TV Guide and mobile content provider Helio introduced a new service offering TV show information, program listings, search functions and daily recommendations to Helio users.
Text-based program alerts can be set to remind yourself and friends of what’s coming on the tube. TV Guide Mobile is available to Helio subscribers for $2.99/month, in addition to carrier data charges.
BeSocial: methodshop
Have a habit of getting yourself in to a jam when cooking Thanksgiving dinner (USA)?
When things go wrong in the kitchen, sometimes you probably feel like running down to the closest restaurant and asking for some professional advice. Actually physically busting into a restaurant kitchen may be a little extreme, but thanks to a few websites like ChefsLine.com and Chefs.com, experienced chefs are connecting with home cooks via email and instant-messaging.
This hi-tech cooking assistance fills a growing need that has boomed recently due to the popularity of hobby cooking. Food TV shows, podcasts like Stump The Chef, and web sites are inspiring more and more people to try their hand in the kitchen. The only problem is… the average person doesn’t really know how to cook anymore.
So the next time you are wondering how to cook a frozen turkey in one afternoon or why your flourless cake never cooked all the way through, professional help might be just one IM or email away. But before you start chatting with chefs online, you might want to brush up on your chatroom and IM lingo. Think I’m overreacting? Well, ROTFL TAFN NRN L8R! AAB!
BeSocial: flickr | methodshop
This morning The Wall Street Journal announced a new program that will enable its users to submit WSJ.com articles to Digg.com. This will also allow Digg users to view content previously only available to WSJ.com subscribers. Coincidentally, this news comes around the same time Rupert Murdoch suggested that he might take down the Wall Street Journal’s online subscription pay wall.
“The Wall Street Journal Online provides in-depth reporting, commentary and analysis on the most important economic and political issues of the day, and Digg users are enthusiastic consumers of news and information,” said Daniel Bernard, general manager of The Wall Street Journal Online. “We’re excited to partner with Digg to offer our users a way to share Journal articles directly from our site, as well as expose new audiences to our content on Digg.”
So what does this mean? Every article on The Wall Street Journal Online will now include a “Digg This” icon that enables users to Digg the article. Once someone Diggs a WSJ.com article, it will then be accessible to Digg.com users.
With approximately 25 million visitors a month, Digg has become the leading destination for people to discover and share the best content on the Web. From the largest online destinations to the most obscure blog, Digg surfaces the best content as voted on by the community.
Perhaps you’ll want to Digg this?
BeSocial: digg story | methodshop
U2 used iLike.com to post a video of Bono singing “Wave of Sorrow” while sitting on a couch. It’s a track that U2 demoed during sessions for The Joshua Tree in 1987. Just recently Bono laid down vocals for the song and it will be released for the first time next week on the remastered release of The Joshua Tree.
As Bono plays the track, he sings over it and talks listeners through the story of the song and explains the lyrics.
“Wave of Sorrow” is one of several rare and previously unreleased cuts which are featured on the bonus audio CD of the remastered deluxe and super deluxe versions of the remastered release of The Joshua Tree.
BeSocial: digg story | methodshop
When considering some of the most extreme environments on the planet, surely Antarctica, one of the coldest, driest and windiest places on earth (average temp of -56º F) comes to mind. Now imagine trying to conduct a live TV broadcast there. Sounds crazy right? My Direct-TV dish can’t even get a clear signal when it’s raining outside let alone an Antarctic blizzard. But on Nov. 5th & 6th the Today show will try when Ann Curry and Matt Lauer report live from Antarctica and the North Pole in a segment the Today Show calls The Ends of the Earth. This will be the first live simultaneous broadcast in history from the top and bottom of the globe.
When facing some of planet’s harshest conditions, how do you even begin to coordinate a live TV shoot? Well, it might not seem like such an insurmountable feat when you consider that there are 1,000-4,000 people living and working in Antarctica on any given day (mostly scientists and their support staff). In fact, there are several year around permanent research stations in Antarctica. According to this article, the Today Show recruited the help of one such research station supported by the National Science Foundation. The NSF’s established base in Antarctica has advanced technological capabilities including a pre-set data circuit that show was able use for transmission. Using this system paired with a software program called Qvidium, there was no need for satellites. So no matter what the weather is like, NBC will still be able to broadcast live.
The actual equipment in use for this shoot is pretty straightforward. The shoot will be a single camera shot using the Ikegami HLV55 with it’s feed hooked up to a laptop computer that runs the Qvidium software to stream live video. The Qvidium system transports and/or captures live video feeds for IP networks, including High Definition video. It enables this high-quality video transport over unconditioned IP networks, including wireless links and the Internet. It can operate on a single path due to the limitations of bandwidth.
As far as other equipment, goes it was all very standard. Nothing special was used with regard to the microphones, batteries, or the like. It seems as though Antarctica is pretty advanced for a giant desert of ice, especially when considering the fact that NBC’s director of production operations was easily reached on his cell phone down there.
Ironically it looks like the biggest challenge of this shoot won’t be technology, but rather making sure that the production crew stay warm. Also, the Antarctic Boomerang won’t make it an easy trip home.
You can track Ann Curry’s progress online here: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/21487444
Brrrr voyage Ann!
[Sources: CaptClicker.com & Wikipedia]