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I am a Fred fan.  Or I guess I was a Fred fan.  Fred was an alternative rock station on XM that played some deep tracks that exposed where bands like U2, REM, Cure and others got their sounds influenced from.  XM radio has euthanized Fred and other themed genre stations, in efforts to merge their networks.  I am not the only one sad.

The replacement for Fred is First Wave, a Sirius station, which in my opinion and the opinion of these groupies, blows chow.  Bad.  Shallow.  Bad.

Can I make a fiscal justification to keep both stations going along?  No.  Can I say that satellite radio has finally lost the race with Internet radio?  Yes.  My cohorts and I are leaving as we can’t stand your far too repetitious music designed for those behind the wheel for 30 minutes.

It isn’t all tears for satellite radio owners though, according to craveonline, 

“Each sides’ premium channels and talent remains mostly intact, with stations like Howard Stern, the Grateful Dead Channel and Eminem’s Shade 45 all now available to XM users, while Sirius listeners now get Bob Dylan’s Theme Time Radio Hour, Tom Petty’s Buried Treasure and B.B. King’s blues station.“

Those of us that got attached to these themed genre stations will miss them and the talent at XM studios in DC.

Farewell Fred.  Thanks for the tip, Jeff.

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Satellite radio took a hit this past week as WorldSpace filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.  Only two weeks ago, both Chief Operating Officers resigned.

WorldSpace is a subscription-based service that broadcasts news, sports, music and educational programming to over 150,000 people.  They charge $5.00 - $10.00 per month for their plans and provide more than 100 channels.  WorldSpace offers the only satellite radio service outside the U.S. (except Japan and South Korea).  Sirius XM is the licensed provider of satellite radio here.  Judith Pryor, Senior Vice President of Worldspace, told me that they do not expect for the U.S. to ever be in their market.  With a reorganization and probable sale in its immediate future, it is uncertain who their audience will be.

Keep reading for the rest on Worldspace and how Sirius is in trouble too…

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The netbook market is growing every day, and another competitor in the race is the Satellite NB105 from Toshiba Mexico.  The NB105 features consist of a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor along with 1GB RAM and a 120GB hard drive.  In addition it has Wi-Fi and LAN connectivity for all those who want to take the Internet on the road.  Other features include an SD memory slot, as well as three USB 2.0 ports.  All of this is packaged with an 8.9-inch display with a 1,024 x 600 resolution.  As for pricing and availability, currently its expected to hit Mexico sometime in the first week of November but as of now pricing information has not been announced.

Read [FayerWayer] Via [jkkmobile]

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This isn’t your grandmother’s car anymore. Stuck in traffic and tired of staring at the guy in the car next to you picking his nose?  Well then maybe it’s time to shop for a Chrysler.  Starting in 2009, Chrysler plans to include a new in-dash system called UConnect in all of it’s vehicles.  This technology will allow Bluetooth connectivity, satellite tv, and iPod integration…a veritable rolling hotbed of communication entertainment for consumers. The Internet connection is made possible through 3G cellular connection that allows download speeds of up 800 kilobits per second, and upload speeds of 200 kbps.

Laptops, gaming systems and handheld devices all will now be able to be hooked up and online. Obviously, several safety advocates are not exactly jumping up and down waving their Wii’s in readiness, but, that doesn’t seem to be stopping the engineers at Chrysler.  (And people used to think drinking coffee while you drove was distracting….soon we’ll be brewing it!)

No price is set to date for the UConnect, but one could probably expect a monthly fee to use this option, as with the satellite radio option.

Chrysler plans to roll out their new line including the UConnect in November of 2008. They are hoping it’s going to give them a much needed kick-start with some pretty sorry sales figures as of late. Rival Ford does provide a similar system with their “Sync”... minus the web access. Asked what was able to be downloaded from the web system in the car, Chrysler’s Leung said that anything was fair game. Hold on to your hats boys…it might be quite a ride.

Via [AutoBlog]

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Toshiba has announced that it will be offering some of its Satellite series laptops with the AMD’s notebook platform. Toshiba’s Satellite laptops which include the P300D, A300D, M300D, U400D, L300D and L350D will now be available with either AMD’s Athlon Dual Core QL, Turion Dual Core RM or Turion Ultra ZM processors.

In addition some of the models from the mentioned Satellite series will now have the following standard features most Toshiba laptops; a built-in FM tuner, facial recognition sleep-and-charge USB ports, eSATA port and the Toshiba fusion finish. These Toshiba laptops aside from having the AMD platform will also come packed with Harman Kardon stereo speakers, while some will come equipped with Toshiba REGZA LINK technology.

The Toshiba Satellite series is currently available and pricing will vary depending on the laptop’s configuration.

Read [Business Wire]

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AOL is no longer carrying feeds from satellite radio provider XM now that contract the two companies had has expired. Presumably this also means that subscribers to XM’s online streaming service will no longer have access to AOL Radio. The announcement has been particularly upsetting to listeners from outside the U.S. and Canada, where XM service is unavailable. AOL radio was the only way for them to enjoy the over 80 commercial free music channels XM provides. XM does offer online streaming of their channels, but the service is once again, available to U.S. residents only. In an effort to make up for the loss, XM is offering a special deal to AOL subscribers in which they can sign up for the online service for just $2.99 a month. The company is currently awaiting FCC approval for its much anticipated (and for some, dreaded) merger with rival Sirius Satellite Radio.

Via [CrunchGear]

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Sections: Audio, Satellite / HD Radio, Web, Online Music/Video

Although we have previously mentioned Toshiba’s face recognition technology in our coverage of the Satellite A300 and M300 and P300, it is only now that Toshiba is officially promoting the said feature. Toshiba has employed this technology to provide Satellite owners an additional way of securing their dear Toshiba machines from unauthorized users. The technology grants or denies access to people who might use the laptops depending on whether they are registered users.

To use the face recognition technology to secure their laptops, users need to have their face profiled by the laptop’s webcam during a short setup process. Once profiled, the laptop’s webcam would use this to reference people who are about to use the laptops as recognized by the laptop’s webcam. If a user’s face has not been profiled before, then the laptop would deny them access to the machine.

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Toshiba has started shipping its new 14.1-inch Satellite M300 laptop. With a retail price starting at $949.99, users can choose between the M300-S4822 or the M300-S4826.

With the slew of new laptops recently launched by Toshiba, I’m beginning to believe that it is the company’s way of introducing its Fusion finish that is bonded directly into the chassis of the laptops. Like the previous models recently released by Toshiba, the Satellite M300 also features the Sleep-and-Charge USB ports and the LED-illuminated “Feather Touch” multimedia command keys.

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Toshiba has announced that it is now shipping its new A300 series laptops with three models to boot – the A300-S6845, the A305-S6839 and the A305D-S6831. These models boast of Toshiba’s new Fusion design with horizon pattern which is blended with the laptops’ chassis.

The three laptops are equipped with Toshiba’s Sleep-and-Charge USB ports, LED-luminated “Feature Touch” multimedia command keys, and built-in webcam with Toshiba’s facial recognition software.  Plus the laptops come equipped with a 15.4-inch widescreen TFT LCD with a native resolution of 1280 x 800.
Aside from these similar features, the three laptops feature their respective technical details which also determine their unit prices.

The Satellite A300-S6845 retails for $1,299.99 and is equipped with 2.10GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, 3GB of RAM, and a 400GB hard drive. The Satellite A300-S6839 retails for $1,149.99 and has a 2.10GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, 3GB of RAM and a 320GB hard drive. And finally the Satellite A305D-S6831 retails for $949.99 and has a 2.2GHz AMD Turion X2 Dual Core Technology processor, 3GB of RAM and a 250GB hard drive.

Product [Satellite A300] Read [Business Wire]

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Toshiba has unveiled two new powerful gaming laptops, the Satellite X205-SLi5 and the X205-SLi6. Both laptops are powered by Intel’s 45nm processors and offer NVIDIA SLi technology that is sure to delight hardcore gamers.

Both models of the X205-SLi laptops feature HDMI ports to allow gamers to play games on their 1080i high-definition HDTV display. For added excitement, Toshiba has thrown in an S/P DIF output port that gives 5.1 stereo surround sound when combined with Dolby Sound Room technology. The two Toshiba laptops come with Intel Core 2 Duo processors, 3GB RAM, 320GB-400GB hard drives that run at 7200 RPM, DVD multi-drives, wireless gaming features with Bluetooth V.20+EDR technology and a 1.3-megapixel webcam.

The X205-SLi5 and X205-SLi6 will sell for around $1,999 and $2,499 respectively. Ready to shell out that amount of money for your gaming pleasure?

Read [Toshiba Direct]

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