LUX.ET.UMBRA

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People that know me have known that I’ve already been talking about this for the past few months, but it’s time to put it on paper. I’m calling it. Google is going to be chasing the airwaves for ad space in a couple years. Guaranteed.

Why? Pieces of the puzzle are falling into place already. Google Fiber experiment? Pulease. That’s a FiOS pull if I’ve ever saw one. And Verizon already brings television to your home. This would just give Google medium to mine all that invaluable data and run their algorithms on it to find out what you’re watching and how to target the advertisement. And we all know that Google is king when it comes to algorithmic ad targeting.

But this piece that I just found out about…. now this really puts it into perspective. Google is getting into set-top boxes. Forget Internet television. There is a real big money play being driven here, and it’s being done through the eyes of people thinking outside the box but staying within the realm of what the company is just plain good at: mathematics.

Companies like this are few and far between. Even many of the older 1990s companies have not been able to take any of their product lines outside of their general medium scopes. Google is actually buying up real estate in new mediums to try their hand at things that they have stuck with in the Internet world. And believe you me, it’ll work like a charm. Like a friend of mine told me a long time ago: it’s not the fact that you’re inventing a car, or a plane. It’s the thought that you’re building a car that can fly like a plane that is what no one else has grasped. And Google already setting up for take-off before anyone even realizes.

Tags: Advertising, Business, Google, Internet, Observation, Opinion, Technology, Television by darkmoon
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I don’t know about you but when I was a kid, I really enjoyed the Super Bowl half time shows. But as times progressed, it just hasn’t been quite the same. In fact, these days, I don’t even bother watching it and actually go do something else. I’m going to venture the thought that this year will not be any different. I mean, “The Who”? Couldn’t they have got a better act like Daft Punk, or Black Eyed Peas?

If you actually think about it, the last five years have been acts that were in the prime like almost twenty years ago. Maybe more. When was the last time anyone really listened to Prince?

Don’t get me wrong, I like The Who but it’s not what I consider something that grabs the younger crowds. Heck, where are the singers from like the New Year’s Eve bashes? Those are the ones that are recent and the cool acts. It’s also within this decade of music history.

I think whomever schedules this for the NFL really is living in the past. Next thing you know, we’re going to bringing back the Monkees. Nothing wrong with that, but if you ever wonder why your viewership during that time has drastically dropped off? There might be a good reason for it.

Now that I think about it, perhaps the NFL needs to work with Apple’s iTunes marketing team. They find the greatest music that is absolutely catchy and often bands that no one has heard before. And that’s fresh and new, but what do I know. I don’t have billions of dollars hanging in the balance.

Tags: Observation, Opinion, Sports, Television by darkmoon
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So recently, there’s been a lot of conversation locally about Time Warner’s service with HD. I totally agree after their entire screw up with Navigator firmware and having slowed down much of any sort of television watching. In fact, it’s annoyed me enough to begin again looking at their competition.

Around here, much of the HD signal would be between satellite or cable. But strangely enough, if it’s not any cheaper to switch, then the hassle isn’t worth it. I’ve been told that it’s cheaper for satellite time and again by those on satellite, but when I go look at the total pricing, I must be missing something. For the same pricing of my cable which runs without fees around the sixty dollar range will cost with the lowest satellite competition as seventy dollars, and the the other provider as over seventy dollars per month.

Now from from a price point perspective, I don’t see what the value is when this is a utility that you use for entertainment sake to pay more regardless of the first year loss leader subscription sign up. If you base it completely on regular price (which you will eventually pay), it’s not worth the switch for the same channels that you watch unless you subscribe to movie packages that might be cost less in the long run. I did this based on the mathematics a year ago and came to the same conclusion that I would be paying more per month just to watch same HD channels.

Granted, I’m still annoyed with Time Warner’s slow as molasses Navigator that makes channel surfing a nightmare, but I’m still waiting for something better. Now if Dish Network or DirectTV had a monthly charge of sixty or less, I’d be there in a heartbeat. Too bad, eh?

Tags: Observation, Personal, Television by darkmoon
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Hate to say it, but Time Warner Cable really has annoyed me the for last time tonight. It was such a little thing, but with the really terrible Navigator “upgrade” that slowed down your actual channel surfing to a crawl and seemingly not have tested this in QA since it basically looks pretty but doesn’t actually function like the old firmware, it was amazing for the stupid parts to really become a problem.

Here’s the thing. Almost all commercials are not normalized for sound. In fact, I have a feeling this is done on purpose since all of them are louder and seem to be set on some sort of setting so that you would pay attention to it. But what really bugs me is when you’re actually enjoying a commercial (yes, there are some that are actually decent) and suddenly it cuts to another commercial in the middle. Now, if I were an advertiser and saw that I was spending money with this corporation and they were pulling me out of my costly advertising, I would be throwing up a fit. This happens on every channel, and has been for a long time but the recent Navigator change really has brought it out as even more of an annoyance.

Why can’t I downgrade back to the old firmware for my cable box? Why are commercials being cut short, or some getting cut right in the middle? Sometimes, it almost seems like they’re trying to fit in more than one commercial in the same slot to gain more advertising dollars. I don’t know that for sure, but there isn’t a darn good reason that not a single employee would not have seen this happen and at least tried to report the problem.

Does satellite television do the same? I don’t know, but I doubt it. It’s not that I really despise Time Warner Cable or anything. It’s just that if you’re going to push a quality product, then it should perform as good as the last one when it comes to software. If you’re telling your customers that are buying advertising from you that you’re going to be showing the ad, then don’t skimp on the “display” side. These are pretty basic when it comes to just the provision of goods and services and otherwise you lose the trust of your customers. And the last thing you need is to do that in this type of economy.

Tags: Advertising, Observation, Opinion, Television by darkmoon
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Tags: Movies, Music, iTunes by darkmoon
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So last night, Time Warner decided to roll out their long-awaited Navigator. It’s supposed to be some great thing that TWC is providing, but so far the only thing I can tell tonight is that it’s extraordinarily buggy with some major headaches.

First, they’re literally beta testing this in the field because instead of having some new firmware that is backwards compatible, they send out a phone call the previous day saying that the mailer they sent out should have the information about what’s going on. For the most part, all I can tell is that they make it easier for you to accidentally purchase premium channels, it’s prettier interface from the original guide, and the actual interface is even clunkier.

Let me put it this way. Before with digital cable, or any HD channel for that matter, it would auto-detect the resolution of your television before the channel came through. It was slow, but it wasn’t terrible. With the Navigator “upgrade”, it will first go to the lowest resolution of the channel (usually 480i), then convert. So it’s like changing the channel twice. Each of these channel changes are around a 2 second delay wait versus probably about half second before, so if you’re flipping through the television channel, it D-R-A-G-S.

It was so slow, that when I was scrolling through my favorites and saw something I wanted to go back to I decided not to go to that show because by the time I rolled through my twenty-five favorites, that segment of that show would be over already.

In my personal opinion, it basically seems like either the testing that was done didn’t produce the slower results, or some manager somewhere thought that having slower results would be better for the overall television experience (I’m not sure why this would be since the television is literally dark while the channel is feeding through). Either way, sounds like bad product management.

If anything? Give me a way to roll-back to my set-top box’s old firmware. Believe me. I’ll have a better cable television experience instead of this junk. Because if I continue on this type of channel surfing, then I’ll probably get frustrated enough to just put it down and read a book or play my PS3. At the very least, the interfaces for either don’t come with a lag time that makes me want to throw a controller.

Tags: Entertainment, Observation, Opinion, Television by darkmoon
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If you’re a fan of Death Note as I am, then you’ll know that recently there was a third movie speaking towards L’s short life after Kira. And that would be the movie, L – Change the World.

I have to say that it was very fortunate that I happened to be in San Francisco, the day that they were going to premier the DVD screening at New People World. I picked up a copy of the movie and got a free screener pass along with a “L” button. Depending on what you’re looking for, you might want the US version of this DVD set. Either way, I have to say that it was actually pretty good.

I happen to like the Death Note writing a bit better, so the plot of the spin-off was a little more hokey. But overall, it does fill in some of the blanks that the anime itself doesn’t on why the character L actually had successors and where they came from. In fact, there was definitely a nice touch where it overlaps at the beginning with the timeline of the Kira case, in which if you’ve never seen the previous movies, I would definitely recommend watching them in order, watching the anime, or reading the manga before watching this film. It would explain a lot of things such as the naming of Near.

Overall, this movie was anti-climatic when it comes to the end, and I wasn’t surprised but sort of disappointed that you didn’t get to follow L to the very end. It’s kind of like one of those westerns where the hero rides into the sunset and leaves the entire thing open and you’re going… wait a second… where’s the rest of it?

I’m glad to own the series although I can’t say whether or not the screening would have been better since I didn’t have a chance to go even though I had the tickets. One last thing. If you have an issue with seeing people spit, or pus or something like that, I would probably avoid this movie. It’s not often, but seeing that the film plot is about a virus weapon that is a hundred times the potential of Ebola, it’s not exactly void of death throes. Wait a second… have I wandered upon the next series? Death Note – Death Throes? One could only imagine…

Tags: Movies, Reviews by darkmoon
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Argh. I can’t stand it. While I agree that environments effect a child’s raising, I truly don’t buy into the entire “it takes a village” scenario. It all starts, and ends with the parents and how much responsibility they’re willing to pick up in teaching the ways of the world to the child. So when I read about video games under attack, especially ones that are as light-hearted and humorous as Fat Princess, I just have to say something.

First off, for the kids. Eating a piece of cake will not make you fat. I don’t care who’s telling you that but if you’re going to trust me over your parents (which I don’t even want to know why I would be more authoritative in your family than your folks), cake doesn’t make you fat. Not exercising and eating too much will make you fat. Yes, the truth hurts, but portion control is key along with a healthy lifestyle. If your parents haven’t taught you that, then there you go. Voila, a lesson of life.

Next, for those that are afraid of games that will wreak havoc in their young children’s lives. Have you taken a look at television these days? Rated “M” is not the same Rated “M” a decade ago. In fact, there are several cable shows that I’ve heard on prime time use foul language. Are you to banish that from young ears for sake of corrupting innocence? Hate to break it to you, but every single one has been corrupted at an early age. There’s always some potty mouth at school that let’s your kids in on the excitingly forbidden. The question is more of how you deal with it. If your children live in a sandbox all of their lives along with you fearing everything, then they’ll grow up to …. guess what: fear everything. And there’s so much more to the world than some video game or movie. Will you always cower under the threat that nuclear war might ensue? Or that a meteor might strike the earth? Maybe Yellowstone might erupt?

The fact is, it’s YOUR responsibility in molding your kids, not the rest of the world. If you were supreme ruler of Earth, then I would probably say otherwise, but you’re not, I’m not, and we probably won’t ever be seeing one of those. So, quit shirking your responsibilities as a parent and get with it. Insults in life are a daily occurrence whether or not you like to deal with it. Same with staying healthy and not eating too much cake, just as dessert isn’t always on the menu. It’s how you manage to teach this to your children instead of passing off to people like Titan Studios. They’re in the business of entertainment, while you’re in the business of raising your kids to be be a part of society.

Tags: Games, Observation, Opinion, Society, Sony PS3 by darkmoon
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I have to say that Cold Stone Creamery has hit on something big. Like seriously needs to go into their repertoire quick.

Currently, they’re promoting a $9.99USD limited time special for six ice cream cupcakes. From left to right, we have Sweet Cream, Cake Batter Delux, and Double Chocolate Devotion.

The technical of these cupcakes are actually pretty simple. It’s a chocolate shell, where the cake goes on the bottom, the ice cream above it, and then topped with frosting and some type of topping. But it truly is something that has a lot of weight on hot sunny afternoons and with the current cupcake craze around the United States, it’s bound to do well.

• Sweet Cream: yellow cake, fudge & sweet cream ice cream, white frosting, milk and white chocolate curl.
• Cake Batter Delux: red velvet cake, fudge & cake batter ice cream, pink frosting, rainbow sprinkles.
• Double Chocolate Devotion: devil’s food cake, fudge & chocolate ice cream, white frosting, Oreo cookie.

Truly pick your poison. If regular cupcakes at bakeries can sell for $3USD a piece, then these things are tremendously under-valued and under-priced. In all truthfulness, I could actually seeing paying up to $5USD for a custom cupcake. Think about it. Most of the ingredients are already set up, so that you can already have shells with cake ready to go, pick your own ice cream, frosting, and topping. It’s a lovely move from a business perspective, and turns long hot summer days into something wonderful.

What’s even better is that there is also the possibility of say hot fudge for colder weather. There’s definitely a lot of maneuvering room for the product manager that is in charge of this one. Currently? You pay about $1.70USD per cupcake, and from what I saw they usually make about two batches a day since they sell out in about half day. I don’t think it’s caught on yet how awesome these things are, but believe me… anyone that touches these will not stop at one.

Tags: Business, Entertainment, Observation, Opinion, Restaurants, Reviews by darkmoon
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Tags: Music, iTunes by darkmoon
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