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Now I know I missed the Roku Box, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, but this was my first shot at an info graphic, if you like it, Digg it!

You can see my sources:

http://www.apple.com/appletv/specs.html

http://www.boxee.tv/box

http://ces.cnet.com/8301-31045_1-10429585-269.html

http://www.popbox.com/features.php

and other comparison sites:

http://newteevee.com/2010/09/01/comparison-apple-tv-vs-roku-vs-boxee-box/

http://ipod.about.com/od/decidingwhichipodtobuy/a/appletv_chart.htm

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20015367-1.html

via [Smashing Downloads] via [Digg]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcIORhb8NfQ

via [t3ch h3lp]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRCPsVBceBQ

It looks like an 18th century town of Williamsburg, VA is upgrading their staff members of the city council to reduce their paper usage. Now to clarify, there are only 5 members, but the step is a small plus for the city council. It seems that they use about $2000 worth of paper just printing out packets for their meetings that they have on a regular basis. Plus this gives them a quick way to communicate as well in the meetings. The overall paper consumption will begin to dwindle as well, and may begin to spread the idea around. It seems that also Hampton City council seems to anticipate saving $18,000 this year, as well as other surrounding cities. They seem to feel they are finally stepping into the 21st century.

via [Digg] via[Daily Press]

If you don’t know what QNAP is, well here is a quick run through. QNAP is an acronym for Quality Network Appliance Provider. Basically they build some of the best networked attached storages or NAS. They have just released and app for Android and iPhone that allows you to access their applicances on your home network. So instead of having to purchase the high end iPhone (32GB) or needing to get a large SD card for your android phone, you can get the entry level one and stream it from your house over the internet and straight to your phone! Check out the app in the video below:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQAadkddVFg

via [Engadget][QNAP]

Remember way back last year when AT&T announced they would allow Skype VoIP calls over 3G? Well its been quite a while, but now with the new iOS4, Skype has finally updated to allow their calls over 3G to happen and allow them to be received even after the app is left. It will run in the background to allow you be online all the time. When you receive a call, a little notification bubble will pop up and let you know who is calling. The best part is that there are no additional charges for using your data instead of minutes. The only thing is, if you just jumped on the “unlimited” iPhone plan, you only have 2GB instead of those who were grandfathered in with the 5GB cap.

You can download the app here (opens App Store)

via [Skype]

Check out the video below:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUaFaKApPX4

via [Engadget] via [Fring]

Oh wait, WE ALL GRIP our phones!! They all loose signal when you use it? WOW!!! I didn’t know that!! It’s the weirdest thing ever, when you pick up your phone, it drops calls. Not just your iPhone, but all phones including the Droid? REALLY???!!! Let’s ask droid users… NOPE.

You receive HUNDREDS of letters that say the reception is better than the 3GS and 3G, REALLY??

WHAT PHONE WHERE?????? In the words of Lewis Black,

“If you work for these f*****s, I want to talk to you”.

STEVE JOBS! Are you listening? Are you that obnoxious and arrogant that you can accept your phone SUCKS and give us a better fix than, oh, we messed up our math, you only get 2 bars everywhere instead of 4, so it’s all AT&T’s fault.

WOW….

Here’s the letter, you have to read this garbage…. WOW Apple.. I almost want you to refund my iPhone and buy me a HTC Evo 4G, and I don’t even get 4G here in Nashville..

Dear iPhone 4 Users,

The iPhone 4 has been the most successful product launch in Apple’s  history. It has been judged by reviewers around the world to be the best  smartphone ever, and users have told us that they love it. So we were  surprised when we read reports of reception problems, and we immediately  began investigating them. Here is what we have learned.

To start with, gripping almost any mobile phone in certain ways will  reduce its reception by 1 or more bars. This is true of iPhone 4, iPhone  3GS, as well as many Droid, Nokia and RIM phones. But some users have  reported that iPhone 4 can drop 4 or 5 bars when tightly held in a way  which covers the black strip in the lower left corner of the metal band.  This is a far bigger drop than normal, and as a result some have  accused the iPhone 4 of having a faulty antenna design.

At the same time, we continue to read articles and receive hundreds of  emails from users saying that iPhone 4 reception is better than the  iPhone 3GS. They are delighted. This matches our own experience and  testing. What can explain all of this?

We have discovered the cause of this dramatic drop in bars, and it is  both simple and surprising.

Upon investigation, we were stunned to find that the formula we use to  calculate how many bars of signal strength to display is totally wrong.  Our formula, in many instances, mistakenly displays 2 more bars than it  should for a given signal strength. For example, we sometimes display 4  bars when we should be displaying as few as 2 bars. Users observing a  drop of several bars when they grip their iPhone in a certain way are  most likely in an area with very weak signal strength, but they don’t  know it because we are erroneously displaying 4 or 5 bars. Their big  drop in bars is because their high bars were never real in the first  place.

To fix this, we are adopting AT&T’s recently recommended formula for  calculating how many bars to display for a given signal strength. The  real signal strength remains the same, but the iPhone’s bars will report  it far more accurately, providing users a much better indication of the  reception they will get in a given area. We are also making bars 1, 2  and 3 a bit taller so they will be easier to see.

We will issue a free software update within a few weeks that  incorporates the corrected formula. Since this mistake has been present  since the original iPhone, this software update will also be available  for the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G.

We have gone back to our labs and retested everything, and the results  are the same— the iPhone 4’s wireless performance is the best we have  ever shipped. For the vast majority of users who have not been troubled  by this issue, this software update will only make your bars more  accurate. For those who have had concerns, we apologize for any anxiety  we may have caused.

As a reminder, if you are not fully satisfied, you can return your  undamaged iPhone to any Apple Retail Store or the online Apple Store  within 30 days of purchase for a full refund.

We hope you love the iPhone 4 as much as we do.

Thank you for your patience and support.

Apple

thanks, thanks a lot…

oh yeah… email this two goons:

Press Contacts:
Natalie Harrison
harri@apple.com

Steve Dowling
dowling@apple.com

via [Apple]

So if you haven’t heard, Google has now opened the by-invite-only Google Voice service. With the service only being just over a year old, and having a modest 1 million users it seems fitting to open it up to the public. I have been using this service for over 6 months now and it is great to see it now open to everyone. The idea is that you only need one number for the rest of your life, and you can just forward your Google number to your actual number. It’s great, because if you ever change service from landlines or cells, you don’t have to go and change everything, as long as you told everyone your google number… Check it out below:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOZU7BOeQ58

via [GoogleVoice Blog]