I've read a couple headlines here lately that seem to have the same sentiments about Netflix. Headlines such as the one by PC Magazine "Why There's Nothing Good to Stream on Amazon Prime or Netflix" and the statement made by Comcast CEO Brian Roberts "Netflix is the web equivalent of television reruns." I did read part of one of the articles and it makes a lot of sense. The article said that basically the reason there is so little current content is so that Netflix can keep their membership prices low. Well, I don't really agree with the current sentiments that are being made and in fact I would have to say that there is a lot of good content on Netflix.
Even when I had TV (I solely use the internet for my entertainment source now) I rarely was able to catch a show I would be interested in. I'm just not the type of person that bends my schedule because a certain show is on. So I missed out on a lot of great TV from the year 2003 to now. Now that I have Netflix, and occasionally watch Hulu, I get to see several of the shows I missed out on.
Right now I'm finishing up season 3 of 24, I'm smack in the middle of the first season of Lost (somehow the big reveal has escaped me so far) and I keep current with The Office, Parks and Recreation and Outsourced on Hulu.
I'm sure I'm missing out on some great television now but I don't really miss having to sit through ten out of thirty minutes worth of commercials and having to wade through all the crappy reality shows to find something worth watching.
I'm glad to have missed out on the train wreck known as Jersey Shore. As entertaining as it may be, it's just not good television. With Netflix, Hulu, and the wide array of content on each individual channel's websites, I get to choose what I want to watch and don't get caught being force fed the throw away programming that VH1, TLC, and several other channels have to offer. Plus it's cheaper!
Showing posts with label internet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label internet. Show all posts
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
The Eye-Fi Wireless SD Card.
Before I get to the nitty gritty, I have to brag about how cheap my eye-fi card was. I went to Circuit City on Valentine's Day '09 and they were all but wiped out. The store was so empty that a stranger came up to me and just gave me a gift card because she couldn't find anything for herself. I was kind enough to accept her offer and so I was +$24. The Eye-fi card was discounted 50% bringing it down to $50. So I ended up with an Eye-fi card at the cost of about $28 after tax!
Setup of the Eye-Fi is fairly simple. Upon inserting the card into the USB port using the adapter that comes with the package the card is automatically recognized and the installation process is completed quickly since the install files come preloaded on the card. Since Eye-fi is a wireless SD card, when I first saw that they included an adapter I thought it somewhat contradictory. Although funny at first, for the card to properly connect to wireless, one has to use the adapter to set it up first, so it's not really that strange. The user must have the card, a camera (which powers the card), and a wi-fi router in order for the card to work properly.
Once installed, my first impression of the Eye-Fi was one of restriction. The card works through an internet application called the Eye-Fi Manager which proves to be a sort of middleman. The reasons this is implemented are to promote the Hotspot Access Service (H.A.S.) at $15 a year, which allows the user access to more than 10,000 hotspots in the U.S., to allow the user to automatically upload photos to the a wide selection of photo-hosting sites and to keep things more secure.
The problem with uploading directly to photo-hosting sites is that not every photo I take is a masterpiece. It also eats away at a weekly limit quickly on Flickr. It is still an interesting feature that would be really nice with a subscription to the H.A.S. if you're on vacation and a lot of your friends and family want to see how the vacation is going with little lag time before the photos are posted.
The biggest reason I wanted this card is for time lapse photography. I want to transfer files directly to a laptop that's in range while shooting in remote locations. Since the card requires access to the internet in order for it to work, that feature isn't an immediately obvious option.
I have found a couple work-arounds to this major flaw of the card. Photojojo tells about how it could be possible to upload wirelessly to a laptop by connecting a wifi router to the laptop, whether there is internet or not. The other method as detailed by Dave Hansen would be to host a stand-alone server of which seems to prove difficult to do. I have yet to test either method but I think the latter would tailor to my needs. I will post an update when I test out these different methods.
Setup of the Eye-Fi is fairly simple. Upon inserting the card into the USB port using the adapter that comes with the package the card is automatically recognized and the installation process is completed quickly since the install files come preloaded on the card. Since Eye-fi is a wireless SD card, when I first saw that they included an adapter I thought it somewhat contradictory. Although funny at first, for the card to properly connect to wireless, one has to use the adapter to set it up first, so it's not really that strange. The user must have the card, a camera (which powers the card), and a wi-fi router in order for the card to work properly.
Once installed, my first impression of the Eye-Fi was one of restriction. The card works through an internet application called the Eye-Fi Manager which proves to be a sort of middleman. The reasons this is implemented are to promote the Hotspot Access Service (H.A.S.) at $15 a year, which allows the user access to more than 10,000 hotspots in the U.S., to allow the user to automatically upload photos to the a wide selection of photo-hosting sites and to keep things more secure.
The problem with uploading directly to photo-hosting sites is that not every photo I take is a masterpiece. It also eats away at a weekly limit quickly on Flickr. It is still an interesting feature that would be really nice with a subscription to the H.A.S. if you're on vacation and a lot of your friends and family want to see how the vacation is going with little lag time before the photos are posted.
The biggest reason I wanted this card is for time lapse photography. I want to transfer files directly to a laptop that's in range while shooting in remote locations. Since the card requires access to the internet in order for it to work, that feature isn't an immediately obvious option.
I have found a couple work-arounds to this major flaw of the card. Photojojo tells about how it could be possible to upload wirelessly to a laptop by connecting a wifi router to the laptop, whether there is internet or not. The other method as detailed by Dave Hansen would be to host a stand-alone server of which seems to prove difficult to do. I have yet to test either method but I think the latter would tailor to my needs. I will post an update when I test out these different methods.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
My Jargon.
Everybody has their own jargon which is especially present while they're on the internet. So I figured I would highlight some of my own jargon that I use while I talk to people on the internet.
*nods* - I hate when people use "ic" and I hate having to use it. Something about it just irks me. The connotations of it come off a little bit negative to me and "whatever" is even worse. *nods* is a much more simple acknowledgment with no negative influence.
Of course there's "cool", "sweet", "I understand", and "I gotcha" also, but "cool" and "sweet" are reserved for things that you enjoy finding out about. "I understand" sounds too formal and "I gotcha"... well.. that one works pretty well, but I like *nods* best. To note, the double asterisks in google talk will make a word bold but I used it before google talk to indicate action. *Nods* is even more fun to say aloud when someone is talking to you in real time. Especially when there is No indication of a nod at all.
*shrugs* - "idk" is a more simple one to use, but there's no imagery involved and to me using it comes off as a sort of juvenile acronym tantamount to using "u" for "you", "4" for "for", and "2" for "too", "to" and "two". Wait... scratch "two".. I got carried away. *Shrugs* is another fun one to say aloud in the company of others with no indication of an actual shrug.
The next two terms are sort of how I have fun with language in public or with company. I enjoy trying to find shortcuts that when said don't register as shortcuts to others. I can't think of any other examples because I have to be in the moment but 'lo is a good example for now.
When you say "'lo" aloud to someone in passing, generally they just assume that they either didn't hear the "He" in "Hello" or don't even put any thought into it at all and just react as if there was nothing abnormal. I have even gone so far as omitting entire words from the beginning of a spoken sentence and getting away with it because they expected my answer. This principle is similar to that in which I used in "February 18th, 2008 REMIX", which was a "remix" of February 18th 2008 on Threadless. Seemingly a failure among my posts on Threadless.
hate - I try not to hate unforgivingly but some people really deserve it. I kid of course but mainly when I'm playing a game with other people online and they're better than me, I'll often spring "hate" on em. That's it, that's all I say "hate". It best describes my annoyance with their superior skills while minimizing the amount of whining I put on them. It's effective to use when you see something in public and you don't want everyone except the ones closest to you to know that you're not happy with something you've seen as well.
'lo - I don't know how other people are taking to this new term that I'm using. Generally when someone makes their presence known they say "Hi" of course. Well, I reply with "'lo" meaning "hello". I'm not trying to be a smartass by using it, but I do kind of enjoy the double entendre of it's usage. I thought about using " 'llo" as well, which could be pronounced "yo" if using the spanish principles of language i.e. "tortilla" but I think I'll stick with " 'lo".
'shop - The power of the apostrophe should be apparent by now. Sometimes I'll find myself using two in one word, such as "should'nt've". Well, in this case I use it to refer to photoshop without actually using the word photo, the apostrophe takes care of that. Usage: I just finished 'shopping our picture, wanna see?
b.r.b. - "BRB" is quite common meaning "be right back" but sometimes the person will catch you to say something else first before you leave when this is used. Sometimes a "brb" is much more urgent, like when you need to go to the bathroom. So I think the best way to really show that it's urgent is to use "b.r.b." which means "bathroom break". My friend started me saying "BURB" aloud when I have to go do something while in the company of others but I'm almost over that now.
:thumbsup: and (y) - This disappoints me regularly with chat programs. The only one with an actual emoticon is trillian, and I think it only works for ICQ. The text that you have to type for the thumbs up emoticon to show up is (y), but few people pickup on that in any other program unless they've used ICQ so I end up having to explain what it means. :thumbsup: is used in deviantart to call upon the emoticon equivalent, but I'm lazy and I don't want to have to type out :thumbsup: to convey a :thumbsup:. In fact I've done it too much already. If you type it out, you'll find your fingers jumping all over the place.
Blog - I try to keep this word out of my vocabulary. Blog is a horrid word. When I say "I have a new post on my blog," I immediately feel like a prude. I call it my "blarg" sometimes just to show my disdain for the word "blog" and I sometimes call a post a "blarticle" which is a portmanteau*3, but once I use it I feel like I've used a really offensive word. Probably because a "blart" is a blood fart and past this I never want to have to mention that again. So I guess ultimately saying "post" isn't so bad, and neither is "article".
Bye... - Sometimes goodbyes run a little long on chat programs. Some people combat this by simply closing the chat program immediately after saying bye. I use "Bye..." since I leave my chat programs on all the time. The "..." is supposed to hint to the other person that they should shut up in the nicest way possible.
I'd say by now, if you've made it this far, that you want to tell me "Bye..." so I guess I'll stop for now, this subject may require a revisit in the future when I feel I have enough information to further explain my quirkiness.
*nods* - I hate when people use "ic" and I hate having to use it. Something about it just irks me. The connotations of it come off a little bit negative to me and "whatever" is even worse. *nods* is a much more simple acknowledgment with no negative influence.
Of course there's "cool", "sweet", "I understand", and "I gotcha" also, but "cool" and "sweet" are reserved for things that you enjoy finding out about. "I understand" sounds too formal and "I gotcha"... well.. that one works pretty well, but I like *nods* best. To note, the double asterisks in google talk will make a word bold but I used it before google talk to indicate action. *Nods* is even more fun to say aloud when someone is talking to you in real time. Especially when there is No indication of a nod at all.
*shrugs* - "idk" is a more simple one to use, but there's no imagery involved and to me using it comes off as a sort of juvenile acronym tantamount to using "u" for "you", "4" for "for", and "2" for "too", "to" and "two". Wait... scratch "two".. I got carried away. *Shrugs* is another fun one to say aloud in the company of others with no indication of an actual shrug.
The next two terms are sort of how I have fun with language in public or with company. I enjoy trying to find shortcuts that when said don't register as shortcuts to others. I can't think of any other examples because I have to be in the moment but 'lo is a good example for now.
When you say "'lo" aloud to someone in passing, generally they just assume that they either didn't hear the "He" in "Hello" or don't even put any thought into it at all and just react as if there was nothing abnormal. I have even gone so far as omitting entire words from the beginning of a spoken sentence and getting away with it because they expected my answer. This principle is similar to that in which I used in "February 18th, 2008 REMIX", which was a "remix" of February 18th 2008 on Threadless. Seemingly a failure among my posts on Threadless.
hate - I try not to hate unforgivingly but some people really deserve it. I kid of course but mainly when I'm playing a game with other people online and they're better than me, I'll often spring "hate" on em. That's it, that's all I say "hate". It best describes my annoyance with their superior skills while minimizing the amount of whining I put on them. It's effective to use when you see something in public and you don't want everyone except the ones closest to you to know that you're not happy with something you've seen as well.
'lo - I don't know how other people are taking to this new term that I'm using. Generally when someone makes their presence known they say "Hi" of course. Well, I reply with "'lo" meaning "hello". I'm not trying to be a smartass by using it, but I do kind of enjoy the double entendre of it's usage. I thought about using " 'llo" as well, which could be pronounced "yo" if using the spanish principles of language i.e. "tortilla" but I think I'll stick with " 'lo".
'shop - The power of the apostrophe should be apparent by now. Sometimes I'll find myself using two in one word, such as "should'nt've". Well, in this case I use it to refer to photoshop without actually using the word photo, the apostrophe takes care of that. Usage: I just finished 'shopping our picture, wanna see?
b.r.b. - "BRB" is quite common meaning "be right back" but sometimes the person will catch you to say something else first before you leave when this is used. Sometimes a "brb" is much more urgent, like when you need to go to the bathroom. So I think the best way to really show that it's urgent is to use "b.r.b." which means "bathroom break". My friend started me saying "BURB" aloud when I have to go do something while in the company of others but I'm almost over that now.
:thumbsup: and (y) - This disappoints me regularly with chat programs. The only one with an actual emoticon is trillian, and I think it only works for ICQ. The text that you have to type for the thumbs up emoticon to show up is (y), but few people pickup on that in any other program unless they've used ICQ so I end up having to explain what it means. :thumbsup: is used in deviantart to call upon the emoticon equivalent, but I'm lazy and I don't want to have to type out :thumbsup: to convey a :thumbsup:. In fact I've done it too much already. If you type it out, you'll find your fingers jumping all over the place.
Blog - I try to keep this word out of my vocabulary. Blog is a horrid word. When I say "I have a new post on my blog," I immediately feel like a prude. I call it my "blarg" sometimes just to show my disdain for the word "blog" and I sometimes call a post a "blarticle" which is a portmanteau*3, but once I use it I feel like I've used a really offensive word. Probably because a "blart" is a blood fart and past this I never want to have to mention that again. So I guess ultimately saying "post" isn't so bad, and neither is "article".
Bye... - Sometimes goodbyes run a little long on chat programs. Some people combat this by simply closing the chat program immediately after saying bye. I use "Bye..." since I leave my chat programs on all the time. The "..." is supposed to hint to the other person that they should shut up in the nicest way possible.
I'd say by now, if you've made it this far, that you want to tell me "Bye..." so I guess I'll stop for now, this subject may require a revisit in the future when I feel I have enough information to further explain my quirkiness.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Internet News.
I read on the internet that a large percentage of news in blogs is repeated and not original news.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Taking steps backwards.
The decision made by some Internet Service Providers to try the usage based billing system seems like a huge step backwards to me. Why not upgrade the connection speeds instead? I know it is possible to have a much higher speed but for some reason most people are being throttled. This is a blatant refusal to move forward in technology in my view.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Songs as Ringtones
Using songs as ring tones don't make you look cool. I don't care what the song is, in fact I may even like the song, it's just rather pretentious. Plus the sound quality is crap and doesn't do the song any justice, it just sounds like a cacophony of blather. Instead, try using every day sounds. Maybe something like the noise of a crowded room for when you're at a party or in a restaurant? Crickets for when you're outside? Or Birds and wind? The sounds of traffic?
I know! How about the sounds of a car crash for when you're driving. A lot of fun can be had with that if you have a person in the car with you when someone calls. Plus, perhaps it'll keep you from answering and will keep people like me safe, who actually pay attention to driving instead of blabbering about nothing on the phone and endangering people on the road. No even better. Just put it on vibrate, cell phones are annoying. Learn some cell phone etiquette people. Especially in restaurants and theaters.
If you do have to talk while on the road, tell the person on the other end immediately that you are driving and blurt "Driving!" when a matter on the road deserves your attention, drop the phone and use your other hand if need be, then when things are back to a comfortable pace continue talking.
I know! How about the sounds of a car crash for when you're driving. A lot of fun can be had with that if you have a person in the car with you when someone calls. Plus, perhaps it'll keep you from answering and will keep people like me safe, who actually pay attention to driving instead of blabbering about nothing on the phone and endangering people on the road. No even better. Just put it on vibrate, cell phones are annoying. Learn some cell phone etiquette people. Especially in restaurants and theaters.
If you do have to talk while on the road, tell the person on the other end immediately that you are driving and blurt "Driving!" when a matter on the road deserves your attention, drop the phone and use your other hand if need be, then when things are back to a comfortable pace continue talking.
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