Dave Zatz

Justin.TV versus Mr. Lee

Live video from a guy in the Bay Area or still pics from a cat in South Carolina? I obviously can’t speak for everyone, but I’ve spent more time viewing Mr. Lee’s trips than I have Justin.TV. Heck, for $60 you too can have a cat (or dog or ferret or infant) cam. (via Gizmodo)

TiVo Needs Cable… Or Do They?

Todd Spangler of Multichannel News wrote a thoughtful piece summarizing TiVo’s challenge in reaching a critical mass: It’s easier to get a DVR from your cable company. And most people prefer to rent, not own, a set-top. Indeed, most DVRs in use today are already supplied by cable companies, according to a Carmel Group study. … Read more

EFF Sues Universal Over YouTube Takedown

It has come to this… Universal Music was somewhat overzealous in filing a DMCA complaint with YouTube regarding the toddler who danced on camera to a ~20 year old Prince song. So the EFF responded with a lawsuit seeking damages (cash?) and relief:

“Universal’s takedown notice doesn’t even pass the laugh test,” said EFF Staff Attorney Corynne McSherry. “Copyright holders should be held accountable when they undermine non-infringing, fair uses like this video.”

Offending 29 second video after the break… and let me warn you that while it may or may not infringe, it’s most definitely guilty of mundaneness.

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Digital Media Bytes

A periodic roundup of relevant news… from our other blogs. Wii – Gaming Genius or Fitness Fad: TechLore Mark Cuban Kills The Internet: Connected Home 2 Go Belaboring the CableCARD Issue: Connected Home 2 Go Terayon and Targeted Advertising: Connected Home 2 Go

Sony and Sky Team For PSP Video Downloads

Sony and satellite television provider Sky have announced the formation of a company to bring video-on-demand to the 2 million UK and Ireland PSPs early next year. No details were given on the technologies or conditions (file format, download and/or transfer methods, expiry, etc), though more info will supposedly be revealed August 22 at the … Read more

Confirmed: FairUse4WM Strips Video DRM

I was surprised to read on Engadget that the latest FairUse4WM may strip video (WMV) DRM too (citing the new BBC iPlayer), so I conducted an experiment (before rolling back Vista). We’d previously purchased three episodes of the second season of Weeds (while waiting for the DVD to be released) via Amazon Unbox for TiVo. … Read more

Dave Dumps Vista

Now that I’m back home for a few weeks, the time has finally come to remove remove Windows Vista from my desktop. While I appreciate the rich GUI and new functionality (photo gallery), the computer is just too slow to be usable. Plus, my MCE <-> Xbox 360 connection has been unreliable. The media extender … Read more