2008-05-27

The Geek Weekly: Blog

From the Editors of The Geek Weekly

Google heads tech brands

Is it any surprise the 800-pound online gorilla known as Google has once again topped the world's most popular brands? In fact, a fistful of tech companies made the Top 10 list in Millward Brown's annual ranking of top international brands.

Google held onto its No. 1 spot, with a brand worth an estimated $86 billion, ahead of other tech companies hovering near the top, including Microsoft (No. 3), China Mobile (No. 5.), IBM (No. 6), Apple (No. 7) and Nokia (No. 9).

Is GE a "tech" company? Hmm, well, I guess they make some tech products, but they came in at No. 2 nevertheless. Rounding off the Top 10 list were non-tech companies, Coca-Cola (No. 4), McDonald's (No. 8) and Marlboro (No. 10.).

According to the report, the rankings attempt to gauge the value of a brand using market data, financial information and customer interviews.

Where was Sony? Yahoo? HP? Visit Millward Brown’s Web site to see the full report.

Five must-get features of an A/V receiver

Of course you love your swank new high-def TV, but how’s the audio? George Lucas once said audio is half the movie-viewing experience, and if you agree, perhaps it’s time to upgrade that aging audio-video receiver (or dare we say it, the TV’s built-in speakers).

The following are five cool new features to look for in an A/V receiver, which is the hub of your home theater since it takes in all your sources (DVD player, cable/satellite receiver, Blu-ray machine, game system), splits and amplifies the audio signal into multiple channels (speakers), and decodes audio technologies that might be on the disc, including DTS and Dolby Digital surround technologies.

Multiple video inputs Once reserved strictly for audio, many of today's receivers now let you connect multiple video inputs -- a trend that has taken off since HDMI (high-definition multimedia interface) became the de facto cable of choice. Now, just one clean cable goes from the receiver to the TV, plus it up-converts the video quality from other connect sources, say, a DVD player using S-Video, so it looks great on your TV.
Surround sound New surround sound audio technologies have recently debuted, offering up to 7.1 surround sound. You've probably heard of 5.1 surround sound (two left and right front speakers, a centre channel, two left and right rear speakers and .1 is for the subwoofer) but 7.1 surround sound, supported by many new movies and receivers, adds two additional audio channels for the back of the room.
iPod compatibility Many receivers today include iPod docking (and battery recharging) stations for those who want to listen to their favorite music without earphones and through good speakers. Plus, some receivers will output video from a video iPod, so you can see your iPod content on a big-screen TV.
Wired or wireless network support If your MP3s and other music are stored on your PC in another room, or perhaps you like listening to streaming Internet radio stations, look for a receiver with wired or wireless network support. Many also offer an onscreen interface, so users can see and select the music file using the TV remote.
Support for radio subscription If you subscribe to XM Satellite Radio or Sirius Satellite Radio (which may be one and the same by the time you read this), many A/V receivers today offer built-in support for these commercial-free, CD-quality radio subscription services. So, as long as you have an account, you can listen to satellite radio at home through your home theater.

Nokia's 6212 doubles as an e-wallet

Nokia, the world's No. 1 mobile phone maker, announced it will start selling a new handset, the 6212 Classic, with integrated Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. This NFC feature lets phone users wirelessly swap data -- including photos, videos, audio files, Web links, business cards, notes or calendar entries -- to a compatible handset by simply tapping it on the second phone.

This wireless communication technology can also be used as an electronic wallet by waving the NFC-enabled phone up to, say, a vending machine, and the purchase is then automatically applied to the user's credit card, set up beforehand.

Due out in Europe and Asia in the fall of 2008 for roughly 200 euros (about $300), the Nokia 6212 Classic also boasts a 2-megapixel camera, 2-inch QVGA screen, stereo FM radio, built-in MP3 player and support for expandable microSD memory cards. No word on when the phone will hit the United States.