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Cox starts rolling out Trio tru2way guide software... somewhere
Somewhere, real customers are getting a taste of Cox's brand new guide software, as the company announced at the Cable Next-Gen video Strategies conference last week. It didn't say where -- if you've spotted an HD formatted tru2way DVR with multiroom features drop us a line and let us know how it's working -- but Light Reading reports it is taking the development "slowly" while everything is tested out. Expect to see a similar look stretching across other screens (like mobile devices, for example) but we should know more about all of that once the Trio guide and accompanying Plus Package services launch across all Cox markets later this year.
iPodMeister gives you an iPad for your old CDs
Want to get a new iPad but a little short on cash? Trade in a bunch of your old CDs or DVDs to a company called iPodMeister and your problems are solved. Sound too good to be true? It's not, reports the New York Times. iPodMeister was founded by a group of musicians and students who realized that though CDs are virtually worthless in the US, they often fetch higher prices abroad. Their business model is to collect your discarded CDs or DVDs, giving you an iPod, iPhone, or iPad in return, and sell your CDs and DVDs for a profit in other countries. A fringe benefit of this is that your old CDs and DVDs actually get used for something instead of just going into a landfill. The cool cats at iPodMeister do have strict rules regarding what CDs and DVDs are acceptable, but note that if you bought your CDs in a record store, you're probably good to go. They do require both the original jewel case (remember those?) and the original album artwork, however. If you've got binders full of original CDs, but no inserts, you're out of luck. So what will the various iterations of the iPad cost you? The full breakdown's past the link below, but you might be surprised -- an iPad ain't cheap.
Answers for the 'rents about the iPad
So my folks were here this weekend, and as you'd expect my Dad is really curious about the upcoming iPad, or as he likes to put it "his new 3G iPad". I convinced him that he should wait for April so he could get the new postpaid-data-ready iPad, which he could use anywhere, not just with WiFi hotspots. As we were talking, I began to realize that he didn't really have a clear idea of exactly what this gadget is -- and lots of you probably have parents in similar situations. So I put together this Q&A using actual questions my Dad asked throughout the course of the weekend. "So I can use it instead of my normal computer, right?" The iPad isn't going to replace your home computer. In fact, it's supposed to be like an iPod -- a mobile device you bring along but not a primary system. You manage your music and movies and everything over on your main machine (a Windows unit in my Dad's case) and then synchronize that data to your iPad using iTunes. "But what about Microsoft Works? Can I load that on?" Afraid not. The iPad is more like a mobile phone than it is like a computer. You won't be able to run Windows on it, or even the Macintosh operating system OS X. It has its own private system and can only run apps that you buy at the App Store. (Trust me, my Dad does not want to know from jailbreaking or Cydia.)
Square Enix cut a game's worth of content from Final Fantasy XIII
It turns out there once were many more labyrinthine paths and dungeons in Final Fantasy XIII, but they got cut. An interview (in Japanese) over at FF-Reunion with art director Isamu Kamikokuryou ("No you!" to his friends) has him saying that the team removed enough extra locations from the title to make up a whole other game entirely. Sections cut include a secret base for Snow's hero squad, a character's home that included a park, and even a zoo inside one of the game's amusement park areas. This is all more impressive when you consider that Square Enix is expecting to need three DVDs to hold everything that's still in the Xbox 360 version of the game. But FFXIII completists, don't worry too much -- we're sure some of that content will appear sometime during the game's 10-year cycle.
Poll: Do you plan on participating in a DVD to Blu-ray trade-in?
First Warner, now Disney, we're wondering if any of you are actually interested in any of these DVD trade in programs? Besides the issues of availability & selection there's whether or not you get to keep your old discs, and the simple hassle of participating. Still, clearly the studios think there's a market for these programs to get people jumping into Blu-ray discs and players, so let us know, are you biting? %Poll-38287%
The Daily Grind: Do you still rely on DVDs or direct download for your MMO fix?
I have loads of games, probably a bit of a given considering my day job, but I'm terrible when it comes to locating DVDs. Either I put them in the wrong cases (don't we all?) or, thanks to my visual disability, I just can't find them. I do mean that, the case could be sitting in front of me and I just wouldn't see it. Indeed I've not seen the discs for half my PC games since the day I installed them. As a result, and in order to pacify my inner minimalist, I love the way you can just re-download a game using just the internet. Whether it's WoW or Guild Wars, WAR or Aion, digital downloading seems to be the way to go.So I wonder, readers, do you still rely on DVDs and have all those special collector's editions lined up on your shelves? Are you a minimalist and prefer the simplicity of going to an MMO's website and pressing 'download'? Do you find digital downloads are just faster and hassle free? What about if you're sans internet (let's say there's been a massive storm and you're putting the game on a new hard drive), do you keep the DVDs tucked away, just in case?
iTunes 8.2 to include Blu-ray support?
Update: Our bad... the date on the MacRumors comment was in late April, and this recycled up into our queue due to an editing mixup. Apologies –Ed.There's a new iTunes beta version out in developers' hands straight from Apple, and a forum poster over at Mac Rumors found a little something fun in the About screen: a reference to Gracenote's ability to identify Blu-ray discs. Gracenote is the service that IDs your CDs when you import them into iTunes, so you don't have to sit there and type all the track names and artist information in. Apparently Apple is mentioning that not only CDs and DVDs, but also Blu-ray discs, will get information from Gracenote in the latest version of iTunes.This doesn't mean that Apple will adapt Blu-ray as a standard (though it would probably be about time, don't you think?). But it should mean that the future version of iTunes will include Blu-ray support, so if you happen to have a Blu-ray drive hooked up to your Mac, you'll be able to read or play the discs via iTunes.It could just mean that Apple has upgraded the Gracenote version in their app, however, and that they have no plans to actually use it -- the text in the About screen could just be a boilerplate cut-and-paste from some required Gracenote documentation that happens to include "Blu-ray." We'll have to wait and see just what shows up in 8.2 when it eventually releases to the public.
Echoes of War music set out now
Blizzard has released the Echoes of War music set we posted about a while back, and they've got a nice new site to go along with it. The site features a trailer of what you'll hear on the CDs (and the included DVD, which has a feature length documentary, among other interviews and features): music from all of Blizzard's universes, from World of Warcraft to Diablo III. Pretty awesome. We originally said there'd be 70 minutes, but it turns out there's over 90 minutes of music to go around here. At $50 for the whole set and $30 for just the CDs, it might be a little pricey to pick up yourself, but it would make a great gift this holiday for a Warcraft fan (hopefully one close to you, so you can burn the CDs after you buy them, too).And even if you don't want to buy the set, the new site has sample tracks which are definitely worth listening to. Blizzard gets a lot of praise for their art design and gameplay, and while their music isn't the most memorable in videogaming (Mario's theme, Final Fantasy's music, or the Zelda tunes are probably much easier to recollect for most gamers), all of Blizzard's tunes are definitely epic enough to fit nicely in the games they're written for.[via WoW LJ]
Snaptell Explorer retrives product listings from the iPhone's camera
Oh man -- finally, we're getting an app that fulfills the promise of the iPhone. Ever since we knew the iPhone would have a camera and an internet connection, we've been waiting for SnapTell Explorer, and now it's here and free. Download and install it on the iPhone, and then snap a picture of any book, CD, movie, or videogame, and bingo, you've got links to listings for it (Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Wikipedia, Google, etc.) around the Internet. I have no idea how it works (some type of picture comparison script hooked up to a database, surely, though it's amazing that it works that well with just the iPhone's camera), but that's fine, because it makes it all the more indistinguishable from magic.The main drawback is that it takes a bit to search their database -- while wifi or 3G are much faster (obviously), Edge will have you waiting a few minutes for a find. And at this point, all they have are links to pages -- it would be nice to see a price comparison right away and/or a quick rating (to see instantly what people think of a movie if you happen to be standing in a video store making your choice). Finally, it would be nice to see this extended to all sorts of items -- I tried scanning a few groceries that I might be price shopping, but for now it's just books, movies, and music.But otherwise, it's awesome -- even in low light/bad light situations, as long as you can get a recognizable picture of the case, it works. This is exactly the kind of thing the iPhone is made for, very cool to finally see it in action.[via Waxy]
Apple: NBC's pricing hasn't changed
Here's the final humiliation for NBC in the whole contest between it and Apple -- while one of NBC's execs claimed that Apple made some concessions to the network to get Peacock content back in the iTunes store (after it was unceremoniously pulled last year over pricing arguments), Apple just plain says that's not true -- there were no concessions, and NBC crawled back on its own.Sure, it's a little high school of Apple to call NBC out like that, but it's not like NBC has been gracefully handling the whole thing either -- execs have whined and moaned the whole time that they don't like the iTunes model, and even threatened to go to Amazon for good. But in the end, making Apple's money won out over making no money at all. Even though NBC brass are still convinced that Apple is giving them ground on pricing (and on the pricing of DVD movies), Apple says that's not the case -- the pricing structure has been the same all along.At any rate, it's the consumer that wins -- no matter what Apple's prices are, at least NBC content is back in the iTunes store for those willing to pay for it.[via Daring Fireball]
San Francisco man busted for stash of 50,000 pirated DVDs
Santa Clara County police arrested a 27-year-old "entrepreneur" with roughly 50,000 pirated DVDs stashed. The estimated street value of the collection adds up to $250k, and the movies naturally included titles currently in theaters -- including the critically acclaimed "Alvin and the Chipmunks." Police found the stash thanks to a 911 hang up at the man's home, and currently have him sitting in jail while everybody waits for the MPAA to redouble its consumer education efforts on this menace to society -- we're going to run out of plastic, people. [Thanks, Paul B]
24 Hours of Leopard: Front Row
Feature: Front Row is updated to work just like Apple TV, but on your computer.How it works: To tell the truth, I kind of liked the spinning icons of Front Row (and so did this kitten), but the Apple TV interface is nice, too. You can play all of your content (and even content streaming from other computers) straight through the interface, and obviously, DVDs, Podcasts, and Photos are all included in there as well. It's all built right in to every copy of Leopard, ready to operate from across the room with the still awesome Apple Remote.Who will use it: Anyone watching movies or playing media from a distance on their Mac. And especially those of us planning on picking up a mini-- hook up a video out to the TV, and you've now got an Apple TV that does so, so much more.
Delicious Library 2 preview
Scott Stevenson has posted a very short but sweet preview of Delicious Library 2, due out sometime after Leopard hits next week (according to Wil Shipley, it may be as late as February). The already beautiful program (that coined a generation) looks better than ever, and it's made better, we're told, by all the great stuff going into Leopard, from Core Animation to the new Quicklook (you'll be able to drag books and DVDs out of the library to make little files of their own, which will then be viewable in Quicklook itself). And there's other touches, too-- selected items glow, when you delete a book it "shatters," and details don't just appear, they "pop into view" like on the iPhone.And there are updates behind the graphics, too-- a faster barcode scanner, some super seekrit features (that is "worth the purchase price" for parents-- ??), and sharing features, which means finally, this program has a real purpose other than just staring at the stuff you own. You'll be able to share your collection with friends and even strangers-- can't wait to see how that works.Sounds like fun. Stevenson says he wants Delicious Library 2 to set the benchmark for the first generation of Leopard apps, so we can definitely expect big, shiny stuff from these folks. Please, Delicious, show us how it's done.
Kanji Dragon blows through Akihabara
Sunday came and went, taking with it our hopes of ever meeting Kanji Dragon's martial artist. The kung-fu character posed for a few shots at Success Corp's Akihabara event over the weekend, hyping the kanji-training action title. Just looking at the photos and all the fun we missed out on feels like getting crane-kicked right in the heart.Though we didn't get to attend the soiree, it certainly wasn't from lack of trying. We stuffed our Pokemon backpacks with dozens of DS and GBA games, our favorite G.I. Joes, and a plastic baggie loaded with Pringles (these were crushed into little flaky bits before we even zipped our Squirtle bags shut) before heading out to hitchhike a ride to Japan, but we didn't even make it past two blocks before the police picked us up and drove us home. Our parents were pissed. Hissatsu Kung Fu: Kanji Dragon DVDs containing all of the game's promotional videos, including an unreleased action clip, were passed out to attendees. Peek past the post break for another exciting image from the event and a look at the multicolored shirts that were given to those who preordered the title. You might also see us hugging our knees in the corner, sniffling and trying to pretend like we just didn't spend all afternoon crying.
Mac 101: Hide Hard Drives, CDs, etc on your Desktop
I like a relatively neat Desktop. I keep out just those items I need to access right away for my day-to-day work. It's so easy to clutter Finder, especially when you use multiple hard drives and partitions, an iPod, a memory card reader and the odd CD or DVD. An often-overlooked Finder preference can come to the rescue. To hide volumes on your Desktop, choose Finder -> Preferences (or just type Command-, when Finder is active). In the General tab, choose which items you want to show on your Desktop. Place a check next items you want to see or clear the checkboxes to hide items. You can always bring hidden items back by updating your preferences later.And don't forget: whether you hide disks or CDs on your desktop, they're always there on the side drawer of your Finder windows where you'll find all hard drives, servers, removable media and so forth.
DVD pirates attempt subterfuge in war on crime dogs
Our favorite DVD-sniffin' crime dogs, Lucky and Flo, won't just have that price on their heads to worry about now: bootleggers have added in chemical sprays to throw the dogs off the scent. The two dogs went into hiding when the bounty hunters started after them last week, and haven't participated in any raids since they busted up a $3 million piracy ring. Now police believe pirates are trying to "show off their strength" by getting pirated DVDs back onto the streets, and part of that effort is using chemical sprays to fool the dogs, which are on the hunt for polycarbonate chemicals -- the smell of plastic. We'll see how effective they are when Lucky and Flo get back out on those mean Malaysian streets, but Malaysia is already looking into training its own set of DVD sniffers, so these two won't be alone in their fight against Evil for long.
Dixie Chicks, Commentaries, and Bonus items in iTunes
Here's the thing. iTunes is rotten at video extras and it totally rocks at music ones. I recently bought a DVD of Cars. It had Easter eggs and it had bonus features. So do a lot of my other DVDs, which unlike Cars add commentaries into the mix as well. So I handbraked the DVD and my iPod has the movie, the alternate scenes, and a sweet copy of One Man Band. Sure, I can download a movie from the iTunes store but I don't get any of these goodies when I do so. Nor can I pay a little more to access them. Yes, there are plenty of great podcast features but they have little or nothing to do with the content that gets packed onto those DVDs. But music? iTunes is full of bonus tracks, album-only tracks and iTunes exclusive tracks. The other day, a new exclusive single from the Dixie Chicks[1] popped onto my iTunes radar and I immediately bought and downloaded their new "The Neighbor" single and loaded it onto my iPod. A win for me, and a win for the music industry. So when will we see the same thing happen for movies and TV shows[2]? Why aren't those fabulous Heroes commentaries available for sale at the iTunes store? Frankly, I'm sick and tired of listening to that Mark Whatever guy talk about living in his Nissan. I'd rather pay for the privilege than have to deal with the stutters, breaks, rebuffering and endless Nissan commercials. (And, contrary to all intentions, I'm pretty certain that after all the NBC/Nissan barrage that I will never buy a Nissan car. Ever.) It doesn't make any sense to me that these items are being held back from the market--especially when there's a consumer base willing to pay a little extra for them. After all, it's not as if iTunes is a threat to DVD sales. When you think about the lower-quality video, the DRM and all the other inconveniences, iTunes weighs out as more of a luxury impulse item than a true competitor. I paid my dollar for my Chicks track. When will I be able to pay a dollar for my commentary video? [1] I'm not red state. I'm not blue state. I'm purple. And I love their music. [2] Admittedly, there's a little TV bonus content out there like this season-pass only OC featurette.
Apple and Wal-Mart to bury the hatchet over movie downloads?
According to a recent article in Variety, Apple is in early talks with Wal-Mart over a way to get iTunes downloads to finally play nice with the commercial giant. Apple wants to team up with Wal-Mart to get access to the retailer's massive title selection, while Wal-Mart is attempting to gain a foothold (or at least a revenue stream) in the downloadable movie sector; at this point, though, it's unclear how these tense negotiations will affect Wal-Mart's plans to roll its own digital video options. The Hollywood publication also reported that 40 percent of studio DVD sales go through Wal-Mart, which means that both movie studios and the gargantuan retailer need to quickly figure out how to adapt to this whole internet thing (we hear it's getting big nowadays).
CinemaNow launches "Burn to DVD" service for select films
Just days after MovieLink announced that it has licensed technology for burning flicks to DVD, rival download service CinemaNow has stepped up to the plate and begun actually offering consumers this very option. Starting today, about 100 titles are available for download through the "Burn to DVD" beta service, complete with all the interactive menus and bonus features you'd find on a store-bought DVD. Burnable titles start at $8.99, though if you're looking for the latest releases, you won't find them here -- Disney, Sony, Universal, and friends have only provided older films for the initial roll-out. While MovieLink partnered with Sonic Solutions for its presumed entrant into this space, CinemaNow decided to go with technology based on fluxDVD from Germany's ACE GmbH. Even though there may not be a lot of demand for the current crop of titles, assuming that the encryption scheme is able to ward off pirates and at least a few folks show some interest in "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle" and "About a Boy," among others, it's likely that newer and more popular films will be added to the library in the near future.[Thanks, Michael]
Delicious Library Gambler's Sale enters fourth and final week
You'd better get out those credit cards boys and girls, as the Delicious Monster Gambler's Sale has entered its fourth and final week. For those not familiar with this type of sale: Delicious Monster set aside a secret number of Delicious Library licenses and put the app on a four week sale. Each week, they drop the price by $5. Herein lies the catch: the sale ends when either four weeks are up, or the secret number of licenses is sold - whichever is first.This is the fourth and final week of the sale, and Delicious Library has hit $20. I just purchased my own copy, but only Delicious Monster knows how long you can keep waiting to taking advantage of a killer sale on a killer app.Thanks RP
