Joe Stewart's blog

Sling.com is a new video on demand IPTV website. Users can subscribe to channels and shows to customize the programming presented to them. They are still filling out their lineup but have announced over 90 providers and 150 brands, including Discovery Communications, Hulu (CBS), Lifetime Television, PBS, Starz, National Geographic, and many more.

If you own a Slingbox you can now access your home television and DVR via the Sling.com website. This means no additional software needed to download. The company's Slingcatcher box can utilize Sling.com now too.

As well as being a competitor, Hulu is providing content on Sling too. Joost and Miro also have many fans in sending television over the internet.

If you're new to internet television, this market it quickly gaining quality content from traditional networks as well as new guys like Revision3 and the hilarious Onion News Network.

Check Sling.com out. Your favorite shows may already be there, many of mine are. Surf around the list of networks and shows. I'm sure you'll find something new and interesting that broadcast tv and cable don't provide.

Best GPS Deals has posted some Cyber Monday sales from Walmart.com on Garmin GPS and Garmin, TomTom, and Insignia at BestBuy Online.

For comparison, refurbished TomTom One 3rd Editions can be found for about $79 from Amazon and Newegg (and others I'm sure).

GPSLodge has more Cyber Monday GPS Deals too. They also helpfully link to Amazon's Electronics Deals for Today.

Have any to add? Just post them in the comments.

TiVo is launching a new free mobile optimized website. Anyone - subscribers and non-subscribers can browse m.tivo.com to check TV schedules. Kinda handy to get information on upcoming episodes of The Office from your phone. TiVo subscribers can then schedule recordings or set a Season Pass on their TiVo boxes at home.

Settings by zip code and provider (satellite or cable company) let you customize the schedule.

It is marked as a beta test now, but should be fully released soon.

Motorola designed the Hint QA30 for quick access to networking features such as one-touch SMS access, IM, email and web browsing.

"Staying in touch with friends and family, keeping networks updated and ensuring constant access to social circles are top priorities for many consumers," said Mark Shockley, corporate vice president and general manager, Motorola Mobile Devices. "Motorola Hint is the stylish solution for those multitaskers who are used to having several conversations at once and demand quick, reliable access and communication."

Due to a 2.5-inch widescreen display the Motorola Hint QA30 is almost square when closed. Opening the slider reveals a full QWERTY keypad.

The outside one-touch music keys control the integrated MP3 player while the slider is closed. Listen via stereo Bluetooth or unlike the Android G1, a for real 3.5mm headset jack. In addition to a full HTML browser, there are Brew applications for POP3/IMAP4 email access and instant messaging. Add on a 2.0 megapixel photo and video camera, MPEG4 video playback and you've got a complete feature set. Read more

Sony unveils three new headphones for the holiday season.

Starting off with their new noise canceling headphones (model MDR-NC7). These are an updated version of their most popular noise canceling headphones, the MDR-NC6. The MDR-NC7 has improved noise-reduction to reduce approximately 87.4 percent of ambient noise. It includes a carrying pouch and in-flight adapter at about $50.

Next up are the colorful metallic EX Style earbuds (model MDR-EX36V). For comfort and fit, the silicone earbuds come in three sizes. The adjustable 3.9 ft cord comes with an in-line volume control and a much appreciated L shaped mini plug to stay out of the way. The price of the MDR-EX36V is about $30.

Read more

HP isn't new to touchscreen products. They started producing them in 1983 – 25 years ago. The user has the choice of finger tip or stylus pen. The Touchsmart tx2's Multi-touch technology means you can use two finger gestures such as pinch, rotate, arc, flick, press and drag, and single and double tap. They say, "The convertible design with a twist hinge allows consumers to enjoy the TouchSmart in three modes: PC, display and tablet. With a rechargeable digital ink pen, users can turn the tx2 into a tablet PC to write, sketch, draw, take notes or graph right onto the screen – and then automatically convert handwriting into typed text."

The enhanced HP MediaSmart digital entertainment software suite is optimized for multi-touch input to make it simple to enjoy high definition movies, TV, music, or pictures. MTV is partnering to provide rich video content from 10 television channels including Nickelodeon and Comedy Central.

HP Imprint designs range from cutting edge to elegantly sophisticated and the "Reaction" styled case design for the tx2 should follow nicely.

It is powered by AMD Turion Processor at a starting U.S. price of $1,149.

Read the press release for more information.

Netflix' New Xbox Experience premieres nationwide November 19. This helps Microsoft achieve their long held goal of creating a set top box for television viewing. The Xbox 360 stands out from other Netflix-ready devices to let users instantly watch movies and TV shows streamed from Netflix.

According the the press release, "Netflix members simply add movies and TV episodes from a growing library of more than 12,000 choices to their instant Queues at the Netflix Web site. Those choices are automatically displayed on the TV screen via the Xbox 360 and, once selected, will begin playing in as little as 30 seconds." There is no additional monthly fee for Netflix members who are also Xbox LIVE Gold members.

Gateway  is getting on board the Core i7 train with a couple of nice gaming focused desktops. The quad-core Intel Core i7 processors run the preloaded 64-bit Windows Vista Home Premium OS. Accompanying the performance design of the Core i7, they use fast DD3 memory.

These desktop PCs have a nice black with copper accent tool-free chassis that provides easy access for expansion. A backup button on the front is assigned to the backup feature in Microsoft Windows Vista to help users have simple data safety. A few other good features are the 15-in-1 media card reader with Smart Copy Button and HDMI output (via DVI-HDMI dongle). Read more

This new high-end remote control allows programming completely via its own interface. No PC or internet connection is required. The setup wizard guides you to configure the Universal Remote Digital URC-R50 to control up to 18 other devices.

But simple doesn't mean inflexible or limiting. The URC-R50 can have 48 custom labeled buttons for each of those 18 devices.

It uses four standard AA batteries and will accept rechargeables. Sofa Mode keeps the battery from being drained if a button is pressed for a long time.

The URC-R50 can be purchased now at major retailers like Best Buy or online at BestBuy.com for $149.

This budget travel logging GPS is simple to operate and has easy-to-use software. It is useful for creating a track log showing routes taken in Google Earth or on Google Maps. My main usage is to Geotag (add geographical information to) photos uploaded to Flickr.

If all this “Travel Logger” and Geotagging talk is new to you there are video demonstrations on the i-Gotu product site showing usage with @trip and Flickr

A couple of features are that the unit uses are the almost industry standard SirfStar III chipset and water resistant case. There is no display other than two LED's. Battery charging is done via the USB cord. Sample rates can be customized to optimize battery life and track accuracy. While connected via USB the GPS can also act as a receiver for PC navigations software too.Read more