Here are some more deets on the Cinema from the official press release:

As the only PC consumer webcam on the market today with a native 720p sensor that delivers widescreen video capture at 16:9, LifeCam Cinema provides 720p high-definition video and features Auto Focus to keep video sharp from across the room all the way up to 4 inches from the webcam. Also launching with LifeCam Cinema is Microsoft’s ClearFrame Technology, which offers faster image processing technology to help deliver smooth video at any resolution and improved noise reduction technology to reduce image graininess and keep video sharp. Finally, the LifeCam Cinema webcam’s widescreen technology allows the widest angle of capture ever for a Microsoft webcam, at 74 degrees — no need to worry about leaving anything out of the shot again.

(I actually used to be a big fan of the stylus when I first started dealing with PDAs – wow, I sound like I’m 80 – but I’m now of the opinion that “if you can’t do it without a stylus, it should be designed differently.”)

Well, if you’re more than familiar with the problems I’m describing, you might want to check out iDialer for Windows Mobile. [Author: Doug Melton of supware.net. He’s on Twitter if you want to follow app developement.]

The application is completely free and gives you a nice, full-screen application for dialing numbers or contacts. The interface is modern (read: iPhone-esque), the keys can’t be missed and it certainly benefits those of us who are forced deal with (what seem to be) 2 pixel x 2 pixel number keys on our existing WinMo phones.

As Geoffry over at TechZulu mentions, “the program is QVGA and VGA compatible and should work in both portrait and landscape orientation.

In addition to giving your fingers, eyes and stylus (stylii, if you will) some much-needed relief, iDialer offers integration with Google Voice, Phone.com or jajah! Essentially, you can configure you the iDialer app to make outgoing calls from your account on these networks. You can use supware.net’s iDialer online configuration to generate a customized .cab installation file based on your Google/Phone.com/jajah account info. (You just need to provide your phone number, no passwords.) Then, install that after you’ve gone through the initial iDialer installation.

[via TechZulu]

[via Pocket PC Thoughts]

The above reasons are precisely why I let a 3rd-party handle my cell phone voicemail service.

About 2 or 3 years ago, I began beta-testing a service from CallWave that not only allowed me to receive my voicemails through my email account (as an MP3 attachment) but the service also provided me with a (highly inaccurate) transcription of the message within the email so, if I were in a crowded place, I wouldn’t even have to open the attachment. (The premium version of the service offered a more accurate transcription of messages received.) Of course, all free things must come to an end and I was notified that my beta test would soon end. The regular service offering was $14.95 and that wasn’t something I was prepared to do… at least not with all of my other regular monthly charges.

So, while I wasn’t quite ready to replace my wife’s $15/mo TiVo subscription for a $15/mo voicemail service (that wouldn’t have been fair, now would it?), I also wasn’t quite ready to give up the ridiculously-convenient service of having those voicemails in my email inbox. That said, I went for a compromise: GotVoice.

GotVoice offered me the same options as CallWave but did so for $9.95/mo. It was still $10/mo on top of a Zune subscription, TiVo, Maghound*, Web hosting, etc. and so on and so forth. However, while the transcriptions were pretty accurate and the MP3 delivery was relatively timely, the online account management interface to manage current and saved voicemails was antiquated… to say the very least. The site looks as though it was birthed straight from 1997. I’m a bit of a design snob (despite what you may think by looking at this site) and I just couldn’t take the “Web 0.2” look.

I looked for alternatives as time permitted but never really found one that suited me… until a post on Lifehacker alerted me to an existing service by the name of YouMail.

There are a few different reasons why I chose YouMail and why it remains my service of choice. First, there’s a number of different pricing plans between $0.00/mo (a.k.a. “free, baby”) and $18/mo.

Second, if you choose to purchase the transcription option and elect to have them sent to you via text message (in addition to or in replacement of transcriptions sent by email), the messages are abbreviated in order to accommodate for the 160 text message character restrictions. (i.e., “your” is replaced with “yr” in the transcription; “for” is replaced by “4”, etc. Basically, your voicemail transcription resembles an instant message conversation with your 12-year-old niece.)

Third, the service goes beyond the traditional voicemail delivery options and allows you to create customized greetings or even select from a variety of existing ones and then apply unique greetings to one, some, or all of the contacts in your address book. (This also represents a supplemental source of revenue for the company as some of the greetings are labeled “premium” and require purchase. The vast majority, however, are free.) In addition, you can create your own greetings and upload them (WAV or MP3) to your online account.

Last, but certainly not least, MP3 attachments of incoming voicemails, visual voicemail management,  personal greetings and unwanted caller blocking are all available on the free account.

Overall, YouMail represents the best voicemail delivery/transcription service I’ve tested thus far. If you’re not convinced, give the free version of YouMail a try and at least get started with customized greetings, voicemail by email (MP3) and online management of your new and saved messages (“visual voicemail”). Then, if you decide you want the transcription option, you can select add-on packages ranging from $3.99 to $17.99.

*In case you’re curious: I opt for the $4.95/mo Maghound plan and get FastCompany and Men’s Health for myself; Self for my wife. (I wasn’t being greedy… she already gets People and Us Weekly through an alternative source.)

How, you ask? By loading open-source, Linux-based firmware on an old, spare router (there are plenty of compatible makes/models) and subsequently converting it into a wireless repeater bridge.

Once you’ve got the firmware loaded and configured all of the necessary settings, you can place your wireless router anywhere you’d like and then plug those old PCs into the network switch component of the router.

The DD-WRT firmware, when properly loaded, can super-charge your existing router giving you the type of features and functionality you’d normally find in a much higher-priced, enterprise-level router.

Interested in learning more about the DD-WRT firmware project? Check out some tutorials currently available on the project’s wiki or find out how you can assist in further developing the project; or, just dive right in and start installing the firmware now. Once you’ve messed around with it, drop us a line and let us and our other readers know what you’ve done.

(By the way, there’s always a risk when it comes to loading unsupported 3rd-party firmware on your devices. Just be careful, follow the directions and you should be fine. Similar free and/or open-source router firmware projects include OpenWRT and Tomato.)

Microsoft is now accepting applications for “Windows Gurus” that will eventually staff the Redmond-based company’s first-ever round of brick-and-mortar stores in the U.S. Think you’re qualified? Here’s Microsoft’s way of determining whether or not you are:

Do your friends and family turn to you when they want to learn more about their PCs? Do you relish the chance to teach them how PCs can improve their lives and do things they never before thought possible? In your free time, do you turn to your PC for fun-or just to create or learn something new?

Of course, there are additional questions* to be answered in their official online job application, but, If you’re interested, you can learn more at msretaillive.com. They’ve also set up a specialized E-mail address, jobs [at] mswindowsguru.com that you can contact if you have questions about the position(s).

Currently, MS is seeking various individuals located in different cities within the following states: CA, FL, MA, MD, MN, NH, NJ, NV, NY, VA, WA and in Washington D.C.. So, if it sounds interesting, check out the site to find out more. Who knows? You could find yourself working full-time (for $20/hr – here’s the link again) at Microsoft’s version of the Apple Store.

Source: The Sean Blog (Microsoft TechNet Blogs)

*Additional questions include: do you have experience using Apple Macs? When was the last time you shopped for a new computer? What OS are you using at home/work? What type of Internet service are you using at home? (Hint: answer “dial-up” and you probably won’t get the job.) And, of course, the classic: “Have you been convicted of a felony in the past 7 years?”

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Hey, Microsoft couldn’t let Google steal all the headlines for an entire week, right? (See “Chrome.”) What better way to steal some than to drop the price of one of their most popular hardware releases ever? Effective September 5th, the Xbox 360 Arcade will be available for $199, the 360 console for $299 and the 360 Elite for $399. Here’s some details from the official press release:

Imagine if friends and families had the ability to instantly watch movies from Netflix, live out their musical fantasies through “Rock Band 2″ and “Lips”, star in their own Hollywood classics with “You’re in the Movies,” or have the power to never miss the latest episode of “Heroes” – all from one device, starting at $199. That device is Xbox 360, and Microsoft Corp. today announced it will offer the gaming and entertainment console, which offers the leading Xbox LIVE service, at a new low price in the United States.

For those of you operating a Windows-mobile powered device, this day promises not to disappoint.  For, you see, Opera decided to release the latest version of their eagerly-anticipated (and what seemed to be indefinitely-delayed) mobile Web browser.  The beta is a free download but will most likely require the purchase of a registration upon it’s final release.  (The last version of Opera Mobile cost about $30…and wasn’t that good.  Granted, it was still better than any version of Internet Explorer Mobile but that’s not saying much.  This version trumps the last one and I’ll most likely be willing to purchase it to improve the Windows-mobile Web browsing experience any way I can.)

Improvements over the last version (v8.65) include performance enhancements, pan & zoom browsing (remarkable and very iPhone-esque), Web standards compliance and the ability to save Web pages and/or images to your phone.

Try it out and I think you’ll agree that it’s definitely the best Windows-mobile based browser out there…at least until Mozilla officially enters the market.

Source: http://www.opera.com/products/mobile

Essentially, you can have a Vista Gadget running on the computer in your office that displays what all your TiVo has to offer you – thus, saving you the effort of walking into your living room and finding out for yourself.

If you’d like to read a more detailed description on how the gadget works, how it was developed and where to download it then check out Mike’s blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/mswanson/.

According to Fox News, Verizon Wireless customers could eventually be able to purchase and use Apple’s iPhone.  Why do they believe this?  Verizon, last Thursday, announced that the next generation of wireless technology to replace GSM technology (on which their aging CDMA network is currently based) will be none other than LTE (Long-Term Evolution) which is the exact same technology that AT&T will be using on their next generation network. 

Logically, it makes sense: with Verizon using the same technology as AT&T, surely phones available on one company’s network would inevitably work with the other.  (Of course, neither AT&T nor Verizon have ever made logical decisions on interoperability.)

Verizon will begin trial runs of their new LTE-based network in 2008 but it isn’t expected to be available to customers until at least 2010.