoming Mac operating system, Snow Leopard, is an important release for the Cupertino company. Much of that has to do with Microsoft.

Software giant Microsoft is revving its engines in anticipation for its critical follow-up to Vista, called Windows 7, in October. But Apple stuck a branch through Microsoft's spokes at the Worldwide Developers Conference Monday with the announcement of a $29 upgrade price and a September release.

Microsoft, which doesn't have much of a hardware presence to recoup its costs compared with Apple, is unlikely to match that price.

As if that and all of the Windows Vista-bashing that Apple has done in its ad campaigns weren't enough, Bertrand Serlet, Apple senior vice president of OS X software development, took some direct jabs at Windows during his speech.

Serlet started by highlighting the low corporate adoption of Vista. Then, he pointed out how ...