Dave Zatz After a long 13 months, the DOJ has finally approved the proposed XM and Sirius merger. Keep an eye on Orbitcast in the coming hours and days for continuing coverage. (Concessions…? FCC?) After a careful and thorough review of the proposed transaction, the Division concluded that the evidence does not demonstrate that the proposed merger … Read more
A periodic round-up of relevant news… Every episode of South Park online: NewTeeVee Joost to launch browser-based video player: TV Squad Myka delivers BitTorrent direct to TV: Last100 CBC to release programming via BitTorrent: NewMedia Mike
Toyota’s got you (me) covered on TiVo with a $5 Amazon gift card bribe in exchange for…? I assume whatever email they send containing a coupon code will also contain Toyota Corolla advertising. Most of the spam I receive doesn’t offer anything worthwhile, so I’ll take the cash: The first 5000 people who do this … Read more
Earlier this week Roxio released Toast 9, the only officially supported TiVoToGo decryption method on the Mac. I raised some concerns that v8 still seemed to have difficulty with some content transcoding leading to audio/video sync issues and wondered if v9 corrected or inherited these issues. I’ve exchanged a few emails with TiVo and Roxio … Read more
It’s going to be quiet around here the next few days… Not only is it March Madness (Go Retrievers?), tomorrow’s the move. And I haven’t even finished packing, plus it’ll take me awhile to dig out. However, once I do my home work environment should be much improved. Examples: I intend to upgrade my “walking … Read more
First, Best Buy automatically upgraded me to a newer (more pricey) HD DVD model at no extra cost when their stock was depleted. And now, it looks like I’ll be getting a $50 gift card for my troubles. Despite representing 50% the original value of my player which actually sold on ebay for more than … Read more
I admit it. I’m lazy. Even though I’ve purchased and ripped hundreds of CDs (plus those DRM-encumbered iTunes), I still prefer someone else program my playlists. In fact I’m an iPhone owner who (mostly) forgos the audio iPod functions, opting instead for the (jailbreak) iRadio streaming application. Or my XM subscription via Helix or computer. … Read more
Gamefly (Netflix for video games) has started buying up subscriber’s used games: As a long-time member, you’ve been hand-selected to participate in our GameFly Trade-In Program. Now you can trade in the games you own for credit toward your membership fees! This strikes me as an interesting business initiative… I specifically use Gamefly to avoid … Read more