Zatz Not Funny!

Update: Dave’s Vista Upgrade

So much for getting Vista this month… or even next month. Looks like I’m slated for a mid-April delivery. I’m no math whiz, but that doesn’t seem like 6-8 weeks after US launch. “Express Upgrade” is a bit misleading… Bah! Between the numerous hotfixes in the works and at least one report that editing DVR-MS … Read more

TiVo Recruiting Video

TiVo’s been posting tons of job openings lately, so they put together an inside-look recruiting video and shipped it off to select boxes (TiVo Central). I may have had a few content suggestions prior to shooting…

Not Everyone Deserves 15 Minutes of Fame

There’s a new trend in online video that I’m entirely in favor of. Editors. And for that matter, producers.

Yes, people have learned that most user-generated content is trash and the way to make money is to provide better filters. Hence the recent Facebook/Ziddio announcement and efforts to offer promising video producers a little professional support.

On the Facebook front, the company has teamed with Ziddio.com to select top video submissions for feature placement on the Ziddio site. In addition, through Ziddio’s relationship with Comcast, these same top videos will be available through on-demand cable. Don’t waste time rummaging through heaps of crappy video. Let someone else do the rummaging for you, then sit back and enjoy the show.

How HD-DVD Copy Protection Was (Possibly) Defeated

Over the last couple of months, there have been reports of HD-DVD and Blu-ray copy protection being defeated and bypassed. I can’t say I’m an expert in this area and I haven’t slogged through the public AACS documents. While it’s unclear if these methods (and keys) are temporary “solutions” or if they will permanently bypass … Read more

TiVo Series3 8.1 Software Rollout Begins

Originally slated for a late 2006 release, the 8.1 update for Series3 units is finally rolling. Notable features include TiVoCast capability, KidZone, WPA support, and the Recently Deleted folder… plus “a number of bugs and issues” have been resolved. This update pretty much unifies (if not the code base) the functionality of the S2 and … Read more

Details On 17 Online Video Services

Marshall Kirkpatrick, of TechCrunch and SplashCast fame, breaks down and differentiates 17 online video services. Covered sites include Brightcove, Veoh, Vimeo, Mixpo, Panjea, Blip.tv, Revver, YouTube, MetaCafe, DailyMotion, MySpace, iFilm, Joost, ClipSyndicate, Grouper, VodPod, and of course his own SplashCast. Head over to Marshall’s site for the text or watch the video clips (so fitting, … Read more

Xbox Live App For OS X

Now that my primary computer is a MacBook Pro (thanks, Sling) this Cocoa Xbox Live application caught my eye. MacLive logs into your account and displays your friends and their status, plus a list of games you’ve played. Selecting check boxes results in a visual notification when a buddy signs on or when the selected … Read more

Apple Brings Lionsgate Films To iTunes

Wonder why Apple keeps mentioning how much music and video they’ve sold? (1.3 million feature-length films as of Macworld.) It’s not to impress us consumers, it’s to pitch additional studios… And today Lionsgate joins in: Lionsgate and Apple today announced that movies from Lionsgate will be available for purchase and download on the iTunes Store … Read more