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.

Joss Whedon Answers My Prayer!

One year ago I wrote about MGM’s trial release of the movie A Dog’s Breakfast on iTunes and put in a prayer that Joss Whedon would follow the straight-to-download distribution model. Apparently someone heard me over in Whedonverse. If you’re a fan (Buffy, Angel, Firefly…), you’ve likely already heard about Dr. Horrible‘s Sing-Along Blog, the … Read more

Paying for Mobile Broadband

The folks over at Unstrung got confirmation from Sprint VP Atish Gude that one of the payment options for the upcoming US WiMAX network will be day passes. (via Broadband Reports) In other words, if you don’t want to sign a contract, you can pay for a day of use just like with a Wi-Fi … Read more

Kindle for Beach Reading?

An interview with The Washington Post’s Rob Pegoraro aired this morning on NPR. The topic? Whether the Kindle makes for good beach and poolside reading. The verdict was mixed. On the pro side: a few drops of water aren’t going to kill the Kindle, and the fact that the screen’s not backlit makes it easy … Read more

What to Do with an Old iPod or iPhone

Apple products are the gifts that keep on giving. Right before the July 4th holiday, AppleInsider reported on how first-gen iPhone buyers can still operate their handsets as iPod Touch devices – Wi-Fi and all – if they decide to buy the new 3G iPhone. This met with some derision on the AppleInsider forum as … Read more

Library Trumps Swaptree

We’ve been seriously low on good television in my household, so yesterday I thought I’d come up with a brilliant idea when I remembered my Swaptree account. I’ve been holding on to box sets of the first seasons of Lost and The Office, and I figure I’ll be able to do a nice trade on … Read more

Screens Everywhere, Ads Too

I’m beginning to think that soon I won’t be able to turn my head without seeing a TV screen. My local Wi-Fi cafe haunt has added a display above the registers with local advertising, and I just heard via Shiny Shiny that London is getting movie trailers piped in on screens at select Underground stops. … Read more

New Content for Netflix Roku Box

Dave may have to hold off on The Battle Royale. Word is that Netflix may be upping the ante with new content for the Roku box. (via Forbes, and Silicon Alley Insider) While Netflix isn’t saying what that content might be, VP Tim Twerdahl claims that a software update later this year will let the … Read more