Motorola Droid's strange camera bug

I have been seeing a lot of blog posts, discussions, and tweets about a bug in the Motorola Droid phone that causes autofocus to fail on certain dates and work on others.

I decided to talk to Mike Gikas, a Senior Electronics editor here at Consumer Reports to see if he could replicate the problem. I brought along my pocket video camera to record the action.

Mike's findings confirm that the autofocus bug is somehow date related. Images taken with the camera set to November 11th, were very blurry. Images taken with the camera set to November 17th were much more in focus. (Click on the images to see examples.)

Many blogs are reporting that the bug cycles every 24.5 days. Since the camera currently appears to be working correctly, users may be able to coast until December 11, when a patch for the Droid is expected to fix this problem.

We'll check back with Mike and other Consumer Reports experts after December 11th to see if a permanent fix has been released. —Dirk Klingner

Warner Bros. turns old DVDs Blu

First it was exchanging old HD DVD discs for Blu-ray versions. Now Warner’s at it again with a “DVD2Blu” program that let’s you swap old DVDs for new Blu-ray versions of the same movie—for a price.

Just go to Warner Bros.' DVD2Blu website and select the movies you want to trade in. You can only get a Blu-ray version of the same movie you own on DVD, and there's a limit of 25 titles per household that can be exchanged. Once you’ve selected the titles, click on “checkout” and pay a fee, typically $7.95 or $9.95 per disc, plus $4.95 shipping. (You get free shipping on orders of $25 or more.)

You can then print out a prepaid label, which includes a barcode for delivery tracking, and mail the old DVDs, without their cases, to a processing center, where the titles are compared to those listed on your order. Once the discs are received you’ll receive an email letting you know when the Blu-ray discs are shipping along with tracking info. It takes about four to five weeks for the whole transaction, and the Blu-ray package you'll receive is the same as the ones sold in stores, with all the accompanying materials.

The exchange program is limited to the DVDs listed on the DVD2Blu.com website, and you can only exchange one copy of each movie. If you’d like more info, visit this DVD2Blu FAQ, or visit the Warner Bros. Shop for more details about the movies.

On Black Friday, plenty of "self-gifting": Consumer Reports poll

A new Consumer Reports poll has exposed the secret, selfish underbelly of electronics shopping on Black Friday weekend: It isn’t all about buying for friends and family. A lot of consumers plan to buy gear for themselves.

In the nationally representative telephone poll of 1,000 adults, conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center in early November, some 70 percent of those who planned to shop on Black Friday weekend said they would be looking for electronics. While 78 percent of those gear buyers will be gift shopping, 55 percent will be shopping for themselves. That was among the highest percentages of “self-gifting” for any category.

However, buyers in the leading product category that electronics buyers will be seeking over the Black Friday weekend, video games and accessories, are much less selfish than electronics shoppers overall; only 21 percent say they’ll be shopping for themselves. —Paul Reynolds

The scary side of "free" TV

The ability to watch TV programs on the Web for free, to download cheap or free programming to your iPod, and to stream video as part of your Netflix subscription is great news—or is it?

That’s the question raised by a thought-provoking article in the New York Times this week. The author, Nicholas Carr, says: “The more I play movies and TV shows from the Web, the less I use my cable TV service.” He’s cut down on pay-per-view movies, canceled Showtime because he can stream movies and programs like Dexter through Nextflix, download programs from Apple’s iTunes store, and watch full TV episodes on sites like Hulu, CNN.com, PBS.org and more.

What’s not to like? Carr and viewers like him can obviously save a bundle while still enjoying lots of TV shows and movies.

The problem, says Carr, is that this is eating into revenues for the companies that produce the programs we love to watch (especially when they’re free). He observes: “If the changes in our viewing habits stanch the flow of money back to studios, producing [the smartest, most creative] programs may no longer be possible. In their place, we’ll get more junk: dopey reality shows, cookie-cutter police dramas, inane gab fests. The vast wasteland will become even vaster. Even ‘free’ has a price.”

I love free as much as anyone and have taken some of these steps to trim my own entertainment costs. We’ve also talked here at Consumer Reports about the notion that consumers might want to ditch their pay-TV service, get free off-air HD, and use these other venues to get premium programming for much less than they’re paying now.

Still, I see Carr’s point, and friends of mine in the TV business are very worried about the future. Which worries me.

What’s your take? —Eileen McCooey

Some surprises as California adopts new TV power standards

The controversial regulations by the California Energy Commission (CEC), requiring all TVs sold in the state to meet new energy-efficiency standards, have mostly drawn the expected reactions, with energy-conservation advocates generally lining up behind the proposal and manufacturers opposing it. But the measure has also drawn some reactions that aren't necessarily predictable, and may point to an interesting and nuanced debate to come as the impact of the regulations, for California and the country, are assessed.

The CEC estimates the new energy-consumption threshold, set to go in effect in 2011, will save $8.1 million over 10 years.“The real winners of these new TV energy efficiencies are California consumers who will be saving billions of dollars and conserving energy while preserving their choice to buy any size or type of TV. Californians buy four million televisions each year and they deserve the most energy efficient models available," said Energy Commission Chairman Karen Douglas.”

On the whole, as expected, the Consumer Electronics Association, one of several industry groups which opposed the regulatory proposals, criticized the CEC’s actions:

Microsoft announces development of Internet Explorer 9

Developers have long complained about Internet Explorer's lack of adherence to Web standards as the below Google Sidewiki entry from the Microsoft home page details.

This lack of standardization has affected consumer experiences as sites are forced to either dumb down their web sites to work adequately on all browsers or develop a separately designed site to work just with Internet Explorer.

Today, Microsoft announced that they had begun development on IE9 and they promised that this version would take steps toward compatibility with standards that matter most to web developers.

The work we do here, both in the product and on test suites, is a means to an end: a rich interoperable platform that developers can rely on.

Microsoft is also promising to improve the speed of JavaScript execution in the browser as IE has lagged behind its competitors in this area. This JavaScript speed improvement has the potential to make for faster and smoother web experiences for IE users when IE9 is released.

No release date has been set for IE9, but Microsoft's dedication to improving IE ensures continued competition and innovation, as browser producers fight to be your first choice when you access the Internet.

An Early Look At IE9 for Developers [IEBLog]

“Unfriend”: Oxford Dictionary’s Word of the Year

Ladies, gentlemen, wordsmiths of all ages: Introducing the Word of the Year 2009—and by, extension, buzzword of the year?—as determined by the New Oxford American Dictionary:

unfriend – verb – To remove someone as a ‘friend’ on a social networking site such as Facebook. As in, “I decided to unfriend my roommate on Facebook after we had a fight.

The word was chosen for its currency and potential longevity, according to Christine Lindberg, Oxford USA’s Senior Lexicographer. Visit the Oxford University Press Blog for a list of 2009’s Word of the Year finalists. (Two of the finalists have already been featured here on the Electronics Blog. Which ones? Find 'em here and here. Yes folks, we're that prescient.) —Nick K. Mandle

TV power usage on trial in California

How much juice can your big-screen TV suck up? California will become the first state to tackle that issue this week if the state’s energy commission approves a proposal to limit the amount of energy TVs can use. Given the Golden State’s track record as a trendsetter, the impact could eventually be felt far beyond its borders. Not surprisingly, the proposal has sparked heated controversy, particularly about plasma TVs, which have been painted as power hogs. Opponents argue that the measure would mean less choice and higher prices for consumers, effectively banning the sales of hundreds of big-screen models.

California’s proposal would require a 33 percent improvement in average efficiency for TVs with screens up to 58 inches sold in California in 2011 and a 49 percent improvement in 2013. By the state’s reckoning, more than 1,000 TVs, including several dozen plasma TVs, already meet the 2011 standard, and about 300 LCD sets—but no plasmas—already qualify for the tougher 2013 rules.

Manufacturers, retailers, and other industry groups have sharply criticized the measure. The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) argues that California hasn’t factored in recent advances in TV efficiency, instead relying on data from years back, when many TVs—especially plasma sets—were more power-hungry. The group points out that the energy efficiency of Energy Star-compliant TVs has improved by 41 percent over the past two years, and points out that many Energy-Star-compliant sets would not meet California’s 2013 guidelines.

Daily Dispatch: Dolly Parton endorses IE8; Dell's printer "world's fastest"?

Daily Dispatches are a collection of interesting pieces of news regarding computers, electronics, and technology gathered from around the Web by Dirk Klingner, our technology trend watcher, and other staffers. If you have a hot tip, leave a comment below.

Dolly Parton Says: You Should Try IE8 Webslices! (ReadWriteWeb)

In what's got to be the most amusing celebrity tech endorsement of the season so far, Dolly Parton has gone on YouTube endorsing Microsoft's IE8.

Best Buy Mobile starts site for product information (Softpedia)

Best Buy's mobile-retail division has launched BestBuyMobile.com, a Web site focusing on news, trends and information related to mobile products.

Time launches TechLand Blog (TechCrunch)

Time Inc just launched a new technology blog called Techland headed up by one of our former CrunchGear editors Peter Ha. Time magazine’s senior tech writer Lev Grossman is also a contributor. Techland covers the intersection of gadgets and geek culture, and is aimed at a mainstream audience.

Download free books for your Kindle Reader (Digital Inspiration)

Six ways to download free books for your Kindle or Kindle for PC application.

Phishing scams hit Xbox Live

Screen grab of the phony Xbox Live page. (Click to enlarge.)

If you’ve got an Xbox, or are planning to buy one this holiday season, you should know that Xbox is the latest platform to be victimized by phishers, according to security software maker F-Secure.

Victims are first conned by a YouTube video claiming to give away free Xbox Live memberships and Microsoft points (which are the equivalent of money in the Xbox world). You’re told to go to a Web site where you have to enter, of course, your Xbox Live gamer tag, password, and e-mail address. F-Secure’s blog points out that, while the Web site looks authentic, it’s got a country code from East Timor.

If you know anything about phishing, you know what happens next—your Xbox identity is up for sale. The more software you’ve got on your Live account, and the higher your gamerscore, the more valuable your Xbox identity. Don’t be taken in by phony deals, and never give away your password to an unknown Web site.

Think you can spot a cleverly disguised phishing scam? Take our quiz and find out. —Donna Tapellini