There are so many lessons to take away from my recent experience in netbook hardware failure, it’s hard to know where to begin. A resounding vote for cloud computing and distributed risk? How about, beware of irony and over-praising your gadgets? Or simply when it rains (first the washing machine breaks down, then the car…), it pours. No, here’s the moral of the story I like: when your computer dies on a weekend, it’s good to know the Geek Squad is around for data recovery.

My beloved Asus Eee 1000HA has served me well for eleven months, but last Friday everything changed when a system config error popped up my screen. I couldn’t even boot in safe mode, and every attempt to break away from the error screen resulted in a cycle that landed me right back where I started. Miraculously I had the Windows XP recovery CD and an external CD/DVD drive on hand, but even after I figured out how to re-order the boot sequence, it became clear to me I would lose all of my data if I ran the recovery disk. A call to Asus tech support also confirmed that an F9 reset would wipe my files, and that I would need to get a full back-up before attempting the process. (Tech support would not provide any advice on how I might accomplish such a back-up with no working operating system.)

At this point you may be wondering whether I have ever considered backing up my data on a regular basis to avoid this type of disaster. I have backed up in the past to one of our Western Digital external hard drives, but even with the help of the Clickfree back-up solution I picked up in January at CES (it runs a differential back-up every time you plug it in), I’ve never managed to get into a regular routine. Before last week, it had been several months since I’d run a back-up, and I was panicked at the thought of losing the many files existing solely on my Eee PC.

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Microsoft fared badly trying to break into the cable TV world, but it’s had a great deal more success with IPTV. And now that its Mediaroom software has gained widespread global adoption, Microsoft is anxious to keep developers engaged with the platform and pumping out new TV apps. Last month the Redmond giant hosted its third annual Mediaroom Developers Conference. Tracy Swedlow, long famous in the interactive television industry, reports that three applications earned top honors in the event’s ritual app contest.

Coming in first was ES3’s Interactive Workout application for creating a personal workout routine with how-to videos. Second prize went to Pushbutton’s Time Capsules app, which provides a way to navigate content created at specific moments in time. And third-place honors went to Accedo Broadband’s ZapClub application, featuring social networking features for TV shows including live tweets, Wikipedia information, and the ability to rate and share shows.

In the US, Microsoft’s primary Mediaroom deployment comes through AT&T’s U-Verse service. While not as aggressively marketed as the other big stateside telco TV offering, U-Verse continues to plug along quite successfully, with projected revenue hitting $2 billion this year. The continued development of TV apps for U-Verse is what should help set AT&T’s service apart from its cable competitors in the near future. In particular, the IP foundation makes these apps theoretically portable. Want to access that Interactive Workout on both your TV and your iPhone? There’s an app for that… or there soon will be.

Disclosure: I work for Motorola, which works closely with both AT&T and Microsoft on IPTV technologies.

Philadelphia got its official Clearwire WiMAX launch yesterday with a celebration in the city’s Love Park. I say official because Clear’s 4G service has been available in the Philly metro area for just over a month now. I signed up with my own Motorola USB modem (filched, with permission, from my employer at a trade show), and the discount pricing on offer for the first six months of use. So far, it’s been a joy, even out in the western suburbs where I reside.

Along with the official Clear launch came news this week that Comcast is also starting to market WiMAX services in Philly through its relationship with Clearwire. However, while Comcast WiMAX market rollouts are very closely following Clearwire’s own, yesterday’s launch event appears to have been all in the signature green of the Clear brand. More lemon/lime pics below. Thanks, Derek!

Some bemoan the commercialization of the winter holidays, but in the spirit of “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em,” why not look at the fun side of the seasonal shopping extravaganza? Naturally you have the giving and receiving of many gadgets, but there’s also new tech to experience in the act of shopping itself. Forget measly end-cap displays, point-of-sale technologies are getting downright digitally sophisticated.

In time for the 2009 holiday season, Apple has started testing out a new “EasyPay touch” system. Select stores are replacing their old portable computers, used by service reps to process sales, with iPod Touch units armed with advanced barcode scanners, magnetic stripe readers, and new Apple software. Functionally speaking, the EasyPay touch system is supposed to be faster and easier, but it’s also equipped to handle cash transactions by electronically signaling a nearby cash drawer. Will this make a huge difference to Apple Store customers? Probably not. But it does notch up the store’s cool factor, whether you’re buying an iPhone or a Magic Mouse.

If you live near a metropolis with an Apple Store, you might also be close to a Lego retail outlet. If so, check out Lego’s 3D packaging. This has been buzzing around the Web for a while now, and I had a chance to check it out in person at my local King of Prussia mall. A kiosk in the store lets you hold up certain Lego packages to see a 3D model of the toy inside. Turn the box and the 3D image turns too. It’s the perfect packaging for little blocks that magically have to become toy boats and dinosaurs.

Finally, Dave and I recently got an invite to a Digital Signage conference up in New York. While only Dave will be able to attend, the offer of a VIP pass from a company called Provision was enough to make me look up their business. Provision appears to specialize in much the same technology as Metaio, the company behind the Lego kiosks. However, Provision also highlights the ability to use virtual displays for dispensing coupons or targeted offers, and a release on the company’s site shows they are working with the University of Tokyo to add texture or “touchability” to 3D visuals. I don’t expect to see this in the King of Prussia Mall this year, but in future holiday seasons it could be a way to get more people off the Internet and back into brick-and-mortar stores.

It’s taken a little longer than I had hoped, but I’ve finally composed my thoughts after reviewing the HP DreamScreen. Bottom line: It’s a beautiful display with some very useful applications. If HP could guarantee additional apps, available in the near future via software download, I could imagine plunking down the $249.99 ($219.99 at Amazon) for my own 10.2″ DreamScreen. But the device does need some tweaking, and more apps, more apps, more apps. Here’s the complete lowdown.

The DreamScreen is a Wi-Fi-connected photo display with widgets that provide: clock, calendar, weather, Snapfish photos, Pandora, and Facebook functionality. You can also use the DreamScreen to play your own library of music and videos. The picture quality is stunning, and as HP describes it, the device itself is piano-black with a “flush-glass widescreen display.” There’s a touchbar at the bottom of the screen, but I found it largely useless. The best way to control the DreamScreen is with its remote. As other people have noted, the interface could use some work, but it didn’t bother me overly much. There are cases where you have to click up or down to get to the horizontal menu selection you want, and sometimes it’s difficult to backtrack if you’ve inputted something incorrectly (like a password). However, these types of annoyances are the kind I can get past pretty quickly, especially when there’s nothing better currently on the market.

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I love my Slacker G2 device, but apparently too few other people are buying the hardware to make it a profitable endeavor. The company is shutting down production. This is not a big surprise since Slacker has been making the rounds on other mobile devices for a while now. However, there are features with the G2 that are limited or nonexistent on other Slacker-enabled products. For example, the Blackberry app requires a USB connection to archive music, and the iPhone app drops Slacker’s killer offline caching functionality. In contrast, with my G2 and Slacker Premium subscription ($7.50/month) I can save songs I like with one click and listen to both my library of music and Internet radio stations offline. That’s a great mobile music offering.

Presumably the Slacker app will improve on other mobile devices, but for now the departure of the G2 is a sad loss. If you’re interested, now is probably the time to start G2 hunting on eBay.

Having covered digital photo frames and widget-ized devices for a while, I was psyched to have the HP DreamScreen arrive on my doorstep yesterday for review. I’ve barely had time to turn the DreamScreen on, but wanted to share some initial thoughts based on the unboxing and what I’ve read from other reviews of the device.

First, the packaging of this thing is beautiful. I have to admit, if you’re going to sell me a device for a couple hundred bucks, it doesn’t hurt to make the unboxing a thrilling experience – something Apple learned early on. Second, you can unwrap everything and have the DreamScreen powered on in about five minutes. Third, the device itself is beautiful – both the slick, black surface and the resolution on the DreamScreen. More on that later.

Before I dig in to a full product review, I also want to mention one particular complaint that has been made about this device in the press. The DreamScreen’s gotten dinged for including only widgets, not a Web browser. Respectfully, we disagree with that sentiment. Dave and I both feel that a product like this doesn’t need a full-on browser. That’s what my netbook is for. If this device is going to sit in my living room or kitchen, I don’t want it to be something I use to get work done or browse for content on at length. I want it to provide snippets of information and entertainment. That said, I don’t want it to be a static device either. As my Squeezebox has shown, it’s possible to continue delivering software updates which provide new content and applications. That’s what I want from the next screen in my home.

Stay tuned for the DreamScreen hands-on review. In the meantime, take a look at the gallery of unboxing pics below.