Media Maven... just good, sound advice

Amazon may be launching movie download service

2006-07-25T22:41:00.000-04:00

The rumor-mill is churning again about Amazon offering movie downloading. The move downloading indusrty is growing, and they sure do want to grab a piece while it's in the infant stages. I bet Blockbuster is gonna be a thing of the past within 5 years, with On-demand, Netflix and other option like Red Box.
Check out this post on pocket-lint about new Amazon "DV". I have had good experience with Amazon in the past, so I would give them a shot for movie downloads. Convienence and price are the two biggest attributes in my purchase decision. Why pay $5 to have to drive to the store and get the video anymore?

Yahoo and Sony will now be offering MP3 downloads

2006-07-21T10:57:00.000-04:00

There has been a lot of talk lately about iTunes exclusiveness, and the lack of options to download "pay per song" style MP3's. Many companies and consumers feel that they should not have to deal with Apple to get their music and videos. In Europe there continue to be lawsuits sighting Apple as a monopoly. I agree that more competition is needed. I think that the movement away from "share your music" for free to pay per song is a good thing.

Yahoo and Sony now are offering a new alternative downloading channel to iTunes. According to Playful.com -"they are now offering more expensive tracks, but with no DRM (digital right management)." This means that you can download a song and make copies to put on several different MP3 players. Itunes downloaded songs, and videos cannot be copied (easily) and therefore this new service may become a viable option.

Still a good time to sell your house

2006-07-11T21:24:00.000-04:00

Everyday the news tells us the housing market bubble is about to burst, everyday for about a year now. The bubble has not burst, and many experts still think it's distant. The home buying and selling process is a very intimidating, exhausting, and stressful experience. Two hundred years of mortgages and the system has only gotten more complicated.

The first thing to do is utilize people you know. In the process of selling your house and buying a new one, you will need to aquire the services of three different professionals- a realtor, attorney, and banker/mortgage broker. If any of your network of friend, family, or colleagues happens to have one of these important jobs.... solicit there service. It only makes sense, they will work harder, for less, and keep YOUR interests as the top priority, not theirs.

The other big obstacle in house buying/selling is knowing the true value of your house and the values of houses you are considering bidding on. A helpful web site for finding out house value is Zillow.com. It's worth taking a look at, even just to see what your neighbors house is worth. You also get a nifty satellite view of the neighborhood.

The last thing is that you need to be careful of hidden fees. Be very careful with independent mortgage brokers, they are notorious for last minute large costs that suddenly appear at closing, when it's too late. Just ask a lot of questions, and assume your closing costs will be at least 2-2.5% of your overall loan.

Good luck with the process..... I am off to the Bahamas for a week.

Stray from the flock... read into marketing

2006-07-10T16:33:00.000-04:00

It seemed like for so long we were just bombarded with advertisements, and commercials. That has now changed. In today's world we watch shows when we want, and a lot of times either without commercials, or we "Fast Forward" through them. Marketers have never had a harder time getting their products message into our ears. We were once like sheep, that were easily reached with a message and simply followed the flock to a product.

The Wall Street Journal had a fantastic article on the challenges of marketing in today's' tech savvy world. I find all the new methods that marketers implore very fascinating. They have had to get very creative to reach potential customers. Marketing has become more targeted and several different mediums are utilized to reach many different niches. Check out WOMMA, the Word of Mouth Marketing Assoc., which uses word of mouth techniques to advertise products.

Other new methods, including viral or buzz marketing bring us concepts like the subservient Chicken, and other types of wacky, yet talked about ads. The more clever an ad campaign, the more I respect it. I don't like being sold to, (in fact I am the worst person to shop with- cause I over-analyze stores sales motives to death) in fact I will walk out of a store if I feel pressured, or I am dealing with an incompetent clerk.

Take a minute every now and then as you watch a commercial, or walk through a store, and think about their motive. Think about what they are trying to get you to buy, than decide if you are going to be one of the sheep.

Online banking easier than you think

2006-07-04T09:25:00.000-04:00

Most people I come across don't have a good handle on their banking, bills, or savings. As a banker I have seen it all, but the most common solution I recomend is using online banking, and making your banking automatic. It makes life much easier by setting up bill payments to be automatically paid on future set dates.

I guess this all goes back to 2 basic banking survival habits: using a check register, and creating a monthly plan. (I hate the word budget, but thats essentially what it is).

Online banking has become very popular because of how easy it is to use. Whichever bank you bank with should offer it to you. Take 10 minutes and give it a try. For more information on automatic banking and financial ideas, check out Finish rich.com

You have to start somewhere. Make now that moment you become more in control financialy.

Digital photography has never been easier

2006-07-01T17:50:00.000-04:00

I got my first digital camera, a Canon S100 ELPH in 2000, when the technology haden't quite tipped yet. As an early adopter of daily usage of digital photography I soon realized how much better it was than film. Maybe the quality wasn't as crisp back then with 1.2 mega pixels, but for the average guy just taking pictures every day and night, digital was an improvement.

The only problem back then was the difficulty to get lots of pics uploaded online, and sharable with the whole world. I always uploaded my pics onto a Canon software program and that's where they stayed. These days not only can I store them on web sites such as Photobucket, and Flickr, but everyone has a home photo printer to avoid the cumbersome treck to Target for picture printing.

If you haven't moved from film to digital, it get easier every day. Cameras are cheaper, better, and easier to use. There are tons of software packages out there that even a caveman (yeah I said caveman) can use.

Take a moment and think about the whole film camera process... from buying film, loading film, uncertainty of pic quality, running out of film, taking film to be developed, and so on....
Yeah... I miss all that.

Back- up your info the old fashioned way

2006-06-26T08:39:00.000-04:00

Theses days all we talk about are the newest, fastest technologies. We debate which gadgets, and software's will best improve our lives. Usually the decision comes down to what is most useful, but too often it still comes down to what is the hipest. As we continue to place our trust, into new technology, remember the old saying" Don't put all your eggs in one basket".

Putting a great deal of trust into our computers, PDA's, cell phones, etc can be a life halting problem if either device breaks, crashes, or get lost. Take the extra time to back-up your info on paper somewhere safe. Writing things down like passwords, credit card numbers, credit card company phone numbers, and anything else you might need.

I was once told to write down all of the contents of my wallet, just in case it ever got stolen or lost. This proved to be paramount when I did loose my wallet, and had to call all my credit cards and cancel them quickly. I am a big fan of new technology, but I have kept myself humble as well, and continued to respect the pad and paper.

Stay a spectator in the Next Gen DVD war..for now

2006-06-25T23:42:00.000-04:00

The battle has begun. Blu-Ray has released a DVD player, and has it's name in some commercials. HD DVD's player has also come out, and the advertising will build. This is going to be a long, dragged out expensive format war. If you're not careful you could get drawn in quickly, and become an early casulty.

I am gonna stay on the sidelines, and let all my "early innovator" friends choose sides. The best advice I can give everyone, is to wait it out a little while. Before you invest $500-$1200 on either format, wait and see which dominated over time.

Or you can put the loser on a shelf in your attic next to your Betamax VCR.

AT&T ready to give us that other cable option

2006-06-24T11:32:00.000-04:00

Be on the lookout in your area for AT&T advertisements announcing their jump into Cable TV service. I am not gonna commit to saying that they will be the best thing since 7th Heaven ended, but they will stir up some price wars.

They have stated that they want to provide us with all four services... Cell phone, home phone, cable, and internet. They have boasted to us about a real low price for all four. I would have no problem giving all my business to them for a low price. I have never been happy with either cable company I have dealt with...Comcast or Charter.

Let's not be blind to our home entertainment options. The cable companies want us to stick with them, and pay for their "one size fits all" price package. AT&T moving into Cable TV will make the cable service industry have to change like the long distance phone service industry had to 5 years ago.

No reason to pay the full price... for Dell computers

2006-06-22T20:16:00.000-04:00

I could probably argue not paying the full price for nearly any product or service out there. Everything has a value, but everything's value is usually overpriced. I plan to continue to write a useful post on this topic weekly.

I want to help you get the most for your money. I guess you can get this type of advice anywhere, but I will show you straight up, that all you need to do is check my blog and get a quick piece of useful info. Unlike a magazine or gimicy web site, I tell it simply, and try to make it interesting. Here goes....

Dell Computers... I love em. Never had a problem with any of the four that I have owned. So you should get one too. But before you try to navigate yourself through the Dell web site, go to this handy site to get yourself the best discount possible. Visit the Dell coupon code site. I saved over $500 on my most recent purchase, these codes really work, and are legit and easy to use.

So don't pay that full price.

What do we expect out of a cell phone?

2006-06-21T17:18:00.000-04:00

I joked with a friend the other day while we were driving that soon cell phones will also have built in radar detectors. Imagine getting into your car, plugging your phone into a cord on your dash board, that will not only make the phone hands-free, but play music, and catch police radar.

Well I don't think we are quite there yet, but the cell phone is evolving into the all in one gadget we all desire (or at least most guys desire.)

The thing to watch these days as you buy a new sophisticated phone, is all the additional fees. The phone may only cost $150-$300, and the service may only cost $29-$79 a month, but how much does each side item cost? You may end up paying an extra $200 a month for texting, ringtones, online browsing, pic messaging, picture storage, video,TV, music, not to mention my favorite...roaming.

Beware of the "Nickle and Dime" approach.

Check out the new U2 iPod

2006-06-14T20:43:00.000-04:00

The new U2 30 GB iPod has arrived, and Apple couldn't have picked a cooler band to partner up with. The second U2 iPod is even cooler than the last. Check out the red click wheel, I want to get it just for that. It has all 4 band memebers autographs, and a bonus 2 roadies.

Go to Apple's site for all the nitty gritty details.

RIAA declares victory against music pirates

2006-06-14T16:02:00.000-04:00

According to Engadget, the RIAA has announced that music piracy is on the decline. People aren't buying albums, but pay per song downloading is very popular, and is the preferred method, up (77%) from last year. The RIAA believes that consumers don't mind spending a dollar a song, as opposed to the risks of illegal downloading.

If all this data is true, then this is a victory for the record companies. Now they can stop crying about all the money they are losing. I still don't feel bad for them.

Children's TV show market is big business

2006-06-14T11:10:00.000-04:00

The concept of creating a product that children will be hooked on (or addicted to) has always been the goals of product pushers, and marketers. TV for years has been portrayed as the "bad babysitter" for children. It has been said that kids just sit like zombies staring at uneducational cartoons, rotting their brains, and toasting their eyes.

Recent studies however, have continued to show that their is a value to children watching some TV shows. Shows like "Blues Clues", "Sesame Street" and Barney and Friends" (as much as we hate to admit it, actually teach pre-schoolers. To compliment these recent discoveries, technology is being highly accommodating.

Most of the educational TV shows will work around children's busy schedules. According to the Detroit Free Press, you can now watch "Barney " on VOD, or stream video of "Blues Clues", and even download unique educational podcasts. The ability to watch these fun-filled shows in this manner is paramount to helping provide a pre-schooler with constant entertainment, yet also repeated educational teachings.

New Firefox Extention by Google gives ease in using multiple computers

2006-06-12T11:57:00.000-04:00

There will be an easier way to use the internet on multiple computers, according to techweb.com

"Google Inc. has released a Firefox extension that synchronizes the browsers settings, including bookmarks, history, persistent cookies and saved passwords, across multiple computers.
After installing the extension on each computer, the Google Browser Sync for Firefox will update settings each time the user starts Firefox."

This will come in handy for anyone that uses more than one different computers at a time. My laptop is set up just the way I want it, which makes using a different computer always an annoyance. This extention will be well appreciated by many. It is very important to me to be able to have all the same settings on all the computers I have to work with a day.

World Cup kick off mobile today

2006-06-09T17:19:00.000-04:00

While Americans are talking about Baseball, and the new Pixar movie "Cars" today, the rest of the world is preparing for arguably the biggest worldwide sporting event starting today. World Cup Soccer 2006 in Germany literally kicks off today at noon, and the whole world will be tuning in. This time the World Cup will be broadcast all over the internet and even mobile to phones and PDA's.

The worldwide audience is estimated to be in the hundred millions, compared to the miniscule group of Americans that watch "The Super Bowl" - 50 to 100 million. However, Futbol, or soccer as we call it, still has very little importance in the U.S sporting world. I want to cheer for the U.S team, but deep down I feel that another of the 23 countries in the tournament deserves to win more. Countries like Spain, Netherlands, Brazil, and England care so much more than we do about this. They deserve it!

So as you watch The Stanley Cup Finals, or the NBA finals, or Barry bonds try to hit another Home run, or even the premeire of "Cars" - don't act as if you really care when America loses early in the world Cup.

Radio ads on school buses next media channel?

2006-06-07T10:48:00.000-04:00

According to the Boston Globe, "A Massachusetts company, Bus Radio, wants to beam commercial radio broadcasts into school buses every morning and afternoon, the latest mingling of education and commerce to spark outcry as the firm lobbies school districts across the state to sign contracts for the fall."

Bus Radio says they will broadcast positive messages into the school buses, including safety announcements, and age appropriate music. The format would be more like XM, than a terrestrial radio station. The big debate here comes over ethics of filling children's ears with more advertising messages.

My question would be what is age appropriate music for K thru 6th graders?

Time to Broadcast from your cell phone

2006-06-03T09:49:00.000-04:00

Watching TV, taking pictures, and surfing the web are not nearly enough things to be able to do with your cell phone these days- how about broadcasting your daily adventures online? With 3G TV's new interactive BLOGTV service, you can broadcast live. Now every myspace rat can stay connected and not miss a friend request, and at the same time show the world just how cool their life really is.

check out www.tech.monsterandcritic.com for the entire story

The web 2.0's constantly expanding interactive abilities are reaching new heights with mobility and accesibility. As I have said before the time to express yourself is here. Blog it, podcast it, or simply post it on any of a million personal sites you can... try www.youtube.com

As this media evolution has grown up (I haven't yet) I have decided to take more of a focus on growing communication forms, particularly mobile media and video-on-demand, which I beleive are the fastest growing, both for persoianl expression and for commercial advertising. It took me some time to root out the subjects that I would blog about less, but I have found through discussion with other successful bloggers that a more narrow focus would be needed to grow.

New Jewish video-on-demand channel

2006-06-02T10:33:00.000-04:00

A mainstream cultural Jewish channel, Shalom TV will offer a wide and vibrant array of programming, from Jewish learning to Israeli news and commentary to films and cultural performances. This is sure to introduce us to a new trend of other targeted video-on-demand channels, or programming.

For every religion, hobby, and group affiliation, there is a niche group that would support a channel, and marketers can only dream of the possibilities that this will bring.

http://www.jewishledger.com/articles/2006/06/01/news/news08.txt

Macy's adding iPod vending machines

2006-05-22T11:46:00.000-04:00

I already thought that it was odd to walk into Macy's and see bottles of Macy's Spring water for sale at the registers. Now it gets even stranger, Macy's will Soon be selling iPods, not in their electronics department, but out of vending machines.

Very soon you will be able to buy an iPod just as you get a Coke, or Snickers. Customers will be able to satisfy that iPod craving by inserting a credit card in a machine and instantly after a thud , an iPod will be dispensed in the "Take me" tray.

Look for iPods to be popping up in the "Crane game" in arcades and in diner lobbies soon too.

http://www.politicalgateway.com/news/read/14350

AOL makes moves to get ads in videos

2006-05-18T22:02:00.000-04:00

AOL wanting to make sure they can reap the benefits of advertisements in downloadable video, purchased a company that specializes in inserting ads in video clips. AOL has been missing the boat on just about everything else these days, so this is there big move to make some quick cash.

Might they consider offering their incredible service free? They alread yhave resorted to offering AIM (email and Im accounts free) just to keep old users in touch with them. If they can realize the same profits that Google has from ad revenues, they can go free as well.

For more read Yahoo.com

iTunes adds some of the FOX line up

2006-05-15T21:59:00.000-04:00

Based on the success of all the ABC, NBC, and CBS shows being downloaded, iTunes has decided to add FOX shows as well. They willbe adding shows like "24" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer".

What about the coolest sitcom ever, "The Simpson" ???

thestate.com

TiVo will help you watch your favorite commercials

2006-05-08T22:12:00.000-04:00

TiVo introduced us to asynchronous TV and and let us pick when we watched our shows. That wasn't good enough, now they will allow us to watch the commercial we want. They are launching the fancy new service Product Watch, that will allow viewers to watch selected ads when they want. Many companies have already jumped onboard and will create longer ads for our viewing pleasure.

TiVo once helped us avoid commercials, now it is providing us with the longest commercials this side of QVC. You know we watch too much TV, when we beg for longer commercials.

WSJ

AOL to AIM for free phone service

2006-05-06T09:05:00.000-04:00

AOL will be adding a free internet phone service soon to it's AIM instant messenger service. AOL seems more like an outdated too little too late player in the web 2.0 movement. I am unimpressed with their constant attempts to get me to try their free 200 hours of broadband. Everytime I get the mail there is another AOL CD ready for me to give them a try. I guess they are still hanging around, but I wonder for how long?

If you are still using AOL to connect to the internet, I challenge you to try something different. Get DSL, or Cable, or even earthlink or another service provider, but give up AOL for a month. I promise you will see an improved internet experience. Even with their free internet phone service, they still leave me unimpressed. I will stick with Google talk.

USAToday

Take a look at Samsungs Origami device

2006-05-02T11:53:00.000-04:00

PC world has a good look at Samsungs Q1, AKA the Microsoft "Origami". So far the reviews for it have not been to impressive. If this is Microsoft's next big thing, I fear for their survival. I stand my my original post that this device will be either too big or too small, and that the thumb typing feature will grow tiresome quickly unless it's just to reply to an email -"yes" or "no".

For a price of nearly $1100 it will be some time before you see one of these gadgets in every college students dorm room.