Technology meets people.

June 2009 Blog Posts (30)

Netflix Podcast: Its Streaming Future and Why Pay TV and OTT Video Will Coexist

In our latest podcast we speak with Steve Swasey, Vice President of Corporate Communications with Netflix. Click here to listen and read on for my analysis and some of my offline chat with Steve.

Netflix is an interesting company because they have been at the center of some of the major changes in video… Continue

Added by Brian Mahony on June 30, 2009 at 1:30am — No Comments

PRICE REDUCTION-Plug and Play RAID Storage !!

Now is the time to take advantage on Other World Computing (OWC) price reductions on eight OWC Mercury Elite-AL Pro Qx2 Models. These models are high capacity, high performance hardware RAID storage solutions built for performance-intensive applications, such as A/V, HD-video, digital photography, professional music, graphics with redundant backup featuring hardware RAID 5 redundancy to protect against data loss. The Mercury Elite-AL Pro Qx2 has four… Continue

Added by Ellen Veden on June 29, 2009 at 8:30am — No Comments

Avoid Electric Bill Shock! Think Green, Act Smart, Save Money

Why wait for electric bill shock? As featured on NPR and Fox News, the PowerCost Monitor™ is a simple solution device to take advantage of real-time feedback on how much electricity your home is consuming in $$ and KW. This product is well designed, easy to install and simple to use by Other World Computing (OWC) Woodstock, IL.

Features include viewing peak energy costs over 24 hours, time and outside temperature display.

By reducing your… Continue

Added by Ellen Veden on June 27, 2009 at 8:30am — No Comments

2.0 in the College Classroom

As faculty members scramble to adopt 2.0 technology their students have already mastered, questions crop up surrounding how faculty should integrate the new mediums into their traditional three roles of teaching, research and service.

First off, it should be noted that all faculty are not equal. Some have managed LinkedIn and Facebook accounts as long as their students. Some of the first adopters have kept a finger on the pulse of modifications and updates as they've come down the… Continue

Added by David Fields on June 26, 2009 at 9:40am — No Comments

Comcast and Time Warner Inc. Trialing Online Content Distribution Model Using Subscriber Authentication

Comcast and Time Warner Inc. Trialing Online Content Distribution Model Using Subscriber Authentication

It’s been interesting watching the pronouncements of TV programmers and cable operators and their advertisers as the parties come to grips with the over the top video phenomenon. Time Warner Inc. and… Continue

Added by Patti A. Reali on June 25, 2009 at 8:38pm — No Comments

Vizio Unveils Aggressive Internet TV Line-Up

Vizio Internet HDTVs will be water cooled (not really).

Well, we had been waiting for more details about Vizio’s Internet TV plans, and yesterday they sprang it on us. The leading North American manufacturer of HDTVs has put together an impressive line-up of content and applications for its VIA Connected HDTVs. Vizio had already announced a… Continue

Added by Brian Mahony on June 25, 2009 at 8:00am — No Comments

Addressable Advertising in Pay-TV at the Precipice: One Step Back and One Step Forward

As the pay-TV sector continues to try to match or best the online world where demographic, behavioral and geo-targeting of advertising is possible by using location and other data mined from ISPs and IP addresses, with set-top box data being mined primarily in the pay-TV sector’s case, the recent news from Canoe Ventures of discontinuing its first product test was at minimum a small set-back. The much hyped… Continue

Added by Robert A. Clark on June 24, 2009 at 10:28am — No Comments

Is Your Face the Future of Home Control?

Biometric methods are used in various forms for identity access and control using fingerprints, face and iris recognition, hands and palms geometry and DNA. This could also include behavior such as voice recognition. Now at Walt Disney World, biometric measurements are taken from the fingers of guests to ensure that the person’s ticket is used by the same person from day to day. In the May 2009 A&S International Magazine issue, XS PRO-1000… Continue

Added by Ellen Veden on June 24, 2009 at 8:00am — No Comments

Microsoft Mediaroom Podcast: The King of IPTV Keeps Polishing the Crown

It’s good to be king. With 20 of the leading Telco service providers as customers including AT&T, British Telecom, and Deutsche Telecom, Microsoft’s Mediaroom platform can certainly wear the crown as the king of IPTV. According to Ben Huang, Director of Marketing and Product Management for Microsoft’s Mediaroom Business, Mediaroom is being used by over 3 million households and adding 3… Continue

Added by Brian Mahony on June 23, 2009 at 8:00am — No Comments

Create a unique gift....a photo album to share with friends and family

Unibind now makes it possible to create an instant 4x6 photo album at home with the MyBook Collection kit. The kit is complete with a book cover, 2 end sheets and a free mailing envelope for mailing. You can print your photos on any type of paper, and easy to assemble – just staple, peel and stick! There is a large variety of colors, themes and designs to choose from to fit any occasion – showers, anniversaries, vacations, honeymoons, pets, children… Continue

Added by Ellen Veden on June 22, 2009 at 8:00pm — No Comments

Social Media -- the new Free PR - Why Question it?

More than 100 million users log on to Facebook at least once each day (Facebook.com) and Twitter has an average 3,000,000 Tweets per day (TechCrunch). With growing stats such as these, it amazes me how the press and analysts continue to grab consumer attention with the “question” of social media. What question? Finding ourselves in an economically strapped environment, we have a free outlet at our fingertips to spread PR globally, in an instant. Not simply PR, but active customer engagement… Continue

Added by Jessica Steele on June 19, 2009 at 6:00pm — No Comments

An App a Day Keeps the Blackberry Away!

While I can’t yet vouch for the iPhone 3GS (sorry), I am happy to report I am more than happy with my recently outdated iPhone 3G. Usually, I tend to make consumer decisions like Simon votes on Idol. I either like it or I don’t. This time around, I pondered around the AT&T store for a good thirty minutes before my new purchase. Always connected to work, I knew I would be the perfect candidate for the newest edition of a Crackberry – complete with a leather case to keep it firmly attached to… Continue

Added by Jessica Steele on June 19, 2009 at 6:00pm — 1 Comment

3D Reaches a Tipping Point in Theatres: Is 3D in Homes and Even on Mobile to Follow?

As Hollywood revels in the success of the new animated picture “Up” that was released in both 2D and 3D, and the early 2009 release of “My Bloody Valentine 3D”, and with some Cannes Film Festival movie producer claims that this year’s festival was a “defining 3D moment” - we felt it was time to take stock of the 3D trend that may be past the theatre tipping point and on the horizon for both home and mobile viewing.

There were a dozen or so… Continue

Added by Robert A. Clark on June 19, 2009 at 11:00am — No Comments

Learn How to Build a Hybrid Pay TV/OTT Service and Meet Trender Research at IP&TV Forum North America

Brian Mahony and Patti Reali from Trender Research will be at the IP&TV Forum North America, July 21-22, in New York City at the Millennium Broadway Hotel. The focus of the show is "New Partnerships, Services and Business Models to Monetize IP Television Investment". The conference is a highly interactive, intensive, two day networking conference, featuring quality case-study led presentations from…

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Added by Brian Mahony on June 18, 2009 at 8:00am — No Comments

The Loop--A Cool New Freespace Optical Remote Control, Coming to Your PC/TV Soon

The Loop--A Cool New Freespace Optical Remote Control, Coming to Your PC/TV Soon

As an analyst I am regularly introduced to cool new gadgets and technologies. A couple of year ago while I was with Gartner I was introduced to Hillcrest Labs and “The Loop,” a freespace 3-D optical pointing device and associated visual interface platform for TV service providers. It was developed by the Maryland-based start-up and originally targeted to cable… Continue

Added by Patti A. Reali on June 16, 2009 at 2:30pm — No Comments

TV Anywhere Podcast: Hybrid IPTV/OTT Player Looks to Drive Migration Strategy

It seems like there is a growing trend for over-the-top video (OTT) hardware and software vendors to push for hybrid solutions that play nice with Pay TV, at least for IPTV telco and satellite service providers (sorry cable MSOs). In the past two weeks, we talked about Xbox and their deal with Sky for a hybrid Pay-TV/OTT solution and we did a… Continue

Added by Brian Mahony on June 16, 2009 at 1:00am — No Comments

Vudu Podcast: Should Pay TV Players Fight the Leading OTT High-Def Content Provider, Or Join 'Em?

We had a chance recently to catch up with VUDU Executive Vice President Edward Lichty to capture his views on the role Vudu is playing in fostering the burgeoning over the top (OTT) video market, as well as his perspective on the market in general. Click here to listen to podcast.

Vudu has certainly been making a lot of noise lately. They seem to… Continue

Added by Brian Mahony on June 15, 2009 at 7:00am — 1 Comment

Gaming and Advertising: MTV Networks and the Interactive Advertising Bureau Take it to the Next Level

There now is recognition that people of all ages and demographics are gamers, but what is also true is the games people play are more and more digital and online. If there is consensus on these two facts and trends, then it was only a matter of time that advertisers would take the movement to online seriously. What they also are taking seriously is the effectiveness of their chosen ad format, and the extent… Continue

Added by Robert A. Clark on June 12, 2009 at 12:30pm — No Comments

Crickets in the Classroom

My sophomores have just finished writing poetry. We even read a few poems out loud in class and then we all snapped at the end to show respect for words. But then, right as I finished reading one student poem out loud, I heard a cricket. That's right... cricket, cricket... the sound that accentuates the silence in some of the kid Disney shows dubbed in to show that the joke was not funny. The kids broke into hysterics as I looked toward the sound, but then, there it was again, from the other… Continue

Added by Sheila Sylvestre on June 11, 2009 at 12:30pm — No Comments

Protecting your home computer files with disk encryption

Losing a laptop due to theft or forgetting it on a plane could have dire consequences for the typical consumer. According to the Ponemon Institute, this is not a rare occurrence; it happens to 12,000 of our laptops - each week.

We transact much of our business online, and most of us manage our accounts online using Quicken, Money, or similar financial management software. We basically have our lives… Continue

Added by Michael Whalen on June 11, 2009 at 10:00am — No Comments