Mari Silbey

Mari’s tech career started when she became the default “IT guy” in her first job out of college. Since leaving help-desk duties to the experts, she’s focused on trends in technology as a consultant, writer, reporter, analyst and at-home gadget tinkerer. Her current paid gig is with the non-profit organization US Ignite where she focuses on how networks and digital technologies impact smart cities. All posts on ZNF represent her own opinions and not those of US Ignite. Mari is a sucker for anything in the digital media space and covers interesting happenings in cable, telecom, and whatever else she feels like. Find her on Twitter at @msilbey.

Retrevo Offers CE Trends and Black Friday Tips

If your entire Black Friday strategy involves stopping by the mall on the day after Thanksgiving, you might want to check out Retrevo’s guide to Black Friday buying. Not only do the Retrevo folks follow consumer electronics obsessively, they track pricing, availability and demand – you know, all the important information that’s a pain to … Read more

Bring on the Widgets!

I’m a big fan of widgets – online, on TV, and on random gadgets that happen to be connected to the Internet – which is why news of a Widget Developer Challenge out of Motorola this week piqued my interest. (Keep in mind, I’m employed by Motorola, so take that as you will. But also … Read more

Evaluating Slacker Premium

I’m a well-documented Slacker junkie, but it’s only recently that I’ve started testing Slacker’s premium service on my first gen player. The subscription cost is just high enough to make me squeamish, but a free trial can’t be ignored. And, in true Slacker form, I’m finding the latest update to my music experience addictive. A … Read more

Obama Brings YouTube to the White House

It’s unclear how many listen to President George W. Bush’s weekly radio addresses. I suppose reporters tune in, because I occasionally catch an excerpt on NPR, but I’ve never heard of anyone setting up their own podcast feed from WhiteHouse.gov for the weekly words of wisdom. Will that change when President-Elect Barak Obama takes over? … Read more

Flip Goes HD, Adds FlipShare Software

Pure Digital unveiled its anticipated Flip MinoHD today packaged with new FlipShare software for editing and sharing. We were hoping Dave might get a look at the new HD recorder at CES Unveiled last night, but Pure Digital – like many other companies – wasn’t on site. However my review unit is on its way and, in … Read more

Cable Journalists Launch YouTube Pilot

Ever wonder what would happen if geeky trade journalists made the jump from print to video production? Wonder no more. CableFAX editors Mike Grebb and Seth Arenstein have put up their own YouTube pilot video, Faxassins. Presumably created on a lark, the video follows Mike and Seth through shootouts, a mock sex scene (safe for … Read more

How Much of a Test was New York’s 2-Minute Drill?

The folks over at CNET caught New York’s two-minute analog-shut-off test on video yesterday. Side by side it shows one digital television broadcast behaving as normal, while an analog source displays color bars and a text crawl advising viewers of the upcoming DTV transition. I strongly support reminders of our impending D-Day, but I’m not … Read more

Cooliris Getting Cooler

Not to sound like a broken record, but Cooliris just keeps getting cooler every day. I fired up the plug-in to show my parents over the weekend, and noticed that the app now has an option for TV episodes. (I’m pretty sure it wasn’t there before, or at least it wasn’t separated out from some … Read more