From an HP news release issued Friday:

"In order to provide consumers with the best possible high-definition experience, HP today announced it will support the HD-DVD high-definition DVD format, in addition to the Blu-ray Disc format, and join the HD-DVD Promotions Group.

"Previously, HP supported the Blu-ray Disc format exclusively. The company had requested the Blu-ray Disc Association adopt two customer-friendly technologies, Mandatory Managed Copy and iHD, which are already included in the HD-DVD format.

"Only Mandatory Managed Copy, which permits consumers to make legal copies of video content, was formally adopted by the association. iHD, which allows content providers to offer greater interactivity on next-generation DVDs and helps ensure a more compelling user experience when recording HDTV programs or moving digital content throughout the home, was not approved for launch."

What is the meaning of this? Well, HP had been exclusively supporting the Sony Blu-ray format. Microsoft and Intel are supporting HD-DVD, which Bill Gates says is more consumer-friendly than Blu-ray. Hollywood, proving Bill's point, has been behind Blu-ray. HP said it intends to be neutral in the likely format war that's ahead of us, as two formats go after customers who really only want one format. I'm on the HD-DVD side.

Here's a column I wrote back in October foir eWEEK.com.:

Opinion: Bill Gates says Blu-ray will be the last physical media format, ever. That makes David Coursey ponder how far we've come and the "real" broadband that will drive our post-DVD future. It's a story with a very happy ending.

(BTW: MSN has been running an incorrect headline that says HP dumped Blu-ray).

Just a note that I will be a guest on Cigar Dave's radio program this weekend. I'll spend a half-hour talking about holiday gift ideas. You can hear my segment from 1:00-1:30pm Eastern on Saturday on XM Channel 166 (America Right), Sirius 117 (Advice Channel), and on the WIOD Web site (www.wiod.com). The show is repeated on XM at the same time on Sunday. Hope you'll listen.

If you page through newspaper ads in a big city like New York or LA, you'll find ads for a lot of cool phones I won't review, like the Samsung SGH-D600. I won't review them because I get most of my phones through the carriers, who control more than 80% of phone sales in the US. I'll make occasional exceptions for phones the manufacturers want to push in the US through direct sales, like the Sony Ericsson Walkman W800i, or phones that independent dealers specifically contact me about, like the Motorola SLVR L6.

The bigger question is why carriers don't sell these cool handsets (and the even cooler handsets coming out of China and Korea.) A Cingular rep once explained the banal truth to me.

• First of all, carriers want handsets that aren't any trouble. They don't want to have to train their salespeople on too many products, so they want to keep the product lines relatively short. They also want to deal with big manufacturers with reliable supply chains, not little guys with no English-speaking support people.
• Second, carriers only want features that will help their strategic goals. High-megapixel cameraphones are worthless without high-speed networks to send those multi-megapixel picture messages. Phones that sync music with your PC only become useful if you're trying to compete with another carrier's music-on-demand service. Handset features are not about consumer choice - they're about maximizing carrier revenue.
• Third, carriers want handsets that will work best in the US. That means handsets with the North America-only 850 Mhz band, which counts out direct importation of a lot of cool European phones.
• Finally, carriers want to deal in bulk. And the bulk of US customers want voice phones.

That doesn't mean you can't get phones like the SGH-D600. It just means you have to be crafty. Go to smaller, independent authorized dealers in your city, not the official carrier stores. Look at well-known Web sites like www.dynamism.com, www.mobilebee.com, and even Amazon. Check out newspaper ads. Dealers will usually sell these cool phones bundled with T-Mobile plans for reasonable prices.

Samsung SGH-D600
Lowest Price: I bet you can find it at around $200 with T-Mobile activation if you hunt around. An unlocked version sells for $419-525.
Who does it work with? Either T-Mobile or Cingular. This one is quad-band, so it can hit everybody's networks.
Why is it so cool? It's as cute as the Samsung e635, but it has performance. Lots of performance: a 2-megapixel camera, 80 MB of RAM, a memory card slot, Bluetooth and even stereo Bluetooth music output for super-cool wireless headphones.
So what's the down side? You're going to have to hunt for it.
Would I recommend it? I'm excited about it, and I'm not getting one. Why don't you get one and tell me what you think?
More information at: Phone Scoop

My co-workers probably think I am crazy for commuting two hours to work. Yep—two LONG hours along the Hudson River into Grand Central Station. Of course, most of the time I sleep while on the train; the other times when I can manage to stay awake, I play Sudoku—Japan's popular logic puzzle. It's amazing how fast it made its way into the States. Everyday I see someone on the train scribbling away at the puzzle in newspapers or magazines.

My TV Guide and home town newspaper publishes Sudoku puzzles. Traditional Sudoku puzzles use numbers; however TV Guide uses letters (and even gives you a hint, which is always nice). But, these publications only include one puzzle, and that's not enough for my long commute. So what's my alternative? To invest in the Sudoku Electronic Handheld Game.

That's my gift idea on today's homepage of PCMag.com. In fact, one of my colleagues just e-mailed me saying that he ordered the handheld game for his wife of 17 years (how sweet!).

Sudoku Electronics' handheld device uses touch screen technology and includes over 100,000 Sudoku puzzles with both beginner and advanced levels. (But I need to work my way up to the advanced levels—I'm still an amateur.)

It's available at Sudoku Electronics for $24.95.

When I heard from LEGO about its charity auction on eBay for this outstanding one-of-a-kind 8-foot model of a Star Wars Rebel Attack Cruiser built entirely out of LEGO bricks, I thought, fun idea -- but how many people are really going to bid on something that, well, large and geeky? (Can you just see what would happen if a dog or a three-year-old got hold of this? Hope it's glued together!) As I write this, 45 bids are in, the most recent for over $20,000. The auction goes for 8 more days; I can't wait to see how high it goes. Here are some details:

Stem to stern the model is 97 inches long and 47 inches wide, weighs over 150 pounds and is created using over 35,000 pieces.

Model features precise detail in LEGO form, fuctional elements and secret features.

Model is built around a steel armature that runs down the spine of the ship and includes a rolling steel display frame.

Model took over 450 hours to design and build.

So if you're got mucho disposable cash on hand and are (or know) someone who adores all things Star Wars and LEGO, you'll be doing good things for your karma by bidding. All proceeds go to Habitats for Humanity International, specifically to help hurricane victims.