This Old House: Fiber Arrives

If you recall, we recently picked up a new (old) house and our plate is full of projects – including some relevant to a digital media blog. So, on with the story… I’ve continued to make progress removing and recycling speaker and aerial antenna wire as I encounter it. There’s no way I’ll extricate it all, and … Read more

Fun Amazon.com Christmas Stats

We generally try to stay out of the press release regurgitation business, but Amazon’s delivered a series of fun holiday sales stats worth sharing. Here’s a sampling: Kindle (Wi-Fi) and Kindle 3G were the best-selling products on Amazon.com this holiday season On Christmas Day, people purchased more Kindle books than on any other day in … Read more

Logitech Halts Revue Google TV Production?

Rumors suggest that Logitech has halted production of the Revue, one of the inaugural boxes providing the Google TV experience. Supposedly, this is a mere manufacturing suspension while Logitech awaits more polished Google software. Which seems to line up of with yet another rumor of new Google TV hardware delays. However, if accurate, the key … Read more

Only 5,000 CableCARDs Deployed In Last 90 Days?

Multichannel News has done the math and concludes that the ten largest cable providers have expanded their CableCARD footprint by a mere 5,000 decoders during the last three months. While I haven’t verified their calculations, I too perused the NCTA’s most recent CableCARD-related filing with the FCC: The five MSOs who are required to report today – … Read more

Got a Roku for Christmas?

Given its low price point, wide array of content “channels”, and easy operation, I suspect quite a large number of folks are unwrapping Roku Christmas gifts this weekend. And we’re here to help.

Based on incoming search traffic, some are having difficulty finding and linking Netflix. First off, the Roku consists of two main areas – your channel list or dashboard and the “Store” of all blessed content. Netflix should appear on your dashboard by default. In terms of navigation, the left directional button doesn’t send you to the prior screen as seen on many other boxes. Instead, use the up button to return to a previous area or menu or, alternately, try can the new back button symbolized by an arrow. Additionally, the OK button in the middle of the remote is equivalent to ‘select’ or ‘enter’. So you’d scroll towards the right using the directional button to highlight Netflix and then click OK. Once the Netflix apps comes up for the first time, it’ll walk you through linking your account – you’ll want to have computer handy to enter an authorization code into Netflix.com.

In addition to the Channel Store, “private” channels also exist. These are often content offerings that have yet to be approved or are inappropriate for a wider audience to stumble upon (think adult or corporate training). Two in particular may interest you…

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Smartphones Of The Minute

There isn’t a week that goes by that I’m not asked which smartphone is best on a given carrier. And, about half the time, the followup question is should they wait to upgrade. Answering in reverse, there is always a newer, possibly more compelling model coming down the pike. However, with CES and Mobile World … Read more

This Old House, The Hat Trick

Home wiring projects, even if digitally relevant, fall somewhat beyond our usual territory. However, given the good commentary, traffic, and in light of my preoccupation with the topic this month, we’re carrying on. First off, some progress has been made on a potential Verizon FiOS install. See, I told you it was coming? Although I … Read more

36 Hours with the PS3 Slim

We’ll only run ‘deals of the day’ that we personally find of value. So it should come as no surprise that I got in on Amazon’s $100 credit with a PS3 purchase. I’d expected to receive the console on Monday while stuck home all day with the HVAC crew, but it arrived Tuesday evening (insufficiently … Read more