collection

I've always been a fan of thrift stores. I suppose it's a direct correlation to the fact that I absolutely hate shopping. That is, I hate shopping for specific things I need. It doesn't matter if it's clothes, electronics, furniture--or even kitchenware; shopping is a chore. I find that thrifting is a treasure hunt without that impending feeling of need hovering over my head. I could do just as well with or without that macram? owl, but when something I already own breaks, I know I have to go shop for a new one. Thrifting is … Read more

It goes without saying that the folks who work at Criterion Collection are film buffs. And anyone who has watched one of the company's lovingly remastered DVDs can attest to the fact the company really cares about making films look as good as they can. That's why we took notice when a poster at AVS Forum pointed out an interesting tidbit in Sound & Vision's recent profile of Criterion Collection's new high-def home theater--Criterion's reference Blu-ray player is a PS3.

We're not exactly surprised. We've been using the PS3 as our reference Blu-ray player at CNET since it was released, and you'll notice that it tops our best Blu-ray players list by quite a margin. Furthermore, it's worth noting that video quality expert Joe Kane help set up Criterion's new home theater room. When we checked out Joe Kane's demo of the truly awesome SP-A800B at CES, we specifically asked what Blu-ray player he thought had the best image quality, he immediately said the PS3. So if you're worried about the image quality of a "game console" versus a high-end standalone Blu-ray player, it's worth rechecking your assumptions when CNET, Criterion and Joe Kane all vouch for the PS3's excellent performance.

Another interesting piece of gear we noted from the S&V article is… Read more

Spotted on Shopper: the Creative Zen Vision:M in the 30GB black variety. No, I am not playing a cruel joke on Zen lovers. You really can still buy the player. Of course, you'll be shelling out more than $500 for one, but that's worth it for a piece of tech history, right? Or...no? You tell me. I can't be the only one that mourned the retirement of this chunky-yet-fabulous portable media device, but I won't be shelling half a grand for one anytime soon. Of course, I still have a functioning one (in green, … Read more

Collective Intellect, a Boulder, Colo.-based analytics firm that specializes in crunching the discussion on blogs, forums, and social networks, announced Wednesday that it has netted $6.6 million in Series B venture capital. The investment round was led by Grotech Capital Ventures and included funding from Crawley Hatfield Capital as well as existing investors Appian Ventures and Croghan Investments.

With the fresh cash, Collective Intellect said it will beef up its marketing and sales campaigns to pull in more clients and revenue. The company's Series A round, $2.6 million in February 2006, was led by Appian Ventures.… Read more

Back in the old days (like 2007), the marketing strategy for new albums included a prerelease "rolling thunder" PR campaign. First came a single, followed shortly by the video.

Then a few chosen reviewers would get early copies with "NOT FOR RESALE" imprinted across the front, allowing them to have their reviews ready slightly before or on the release date. Retail outlets would receive promotional matter, like cardboard cutouts of the band standing in front of the album cover. A few warm-up shows would feature songs from the record. Meanwhile, somebody--a reviewer, a disgruntled record … Read more

As every laptop maker tries to outdo each other in colors, patterns, and even textures, MSI has decided to zig where the rest are zagging: It's going back to basic white.

The Taiwanese company today is officially introducing its "PR200 Crystal Collection," a luxury laptop most notable for its pearl-white finish and 120 crystals encircling the MSI logo. This blanco edition appears to complete the entire spectrum for MSI, which debuted a black version more than a year ago before going through various other colors and finishes. Inside, it features a 12.1-inch display, an Intel Core … Read more

Getting legal clearance for samples and covers can be a real problem. For samples, if the copyright owner of the sampled song discovers you've used it without permission, they can sue to receive a portion of the proceeds--even if the sample's unrecognizable. Even getting permission doesn't always save you, as the Beastie Boys discovered. An article in a recent issue of SSA explores the issue in detail and concurs with Beck's assessement in 2005 that the legal issues with sampling will basically kill the practice in mainstream commercial music.

Covers generally require permission from the publisher, … Read more

Just after Dell and Microsoft introduced a line of crimson PCs for (Product) Red, Sony is using the same color for its own limited-edition laptops--but for Valentine's Day instead.

Despite the unfortunate juxtaposition of the two campaigns, Sony can hardly be singled out for the superficial marketing ploy of its "Red Collection." February is barely a week away, and companies will be coming out in droves to peddle their wares as Valentine gifts. (Apple announced its own entry with a new Nano, albeit pink instead of red.)

Sony's offering is a $1,000 package that comprises … Read more

I got the rundown on CollectiveX's new 2.0 product, Groupsites, yesterday. It's a customizable workgroup and social network site, and it's got some nice features. There's a lot on the service that's quite good. I would have no problem recommending Groupsites to someone who wants to build a professional or a social site. I don't think the service will bite or frustrate its users. But it might not excite too many people, either.

The big selling point of today's version 2.0 launch is that login credentials can work across its sites. Say you're a member of a professional group for work, a social club, and a parents' group. With Groupsites, you only have to log on once to get access to all the sites. Moreover, you only have to create your profile once, and if you like, you can create both business and social profiles, and select which one you want to use on each site you're a member of.

The service offers the groups themselves some nice features: Forums, a group calendar, a file library (although with limited storage), an email broadcast manager, and an activity log not unlike the Facebook mini-feed. Groupsite navigation is simple and clear. And there are some clever touches. For example, when users are setting up their professional profiles, the system can automatically write a bio based upon questions that they answer.

As a business tool (which it was originally designed for), the service is solid, if basic. There's no wiki and no open API to build custom apps. The API is 30 days out, CEO Clarence Wooten told me. In the meantime, you can put custom elements on pages, Myspace style.

The service will be compared to Ning (review), which is fair. Ning is a great tool for building mini social nets, and it's being used for both personal and professional groups. Wooten says Groupsites could also be called a "build your own Facebook," but until the Groupsites user base grows quite a bit, that's more aspirational than accurate. The service can also be compared to Microsoft SharePoint, Yahoo Groups, and Google Groups.

I like Groupsites, but its free service isn't radically better than its competitors. Business users looking to control access and branding, though, might want to seriously consider it. You can redirect custom domains to Groupsites, and for reasonable fees, you can strip out the default ads and skin the site to look just the way you like.

… Read more