Add Hulu to the list of outfits demanding authentification of cable subscriptions to view content. This adds to the list. NBC is going to require it to watch Olympic video this year, which it didn't 2 or 4 years ago. HBO Go does, but that's understandable since it's a premium network.
This is the corporations sticking their noses in where it doesn't belong. The "TV Everywhere" app model, which is a Comcast creation, is showing up everywhere. Up till now you could watch anything on Hulu without having to sign in. The same goes for ESPN 3. How long before that changes?
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Monday, July 16, 2012
NBC/Comcast Verification For Olympic Video
One of the biggest changes to Olympic coverage has been the deal where Comcast bought NBC. Two years ago you could just go on NBCOlympics.com & choose whatever video you wanted to watch & that was it. Just like ESPN 3.
But this year there has been a major change. Comcast now owns NBC, & because they will be doing live streaming, which wasn't the case in Beijing or Vancouver, you have to sign in.
It's similar to HBO Go. You have to choose your service provider (Comcast, Directv, Time Warner, etc.), & then log in through that website. The site verifies that you are a customer & then OK's your ability to watch. I did it this afternoon so I don't have to do it later. Now since the games haven't started, I don't know if I will have to log in everytime, like I have to to use HBO Go.
My issue with this is that I understand logging in to use HBO Go. It's a premium channel, & they don't want non-subscribers watching their shows for free. But why do this for NBC programming? Yes, it's the Olympics, but so what. I didn't have to do this two years ago for the Winter Olympics or four years ago for the last summer games. There was over a thousand hours of video on line & I watched a lot of stuff not on TV.
The other issue is this means cord cutters won't be allowed to watch at all because you need a cable or satellite account to watch online. Again I wonder if this would be the case if Comcast hadn't been allowed to buy NBC. Remember that the government put a lot of rules on Comcast to allow the deal. This was to avoid Comcast from say preventing Directv from having access to NBC programming.
So while I have the access, I wonder what will happen in the future.
But this year there has been a major change. Comcast now owns NBC, & because they will be doing live streaming, which wasn't the case in Beijing or Vancouver, you have to sign in.
It's similar to HBO Go. You have to choose your service provider (Comcast, Directv, Time Warner, etc.), & then log in through that website. The site verifies that you are a customer & then OK's your ability to watch. I did it this afternoon so I don't have to do it later. Now since the games haven't started, I don't know if I will have to log in everytime, like I have to to use HBO Go.
My issue with this is that I understand logging in to use HBO Go. It's a premium channel, & they don't want non-subscribers watching their shows for free. But why do this for NBC programming? Yes, it's the Olympics, but so what. I didn't have to do this two years ago for the Winter Olympics or four years ago for the last summer games. There was over a thousand hours of video on line & I watched a lot of stuff not on TV.
The other issue is this means cord cutters won't be allowed to watch at all because you need a cable or satellite account to watch online. Again I wonder if this would be the case if Comcast hadn't been allowed to buy NBC. Remember that the government put a lot of rules on Comcast to allow the deal. This was to avoid Comcast from say preventing Directv from having access to NBC programming.
So while I have the access, I wonder what will happen in the future.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Viacom To Cut Directv Access
Another month, another broadcaster/provider fight. This one is Viacom battling Directv over a 30% fee increase. 30%? Really?
Here's the worst part. I looked at the list of channels I will be losing. Uh, I only watch Comedy Central. And only for Jon Stewart, & he's on vacation this week. And I can watch his show on Hulu.
MTV? I haven't watched that since Clinton was President. Nick-no kids. BET? Don't think so. In other words, if Viacom was to be dropped permanently, I wouldn't care. Sorry Viacom. You screwed up. Very few people care. Even Nickelodeon's viewership has gone down recently. So they don't even have that hammer to use. This may turn out to be an embarassing mistake for Viacom.
Here's the worst part. I looked at the list of channels I will be losing. Uh, I only watch Comedy Central. And only for Jon Stewart, & he's on vacation this week. And I can watch his show on Hulu.
MTV? I haven't watched that since Clinton was President. Nick-no kids. BET? Don't think so. In other words, if Viacom was to be dropped permanently, I wouldn't care. Sorry Viacom. You screwed up. Very few people care. Even Nickelodeon's viewership has gone down recently. So they don't even have that hammer to use. This may turn out to be an embarassing mistake for Viacom.
Monday, July 9, 2012
DNS Changer Flops
After several months of horror stories, today went by without a hitch. The feds stopped protecting infected computers with re-directs, meaning supposedly thousands of computers lost access to the internet as of 12m e/t.
Well it's 7:45 ET/4:45 PT & nothing happened. Once again the media overblew something. What a surprise! This would be 2012's version of Y2K. OMG, the world will end for tech users! Well, nothing of the sort happened. As USA Today said. DNS Changer was last years malware. There's something worse out there now.
Possibly. But if you use the latest browser, with all security updates, all plug-ins up-to-date, updated & running anti-virus software & anti-malware software, & don't do dumb things like clicking on unknown attachments, you are probably going to be OK.
Well it's 7:45 ET/4:45 PT & nothing happened. Once again the media overblew something. What a surprise! This would be 2012's version of Y2K. OMG, the world will end for tech users! Well, nothing of the sort happened. As USA Today said. DNS Changer was last years malware. There's something worse out there now.
Possibly. But if you use the latest browser, with all security updates, all plug-ins up-to-date, updated & running anti-virus software & anti-malware software, & don't do dumb things like clicking on unknown attachments, you are probably going to be OK.
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Mozilla Stops Development Of Thunderbird
An internal e-mail from Mozilla states that tomorrow there will be an announcement as to the future of the open source e-mail client. Already people on the project have been moved to other projects. The line is "continued innovation of Thunderbird is not the best use of our resources given our ambitious organizational goals".
Not what exactly does that mean? Is Mozilla going to save the world? Not likely. It's a software company, nothing more, nothing less. While the argument is that people are moving to mobile or web-based clients (Gmail, I guess, although I've never used it that way), the fact remains that if you want a real e-mail client that collects all your mail from multiple addresses, you need a desktop client.
I use it because although my main e-mail is Gmail, I also have an e-mail address that my ISP gives me. So instead of logging in & out of those two, I let Thunderbird handle it. I have no desire to spend $150 on Office so I can use Outlook, or register with Microsoft so I can use Windows Live. Plus I don't know if that is any good.
Mozilla is saying, at least as of Friday, that it's not going away, they will still do security updates, but how long will that last? And will anyone out there in the open source community take over development or make a fork like Libre Office forked off of Open Office? Only time will tell.
Not what exactly does that mean? Is Mozilla going to save the world? Not likely. It's a software company, nothing more, nothing less. While the argument is that people are moving to mobile or web-based clients (Gmail, I guess, although I've never used it that way), the fact remains that if you want a real e-mail client that collects all your mail from multiple addresses, you need a desktop client.
I use it because although my main e-mail is Gmail, I also have an e-mail address that my ISP gives me. So instead of logging in & out of those two, I let Thunderbird handle it. I have no desire to spend $150 on Office so I can use Outlook, or register with Microsoft so I can use Windows Live. Plus I don't know if that is any good.
Mozilla is saying, at least as of Friday, that it's not going away, they will still do security updates, but how long will that last? And will anyone out there in the open source community take over development or make a fork like Libre Office forked off of Open Office? Only time will tell.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
iGoogle To Be Discontinued
If iGoogle is your homepage (like it is mine), it was announced today that it will end in November of next year. Supposedly this is because of all the apps that do the same thing.
The main problem with this is that I'm not using a smartphone or an iPad. This is on my desktop. Once again, a software company forgets that not everyone uses a smartphone. Some of us actually have real computers.
Now yes, this is a year and a half down the road. But still, why do this? This is once again this mistaken notion that the desktop will cease to exist. This is a mistaken notion. Why go this route?
There are other desktop programs like iGoogle. Netvibes comes to mind. The reason I use it is because I can have all these sites that I use on a regular basis without having to create a huge number of bookmarks. Plus all these sites are on my home page & I can click on a gadget instead of having to go through a bunch of menus to access them.
Again this is explained by apps on Android. But I don't have a smartphone. This is my computer. But Google doesn't understand that. they simply want to make everyone get a smartphone I guess. I'm guessing there will be a backlash. But there are still those that think the future is smartphones. Sorry, I like my 18" monitor. I have no intention of going to a 3" screen.
The main problem with this is that I'm not using a smartphone or an iPad. This is on my desktop. Once again, a software company forgets that not everyone uses a smartphone. Some of us actually have real computers.
Now yes, this is a year and a half down the road. But still, why do this? This is once again this mistaken notion that the desktop will cease to exist. This is a mistaken notion. Why go this route?
There are other desktop programs like iGoogle. Netvibes comes to mind. The reason I use it is because I can have all these sites that I use on a regular basis without having to create a huge number of bookmarks. Plus all these sites are on my home page & I can click on a gadget instead of having to go through a bunch of menus to access them.
Again this is explained by apps on Android. But I don't have a smartphone. This is my computer. But Google doesn't understand that. they simply want to make everyone get a smartphone I guess. I'm guessing there will be a backlash. But there are still those that think the future is smartphones. Sorry, I like my 18" monitor. I have no intention of going to a 3" screen.
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Mac Users Offered Expensive Hotels By Travel Site
This story appeared today in the paper. Travel site Orbitz checks what OS their customers are using & suggests hotels based on that.
In other words, if you log on using a Mac, you will be offered more expensive flights & hotels than if you are using Windows. Now while it would be easy to make fun of Apple fanboys, the fact is this is discrimination. Orbitz has figured out how to make a killing. "Hey, you're using OSX. You can afford the $300 a night room. That guy using XP? Well, we're offering him the $100 a night hotel down the block. So even though I'm a Windows user, I think this is wrong.
In other words, if you log on using a Mac, you will be offered more expensive flights & hotels than if you are using Windows. Now while it would be easy to make fun of Apple fanboys, the fact is this is discrimination. Orbitz has figured out how to make a killing. "Hey, you're using OSX. You can afford the $300 a night room. That guy using XP? Well, we're offering him the $100 a night hotel down the block. So even though I'm a Windows user, I think this is wrong.
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