Based on the information contained in a Sling Media patent, it may be possible for the company to send you ads over their popular Slingbox media players. Specifically, it would be possible to send ads to the user’s computer, display ads in fromt or behind the media stream, ads may be sent through a phone call, fax, traditional mail, or displayed through a text ticker at the bottom of the program content —among other methods.
The patent goes into quite a bit of detail on the subject, but it is important to note that as far as anyone knows, Sling Media has not made any plans to use this technology. The patent simply illustrates that they could if they chose to do so —although it would probably be akin to suicide. [Patent Application via Sling Community]
We’ve been playing around with News Corp. and NBC’s answer to internet video, Hulu, for a couple of days, letting the low-traffic, buttery smooth launch day stretch out more into real time and real traffic conditions before we let loose with our judgment. Let’s get this out of the way: YouTube killer it ain’t. Same genus, different species.
As Ars called it, Hulu is a “corporate sandbox” loaded with content from NBC, News Corp., Sony, MGM, as well as their various subsidiary channels like FX, Sci-Fi Channel and so forth, offering anything from full episodes of Battlestar Galactica and Buffy to SNL Digital Shorts and an entire Russell Crowe flick, Master & Commander. It’s Flash-based, it streams, just like YouTube, and it’s ad-supported, with bumpers and “commercial breaks,” just like the TV it’s trying to ape. Despite the potential of being a corporate bomb, Hulu actually succeeds in a lot of ways. For one, the interface is pretty slick, the site itself not overwrought and easy enough to navigate, which is something of a miracle given how FUBAR productions of this sort typically turn out. The animations are smooth, with lots of scrollover popups and transparency, and buttons for all of the few things you can do with a video. Grays and blacks surround the video in a widescreen format, making it easier on your eyes.
Nintendo’s Wii may be on everyone’s minds as the one gaming item that will be hard to find this Christmas, but Rock Band could even beat that. Why? Here are a few reasons. One, the Wii’s been available for more than a year. Two, Guitar Hero 2 was almost impossible to find when that was released. Three, Rock Band will only be available as a bundle until early 2008, meaning each package will be taking up lots of shelf space, which also means fewer units in stock. If you want Rock Band this year, you should pre-order now. [GamaSutra - Wired]
This “Daylight” concept from Philips is being touted as “the hotel room of the future” thanks to a window that can be customised to suit the visitor’s preferences. Guests can change the ambiance, lighting, block out noise, and add some awesome virtual foliage with a simple wave of the arm. In time, Phillips hopes that guests will be able to pre-order the atmosphere in their room to help them recover from the stresses of travelling and the effects of jetlag. Still, if you have the cash to stay in a hotel like this you shouldn’t have too much to be depressed about in the first place. After all, the only “ambiance” you are likely to get a a Motel 6 is a room strewn with condom wrappers and drug paraphernalia. [T3]
The City Car, a design from the MIT Media Lab, is a stackable, foldable car concept that hopes to alleviate the urban traffic jams we waste so much of our lives in. These cars—which are supposed to be rentable near major transportation hubs such as airports and train stations—solve the last mile of public transportation by giving folks a small, low-cost way to drop their vehicles altogether. The cars themselves are supposed to be incredibly agile, being able to turn on the spot and drive sideways to parallel park. Only time can tell whether this will be more or less successful than the Segway. [Technology Review via CarLounge]
There are plenty of unique looking computer mice on the market, but few look as interesting (and ergonomic) as this Aircraft Mouse with flashing LED lights. It is only sporting an 800dpi optical sensor, so it is far from being a true “top gun” of the peripheral world, but it definitely will earn a few style points —if you can get your hands on it that is. No pricing details are available and it appears that the design was a limited run. [Design Town via GeekAlerts]
It appears that the CrackBerry is set to be a little more crack-tastic. A Crackberry.com hands-on with the upcoming BlackBerry OS v4.3 has revealed that users will finally have the ability to record video. The new OS is already shipping on the 8130 and rumour has it that the Curve and the Pearl 8100 won’t be far behind. [Crackberry via Digital Inspiration via JKOTR]
newVideoPlayer("sidekicks2_gawker.flv", 475, 286);As part of the Slide review process, Benny G and I just made this super-quick video of all four recent models: Sidekick 3, Sidekick iD, Sidekick LX and Sidekick Slide. What will you notice? Changes in flip action, changes in the flip sound effects, and remarkable difference in screen brightness and clarity. But one question, Motorola: if you’re so cool building the Sidekick Slide, how come you didn’t put a slide-open sound effect? I’ll be sure to follow up on that mystery. [T-Mobile Sidekick]
A companion to the newly released 3200dpi Cyborg Gaming Mouse, the Cyborg Keyboard looks like something yanked from the set of Knight Rider. Whether you consider that to be a good thing or not, the Cyborg Keyboard does have a few features that will undoubtedly appeal to gamers. This includes an independently backlit WASD, cursor, ‘Cyborg’ and NumPad keys to highlight commonly used gaming controls (these keys are also metal plated), 12 macro keys, Pass-through USB, audio and microphone sockets, and enhanced multiple key presses for complex gaming commands. It appears that Saitek intended on maintaining what is essentially a basic keyboard with separated and enhanced gaming features. Both the Cyborg keyboard and mouse are available now for $80 and $60 respectively. [Product Page via UberReview]
It was only a couple days ago that the Toshiba HD-A2 being on sale for $197 was a good deal, but Best Buy’s raised the stakes and put the newer Toshiba HD-A3 on sale for $199. Best of all, Best Buy still has the 7 free HD DVD deal with any Toshiba player. Yes, it’s still 1080i, but if you’re the type of person who’s looking for a sub-$200 deal on HD DVD players, you’re probably not the type of person who cares about or can detect the difference between 1080i and 1080p. The only real difference between the two is that digital optical out on the A2 is DTS compared to Dolby Digital 5.1 on the A3. [Best Buy - Free HD DVDs via FatWallet via Crunchgear]
