TIME.com: Out Of The XBox

TIME.com: Out Of The XBox -- May. 23, 2005: "Microsoft, a company known primarily for making highly profitable business software, has put a box in your living room. It entered your house under the humble pretense of being a game machine, a toy for the kids, but it just ate your CD player and your DVD player, and it's looking hungrily at your telephone. It's all up in your media cabinet. It's talking to your iPod, your digital camera, your TV, your stereo, your PC, your credit card and the Internet. It has created a miniature electronic ecosystem inside your home, with itself at the center."
Now as many of you know "I AM NOT A GAMER" i have tried to waste hours playing games and even getting to understand why people buy a console if the same games are on PC-CD with a "gamerig" worthy of all that ATI and Dual-Core hungry you just need a game to pop in (yes I know it's cheaper) but still....Not convinced. Now the internet and a million of gamers and "Modders" have altered their XBox to make a "Media Center" with all the great things of a TiVo or a Windows Media Center, now THAT is appealing to me. But now they have done it, they have gotten inside your house via your kids and will be moving from their rooms to the living room. Making the Tech-Oriented dads send their kids to sleep early so they can use the "Silver Thingy". Of course somebody thought about it before but hey... Guess who got there first...yep you guessed right our beloved Microsoft. This has being a daring and risky move but I'm sure it will be worth it. Being able to plug to your computer and show your photos and videos, being able to plug to your iPod to hear the music and even to your camera (let's not forget email and free long distance), they have really made me happy this time. Here's is how to read the whole article

How Battlestar Galactica Killed TV

How Battlestar Galactica Killed TV: "While you might assume the SciFi Channel saw a significant drop-off in viewership as a result of this piracy, it appears to have had the reverse effect: the series is so good that the few tens of thousands of people who watched downloaded versions told their friends to tune in on January 14th, and see for themselves. From its premiere, Battlestar Galactica has been the most popular program ever to air on the SciFi Channel, and its audiences have only grown throughout the first series. Piracy made it possible for 'word-of-mouth' to spread about Battlestar Galactica." This is absurd I can't believe the shutdown these sites before actually reading the reports on ratings. This serves as an example of how the internet and specially "Bittorrent" has changed the way we watch TV. Form articles calling it "The Poor's man TiVo" to people who just wanted to watch the show later. No it does not hurt Ratings, it does not hurt advertisers in fact as we have seen with Sci-Fi Channel it increases the range of audience and creates desires for shows on TV. This are the sites down and this is the post-script of "Piracy is good" A very good piece to read.

If the show has already been showed and you won't be able to see it again, is it such a sin to download the episode of "Desperate Housewives" you missed. If you don't have TiVo in your area, is it "ethically illegal" to downloaded and watch it on your "Media Center" later. And if you are seeing such a decrease in ratings (which I doubt), why don't you step it up and move forward Broadband TV or why don't you offer an iTunes for TV. Downloadable episodes with ads, maybe less Hi-Def but there is a long list of options to study before shutting down sites and people who in fact by "word-of-mouth" are bringing new viewers to their TV's.

OilComputer Yes it's that crazy I had to post it.

Oilcomputer.com ~~~ the oilcomputer paradise: "Yes! it's really a computer completely submerged in vegetable oil!". I know you must be going nuts over the pictures but it is true. This guy (because of a beer induced bet) put all of his system except moving parts like DVD and HD in Vegetable Oil. Now I don't know if i should consider this as a cooling solution or just plain old "Wacky" people. Anyhow the computer has been up and running for more than a year and he even got his friend to join the "Oil Revolution" too.

CSI making DNA Interesting!

Classes give budding CSIs a reality check -: "Experts say curtailing some of the myths surrounding forensic science is becoming even more important because of what they call the “CSI effect” — the shows are giving juries unrealistic expectations of what their local crime labs are capable of doing." This is something we have talked and fear. The fact that people are starting to believe Crime Labs are as sophisticated and Fun as the ones we see on TV every week. This has been known as the "CSI Effect" affecting jurors and judges all over the country. I have to say that CSI is one of my Favorite TV Series but this new phenomenon is making me shaky. Just remember people that TV is Tv and Real life Crimes don't take 1 Hour to be solved.

Beer makes you clever: It's official

Beer makes you clever: official | The Register: "We already know that beer doesn't actually make you fat but rather fights cancer while promoting world peace and understanding and a brighter future for all our children." Well here we have it to all my intellectual social-drinkers, a new study has found that beer can promote some nerve growth in the brain. Is it for cultural and intelectual purposes or is it just to compensate our balance? I believe will never know but what we CAN do is to drink a moderate amount of beer (or your desired alcohol) and feel better about our health...Not to forget a few laughs too.