February 5th, 2009 | Posted in Net TV | 
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In a joint announcement, Microsoft and Netflix have put out some numbers on the success of Netflix’s ‘Watch Instantly’ Internet TV service on Microsoft’s XBox 360 games console. 1.5 billion minutes of Netflix content has been streamed, with a total of one million Xbox Live Gold Members activating Netflix on their accounts. Considering that Netflix on XBox only went live three months or so ago, that’s pretty impressive by anybody’s measure.
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February 2nd, 2009 | Posted in Mobile, Net TV | No Comments
Another remote control application has hit the the iPhone’s App store. This time, “Rowmote” emulates Apple’s own remote control, the Apple Remote, which used to ship for ‘free’ with the company’s consumer Macs but now has to be purchased separately at an additional cost of $19.
Rowmote (iTunes link) is compatible with the iPhone and iPod touch and works over WiFi to control any of Apple’s own apps that are currently supported by the Apple Remote: Front Row, Quicktime, DVD Player, iTunes and Keynote, although it also requires a small piece of software to be installed on the Mac itself. Aside from emulating the Apple Remote’s functionality, right down to the look and feel, Rowmote also features an application switcher of sorts, enabling users to bring to focus any of the supported apps, a feature that maybe worth paying the 99 cents download fee for alone.
See also: iPhone remote control app for VLC Media Player
However, for those simply wanting a remote control for iTunes (or the AppleTV), Apple’s own ‘Remote’ app — a free download from the App Store — is a much better solution as it includes the ability to visually browse your iTunes library on the iPhone or iPod touch itself.
Looking forward, the app’s developer, Evan Schoenberg, says that the next version of Rowmote will add support for media center software, Boxee, along with Microsoft’s Powerpoint presentation software.
February 2nd, 2009 | Posted in Net TV | No Comments
My PlayStation 3 gets used on an almost daily basis but, surprisingly, not usually for gaming. Instead, the PS3 sits at the center of my home media setup, permanently plugged into my High Definition TV, giving me access to photos, DivX files, video podcasts and music streamed from an iMac in the room next door, along with the ability to play movies on Blu-ray and browser-based video from YouTube and the BBC’s UK-only iPlayer.
To get the Mac to talk to the PlayStation I’ve been using Nullriver’s solution, MediaLink, which, aside from occasionally needing to restart the application, has worked a treat. At the time I purchased MediaLink it was the only viable solution (Elgato’s EyeConnect, by the company’s own admission, wasn’t really up to the job). However, as of this week, Nullriver has some competition. Cynical Peak Software have updated their Mac to XBox 360 offering with support for the PS3.
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February 1st, 2009 | Posted in last100 weekly wrapup | No Comments
Here’s a summary of the last two week’s digital lifestyle action on last100. Note that you can subscribe to the weekly wrapups, either via the special weekly wrapup RSS feed or by email.
Internet TV
Amid layoffs, Vudu concedes its future lies outside of its own set-top box
Despite making its own range of set-top boxes, including two high end devices aimed at home theatre enthusiasts, Vudu’s future ultimately lies outside of building its own hardware, says the company.
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February 1st, 2009 | Posted in ZNF | 1 Comment
A periodic roundup of relevant news from our friends at Zatz Not Funny…
The future of SlingPlayer Mobile
Dave Zatz: While I’m not quite ready to speculate on Sling Media’s future retail presence and hardware initiatives, in light of recent defections, we do have a few clues as to their current mobile strategy.
Dave Zatz: We’ve finally seen some definitive proof that Sirius XM will begin charging for online streaming ($3/mo), Pandora has brought audio advertising into their web player/experience, and Apple, along with their studio partners, is implementing variable track pricing. Obviously, there’s also a sizable contingent of people who feel free to help themselves. In light of this, I’m wondering what folks think is a reasonable cost for music.
A sneak-peek pic from FrameChannel
Mari Silbey: Chances are reasonably high that you’ve never heard of FrameChannel. Wireless photo frames are still new in consumer adoption terms, and the idea of a content provider for these frames is a bit counter-intuitive. (Aren’t you just supposed to put your own pics on them?) Nonetheless, FrameChannel is expanding rapidly.
Todd Barnard: Some of the most influential people in social media recently attended a DiSo meeting to discuss the future of how their users’ activity will be published. One of the points discussed during the event was that activity streams are not just generated by people but that machines can also broadcast what they’re doing.
January 29th, 2009 | Posted in Mobile | No Comments
If 2008 was the year of the Netbook, is it too late for Nokia to jump on the bandwagon? Mikey Bee of NokNok.tv doesn’t thing so, noting that while the company talked up its recently announced N97 smartphone for its Netbook-like qualities (despite featuring a comparatively small 3.5 inch screen), it also fazed out the WiMAX version of its rather long in the tooth N810 Internet Tablet, perhaps paving the way for a new Nokia device designed primarily for surfing the web.
See also: Hands-on: Nokia’s N810 Internet Tablet
How might a Nokia ‘Netbook’ shape up? Were the company to release such a device, I’d expect it to follow many of the design lines of its existing Internet Tablet range, powered by the Linux-based Maemo OS but featuring a larger screen (topping out at 7 inches). Rather than a slide out keyboard, I think a more traditional clam shell design should be incorporated, a major part of the appeal of existing Netbooks (as apposed to less popular tablet PCs or UMPCs). Software-wise, the device would tie into all of the company’s web services, including Share on Ovi, along with support for third-party social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, which could easily be added through widgets on the home screen, just like the existing N810 User Interface and that used on the upcoming N97.
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January 28th, 2009 | Posted in Net TV | No Comments
The new ‘premium’ film channel announced last April as a joint venture between Viacom (Paramount), MGM and Lionsgate now has a name and a launch date, but, interestingly, no traditional distribution. At least not yet.
Instead, the US-only ‘channel’, now named “Epix”, will debut online in May — five months before its planned TV launch in October — and will use a subscription-based rather than Pay-Per-View model. The initial film lineup will feature “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, “Iron Man”, and “Pink Panther 2”, along with other titles, including classic Bond movies, from the studios’ 15,000 strong combined libraries.
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January 27th, 2009 | Posted in Net TV | 1 Comment
As readers of this blog will know, I’ve been very impressed with how Netflix is transforming itself into an online video offering or at least becoming less reliant on its core DVD rental subscription business. In particular, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the pace at which Netflix has managed to get its ‘Watch Instantly’ streaming service embedded into third-party consumer electronics (CE) devices, including networked Blu-ray and DVD players, Internet-connected TVs, set-top boxes and Microsoft’s XBox 360 games console.
The strategy appears to be paying off, with the company announcing strong Q4 results attributed in part to subscriber acquisitions resulting from the CE partnerships and related marketing and press.
During the Q4 earnings call, CEO Reed Hastings gave further insight into the thinking behind Netflix’s video streaming efforts. Here are some of the key takeaways…
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January 26th, 2009 | Posted in Net TV | 2 Comments
Despite making its own range of set-top boxes, including two high end devices aimed at home theatre enthusiasts, Vudu’s future ultimately lies outside of building its own hardware, says the company.
“We’re a software company first and foremost,” Vudu co-founder Tony Miranz tells CEPro.com. The set-top movie box service had to design and manufacture its own hardware in order to sell the concept to third-party consumer electronics companies, says Miranz. The plan now is to “try to piggyback on TVs, DVD players and other classes of devices.”
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January 26th, 2009 | Posted in Mobile | 1 Comment
It’s an honest yet unwelcome admission: rushing devices to market with buggy and unfinished software is the “new reality” in the smartphone space, RIM’s co-Chief Executive Jim Balsillie tells the Wall Street Journal. When the company released its iPhone competitor, the Blackberry Storm, it met its Black Friday deadline by “the skin of their teeth”, only for the device to be widely slammed by critics for its many software glitches, most of which, RIM claims, have now been addressed by a firmware update.
RIM’s story isn’t an isolated one. The majority of smartphones that I’ve tested over the last year, admittedly some were “pre-production” models, had issues with the software on which they run on. The problem should be addressed in a forthcoming software update, I’m almost always told, and more often than not it is.
Eventually.
And there lies the biggest problem.
While “release early and release often” might be the new smartphone reality, timing is everything. Here’s some free advice for smartphone makers…
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