Crave

You better clean up your act, random gadgets and services! That's right, we're talking to you. You can't escape our scorn, because you JUST...DON'T...GET IT! Don't think we won't continue to use you, though. Cold turkey was never our strong suit.

EPISODE 125

Today’s episode inspired by Tributes.com

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Nearly dead to me: Hulu.com

Dell’s Mini 10 Netbook debuting on…QVC?

Wheego Whip electric car coming to America in May for $19K

All the DJ’s in the house say “OW”--the Samsung Beat DJ has arrived

Bear sleeping bag will keep you safe from bear attacks, I assume

The eagerly anticipated MP3 speaker/perfume convergence

A propos (of) nothing
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The familiar GE logo will appear on LCD TVs next year.

(Credit: GE)

A joint venture between General Electric and Taiwan-based electronics manufacturer Tautung will market LCD TVs next year in the U.S. The new company, called General Displays & Technologies, plans to introduce its first GE-branded models next spring, joining the likes of Westinghouse and Polaroid that leverage well-known brands to appeal to buyers in a crowded, confusing HDTV marketplace.

The GE TVs won't mirror the bare-bones features of those other brands, however, and we presume pricing will be accordingly higher. The most-interesting feature from our perspective is Internet connectivity.

"We are developing advanced, Internet capabilities for content delivery to televisions, without the need for a PC. This includes IPTV through cable, satellite, and advanced fiber-optic television connectivity," said Mike McConnaughey, the new firm's CEO. "The long-term strategy is to allow consumers to customize their viewing experience by downloading widgets and a variety of services directly to their HDTVs."

The company will partner with NBC Universal, a subsidiary of GE, to develop an open platform for content delivery.

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Right now I think the No. 1 thing worth watching on Hulu is the stellar Season 2 premiere of AMC's Mad Men--regrettably, the NBC-News Corp. joint venture hasn't been able to secure the rights to any other episodes of the ad-industry drama.

But there's more that's new on Hulu, the company said in an e-mail statement Tuesday. It's revamping its high-definition offerings in a new release of its "HD Gallery" section, with episodes of current NBC shows like 24, 30 Rock, Heroes, and The Office. As part of a special promotion, they're temporarily ad-free.

It's the first time the site has offered full-length TV shows in the 720p format, the statement explained. But it's important to keep in mind that not all hi-def Web video is created equal.

Sun Microsystems made the Olympic cut. Sun will provide server technology using Intel quad-core processors for NBC's Olympic coverage.

(Credit: Sun Microsystems)

The technology platform will enable live events to be streamed online to NBCOlympics.com during the Beijing Olympics, which take place from August 8-24, Sun and NBC said Monday.

Intel quad-core Xeon processors will power a total of 160 Sun Fire servers that will drive NBC's Web site, according to an Intel statement. Sun Fire X4150 and X4450 servers will be deployed, according to Sun.

The X4150 servers are offered with quad-core Xeon processors such as the Xeon E5440 (2.83GHz, 80 watts) and the Xeon X5450 (3.0GHz, 80W). The X4450 comes with Xeon 7300 series quad-core processsors such as the Xeon L7345 (1.86GHz, 50W) and Xeon E7340 (2.40GHz, 80W).

In addition to live streaming, the platform will provide video archives of completed events, plus blogs, live chat, and athlete profiles based on approximately 2,200 hours of live streaming Olympic broadband video coverage of 25 different sports on the site.

"Sun has worked hard to architect a powerful, energy-efficient platform for NBCOlympics.com that will rapidly scale for hundreds of millions of sports fans," Peter Ryan, Sun's executive vice president of global sales and services, said in a statement.

How much is this worth?

(Credit: Barnes & Noble)

Several HBO shows debuted today on the iTunes Store, but the big news was that two of them--Rome and The Sopranos--will retail for $2.99 an episode. To date, Apple had insisted on flat pricing of $1.99 per episode of any TV show added to its download roster. Indeed, the company's refusal to allow variable pricing was said to be the primary factor in NBC pulling its vast library of shows from the digital retailer in 2007.

Blogger Dave Zatz points out two big stumbling blocks to the larger issue of TV shows on iTunes:

... it's not like you get a ton of replay value--DRM-ed content isn't easily shared (like a DVD), and you're not going to stick a 55-minute show into a playlist for repeat enjoyment like a digital song.

In other words: every penny past the impulse purchase $1.99 price point magnifies the downsides of an iTunes TV download.

So, how does the $3 per episode price stack up? The DVD set of the 12-episode first season of Rome goes for a whopping $55 on Amazon, but you can find it (today, at least) for $41 at Barnes & Noble's site. I'd happily pay that $5 premium for the disc set.

Actually, I'm lying: I wouldn't buy the DVD either. I'd just add Rome: Season One to my Netflix queue, where I'd be getting it at no extra charge beyond my monthly subscription fee. (I rewatch movies frequently, but for TV shows, once is generally enough.)

I'd love to think that these high-priced shows will fail miserably, but these premium-priced seasons of Rome and The Sopranos have already cracked the iTunes top-10 list on day one. In other words, if the trend holds, it would seem that flat pricing is as dead as the dodo. The market has spoken, and consumers are willing--happy, even--to pay $3 an episode for their favorite TV shows. Expect lots of celebrating at NBC headquarters (and elsewhere in Hollywood). Just don't be surprised when an episode of The Office costs more than a gallon of gas.

What do you think: Would you pay $3 per episode for a TV show? Or are iTunes users ruining it for the rest of us?

The New York Times suggested Wednesday that future versions of the Zune might come with a tiny cop capable of catching digital lawbreakers.

And no, I'm not talking about some sort of bundled action flick.

In a blog, the Times' Saul Hansell said that, as part of Microsoft's deal to get NBC TV shows, it had agreed to look into the possibility of adding technology into the MP3 player that would scan a user's collection for unauthorized content.

The blog cites Microsoft spokesman Adam Sohn as saying that the software maker is exploring antipiracy measures with NBC. Microsoft issued a statement on Wednesday denying that there was any agreement to filter content.

"Microsoft has no plans or commitments to implement content filtering features in the Zune family of devices as part of our content distribution deal with NBC," the software maker said in a statement.

Sohn echoed the sentiment. "We've agreed to work with these guys on a number of issues, but we have no plans or commitment to put filtering technology as part of this arrangement with NBC," he told CNET News.com.

Microsoft launched its Zune video store this week with about 800 TV show episodes, including content from NBC, which earlier pulled its content from iTunes in a dispute over pricing and other issues. Despite the apparent coup with NBC, Microsoft is still lagging Apple badly on the sales front.

This post was updated at 12:46 PM PT with comment from 'Quarterlife' co-creator Marshall Herskovitz.

It's undoubtedly a setback for those hoping to see Web video make a clean transition to the living room TV: Quarterlife, the hyped-up Web series from the co-creators of Thirtysomething and My So-Called Life, had a very disappointing network debut on NBC and may be on the chopping block.

The show, which premiered Tuesday night, managed to pull in only a tepid 3.1 million viewers, according to The Hollywood Reporter. While NBC hasn't formally decided to pull the plug, sources have told the entertainment news service that such an announcement is forthcoming.

Video-blogging 'Quarterlife' protagonist Dylan Krieger, played by actress Bitsie Tulloch

(Credit: NBC)

It could've been a Cinderella story. A TV show, rejected by traditional outlets, finds a new home on the Web. It gains buzz, a major network picks it up, it's a success, and everybody cashes out. Or not.

Quarterlife, a semi-edgy drama, had debuted online at Quarterlife.com and via a syndication deal with MySpace.com. On the Web, it didn't reach "Leave Britney Alone" levels of popularity, but it amassed enough viewers and positive reviews for NBC to decide to add Quarterlife to its prime-time lineup.

But the reason why Quarterlife was likely picked up so quickly--the Writers Guild of America strike that left television networks without new scripted content--no longer exists. Now that the writers are, well, writing again, NBC has a much less compelling reason to keep Quarterlife around.

In a statement Thursday, Quarterlife co-creator Marshall Herskovitz remained optimistic. "I am happy to say that the reports of Quarterlife's demise are exaggerated. We're deeply grateful for NBC's efforts to make Quarterlife a success on network television," he said. "However, I've always had concerns about whether Quarterlife was the kind of show that could pull in the big numbers necessary to succeed on a major broadcast network. It is important to remember that Quarterlife has already proved itself as a successful online series and social network with millions of enthusiastic fans."

It's niche-media, Herskovitz added. "We live in a media world today where many shows are considered successful on cable networks with audiences that are a fraction of those on the Big Four. I'm confident that Quarterlife will find the right home on television as well."

Pando Networks, a company offering a legal peer-to-peer software, will distribute shows for the troubled NBC Direct site, according to a press release issued by the companies.

With Pando's P2P technology, NBC claims that it is now the first "major US TV network to provide millions of viewers free DVD-quality downloads of their favorite shows," according to a press release.

NBC Direct will begin integrating the P2P technology in a beta version in coming months, the companies said. The new NBC Direct service will include various anti-piracy features, including hash matching, digital fingerprinting and content watermarking. Pando is also encrypting the video.

The story was first reported by the blog Mediabistro.

(Credit: Kodak)

The writers strike might have put the kibosh on many sitcoms and dramas, but reality shows are still going strong. January 3 will see the return of Donald Trump's entrepreneurial reality show The Apprentice in the form of The Celebrity Apprentice. This time the apprentices are celebrities vying for a quarter million dollars to donate to their favorite charity.

Of course, that isn't the big news in this technology-focused blog. This time Kodak is going to be a company for one of the episodes, when contestants will work on producing and marketing a Kodak printing station in New York. Sure, this is a marketing campaign within a marketing campaign to advertise a marketing campaign, but at least it's for charity. In the words of the infamously-coiffed one himself:

"Anyone who has visited my office in Trump Tower will realize that I've had a long relationship with Kodak--there are pictures that go back for decades, especially of my parents, and my mother was big on family photos. They had to be the best quality, so Kodak was a household name. I'm extremely pleased that Kodak will be the biggest sponsor of The Apprentice this season. We expect another tremendous success for everyone!"

If that's not enough to hold his ego your interest, you can download your own 8.5x11 photo of The Donald from Kodak's site, to remind you just when this corporate celebrity shindig will take place. Or put on a dart board. It's your call.