digisqueaks

media and generation m^2

// January 22nd, 2010 // No Comments » // media, technology

The other day The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation released several reports regarding the media use of children and teens between the ages of 8 and 18. Although I am not surprised to see that media use has increased, I am a little surprised at the amount of time that is spent on media in general. The study found that on any typical day, the average 8-18 year-old packs 10.75 hours worth of media content into 7.5 hours.

The main areas that were highlighted in a summary of the report were:
Mobile media driving increased consumption
Parents and media rules
Media in the home
Heavy media users report getting lower grades
Black and Hispanic children spend far more time with media than White children do
Big changes in TV
Popular new activities like social networking also contribute to increased media use
Types of media kids consume
High levels of media multitasking

It’s interesting how much of an increase there is once children get to the tween, 11-14 year-old age group. This report didn’t even include texting, which would bring the amount of time up another hour or so for that age group. I also found the gap between gender pretty interesting. The report found that girls spend more time reading and networking than boys, while boys spend more time than girls on video game usage and visiting video websites. I find it rather disappointing that roughly 30% of children have any type of rules regarding the time they can spend with different types of media. One thing’s for sure, marketing departments should have a field day with this report.

Report: Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8 to 18 Year Olds, KFF
Daily Media Use Among Children and Teens Up Dramatically From 5 Years Ago, KFF
Generation M2: Understanding the Multimedia Teen, ReadWriteWeb
Media Consumption Way Up for 8-18 Year-Olds From 5 Years Ago, Game Informer

Also, if you’re interested in media consumption, WIRED came up with an interesting chart in the article, Balance Your Media Diet, as part of their How to Behave: New Rules for Highly Evolved Humans article, which I also featured here.

bbc’s ‘virtual revolution’ series

// January 22nd, 2010 // No Comments » // media, technology

This morning I came across a Gizmodo post, Sneak Peek of New BBC Documentary ‘The Virtual Revolution.’ The multi-part documentary airs on January 30th. It’s a look at the internet featuring interviews with Tim Berners-Lee (MIT engineer behind the web), Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), Jimmy Wales (Wikipedia), Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Al Gore, Bill Gates, Steve Wozniak, and Stephen Fry.

BBC has an ongoing website to capture the project in the making. You can also follow their updates on Twitter (@bbcdigrev). It looks like the series is divided into the following titles: 1. Power on the web, 2. The fate of nations, 3. The cost of free, 4. The web and us. I hadn’t heard of this series before, but it seems pretty interesting.
digital revolution is a four part series for BCC Two about how the web is changing the world. Due in 2010, it’s in production now, and we’re offereing a range of ways to interact with the programme team and the content we produce. get involved

Check it out at their official page BBC -- Digital Revolution.

rumors of hulu’s subscription plan

// January 22nd, 2010 // No Comments » // apps, media, online

When I last checked my Facebook feed, I noticed a lot of comments being tacked on to a post by Mashable, Hulu to Charge Monthly Fee for Access to Unlimited TV Episodes [RUMOR]. I’m surprised that the post is generating so many negative comments. Yes, Hulu is free. Yes, it’s probably one of the most popular outlets through which to access ‘cable’ TV shows online. Can they survive without charging anything? Probably not.

The thing I am most surprised at is that the majority of negative comments seem to be coming from people who already use Hulu regularly. According to several articles (below), Hulu is considering charging to access content beyond the current 5 most recent episodes… which people can’t see as of now anyways (at least for current TV shows). So they are charging for additional content. What’s the big deal? They have to make money somehow. This seems like a great idea to me. A majority of ‘free’ apps already have some sort of premium subscription to access additional content or to simply get rid of ads including Boxee, Pandora, Spotify, Grooveshark, so on and so forth.

Hulu to Charge Monthly Fee for Access to Unlimited TV Episodes, Mashable
Hulu Considering $5 Monthly Fee For Older Episodes, Gizmodo
Hulu’s subscription service might run $5 for access to select shows, Engadget

slidescreen for android

// January 21st, 2010 // No Comments » // android, applications, cellphones, mobile

If you have a phone that runs Android as the OS, I suggest you try SlideScreen. It’s probably not an app that I would have found, had it not been for a recent Gizmodo post, SlideScreen Android App Replaces Homescreen With Beautiful Information.

SlideScreen can either run as a home screen replacement, or as an app that you just call up when you want to use it. There are three main sections on SlideScreen’s “home screen.” The upper section features updates to your email, phone, text messaging, and calendar. The middle section slides up and down and features local weather, time, date, battery power, and a few other icons that would normally be found in Android’s default status bar. The bottom section features stocks, Twitter, and Google Reader updates. At any time you can move the middle bar up to make the bottom section fully accessible via a cycling menu. You can also move the middle bar all the way down to cycle through your top section of personal updates.

The home button can be set to go to your default Android home, or made to go to the SlideScreen home. The menu button, with one touch, brings up your app library with a small area at the top to set 8 shortcuts. With a second touch of your menu button, SlideScreen brings up a choice of Phone or SlideScreen settings.

While it is very slick and a beautiful app, it still leaves a lot to be desired. If we’re adding Twitter support, where’s Facebook or instant messaging support? And where, I ask, is support for the regular Email application. I use Gmail which is nice on SlideScreen, but I also use Email to sync with my nonGmail addresses. Those addresses also happen house my business email. I’d also like some control over how much space each line item takes up, what color they are, and the order in which they appear. Hopefully the developers continue to add features and customization options.

All in all, this app is beautiful. I tested this app via the free version and used it for all of 5 minutes before purchasing the Pro version for $6.99 from the Android Market (SlideScreen). Take a look at the YouTube walkthrough (below) that Larva Labs has posted.

netflix delay, a good thing?

// January 7th, 2010 // 3 Comments » // media, technology, television, what?!

I’m having mixed feelings about the recent Warner Brothers/Netflix agreement. The more articles I read, the more the opinions vary. In case you haven’t come across this news yet, Warner Brothers recently signed an agreement with Netflix which holds Netflix from releasing DVDs of Warner Brothers movies for rent until 28 days after the movie has been released. In return, Warner Brothers will be selling discs to Netflix at a discount and will allow Netflix to post a wider selection of older titles for its Watch Instantly section.

This could be good. It would be nice to have more mainstream titles added to the Watch Instantly catalog. I doubt however, that this will boost the sale of Warner Brothers DVDs at the time of release. People are turning to Netflix because they don’t want to have to buy DVDs either because they don’t want to own the DVD, don’t want to venture out to rental stores, or because they are trying to cut costs. There are a number of other methods that people can turn to in order to see the new releases, the biggest being the iTunes Store, RedBox, Blockbuster, XBox Live/Playstation Network, Amazon On Demand, video rental stores, and as Gizmodo suggests, peer-to-peer sharing via torrents. I’m guessing the latter of the list will gain some momentum, especially as other companies join in.

Elsewhere:

• Netflix, Warner Brothers End Dispute, Reach Deal on DVDs – Bloomberg on BusinessWeek
• Netflix Is Losing New Release Rentals – Gizmodo
• 28 Days Later: Say Goodbuy to the Netflix New Release Rental – Mashable
• Netflix, Hollywood Politics and the War for Streaming Movies – Gizmodo
• Netflix bends over, agrees to delay renting Warner DVDs – Engadget

personal “best of the rest” list

// January 4th, 2010 // No Comments » // gaming, media, technology

This weekend I read through Joystiq’s Best of the Rest series of posts. In these posts, each author goes through and lists their favorite video games of the year as well as a few games which they found disappointing. Here’s my personal list.

Uncharted 2 – Definitely the top of my list for 2009. First, you couldn’t get closer to playing through a movie if you tried. Uncharted 2 had an excellent use of sound and graphics, as well as excellent interaction with the environment. My favorite part of any media is when it makes me go, “This is amazing, I can’t even begin to think how much work went into this.” Uncharted 2’s visuals were unbelievable. The level in the mountains of Nepal was breathtaking. I loved that there was almost no load time and I often was confused whether I was watching a cutscene, or expected to control Drake. I especially appreciated how much of a step up the game was from it’s predecessor, only because I thought the original Uncharted was an amazing game to begin with. Uncharted 2 added vehicles to interact with, more puzzles, another excellent story. It also continued to utilize sound not only as background noise, but as a main component. As soon as I started hearing drums and an increase in volume, my heart would start pumping with the expectation of a new battle with the enemy.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – Yeah, so it made many of Joystiq’s “disappointment” lists. Personally, I think these games are amazing. Yes, they stretch pretty far into the “this probably would never happen” side of things, but again, like Uncharted 2, the graphics, sound, and varied interaction was just awesome. This game was one of the most intense games I’ve ever played. It also made me reflect and pay close attention to how anyone else played through it. I played through the game and there were certain points, other than just the airport scene that made me go, “What the f***?! I can’t believe they actually did that.” It toyed with my emotions, and made me think. On the other hand, I also watched a close friend play the game with almost no regard whatsoever to what his character was being made to do. As soon as the airport scene came up he just started firing. Two other players, a bit younger, I let play the game. The older one, admittedly, was not within the “Mature” rating age, I sat with him while he played “the scene.” Although he didn’t fire at first, I could see he didn’t really think about what was going on. I explained thoroughly what was going on in the game, and what they were actually playing out. We had a quick discussion and both boys were surprised where the game was taking things… especially when the game makes you feel like you are a modern soldier with “realistic” missions. He stopped shooting. His younger brother played through the game and when he got to that part, he asked me to skip over it as soon as he was dropped into the airport. He was appalled at the task before him.

inFamous – So, at first, I have to admit that I had no idea what people were thinking when I saw this on so many Game of the Year nomination lists. The graphics are good, but not as good as the two previous titles I’ve mentioned. The story is good, but you don’t really understand what is going on throughout most of the game. The sound is alright, but not a major component. But the interaction and the sandbox environment… once you start to build up your powers, you can’t stop. I mean come on… you’re electric! Once I realized that I could toy with the game AI a little, I started to have some fun, now I can’t stop. You can climb literally everything, glide/fly through the air, drain anything electric of it’s power. You also start to acquire new powers which enable you to vary your attacks quite a bit. I still don’t think it’s GOTY material, but it’s definitely a blast.

Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack In Time – I can’t help it, I love Ratchet & Clank. It’s probably one of my favorite series on the Playstation, and one of the main reasons I won’t switch to another console. Graphics, sound, script, interaction, weapon modifications… the fun never ends.

Other – Plants vs. Zombies and Machinarium.

2009 Titles That Look Awesome, But Are Still Sitting On My Shelf Waiting To Be Played – (Too Many) Red Faction: Guerilla, Assassin’s Creed 2, Killzone 2, Resident Evil 5, Fallout 3: DLC, SKATE 2.

Disappointments – Borderlands. It’s good. It’s creative. It’s attractive. It totally feels like a rip off of Fallout 3. And it takes sooo long to build up your character.

video game timeline

// December 17th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // gadgets, gaming, technology

Presented by Online Education

Personally, I think it’s missing quite a few important systems/games, but it’s still an interesting timeline.

mobile web apps vs. native

// December 16th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // OS, applications, cellphones, mobile, software, technology

This morning I came across an article on ReadWriteWeb that briefly explored the concept of having mobile web apps versus mobile apps that need to go through an acceptance process. The apps may or may not end up in one of the mobile app stores. I’m a big fan of mobile apps in general.

I have an iPod Touch and have used many free and paid apps which I have purchased through the App Store. I also unlocked my iPod Touch for a time and took the chance to use some apps through Cydia. Recently, I bought the DROID and have been using apps which I purchased from the Android Market. On occasion, I also use mobile web apps.

In a location where phone service is not always available, I use many an app that does not rely on having service. Mainly these apps are for passing time (playing games) or catching up on a little reading with apps like Kindle for iPhone. A good majority of the apps I use on my phone or my iPod do require an internet connection whether it is wireless or 3G. For those apps, I wouldn’t really mind if the apps were replaced by web counterparts. A few web services that I use now (Xpenser, Meebo, Facebook) either only have a web app, or are inferior apps on either iPhone or Android OS and I would rather use the web interface. Some apps lack a user friendly, attractive UI and I would much rather just see development go into a web interface. If it’s something I use frequently, it’s quite simple to bookmark a web site on my phone’s desktop to return quickly.

A clear upside that I can see to a movement towards mobile web apps is that HTML5, CSS etc. is much more accessible than the development tools necessary to create apps for certain app stores. It would most certainly bring an increase in development and the web apps would most likely be accessible from all phone OSs. It would be nice to see apps that were just as good on Android as they are on the iPhone.

Of course, there are many downsides as well. First, it would be hard to charge for web apps, although I suppose there could be subscription type fees applied. Second, like the current stores, there would be an overwhelming amount of shovelware out there and would most likely open the phones to web delivered virus attacks. You would also need a signal in order to access the apps and at first, page transfers will be slower than moving around in native apps.

Native apps are preferred for now, but I’m guessing there will be a big increase in web app development next year, especially as the divide between phone OSs continues to grow. If developers could make a web app that could compete with similar apps across the various app stores and find a way to make a profit, it could start a wave of innovative new web apps that everyone could benefit from.

pay for tweets? sounds messy.

// December 1st, 2009 // No Comments » // mobile, online, social media, what?!

In the past week, there have been several articles on both ReadWriteWeb and TechCrunch suggesting that Twitter Japan might start charging for access to tweets. TechCrunch posted a piece, 6 Reasons Why Twitter Japan’s Subscription Model Might Work. The post cited that Japanese mobile users are already used to having to pay for several services similar to Twitter. They also stated that Japanese users are sometimes more interested in the personal lives of celebrities and growth on Twitter Japan is accelerating compared to Twitter usage elsewhere that is beginning to flat line.

I’m very skeptical of having to pay for tweets. The first concern that came to mind was that I doubt many people would want to have to pay for tweets to begin with. Yes, there are some obsessive fans out there, but what if they are fans of 50 celebrities who all start charging for access to their tweets? I’m guessing each update would be a few cents, but that could certainly add up quickly. Next, what is to stop certain people from aggregating tweets of several people and releasing them under their own account? They could follow a few celebrities themselves, retweet the tweets and then charge a lump sum so that their own followers would then get the updates of a number of celebrities. I’d rather follow and pay for one stream instead of pay for 50 individually.

I can certainly see charging corporations a small subscription fee for tweeting. Many companies are benefiting greatly through both sales and customer relations as a result of their social media interactions, including Twitter. If Twitter wants to make money, it seems like it would be much easier to charge people a subscription fee instead of charging to view individual streams. Of course, as soon as they start charging subscription fees, I’m guessing many will decide to go with other microblogging services to get their link, news, and status publishing fix.

Twitter Japan To Introduce Paid Premium Accounts Next January

6 Reasons Why Twitter Japan’s Subscription Model Might Work (In Japan)

“Misunderstanding”: Twitter Japan Now Says There Won’t Be A Subscription Model (Update 3)

gaming industry enables social networking

// November 18th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // applications, gaming, online, social media

This morning, I read a great post at the UW MCDM blog, Flip the Media. The post was titled, Social Networks and Video Games by Brian Johnson. The post went on to tell how game companies are just starting to work social networking into their systems and how useful social media integration could be.

When I read the post, it got me to thinking, why has it taken consoles this long to integrate social networking into the systems? Why didn’t PC games jump on the bandwagon a long time ago…and why haven’t they yet? Is they Wii going to jump on at all?

Yesterday, came the release of an Xbox update that added Twitter, Facebook, Last.fm, and Zune support. Here’s a few of the features (accessible with an Xbox LIVE Gold Membership), as listed on Xbox.com:

• Facebook: The usual, plus invite friends to play over Xbox LIVE and see your friends up close with full screen photos
• Twitter: Read, reply, and post updates to your Twitter feed and keep up to date in real time
• Last.fm: Explore radio stations, skip, ban and love tracks as you listen
• Zune: Instant-on 1080p HD streaming video, share experiences through Video Party

Today, comes the PlayStation 3 Firmware update which will enable people to:

• Update your Facebook News Feed with Trophy and PlayStation store activity. It also enables developers to set specific criteria to publish additional game information to your feed.

No Twitter, or Last.fm support just yet. I seriously hope that they continue to add social networking features to all of the systems. It is a great way for people to share a common interest. You should be able to link to friends and share what’s going on as you play. As Johnson said, it would be great if players could connect and share tips and strategies for certain games as they came across certain areas in games. The Xbox update gives the ability to see which of your Facebook friends use Xbox LIVE and add them to your Xbox friends list. I really hope this is a feature that also gets added to PlayStation eventually.

The gaming consoles are just starting to dip their toes in the water on this one. I hope they decide to jump right in because it it would be great to see everyone connect while doing something that they enjoy.