June 2012
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March 2012
2 posts
January 2012
1 post
December 2011
1 post
October 2011
1 post
September 2011
6 posts
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How To Lose Years of Musical Credibility in Three...
In the grand tradition of peanut butter meeting Iggy’s chest or Bing Crosby getting down with David Bowie, [Jack White’s] Third Man Records is ecstatic to present the latest in a long-line of unexpected musical pairings…Insane Clown Posse and Mozart.
I’m not sure if ICP is supposed to be Bowie or Crosby in this metaphor, but I think it would have served all involved parties...
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The summer of our discontent: How web TV has... →
Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Instant Videos and other subscription video-on-demand service might not have all the same content that is available on broadcast, cable or satellite TV, but they’re not supposed to have it all. Their value proposition comes from providing a wide range of TV shows and movies, and a smart way to find new content of interest. And more entrants will soon emerge, soon...
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TechBacon #27: Earlier Than Ever →
Lots of ground to cover this week: new details on the forthcoming Amazon Kindle tablet, the Netflix/Starz brouhaha, iTunes Match goes live for developers, and Scotty and I pay a visit to my new favorite L.A. eatery, Masa of Echo Park. Incredible food.
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F You, Pay Me
Today Starz announced that they won’t be re-upping their deal with Netflix, taking a huge chunk of Netflix’s Instant Streaming catalog with them:
“This decision is a result of our strategy to protect the premium nature of our brand by preserving the appropriate pricing and packaging of our exclusive and highly valuable content,” wrote Starz in a statement released...
August 2011
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TechBacon #27: Taste It While It Tastes You →
On this week’s show we talk about Steve Jobs and what lies ahead for Apple, Inc., have some hands on time with the new BlackBerry Curve, Rdio and RIM debut some new music service offerings, and Mr. Scott Gold goes off the rails in our craziest food segment yet.
You’ll want to listen to the end on this one. Trust me.
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A Will To Be
Tom Junod has an interesting piece up on Esquire.com about the resignation of Steve Jobs. Despite the heavy-handed title, it’s a thoughtful essay, drawing together strands of admiration, thanks, and sad reflection, set against the backdrop of a man who faces the analog inevitability of human existence even while the digital world he helped create thrives around him.
In pursuit of a...
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“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life....”
– Steve, 2005
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TechBacon #24: A Learned Man →
You knew it was coming: The Patent Episode™ .
Scott and I have a healthy discussion on This American Life’s recent expose on Intellectual Ventures, Google’s complaint-spree regarding infringement and competition, and the possibility that in some cases software patents may actually be a good thing.
Oh, and there’s also some stuff about AppleTV and Scott’s new phone in...
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S&P Downgrades US To AA , Outlook Negative - Full... →
The political brinksmanship of recent months highlights what we see as America’s governance and policymaking becoming less stable, less effective, and less predictable than what we previously believed. The statutory debt ceiling and the threat of default have become political bargaining chips in the debate over fiscal policy. Despite this year’s wide-ranging debate, in our view, the...
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Hulu Teams With Morgan Spurlock For First Original... →
The series will premiere with jet-setting entrepreneur Richard Branson. New episodes featuring rapper and songwriter will.i.am, comedian Russell Peters, musician Girl Talk and others will roll out on Hulu and the Hulu Plus subscription service every Wednesday, beginning August 17.
While I could go the rest of my life without ever seeing another interview with will.i.am, Hulu producing original...
July 2011
9 posts
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Google TV update: more Logitech Revue boxes... →
Logitech says it’s taking the hit in order to “remove price as a barrier to broad consumer adoption” of Google TV and increase the installed base, although we’re not sure the lower price will fix blocked content and sluggish performance.
Forget blocked content or performance; let’s just think about the value GoogleTV as a concept provides.
There have been two big tentpoles trumpeted: 1....
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TechBacon #21: Roasted Pigface →
It’s time for another episode of TechBacon. Scott is back in town so we jettisoned the Skype to discuss the Spotify launch, the Netflix price hike, and Scott talks about eating something called Roasted Pigface. Yes, really.
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TechBacon #20: Tell Them Scott Gold Sent You →
Scott Skypes in from Chicago for this week’s show, where we talk about Facebook’s new video calling feature, the upcoming Spotify launch, Amazon’s upgrade of Cloud Player, and the origin of Chicago style pizza. Let there be #nom.
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There's Always A Reason
When Final Cut Pro X recently launched to the dustiest of dust-ups, there were — and continue to be — a lot of questions from users and the tech press. Why didn’t Apple reach out to working professionals before launching the product; Why did Apple EOL Final Cut Studio 7 without warning; and perhaps most importantly, Why did they release FCP X now, with important features missing,...
TechBacon #19: Like I'm Living in Super Mario... →
This week Scott and I spend some hands-on time with the new HP TouchPad and give our impressions of Google+.
(Spoiler alert: We think one is awesome. The other, however…)
June 2011
6 posts
Bush Betrays Heisman Trust, Won’t Return Trophy →
I was told Bush and the Griffins “loaned” the trophy to the San Diego Hall of Champions to get it off their hands for the time being, treating the local museum as a safe deposit box of sorts. When Bush’s disgraced reputation eventually fades from everyday life, which if Bush’s recent, media-free SD weekend was any indication may have already happened, the Griffins will retake personal possession...
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UltraViolet Arrives Soon: Will It Save the Day for... →
“Rental models have innovated and have become more exciting and convenient, but the ownership model hasn’t innovated as fast,” said Mark Teitell, Executive Director of DECE, the consortium behind UltraViolet. “UltraViolet represents a big leap forward in innovation and could help restore the value of ownership.”
This is the kind of buzzword-laden rhetoric that really leaves me wondering if...
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Professional Video Editors Weigh In on Final Cut... →
The Bottom Line: Apple has followed the typical Apple sequence: (1) throw out something that’s popular and comfortable but increasingly ancient, (2) replace it with something that’s slick and modern and forward-looking and incomplete, (3) spend another year finishing it up, restoring missing pieces.
I’m a big believer in the take, crystallized here by John Gruber for Macworld, that Apple...
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Bon Iver Announces West Coast Tour Dates →
I was very much late to the Bon Iver party, but when the first album’s mix of stripped down arrangements and heartbreaking vocals won me over, it won me over big time. The new record is great and builds on that foundation. Can’t wait to see the live show (at the Shrine no less).
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May 2011
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April 2011
2 posts
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March 2011
8 posts
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This Is Where We Put the Bad Children
Mysterious, tiny locked doors. Appearing in alleyways across the city.
It’s things like this that make me want to move to San Francisco.
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Re-Cutting The Cord
Today is my first official day without a satellite or cable television subscription in almost 6 years. I actually survived without for most of my twenties; I vocally eschewed television in lieu of DVDs and Criterion Collection laserdiscs (yes, I’m dating myself and yes, I was pretty pretentious). This was before the advent of paid cable as one of the most exciting and creatively vital...
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Love and Lazy Character Archetypes
For one reason or another, I found myself watching Love and Other Drugs tonight. (Back off, jerks; I’ve got the flu and won’t be taking chortling from anyone.) Like most people who got fooled by the marketing campaign, I was expecting a feel-good romantic comedy about two attractive people struggling with their post-therapy emotional mindfields, but ultimately succumbing to the Great...
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Turn On, Tune In, TechBacon
This past weekend my friend Scott Gold and I recorded the first episode of what is going to be our new weekly podcast TechBacon.
Every Saturday we’ll be talking about technology, pop-culture, and whatever random foodstuffs happen to have crossed our transoms.
Those of you that know Scott are familiar with his passion for all things extreme on the culinary front. Those of you that...
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Jesus, Phil, Pull It Together
“I don’t think anyone’s going to miss me. I’m much happier just to write myself out of the script entirely. I’ll go on a mysterious biking holiday and never return…” Collins told FHM magazine.
No, please don’t go Phil, we love you so much! Please stay! The world won’t be the same without the velvety-smooth sounds of...
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Trent Reznor To Fulfill Fanfiction Destiny
So, um, this is supposedly happening:
Sources tell me that Reznor will be providing the score to the film adaptation of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter – and he’ll be appearing as the vampire who kills Lincoln’s mom, as well.
What do you call it when something that would have been capital-A-with-bold-italics AWESOME ten years ago happens today instead?
UPDATE: Not happening. Can’t...
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iPad 2: Incremental Update Magical or Meh?
The big news was that Steve Jobs, currently on medical leave, took the stage at today’s Apple’s event to introduce iPad 2. Excitement! Standing ovations!
The device itself? Not so much.
That’s not to say the upgraded tablet is bad, or isn’t getting great marks in the hands-on department. It’s faster, it’s thinner, it’s got front and back cameras. It...
February 2011
3 posts
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The Second Arrow
“It might not feel like it in the moment, but we actually have a choice as far as if and how we react to pretty much everything… There’s the first thing that happens, there’s that first arrow, there’s the first event that takes place, and what really hurts us isn’t the actual event, isn’t the actual thing thing that happens , it’s our reaction to...
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January 2011
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December 2010
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