the FAT wall

Here's a real interesting question from a recent Netflix survey: "How likely would you or someone in your household be to instantly watch movies & TV episodes on your iPhone via a Wi-Fi network?"

If you recall, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings promised that Netflix streaming would come to the iPhone "eventually" just a few months ago. While survey questions can be indicative of a company's plans—it wouldn't be the first time for this kind of company to tip their video hand via survey—I wouldn't get too excited. Not because of the tech, which is trivial (even considering the jump from Microsoft's Silverlight technology on the desktop) but because of the rights.

Netflix has already run into issues with studios afraid of it massing too much influence, too many eyeballs, squeezing the lifeblood remaining in DVD profits preserved by the window system—the journey a movie takes from the multiplex to DVD to PPV to HBO to cable— before the studios can extract the last final drops themselves. That disgusting 28-day window before you can rent a new Warner Bros. movie is a primo example. So, to get mobile streaming rights? That's probably a whole 'nother ballgame, and I don't expect the studios will play any nicer.

But we can dream, we can hope, we can pray. Even if it is only over Wi-Fi.

You're pinging somebody over email right now, but they'll probably need a reminder or follow-up in two days. CC twodays@followupthen.com, and if that person hasn't responded yet, they'll be automatically re-pinged 48 hours from now. It's a neat service, and it's free.

That's the main way FollowUpThen works: CC a message that needs a second push to an address like 5hours, 2days, 1week, or even 10minutes@followupthen.com, and if your recipient doesn't reply (with FollowUpThen as one of the addressees) before your time period is up, the original message is re-pushed by FollowUpThen.com, with a little email graphical tweak, seen above, and a notice that FollowUpThen is acting on your wishes.

If you want to handle the second notice yourself, add the @followupthen.com timed address to the BCC field, and it will only get back to you, with a reminder of what you sent. You can also send a message directly To: followupthen.com, and your reminder is pushed back to you at the time you specify.

Touch-Fill-Go lets you take a picture of any printed document, like a form or receipt, then fill it out, organize it in groups, sign it, and email it as a PDF right from your iPhone or iPod Touch. My job position has me in the field all day working out of my car. Everyday I have to keep up with all kinds of sales documents. This little app has allowed me to go paperless, and has revolutionized the way I do business.

The traditional fast food business model just never had a chance, now did it? Marcelo Coelho and Amit Zoran, a pair of whiz kids doing their thang over at MIT, have developed what very well may be the next major revolution in food preparation. It may also be the only machine that keeps you alive when the Robot Apocalypse goes down, but we'll try to stuff that to the rear of our minds for now. Essentially, the Cornucopia concept is a 3D printer that precisely mixes foods and flavors from a number of canisters in order to produce something that's edible (and supposedly close to what you ordered). Able to deliver "elaborate combinations of food," the machine also has a rapid heating and cooling chamber that purportedly allows for "the creation of flavors and textures that would be completely unimaginable through other cooking techniques." Color us skeptical, but we're guessing these government-issued MREs probably taste just as good -- guess we'll find out for sure if the project ever gets its date with reality.

Dark energy Peeping Toms rejoice, because Fermilab has created the gadget to catch it: A $35 million, car-sized digital camera, with 74 CCD sensors in it. It will take 570-megapixel photos of the Universe.

The resulting sensor is one meter in diameter, covering a 2.2-degree field of view. The images are so big that, even with an ultra-fast data recording system, each photo will take 17 seconds to acquire.

The camera won't photograph the dark energy itself, however. It will just provide with ultra-detailed shots of the cosmos—tracking 300 million galaxies over the course of five years—which may bring evidence about the existence of this veiled intergalactic power. Which is too bad, because I bet she looks sexy in her undies.

Starting today, you can try this yourself by going to Google.com in your iPhone or Android browser and clicking on "Near me now" once your location has been provided by your phone.

"Near me now" was designed to address two user problems. First, we wanted to make it fast and easy to find out more about a place in your immediate vicinity, whether you're standing right in front of a business or if it's just a short walk away. For example, you may want to know what other customers think about a restaurant before you go inside (see quick video below) or what they have been raving about on the menu before you order. By selecting the "Explore right here" option, you can find out more about a place "right here" with just a few clicks.

Meysam Movahedi's latest concept certainly isn't the first revolutionary tweak to the tried-and-true power outlet, but it's easily one of our favorites. Put simply, the Rambler Socket is an in-wall box that contains 1.5 meters of extra cabling along with a traditional AC outlet. Granted, you'll need a pretty deep wall to make something like this work (in theory, of course), but the result is nothing short of brilliant. If your AC cord is long enough, you simply plug it into the socket per usual; if you need a little extra length, the built-in extension cord pulls out with a gentle tug. Once you're done, you simply tug on the cable once more and watch as it recoils back within the wall. GE, or someone -- can we get a contract to this guy, pronto?

Just found out about a neat little Google search box Easter Egg for the New Year: Click on the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button with nothing in the search box to see a live count down of seconds left in 2009.

Filed under: Multimedia, Video, iPhone, App Review

Stream audio and video live from your iPhone with Ustream Live Broadcaster

by Mel Martin (RSS feed) on Dec 9th 2009 at 1:00PM

The floodgates are beginning to open. Just last week we had the first live streamer, Knocking Live [iTunes link], that worked from iPhone to iPhone. Now, Ustream is offering a free app [iTunes link] that lets you put a live or recorded stream on the web that multiple people can watch from a web browser.

This is a rather stunning turnaround from just weeks ago when Apple did not allow any live streaming of video from the iPhone. This app supports the 3G and 3GS iPhones, and allows streaming over the 3G network and Wi-Fi. You can record the stream to your iPhone for a later upload, and it even works on 3G phones that don't have built-in video record capability.

The app allows you to share your recorded stream on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook and of course the Ustream site. You can relay your GPS location and your URL appears in the video so you can tell your friends how to find you. Finally, you can archive your broadcast to the web for later viewing.

To get it all going you must create a free account. I tried it this morning, and it worked on both 3G and Wi-Fi. I couldn't try the app on a 3G phone, but it is reported to work, giving that phone video capability in its unjailbroken state. Video resolution is 320 x 240 pixels, and can be lowered to 176 x 144. In my test, video and audio were lagging about 2-3 seconds, which is to be expected. There are ads on the Ustream web page, so that's where the money comes from to support this app.

I'm not sure what is causing the change of heart at Apple/AT&T about live streaming. It may be competition from other phones, or increased scrutiny from the FCC. I wonder if the Sling application will ever be fixed so it can use the 3G network? It seems they would have a good case.

It's great to see the iPhone finally get this capability. It's lagged behind some other smartphone platforms, but it is catching up rapidly -- so get the app, and become your own TV station.

Let us know in comments about your experiences, your likes and dislikes.

Tags: hgg, iPhone, streaming, ustream live broadcaster, UstreamLiveBroadcaster, video

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Citing his investigation into Apple's supply chain, analyst Yair Reiner claims that Apple will ramp up production of the wonderdevice in February 2010. His date for the Second Coming of the JesusTablet: March or April. And apparently, it'll kill Kindle.

He says that Apple is offering 30/70 revenue split to book publishers. That's 30% for Apple, and 70% for publishers for a non-exclusive distribution contract. Amazon—who apparently has pissed off everyone in the book industry—only offers 30/70 for exclusives, and 50/50 for the rest. He claims that the Apple device will make "ebooks more relevant for education by simplifying functions such as scribbling marginalia."

As for the specs, he claims the same screen technology of the iPhone but in a 10.1-inch size.