You Roku owners might have noticed a new addition to your device over the July 4th weekend.
Roku is currently testing a news channel, dubbed Pod TV, that is a compilation of various news sources such as CNN, National Public Radio, PBS, BBC, CBS, NBC, ESPN, Fox News and HBO among others.
If you are a Roku user and this sounds like something you might be interested in trying out Pod TV is currently free. All you have to do is go to the Roku site and go to your account and click the "Add Private Channel" link and then enter the code: H9DWC.
Pod TV will provide more than just another way for you to stay up to date on the worlds happenings as other cool features are currently included and more are planned for the near future. Currently, besides checking out the news, you can listen to a selection of speakers, tune in for the always entertaining radio show A Prairie Home Companion and even get some shopping done through Woot.com (Use the code: BPPIM for special deals!).
As Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference completes its first day of festivities already there is overwhelming news on what is on the horizon.
Of course the star at the conference today was the iPhone 4G. Steve Job's himself was on hand to demonstrate some of the new features that you can expect to get if you upgrade to fourth, and newest, iPhone.
There is quite a bit of news surrounding the iPhone specifically so let's try break it down to the bare facts:
Hardware:
It is sleek and sexy. Some of you may recall the whole iPhone "leak" that happened a few weeks back where allegedly one of the developers "accidentally" left a prototype in a bar, it looks like that phone.
The new iPhone's display is 3.5" and sports the highest pixel rate on the cellphone market. It has 2X the resolution of its predecessor and boasts one of the sharpest pictures for crisp clean apps.
New 5-Megapixel rear camera is a step up.
Software:
iMovie is a premium application that will cost you $5 but should be completely worth it for the amateur film auteur or the home movie expert. It is a film editing room in the palm of your hand. Cut, splice and tweak your movies in glorious 720p high definition. This pocket version of iMovie will allow you to add titles, effects and even a musical score! If you are planning on laying down your money for this new iPhone it would be criminal not to pick up this app while you are at it.
Netflix! Yes, it will be available on this version of the iPhone in a similar set-up to what you would see on an iPad. Finally, something to while waiting in line for the next version of the iPad.
Video conferencing is the last revealed major addition for the new iPhone and man is it cool. The video chat program is called Face Time and it uses either the front or read camera to broadcast live video. Steve Jobs after making an actual video call during his demonstration hinted at other Face Time enabled devices, so stay tuned on that front.
That is about it on the details for the iPhone 4G up to this point. As for how much it will hurt your wallet to get one the 16 gig will cost you $199 and the 32 gig model will set you back $299 with a new contract. You will also have a choice between a sleek black or classic white version and you can expect to see it in stores June 24th.
The Apple World Wide Developer Conference runs all week, so updates are in store. Stay tuned for exciting Apple related news, and for those of you who don't care sorry but Apple is now the biggest in the tech business now didn't you hear?
Steve Jobs will not rest until he has converted everyone to all things Apple. And yes that means:
The Hurt Locker Producers finally are backing up their threats of lawsuits against people who illegally downloaded last yearsAcademy Award winning film with an actual lawsuit.
They are sending a pretty serious message by filing lawsuits against 5,000 (Yes, three zeros!) individuals. The suit calls for the destruction of all illegal digital copies of the film and the payment to Voltage Pictures, producer of The Hurt Locker, for damages and legal fees. While 5,000 lawsuits is no joke it was initially supposed to be much higher, God knows that there are more than 5,000 people who took the free route in getting The Hurt Locker.
This may only be a start in what can easily become a long and ugly battle for copyrights, and while this type of lawsuit is not anything new to Hollywood it is to date the largest in scale and growing.
The film industry is serious business, and if they choose to do so the gloves can come off, but I doubt this is the final showdown between Hollywood and illegal downloading and only upscale in weapons that will take more than a bomb defusal kit to neutralize.
Love them or love to hate them Google knows how to get things done, and the long awaited unveiling of their newest innovation that they are touting as "TV meets web. Web meets TV."
Google TV promises that with their service you will spend less time searching for videos and more time enjoying them while adding new elements of personalization. This should make watching TV a much more involved experience.
The TV can be hooked up to your existing setup, such as cable and satellite boxes, and the set comes packaged with a keyboard and mouse. Keyboard and mouse not your style? That's cool, especially if you have an Android phone, because Google has made the phone essentially into a remote control. Best news is if you lose the remote somebody can call it, no more missing remotes! This is the kind of innovation Google strives for people!
But wait, there's more!
Want to surf the web? They have Google Chrome pre-installed and ready for you to surf, both web and channel. As well as included software there are a few announced optional Google TV hardware additions as well as partnering up with the likes of Sony and Dish Network for an enhanced viewing experience.
No word yet on if getting a sweet slice of that advertisement pie ($70 billion in the US alone!) played a role in Google hitting the TV market next Fall. And before you start hating on Google, just remember their motto, "Don't be evil."
Don't start looking for John Conner quite yet but technology just got one step closer to becoming self-aware with the creation of a software program that learns by watching. Thanks MIT nerds, you have given the machines the tools necessary for the destruction of humanity.
Could it get worse? Yes it can.
This new software, called KarDo, has been created to help IT support staff in the usual computer related problems. By watching a human solve the problem the program will then be able to replicate the process on across multiple computers and retains the knowledge of the problem for future problems and can use it in order to adept to new challenges.
Does it get any better? Maybe ...
The ultimate goal for Kardo is to "intervene completely automatically" and although the software is still in the infant stage and has not gone through enough testing time will only make it wiser, and more powerful.
I guess now is as good of time as any to move to the Alaskan wilderness and live off the grid. Prepare for the inevitable people, prepare ...
Let me start by saying that I have always been that guy. The one who legitimately buys all of his music and movies, but that isn't to say that there hasn't been a time where I have been tempted to just download some of my entertainment for the always welcomed price of free, and for as long as I can remember Pirate Bay has been there tempting me.
But that is one mans private battle, the news today may affect a few more of you.
PirateBay, the torrent host site that has been repeatedly attacked by Hollywood for years, is currently offline. The site that put countless files at your fingertips for free has been on the forefront of a long and ugly battle about media piracy and copyright infringement for years.
Last year the operators of PirateBay were found guilty of copyright infringement by a Swedish court and were sentenced to jail time and responsible for paying $3.6 million in damages. The money was meant to assuage copyright holders, such as movie studios, and put a dent on what was ruled as illegal activity on the PirateBay site.
The fact that PirateBay is technically a Swedish website has allowed it to continue operating for so long, through something of a loophole, with little legal ramifications up until recently. The latest attempt to end what Hollywood feels is clearly copyright infringement has effectively shut down The Pirate Bay's operation. This was done by filing a successful injunction against The Pirate Bays bandwidth provider Hollywood, and other copyright holders who have felt their rights infringed, have a victory ... if only temporarily.
Man, this is kind of an ugly article and for that I apologize. So to lighten up the mood here is a classic scene from Amazon Women on the Moon:
The topic of piracy is pretty volatile, and I expect that there are a large range of opinions from you guys, so feel free to make you opinion known below!
UPDATE: The Pirate Bay is back up and running again, figured as much, proving how hard it is for even powerful interests such as Hollywood to shot down copyright infringers. It really comes down to an issue of support, a lot of people dish out a lot of money for their entertainment while many people at the same time look for their fix for free. As long as there are users sites like this will exist, for better or worse.
Source: Home Media Magazine
