Adding to an ever expanding list of new features like pizza ordering and Netflix streaming, TiVo’s now bringing you the option of SlingBox-esque control of your box on your mobile phone. Their new mobile site, m.tivo.com, allows both subscribers and non-subscribers to browse television shows, schedule recordings to their TiVo box and possibly find new shows worth hitting the record button for. According to TiVo, the site is optimised for all mobile phones and mobile phone browsers, so anybody with internet connectivity can use it. M.tivo.com is in beta beginning today and will be available on a wider scale within a few weeks.
So it hasn’t been a good week for Australian online entertainment seekers. First of all you’ve got movie studios suing iiNet because they didn’t stop their customers from pirating movies and TV shows (well, they’re not ninjas). And now Andew Colley over at Australian IT is reporting that EzyDVD’s online movie download store, which was to rise from the ashes of ReelTime TV, has been put on hold thanks to the struggling economy.
The plans for an online store haven’t been canned completely (fortunately), but this is a real blow for online entertainment in this country, even though the service was probably going to be restricted to PC-based viewing through proprietary software. As I’ve stated before, the only options we have to legitimately download movies and TV shows in Australia are through iTunes and BigPond, which each have their own restrictions.
So, here’s a crazy idea I’d like to put forward to all the movie studios who think suing ISPs is the answer. Take the money you’re spending on lawyers and invest it in EzyDVD’s EzyDownload service. Let’s get this thing running sooner rather than later. Because no matter how many people or ISPs you sue, you’re not going to make the slightest dent in piracy until we have a few attractive, legal options on the table.
[Australian IT via Lifehacker]
Seems like the threat of Netflix partnering up with everyone for TV downloading services has spurred Blockbuster into action. The video rental chain is finally confirming rumours that it’ll launch its own set-top box before the end of the year. For a “limited time,” their 2Wire-built MediaPoint player will be free and give you an advance rental of “25 first-run movies, TV shows, foreign or classic films from Blockbuster On-Demand for $US99.” Anything after that is $US1.99 a piece.
I’m in love with crazy, vaguely acupressure-related gadgets, so this Christmas I might actually drop some cash for the “Head Refresher.” Much like the Head Kanzen, this insane-looking device lets you massage your own scalp, allegedly increasing blood circulation throughout your body, while making it look like an inverted sea urchin is trying to swallow your skull.
This computer-controlled coffee machine created by Reko Maenpaa is the king of tech in coffee technology, creating a cup of joe in under 30 seconds while sporting a 8″ touchscreen and the innards of a PC. Outfitted with an Intel 500 MHz Pentium 3 processor, ATX motherboad and a GeForce MX 440 graphics card, the coffee machine screen can be viewed through your TV via Wi-Fi, ordered through your WAP phone or through your web browser for ultimate utility (and by that, I mean laziness). Even better, maybe Maenpaa could rig additional options and create an automated espresso machine. Until then, I suppose only a (lightly steamed to 70 degrees please) soy hazelnut decaf dry cappucino that’s spit-free will only exist in my dreams.
Despite the fact that the movie studios are being total dickwads and suing iiNet for aiding and abetting piracy, the ISP is actually being even more pro-active in its fight against piracy in Australia than all the movie studios put together. How? By offering incentives to download legal entertainment, like having iTunes and ABC iView content unmetered for their customers (meaning you don’t actually have to pay for content twice).
If that’s not enough, according to Gus over at Lifehacker, they’re planning on taking it one step further by launching an IPTV service in the middle of next year. They announced the service at their AGM, and while details are still extremely scarce, I can’t help but applaud the ISP for sticking to its guns and standing up to the evil movie corporations and their lawyer henchmen.
I know I ranted on it the other day, but until we start getting some decent legal offerings for downloading TV shows and movies that we can watch where we want and when we want, piracy is going to remain. So kudos to iiNet for understanding and fighting the good fight.
Georgia Tech actually has a Robotic Musicianship Group in its Centre for Music Technology, which means that some lucky so-and-so’s are getting government funding to form hippie drum circles with an array of artificial companions. In the video above, two robot demonstrate their ability to listen to grooves laid down by living breathing meatbags, and jump in on their own instruments when the mood strikes.
Hey Brian, I just finished Brian Briggs’ book, The BBook of Geek: The Only Geek Humor Book You’ll Ever Need. If you didn’t know, Brian’s the guy who created BBspot, a humour site that’s geared toward geek topics (which includes gadgets and tech). His humour is a lot like ours—most similar to Sean Fallon’s dryness actually—so you’d enjoy this book. There’s lots of talk you’d enjoy.
The Leichtman Research Group’s sixth annual survey on whether or not people can tell standard def from a high def hole in the ground shows that 18 percent of HDTV owners, um, can’t. They all thought they were tuning into delicious HD programming when they were in fact looking at some not-so-delicious standard def stuff.
Forget 12 Angry Men, Judge Judy and Ally McBeal – This is the courtroom-based entertainment I want to see. A program based on a true story – perhaps a comedy – where instead of following the explicit justice system rules that you cannot share details of any case, one particular juror goes home and runs a poll on Facebook asking friends for advice on whether the alleged criminals are guilty.
Imagine it: Each week the juror in question could have a separate case… One week it’s child abduction, another week it’s child rape (the two charges in the real-life case this imaginary show is based on). Of course, there are a few details to work out – like why the main character is always on jury duty – but that shouldn’t stand in the way of a good story.
But you would have to explain why they weren’t kicked off the jury each week as well, which is what does happen in real life. At least real life can give us a tagline for the show: “”I don’t know which way to go, so I’m holding a poll.” Yes, she actually said that, after disclosing all the confidential evidence of the trial.
(Insert canned laughter here.)
Fortunately, the real life trial continued without the advice-seeking juror.
[The Sun via Cnet via AllFacebook]
