Zatz Not Funny! | All your digital media goodness.

The Gamefly Update: Improved

Back in July, Gamefly reached out to me after hearing of my first (subpar) stint as a customer. They offered me 90 days on the house (2 games out) to test their supposedly improved service. Having received about a dozen Xbox and PSP games the last two months, I can report that delivery times have … Read more

Gizmodo Gets Scoop on New ReplayTV Gadget

I have a soft spot for ReplayTV, having gotten an early Panasonic version of the company’s hardware back in 2001. However, there’s been virtually no word of the DVR pioneer since ReplayTV moved to a software-only business model last year. Now Gizmodo reports that the company is launching a new product – an HD/DVR tuner … Read more

Web-Only “Quarterlife” to Debut November 11th

This is what I’ve been waiting for. Something good to watch on the Web. Seriously, with the amount of bad television churned out by the networks these days, I’m all for having a few professionals take the plunge to produce for an online-only audience. Last week, MySpace announced that producers Ed Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz (Thirty Something and My So-Called Life) will debut Quarterlife on its site on November 11th. The show will not be seen on regular networks, only online.

While I don’t know if Quarterlife will live up to my TV-watching criteria (it doesn’t have Timothy Busfield after all), I’m extremely happy that professional producers are willing to give Internet-only distribution a try. Zwick and Herskovitz are almost sure to lose money, but they have a chance to convert some key TV-watchers to the Web and make the platform viable for other producers in the future. I could care less about watching TV online per se, but I’d do almost anything for good content, and it’s clear that producing quality TV for the networks is getting harder and harder.

Nano “Fatty” Misaligned

Based on feedback in the Apple forums, Engadget reports that new iPod nano components are misaligned in some units:

the screen doesn’t appear to be completely level within the casing

Having played with several of these in the Apple Store, I encountered the defect on just one. The degree of tilt is pretty small, but it is noticeable (and surprised me). Assuming Apple hasn’t replaced the model I saw Saturday at Montgomery Mall (MD), you can see for yourself – in the front section, check out the silver Nano attached to the iMac furthest in on the far left.

Supposedly Apple is replacing these units. As they should.

If Money Grew On Trees: FogScreen

If money grew on trees, I’d have a funkadelic living room. FogScreen “produces a thin curtain of fog that serves as a translucent projection screen, displaying images that literally float in the air.” It sounds like FogScreen has been available overseas for a bit (mostly appearing at trade shows), but is now making its way … Read more

Xbox Media Extender Modding

While this hack isn’t new, it’s worth revisiting… Life Hacker documents how they upgraded an Xbox into a Xbox Media Center (XBMC). I can tell you from first hand experience that once you have the required supplies (Splinter Cell, USB reader) the process is quick and easy. And when you’ve completed the upgrade, the classic … Read more

More Mall-time Fun

We hit the mall today to run a few errands (and fondle the Nano “fatty” again) and ran across a Wii kiosk with 6 stations. They’ve been here (Montgomery Mall) about a week as part of a nationwide 25 mall tour. I got some hands on time with the new Metroid… Let me tell you … Read more

I Saw Bionic Woman (and I’m not impressed)

In case you haven’t heard, Amazon Unbox is offering free downloads of various NBC fall premieres. Being a TiVo owner, I opted to watch Bionic Woman on television (versus PC or portable) and as the title indicates, I wasn’t overjoyed. Perhaps a two hour premiere or two-parter would have served the plot better – things … Read more