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Dr. Bill Netcast – 177 – (02/26/11)

Netcast Show Notes:

Zelda Turns 25, GSotW: Supertintin Skype Video Recorder, Xoom Android tablet, Amazon Prime’s video streaming, Geek Project: HTML5 and WebM Video, Global spam levels dropping, Xoom Corp. sues Motorola over name, VMware View and VMware ThinApp Updates!

Links that pertain to this Netcast:

techpodcasts.com

Totally Cool Tech

Supertintin Skype Video Recorder

Geek News Central

Force Skype HQ Video Utility

Download FLV

Download M4V

Download WebM

Download MP3

Download Ogg

Available on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oKmdIve_lg

Available on Vimeo at: http://vimeo.com/20419647

Available on Blip.TV at: http://blip.tv/file/4818477

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Rock on! I love View, and I love ThinApp! Now, two new updates with cool, new features!

VMware View and VMware ThinApp Updates!

In View:

“While View 4.6 is considered a minor update, I am actually very excited about the new capabilities we have baked in to this version of our award winning desktop virtualization solution. Among the minor bug fixes and USB updates, View 4.6 delivers enhancements to View Security Server. VMware View 4.6 now provides support for external end-users connecting to their View desktop via PCoIP across the WAN. This new support provides for a simple, secure remote connection and authentication as users connect to their desktops outside of the firewall.

With this new native support, View Security Server provides an end-to-end PCoIP protocol session, and also removes the requirement for enterprise-class SSL VPNs (you can still use them with View and PCoIP if that’s what you have in your environment). For businesses this means reduced desktop virtualization infrastructure cost and configuration issues along with lower ongoing support costs. The result is a tightly-integrated and cost-effective desktop virtualization deployment that provides for easy authentication for those of us who work remotely. We think you will agree – it provides a vastly improved remote user experience.”

And in ThinApp:

“VMware ThinApp 4.6.1 improves packaging for Microsoft Office 2010. We are seeing businesses adopt ThinApp as they look to migrate to Windows 7. VMware ThinApp packages applications into single executables that run completely isolated from each other and the operating system for conflict-free execution on end-point devices.”

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…Would smell as sweet! It seems that Xoom Corp. doesn’t like Motorola using the name “Xoom” as a name for their WAY cool Android Tablet device! Will Motorola change the name, or fight it? Or, just “pay off” Xoom Corp? We’ll see! (By the way, what I have seen of the Xoom, I love! I can’t wait to get my hands on one to test it out!)

Xoom Corp. sues Motorola for obvious reasons

“We’re pretty confident you know what Xoom is by now. Stories we’ve run about the upcoming Android 3.0 tablet from Motorola Mobility have been some of the most popular items of the last three months.

Yesterday, just before all the advance reviews were published, law firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius filed a trademark suit with the US District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of San Francisco-based money transfer company Xoom Corporation.

Xoom Corp. says it has actively used the name for its website since 2003, and has an incontestable trademark on it.

‘Through this long online use accessible via computer and mobile devices, Xoom’s trade name and the XOOM products have become associated exclusively with Xoom. Until [the] Defendants’ adoption of the Xoom brand without authorization from Xoom, Xoom to its knowledge was the only entity using the name or mark for online product offerings,’ the company’s complaint said.

In the suit, it asks for permanent injunction and treble damages pending an immediate ‘temporary restraining order and/or preliminary injunction.’ The launch of Motorola’s Xoom was scheduled for today, and the case temporary injunction has not yet been granted, so it is unclear whether consumer availability of the product will be disrupted.”

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What’s up with this? I suspect a conspiracy! But, dropping Spam levels? That would be a GOOD conspiracy!

Global spam e-mail levels suddenly fall

“The amount of junk e-mail being sent across the globe has seen a dramatic fall in recent months. The volume of spam has dropped steadily since August, but the Christmas period saw a precipitous decline. One security firm detected around 200 billion spam messages being sent each day in August, but just 50 billion in December. While the reasons for the decline are not fully understood, spam watchers warn the lull may not last. Around the Christmas holidays, three of the largest spam producers curtailed their activity, Paul Wood, a senior analyst at Symantec Hosted Services told BBC News. ‘But it’s hard to say why,’ he added.”

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Interesting! I read an article in Streaming Media magazine about methods of transcoding video to WebM format. Two seemed interesting, both free, one was Miro’s Video Converter:

http://www.mirovideoconverter.com/

The other was nice in that besides being free, it also allowed a lot more granular control of the transcoding process. It is a Firefox Plug-in called “FireFogg“:

http://firefogg.org/

It requires Firefox 3.5 or later. I tried it on my last Netcast video file, and the results were pretty impressive, here’s the HTML5 code used to stream it once the file was transcoded to WebM format:

<center>
<video controls width=”640″ height=”420″>
<source src=”DrBillTV021911V-176.webm”>
Your browser does not support the video tag.
</video>
</center>

</body>
</html>

Also, try this… “click” along the timeline that appears as you “float” your mouse over it. Notice that you can “jump around” in the streamed video timeline to “pick up” anywhere along the timeline. Pretty nice! There are “high end” video streaming software that allows this, but this is VERY simple and totally free!

Pretty cool! Of course, you’ll have to use either Firefox or Chrome, or another browser that supports HTML5 to view it. For now, IE is right out! However, this may, indeed, be the future of webcasting! It sure is simple!

It was a fun Geek Project! Try it yourself if you have a need to!

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For Amazon Prime members… a pretty good reason to join Amazon Prime!

Amazon Prime’s unlimited video streaming now live

“After a brief tease last month, Amazon on Tuesday gave its Prime subscribers unlimited streaming on Amazon Instant Video. Those who pay into the sped-up shipping plan now have free access to the 5,000 movies and TV shows marked as eligible. The catalog is just a subset but includes a mix of recent and older titles.

The option works on both Macs and Windows PCs and doesn’t preclude using other choices. Those who want it can still pay to download a video, including rentals or full purchases, if they need to get it to another device.

Prime costs $79 per year and still provides free two-day shipping along with occasional added perks.

The new Instant Video bonus is a shot across the bow of Netflix. It has a much larger, roughly 20,000-title streaming catalog but costs $96 per year to use and is limited strictly to the core video service. It may also help draw users away from pay-per-title use both on Amazon and on competitors like iTunes, which is still the leading online video service in spite of Netflix’s presence.”

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I like the looks of this one… BUT, it looks a mite expensive, but if you want to buy me one, I won’t complain!

Xoom Android tablet set for sale Thursday at Verizon

“Verizon Wireless will start selling Motorola’s Xoom tablet on Feb. 24 for $599.99 with a two-year service agreement, the carrier confirmed today.

Without a contract, the 10.1-in. Xoom, the first tablet to run the new “Honeycomb” version of Android, will cost $799.99… Verizon said that wireless 3G service for the Xoom starts at $20 a month for 1GB of data. Further details on 3G pricing were not immediately available. Upgrades to 4G LTE service will be possible in the second quarter at no extra charge, Verizon added in a statement. The Xoom also comes Wi-Fi-ready.”

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Wow! My son, the Gamemaster, is 18… and now in college! He loves his games… and I can remember him going on about the Legend of Zelda games… hard to believe that they are older than he is!

The Legend of Zelda Turns 25

“On February 21, 1986 — exactly 25 years ago today — the very first copy of the game we know as The Legend of Zelda was sold in Japan, jump-starting an iconic franchise that has spawned various sequels, books, television shows, and a fan community larger than perhaps any other videogame series.

As many 1UP readers know, we’re really big on anniversaries and birthdays around here, and we’re even bigger on Zelda, so we’re celebrating Link’s 25th with not one, not two, but ten retrospective features looking back at the impact the series has had on our lives.”

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I mentioned this software on the last Dr. Bill show… and I had some reservations about resolution issues. But I have found those answers! Cool stuff! Highly geeky!

Supertintin Skype Video Recorder

“Finally, an easy way to record online conversations. Supertintin is a recording tool for online interviews, conferences, lessons, podcasts, or family VoIP calls.

Both Audio and Video: Record all audio and video streams including Skype voice mail and screen sharing video.

Easiest to Use: Very easy to record and playback.

Highest Quality: Supertintin records by capturing original media data while making sure there is no data loss. Because it is not a screen-capture recorder, video quality is not affected at all if you open, close, resize messenger windows while recording.

Picture-in-Picture: Record video in Picture-in-Picture, Side-by-Side, Remote-Only, or Local-Only mode! And you can also record local and remote video as two separate files.

Saving. Supertintin lets you easily save your conversations to your computer’s hard drive or a portable USB drive, allowing you to re-watch your personal and business conversations as easily as watching your favorite DVD.”

You can use this software:

Force Skype HQ/HD Webcam Video

“Allows you to Enable/Disable (and even configure) High-Quality Video in Skype, and even High-Definition Video!
Pay attention that normally Skype activates HQ Video only if you have a Dual-Core processor, and an expensive Logitech webcam.”

Then go in and set the resolution in Supertintin, as shown here:

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (227.6MB) | Embed

Dr. Bill Netcast – 176 – (02/19/11)

Netcast Show Notes:

Techpodcasts Network sharing, Roku Secret Codes, An Anti-laser, GSotW: LastPass, IE9 Release Candidate and the web, Watson beats the humans on Jeopardy, and may get into medicine! What about Mind Control… of a computer? Also, a video Skype recorder.

Links that pertain to this Netcast:

techpodcasts.com

Totally Cool Tech

Geek News Central

LastPass Password Utility

Download FLV

Download M4V

Download WebM

Download MP3

Download Ogg

Available on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRMhgwkdy4o

Available on Vimeo at: http://vimeo.com/20174057

Available on Blip.TV at: http://blip.tv/file/4791257

Posted by DrBill | No Comments »