Initially... when Netflix debuted over 10 years ago... I was a bit confused. With a name like Netflix, you would think that you could watch movies over the Internet... but instead, Netflix was just an online DVD rental service.
They were the first to do so (I think) and eventually Blockbuster and some others got into the game. Several years ago, when I was deciding on a DVD service to use, I went with Blockbuster because of the ability to return the DVDs to their physical store which also allowed me to double on my rentals because you could trade the returned DVD for an in-store rental, which basically doubled the number of DVDs you could rent. It went well for a while but driving to-and-fro Blockbuster was becoming more of a hassle and waiting several days for the mailed DVDs was inconvenient because I had to remember to queue them a few days prior to the weekend to ensure I would get them by then. And when Blockbuster changed their policy so that the in-store exchanges also counted as your mailed rentals, I started using the service less and less and either doing Redbox ($1 DVD rentals) or just renting at Blockbuster for that instant gratification.
Cue Netflix Instant Streaming.
While they had started doing it in 2007, it wasn't until lately they have expanded their Instant Streaming library and just signed a deal last August with EPIX which adds even more content. There are ton of movies and TV series I would like to watch and this seemed like a good way to do it, especially because they could stream to multiple devices like our iPhones, our PS3s and even our Wii (and even more devices are offering Netflix functionality like TVs and BluRay players).. Since I have been looking for an HD Media Player I have been looking into streaming services like VuDu but the great thing about Netflix Streaming is it's unlimited and included with the DVD rental service. I just wondered what type of quality was it going to be.
Well... I signed up for the free month of service and while I was waiting for our DVDs to show up (to stream on the PS3 and Wii requires a physical CD/DVD), I decided to try the iPhone app. At first it was dicey but that's because I wasn't in an area with good 3G reception. Once I was... I was amazed at how fast it started, the quality and even the ability to stop it and resume it a later time/day. And then when I got the discs for the Wii and PS3, it was even better because anything I was watching on one device, I could resume on another. I was doubtful about the speed and quality because all of my game machines are wireless but it was basically like watching a DVD (480p) which was good enough for us. And depending on the interface, it could suggest other titles, allows you to search and you can put movies on your Instant Queue to access them quicker on your different devices. I like the PS3 interface the best mainly because the Wii doesn't seem to provide search functionality but it's easy enough to hop over to your computer... use their search (which is the best way since you have a real keyboard), add it to your Instant Queue and then go watch it on the Wii (or any other device). And having the iPhone app makes it so portable as long as you are in a good service area. Being able to start watching something while at the park or a restaurant, resume watching it downstairs in the den or living room and then going upstairs to finish it is just ridiculous.
I'm not sure how Netflix is making money on this because just over this last week we've probably watched over 20 hours of streaming content while we've only rented 1 DVD. But I'm convinced, I'm going to end my Blockbuster account, continue my Netflix 1-DVD only account (currently $8.99, $10.99 if you want BluRay) and watch as much flix over the Net as I can.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
The iEvent (the Apple one... not the NBC TV series)
You can catch the liveblog over at Engadget:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/01/live-from-apples-fall-2010-event/
Everything was pretty much predicted:
1. iOS 4.1 (with a preview of iOS 4.2)
2. New Shuffle (the buttons are back)
3. New Nano (no more clickwheel, small square form factor, touchscreen, no more video camera)
4. New Touch (Retina Display, front and rear cameras to support FaceTime video chat)
5. New iTunes 10
6. New Apple TV (not iTV... yet) and for only $99!
I think their big misstep was the new Nano. Now it's TOO small. They should get Robin Williams to do an ad for it and call it the "NanoNano". If they really wanted to add a touchscreen, keep it the same screen size as the prev Nano (keeping it rectangular) and add the touchscreen functions, instead of 2x2 you could do 3x2 giving you more options per page. I can understand removing the camera due to the form factor but removing video playback (rumored) basically makes this a Shuffle with a screen... boo.
I like the new Apple TV... they are trying to compete with the expanding category of TV streaming devices like the WD HD TV, Asus O|Air and other HD content media players (as well as built-in streaming in TVs and of course Google TV).
No mention of Verizon iPhone or the rumored antenna design fix (other than a bumper/case of course).
http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/01/live-from-apples-fall-2010-event/
Everything was pretty much predicted:
1. iOS 4.1 (with a preview of iOS 4.2)
2. New Shuffle (the buttons are back)
3. New Nano (no more clickwheel, small square form factor, touchscreen, no more video camera)
4. New Touch (Retina Display, front and rear cameras to support FaceTime video chat)
5. New iTunes 10
6. New Apple TV (not iTV... yet) and for only $99!
I think their big misstep was the new Nano. Now it's TOO small. They should get Robin Williams to do an ad for it and call it the "NanoNano". If they really wanted to add a touchscreen, keep it the same screen size as the prev Nano (keeping it rectangular) and add the touchscreen functions, instead of 2x2 you could do 3x2 giving you more options per page. I can understand removing the camera due to the form factor but removing video playback (rumored) basically makes this a Shuffle with a screen... boo.
I like the new Apple TV... they are trying to compete with the expanding category of TV streaming devices like the WD HD TV, Asus O|Air and other HD content media players (as well as built-in streaming in TVs and of course Google TV).
No mention of Verizon iPhone or the rumored antenna design fix (other than a bumper/case of course).
UFC 118... yawn.
Wow... I thought some of the other ones this year were boring.... this one was the most.
If you thought Toney had a chance at Couture... you must have never watched MMA before. Randy took him down by touching his ankle... bleh.
I had though BJ Penn would have changed his game plan. He looked better than the previous fight but he still tried to fight the quicker man's game in stand up and do nothing on the ground. Props to Edgar for proving his title win wasn't a fluke but I doubt Gray Maynard is going to let him get "bullied" by Edgar.
Why does Gabe Ruediger still get to fight in the UFC? Didn't he demonstrate on The Ultimate Fighter he doesn't have the will? And in one of his previous matches he looked like he gave up. I'm glad Luazon beat him up... it was one-sided but it demonstrated that some fighters don't deserve 3rd or 4th chances.
I don't really like the Diaz brothers all that much... but they stand behind their smack. The Irish Hand Grenade looked bad and Nate proved why he won TUF.
I wonder if the next UFC Fight Night will be better than this last PPV?
If you thought Toney had a chance at Couture... you must have never watched MMA before. Randy took him down by touching his ankle... bleh.
I had though BJ Penn would have changed his game plan. He looked better than the previous fight but he still tried to fight the quicker man's game in stand up and do nothing on the ground. Props to Edgar for proving his title win wasn't a fluke but I doubt Gray Maynard is going to let him get "bullied" by Edgar.
Why does Gabe Ruediger still get to fight in the UFC? Didn't he demonstrate on The Ultimate Fighter he doesn't have the will? And in one of his previous matches he looked like he gave up. I'm glad Luazon beat him up... it was one-sided but it demonstrated that some fighters don't deserve 3rd or 4th chances.
I don't really like the Diaz brothers all that much... but they stand behind their smack. The Irish Hand Grenade looked bad and Nate proved why he won TUF.
I wonder if the next UFC Fight Night will be better than this last PPV?
Monday, August 23, 2010
Strikeforce: Houston - We Have a Problem...
While I like to watch non-UFC MMA promotions, Strikeforce is going to have a hard time keeping fans because it can't seem to keep champions very long... and it can't seem to build "name" fighters too well either.
I can't really blame them for the last part... everyone knew Lashley needs more experience before he can become a top MMA fighter but he got paired against a rumored easy win and lost... bad. He looked so tired at the end of the 1st round... I was suprised he made it to the second.
But Strikeforce needs to find a way to market their promotion with recognizable faces. They had Fedor but we know how his last fight went. King Mo has the charisma... but no longer has the belt. Gina Carino was one of their biggest draws and although Cyborg has defended her belt successfully... let's face it... she's not as marketable as the former American Gladiator.
KJ Noons looks like he can be that "face" for Strikeforce, especially with his feud against the bad boy Diaz... but he seemed to be a bit bad himself last night. They have Dan Henderson, but he's getting old and by losing to Jake Shields who is now in the UFC... can he carry Strikeforce? I like Robbie Lawler... and while Scott Smith seems to be a nice guy... he loses quite a bit yet still seems to be on every other PPV.
That's where the UFC succeeded, they were able to build recognizable brands out of their fighters (Chuck AKA Iceman, Matt Hughes, BJ Penn, GSP and now their new breed with the Spider Silva and Brock). Until they can develop some consistent champions/name fighters... they are always going to be the WNBA to UFC's NBA.
I can't really blame them for the last part... everyone knew Lashley needs more experience before he can become a top MMA fighter but he got paired against a rumored easy win and lost... bad. He looked so tired at the end of the 1st round... I was suprised he made it to the second.
But Strikeforce needs to find a way to market their promotion with recognizable faces. They had Fedor but we know how his last fight went. King Mo has the charisma... but no longer has the belt. Gina Carino was one of their biggest draws and although Cyborg has defended her belt successfully... let's face it... she's not as marketable as the former American Gladiator.
KJ Noons looks like he can be that "face" for Strikeforce, especially with his feud against the bad boy Diaz... but he seemed to be a bit bad himself last night. They have Dan Henderson, but he's getting old and by losing to Jake Shields who is now in the UFC... can he carry Strikeforce? I like Robbie Lawler... and while Scott Smith seems to be a nice guy... he loses quite a bit yet still seems to be on every other PPV.
That's where the UFC succeeded, they were able to build recognizable brands out of their fighters (Chuck AKA Iceman, Matt Hughes, BJ Penn, GSP and now their new breed with the Spider Silva and Brock). Until they can develop some consistent champions/name fighters... they are always going to be the WNBA to UFC's NBA.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Death of the stylus/PDA?
Seems like everyone is going capacitive touch nowadays.
And Windows Phone 7 is completely different from Windows Mobile 6.x.
So how do we do things that require more granularity? Is Nintendo's DS series going to be the last things on earth that use resistive touch and support "pen input"?
And Windows Phone 7 is completely different from Windows Mobile 6.x.
So how do we do things that require more granularity? Is Nintendo's DS series going to be the last things on earth that use resistive touch and support "pen input"?
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
My perfect cell/wireless/mobile phone...
For about 6 years I've had 2 cell (I know that's an old name but that's what it was when I first got one in the 90s) phones, one for business and one for personal use. While it's a pain to carry 2 phones... it does give me some flexibility in my mobile devices, carriers, data plans and usage. My primary personal phone is on Sprint and I've gone from a regular dumbphone to a feature phone to a WinMo HTC Touch Pro and now a Palm Treo Pro. I've always liked Windows Mobile, the platform is fairly open, I don't require lots of customization, I like resistive touch screens and it does what I need to do. Why I went from an HTC Touch Pro to a Palm Treo Pro is a long story involving 4 hardware replacements (the TP's screen just kept going out) and finally realizing I prefer the portrait keyboard ala Blackberry style.
And since I'm mentioning them, RIM just announced their new OS, Blackberry 6, which catches them up with the iOS/Android features and a new form factor, a sliding portrait keyboard touchscreen phone like the Palm Pre called the Blackberry Torch:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/03/live-from-rim-and-atandamp-ts-blackberry-torch-event/
My second phone was on AT&T (Cingular before that) and also went the dumbphone to smartphone route and until recently was stuck at the HTC Tilt for 3 years. Again, it was WinMobile, had a slide out qwerty, touchscreen and for the most part was very reliable. The last 6 months or so, the battery went weird, it would not hold a charge for more than 5-10 minutes so I always had to have it plugged in and almost replaced it with an iPhone 3GS last year. I wanted to either get an Android phone (AT&T's choices were limited or none) or the HP Glisten... which is another WinMo phone with a portrait keyboard. But I wanted to see what the new iPhone 4 was going to be and if AT&T would come out with some other Android or WinMo offering. Once I saw the features of the new iPhone, I couldn't resist the pixel density of the IPS LCD, or what Jobs calls the Retina Display. And knowing I could jailbreak if needed, I made the move. At the same time, I had hoped that the rumors of an HD Mini would come out for AT&T... running WinMo but having that smaller form factor. But with MS announcing Windows Phone 7 (which I'm not a fan of), that chance was slim, and instead, the same hardware came out from HTC but it was an Android phone called the Aria.
Which brings me to my perfect phone. I really like the portrait keyboards and having my Palm Treo Pro, I've come to like their layout and how they've changed it to match the needs of the times. Their current layout on the Pre and Pixi is great and while some people don't like the rubberized key feel, I find it works for me. And while I wish HP would get their act together with the more superior webOS, Android is gaining too much marketshare and momentum to ignore. So the OS of choice right now would be Android. I also like that they have the option of a separate navigation device in the trackpad so you don't always have to rely on touch and it's also much more precise.
This brings me to this shoddily put together phone I would like to see:
Yes... it's a Palm Pixi body with an Android OS. I lowered the keyboard to make room for the bigger screen and the Android buttons/optical trackpad. If Sprint can come out with something like this, I'll pay full price.
Why is RIM the only one doing portrait keyboard phones? There is a market for this... at least for me.
And since I'm mentioning them, RIM just announced their new OS, Blackberry 6, which catches them up with the iOS/Android features and a new form factor, a sliding portrait keyboard touchscreen phone like the Palm Pre called the Blackberry Torch:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/03/live-from-rim-and-atandamp-ts-blackberry-torch-event/
My second phone was on AT&T (Cingular before that) and also went the dumbphone to smartphone route and until recently was stuck at the HTC Tilt for 3 years. Again, it was WinMobile, had a slide out qwerty, touchscreen and for the most part was very reliable. The last 6 months or so, the battery went weird, it would not hold a charge for more than 5-10 minutes so I always had to have it plugged in and almost replaced it with an iPhone 3GS last year. I wanted to either get an Android phone (AT&T's choices were limited or none) or the HP Glisten... which is another WinMo phone with a portrait keyboard. But I wanted to see what the new iPhone 4 was going to be and if AT&T would come out with some other Android or WinMo offering. Once I saw the features of the new iPhone, I couldn't resist the pixel density of the IPS LCD, or what Jobs calls the Retina Display. And knowing I could jailbreak if needed, I made the move. At the same time, I had hoped that the rumors of an HD Mini would come out for AT&T... running WinMo but having that smaller form factor. But with MS announcing Windows Phone 7 (which I'm not a fan of), that chance was slim, and instead, the same hardware came out from HTC but it was an Android phone called the Aria.
Which brings me to my perfect phone. I really like the portrait keyboards and having my Palm Treo Pro, I've come to like their layout and how they've changed it to match the needs of the times. Their current layout on the Pre and Pixi is great and while some people don't like the rubberized key feel, I find it works for me. And while I wish HP would get their act together with the more superior webOS, Android is gaining too much marketshare and momentum to ignore. So the OS of choice right now would be Android. I also like that they have the option of a separate navigation device in the trackpad so you don't always have to rely on touch and it's also much more precise.
This brings me to this shoddily put together phone I would like to see:
Yes... it's a Palm Pixi body with an Android OS. I lowered the keyboard to make room for the bigger screen and the Android buttons/optical trackpad. If Sprint can come out with something like this, I'll pay full price.
Why is RIM the only one doing portrait keyboard phones? There is a market for this... at least for me.
Friday, July 30, 2010
We've got another App Store for that...
Remember how I said that one of the big reasons why Apple doesn't want to allow Flash to work on the iPhone is because people could deliver app-type content by bypassing Apple's App Store.
Well... it looks like somebody did it anyways, with OpenAppMkt:
http://www.openappmkt.com
It's basically a collection of web-based apps using HTML5... a technology that Jobs and Co. support... but also something that app-style content can be made of.
I tried it out and it's interesting, 1st off when you browse the URL through your iPhone, it asks you to "install" the app which basically adds a bookmark to the website on your homepage. Then for every app (I should say "webapp") you install, it adds an appropriate bookmark to your homepage. So they act just like your other apps (you can even move them into your folders).
The big difference is because they are web-based, you need to have either a cell or WiFi connection but most of the times you do. And of course, depending on your data plan, it will eat bandwidth.
So far I've installed PieGuy (a Pacman clone) and the YouTube webapp (it's exactly like the m.youtube.com one except it hides the URL so it looks more "app" like). In comparison to the native one, the one thing I like is it doesn't force you into landscape mode at the beginning.
Not sure if they will successfully be able to get people to pay for apps that they can find on the web... but the point here is that this is an alternative to Apple's App Store, meaning less restrictions... which could also mean other things.
We'll see how this plays out and if Apple breaks down any doors.
Well... it looks like somebody did it anyways, with OpenAppMkt:
http://www.openappmkt.com
It's basically a collection of web-based apps using HTML5... a technology that Jobs and Co. support... but also something that app-style content can be made of.
I tried it out and it's interesting, 1st off when you browse the URL through your iPhone, it asks you to "install" the app which basically adds a bookmark to the website on your homepage. Then for every app (I should say "webapp") you install, it adds an appropriate bookmark to your homepage. So they act just like your other apps (you can even move them into your folders).
The big difference is because they are web-based, you need to have either a cell or WiFi connection but most of the times you do. And of course, depending on your data plan, it will eat bandwidth.
So far I've installed PieGuy (a Pacman clone) and the YouTube webapp (it's exactly like the m.youtube.com one except it hides the URL so it looks more "app" like). In comparison to the native one, the one thing I like is it doesn't force you into landscape mode at the beginning.
Not sure if they will successfully be able to get people to pay for apps that they can find on the web... but the point here is that this is an alternative to Apple's App Store, meaning less restrictions... which could also mean other things.
We'll see how this plays out and if Apple breaks down any doors.
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