Unfortunately I wasn’t able to have my Comcast cable and Internet service migrated on Saturday (as they originally suggested), but the Cradlepoint 3G router with Sprint AirCard has ensured continued TiVoCast downloads, CoD4 on Xbox Live, and web surfing (work, too). The Airport Extreme is running in bridge mode, so I don’t have to change any wireless settings on my devices. After a quick reformat and disk password keychain addition, I’ve also verified Time Machine AirDisk backup functionality for LAN archiving. (Mozy @ $5/mo is handling the redundant off-site backup of irreplaceable files and photos.) Powerline connectivity and OTA ATSC reception are both good in the new place, though the TiVo units still transfer and receive data too slowly.

The stars have clearly aligned for me with Slacker. Yesterday I spoke with Jonathan Sasse at the company for an update on Slacker happenings. During which conversation I discovered that Slacker is actually now available on my Squeezebox now. And finally, today my Slacker portable player arrived in the mail. Hooray!

I’ll save some of the details from my conversation with Jonathan for another post, except to say that Slacker will start shipping its hardware to retail chains in the next couple of weeks. No word yet on which stores or exact timing, but it sounds like we could see players on shelves by summer.

As for my own Slacker player, I’ll work on a full review for ZNF as soon as possible. I unboxed today and will start playing tonight.

In the meantime, I’m thoroughly enjoying Slacker on my Squeezebox. I signed in to my Slacker account on the SqueezeNetwork and my custom stations were instantly available on my living-room stereo. CNET’s John Falcone also commented on the ease of managing Internet radio accounts via the Squeezebox in his glowing review of the Squeezebox Duet. While he doesn’t go into detail on each of the radio services, I can attest to the fact that managing both Slacker and Pandora is remarkably straightforward.

One other note: My living-room stereo for the moment consists of a SurroundXi portable speaker system plugged into the Squeezebox. The SurroundXi is a review unit designed to work primarily with iPods, but I’m finding it quite suitable for my needs. It’s also the perfect size right now given that we’ve moved all of our furniture to prepare for the wood flooring we’re having installed tomorrow. I can carry my entire stereo system (Squeezebox plus SurroundXi) in one trip up to the bedroom when the contractors arrive.

I’m setting up my SageTV HD100 and a key component is the HDMI cable used to connect the HD media extender to the LCD television. One thing I learned long ago was to not buy theater cables from the big-box retailers, including Best Buy, Circuit City,Walmart , etc. Instead, I save myself a bundle by purchasing online. Why not cave to convenience and purchase at the store? Despite what the kid at the store tells you, those Monster Cable and lesser known “high quality” cables are being sold at huge margins and no noticeable differences in performance.

Best Buy sells the fancy packaged, 16′ Monster Cable - Ultra Series 800 HDMI A/V Cable (not rated for in-wall installation) for the low, low price of $149.99. While Monoprice.com, my favorite cable vendor, sells a HDMI Tin-Plated Copper CL2 Rated (For In-Wall Installation) Cable (22AWG) - 30ft (Gold Plated) for $36.87. Feel free to include shipping fees, and you’re still way below the big-box cost. Delivery is very quick and you’ll end up with a better cable for less. Another retailer with good, inexpensive cables is Newegg.com.

Next time you have a home theater project, do your homework and shop around to save in places you didn’t expect. Trust me, you’ll need that money later for something else in your theater.

Check out more of Brent’s reflections on tech, gadgets, software and media at Brent Evans Geek Tonic.

Photo frames are pretty much commoditized at this point, but the subtle differences among them still make it difficult to choose the right one. I recently tested Aluratek’s 11″ product (MSRP $230), and while it doesn’t offer anything revolutionary (still waiting for a workable frame that receives emailed photos…), it does an elegant job of displaying photos, and it requires virtually zero technical ability. Bottom line: It’s a great photo frame for mom’s living room.

The Aluratek comes with a power cord, USB cable, remote and 1GB memory card in the box. In my case, I plugged the frame in and then connected a USB flash drive. A library of my photos popped up immediately, and by clicking “enter” on the remote I got the full-screen visual. The remote also has a handy “slideshow” button for one-click slideshow action. No need to drill down into menus. I have to admit I had momentary difficulty getting the remote to work until I realized the need to remove a plastic covering. Chalk that one up to user error.

Manipulating photos on the Aluratek frame is extremely easy. Pressing “enter” a second time zooms in on photos, and pressing “up” or “down” rotates them. For complicated maneuvers you can go into the menu to do things like add photo transitions. You know, if you want to get fancy.

My one beef with the Aluratek is that if you get up close there is some graininess. (Click on the thumbnail right for a close look.) Photos look perfectly fine at a distance of a foot or more away, but if resolution is your thing, the Aluratek is not the best choice. There I’d still go with a Westinghouse. (Similar frame sizes are comparably priced on Amazon under $190)

Other cool features on the Aluratek include video and music modes. I plugged in my Flip video camera and instantly had access to the video stored there. (Some digital photo frames still don’t support video.) Unfortunately I couldn’t hear the sound on the videos, but I’ll give Aluratek the benefit of the doubt on that - perhaps it had something to do with the Flip, rather than the frame. In slideshow mode when the frame was just showing demo images from the Flip the demo music was perfectly audible. Decent quality too.

All in all, I’d recommend the Aluratek frame. It’s stylish (I like the cherry-wood color) and it’s easy, easy, easy to use. Lots more photos after the jump. Full specs available here. (more…)

I pretty regularly find myself in locations where I just can’t function - there’s no network drop, the connection is poor because it’s being shared with dozens of high bandwidth applications, I’m a guest and the LAN requires a local user account, etc. So, I’ve been keeping my eyes open for the right EVDO router. I’ve played with a few models including the Kyocera unit we picked up for CES - only to discover it doesn’t support the two current cards we have… which led to a somewhat disappointing luncheon demo at the Wynn. (The unit’s since been returned.)

A few weeks ago I ended up presenting in a conference room without Ethernet (you’d be surprised how often that happens) or public WiFi, but the hosts offered us a pre-release CradlePoint MBR1000 EVDO router for the afternoon - if I could figure out how to make it work. In less than five minutes I had it unpacked, configured, and feeding my devices via a Sprint EVDO card. I was sold.

The MBR1000 started shipping this week and, as you can see from the pictures, mine’s Sling’s arrived. It retails for $250, but we got it $30 under list via Solid Signal. Not only will this be useful for work, it’ll provide broadband to one of our apartments during the upcoming move and two week overlap. Pretty critical - as I work from home and don’t know how my Comcast migration will play out…

Click thumbnails for a larger view:

I love March Madness. But even though I no longer trek to an office, it’s difficult to be near a TV during all of the match-ups I want to see. After all, we are talking middle-of-the-work-day, middle-of-the-work-week broadcasts.

Luckily, this year CBSSports.com is expanding their free web streaming service March Madness on Demand (MMOD) to include all tournament games. Meaning, even if I’m in the local broadcast blackout zone without a TV nearby, I can still watch Duke trouncing this year’s upstart 16-seed. Traditionally, local blackout restrictions have been observed online. But CBS has decided it can push the proverbial envelope, knowing most people will watch the games on TV (via local affiliates) given the choice. As CBSSports.com SVP Jason Kint told paidContent.org, “It’s an across-the-board decision by all partners that this is additive–not cannibalistic.�

This no-risk move by CBS is a good way for the company to fortify its public image as a progressive broadcaster when it comes to content distribution. Both programmers and broadcasters are learning they have to be a bit more open-minded about distribution models in a world where consumers expect to be able to watch what they want, when and where they want. Otherwise they end up with a lot of unhappy sports fans.

I had assumed the lawsuits would ultimately kill Vonage… And while they still might, as part of our moving prep, I made the decision to proactively kill service. My 2.5 years with them has been somewhat rocky, including poor customer service and call quality issues. Complaints from folks on the other end of the line is what finally led me to this decision.

In Vonage’s defense, I’ve really appreciated the voicemail->email feature and their pricing was extremely competitive. However, our multiple cell phones and SkypeOut should be sufficient going forward. If not, for the first time in years, we’ll consider going back to a reliable Verizon landline. (more…)