We normally use the PlayOn media server client to stream my the desktop PC to the PS3, but I couldn’t get it to work last night. I figured to use the trial version of Hulu Plus, since we could then stream directly from the Internet to our TiVo Premiere.

Well, setting it up was easy enough, but here comes the rub. No Good Wife. Apparently, from what I read online, content available for Hulu is separated for PC, Mobile, and TV. Content that is tagged for PC-only won’t be available for watching in your living on your tv.

That blows. I’m canceling this Hulu Plus trial. If I’m going to pay $7.99 a month, I want all the content available to be through any medium.

Today, I had to run to a local CVS during church to get a picture developed, then get some coffee for my wife. While I was standing in line at the single CVS cashier line, I checked Yelp for nearby coffeehouses or coffee shops. In luck, there was a yelp.com entry for a nearby coffeeshop called Rockin’ Joe’s Coffeehouse and Bistro, and it’s right on Rt. 27 where I was, maybe 0.1 miles away. Nice!

I look closer at the map, and I get befuddled. See below. I’m supposedly at the red dot, but also at both blue dots. The coffeehouse is at the green dot, or is it closer than that? I ask the slightly-flaky CVS cashier if she knows where this Rockin’ Joe’s might be, but not holding up much hope that she knows. Luckily, she does know where the coffeehouse is. In fact, it’s in the same strip mall — I just have to walk to the left a few stores.

Nice job, Google Maps.

Google Maps can act a little bizarre

PC World compiled their list of nine stupid movie tech moments. Robocop was running MS-DOS? Wow.

1987's Robocop ran MS-DOS?

1st Generation Apple iPad

It’s been long overdue, but I’m going on the record here and now to say how I think about the matter. I think the Apple iPad is a great idea. Do I own one of the first 300,000 iPads? No, I do not. Do I plan to get one? Probably not. So why do I say that a product I do not own, nor do I plan to purchase, is a great idea?

Two words: Star Trek.

One of the reasons I love sci-fi is that the genre (be it the written word or in film/tv) is an opportunity for the thinker to wonder, “What if?” with a technological angle. What would life be like if….. and you finish the thought. You throw in technology there, and it’s a chance to dream about what the future could be.

Remember the 2002 film MinorityReport? Everyone loves that holographic touch interface that Tom Cruise used. Pretty neat, eh? Well, scientists and engineers at Oblong have been working on a gesture-based interface right now. Check out the sample videos in the previous link and you’ll see Oblong’s interface in action. And don’t get me started on the personalized advertising, the changeable newspapers, and other technology in that film, because companies have been yammering about that for a while.

Remember cars in the pretty-forgettable 1993 movie Demolition Man? Sandra Bullock was riding that electric car that actually drove itself? With the built-in radar and self-parking features in cars today, the electric car industry in nascent stages, and heck, I read people are testing cars that have computers that will drive them all safely in close proximity, isn’t that eerily similar? Is it decades from now? Probably? But you can imagine that we might be heading towards that path.

The Star Trek PADD

There are countless others to mention in the annals of sci-fi literature and film, but you get the idea. Now, the iPad. Uh, yeah, call this a dumb reference, but Star Trek afficionados have seen a computing tablet (original Star Trek series) or PADD (TNG, DS9, VOY) in various Star Trek movie or series. It’s a great concept, and you could easily see yourself using something just like it in real life.

So back to the Apple iPad and the year 2010. Granted, it’s basically a table PC, but sleeker and easier to use, which makes it leaps and bounds better than the Windows Tablet PCs that have not been popular with consumers. Is the iPad perfect? No. I think it should have multitasking, but lo and behold, Apple announced today that multitasking (via a software update) will be available later this year.) It would be nice to have a webcam, but that might be featured in Generation 2. The price is high, but those may come down in successive generations, much like the iPhone did.

So why didn’t I get one so far? It’s too expensive, and I can live without it. However, that doesn’t mean I would never get it. I love the surfing-from-the-couch ability. The idea that I could read my favorite magazines on the train or bus or airport all in one slim tablet. That I could watch movies and shows easily and in a larger screen. It’s all about the versatility and how this device and form-factor can fit into your life and improve it.

From what I’ve read and seen videos of, it’s not geeks or adults who are enjoying the iPad the most. It’s people’s kids who are using it, and are fascinated with some piano app and the vibrant colors of the drawing apps. When you as an adult see some kid enjoying it, you start to be awed, and begin thinking about getting one for your kids too. The entire viral marketing campaign and word-of-mouth interest has been less geek-driven, and more family-oriented. That makes me think, “Wow, cool.” Not only have I read about it, I have a perfect example. My old coworker and friend Jenny Cu got one for her young son, and the kid loves it.

Finally, below is a CNET video of Dan Ackerman showing off the new Netflix app for the iPad. I think it’s pretty fantastic, and after seeing this yourself, you tell me how you wouldn’t enjoy Netflix in your lap in your free time.

Example free desktop -- Arches National Park, Utah

I recently read that when Windows 7 is initially installed, default themes are installed based on the time zone you select. For example, when you in the US install it from somewhere between the Eastern through the Pacific timezones, you automatically get the US theme. However, there are Indian, Korean, Taiwanese, South Africa themes and more free as well.

As a matter of fact, Computerworld recently published an article that Microsoft has opened up the development of desktop themes to advertisers. I don’t blame them, and think it’s a great idea. Consumers want high quality themes of their favorite products/movies/shows/etc, and corporations can provide that to them.

Check the link I provided to the gallery, open one that you like, and enjoy. I think the wallpapers themselves are absolutely gorgeous.

Safari has some cool features built-in, like a coverflow history browser, and a visual display of your most-visited websites (with a star against the ones that have been updated recently.)  The browser has nice features, and it’s fast, so I’ll continue to try it out.

Apple's Safari 4

Bluetooth headset and sipping soup

I don’t think people should have them glued to their ears all day.  If you aren’t a customer service rep, or work in a helpdesk, don’t wear a headset all day.  There was a guy in my company once that used to wear his 8 hours a day, in the office, in meetings, etc.  He would sit there in the meeting wearing it, blue light flashing.  I see more and more people walking around, even in the office pantry getting coffee with other coworkers, with a headset on their ear.

Why?  If you aren’t on the phone, stop wearing the headset.  Are you worried about cell phone radiation?  Buy a different phone.  Or wear aluminum foil.  But stop looking like a douchebag.

That’s right, I said it.  It annoys me that much.

The one-pane-of-glass design marks Panasonic's TC-P50V10

The VIERA V10 series are slim, 2-inch thin plasma HDTVs with built-in tuners. The V10 series offer such cutting edge innovations as Digital Cinema Color(TM) which helps to deliver all movie-essential colors, full THX Display certification, and the VIERA CAST web menu with Amazon Video on Demand services.

Who am I kidding?  I already called up Comcast to inquire about HDTV pricing.  With the added costs of a Comcast DVR, upgraded services (for the HD channels), and our high-speed Internet, it’s going to bump our monthly bill up another $50.

One day, but not today.  I will continue to dream in digital.