Tuesday, January 31, 2012

HBO's Video Site

Last year HBO created a site called HBO Go. This was set up as a site to watch video's on mobile devices, but can also be used online. You sign in by listing your service provider & logging on to it. This way it can be determined if you are, in fact, an HBO subscriber.

I've only used it once. Al their shows are on there, & a certain number of movies. Obviously not all, because that would be in the hundreds.

But there was nothing to do this afternoon, so I checked it out. Went through the movie listings, & decided to watch "Unstoppable". This is a Denzel Washington action film about a runaway train that always seems to start while I'm still at work. Well, other than a few freeze ups (sometimes my DVD's do that too), it worked fine.

I'm not saying this is perfect. A lot of people have complained about the buffering issues which relates to bandwith. But it is an alternative way of watching your favorite HBO programming. Although again, I notice that they have a limited number of movies available. Nothing like Netflix's thousands of movies. Not even comparable to Hulu, although lets be honest, Hulu's movies are the bottom of the barrel. I suspect HBO changes the movies available based on what they have been showing the last month. For instance, no Harry Potter. However every episode of The Sopranos is available, as is Deadwood.

Monday, January 30, 2012

Blockbuster Closes Another Store

Today I saw that the blockbuster down the street from me is closing. Now I haven't been in it for probably a couple of years, but I sure used to spend a lot of time in there. Now I just use Netflix.

Although the chain has supposedly been saved by the sale to Dish, I'm guessing that won't last. It will be like the Borders deal, where a number of stores closed up, then a year later the entire company went under.

This is technology today. First you had to go to the theater to watch a movie. Then they showed up on TV. Then came video tape & DVD's. Then along came Netflix to not only mail DVD's to you, but also to stream directly to your computer or TV.

The problem is that streaming isn't that good. Most of Netflix's streams are 60's-70's-80's movies. This is because the studios don't like the technology. They want you to go to the theater & pay $15 a movie. that isn't going to fly anymore. They just don't understand that. But apparently people will deal with the older movies, since according to something I read Netflix has more streaming customers than DVD customers. That surprises me.

I streamed a movie last week. The Three Musketeers (1973) with Michael York, Charlton Heston & Raquel Welch as comic relief. I saw it when it first came out. I went on my account & noticed that I hadn't streamed anything since July! I watch the DVD's that come in the mail, but stream old films? Not that interested.

So the question becomes: Blockbuster today, what is next? CBS hasn't shown two consecutive episodes of anything for 3 months. So I have to deal with cable. Maybe streaming will be all that's available.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Watching World Newscasts Online

This discussion has been held before. The 24 hr cable news networks here are too involved in the latest celebrity arrest or typical political hackery. Overseas it's different. I don't know if Europeans & Asians are more serious, but their news is .

Here's the problem however. The BBC doesn't allow their newscasts to be available online. Why? Because in the UK one must pay a yearly TV license. That's right, you have to pay a license to watch television in Great Britain. This pays for the BBC, which doesn't carry ads. You can listen to the radio newscasts from the BBC website or podcasts from iTunes.

Then there's Al Jazeera. This is the Qatar based news channel that is highly respected in the middle east, but hated by the authoritarian governments over there. Of course you can't get it here, because the Bush administration falsely accused it of being Anti-American. Just because they had the temerity to reveal the lies used to justify the invasion of Iraq.

A few cable outfits carry it in a few cities. Washington DC has had it for a couple of years, & NYC started a few months ago. But nationally? No. Directv & Dish? No.

This leaves the website. I was watching it a couple of hours ago. Quite well done. I watched it a lot during the uprising in Egypt last spring. Not much since then. Maybe if it was on my TV I would. It's not just arab news. They were reporting on the situation in Greece, Sarkozy on TV telling the french they might have to pay more taxes & give up their 35 hour workweek, & the feud between Sudan & South Sudan over an oil pipeline. Better than the latest on the Kardashians right?

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Global Music Sales Down 3%

The sale of music, both CD's & digitally have gone down for several years now. I haven't bought anything, including individual songs in months. No, I don't pirate. I'm just not interested in any of the junk out there.

See, this is what the industry doesn't get. Put out good stuff, & it will sell. Put out garbage, & I'm not going to bother. Most of what I have downloaded through iTunes the last couple of years has been old stuff. And by "old", I mean the 60's & 70's. That's when I grew up.

"Oh, he only likes the stuff from when he was in high school". Not true. I graduated HS in '71. But I like 80's new wave & rock. Big U2 fan, but also the techno bands of that era. But very little since 1990. Like most people. Sales have gone down, because why do I want to spend money on copycats like Gaga (Madonna lite), Britney (70's bubble gum turned sex kitten)? Answer: I don't.

Plus, most CD's have one good song. And, oh by the way, there's a freakin' recession! People are spending money on food, rent & other more important things. So piracy is just an excuse to keep prices high, & take away more freedoms. Remember, Hollywood tried to get rid of VCR's.

Monday, January 23, 2012

Tech Podcast Stream Fails

It is ironic that a podcast that is all about technology is unavailable due to the stream disappearing. I've written several times about TWIT. Just a wonderful & entertaining way to learn about technology. But yesterday's episode is AWOL.

Usually I download it through iTunes on Monday (The show is live on Sunday afternoons). Well, iTunes doesn't have it. OK, well I'll just watch it from the Twit.tv website. Sorry, stream can't be found. Lots of comments on the site about this very problem.

You would think that with all the people writing about the problem, something would be done, but no. Not sure if this means no one cares, or if the people running the site (hello, Leo, are you there?) even read the comments which would tell them there is a problem.

I am afraid that this is bad news for a tech site. Do I have to find another podcast to watch, or do I just say, "the heck with this, it was fun while it lasted"? I've been listening to or watching TWIT for at least two years. OK, that's not a lot. I'm sure some of the listeners/viewers have been there since the beginning. But again, this is a problem with internet based video. While people say they don't have TV's & only watch online, this is why that won't work. The networks don't go down. Your cable may go out, but the show will be available. Streams are not always available. In fact, I started downloading TWIT because the stream from the website didn't always work. Duh! So why is it not on iTunes? A day later?

Monday, January 16, 2012

Movies on YouTube

It's fairly obvious that Hollywood wants to destroy Netflix. they can't stand the fact that you can rent multiple DVD's for a small fee. And the streaming is old movies, also for a small fee.

There are multiple sites that also rent movies via streaming. The difference is that those movies are one at a time, thus the studios make more that way. This includes iTunes, Amazon, & yes, YouTube.

But there are also freebies on Youtube. Mostly older flicks, but they're there. Like this afternoon I watched Nothing Sacred, a 1937 screwball comedy with Carole Lombard. It was funny, but not one of the funniest. Lombard's best is My Man Godfrey, made a year earlier. I also once watched part of Intolerance, the 1916 D.W. Griffith silent with multiple storylines in different time periods, which was probably the first full scale epic at over 3 hours, & looked like it cost quite a lot to make.

I want Netflix to stay around, but the studios don't. they want their money. Not understanding that most of us can't be spending $10 at the theater every week. With Netflix I see movies I would never have seen otherwise. They make money off of those. Why can't Hollywood see that?

It's the same as the music business. Instead of embracing new technology, they try to ban it. Sales of music are down because of 2 things. Bad music & cost. Why spend $15 on a CD with one good song or $1.29 per song. Make downloads $.50 & see sales go through the roof.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Digital Converter Box Fails

A couple of years ago when the television industry moved over to digital transmission, the government was handing out coupons for converter boxes. I got one even though I really didn't need one. I had an old 13" TV that I only used once in a while.

Well I finally decided to open up the box & see if it would actually work with this ancient TV. It didn't. See they need an antenna hooked up to work, & my old set has apparently non-working rabbit ears. you can hook it up to the outside antenna, but then there is no way to connect it to the converter box.

I hooked up the settings & equipment as best I could, but the only thing on my screen was "no signal". The hook ups were correct but with no way to access the outside antenna because that's where the box hook up went, it was a failure. No that big a deal because my 25" is hooked up to Directv. I just wanted to see if it would work.

Now someday I may get a big screen, & I can hook my 25" to the box, or just get 2 sets. That is however, not going to happen anytime soon. It would be great to have a 42" for the Super Bowl (No I don't think my Niners will make it), but I'm a realist.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Microsoft Office Problems

My computer has Office 2010 Starter Edition, a free ad supported version of the suite. It only includes Word & Excel, which is fine because I have no use for PowerPoint.

The problem is the way both of those programs can have problems. Problems that seem to exist on all word processors & spreadsheets, since I have also used Open Office & even a couple of small programs that Linux Puppy uses.

What I mean is the insistence of spreadsheets rounding off figures when it is not needed. And word processors not allowing you to center certain things. Why these programs are written the way they are is something I will never understand. Make it easy for me to use. Don't make it so difficult that I want to give up.

This is why some people will never use these programs. because the programmer wants to put his mark on the program, & the hell with the user. After all, the programmer knows best. Right?

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Warners Tries To Destroy Netflix

Warner Brothers has announced that it will withhold DVD's from DVD rental services like Netflix & Redbox for 56 days after release. This is a blatant attempt to harm the companies involved.

The supposed reason is the low sales of DVD's. The studio is trying to stem the tide of people renting through Netflix. But does anyone really believe people will stop renting & start buying DVD's? Why should I spend $15-$20 to buy a movie I may watch once?

Like the music industry, Hollywood has not learned. People are not going to do their bidding. The cheapest, not really advertised Netflix subscription is $5.50 a month for 2 DVD's & 2 hours online. This is good for someone who likes movies but doesn't really have a lot of time to watch a lot of them. Plus the streaming offerings are quite limited anyway.

Universal's deal with Netflix & Redbox ends in April. Will they do the same thing? I'm guessing they will. It's an idiotic posture by Hollywood, which tried to make the VCR illegal. They never learn. The actual result will be more & more people illegally downloading movies off of foreign sites. And mind you, the studios are not going out of business anytime soon.

Here's the worldwide gross for 2011:
Harry Potter pt 2 made $1.3 B
Transformers $1.1 B
Pirates 4 $1 B

Yeah, they really are being hurt by Netflix.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

New Years Day Online

Monday wasn't New Years Day but it seemed like it. The Rose parade followed by the Rose Bowl, then the Fiesta Bowl. The first two I watched online. That was different.

Finding the parade on the web wasn't that difficult. I simply went on KTLA's website. I live in the Bay Area, but that station's coverage has been shown by a San Jose station for years. It's the best with no commercials, & two hosts with lots of chemistry.

Along with the TV commentary there was info on the website, like how many flowers were on a float. As for the game, I went on ESPN's website to watch the game. This is actually an improvement over my set, because I don't have a big screen & no HDTV. This means a lot of stuff is lost, & the stats on screen can't be read because they are small meant to be seen on a 40" or larger screen, mine is 25".


Since I'm sitting in front of my 18" monitor, I can see like I have a big screen, so it worked fine. Now I'm sure a lot of people did this. Especially the "I don't have cable" elitists. The "I only watch DVD's" crowd. Fine but not everything is on the web. ESPN puts everything they broadcast on their site, as does CBS. But sports get short shrift otherwise. Neither CBS, NBC or Fox put sports events online.


So at this point you still need cable or satellite to see most stuff. that may change, but it will take awhile.

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Ordering Take Out Online

Everyone knows you can order Pizza over the phone or online, & can get it delivered. How about other types of food?

I ordered a Pizza last week. I have ordered over the phone before, but this was the first time I used the internet. It's actually an even better way. At least Pizza hut is. Order the type, & then you can choose your toppings & even remove some. For instance I ordered a Supreme. It has mushrooms. I don't like mushrooms, so I removed them & replaced them with olives.  Worked great. I only spent a couple of minutes in the store paying & then walked out with my order.

Now why can't other restaurants do this? For instance, I went on the website of a small Mexican chain that has a location a couple of blocks from home. On the website you can pull up the menu. But you can't place an order. Why is that? Why are Pizza places the only ones you can do this with. It's so much more convenient. Place your order online, & when you walk in the door, it's ready!


Sure it's easier when there is only a small menu. But I don't think that's the problem. Actually I'm not sure what the problem is. You would have less disgruntled customers since the food would be ready when they got there. No one walking out because of a long wait. Is it unwillingness to update to new technology? Seems silly, especially since most restaurants have websites showcasing their menus anyways. I am baffled.