Category: Entertainment

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Officially Launching My YouTube Channel

I've been using YouTube for a long time now as a way to provide video content on this blog. I remember the early days of YouTube being primarily for teenagers and vehicle for people to show off their babies and pets. 🙂 The quality, well, um, kinda sucked! I just didn't really find it remotely good enough to host the kind of content I wanted to share. Well all that has changed now. YouTube is GREAT for sharing videos in 720p HD quality, up to 10 minutes in length. It's easy to use and to embed the clips right on my site. Now don't get me wrong, I know that there are other GREAT video sharing sites out there too like Smugmug (which does all the way up to 1080p with a paid account), Vimeo, BlipTV, etc. However, I find that YouTube seems to be the most universal and has the largest audience. After all, if I go through the trouble to produce a video and make it available for free I wan to have the largest possible viewing audience I can get.  Also since YouTube is BUILT-IN to the iPhone and now the iPad, I can reach millions more people with this one service than I can with any of the others. Another nice surprise was that Apple gave the iPad's Safari the ability to view embedded YouTube clips right in the page without having to launch the App or go to another browser window. Sold!

 

A funny thing happened on the way to this post

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Best of 2009: Terry’s Top 10 Gadget Picks

Happy New Year! It's that time once again to take a quick look at my favorite gadgets of last year. The gadgets I've chosen were the ones that I used the most and that had the most positive impact on my day-to-day life. These gadgets were either introduced in 2009 or had significant updates in 2009. These are the gadgets that I would recommend to a friend without hesitation. So let's get to it…

 

iPhone 3GS

iPhone 3GS

Anyone that knows me knows that the iPhone 3GS is my communications device of choice. The 3GS made my life easier this year with more memory, a faster processor, and graphics to run apps that I never dreamed of right from the palm of my hand. I use my iPhone quite a bit in my day to day routine. I actually get a ton of work/communications done with this device.  I get both work and personal email, SMS and MMS messaging, productivity and business apps, and yes even the ability to make calls. This is the one gadget that I now couldn't imagine being without. See my original iPhone 3GS review here. Learn more about the iPhone 3GS here.

See my Must Have iPhone Apps here.

See my favorite iPhone and iPod touch accessories here.

 

Logitech Harmony One Universal Remote

When I am at home and not producing content, I enjoy my home entertainment systems and home theater. The one remote that has worked for me better than any other remote I've tried is the Logitech Harmony One. This remote is configured from your computer to do exactly what you want. Anyone with more than a couple of entertainment components should do themselves a favor and check out the Harmony One. See my original review here. Get the Harmony One Remote here.

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Sony and Nintendo should be very afraid

It was widely reported that Apple's App Store downloads jumped over 1,000 percent on Christmas Day and that for the first time, iPod touch app downloads outpaced iPhone App downloads. While this is all certainly good news for Apple, App Developers and the platform as a whole, it's a telling sign that companies like Sony and Nintendo should be very afraid. 

09ipodtouch

 

The Handheld Gaming Pricing Model has changed!

The reason that these two gaming giants should be afraid is that they have built their handheld gaming businesses on a model that includes selling a moderately priced device and charging a significant price on games.

Safari

A quick look at bestbuy.com reveals that the lowest priced game for the Nintendo DS is $9.99.

Safari 2

However, their best selling games are starting at $19.99. Now you could look at this and say that people will spend more for a game that they really like and there's probably some truth to that. However, the games for the iPod touch range anywhere from FREE to $1.99 on average with $9.99 being considered to be an "expensive game." 

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iTunes Extras work like a DVD

DVD Extras have never really excited me. I can't think of a single DVD movie that I bought because it had great extras. Director's commentaries, deleted scenes, alternate endings, interviews and trailers are all cool, but I almost never look at them. So needless to say when Apple announced iTunes Extras in iTunes 9, I wasn't even remotely interested. Then something happened…

itunesextra-startrek

 

I saw that I can have visual chapters now?

I loved the NEW Star Trek movie so much that I bought it on iTunes immediately and later on Blu-ray (yes, I know the Blu-ray comes with a Digital Copy. I was excited OK?). I hadn't had a chance to watch it again until recently. I decided to watch it on my Apple TV. I was pleasantly surprised by the menu that came up. Sure I knew about the possibility of Extras, but what I wasn't expecting was a more "DVD like experience" in the form of a menu and more importantly CHAPTER perspective. 

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Just Dance for the Nintendo Wii

I don't review a lot of games here because I'm not much of a gamer. So when I do it's usually something that's pretty fun. This is one of those times. My family was really interested in the Just Dance game for the Nintendo Wii so I ordered it. 

 

 

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A10khGHrQ0c

What's the Object of the Game?

Like the title says: Just Dance. While the game does offer some competitive features so that you challenge your friends, you don't have to go that route. You can just queue a good tune (nice 80's songs built-in) and Just Dance. Although I didn't actually play this, I was rolling on the floor laughing at family members who did. Not that they couldn't dance mind you, it was just fun watching some of the more old school dances on screen and watching people trying to mimic the moves. You can have up to four dancers going at once (1 controller per dancer required.) There 35 different dance songs to choose from and each song has its own animated avatar on screen to show you the moves. By holding a Wiimote in your hand it can determine if you're doing the moves correctly. 

If you do decide to have your own dance off, Just Dance will award the most points to the person who does the dance more accurately than the others. If you're using this as a workout I strongly suggest using the built-in warmup routine.

 

It's a lot of fun and of course anything that gets you up off that couch every now and then is a good thing.

 

If you have a Wii and want to have a lot of laughs, I highly recommend this game. It should also be a ball at parties. I can only imagine how much fun this gets after people have had a drink or two. 🙂

You can get Just Dance for the Wii here ON SALE. Also if you need a Nintendo Wii Game Console, you can get one here.

The Wii fit board is NOT required. It simply uses the standard game controllers to tell if you're doing the moves correctly.

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Samsung gets it with the BD-P4600

BD-P4600

My close friends know that I'm not really a fan of Samsung products. However, I have to give credit where credit is due. I recently came across the Samsung BD-P4600 Blu-ray player and the thing that caught my eye was that it was wall mountable AND it has built-in Wi-Fi. It still floors me that most Blu-ray players being produced today have ethernet connections instead Wi-Fi. I don't know of too many people that have ethernet cabling near their TV's. So why ship a device that requires Ethernet to take advantage of the BD Live and over the internet firmware updates? 

 

BD-P4600side

 

Samsung gets it!

They designed this Blu-ray player to compliment your wall mounted LCD or Plasma HDTV. This way you can mount it neatly on the wall right below or next to your HDTV and by having built-in Wi-Fi that's one less cable you have to worry about running to it. It's also slot loading (think iMac) so there's no drawer or door to worry about. Not to mention it just looks cool! It looks like someone took a minute to think about the design and I can appreciate that! It also claims to have Netflix, YouTube, Blockbuster and Pandora streaming capabilities, which is also a plus.

I don't have any first hand knowledge with this player. So I can't tell you how well it works, or how it performs. However, the most favorable reviews/ratings on Amazon.com (where people tend to not hold back) tells me that this is probably a good player to investigate.

You can get the Samsung BD-P4600 Blu-ray player at a discount here.

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Broadcast Live Video with Livestream.com for FREE

livestream

While I love recording some of my reviews via HD video and sharing them on YouTube, I can't get over this really cool service that my buddy Jack Beckman turned me on to with his review here.

 

What is Livestream?

Livestream.com is a website that allows you to setup your own internet broadcast channel for free. You can go on the air whenever you want and broadcast your message. It could be used for regular shows, broadcasting meetings and events, webcam monitoring, whatever you can imagine. 

 

How is this different from YouTube, Vimeo and others?

All of the others that typically come to mind allow you to share your message, but only after you first record it and upload it as a video file. Livestream is BOTH live broadcasting with the ability to record it for later playback (video on demand VOD). Livestream even has support for multiple cameras. You can even bring in video that you pre-recorded or have posted elsewhere such as YouTube or your podcast. There's a whole studio environment included.

 

Why is it FREE?

Like most free services including YouTube, there is money in advertising. So while people are viewing your channel there could be ads on the side, top or bottom of the viewer window. There is a way to eliminate the ads with the paid version that starts at $350/month! Most people will be quite happy with the free version. Also there is a limit of the number of people that can watch your broadcast until your account is verified. The limit is 50. That is still pretty good for an unverified account! Verification is beyond simple email verification. You have to prove yourself worthy by putting up some content first. This gives the verification committee at Livestream a chance to see what kind of content you plan on broadcasting. I tried to have my account verified right away and it was declined because I didn't have any content up yet. 

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Blockbuster, it’s the internet stupid

bb-express-digital

When I saw this story come across my RSS reader, I almost spit out my drink. It seems that Blockbuster (in an attempt to remain relevant) is trying all kinds of new things. Let's face it! Netflix kicked your butt and you're in a fight for your survival. I get it. However, you have to realize that while you were hell bent on charging me obscene(more than the movie cost) late fees back in the day that someone (Netflix) figured out a way to eat your lunch by letting customers keep their movies as long as they wanted for one flat rate. Netflix continued to grow their business by moving BEYOND THE DISC (MEDIA) MODEL and partnered with every company they could on delivering (TiVo, Sony, Microsoft, etc.) streaming movies.

The fact that one of your newest ideas involves customers walking up to a kiosk and downloading a rental or getting a rental on a memory card shows me that you still don't get it. The "drive to my local movie rental store to pick up media" model has a very short life ahead of it. Maybe it's just me, but I think you should be investing more towards getting movies into the hands of your customers via the Internet and on mobile devices. You made a great first step by hooking up with TiVo. Although I'm happy with Netflix and iTunes I did cheer for you. You should really continue in this direction!

 

iTunes isn't going away!

The fact I can rent a movie right on my Apple TV in my living room should make you guys really nervous. Partner, Partner, Partner. This will be the key to your survival. Look at the boxes people are buying and hooking up to their HDTVs and do whatever it takes to get on those boxes at a reasonable price to your customers. Competition is great! Compete!

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Sony FM/AM Clock Radio Digital Picture Frame with iPod/iPhone Dock Review

ICFCL75IP

How's that for the longest product name in history? Oops, I forgot to stick in the model number: ICF-CL75iP. Ahhh, that's better! Wait, I forgot Dream Machine. OK, that's it.

A couple of months back I saw a pre-announcement that Sony was coming out with an Alarm Clock that had a built-in iPod/iPhone dock – YAWN! I know, who cares right? There are so many options out there, what's Sony going to bring to the table? Well there was one thing that got my attention and that's the built-in digital picture frame. This clock radio, iPod dock has a nice big 7" display. 

Rather than spending a lot of time trying to describe it, here's a video I recorded:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WE0otgu9UWQ

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