I was able to watch an episode of Grey’s Anatomy, I was able to stream an episode of Nurse Jackie, but I absolutely cannot get Farscape to play.  Hulu also does not work as intended, though Hulu on Boxee is always up and down so that doesn’t really surprise me.  Instead of playing the actual video it just goes to the video’s web page.

Please roll out a fix for this soon, Boxee devs!  I am otherwise REALLY happy with the new interface.  It is about a million times snappier, things update from the network source a LOT faster, and I like what you’ve done with the new layout.

So, since Boxee seems to approve of True Blood, I’m going to go watch it.

When the Flip Mino HD came out, my intrigue was sparked anew.  I still really love the form factor, and the ability to shoot in decently high quality for a fraction of the price of expensive HD cameras is a definite bonus.  I realize you won’t get the same results as with one of those expensive HD cameras, but for what I want one for I feel that it will be more than sufficient.  I have been contemplating adding one to my Christmas list this year for a few months.

Then, I hear about the introduction of the Flip Ultra HD, which has longer recording time, user removable rechargeable batteries, and an HDMI port.  Now Gizmodo tells me that there is a Kodak equivalent to the Ultra HD coming out on May 15 that has pretty much all of the above, plus support for SDHC cards up to 32GB! I swoon!  It seems to be a better price point as well at $150 versus the $200 for the Mino HD and the reported $200 for the Ultra HD.  I would expect this means the Mino should drop to $150 as well, but for that price the Kodak Zx1 is the clear winner to me–provided the performance is good.

Hopefully someone will do a side-by-side comparison of the two cameras…if the Flip and Kodak people want to grace me with their products, I would be HAPPY to conduct the experiment myself and blog the results.  Call me, guys!

More than 20,000 people are pissed off enough to join a group, have passive-aggressive discussions, and make lolcat-style protest pictures tagged NoVideo. There are also a few petitions going around requesting that Flickr remove the video feature and keep the site as a photography and photographer-focused community.

I really don’t understand. I’ve been a Flickr user since the very beginning–since before Flickr Pro Accounts were even available for purchase. I love Flickr’s ease of use, the community aspect of group pools and discussions, and the way I can interact with pictures from my friends and family. I think the addition of video is a great new feature–it’s not meant to be a YouTube clone for the latest in Internet video memes.

Videos are limited to 90 seconds, which is just long enough for a baby’s first steps, the highlights from a wedding dance, or a moment captured at a party. Videos can now sit alongside photo collections to help tell the story in a way still pictures cannot. What’s so wrong with that, fellow Flickrers?

I’m interested to see how Flickr responds. My hope is that they won’t cave and remove Flickr video completely, but I do understand that if people decide to be more active about controlling the situation, Flickr stands to lose a lot of business. I would like to see a way that users could opt-out of video if they really want to, although I really don’t see why that would even be necessary. If you don’t like a feature, just don’t use it. If you’re so opposed to a video being in someone’s photostream, just don’t click on it. Flickr, don’t let the haters win.

One of the things I’ve been waiting for was the DIRECTV On Demand Beta on our receiver, which finally happened after a recent service call. But even better than that, the DIRECTV DVR Scheduler was moved into Beta and is now available for use on our DVRs.

I’ll be the first to admit that I can be forgetful sometimes. I will look forward to a show and think to myself, “Self, you should really set the DVR to record that!” Of course, then I forget and everyone at work is talking about it the next day, so I slink off to download it and try to avoid spoilers in the meantime. My husband is occasionally more on the ball than I am, and remembers to set a recording for something he knows I’m wanting to watch. But usually I either end up trying frantically to get home before a show starts, or just giving up altogether and downloading it after the fact.

Thankfully, the DIRECTV DVR Scheduler was made for people just like me. Similar to the TiVO online scheduling feature, it allows you to log in to your account on DIRECTV.com and set recordings right from their TV schedule grid. Since we have two DVRs in the house, it even allows me to select which DVR I want it to record on, as well as the recording’s priority. It can be set to record if there are no conflicting recordings, or it can be set to record before any other set recordings.

The BEST part is the mobile DVR scheduler, which can be accessed via any mobile phone with a browser and a data connection.  This has been great for me, because I always have my Windows Mobile phone with me and I have a full data plan.  When I discovered that TCM was running a Joan Crawford marathon, I was able to use my phone to schedule the office DVR to record Grand Hotel and Mildred Pierce.

If you have  DIRECTV and a DVR, be sure to log in to your DIRECTV account and try it for yourself!  It’s a lifesaver.