Don Reisinger

Author Archive for Don Reisinger

Columns

Dear Verizon: Don’t Try Streaming, It’s A Dumb Idea

Don Reisinger, Dec 10th 2011 Discuss [29]

Something rather interesting has been happening as of late: an increasing number of companies, smelling Netflix blood, want to jump into the streaming space and become the average consumers’ new go-to place for entertainment.

It makes some sense. Over the last several months, Netflix has been hemorrhaging subscribers who are displeased with the company’s new pricing plans. And its ill-fated decision to spin off its DVD rental business made management seem incompetent. Add those issues to the difficult relationships it has with content providers, and it’s no wonder companies like Amazon, Wal-mart and others, want to take it down.

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Columns

The Wii U Is Coming: Why Buy the Wii Now?

Don Reisinger, Dec 8th 2011 Discuss [102]

I’m shocked that anyone wants to buy the Wii. But I’m even more shocked that so many people are doing it. Earlier this week, Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter reported, based on his checks, that a little over 1 million Wii units were sold last month, putting the device slightly behind the Xbox 360 in overall sales during the period.

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Columns

The Apple TV Has Been Quietly Killed, Hasn’t It?

Don Reisinger, Dec 3rd 2011 Discuss [103]

Last year, when Apple released the next-generation Apple TV, I was happy. I felt that after all these years, the company finally understood just how important the living room was to its customers. And although I wasn’t blown away by the device’s functionality, I was confident that Apple would show me something new this year.

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Columns

I Want to See Amazon Destroy Netflix

Don Reisinger, Dec 1st 2011 Discuss [55]

Over the last couple years, I’ve been a devoted Netflix customer, paying my fee every month to access the company’s streaming service. But I’m starting to wonder if it’s time for Netflix to go.

I came to that realization recently when I started accessing content on Amazon’s Prime Instant Video. I watched a few television shows, checked out a couple movies I hadn’t seen in a long time, and realized something: for $79 per year, I was getting an experience that matches what I get from Netflix for about $96 per year.

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Columns

Online Multiplayer Gaming Is the Bane of My Existence

Don Reisinger, Nov 29th 2011 Discuss [43]

Over the last couple days, I’ve been playing Battlefield 3, a game that Electronic Arts said prior to its launch, could go head-to-head with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and win. But after playing through the majority of the single-player campaign, I can tell you without any reservation that it can’t do anything of the sort. In fact, Modern Warfare 3 has a much, much better single-player experience.

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Columns

Would the tech world be the same without Apple?

Don Reisinger, Nov 26th 2011 Discuss [221]

Each time I pick up my iPhone, listen to songs on my iPod, or surf the web on my Mac, I think about the mark Apple has left on the technology industry. It’s amazing to me that a single company has been able to do so much in such a short amount of time. And it’s perhaps most amazing that no other company has even come close in many of the markets the iPhone maker competes in to matching it.

When I get thinking about that, I ask myself a simple, but not so solvable question: would the technology world be the same if Apple didn’t exist?

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Columns

Would A Kinect-Equipped Television Be A Hit?

Don Reisinger, Nov 24th 2011 Discuss [51]

As of late, we’ve been hearing a lot about a possible Apple television. The latest rumors suggest the set will launch late next year or in early 2013, and could offer access to apps and iCloud, among several other features. As I noted on these pages recently, I’m excited by the prospect of an Apple television, and I can say without any doubt that I will be first in line to buy the set if and when it launches.

But what if Apple isn’t the only company thinking seriously about getting into the television space? What if Microsoft, armed with its Kinect motion peripheral, tries its luck at taking on Vizio, Samsung, and all other vendors in the TV space?

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Columns

My Tech Vice: I Buy Because I Want It, Not Because I Need It

Don Reisinger, Nov 20th 2011 Discuss [26]

I’m here to make a confession: I buy technology products — from smartphones to tablets to video game consoles — not because I need them, but because I want them.

Let me take you on a brief recent history.

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Columns

Hey Nintendo: Get Out of Portables and Put Mario on the iPhone

Don Reisinger, Nov 17th 2011 Discuss [164]

Whenever you talk to a Nintendo fan, there are two topics that are absolutely off-limits: Nintendo ditching its portable-gaming devices and the company bringing Mario to the iPhone. Upon even bringing up those topics, you can expect to be dealt some serious name-calling (“idiot” is usually a favorite) and a slew of reasons you’re wrong.

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Columns

Yes, It Really Is Time For Sony to Ditch TVs

Don Reisinger, Nov 12th 2011 Discuss [103]

Over the last several months, there has been an increasingly bitter debate surrounding Sony’s decision to keep its television business. There are some folks that say the time has come for Sony, which has watched its market share continue to trail far behind the leaders of the pack, Samsung and Vizio, finally spin off the operation. Sony, on the other hand, has argued that such a strategy makes little sense, and what it needs to do now is hunker down and turn things around.

Oh, how wrong Sony is.

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Columns

Modern Warfare 3 Is What’s Wrong With the Game Business

Don Reisinger, Nov 10th 2011 Discuss [165]

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is on store shelves. And as expected, it has proven wildly popular around the world. Even better for Activision, the game’s publisher, it was able to succeed just weeks after its chief competitor, Battlefield 3, hit store shelves. As with previous years, Modern Warfare 3’s success is being touted as an entertainment industry marvel. And the vast majority of industry critics have given it high marks, thanks to its outstanding visuals, solid gameplay, and top-notch multiplayer experience.

But I, for one, am not happy to see Modern Warfare 3 succeed. In fact, I think the game is what’s wrong with the gaming industry.

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Columns

I Don’t Need to See Apple’s Television to Know I’ll Buy It

Don Reisinger, Nov 9th 2011 Discuss [80]

If you’ve been following Apple lately, you know that the prospect of the company launching a television has come up quite often, due to Steve Jobs discussing the device in an interview before his death. Subsequent reports on the television suggest Apple is currently hard at work on the set for an eventual launch late next year or early 2013.