April 2007 – Page 2 – LIVEdigitally

CBS "gets it", empowers the audience

Posted on April 12, 2007 by Jeremy Toeman

Strange things are afoot at the Circle K

If the music industry is in a shakeup, then the video industry is in an earthquake (go ahead, make a better analogy, that’s not really my forte anyway). Full-length TV shows available free on demand on company Web sites. Episodes can be purchased individually to watch on your iPod. Consumers can time and place shift any TV show they want, and legally. You can even buy the boxed set of entire Golden Girls series!

Some networks get it very wrong (I’ll leave them Nameless By Choice). Some, however, get it right. CBS announced today their intent to launch the “CBS Interactive Audience Network” which includes partnerships with the ‘traditionaly players’ as well as a whole bunch of small/medium technology startups:

Joost (who has also issued a press release on the topic)
Bebo
Brightcove
Netvibes
Sling Media
Veoh

Read the press release for all the nitty gritty details, but I am stunned and impressed at these moves. Will they do it all perfect? Nope! Will some things utterly bomb or backfire? Most probably! But what’s key is they are trying, and even more essential, they are being mindful of their customer base (as opposed to the music industry, for example, who chooses to treat their customers like criminals).

I chatted briefly with Dave Zatz from Sling Media, and from what I understand Sling’s participation is unique in that they will not only have a Web portal, but can also bring CBS content into the SlingPlayer on PCs and in the future, to the SlingCatcher device. Sling was featured during CBS’s CES 2007 keynote. Full disclosure here: I am a former employee there, have stock options, still love those guys, and think you should vote for the Slingbox Pro for Engadget’s Entertainment Device of the Year, and admit to being biased!

We have a long road ahead of us as the wave “future of television” has already begun to reach the shore. It’s safe to say the broadcast industry is being heavily disrupted, and some big players are likely to fall over the long term. Life for cable affiliates is already becoming challenging, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see some major networks suffer a casualty or two. The content producers (MGM, Universal, etc) are all working hard as well, pushing their brands to the front. Amazon Unbox, Netflix streaming, YouTube, etc.

I can’t tell you who will rise and who will fall, but I believe in this: the companies that focus today on audience appreciation and customer retention are the ones who will be standing tomorrow.

More coverage on the topic: PaidContent, Ars Technica, WSJ (sub req’d), IP Democracy. I predict this is top-of-techmeme by 1pm PST (as of 10:15 it’s 1/3 down the page).

One Million Words Served

Posted on April 11, 2007 by Jeremy Toeman

Some journalists’ individual presences far outreach their publications. If Walt Mossberg wrote for NY Times or CNET, he’d still be Walt Mossberg. Most industry people know Gary Krakow by reputation, the fact that he’s on MSNBC is just a small part of his story. In some cases, however, the brand of the publication carries the weight. For example, I read National Geographic every month, but couldn’t name a writer there. A few lucky people straddle that world, and one of them is my friend Ryan Block, the managing editor for engadget (a tech blog that a few people seem to read occasionally).

Ryan hit his 5000th post today (here it is), which puts him just a wee bit ahead of the ~290 I’ve written, and in roughly the same time span I might add. I chatted with him for a bit, was curious to get some of his thoughts down, and rather than get all prose-y, here they are in nice, easy to read Q&A format…

Ryan, do you think you have another 5000 posts ahead of you?

I honestly didn’t think I’d make it to 5k because I thought I’d run out of things to say about technology – I guess I was wrong!

What are some of your personal favorite posts?

I have a lot, actually, many are sentimental…

The Engadget Reader Meetup: The Aftermath (part I, NY) – that’s the event where I announced I was quitting my day job and blogging full time.

Engadget Lovecast 069 – 02.14.06 – it was really fun to play romanceologist for a day with nerd-love questions (plus i got to tell my lady I love her on the air).

Were there any stories that you personally broke/covered that you were really proud of?

FairUse4WM strips Windows Media DRM! – one of my proudest moments writing about technology.

Live from Macworld 2007: Steve Jobs keynote – where literally millions of people followed our liveblog coverage of the iPhone launch.

As the managing editor of the top tech blog, I’d assume people have a lot of mistaken thinking about your glamorous life. What are some misconceptions you’d like to clear up?

The biggest misconception about me, and thusly engadget, is this perception of bias for/against certain companies. I’ve been called an Apple fanboy and a Microsoft fanboy by readers in the same day. It’s super frustrating because we feel it’s very important to be equally critical of all companies – large and small – and these perceptions of bias are usually reflections of peoples’ own biases.

Another interesting one is the idea that we swim in gadgets and get tons of free gear. While we do play with lots of toys, we don’t keep anything. We give it back or give it away, always.

On average, how many hours per day do you think about gadgets?

How many hours a day am I awake? That’s totally fine with me though, it’s a lifestyle, you have to really love it.

If you could go start a brand new blog, far far away from tech/gadgets, what would the category be?

Well, i had a kind of pseudo-blog a couple of years back where i published short fiction.

But if I were starting a new one today and it couldn’t be about robots (i’ve always wanted to do a robot blog) I think I might do something of a book, magazine, publication, and media revue

On a final, more serious note. Do you ever get mistaken for a member of a boyband (and if so, which one)?

No! Moby sometimes though, it drives me crazy.

Now to give us a better, more well-rounded picture of Ryan, I pinged a few people who are close to him.

I asked Dave Zatz (former Engadget blogger) for his favorite Ryan Block post:

Blu-ray vs HD DVD: State of the Division – the post was written before either platform launched, and at a time when there was tons of uncertainty and speculation – I think Ryan did a great job laying out the situation and specs. Plus it had charts. And I like charts.

Peter Rojas, cofounder of Engadget and Chief Strategy Officer of Weblogs, Inc (a.k.a “Ryan’s Boss”), selected the Live from Macworld post as well, adding:

Ryan’s amazing coverage that day helped established Engadget as more than just another gadget blog – it showed we had the chops to be a world-class tech publication. I’ve never been prouder.

I threw this at Peter as well, “Tell us something about ryan that we all don’t know, but should”:

He really loves Ultravox.

Veronica Belmont, CNET journalist and Ryan’s girlfriend, also chose the Lovecast, but I thought that was just too cute, so I asked for another selection:

Bake Engadget a birthday cake… – it’s creative and fun, for one, and as a person that works to build online communities i can appreciate what a great morale booster it is for the readers to participate in contests like that. Plus, I love cake. And gadgets. And cake that looks like gadgets. Although, if there were a gadget that looked like cake, i might be more inclined to purchase it…

I also asked her what video games she could kick Ryan’s butt in:

Wii Sports! I’m easily better than him at bowling. Crushingly better, really.

Thanks for the time, Ryan, Peter, Dave, and Veronica, and congrats again on 5K. If you still can’t get enough Ryan Block, you can watch this video interview I did with him and Peter Rojas at CES 2007.

Ruckus Laptop Backpack review: Simply Awesome

Posted on April 10, 2007 by Jeremy Toeman

I try not to just gush about products I like, because just about everything has a fault somewhere. Sometimes however, I use something that I find is leaps and bounds better designed than others in its class. Some of my absolute favorite gadgets in recent memory include Sonos, TiVo series 1 (because 1 was ahead of its time and 2 and 3 are both good, but not awe-inspiring), Slingbox (ok, not fair, I’m biased, I admit it completely), my first generation Toshiba Tecra laptop, and now, the Pacific Design Ruckus Laptop Backpack. I like it so much that I made a video showing off its capabilities (running time 2:53):

Some highlights of why I think this bag’s so great:

It’s a comfortable backpack with enough room to fit all the stuff I carry around frequently.
The laptop area is sectioned off from the rest of the bag, which simplifies removing my computer when I need it (really nice touch for going through airport security).
Lots of sectioned pockets for things like: iPod, cell phone, sunglasses, business cards, pens, extra cables, etc.
Special pouch just for the laptop’s AC adapter.
Stylish enough (for me) that I can carry it casually, yet still walk into a business setting and not feel like a goofball (other than for obvious reasons).

As far as laptop backpacks go, the Ruckus Laptop Backpack is my #1 pick, and I don’t see anything taking it’s place anytime soon. I do have a new messenger bag to try out, but that’s a whole ‘nother category in my opinion. So for $69.95, you can pick one up here, because it’s most definitely LD Approved!

Will You Be My Guitar Hero 2, Baby?

Posted on April 8, 2007 by Jeremy Toeman

Thanks to my cousin, I’ve had an Xbox 360 for about a week now, and it’s continued to impress me more and more every day. Live marketplace is great. Downloadable demos are amazing. The HD graphics are outstanding. I haven’t tried media streaming yet, but will soon. In the meantime, I’m playing a few games here and there, with three highlights (so far):

Gears of War. No surprise, it’s the super-mega title the platform’s truly waited for. Honestly, it’s not really my favorite game at all, I just don’t enjoy the gameplay that much. But it’s art, and even just watching others play is entertaining.
Viva Pinata. Okay, I have Veronica Belmont and Ryan Block to blame for this one, as they recommended it for something my wife might enjoy. She does, but crazy enough so do I. It’s just plain fun. YKHIK? Because I like Viva Pinata…
Guitar Hero 2. Also pushed on me by Veronica and Ryan, wow is this one impressive and addictive game. The only reason I’m typing and not playing is because I actually want to try to get some sleep tonight.

One of the reasons I found GH2 (as those “in the know” call it) so interesting was the complete twist on hand-eye coordination it requires. To me, using a video game controller is a bit of an instinctive thing. Like a centipede, if you ask me how I use it, I just stammer and come to a halt. But I get how the buttons work. WIth GH2, the guitar-as-controller is a completely different metaphor on how to play a game. I’m a lot more conscious of what my pinkie is doing than normal – and I’m still on a beginner stage.

Here’s a little video in which I show my skills (runtime is 48 seconds)

I don’t know if I’d spend $100 on it, but it’s definitely a fun game in the lineup! Full game reviews available from LoadingReality, IGN, TeamXbox, and GameSpy. Or you can watch this two-year-old play.

Old Laptop + Flickr + chewing gum = SlickrFrame

Posted on April 6, 2007 by Jeremy Toeman

I just blogged about digital picture frames last week and lo and behold my bud Dave Zatz pointed out to me someone’s Macgyvered themselves their own Flickr-enabled digital picture frame. Cool!

Even cooler, Gizmodo and others (including Sling Media) joined forces to make a little contest. All you have to do is tag some of your photos “slickrframe” between now and next Wednesday, and you can win some cool gear!

I went through some of my photos, tried to pick a few that might entertain the guy. Here’s my entries…

Why I gave up on mobile email, and why you should too

Posted on April 6, 2007 by Jeremy Toeman

One of the first posts I ever wrote on this lil ol blog o mine was entitled “Blackberry or Crackberry?” Since that time, I did end up using a Blackberry a few more times, typically when I was traveling overseas and had a loaner phone/email device. Hated it. I hate that little red flashing light. It’s a beckoning sign of evil, coming straight from ~~Google~~ the devil. It causes malice. I’m convinced of that.

Even without the dreaded device (and I guess this is about the right time for me to make a point absurdly clear: the Blackberry is unquestionably the best mobile email device ever made), I still had mobile email through the end of last year, mostly with a Sprint PPC-6700. Also a great device, but the email experience was a lot more mellow than the Blackberry. Maybe it’s because Windows Mobile didn’t implement it quite as well as RIM, I’m not sure. I’ve also tried the Q, the Blackjack, the Dash (love the Dash), the HTC MTeoR (love it too), and others. All good for mobile email. All gone from my life.

I’m 4 months free from my last mobile email, and I don’t know what metric there is to use, but I’m unquestionably happier about it than ever. I’ll tell you something else – I haven’t missed a deadline, opportunity, or any other work-related event as a result. Yes, that’s right – life seems to progress even if my email doesn’t come in 30 seconds after I land at an airport.

With my new Samsung SCH-u740 (can they not come up with a better name for this device?), I have the option to get mobile email activated. I’m not doing it. And its not as if my email flow is that much lower than in the past, it’s just that I’ve consciously chosen I don’t want mobile email in my life. The reason? Mobile email access makes your life worse.

You can call it a quality of life thing. You can call it a digital zen thing. You can label this behavior however you choose, but I can say this with certainty: I don’t know or encounter anyone with mobile email who doesn’t act tethered. Having mobile email means you are giving other people control over how you spend your free time. It doesn’t liberate you from work, that’s really just how people convince themselves to carry the anchor with them.

And don’t just take my word for it…

“With 67 percent of respondents admitting to having used a wireless device to connect to work while on vacation, signs indicated that the American workforce may be facing burnout,” she added.

GPS Lost? Blame it on Space!

Posted on April 5, 2007 by Jeremy Toeman

Remember the early 90s and cell phones? Aside from the fact that they weighed ten pounds and you couldn’t even watch TV on them (gosh!), they had a lot more connectivity problems than today. While on an important call, getting disconnected would just, well, happen. You’d roll your eyes to the heavens and yell “damned solar flares!” Well, you might not yell that, unless you were a little imbalanced that is.

Turns out that last December, some mega-humongous solar flare disrupted GPS systems. Now I personally have a Garmin Nuvi 350 (amazon link), and it’s about the best thing on Earth (although my new Xbox 360 is a strong contender, plus it’s 10 higher than the Nuvi), but it’s been wrong before. I once followed it’s step-by-step directions to a Dairy Queen once (love me a Blizzard) and was delivered at someone’s doorstop in a residential neighborhood. He didn’t even give me ice cream!

Another interesting note on GPS is the number of people who seem to use it and ignore all things going on in the real world. Techdirt has a few stories of people driving incredibly long distances when they weren’t actually far away. But that’s more about stupid than it is about technology.

I think I like this solar flare disruption news issue, it opens a whole new set of opportunities…

“Hey Jim, sorry I’m late to the meeting. Darn solar flares screwed up my GPS again, I was halfway to Boise before I noticed!”

Comcast makes already mediocre DVR just a bit worse

Posted on April 3, 2007 by Jeremy Toeman

I can’t confirm the stat (since I’m making it up), but I’ll go out on a limb and say TiVo’s product satisfaction rate probably hovers around 90%. Echostar’s DVR is generally very well-liked by many of it’s customers. Heck, even the tiny fraction of Windows Media Center Edition owners who use their PCs as DVRs claim it’s phenomenal. And then there’s Comcast.

For HDTV DVR services, Comcast uses the Motorola DCT6412 set-top box, a unit that is simply plagued by defects nationwide. Ask someone who owns this unit, odds are pretty good they’ll talk about their problems at length, and complan how much they hate it. My friend Ryan was so frustrated by his unit (which is definitely defective) that he blogged about it.

I walked into my living room this morning to find my wife watching TV and when she pulled up the program guide, I noticed I’d lost about 1/8th of my overall screen space to a new “advertisement slot” (photos below). Worse yet, I’ve lost 2 (of 6) lines of the visible grid area, meaning I have to spend roughly 1/3 longer than before just to scroll through channels.

What a terrible, terrible move. Here are a few simple ways they could make this marginally better (assuming they won’t get rid of it):

Reduce the height of the ad to the same height as a grid item, giving me one line back
Only have it show up once every XX pages
Use the “top area” where the Comcast logo is instead, since that’s pretty much wasted space already
Make it slightly bigger, but then let me hide it once I’ve viewed it (it can reappear every XX minutes)

Or just give me the darn TiVo interface already – the one that was announced two years ago. Come on!

Google Acquires CafePress, Launches Revolutionary AdWear

Posted on April 1, 2007 by Jeremy Toeman

Google AdWear In a flurry of Google-related news today (and even something from Microsoft), the company announced their intent to acquire the Internet-based custom clothes company CafePress.com. Similar to the process with last year’s YouTube acquisition, the CafePress brand will remain intact as the company begins a multi-year technology integration. With the acquisition, Google will also initiate a new service, dubbed AdWear, enabling personalized direct advertising on clothing.

In the AdWear program, advertisers have access to select the type of clothes they want to have their ads appear on, and may even select based on the sizing. This flexibility and personalization is a “classic Google approach” as it allows the advertisers to directly target the markets they want to reach. Thus a company such as Trojan could purchase ads on customized thongs and pajamas, while Krispy Kreme could focus on plus-sized clothing.

“Never before have advertisers had such control over asserting their brands on a truly individualized basis,” said Google’s Marissa Mayer. “With AdWear, companies can finally reach out directly to the markets they have sought after for years. We expect to see numerous cost-per-clothes campaigns begin shortly after the acquisition is closed.”

In a not-too-surprising move, Google further announced that all future products made by the CafePress team will ship to consumer for free. Two sample designs are shown below:

Sample AdWear item