Streaming Video

Many of the same players are still doing great stuff, including Roku, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu Plus, and Vudu. Netflix is turning heads with the release of original series (including the highly anticipated return of Arrested Development), and Amazon Prime continues to add more content every few months.

As before, the sands of streaming video constantly shift, and so it’s not easy to know what’s available on each service, or how long it will be accessible. Thankfully services like CanIStreamIt are making it less difficult.

I’ve seen a trend toward allowing access to online video only if you subscribe to cable, which might work for some, but I don’t get the sense that I’m missing anything essential. Eventually, it all comes out on DVD, where I can simply rent it.

I’ve experimented with PlayOn, a service that collects and catalogs most of the free video that’s available online and packages it in a format that can easily be accessed. They don’t explain it that way in their sales pitch, however, which is frustrating. Instead they make it seem like it’s a magic “free cable” program, which it certainly isn’t. As nice as it seems, I just haven’t found myself using it. It’s easier to bookmark free video pages in Chrome (I’ve set up a special account just for online video, and sync it across machines).

My favorite source for streaming world news has become the 24/7 Al Jazeera English channel. I find that it has excellent reporting from underserved areas of the world, offers new perspectives, and isn’t laden with anti-American/Western propaganda, as it’s sometimes portrayed. I’m hoping that more people get to see what a valuable source of current events and in-depth reporting they are.

I use the free media center XMBC to access most of my streaming content and do my DVD-watching. As an open-source project, it continues to improve with every version, and has much more of a future than Windows Media Center seems to.

Over-The-Air (OTA) Video

Using an HD antenna continues to be one of the best values in entertainment. I continue to enjoy beautiful picture and sound quality over a wide array of channel options, and it remains completely free. OTA shows also prevent me from getting closer to the bandwidth caps imposed by my ISP.

My DVR of choice, Windows Media Player, seems to be less and less of a priority for Microsoft. It doesn’t even come with Windows 8 (you have to add it on yourself), and so I think it may be going the way of the dinosaur. Such a shame.

The new player to watch in this space is Aereo, and I’m looking very forward to them coming to my area someday. The service allows you to view and record OTA programming over the Internet, circumventing copyright law by using a complicated dance  that essentially provides you with your very own little HD antenna back at Aereo’s local HQ.

The Boxee Box also looks interesting, as it has a OTA DVR built-in along with all of the usual streaming options, and XBMC has just added DVR support to their latest beta, which is quite promising.

Conclusion

It’s been several years since we’ve cut the cord, and I remain quite happy with the choice. I never lack for entertainment choices, I save a great deal of money, and I am constantly finding new and interesting things to explore.

My hope is that things will continue to expand and improve between now and my next update, but between lobbying efforts and back-room deals, I’m not entirely confident that things will get better. The best I can do is enjoy it while it’s here, and keep spreading the word.

Cell Phones

Today there is no reason to sign a contract for cell phone service. Top-tier, expensive phones like the iPhone and Google Nexus are now available without a contract, and there are plenty of affordable and reliable choices for considerably less. Non-contract players like StraightTalk, MetroPCS (now owned by T-Mobile), Virgin Mobile, Cricket, and (my choice) Republic Wireless offer excellent service for hundreds less than the big carriers over a typical two-year span, and rumor has it that T-Mobile will soon be ditching their own contracts.

As long as you’re willing to pay for your phone up-front (a practice in most markets worldwide), you’ll save. My current deal with Republic Wireless, for example, gets me unlimited phone minutes, texting, and Internet use for $19 per month. A perfectly serviceable, but not cutting-edge Android phone costs $249.

The “catch” with Republic Wireless, which really isn’t one in my opinion, is that it can use WiFi networks for voice and data traffic instead of relying entirely on cell towers. Because at least 80% of the time I use my phone I’m near a WiFi network, this is a virtually unnoticeable hurdle.

Home Phones

I’m still enjoying the Obihai device to send and receive calls via Google Voice. As I’d hoped, Google is still letting us call anywhere in the US and Canada for free, and the hookup to our cordless phone base station continues to be rock solid.

If I made more than a few phone calls a week at home (neither of us back at the ranch are exactly “phone people”), I’d very likely upgrade to something more robust but still extremely cost-effective like the Ooma. One important thing it provides that Google Voice doesn’t is 911 service, almost worth the upgrade in and of itself.

Part Two, coming soon, will update cable-less entertainment choices.

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It certainly makes me think closely about how easy it is to slip out of the real world and become submerged in the carefully-constructed “reality” that our entertainment choices create.

How do you balance being aware of the horrific suffering so many endure in the world (as well as the endless list of big problems that need fixing), while also doing what you need to get through each week by taking some time to tune it out?

The 6 Best Dresses At The Golden Globes
The 6 Best Dresses At The Golden Globes ‘Game Change’ star Julianne Moore wowed in her elegant black and white ensemble that proved to be the perfect blend of modern and avant-garde. ‘Game Change’ sta…

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Henceforth I’m cross-posting most of my Google+ content here on the blog. From today onward, you’ll also see any new posts. These posts will have a special Google+ link at the end (see yesterday for an example), so you’ll easily be able to identify them.

My hope is that it will help keep things a bit fresher. Huge thanks to Daniel Treadwell for the fantastic WordPress plugin that makes the magic happen!

Thank you for your continued support!

Here’s Dunkin, taking a break from playing. Yet another wonderful cat in need of a home, this youngster is a little more chill than some of the others. He likes playing and really enjoys the attention of being pet.

I believe I shared a photo of his brother, Cooper, back in December, who has since found a great family to live with. As much as I miss visiting them when they go, I’m always psyched to hear about a successful adoption.

Dunkin

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I also love when they point out that freedom of speech does not equal freedom from criticism! Yes!

Off Book publishes some of the best online video I’ve come across, and I hope they keep going for a long time to come.

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Now that their Kickstarter campaign has delivered my e-book reward, I can finally review Start Here…

Rating: 5/5

My tendency is to read the same types of books, again and again. It’s not that I’m unaware of the existence of other genres. I know that there are a host of wonderful authors just waiting to be discovered, and a zillion “best book” lists out there. I want to be in the know, and to broaden my literary horizons. It’s just that I don’t want to slog through mountains of information to find the good stuff – I need guidance.

This book fulfilled my need perfectly. It sticks to twenty-five stellar authors, many of whom I’ve heard of but never read, and some of whom I’d never heard of (clearly, I’m unhip). Each chapter helped to get me interested in something new, and told me what to expect along the journey. For authors I already know well, I think that the advice was spot on.

Often the suggestions ease you into the author’s work to prepare you for more challenging and rewarding things to come. Other times, the order helps you get maximum enjoyment from a best-loved work by introducing you to the author’s style and themes first; priming the pump, as it were. What a nice way to go. I can’t wait to dive in.

CanIStream.It: Search Netflix, Hulu, Vudu, Google Play, Amazon, iTunes and more for movies and TV shows to stream instantly, rent, and buy.
CanIStream.it allows you to search Netflix, Hulu, Vudu, Google Play, Amazon, Crackle, Redbox, XFINITY Streampix, HBO GO, Showtime, Blockbuster, Youtube Movies, EPIX, and iTunes to see if a movie or t…

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Modernized President: Portraits of Abraham Lincoln, In Color | LightBox | TIME.com
For this week’s issue of TIME, Sanna Dullaway digitally colorized archival images of America’s 16th president in hopes of bringing history to life. Here’s a look back on the iconic images she’s revisi…

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