Streaming Football

As an experiment I decided to see if I could stream the game yesterday. A fan website I visit mentioned First Row. I had no knowledge of this site so I decided to check it out.

Originally, the only site I knew of that streamed games was Justin TV. So this was my first experience with First Row. Not the best experience, but not awful either. Picture quality varied, & there was some buffering, & finally straight out freezing that caused me to quit the site & go to my TV.

Here's the thing. This site, like Justin TV is illegally streaming NFL games. But at the same time the stream includes all network commercials. Heck ESPN 3 doesn't even show commercials. When there is an ad break, it shows trivia questions.

The question is of course, why doesn't Fox & CBS simply stream the games? It's not the NFL banning streaming because NBC streams the Sunday game & ESPN streams MNF.  CBS also refuses to stream college games, while ESPN streams every game they broadcast, which is dozens of games over the course of a weekend.

Yes there is more money to be made by exclusivity, but again, why do NBC & ESPN stream the single NFL game they have, but the main networks don't? Is it simply too many games? I doubt that because that's not a problem for ESPN.

See, I will stick to watching over the air, because the illegal streams, well, they suck. ESPN & NBC when it was streaming the Olympics, had no buffering or freezing problems. I guess they invested in enough high quality servers to handle the load.

Since the networks stream every prime time show, I wonder if they just don't have an interest in having a sports section on their site. I would really like to know what the actual reason is. Mind you, SpeedTV doesn't stream F1 races either, nor do the local regional cable channels stream the local baseball teams games.

Microsoft To Charge $99/yr For Office

In one of the oddest, stupidest ideas yet, Microsoft has released it's pricing for Office 2013. A subscription plan where you pay $99 a year for Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook & One Note. You can buy the regular permanent version for $139. So why would I pay $99 a year instead of $139 once?

Microsoft would like to argue it's for 5 devices not 3 computers. Who cares? It is outrageously overpriced. Ars Technica points out that Office updates every 3 years. So you would pay $300 for Office by subscribing, rather than $140-$150 once. That's not a good selling point.

This will lead more people to Google Docs or Libre Office. Both are free open source programs with automatic conversion to Office format. Yet another mistake from Microsoft to go along with a new OS designed for tablets but forced on desktops.

Internet Reveals Romney's Views

The last couple of days have not been kind to Mitt Romney. First we had the revelation of his views on 47% of the population. Yes, we are all lazy, entitled bums who want to live on the public dole. At least that is what he told his supporters at a fund raiser in July.

Now we find out that at this same event he decided to attack the Palestinians. He said they are not interested in peace with Israel. Doesn't matter if you believe that or not. A candidate & possible next US President cannot say that.

See this is the problem with the conservative movement. They don't understand technology. They don't realize that everyone has a smartphone now, & even if it is a private fundraiser where everyone wants you elected, it's going to be recorded & it will end up online. This is not the old days where Nixon "lost" 13 minutes of tape.

So now there are conservatives like Bill Kristol, who has never been right about anything, telling Romney to step down & make Ryan the presidential nominee. Yeah, that's not going to happen. But again, it's not that he believes this. It's that he said it not understanding that it would show up on YouTube.

Facebook Idiot Doesn't Recognize Romney

My favorite stupid person story of the day. A dumbell spotted a photo of a man he didn't recognize on his girlfriend's Facebook page. Got in an argument & punched her, & smashed her computer. Obviously he went to jail.  It was a campaign photo of Mitt Romney. I'm guessing this guy doesn't vote. Or at least I hope he doesn't. LOL

New Nano:Same As The Old Nano

It is hilarious how every couple of years Apple changes the design of the iPod nano. Then after a couple of years with the new style , they go back to the old style. This tells me that the old style is still the best.

I have a 4th generation iPod nano. the 5th added a camera. Then for the 6th & 7th, they decided to shorten it so it looked like a watch, & easy to lose. Now for the 8th, back to the rectangular style that looks like a cigarette lighter. The camera is back, but the click wheel has been replaced by a touch screen. So as one website said, it's basically a Touch mini.

It also now only comes in one memory size: 16 GB. Mine is an 8 GB, which is fine for me since after 3 years I'm still only using less than 3 GB. And shockingly, the 16 is the same price as the old 8! Hmmm.

All of this is silly. I am not going to buy one because my nano works fine. Heck I was using it today. Sounds fine, no problems. But the obsessive fanboys will find an excuse to buy one anyway. Well, actually they will probably buy an iPhone 5.

Windows Shutdown?

This morning I started up my computer early. I did this so i could run my Avast! anti-virus scanner. For some reason, the computer shut itself off & rebooted within 10 minutes. I have never had this happen on any computer that I have owned.

So the scan ended up taking longer. Well, officially it was normal length. But it had to be restarted. I can't find anything on the company's forums, & Windows doesn't seem to have anything listed. All my updates are current.

This is just weird. Why would my computer do this? I've never had it do anything like this. I still think that it has to do with the antivirus. But why? I've had Avast! on my system for a few months, after years of using Avira, before it started having problems with Windows Update. Maybe Microsoft needs to check to see if their code is causing problems.

Apple & Amazon For Christmas?

Apple will apparently be announcing a new iPhone on Wednesday & probably a new smaller iPad next month. Last week Amazon announced updated & new Kindle models. So these will be the gadgets that people will be looking to buy a presents this fall.

But why? Do you need to buy a new phone every year? Of course not. But the Apple fanboys have to waste money on the latest idevice to prove how hip they are.

As for the new Kindles, well at least there is an actual new one. The Paperwhite is a different background. Not the grayish background that all e-readers have, but instead a more natural white, backlit reader that is supposed to be easier on the eyes, & simply easier to read. Price isn't that bad either. And the original Kindle is now under $70.

Now will I be buying any of these things? No. I don't have the money or the inclination to waste money on something I may or may not use. I bought a refurbished iPod 3 years ago. That I do use, but maybe only 5 hours a week. Your results may vary.

Why Can't PDF's Reload from Last Page Read?

Since i have to renew my driver's license, I started reading the driver's handbook. On the California DMV site, you can download a PDF of the entire handbook. but what i found was that unless I kept the PDF open, then when I woke up my computer & launched the site I would be back at page 1.

This is a problem. the PDF is over 100 pages. Why should I have to scroll down to where I left off. I remember once downloading a free book on Google & everytime I went back to it, it would open up to wherever I had left it. Same thing with Audible books.

Now maybe this is an issue with the format. but you would think after all these years that they could come up with a system that would be more convenient. I tried saving the document, but that doesn't change anything. It still opens on the first page. So I just decided to keep the document open on the taskbar. Oh well, maybe someday.

Fake Bruce Willis/iTunes Story

A fake story claiming Bruce Willis would sue Apple over the right to leave his iTunes collection to his children when he dies is causing a lot of talk. Not only on the web, but I just saw a story about it on the local Fox channel's 10 o'clock news.

What people don't realize is that the greedy labels forced Apple & Amazon & Google to put a ridiculous restriction on digital downloads. Namely that even though you paid $1.29 per track or $9.99 or up for a full digital CD, you don't technically "own" that music. Say what?

See, this is why everyone hates the record labels. It's not about "protecting the artist". The labels screw the artist every chance they get. You mean the over a hundred dollars I have given iTunes doesn't mean anything? I am only "renting" the music.

Of course, me & everyone else, or at least those who know better, make backups. I always burn a CD after I buy a download. Heck, that's what Apple advises. Besides if your hard drive fails or you want to transfer to a new computer, how else are you going to get your music on the new drive?

So while the story that started this is fraudulent, the truth is it caused people to realize what they can & can't do with "their" music.

 

Confused TV User Overthinks Tech

While listening to "The Tech Guy" I heard a caller who had a problem that was not helped by the host. Now I love the shows on TWIT. They are very informative & quite entertaining. The host Leo Laporte, however made it more difficult than it was.

The caller's problem was a soundbar that was blocking the infrared light on his flatscreen. So Leo & his guest, a home theater expert were trying to come up with high tech solutions, when a low tech one would have worked.

It's not spending lots of money on a "IR lifter", whatever that is. It's simply making sure the cable box is at a high enough level that the soundbar doesn't block it. I mean the soundbar isn't 5' tall.

My setup is this: My old 25" tube TV is on a TV stand. It sits on top. Then beneath that are 2 shelves behind a glass door. My Directv box is on the higher shelf. No soundbar would block the signal. The lower shelf has the DVD player & the VCR. Yeah, I'm old school. The VCR would probably be blocked, not sure about the DVD player. This is probably the setup for most people.

My cousin has his flatscreen on a built in shelf. It's big enough that the cable box & blue ray sit next to it on the shelf. Again, this is probably a regular setup. And of course, some people have the flatscreen hanging on the wall, with the cable box below it. Most people therefore don't have a problem with blocked signals.

It's just that people will overanalyse how to fix something. Happens all the time. just because it's tech doesn't mean you need a tech solution. Of course I don't have a soundbar. I have a cheap home theater system ($50 at Walmart) with the speakers on either side of the TV. Works like a charm & has for several years.