Hulu Content Headed to Roku?

I can’t say I’m a regular reader of Playboy but, after coming across this juicy nugget, I did indeed pick up the current issue (June 2009)… for the articles. Well, just one little blurb in particular. After talking to Roku, Playboy has concluded “Hulu support is coming” to the $99 set-top box. Could this be … Read more

Xbox 360: Welcome to the Social?

Tons of news today out of Microsoft’s E3 keynote… The two primary themes revolve around enhanced social connectivity and expanded methods of physical interaction (Project Natal motion control, Tony Hawk skateboard controller) being deployed to Xbox 360 consoles over the next few months. In addition to a rebranded and upgraded “Zune” video marketplace with instant … Read more

Twitter PSA: Delink Spymaster

spymaster-twitter1

TechCrunch covered the Best Video Twitter worm yesterday, but seems to have missed the equally insidious opt-in Spymaster game. Unlike Facebook silliness, once authorized, Spymaster is much more in the face of your followers – freely tweeting game updates. Not only will you end up spamming your followers, your @mentions queue will fill up with Spymaster-related tweets.

spymaster-twitter

Spymaster may be for some folks, but it’s not for me. I prefer my games played with a joystick and on the plasma. And while I’m occasionally indulgent with an off-topic Twitter post, I respect my followers too much to partake.

So shortly after realizing Spymaster’s gameplay implications, I set about delinking them from my Twitter account. Spymaster’s FAQ doesn’t make it clear how to sever ties, a direct message to @playspymaster went unanswered, and a query on TechCrunch garnered no responses.

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The good news is that I’ve found the simple solution and Twitter OAuth appears to work as billed. Instead of giving up our credentials, as we have in the past with third-party apps, Spymaster and Twitter are linked via OAuth (with your authorization). Once you’ve established an OAuth relationship, a new settings tab appears on Twitter itemizing these services. To assassinate Spymaster from your Twitter account, visit the Twitter website and:

  • Click Settings
  • Click Connections tab
  • Click Revoke Access

Click to enlarge:

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Hulu Desktop Arrives

Despite Hulu’s apparent hypocrisy, I’m quite pleased to see them release a desktop video client (v0.9) today. The (beta?) Hulu Desktop software is available for both Windows and Mac operating systems and, after just a few minutes of poking around, it looks like they’re off to a good start. However, I do question the authenticity … Read more

What Exactly is Wolfram Alpha?

We’ve seen a decent amount of hype the last few weeks surrounding the launch of Wolfram Alpha, with premises of ‘search engine evolution’ and ‘Google killer’ tossed about. But I admit that I haven’t been paying very close attention – Google meets most of my search engine needs, the last big launch (Cuil) failed to … Read more

Digital Media Bytes: Last100 Edition

A periodic roundup of relevant news… from our friends at Last100: A glimpse into the Nokia N97’s Facebook app With just a few weeks before the N97 is set to debut, Nokia have published an interactive demo of the phone’s User Interface, including a walk-through of some of the features of the included Facebook application. … Read more

Adobe’s DVRCast FMS Module Launch Imminent

Folks in the streaming media industry are probably already aware of an Adobe product called DVRCast. Adobe has talked about it for several months, and you can find the occasional forum thread on it as well. If it’s a feature you’ve been waiting for, take heart. Adobe’s Kevin Towes announced in a Streaming Media East … Read more

Hands On with the Asus Eee Top

My initial impression of the Verizon Hub wasn’t entirely positive – I’d rather have a touchscreen Eee Top in my kitchen. –DZ, 02/09

Given my pre-release proclamation above and after catching Brad Linder’s (Lilliputing) ASUS Eee Top ETP1602 review, I had to get my hands on a unit. Fortunately, Brad (and ASUS) were quite accommodating and I’ve been playing with his very same review loaner the last couple weeks. Whereas Brad dropped the Eee Top (~$500) in his office, being a fan (conceptually) of the Audrey and Icebox computing appliances of lore, I placed the 15.6″ all-in-one PC in our kitchen. Where I believe it belongs.

First off, while definitely plasticy, the Eee looks pretty sharp. Minus the cable clutter. My phone related paraphernalia could easily be cleaned up, but I positioned it front and center (well, off to the left) to demonstrate connectivity. Unfortunately, the wired keyboard and mouse would require an additional investment to free yourself of cables. In fact, if we’re counting pennies, I’d prefer ASUS provide wireless interfaces over the touchscreen – which I found myself rarely using. (Perhaps compounded by the review unit not shipping with its bundled stylus.) I appreciated the volume and brightness controls located on the bezel, in addition to the screen blanking button. And the Eee Top rear, which Brad photographed, features a simple yet effective, adjustable kickstand and various ports.

The custom apps (i.e. Eee Easy Mode) and third party software (i.e. Cyberlink media shell) that Brad felt made the Eee Top stand out, were mostly a distraction for me. (But are perfectly suitable for non-techies and children.) Thus, they were banished in relatively short order. Windows XP has been around for eons and I’m comfortable mousing around the UI as designed. To meet my widget needs, I installed all of Google Desktop. For telephonic capabilities, I plugged in the magicJack ($40, free US calling the first year) on a side USB port. (Although Skype would also work well, given the built-in microphone and video camera.) I had hoped the ETP1602 would made a great web-based kitchen television, but the video capabilities are a mixed bag…

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