Zephyrus of the Anemoi

.the ramblings of a radman.

Tag: YouTube

Chromecast: Polish it all you want, it’s still a piece of…

July 25, 2013 /

…okay, that might be a little unfair. I haven’t even played with one yet.

Google announced several new products yesterday, one of which I got really excited about for almost a whole day. Chromecast is a little device that you plug directly into your TV’s HDMI port so that you can stream video to it. At first blush, it sounds an awful lot like an Apple TV, something I feel confident was intentional on Google’s part. And, since they’re only charging $35 for it, versus $99 for the Apple TV, it seems like a really great deal.

At first.

But today, I spent a little more time delving into the details of the device and discovered that it’s not quite as incredible as it appears. I was really hoping that I could use it as an ultraportable AirPlay receiver. Imagine visiting a friend and plugging this device into his TV and streaming photos of your kids from your iPhone or iPad. Or envision being able to connect the Chromecast to a projector and giving a presentation or demoing your latest iOS app wirelessly from anywhere in the room. But, that’s not something it can do out of the box. Or maybe ever.

Okay, maybe not ever. Obviously, dedicated developers should be able to expand the features of the Chromecast, which could (one day) make it a compelling alternative to the Apple TV. A program on your home computer could behave as a web server which could be accessed by your iPhone or Android or iPad and then redirected to the Chromecast locally. And the eventual support of streaming Chrome tabs to the device will open up the content available significantly. But there’s something about the Chromecast that still feels like it’s too much work for the masses. It appeals to the gadget geek in me, and I can definitely see some benefits to it as a cheaper alternative to the Apple TV for those of us that don’t mind doing a little extra work to get our content on the TV. But having to use a phone or a tablet or a computer as your “remote” is daunting for a number of people, and makes this device actually a fair bit more expensive than the $35 for which it retails.

However, all of that aside, the biggest complaint I have with the Chromecast is one that I discovered while writing this article, and is the one thing that keeps the Chromecast from being elegant, even if it is affordable. The device is not powered by HDMI, but rather must be plugged in to a wall outlet or a powered USB port to make it work. Suddenly, the “ultra-portability” I was hoping for is gone, as is my desire to buy the device. I might still pick one up, if only because of the three free months of Netflix that are bundled with it (bringing the total price of the device down to $11, a much more affordable “toy” with which to experiment).

I hope it gets better fast, though. The Apple TV is an amazing device and one I love having in my living room. I can only imagine how much better it or future generations will get if there is real competition in the space.

But so far, this isn’t it.

Collection of awesome

July 9, 2009 /

Today has been an almost non-stop day of awesome on the Interwebs. So before I begin my bombardment of all things iPhone, I thought I’d give the rest of you some entertaining and/or informative links (some of which may still pertain to the iPhone).

With that out of the way, let’s get started, shall we?

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Google has been hard at work on the development of some awesome new technologies in preparation for the ratification of the final HTML 5 standard. In the interest of viewing 3D graphics directly inside of a web browser, a proposed open standard for doing so is currently being developed. Called O3D, it allows you to view gorgeous 3D graphics from inside your web browser, without ever having to fire up another application. While it currently requires you to install a plug-in, I believe the ultimate goal is to have it become a part of HTML 5 before ratification so that all HTML 5 compatible web browsers will be able to pull it off out of the box. Check out the demo site here.

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Speaking of HTML 5 and the reason that I discovered O3D, Google has also posted a demo page of what YouTube will look like once HTML 5 is complete and Flash will no longer be required to quickly & easily embed video. If your browser supports the HTML 5 draft (Safari 4, Firefox 3.5, Google Chrome), then check this out. While the site looks much the same, you’ll notice that right-clicking on the video no longer brings up the Flash Player contextual menu, indicating that that video is playing entirely through the browser’s built-in capabilities (no plug-in required). This will greatly reduce the memory footprint of your browser and should speed up your computer considerably when visiting sites that were formerly very Flash heavy and can move to HTML 5 methods, instead.

Also, if you were interested in seeing what O3D could do, but don’t feel like installing the plug-in, the YouTube demo I’m talking about is a walkthrough of the O3D demo page.

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This particular clip is more entertaining due to the fact that Steve Wozniak is in a low-budget, body shop commercial. Since he’s hilarious, I recommend taking a gander.

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Also, Rule 34 has no exceptions. Moving on.

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Now, I love me some giant robots. I always have, and I always will. I even liked that movie Robot Jox, and it was frakkin’ terrible. No, really. Just awful. But, it had giant robots. So I loved every minute of it. The exception to that rule is when giant robots are combined with Michael Bay. Cause then you get “Michael Bay Blows Up Egypt in Slow Motion” (commonly known as Transformers 2), which is utter crap and painful to watch. That being said, one of my favorite uses of giant robots is to put gamers in control of them so they can destroy anything and everything they see. MechAssault on the Xbox was one of my favorite games. Chromehounds was pretty cool, as well, though a lot less frenetic. However, all current-gen mech games have a grand-daddy. And that game is MechWarrior. Well good news to all of you that have played it, and to those of you that just plain love giant robots. MechWarrior is getting a reboot.

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And lastly, in this long line of crazy, ridiculous, nerdery: iPhone 3.0 has a feature that has been kept quiet until today. That feature is HTTP Live Streaming. Now some of you are going to say, “What?” Others will say, “Who cares?” Still more of you will say, “My iPhone already does streaming.” To all of you I say, “Shut up and let me finish!”

HTTP Live Streaming is a technology that should finally allow for a standards-based streaming method for video content (this goes back to HTML 5 and Google’s YouTube demo of said feature). Essentially, what it means is that video content can be downloaded in 10 second chunks and then played back, meanwhile grabbing the next chunk or two or three before the current chunk is finished being viewed. On top of that, instead of sending the video using technology that is consistently blocked by most firewalls, or requires a plug-in and therefore eats up system resources, HTTP Live Streaming will be sent to your computer using the same packets that web sites are downloaded to your browser with and will (hopefully) be a part of the HTML 5 standard when ratified. The best part is that if you switch from EDGE, to 3G, and then to Wi-Fi while watching a video, rather than having to re-buffer the clip because you changed network types, your iPhone will be able to automatically grab the chunk that befits the quality that will give you the best image without stuttering for your current connection. And since the sections are only 10 seconds a piece, you don’t have to wait long for the quality to improve if you suddenly find yourself in range of a Wi-Fi network while watching your favorite web series.

The best part? If this tech takes off, there’s a chance that a television network could use it to stream their channels directly to your Apple TV, allowing you to subscribe to only the channels (or shows) that you want without having to pay for an expensive cable TV or Dish subscription to get 10 channels you want and 100 you don’t.

To read more about this, go here.

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That’s all for now, folks. If I have time today, I hope to hit you up with some reviews and recommendations of the iPhone apps I’ve been spending the most time with as of late (or at least that I think are awesome and feel you should, too). See ya starside!

Warfare, Inc.: Like Command & Conquer for iPhone

December 6, 2008 /

Warfare Incorporated is a game that was originally available for Palm devices in 2003. Recently, it was ported to the iPhone by Spiffcode, Inc. For anyone that has ever been a fan of Command & Conquer or Starcraft, this is an excellent purchase. It’s only $5 and has over 200 add-on missions that can be downloaded directly to your iPhone / iPod Touch. If you’ve got a PC or a Mac that’s running Windows, you can also design your own levels, host them yourself, and share them with your friends.

I started playing it last night, and am really impressed. It makes full use of the multi-touch features of the iDevice of your choice and despite having graphics that are identical to those from the original (not a detriment, in my opinion), still looks surprisingly nice. My only complaint is it can sometimes be difficult to scroll around the map quickly, or issue movement commands into a group of your own troops. Other than that, however, it’s a lot of fun and fairly robust.

So, if you’re looking for some awesome RTS action for your iPhone, this is the place to go.


Direct link here.

Where the Hell is Matt?

November 24, 2008 /

This is my new favorite video on YouTube. It’s a video of this guy dancing in places all over the world. I checked out his website, “Where The Hell Is Matt?” and learned a bit about why he’s doing this. Apparently, he just decided he didn’t want to work anymore, so he saved up some money, quit his job, and traveled. While traveling, he did a silly dance at the request of his friend and posted it online. It was quite popular, so he decided to do it more often in the various places he traveled. A year later, Stride Gum asked him if he would consider taking a trip around the world and dancing wherever he goes. He agreed and has been doing it ever since.

The videos he’s made are all entertaining, but this one is really the best. It’s also a video that was posted to YouTube in 720p (which is how I’ve embedded it below). Visit the direct link and you can watch it full screen. Make sure you click on the “watch in high quality” link off the bottom-right corner of the video on YouTube’s site. You can also create a YouTube account and change your settings to always display the “high quality” version when available.

The song featured in the video is incredibly beautiful. It’s titled Praan.


Direct link here.

Download the video in HD and SD here.

Quick Draw app gameplay video

November 10, 2008 /

I posted a brief preview of the upcoming iPhone app Quick Draw a few days ago. Well, one of the other testers got a short video of the app in use and posted it on YouTube for your viewing pleasure. Keep in mind that the app is in beta and will likely experience more changes before release (it has already had several changes since my preview was posted. Check out the video below.


Direct link here.

iPhone Ocarina, by Smule

November 7, 2008 /

UPDATE: Corrected the fingering for Prelude of Light and added a link to the Hobbiton Theme from Lord of the Rings.

Anyone that has played The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time has wanted to learn to play the ocarina. Anyone. If you tell me you didn’t, I’ll tell you you’re lying. I’m looking at you, Jesse. The problem is that ocarinas cost money. Good ocarinas cost around $60-80. You can get cheaper ones, sure, but they don’t sound very nice. And even the $60-80 ones aren’t the highest quality. Plus, you drop it, and it’s probably gone. FOREVER.

Well, now you can get your very own ocarina for just $0.99. That’s right. Plus the $200 or $300 you spent on your iPhone. And your monthly AT&T bill. But, still just $0.99 for the ocarina.

My cousin Adam pointed out Smule’s Ocarina that was released today and allows you to play an ocarina by blowing into the microphone and touching the screen. I’m going to repeat that, because it’s fucking awesome. You blow into the microphone and touch the screen to denote pitch.

If you don’t realize how awesome this is, then please review below.


Direct link here.

Now, after seeing that, do you wish you had been the genius that came up with this? I know I do. But it gets better. Not only can you play a variety of awesome songs using your brand new digital ocarina, you can share your musical talent with the world. One of the features of the app is the ability to view a globe with little whitish-yellow “lights” on it. Each of those lights is another user of this app. While you view the globe, one of the lights will begin to send green rings and blue waves into the stratosphere. At this same moment, beautiful (and sometimes awful) music will emanate from your speakers. You’re listening to someone else play their copy of Ocarina.

As if that wasn’t already cool enough, Smule has posted a handy tool for you to create and share your own “sheet music” called the Online Score Generator. Adam pointed out an excellent song for your ocarina-ing pleasure: Song of Time from Ocarina of Time. I have been working on it since this afternoon and have much of it memorized. I’ve also taken it upon myself to find a large collection of ocarina fingerings that you can use with the Score Generator to make it easier to share with your friends and family, as well as bookmark for yourself.

So, here is one that I whipped up for you: Prelude of Light from Ocarina of Time.

And here is another: Hobbiton Theme from Lord of the Rings.

And here is a link to a plethora of fingerings to make your days brighter (WARNING: Some of these fingerings are not compatible without adjusting the key and even then they may not be accurate. You’ll have to experiment with them to figure it out).

No on Prop 8, Lunch in the OC

October 28, 2008 /

Here’s a little video my cousin David produced to get the word out about the attempted ban of gay marriage in California. Pass it on to everyone you know in California. Remember, all citizens deserve the same rights, no matter their race, creed, or orientation. Except for, y’know, Canadians.


Direct link here.

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