Google TV options have kinks to work out

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When it comes to getting content from the Internet on their TVs, consumers have a growing number of options, from Internet-connected TVs to game consoles to an assortment of digital set-top boxes.

Unfortunately, most of these options have a big flaw: They offer only a small slice of the movies,

The aim of Google TV is to integrate the Web with the traditional television experience. The software allows users to search both television listings and Web-based video for programs. It also allows users to browse television listings by categories, rather than by a grid of time slots and channels.

When you connect the Revue to your TV, it gets daisy-chained to your set-top box so that both are plugged into the same port on your television. That means you don't have to change inputs on your TV to switch between traditional and Internet content. It also allows Google TV devices to offer a picture-in-picture feature that lets users surf the Web on their TVs while watching a television program.

Like other Internet-connected living room devices, Google TV gadgets allow users to watch videos, listen to music and view pictures streamed over the Internet. Users can rent and buy movies and TV shows from Amazon.com, listen to Internet radio from Pandora and watch slide shows from Google's

And there's more content to come. Google plans to bring the Android application marketplace to Google TV next year, allowing users to add to the handful of apps the devices ship with.

But as promising as Google TV is, it feels half-baked. Unless you have pay-TV service from Dish Network, its integration with traditional television is limited at best. While you can use the Google TV software to search for and tune in programs that are airing right now, you can't use it to set up a recording on your DVR or to search for and view an on-demand program from your pay-TV operator. Instead, you'll have to switch off the Google TV interface and switch back to using the one for your set-top box.

Similarly, when you use the picture-in-picture feature, the traditional television programming shows up as a small box in the corner of your screen that you can't enlarge or move around. That makes it almost useless, because the images within it are so small they're hard to discern.

Also disappointing is the search feature, which is often confusing. When searching on the home screen for a particular program, you have to choose where or how you want to search. The search feature doesn't allow you to search across multiple options at once - such as the TV programming guide, Amazon's list of on-demand programs or a general Web search. The default is to search just the videos that are available on the Web, which is not particularly helpful if what you are really looking for is a live program.

The biggest drawback of Google TV, though, is limited content. The big Hollywood players, such as ABC, NBC and CBS and their associated cable networks, as well as Hulu, have generally blocked Google TV devices from accessing the videos they make available on the Web. So in terms of video content, you are left with far less than what you can get through Roku's digital media players, the top-end of which costs just $100, or one-third the cost of the Revue and one-fourth the cost of Sony's Google TV Blu-ray player.

You can't get general Web pages on Roku devices, but you may not care. Surfing the Web from the couch - even on a big-screen TV - is not an enjoyable experience. The type's too small to read comfortably, and links are hard to click on from a distance. Web surfing is much more suited to the PC on your desk or the smart phone or tablet in your hands.

So at least for now, Google TV is underwhelming and overpriced. But stay tuned; it's sure to get better and there are plenty of other companies trying to come up with the long-awaited ideal solution for connecting the TV and the Internet.
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LOGITECH REVUE (GOOGLE TV):

-Troy's rating: 3.0 out of 5

-What: Internet-connected set-top box

-Likes: On same input as regular TV, so don't have to switch back and forth between them. Searches through TV listings, online content. Organizes TV listings by subject. Allows access to Web videos.

-Dislikes: Pricey. Clumsy interface and search feature. Poor integration with most TV services. Web browser not optimized for TV.

-How much: $300

-Web: www.logitech.com/smartTV or www.google.com/tv

Hammer Storage Pounds Out 'Disruptive' 1TB Appliance

The new device resembles a microwave oven, offers remote access and provides the functionality of a network storage device at a price that may boggle some minds.

Consumer/small-office storage vendor Hammer Storage on March 22 introduced a new appliance resembling a microwave oven that provides 1TB of data storage - for a retail price of $499.

The appliance, called Myshare 1TB, is the first release in a new product line now being developed by Hammer, a division of Bell Microproducts. Myshare comes with two SATA II hard drives along with two USB ports to centralize printers and external hard drives, a company spokesperson said.

Myshare offers remote access via IP/TCP ports; all content stored on the unit can be made accessible from anywhere through a Web GUI. Selective access to sharing folders can be set up by the administrator.

When used as a network storage appliance, Myshare can be accessed whether or not the computers are on, the spokesperson said. It plugs into the network through a gigabit interface and can sit under any home router or switch, eliminating the need for externally attached storage, add-on internal disk drives, removable media, print servers and remote storage.

Myshare comes with RAID levels 0, 1 and JBOD software to provide protection choices, such as mirroring data. Content stored on Myshare is secured from online intruders with SSL certificates and can be configured with multiple user and group permissions.

For small businesses with a domain server, Myshare can tie into the domain, thus enabling the use of the same password and access that is already in place.

"We've tested the Hammer products in our test labs, and they're great quality - they're bulletproof," said Jon Toigo, an independent storage analyst and consultant who blogs at the popular storage analysis site, DrunkenData.com .

"Bell Microproducts - the parent company of Hammer - distributes 70 percent of all the hard drives in the world outside of PCs," Toigo said. "They work with Seagate, HP, EMC, IBM - all the major companies. They can use their vast resources to build their own inexpensive storage unit like this.

"The cabinets are really pretty ... they look pretty enough for the home consumer, but they have enough scalability and capacity to go into more fashionable business offices as well."

Wireless access to all content

When connected to a wireless router, Myshare allows laptop users to access content or print without plugging in. Users can also back up their files, photos and other data wirelessly to a Myshare unit.

Myshare enables users to share digital content within the home and among different computer platforms, including PC, Mac and Linux workstations. Content trapped in an individual computer becomes available to all those connected to the home network, the spokesperson said.

Once plugged into Myshare, USB printers and storage devices - including flash memory sticks - can also be shared over the home network, the spokesperson said.

"Digital home storage needs are growing exponentially, and this trend is creating a real demand for affordable, simple network storage solutions that offer ease-of-use that is similar to that found in common household appliances," said Jerry Kagele, Bell Microproducts' president of North American distribution, said in San Jose, Calif.

Myshare is designed as a plug-and-play device - users can simply plug it into a router and begin storing and sharing immediately, the spokesperson said. While other network storage devices require that software be installed on each computer, Myshare does not. A one button feature copies files from another storage device or digital camera directly into a Myshare folder.

Why Myshare is disruptive - especially in the channel

The Hammer Myshare is disruptive to the sales channel in a big way, Toigo said.

"It's disruptive and revolutionary in the sense that most distributors in the market are hesitant to go head-to-head with their channel partners," Toigo said. "Bell derives an enormous amount of money from distributing pre-made systems that come out of EMC and folks like that. And now they're in direct competition with them with their own array products. That is a fundamental shift."

Major-name storage vendors typically mark their arrays up tremendously - as much as 3000 percent in some cases, Toigo said.

"I think the Bell approach makes a hell of a lot of sense for a lot of reasons - for consumers, it's extremely beneficial," Toigo said. "When you look at the cost to manufacture a 20TB array, it's about $5,200. When a tier 2 vendor - I'm talking about anybody who isn't a three-letter acronym - comes to market with a 2TB array, you're talking about anywhere between $17,000 and $20,000 by the time it reaches the customer.

"When a name-brand vendor - with a three-letter acronym - gets a hold of it, you can add a '1' in front of that," Toigo added.

Certainly, big-name vendors contend they have better maintenance, support and value-add functionality to go with their higher prices, he said.

"The fact of the matter is, at that price point, I can afford to replace the unit with a brand new one if anything were to go wrong," Toigo said. "And the value-add functionality can all be bought from third-party vendors. It's all taking advantage of SATA and SAS standards, which are de facto standards at this point."

Toigo said he has a client that is a large telecommunications company, and they were complaining recently to him that they have to pay the licenses for all their EMC software, yet they end up using only 10 percent of the functionality.

"But they still have to pay the license fees annually - on 100 percent of the functionality," Toigo said. "So when is value-add not adding value? The guy said, 'You know it'd be really great if we could just buy the basic box from a reputable manufacturer, who'd then service and support it without any problem, and then we could cobble together, from all the available software out there, those specific functions that we really need.

"And that's what this platform - Myshare - allows you to do."

Toigo said he never "takes - consulting - money" from companies whose products he analyzes.

Myshare, priced at $499, is available now at retail stores, online retailers, and directly from the Hammer Storage Web site .

Copyright 2007 by Ziff Davis Media, Distributed by United Press International