News

Demo Tech Conference: What To Watch For

The Demo tech conference taking place over the next couple of days in Palm Desert, Calif., has an impressive list of alumni companies and products. Sun’s Java, Palm, VMware, eTrade, SixApart, Salesforce.com and TiVo all launched at previous Demo events.

Startups at DEMO Target Web-Connected TV

Hillcrest Labs wants to make it easier for couch potatoes to surf the Internet on TV. So it came up with a Web browser called Kylo that can be used comfortably by a person sitting across the room.

Good Old Fashioned Innovation

The Demo Spring 2010 conference kicked off in Palm Desert, California on Monday with a raft of applications, services and products focused on the mobile, social networking and media technology markets.

Hillcrest’s Kylo browser latest innovation to get blocked by Hulu

This morning, Rockville-based Hillcrest Labs introduced Kylo, a new browser intended to bridge the gap between the Web and HDTV screens by providing a simplified, remote-friendly interface of large type and big icons. But this program, a free download for Mac and Windows, may also be the latest exhibit of Hollywood’s craven cluelessness about video distribution.

With New Kylo Browser Convergence is Another Step Closer

This morning Hillcrest Labs is announcing its new “Kylo” browser, providing people who connect their computers to their TVs with an optimized and complete on-TV Internet browsing experience. Kylo is being offered as a free download by Hillcrest, the maker of the “Loop pointer,” a clever “in-air” mouse.

Evil Hulu Already Blocking New Made-For-TV Web Browser Kylo

A new Web browser designed to used on your HDTV—via a computer hooked up to the TV set—is already having problems playing Hulu videos. The hunch is that Hulu is already blocking the new browser, which is called Kylo.

Bringing the Web to the TV – Déjà Vu All Over Again?

Two recent announcements sent me spinning back in time to my early days with the WebTV team:

  * Google, Intel, and Sony collaborating to bring the Web into the living room through a new generation of televisions and set-top boxes.
  * Hillcrest Labs releasing a new browser optimized for viewing Internet video on PC-connected televisions.

Both of these efforts have one thing in common: they seek to bring open Internet access to the television (hence, my “déjà vu” moment). But is there any reason to believe that things will be different this time?

The Hillcrest Loop Pointer Review: a Mouse for Your TV

It never failed that when someone would visit while I was testing the Hillcrest Loop pointer, they would invariably pick it up and wear it like it was an over-sized bangle — because at first glance, that is exactly what it resembles. But the Loop is much more than just a piece of giant plastic jewelry.

The Loop pointer actually got its start as an “iconic concept product to showcase Hillcrest Lab’s Freespace technology and HoME system solutions.” People who saw it liked it, and they wanted one; so Hillcrest, whose primary focus remains “licensing interactive media systems software for TV” decided to make it available for purchase.

First look: Kylo Media Browser

Hillcrest Labs, known for its $100 Loop pointer—a four-button-plus-scroll-wheel wireless input device—has announced the release of its free Kylo browser. Based on Mozilla, Kylo is a Mac- and Windows-compatible streaming-media browser intended for the big screen—specifically HDTVs attached to a computer

Kylo Web Browser Targets TV Couch Potatoes

A free new browser called Kylo promises to improve the still-imperfect experience of watching online video from a PC on the TV by removing clutter and putting controls front and center.

Unlike traditional browsers, the Mozilla-based Kylo has been specifically designed to be viewed on a TV from a distance in the living room, says Hillcrest Labs, which created the browser.