New York -- Striking a blow against viewers who skip through TV commercials, a new variety series will blend commercials into its program fare, offering a seamless hour of entertainment mixed with salesmanship.
The series will air for six weeks this summer on the WB, with Michael Davies, best-known for ABC's Who Wants to be a Millionaire?,as its producer, according to a story in yesterday's New York Times. Its working title is Live from Tomorrow.
The show, which Davies described as "a contemporary, hip Ed Sullivan Show," is a response to worries among advertisers and network executives about the rising popularity of personal video recorders that allow viewers to zap commercial breaks.
The new plan -- actually a throwback to long-ago days when sponsors owned network TV and radio shows, and packed them with product plugs -- will marry the show with two main sponsors, Pepsi and Nokia, and four secondary sponsors, Davies said.
The show might send an entertainer to the Nokia headquarters to take part in its internship program for a feature, Davies said, or charge a movie studio for an appearance by a star of a film the studio wants to promote.
Though the new show would be the most comprehensive response to ad-zappers, it isn't the first. Since premiering three years ago, CBS's Survivor has successfully sold product placements of beer, cars and snack foods within its program content. But these rather blatant endorsements only supplemented conventional ad breaks, rather than replacing them altogether. AP
Well, obviously her excessive downloading of the latest Ricky Martin MP3s is interfering with her Dad's excessive downloading of Girls Gone Wild - Spring Break movies.
This is a limitation of most digital TV (cable or satellite). The STB can only decode one channel at a time, so you can only do something with one live channel.
You can get double LMB dishes, that provide two cables from the dish to the STB. None of the Bell STBs support two inputs, but you can buy another decoder for the second line for ~$99. Then you can record one show on the PVR and watch another on the other STB.
Too bad you don't allow comments in your journal. I too have the BEV PVR and love it. Two comments:
- The interactive weather isn't just Canadian cities, it's international
- One of the great features in the BEV PVR, and missing from the MS box is the UHF remote, which means my PVR can be in my basement, away from my TV.
- The IR thing that made you shit your pants... cool eh? You can use an IR extender like this one (I think one came with my PVR), or just put your PVR near the VCR. The IR signal it sends out is strong enough. Doesn't apply to me, since my PVR is in the basement.
- I didn't know the 5100 was discontinued... where did you see that? I just got some mail from Bell promoting it.
Now... if I could only figure out what that weird "expansion port" is on the back, maybe I could read the recorded shows off the PVR and archive them.
Re:Sgi gets employee to market product, film at 11
on
New SGI Altix 3000
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· Score: 2
I'm not arguing that/. needs the money to run their site. I'm just saying that, in the spirit of open disclosure, they should identify which stories have been paid for.
Like the "This is a paid advertisment" notice you see in newspapers above ads that try and look like articles. There is a reason newspapers have to print that... what makes/. special?
This looks great. There was a similar project a while ago (can't find the link now) where the creators were trying to make a go of it commercially. Maybe 500 units, or something? Anyone else remember?
Anyway, all this needs for me to want one in my living room is:
An LCD to display song info. Doesn't need to be big. 2x24 would be fine (4x__ would be better).
Some kind of input. Either a few buttons and/or a jog-wheel. Something to play/pause/ffwd/rev, maybe change the volume (which I realize you can do from your stereo), shuffle through playlists. There must be a way to have the device translate input actions to simple commands that get sent back over TCP to... something.
RCA out, rather than the 1/8" stereo out.
A nicer case... but owners could hack that themselves.
Wow. I'd love to live in a world where everyone was perfectly built and had great hair. All the men have great pecs, and all the women have perfect boobs and mid-riff revealling clothes.
Yes, there is a FireWire 800 port on the new 17" PowerBooks.
The 17" also has Airport Extreme (i.e. 802.11g), and the 12" is Extreme-ready.
Time to borrow the kid's trust fund, I guess.
Re:Sgi gets employee to market product, film at 11
on
New SGI Altix 3000
·
· Score: 2
I was just about to post this.
We all know/. is posting one advertisment a day (or thereabouts) as a news item. Today, it's this. Yesterday, it was the cool-your-pc-into-the-wall company.
Does anyone else feel a disclaimer, or flag, or something should be used to mark these news-vertisements? Maybe a new topic icon?
That's your kitchen? Dude, what do you need 12 computers in your kitchen for?
Although I must compliment you on (what appears to be) your fondness for recycling old computers. I just "rescued" a perfectly nice Celeron 500 from the curb the other day. Bingo: a new server for my home LAN.
Re:Slashdot: Hidden Advertising for Nerds
on
Computer Room Hot?
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· Score: 3, Informative
Hrmm... my understanding was that the AC was the "buyer" of services from two freelancers: logo design and website design.
BACKGROUND: We're starting up a new company, Computer Exhaust Systems, wh...
So instead of "Here is a cool PC ventilation product I ran across", he should really be saying "Here is a cool PC ventilation product that my company makes."
Sure, it's kinda neat. But I hope/. got some ad revenue for this.
A little more expensive then other registrars but, then again, you've already found out you get what you pay for.
Registration and DNS management, regular and stealth web forwarding, URL forwarding, spam filtering (and a good anti-spam policy to kick off abusers), DNS redundancy, ACL access to your management pages... and, most importantly, incredibly responsive customer support.
Search through Usenet for lots of recommendations.
But in a 2002 survey of Internet address buyers, VeriSign found that 87 percent of them were familiar with the name "Network Solutions" and could identify it as a domain name seller...
Of course, they don't say why their name is recognizable. Long hold-times, bad support, dubious transfer-away procedures...
87% of Internet address buyers are also familiar with the phrase "bunch of crappy morons".
Slashdot Mirror
But, if the US military is sending public key encryption to Iraqis, doesn't that violate the US Dept of Commerce's commercial encryption export laws?
Must-sell TV: WB combines ad, show
(Saturday, January 11, 2003 - Page R7)
New York -- Striking a blow against viewers who skip through TV commercials, a new variety series will blend commercials into its program fare, offering a seamless hour of entertainment mixed with salesmanship.
The series will air for six weeks this summer on the WB, with Michael Davies, best-known for ABC's Who Wants to be a Millionaire?,as its producer, according to a story in yesterday's New York Times. Its working title is Live from Tomorrow.
The show, which Davies described as "a contemporary, hip Ed Sullivan Show," is a response to worries among advertisers and network executives about the rising popularity of personal video recorders that allow viewers to zap commercial breaks.
The new plan -- actually a throwback to long-ago days when sponsors owned network TV and radio shows, and packed them with product plugs -- will marry the show with two main sponsors, Pepsi and Nokia, and four secondary sponsors, Davies said.
The show might send an entertainer to the Nokia headquarters to take part in its internship program for a feature, Davies said, or charge a movie studio for an appearance by a star of a film the studio wants to promote.
Though the new show would be the most comprehensive response to ad-zappers, it isn't the first. Since premiering three years ago, CBS's Survivor has successfully sold product placements of beer, cars and snack foods within its program content. But these rather blatant endorsements only supplemented conventional ad breaks, rather than replacing them altogether.
AP
A 1 gig drive? Wow! Just imagine what you could do with a Beo...
"It seems like you're trying to get hammered. Would you like to make your next drink a double?"
The screenshots on their site are using XDarwin. Maybe it looks better when used with Apple's X11?
Well, obviously her excessive downloading of the latest Ricky Martin MP3s is interfering with her Dad's excessive downloading of Girls Gone Wild - Spring Break movies.
This is a limitation of most digital TV (cable or satellite). The STB can only decode one channel at a time, so you can only do something with one live channel.
You can get double LMB dishes, that provide two cables from the dish to the STB. None of the Bell STBs support two inputs, but you can buy another decoder for the second line for ~$99. Then you can record one show on the PVR and watch another on the other STB.
(STB=set-top box)
Too bad you don't allow comments in your journal. I too have the BEV PVR and love it. Two comments:
... cool eh? You can use an IR extender like this one (I think one came with my PVR), or just put your PVR near the VCR. The IR signal it sends out is strong enough. Doesn't apply to me, since my PVR is in the basement.
... where did you see that? I just got some mail from Bell promoting it.
... if I could only figure out what that weird "expansion port" is on the back, maybe I could read the recorded shows off the PVR and archive them.
- The interactive weather isn't just Canadian cities, it's international
- One of the great features in the BEV PVR, and missing from the MS box is the UHF remote, which means my PVR can be in my basement, away from my TV.
- The IR thing that made you shit your pants
- I didn't know the 5100 was discontinued
Now
I'm not arguing that /. needs the money to run their site. I'm just saying that, in the spirit of open disclosure, they should identify which stories have been paid for.
... what makes /. special?
Like the "This is a paid advertisment" notice you see in newspapers above ads that try and look like articles. There is a reason newspapers have to print that
Ah ... that thing I couldn't remember is from slimdevices.
Anyway, all this needs for me to want one in my living room is:
- An LCD to display song info. Doesn't need to be big. 2x24 would be fine (4x__ would be better).
- Some kind of input. Either a few buttons and/or a jog-wheel. Something to play/pause/ffwd/rev, maybe change the volume (which I realize you can do from your stereo), shuffle through playlists. There must be a way to have the device translate input actions to simple commands that get sent back over TCP to
... something.
- RCA out, rather than the 1/8" stereo out.
- A nicer case
... but owners could hack that themselves.
All in all, very cool though. Sign me up.Wow. I'd love to live in a world where everyone was perfectly built and had great hair. All the men have great pecs, and all the women have perfect boobs and mid-riff revealling clothes.
... meta-real.
This is like all those teen movies, but REAL!
Er
Yes, there is a FireWire 800 port on the new 17" PowerBooks.
The 17" also has Airport Extreme (i.e. 802.11g), and the 12" is Extreme-ready.
Time to borrow the kid's trust fund, I guess.
I was just about to post this.
/. is posting one advertisment a day (or thereabouts) as a news item. Today, it's this. Yesterday, it was the cool-your-pc-into-the-wall company.
We all know
Does anyone else feel a disclaimer, or flag, or something should be used to mark these news-vertisements? Maybe a new topic icon?
That's your kitchen? Dude, what do you need 12 computers in your kitchen for?
Although I must compliment you on (what appears to be) your fondness for recycling old computers. I just "rescued" a perfectly nice Celeron 500 from the curb the other day. Bingo: a new server for my home LAN.
Hrmm ... my understanding was that the AC was the "buyer" of services from two freelancers: logo design and website design.
That's what this page seems to suggest.
So instead of "Here is a cool PC ventilation product I ran across", he should really be saying "Here is a cool PC ventilation product that my company makes."
Sure, it's kinda neat. But I hope
easyDNS
... and, most importantly, incredibly responsive customer support.
A little more expensive then other registrars but, then again, you've already found out you get what you pay for.
Registration and DNS management, regular and stealth web forwarding, URL forwarding, spam filtering (and a good anti-spam policy to kick off abusers), DNS redundancy, ACL access to your management pages
Search through Usenet for lots of recommendations.
But in a 2002 survey of Internet address buyers, VeriSign found that 87 percent of them were familiar with the name "Network Solutions" and could identify it as a domain name seller ...
...
Of course, they don't say why their name is recognizable. Long hold-times, bad support, dubious transfer-away procedures
87% of Internet address buyers are also familiar with the phrase "bunch of crappy morons".
... is trying to find as many references to AFDBs or similar devices prior to 1991 as possible.
Why, is Amazon going on a patent-spree again?
Not to sound greedy or anything, but how "not rich" will it make authors?
i.e. What would the author of an Open Source Book expect to make, compared to what a traditional publisher might pay?
Just thought it kinda neat to see that Backup is based, in part on cURL.
PHP 189 224 31 2.12%
Which would put it somewhere between Fortran and Ada.
... so I guess this is the "Bait and Switch" campaign, right?
I don't know about that but their 30-day free trial sign up page pops up an SSL certificate warning for me (unknown issuer).