Comcast DVR with TiVo: Video Tour

In this video [ 5:16 ] I give you a quick tour of the Comcast DVR with TiVo. We take a look at TiVo recordings, the Guide, and Find Programs.

Response time could be improved.

We Live In Public

We live in public trailer from RADAR on Vimeo.

Zadi writes:

If you haven't seen it yet, definitely check out web entrepreneur/multi-media artist Josh Harris' trailer for his new documentary We Live In Public. It's a socio-political and artistic experiment that looks at what happens as we propel ourselves into lives that are on perpetual public display via the web. Eight years in the making, the million dollar project hooks up 32 web cams in a Manhattan loft that's set up bunker-style and records the lives of a 100 volunteer artists/guinea pigs while discussing the implications of the project as it d/evolves into madness. It asks the question: Will we survive in public?

via [ epic-fu ]

Pseudo.com

Wired, November 2000 - Steaming Video:

Like Marshall McLuhan, Josh Harris sees the medium, rather than its content, as the message. "When TV first came out, it had an impact like a social atomic bomb," he says. "But the mode of intimacy that I'm presenting, which we'll experience via the Net, is going to be bigger."

IMDB: We Live in Public.

Bloomberg 08?

Supporters beg Bloomberg to enter race - The Boston Globe

"... the mayor said this month at a news conference, "Last I looked - and I'm not a candidate - but last time I checked reading about the Constitution, the Electoral College has nothing to do with parties, has absolutely nothing to do with parties. It's most states are winners take all. The popular vote assigns electoral votes to the candidate, and I don't think it says in there that you have to be a member of one party or another."

...

"The mayor was asked last week at a news conference whether a Bloomberg campaign would cost the Democratic or Republican nominee more votes.

"You know," he replied, "if it's a three-way race, the public has more choice than if it's a two-way race, and has more choice in a two-way race than a one-way race. Why shouldn't you have lots of people running, and what's magical about people who happen to be a member of a party?"

Sam Waterston, the actor whose former costar on "Law and Order," Fred D. Thompson, is a Republican presidential candidate, is a founder of Unity08. That organization also hopes to advance a nonpartisan national ticket, and Waterston says the mayor is often mentioned on the group's website as a prospective nominee."

Journey: Don't Stop Believin' is in this video player

Add Journey to your page

Cloverfield: Extended Trailer

Some Thing Has Found Us.

Great new Cloverfield trailer. Notice all the people with cellphones taking pictures.

Gridlock at Riverway and Brookline Ave

Bob Mathews writes in to oston The Globe's Globewatch and asks, Can't someone unclog the mess on the Riverway?:

"...erect signs on Brookline Ave. inbound at the Riverway intersection warning drivers not to block the intersection; consider stationing a police officer at the intersection during the busiest times to prevent gridlock."

Excellent suggestion Bob.

The selfish people who block the intersection need to be punished. It's bad behavior.

The city's response is unacceptable.

The issue you bring up about "multiple jurisdictions" was not even addressed by the Globe since the only contact they provide is from Boston Transportation Department.

People need to be fined $500 for blocking that intersection and the fee should be paid on site by Check or Credit Card.

New England Patriots: Best TV Coverage

I felt bad for Channel 5 (ABC) in Boston. They signed a deal for exclusive coverage of last night's Partiots/Giants game, and the NFL broke the contract and gave the game to 4 (CBS) and 7 (NBC).

The NFL ended up giving Channel 5 three playoff tickets and exclusive access for their pre-game and post-game shows. Those exclusives didn't end up being so valuable.

Pre Game
When game time came, I watched the Channel 5 pre-game for their exclusive on field interviews. Not that exciting.

Game Time
When game time arrived, I flipped over to the other stations to check them out, and found that Channel 4 had the best sound. Much better than 5 or 7.

Post Game
When it was time for the exclusive post-game coverage, Mike Lynch of Channel 5 was left alone standing in the corridor, looking in vain for players to interview. Sad. I flipped over to Channel 4, and there was Bill Belichick's press conference, LIVE.

Watch the post game press conference footage at the Official Website of the New England Patriots.

Can We Sort Comcast TiVo Out?

When you sort for upcoming movies on a Comcast TiVo it sorts by Time.



When you sort for upcoming HD programs on a Comcast TiVo it sorts by program name.

No way to change the sort. I'd prefer it to be sorted by time...

Comcast TiVo Yellow Screen of Death

Comcsst TiVo Yellow Screen of Death - Originally uploaded on flickr by stevegarfield.

While trying to record a movie with my new Comcast HD TiVo, the TiVo rebooted and then I got this screen.

The "Comcast TiVo Yellow Screen of Death?"

Maybe it's actually the "Comcast TiVo Yellow Screen of Life" since I saw it during the reboot.

How Kids Learn

David Rovics writes Raising Leila:

"What I remember about first grade was that I learned that my needs, feelings and desires didn’t matter. I learned that doing what the teacher wanted was all that mattered, and I learned that this was impossible to do. I felt helpless, confused, and afraid most of the time. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one in the class feeling that way. It was my first experience with a classroom setting with desks and all that, and it was a potentially spirit-killing experience."

What I remember about first grade is that the teacher made me stand at the front of the class and said I was skinny. She made me have my mother write a note with what I had for breakfast each morning.

So my mom and I made up breakfasts each morning and wrote her notes.

- Scrambled eggs, with sausage and toast.
- A stack of pankakes
- French Toast with strawberries

All kinds of things that as a first grader I would never have for breakfast.

The teacher's name was Mrs. Gorski and she was an old witch. It was a horrible first grade experience.

Second grade was much better...

The next trauma for me in school was when a Junior High School teacher threw me against the lockers for walking in the hall between classes. Threw me... into the lockers. It hurt.

I had a hall pass.

Ironic.

What do you remember from school?

YouTube on Leno and Letterman?

Late-Night Talk Shows Set to Go Scriptless - WSJ.com:

"The shows plan largely to rely on extemporaneous speeches from the hosts and extra banter between the hosts and the band directors (about the strike itself, among other topics), according to people who work on the shows. Since much of the 'writing' on these shows consists of generating ideas for skits and segments, which are loosely scripted and then partially improvised on air, producers say it is unclear how much forethought is technically permissible.

Other ideas being batted around by producers that they believe don't violate strike rules include man-on-the street and audience interviews; clips from YouTube and other video Web sites; and footage of political candidates, particularly the Democrats, many of whom have declined to cross picket lines in support of the guild."

Maybe?

Favorite Photos of 2007

Here's my favorite photo of 2007:



It's from wine country in Napa and tells a funny story. Good memories.

Here's a set of the rest of my favorite photos I shot in 2007. Thanks to Nikon for sending me D80. That's what made most of these photos possible. I love the aperture priority on it and the compact size of the 18-135mm lens. I've had 6 months with the camera and now I have to decide if I want to keep it for 6 more months, send it back, or buy it for $500. I'm leaning towards buying it. The other photos are taken with either my Digital Rebel, Nokia N95 or iPhone. The iPhone takes surprisingly good photos.


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Here's CC Chapman's Favorite Photos of 2007. He points us to Your Best Shot 2007 over on flickr.

CrunchGear Photo Attribution Policy: "Complain and it gets fixed."

CrunchGear Photo Attribution Policy: "Complain and it gets fixed." - Originally uploaded on flickr by stevegarfield.

CrunchGear wrote about a PVRblog post about my Comcast TiVo install blog post and used one of my photos of the Comcast TiVo display without attribution.

After writing 5 comments on the post and emailing the CrunchGear editor, they added attribution.

I asked:
"Do you have policies in place regarding photo use and credit?"

Editor, John Biggs replied:
"Yes. Complain and it gets fixed."

Me:
Can I quote you on that?

John:
"Sure"

Comcast TiVo HD Guide

Checking out the new Comcast Tivo HD Program Guide.

Shows in HD are designated by 'HD'. There's also a button to filter out all shows so that only HD shows are displayed, you can also do it via an on screen menu. It took 53 seconds for the screen to refresh. Movies, Kids, Sports, and News come up right away, as does All, but HD takes a long time.

Here's a video of hte Comcast Tivo HD Program Guide if you want to see.

I logged onto Comcast chat and was told that Comcast is aware of the problem and has contacted the hardware manufacturer.

Why do I have to Beta Test these products for free after they are publicly released? Didn't they have a Beta Test period where these things should have been ironed out?

30 Rock Rosemary's Baby

Rosemary's Baby
30 Rock | Season 2 | Episode 4 | 21:24 |
When Liz meets her idol, Rosemary Howard, she invites her to be a guest writer on the show.

Funniest 30 Rock Ever!

Really into Twitter, Seesmic, and other mobile/video social systems.

Dan Bricklin posts about his experience with 'people who are really into Twitter, Seesmic, and other mobile/video social systems'.

Podcast with Laura Fitton about Twitter and using Seesmic and Qik.com:

"We've always talked about how Internet video would be about grandma watching the kid's birthday parties from another city. It's here now, or even more mundane (and potentially more viral) -- here's Laura (of Pistachio Consulting) showing a gift she got (ice cream 'named after her' -- Ben & Jerry's Pistachio Pistachio). (I've been using Internet video for some time now -- Skype and other video conferencing systems, YouTube, etc. -- but this seemed even more lightweight and viral and we were using it casually at a party.)"

This all happened at Laura Fitton's Christmas Eve party. It was a special experience.

Much different than some of the sponsored business card pushing free drink events that happen around town.

It was also different than the live twitter around a table Boston Media Maker meetings I have on the first Sunday of each month in Boston. Next Boston Media Makers meeting Jan 6th, btw, and you are invited.

Laura opened up her home to like minded people who ended up having a fun time with new social systems in person. We had discussions and taught each other things. The only thing on the agenda was fun, but it grew into much more.

Check out my earlier post, How can we apply technologies for good.

Disclosure: I'm an investor in Seesmic.

Patriots on WCVB Gotta be better than on WHDH

Watch Pats Take On Giants On WCVB-TV:

"WCVB-TV/DT Channel 5 will broadcast in spectacular high-definition the NFL Network presentation of Saturday Night Football on Dec. 29 with the pre-game starting at 7 p.m."

This Saturday night's Patriots broadcast has got to be better than the disaster that was broadcast on Channel 7 WHDH HD last night. It was the worst broadcast of a football game I HAVE EVER SEEN. The transmission kept stopping and restarting seconds later.

I called Comcast and a pre-recorded message said that WHDH TV was aware of the technical problem and was working to fix it. It was still a problem at half time.

You guys in Boston saw this if you were watching in HD, right?

How can we apply technologies for good

A conversation with laura fitton, dan bricklin, critt jarvis, beth kantor and steve garfield.

But only Dan's part got saved. :-) I'll figure it out as I do more live streaming.

Direct link

Streamed from and N95 over ATT via Qik.

Zadi Rocks Epic-Fu

Online Videos by Veoh.com

Epic-fu fan Patrick made this!

via Epic-fu Blog

Go See Juno, She Loved It.

via [ Anna Kuperberg ]

Not sure what else could be in the movie, since this preview seems to have all the best stuff.