Zatz Not Funny!

The Alphabet? There’s 26 Apps For That.

Tom’s Favorite Films of 2009

dead-snow

I’m always in search of a good flick. And MoCA Tom, one of my go-to sources for movie recommendations, put this list together for me. They’re not necessarily the best films of the year, but the ones Tom most enjoyed. Presented in no particular order and without regard for year of premiere. While keeping in mind his penchant for zombies, sci-fi, and just about anything else over-the-top. (He hasn’t yet seen Avatar.) For more drama and art house fare, you’ll have to look elsewhere. Anything we missed?

Outlander
SciFi sleeper hit of 2009. Not sure why this didn’t get more press.
DVD • Blu-ray • Netflix • IMDB • Rotten Tomatoes

Taken
Liam Neeson’s a total bad ass. His character is Qui-Gon Jinn from Star Wars meets Jules from Pulp Fiction.
DVD • Blu-ray • Netflix • IMDB • Rotten Tomatoes

Up
I love Pixar movies. The best part is always the intro movie before the main movie. If you don’t cry in the first 15 minutes of this movie, then you have no soul.
DVD • Blu-ray • Netflix • IMDB • Rotten Tomatoes

Star Trek
I’m sick of the whole re-boot/remake that is going on in Hollywood. However, this is the one that they got right. The casting for this movie was phenomenal. Carl Urban was awesome as Dr. McCoy.
DVD • Blu-ray • Netflix • IMDB • Rotten Tomatoes

The Hangover
Laugh out loud funny. Who hasn’t had a night like that in Vegas?
DVD • Blu-ray • Netflix • IMDB • Rotten Tomatoes

TiVo Responds To The FCC (Cable Discriminates)

As you may have read earlier this month, the FCC went on the record in expressing their dissatisfaction with separable security CableCARD technology, related to industry openness and innovation. Something I’ve been harping on for ages. And there’s plenty of blame to go around. (Pot, meet kettle.) So the FCC has opened up the floor … Read more

Personal Placeshifting Not Yet Dead

In the era of widespread and freely provided web video (of questionably quality and selection), it’s heartening to see personal placeshifting technology initiatives continue to blossom. Last week, Apple stalwart Elgato provided a EyeTV software update (v3.3) to enable remote web-based playback (including Mobile Safari/iPhone! over 3G!) of live and recorded content sourced from your … Read more

BeyondTV To Power The Daily Show

Now that I’ve firmly planted a stake in the ground, declaring that we’ll regurgitate fewer press releases… let’s discuss a press release. Because Rakesh Agrawal, founder and CEO of SnapStream, is a good guy. And because I’ve been fascinated with automated business intelligence collection techniques since being collocated with a startup in that space during … Read more

PVRBlog.com eBayed for $12,110.00

Matt Haughey recently unloaded his PVRBlog.com domain and content on ebay for $12,110.00 at the conclusion of a 7 day auction. As with most items that attract seasoned bidders, the reality was closer to a 20 minute event — during which time we saw PVRBlog‘s price more than double. However, the week-long listing provided plenty of time to mull over a purchase. And to be approached by a variety of folks looking to team.

But how do you value a website? In it’s heyday, PVRBlog held an amazing 9/10 Google PageRank. And despite hardly any new content (8 posts in 2009), the site still sees several hundred visitors a day. Perhaps most impressively, PVRBlog may have over 180,000 RSS subscribers thanks to some early Google promotion. Yet Matt says his revenue maxed out at $3,000 a month (and currently brings in about $100/mo). Given those top flight numbers, I would have expected significantly higher cashflow. I’m not entirely sure where the disconnect is, but it did give me pause.

Snowed In Gadgetry

As you may have heard, much of the mid-Atlantic region has been crippled by winter weather. And my neighborhood was hit with maybe 18″ of snow yesterday. So, having some indoor time on my hands, I jumped on a few gadgety projects and looked to digital media for distraction. Inspired by Mari’s netbook disaster, I … Read more

The Boxes of the Year

With the last holiday shopping weekend of 2009 upon us, it’s probably time to list my favorite home entertainment boxes of the year. This list is by no means exhaustive, these are just some of my faves – top picks, suitable for mainstream audiences and geeks alike. Keeping in mind, that for the second straight year, the Xbox 360 ($300) is still my #1 digital media powerhouse – the one box I cannot part with. Take my TiVo. Take my Roku. But you better come armed if you want this 360. Not only does it feature the best online gaming experience, it also boasts THE best Netflix instant streaming client – in addition to offering a variety of other media playback options.

Video

In the video category, there are two standouts for those sticking with physical media – and a higher quality of HD. But the snappy LG BD 390 set-top box (<$300) and the redesigned PS3 gaming console ($300) are much more than capable Blu-ray players. Both offer a variety of connected services (and 802.11n), including Netflix instant streaming. Those who have current or potential gamers in the house should probably look to the PS3 (and budget another 20 bucks for a remote), while everyone else would be quite happy with the Vudu-streaming LG. If you’re less picky and/or on a tighter budget with a higher tolerance for networking pain, look to the Samsung BD-P1600 (~$150) for similar features.