pbs

When the PBS for iPad app debuted last year, I bemoaned the lack of any PBS KIDS content (other than previews).

Well, I will bemoan no more: PBS Kids Video for iPad is a brand new app that streams--you guessed it--video for kids. Specifically, it serves up over 1,000 clips from shows like "Arthur," "The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That," and my personal favorite, "Word Girl."

Yes, unfortunately, I did say clips. The app doesn't offer full-length episodes, but rather a whole mess of snippets--most of which run … Read more

For anyone who listens to public radio, there may be no greater annoyance than the semi-regular pledge drives that seem to go on for weeks and constantly interrupt your favorite programs.

Of course, these stations have little choice but to conduct the pledge drives, but if you've already given money, it can be doubly frustrating to continue to have to listen to the pleas. Well, if you're from the San Francisco area, local NPR affiliate KQED may have just the solution.

Starting today, anyone who ponies up a donation of $45 will be given access to a special online stream … Read more

Last October, PBS took the wraps off an eponymous iPad app, allowing tablet users to stream full episodes of public-television favorites like "American Masters," "Nova," and "MotorWeek." iPhone and iPod users were promised their own version in November, but it never materialized.

Thankfully, PBS for iPhone is finally here. It's missing a few key elements, but it's still a great way to watch great shows on the go--free of charge.

The app is divided into four sections: Previews, Spotlight, Schedules, and Programs. Most of these are self-explanatory; as with the iPad version, the Schedules section provides you with a calendar of current and upcoming programming from your local PBS station.

However, unlike the iPad version, this one lacks both search and bookmark features, which is puzzling.… Read more

Hey, PBS! How do you expect to make any money if you give away your app?

I'm kidding, of course. I love free stuff, especially when it's awesome free stuff like PBS for iPad. The new app streams full-length episodes of shows like "Antiques Roadshow," "Carrier," "NOVA," and the much-ballyhooed new "Sherlock Holmes."

It also serves up "PBS NewsHour," "Austin City Limits" performances, and previews of nearly everything else in PBS' prime-time lineup. (Alas, previews are all you get of PBS Kids. If you want full-length episodes of, say, "Sesame Street" and "WordGirl," you'll have to pony up for them in the iTunes Store.) … Read more

To hear Rodger Raderman and Doug Penman tell it, one of the biggest shortcomings of the modern toy industry is that it has little in common with Silicon Valley. And the two are here to remedy that situation.

Raderman and Penman are the co-founders and co-CEOs of Nukotoys, a San Francisco-based company that is aiming to take the best elements of the Silicon Valley startup--rapid prototyping, interactive technology, nimbleness, financial efficiency, and scalability--and apply them to the business of making fun, engaging, and educational toys worthy of the second decade of the 21st century.

For sure, that means a mixture … Read more

A new study finds that educational iPhone apps can increase a child's vocabulary acquisition by as much as 31 percent within two weeks. The study is part of a larger look at the relationship between technology and education, administered by PBS and funded by a grant from the Department of Education.

To glimpse the potential of mobile apps as a new educational medium, the study first tested the vocabulary level of a group 90 Title 1 school children, ages 3 to 7. Then, the children were each given two weeks with an iPod Touch loaded with the Martha Speaks … Read more

Now, don't get any wrong ideas, the show title might sound dirty, but it's actually just a reference to our parent company, the wonderful Columbia Broadcast System, or CBS. Unfortunately, Dan the Former Mantern is no longer with us, but we're happy that he just moved laterally to PBS and WNET.org's Thirteen. In fact, he joins us on today's show to help promote a local documentary he's working on featuring yours truly! It's a spotlight on New Yorkers whose lives were changed after visiting one of America's National Parks, and what a coincidence--I just got back from a trip to Yosemite!

Dan and I collaborated on this project, which will air on Thirteen this Sunday, September 27, at 10 p.m. EDT. Everyone else can catch the special on the Thirteen Web site, which we'll also link to after the premiere.

Dan sticks around after this shameless self-promotion to help us discuss a few stories from around the Internet, including a horribly offensive Ching-Chong iPhone App. The cheesy little game produces the same ambiguous messages you find in fortune cookies, but the catch is that the app actually reads the message outloud in a voice that bears a disturbing similarity to Verbose Asian Guy. Of course, Jeff, Dan, and even Wilson (shame on you, Wilson) practically force him out of retirement, and we even get a glimpse of Jeff's priceless Woody Allen impression...TONS of laughs in today's show!

After we play the second Caribbean Call From the Public, we run through Rotten Tomatoes' Top 25 Worst Movies of the Decade. We're not surprised to see most that most of the titles are straight to DVD movies, so we take it upon ourselves to name off a few of our own picks, including "Gigli," "Jersey Girl," "Kangaroo Jack," "Cool World," and more. Let us know in the comments what your top picks are, or call us at 1-855-404-CNET and leave a voice-mail for Monday's Jeff-less show. Have a great weekend!

Need a little extra computing power, but don't want to pay for it? Sure, we all do.

Altair was probably thinking along the same lines Monday when it announced its Personal PBS. It's a free turnkey application that purportedly leverages multicore CPU technology to transform any desktop computer into a miniature compute farm or cluster system.

In addition, for an (undisclosed as of yet) fee, PBS provides an upgrade option path that lets customers submit jobs from their personal desktop to back-end server systems running PBS Professional.

Altair expects this new product to appeal to the open-source community, … Read more

I'm not in the habit of watching PBS or science programs. I am not smart enough and I'm always afraid PBS will ask me for money.

However, last night, as part of its Nova series, PBS showed an extraordinary documentary entitled Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives. It featured, Mark Everett, better known as E, the lead singer of the indie/alternative/just plain very, very good band EELS.

As a child, his father didn't talk to him very much. He didn't hug him at all. In fact, pretty much the first time Mark had any physical contact … Read more