journals

The Front Row Set Top Box

By Pilky, November 25, 2005

I can tell you now that it is on top of my wish list for new products at MWSF.

Once in a while someone commentating on the world of Apple has a vision of a future product that seems to fit in with everything else Apple is doing. I just so happen to have had one of those visions. It seems such a simple an obvious idea that I’m surprised I haven’t heard anyone think of it before (well hopefully Apple has). What I have imagined is a Front Row set top box.

Think of a small box, like a Mac mini but thinner and completely white. Other than that all you can see is a DVD drive a power light and a few ports on the back. It plugs into your TV and makes it part of the digital hub that Apple is trying to create. And the best part is that Apple has all of the parts in place to make something like this happen.

Let’s think about the iMac G5. One of the biggest new features is Front Row. This is a simple application that takes all your music, photos and movies and lets you view them using one of the simplest remotes ever conceived. So imagine if you put this on your set top box…
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Updates!

By Arden, November 24, 2005

The time has come to reveal what we have been working on for the past few weeks. I know you all are anxious, so let’s get right to it!

Deep Thought Software Giveaway

The first order of business is the software giveaway. I have randomly pulled 7 members out of our memberlist (barring, of course, those who are or ever have been on Deep Thought’s staff). They are the finalists to win the software bundle. We will draw the winner on November 30th at 12 p.m.

HOWEVER, you must get involved if you want to win! Finalists will have to speak their minds before they can be drawn as the final winner. It doesn’t matter how you do it: join the discussions over in the forums, leave some comments on articles on the site, or submit your own stories for others to comment on.

But how can you write stories for Deep Thought? Now you can!

Community Soapbox

Deep Thought is proud to present to you the new Community Soapbox. This is a place where anyone may submit an article, and as long as it falls within a few lenient guidelines, it will be available for the world to read…
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The Top Eight Products of the Past Year

By UnnDunn, November 23, 2005

Deep Thought turns one today, and we thought it would be good to take a look back at some of the products that have made an impact in the year since Deep Thought came online. Some of them may surprise you, others are obvious, but all are remarkable in their own rights.

Happy Birthday Deep Thought! Deep Thought turns one today, and we thought it would be good to take a look back at some of the products that have made an impact in the year since Deep Thought came online. While not all of these products are necessarily the best in their class, (and one was launched last year before DT) they are all here because they made a serious splash this year and shook things up in the tech world. Some of them may surprise you, others are obvious, but all are remarkable in their own rights.

So without further ado, here’s the list.

Sony PlayStation Portable

For years, handheld consoles have been regarded as the ugly stepchildren of the videogame hobby. While home console players were enjoying rich 3D worlds, cinematic visuals, top-notch CD-quality sound, voice acting and robust online play, handheld players had to make do with SNES-era visuals, bippy music and practically no 3D rendering capabilities.

Then came the PlayStation Portable.

With its debut entry into the handheld gaming market, Sony set out to redefine what handheld gaming meant, and the result is a sleek, sexy handheld device with incredible power under the hood.

The first thing…
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Deep Thought: A year inside the minds of geeks

By Nick, November 22, 2005

It's been quite a year indeed.

“We’ve come a long long way together,
Through the hard times and the good,
I have have to celebrate you baby,
I have to praise you like I should”
--Fatboy Slim-Praise You

I think those words above can accurately describe Deep Thought’s first year in existence. It’s been a wild ride, in which we’ve encountered lost databases, crashing servers (two in one day!), three redesigns, and a little controversey along the way. It’s been a year where we have felt our way through running a tech news site, something none of us had any experience in before. It’s been a year in which we’ve seen a number of changes to our staff; old friends leaving and new ones coming in. It’s been quite a year indeed.

13 November 2004: Deep Thought is concieved. Below are the words that started it all, in an iChat between Pilky and myself:

pilky: hmm, I wonder
how would you like to start a blog with me, analysing tech news?

13 November-2004 November 2004: The formative days. During this time, the original staff--all members of the XvsXP.com forum at the time--was assembled and the site was built.

23 November 2004: Deep Thought Officially opens to…
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Xbox 360 to be released at 12:01 AM

By Nick, November 21, 2005

The feeding frenzy is about to begin.

Microsoft’s next-generation gaming console, Xbox 360, is set to be released at 12:01 AM tonight/tomorrow morning. According to a Microsoft press release, “more than 4,500 retailers [will] open their doors at 12:01 a.m. to answer the demand for the Xbox 360 console and 18 launch games.” The Xbox 360 is the first of the next generation of gaming consoles (PlayStation 3 and Nintendo revolution are the other two) to be released to the general public. Sony and Nintendo plan on releasing their new consoles next year. This represents a nice reversal of fortune for Microsoft, which has been hounded with bad press over security concerns, Windows Vista delays, and sweaty dancing CEOs.

If you are planning to go to a launch event and would like to write about it for us, let us know.