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Speaking of hilarious original content on Vimeo…I shouldn’t be hogging it all to myself. This is an old one, so check out the rest at JakeandAmir.com.

It’s not my TV anymore. It’s my Macbook laptop. I’ve found recently that it is turning more into what TV executives fear (at least non-forward thinking ones): a world where there is no difference between watching TV on TV or watching TV on your computer. What they need to realize is that the ultimate goal should be, is to gain viewership in any way or fashion. This starts with good television shows, then accessibility. With an innovative business model, you should be able to generously supplement your commercial income from broadcast TV with ad sales from internet broadcasts. Nothing bad can happen from more people watching your show. So, make it more accessible for more people.

My first steps into internet TV started off a little shaky with Joost, and has been rejuvenated (for me), by sites like Hulu.com, or actual network sites that stream full length, high quality shows after they’ve aired for free. Each of these solutions integrate limited commercials into the show, but are still considerably less intrusive than watching it live.

Between Joost and Hulu.com, I prefer Hulu. Joost for some reason went with mandatory downloadable application that you need to run to access the programming, where Hulu, very wisely, just has a web interface with no install. The interface for Joost is not very user friendly. I realize that they’re trying to emulate old-school TV with their gimmicky TV fade out when you “shut off” Joost, and auto-play when you start it up, but I find that annoying. Just play what I want, when I want - please. Hulu.com is much more simple, requires no install and in my non-technical eyeball tests, has better video quality than Joost. Not to mention available programming. Hulu has real TV shows, while Joost has some real shows that I want to watch, but is mostly made up of a bunch of fake channels. This is definitely where Internet TV should be moving, but I just haven’t found the quality of the shows to be very high.  [Edit, don't have an invite to Hulu?  Go to OpenHulu.com]

Finally, there is Vimeo. I post videos there semi-regularly whenever I have time to edit, but there is a bevy of original, entertaining, and high quality (production & video) videos posted there regularly. It is YouTube, but done with class. Vimeo was the first major video sharing site that streams your videos in full HD. If you have been stuck hurting your eyes watching YouTube, Vimeo will feel like freakin’ Lasik for your eyes.

So there you have it, you can see why I’ve been watching my Macbook more often that I’ve been watching my 40″ LCD TV. The convenience, quality, accessibility and availability have really been stepped up in the Internet video arena. Have any of you started to make the switch to Internet broadcast TV?

…and everyone freaks out.

If you’re reading this through the RSS feed, jump on over to the site and check out the new theme. I am moving away from the information overload three column theme to a more standard 2 column theme. I like that the main column is wider so that I don’t have to resize embedded Flickr pictures, and that the font is smaller and little more classy.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Someone buy me this

It’s only been three days since I got my new Macbook. I have been using a Windows OS ever since I can remember, so it has been quite a shock. I still haven’t used all the features and bundled software that I bought a Mac for, but it’s only been a few days. For the first two days, it didn’t feel like my computer because I was struggling with transferring over all my files, music, photos and videos. It was a flashback to good ol’ ISAT 460 to network a Mac and a PC together so that I could transfer the files over. It involved a router, pinging, static IPs, smb, and a lot of other nerdy stuff. If anyone reading this needs help, just contact me.

So, there are a few things that are taking a little longer to get used to. First, there’s no dedicated right click button on Macbooks without a mouse. You have to either control+click to get the right click menu, or have two fingers on the trackpad and then click. I’m also use keyboard shortcuts a lot, and not using cntrl+c and cntrl+v to copy and paste takes some getting used to. There’s also the difference in how you install programs - rather than using an install program, you just drag the program to your applications folder. Easy enough, but a little confusing to figure out when you have to mount/unmount the application. The screen is a little small for using 100% of the time, but I plan on getting a 22″ monitor eventually.

So far the positives have far outweigh the negatives. Things I really like so far…the form of the Macbook. It’s compact, small and feels solid. The magnetic power cord feature is nice for not yanking it off my coffee table. The battery time is excellent, I have over 4 hours of battery time while using Wifi. I really like using Front Row to control iTunes and watch video podcasts. I realize this is just like Media Center on a PC, but I never had it (I haven’t had my own computer since college). I have also taken advantage of the built in iSight camera to have a video iChat with Shea out in Carlsbad, CA. One new feature in OSX Leopard is “Spaces“. It’s really nice because it allows me to have multiple desktops at the same time. If one space is getting all cluttered up, I just start a new desktop.

Anyways, if you couldn’t tell, I’m enjoying not only having my own laptop for a change, but learning how to use a Mac for the first time. And I haven’t even gotten deep into iMovie or GarageBand. Thanks to those who convinced me that a Mac was the way to go.

Don, Andrew and I met up with Dave for a Samurai reunion in San Fran this past weekend. We got to do a lot of what I mentioned before, but missed out on the cable cars and La Taqueria. We played a lot of Wii tennis, biked across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito, watch Dave rock out at O’Neills Irish Bar with Shantytown, checked out Dave’s office space, and explored Alcatraz. Many videos and pictures were taken (see Dave’s post), so check out the pictures in my Samurai in San Francisco set on Flickr. I loved San Fran, I haven’t been there in years - definitely wouldn’t mind going back there again soon…

I don’t have my own laptop at home, and just have been working off the work laptop, but I think it’s time to get my own. I might be caught up in the hype, but their products have been great to me so far (iPod Video, iPod Shuffle), and also people that own Macbooks are very happy with them. I just want to use my computer for browsing the internet, movie editing, music, creating music (GarageBand) and organize photos. After this release and this recent upgrade, I should have a brand new Macbook within a few weeks. Bring on the haters…