Zatz Not Funny!

Reading Between the Lines: “Thoughts on Flash”

Steve Jobs lays out six reasons why Apple is not supporting Flash in one of his rare direct communiqués on Apple’s Web site. Jobs says that Adobe has portrayed Apple’s reluctance to a business decision but that the reasons are mostly technical. The essay reveals it to be somewhat of a mixture although it boils down … Read more

BeyondPod Podcast Manager for Android

Since picking up my Google Nexus One a few months ago, I’ve tried a number of different tools for downloading and listening to podcasts. Google Listen is a free podcast manager from Google which makes it easy to find, subscribe to, and listen to podcasts. But I find that it’s a bit unpredictable when it … Read more

The TiVo Wireless N Adapter Unboxing & Giveaway

TiVo kindly overnighted the new Wireless N Network Adapter ($90) for a ZNF unboxing and giveaway. Unlike their 802.11g USB TiVo adapter, this is more of a “network bridge” in a pretty sleek package. Other than the serious cable clutter, which won’t fly in my household. As a wireless bridge, the adapter connects to a TiVo … Read more

Palm is dead. Long live Palm.

HP is set to acquire Palm for $1.2 billion, or $5.70 per share. It’s perhaps no surprise that Palm’s been bought – a sale has been on the cards – but nobody I know of had considered HP to be in the mix. That said, upon reflection it seems quite a good fit. First up, … Read more

The iPhone DVR Remote Scheduling Apps

While TiVo may have been the first to offer remote scheduling, a number of television service providers have functionally leap-frogged them by offering dedicated iPhone DVR apps. Most of which take it to the next level with two-way communication, allowing one to view a list of previously recorded programming, view upcoming recordings, and delete recordings right from an iPhone.

Comcast mobile App

Experience the best features of Comcast Digital Voice®, Digital Cable and High Speed Internet services on the go-right on your iPhone and iPod touch. Watch trailers for the latest movies available On Demand. Schedule programs to record on your DVR from your iPhone and iPod touch and view your upcoming recordings so you never miss a show again. (expected to be available to most markets by summer 2010)

Verizon FIOS DVR Manager

FiOS is making its DVRs even more accessible by giving customers the ability to program them remotely through their mobile devices. That means that Verizon FiOS customers never have to worry about missing anything they want to watch, as they’ll always be able to set their DVRs to record from virtually anywhere they happen to be. It also means that customers can set parental controls, set bookmarks, browse and search TV programming, set a series recording, view the DVR status and see how much space is left for recording, browse and search VOD listings, and see their lists of scheduled and recorded programs.

DISH Remote Access

Introducing DISH Remote Access – a whole new way to manage your DVR and record your favorite shows – anytime, anywhere with your iPhone™ or iPod touch®. With the touch of a fingertip you can easily browse the program guide, schedule DVR recordings and manage your DVR library as if you were at home. Manage recording conflicts, delete shows you’ve already watched, view and adjust your recording schedule.

Virgin Media Launches Online Movie Rentals (UK)

Virgin Media has launched a browser-based movie streaming service, available to anybody in the UK — not just the cable provider’s own subscribers. It’s a pretty standard VOD affair: movies are available for rental-only, with prices for new releases set at £3.99 for 48 hours access once you press play. Content-wise, we presume it’s the same catalog as … Read more

Windows Home Server “Vail” Public Beta Available

The latest version of Microsoft’s Windows Home Server, dubbed “Vail”, was unveiled as a public beta. We Got Served has several nice write-ups going over the new features and providing walkthrough. Feature-wise I’m not shocked, but definitely dissapointed that Microsoft again left out Media Center functionality. Here’s what WeGotServed had to say about this omission: Let’s get one … Read more

SlingCommunity Shutting Down

Today marks the end of an era as the SlingCommunity shutters its doors. I assume this isn’t entirely voluntary on their part, given Sling Media’s recently launched Slingbox tech support-oriented forum. In fact, years of SlingCommunity content (215,000 posts) will vanish later today when their URL will begin redirecting all traffic to answers.slingbox.com.

As a very early Slingbox owner and, later, as a Sling Media employee, I have a pretty good handle on Sling’s forum arc.

The Slingbox was a hot topic of discussion on AVS Forum at launch in 2005. It’s where I got to know founder and CEO Blake Krikorian. And convinced him the office workers of the world needed a Windows 2000 client. And they turned one around in 48 hours. As the conversation grew, Sling approached the owners of AVS about cordoning off a dedicated Sling area. But they wouldn’t play ball. In fact, I got the sense they didn’t appreciate the company’s public contributions for whatever reason. So Sling took their cash elsewhere and partnered with Capable Networks, who launched the SlingCommunity.