Archives for May 2008

The Daily Loper – May 13, 2008

May 13, 2008 by Lopy

Destiny Is A Total Bitch Edition

Todays links of interest:

HBO on iTunes: Pricing adjusted on "show by show basis"
While we, of course, wholeheartedly approve of the concept of all of those HBO shows on iTunes (featuring perhaps the three greatest dramas in all of TV history: The Sopranos, Deadwood and The Wire), what will make us unutterably happy is the inclusion of entire run of The Larry Sanders Show.
The Mountain Goats’ John Darnielle Is Good At Writing!
Reminding us that The Mountain Goats aren’t in our current mix…
HBO Shows May Sell on iTunes, for $1.99+
It’s the "+" that remains an open question.

The Daily Loper – May 12, 2008

May 12, 2008 by Lopy

Ring Ring, It’s 7:00 AM Edition

Todays links of interest:

In the Age of TiVo and Web Video, What Is Prime Time?
As asked and answered by your friendly ‘lopers for quite some time.
Person close to talks: NBC installing Fallon on ‘Late Night’
Guessing that this might matter to someone: when Jay Leno finally gives up the Tonight Show and Conan O’Brien becomes the new Jay Leno (yeah, that really does sound like a nightmare), then Jimmy Fallon will become the new Conan O’Brien (ditto).
Lynda Barry, a Cartoonist Still Drawing On Her Creative Life
If we all chip in, we can send Kirk to Lynda Barry summer school.

Why Net Neutrality Matters

May 12, 2008 by Kassia Krozser

In China, and other nations, the government decides what can and cannot be accessed on the Internet. Government censors work very hard to make sure citizens are not exposed to any information that the government deems to be inappropriate. Sure, clever hackers can and do get around the censors, but it’s a bit like whack-a-mole.

Recently, a U.S. government-funded medical information repository had the word “abortion” removed from search results. Meaning, if a medical professional used that word — no matter what the context — zero results were returned. Now, for some “abortion” is a political standard to bear; for medical professionals, it carries many different meanings, some of which require, oh, immediate and scientifically sound results.

Comcast had a bit of a brouhaha when it was discovered to be putting the brakes on traffic coming via BitTorrent. Comcast backed off from this practice in the face of legislative attention, but still retains the right to decide the speed of traffic that travels over its network.
[Read more…] about Why Net Neutrality Matters

The Daily Loper – May 9, 2008

May 9, 2008 by Lopy

Hill People Milk Edition
Todays links of interest:

Dot-com Central returns to earthly pursuits
Spent quite a lot of time working about a block East from the area described in this story, and don’t quite remember it so dramatically. And I walked up and down 16th Street (from the always interesting BART station) every day. It certainly wasn’t Dot-com Central: that would have been the South Park (not the TV Show) area just north where Pac Bell is now.
AT&T?s Wi-Fi Tease for iPhone Users
Sigh. You’d think that AT&T would just get off of their ass and do it. You’d think.
Facebook To Lift 5,000 Friends Limit
Finally! It’s sort of hard building a cult with a 5,000 friend limit.
Comedy Central, Attell bang ‘Gong’
What the world needed: a remake of The Gong Show.

The Daily Loper – May 8, 2008

May 8, 2008 by Lopy

I Just Want to Know Where I Live Edition

Todays links of interest:

Bruce Boxleitner Joins Heroes
Posting this because I know that some of the ‘Loper women will be happy at the news, because they used to moon over him during the "Scarecrow & Mrs. King" days. And because of that, I’m almost ashamed to report that I’ve noticed that spoiler-boy Ausiello got the female lead of that show wrong.
RIAA: DRM not dead and likely will make comeback
RIAA spokesperson predicts DRM-limited subscription music services are the future of the industry. Never mind the fact that subscriptions services are the one area where digital sales are declining year over year.
Mamma Mia! Papa John’s raking in the dough online
The Deliverator will be at your door in 30 minutes or less.

NBC’s Plan to Make The Zune Even Worse

May 8, 2008 by Kirk Biglione

The NBC programming that went missing from iTunes last December has finally turned up in the Zune marketplace. Fans of The Office, Heroes, and 30 Rock can once again pay to download episodes of their favorite programs — provided they own a Zune and a Windows PC.

Given the Zune’s miniscule market share it’s curious to see any network choosing Microsoft’s media platform over iTunes for paid downloads. When NBC pulled its programming from iTunes, network officials sniffed at the relatively small sales the Apple service had generated. By comparison, sales in the Zune marketplace are bound to redefine the term “nano”.

Clearly this move isn’t about selling digital content online. NBC seems to be more interested in punishing Apple for exercising control over iTunes pricing than it is in actually expanding the market for legal downloads.

The Daily Loper – May 7, 2008

May 7, 2008 by Lopy

I Am Not Your Horse to Water (Water) Edition
Todays links of interest:

Microsoft May Build a Copyright Cop Into Every Zune
As if the Zune wasn’t unappealing enough already.
CBS Digital Chief: Networks Must Embrace ‘User Editors’
Working with the public instead of against it might be a good thing…
David E. Kelley may depart ‘Mars’
Best news we’ve heard yet about the "Life on Mars" remake: the eternally overrated David E. Kelley may be leaving. So it might have a shot at ending up more like "The Office" instead of "Coupling." In the meantime, may we please have our DVDs of the BBC version?

Why Neil Young Is Wrong To Go With Blu-Ray Only

May 7, 2008 by Jim Connelly

The biggest running joke is all of rock music, of course, has become the imminent release of the next Guns N’ Roses album, Chinese Democracy which is due to come out, either any day now or never. Even Syd Barrett was able to make a couple of solo albums after he went crazy, Axl.

However, Neil Young fans know that the wait for Chinese Democracy is nothing compared for how we’ve been waiting for Archives, the career-spanning box set that he’s been promising since — shit — Guns N’ Roses was just becoming the biggest band on the planet. We’ve been waiting for so long that his length of time that Archives can cover has actually doubled.

While some performance CDs have been released (the awesome Live at the Fillmore East and the not quite as awesome Live at Massey Hall, the bulk of the material assumed to be on Archives has only been available on bootlegs. Well, yesterday, Neil has made his latest announcement concerning Archives. The first 10 discs are coming out this fall. Whoo-hoo! On Blu-Ray. D’oh!

So despite the fact that I’ve been looking forward to this for nearly 20 years, right now I’m kinda disappointed.

The Daily Loper – May 6, 2008

May 6, 2008 by Lopy

Stop Yer Complaining Edition

Todays links of interest:

Neil Young to release archive on Blu-ray discs
This is the sort of thing that will ultimately lead us to jump on the Blu-ray bandwagon. The first box includes 10-discs (10 Blu-Ray discs!) of material.
Family Guy creator seals megadeal
This is the TV equivalent of that Barry Zito deal.
McCain pledges more conservative judges
You know those people who say "How much worse could it be with McCain as President than [Hillary or Barack, depending on whom they currently support]?" This is how much worse.

The Daily Loper – May 5, 2008

May 5, 2008 by Lopy

Neon Sign From God Edition

Todays links of interest:

Digital Television Transition Funding – Do Americans Have a Right to TV?
I’m doing just fine without your so-called TV, thank you. Also, can’t wait for the TV riots of ’09.
Just Look Them In The Eye And Say … POGUEMAHONE!!
5 discs worth of rare and unreleased Pogues. Awesome! However, looks like its only going to be an import here in the colonies, to which we thank the gods for the mp3 blogs.
Indie Filmmakers Brace for Hit from Recession
Either that, or the dawn of new media options will create a huge opportunity for independent film. In fact, the first documentary from the ‘loper team is being discussed right now.