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Microsoft Pulls Out of Family Guy Deal

Paul Lilly — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:30:32 -0500

What the deuce? Microsoft, who earlier this month seemed stoked to sponsor Fox's upcoming "Family Guy Presents: Seth and Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show" has now decided to pull out of the deal. Under the original agreement, the variety show was to integrate Windows 7 into its routine, including shorts featuring the cartoon cast of Family Guy. But after viewing a taping of the comedy show, Microsoft got cold feet and walked away citing content concerns.

"We initially chose to participate in the Seth and Alex variety show based on the audience composition and creative humor of 'Family Guy,' but after reviewing an early version of the variety show, it became clear that the content was not a fit with the Windows brand," said a Microsoft spokeswoman. "We continue to have a good partnership with Fox, Seth MacFarlane, and Alex Borstein and are working with them in other areas."

According to Variety.com, jokes about deaf people, the Holocaust, feminine hygiene, and incest turned out to be too much for Microsoft. The skittish software giant did at first send out several notes expressing concern over the show's content, but in the end decided it was better to just part ways.

The show, however, has not been canceled but it's unclear who will step in to take Microsoft's place.

Meet the World's Thinnest Display

Paul Lilly — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:00:12 -0500

There's slender, and then there's Samsung's disgustingly thin 40-inch LED TV panel measuring just 3.9mm thick, or a third the size of the company's previous panel. We say "disgusting" only because some of us are still bitter over dropping a couple grand on a bulky rear-projection earlier in the decade.

The super-slim backlit LED display boasts a 120Hz refresh rate, full HD resolution support, and a 5000:1 contrast ratio. It's also the world's thinnest LCD panel, measuring 7mm slimmer than Samsung's full production LED TV panel and about 45mm thinner than conventional LCD displays. Prior to today, LG held the title with its 5.9mm LED TV.

So when and where can you buy one? Good question - Samsung hasn't released the 3.9mm panel yet, but according to Akihabaranews.com, the company hopes to do so very soon.

Image Credit: akihabaranews.com

New Windows 7 Ads - "That was my Idea!"

Justin Kerr — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 17:56:26 -0500

When you write the single most popular operating system in the world, its only a matter of time before people step up and start claiming that many of the cool new features were "my idea!". Playing up on this notion, Microsoft's ad agency has released a new TV campaign aimed at making fun of the unwashed masses who are lining up to take credit for Windows 7.

The first wave of ads will highlight the Windows 7 snap feature that allows you to easily resize windows by simply dragging them to a corner of the screen. They do however conveniently forget to mention that this can be done a whole lot faster by pressing the win + arrow keys, but if they did, you wouldn't need to read our handy shortcut tips now would you?

Take a look at the first batch of ads below, and let us know what part of Windows 7 was your idea.

Blu-Ray on TV by Way of Laptop

The Maximum PC Staff — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:45:47 -0500

I have a Gateway P-7811FX gaming laptop. I was looking at getting a 37-inch 1080p LCD TV to hook up through the HDMI port to extend the monitor/play games/watch movies on. I found an external Blu-ray disc drive that hooks up through the USB port on the laptop. Will this setup give me good quality video to watch on the large TV? If not, any other suggestions?

—Peter DiGiorgio

Peter, as long as your laptop and LCD are HDCP-compliant, you should be fine. The P-7811FX comes with an Nvidia GeForce 9800M GTS GPU. Nvidia’s product page for that GPU touts its Blu-ray performance, and it should be able to output 1080p video via your laptop’s HDMI port. You should double-check, of course, but the Doctor doesn’t see anything wrong with it, in theory.

SUBMIT YOUR QUESTION Are flames shooting out of the back of your rig? First, grab a fire extinguisher and douse the flames. Once the pyrotechnic display has fizzled, email the doctor at doctor@maximumpc.com for advice on how to solve your technological woes.

Cablevision to Serve Interactive TV Advertisements

Pulkit Chandna — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:29:28 -0500

Cablevision will soon be rolling out a new service, called Optimum Select, for delivering interactive TV ads. It plans to begin serving interactive ads in early October, the company announced today.

The viewers will first be confronted with a transparent banner at the bottom of their screens asking them to “Click SEL for More.” If a viewer chooses to know more, the ongoing program will be downsized by three-quarters and banished to the top right corner of the screen. The rest of the screen will then be used to display the information requested by the viewer.

"This is all about giving consumers the ability to explore more content, realize more savings and have more fun while creating a deeper and more meaningful viewing experience," Gemma Toner, senior vice president of marketing and business development at Cablevision, said in a press release.

Image Credit: BrightHouseAdvertising

Have an Extra 30 Grand to Blow? Buy an 85-Inch Plasma!

Paul Lilly — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 07:45:26 -0500

Excuse us while we clean up our morning coffee off of our keyboard and desk - Panasonic wants how much for its 85-inch plasma display? The answer is $30,000, but hey, if you wait long enough, maybe you can catch one on sale for 'only' 20 Gs.

According to Panasonic, the exorbitantly priced TH-85PF12U is the industry's first 85-inch full HD, 1080p plasma display and equivalent to four 42-inch plasmas. The company also claims its Neo plasma display panel technology has made it possible to keep the 85-incher "significantly thinner and lighter than past plasmas," measuring 3.9 inches deep and checking in at 260 pounds.

Sounds groovy and all, but how do you convince your significant other that a $30,000 TV set would really complete your living room? Answer that question and you're halfway there.

Image Credit: Panasonic via Cnet

LG to Start Selling 15" OLED TV this November

Paul Lilly — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:35:02 -0500

It's not very big, but come November, LG plans to start selling a gorgeous-looking 15-inch OLED television set. It will first be commercialized in South Korea and then offered overseas sometime next year, LG said. Larger OLED displays are also expected to follow.

"We are planning to unveil a 40-inch grade (OLED) product in a not too distant future," an LG executive said.

It's anyone's guess what the 15-inch display will cost. High prices have kept OLED technology from being mass produced to compete with LCD technology, which has fallen in cost dramatically in the past several years. To put it into perspective, Sony's two-year old 11-inch XEL-1 still sells for a hefty $2,500 in the U.S.

Image Credit: LG via Engadget

Netflix to Invade Sony Bravia TVs

Paul Lilly — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:45:22 -0500

Pretty soon, even your toaster will come with Netflix streaming built in. In the meantime, Netflix's newest target is Sony's line of online-enabled Bravia LCD televisions.

Enabled via a software update expected to launch this fall, those with compatible Bravia sets will gain access to the same growing catalog of movies and television shows that are available on an also growing list of Netflix-streaming devices, including the Xbox 360 console, Roku player, some TiVo sets, and a few Samsung and LG Blu-ray players.

Supported Sony TV sets so far include the XBR9 series, Z5100 series, and the W5100 series, while other Sony sets can add support via a $200 Bravia Internet Video Link. In addition to Netflix streaming, Bravia Internet Video-enabled devices also support content from Amazon's Video-On-Demand, YouTube, CBS, and others.