Watch Live: Blockbuster Streaming Service Brings More Movies than Netflix [Blockbuster]

Watch out Netflix, big blue's coming for you. Dish Network subscriptions are getting bundled up with a new service called Blockbuster Movie Pass, which includes Blockbuster's DVD-by-Mail and a new media streaming service. The bottom line? More titles than Netflix.

The combination satellite, mail, and streaming service is pretty massive: 100,000 DVDs by mail, 4,000 movies streaming by web, and 3,000 to your TV. In keeping with the old Blockbuster plans, you'll be able to exchange your movies in store and get access to 3,000 games by mail.

Adding the new streaming service will start $10 a month for existing Dish Network subscribers—expect to pay more if you want more than one DVD a month. New subscribers will get one year free if they subscribe before the end of January. What about the rest of us? Too bad! Blockbuster Movie Pass wiil be available only to Dish Network subscribers—at least for now.

Should Netflix be shaking in its boots? The $10 plan would be a no-brainer if I subscribed to cable or satellite. Netflix's combination DVD and streaming costs $16 per month and doesn't offer games, or in-store exchange, which I always thought was a convenient feature. Blockbuster says it has more than anyone else, but Netflix's streaming library of 20,000 titles will probably keep a lot of people hanging on—no matter how disaffected they are with Netflix after the company's recent missteps. [Dish Network]

Related Stories

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

WSJ Live Brings You Live News and On Demand Video on Your iPad [IPad Apps]

WSJ Live is an excellent app from the folks at the Wall Street Journal, it gives you access to live news about the Market, Tech and more AND also gives you access to the entire video archive of the WSJ. on demand videos. It's like having the WSJ in video form (in fact, most of the content is made with WSJ reporters). If you like to play something on your iPad while you're at work or just want news on in the background, WSJ Live is the perfect app for that. And it's FREE! [itunes]

Related Stories

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Microchip Implant Brings a Lost Kitten Home After Five Years and 1,800 Miles [Cats]

Five years ago, a cat named Willow went missing in Boulder, Colorado. She turned up this week 1,800 miles away in New York City. How'd her owners track her down? A tiny microchip, and huge heaping helpings of luck.

Willow is (must be) some kind of Achillean battle kitty. Her estranged owner explained that the family gave up hope after a while because of the "tons of coyotes" and owls in the area, assuming she'd been eaten. Nope. She was living it up in New York City.

We'll never know exactly how she got to New York. Maybe she just hoofed it the whole way; maybe she fell in with some kitty-lovin' hitchhikers; or could be she rode the rails and lived off of cans of baked beans cooked over barrel fires the whole way across the country. A spokesman for the New York's Animal Care & Control said Willow's in "very good condition, clean, a little chunky," so obviously she's had someone taking care of her once she got to the city.

Pet microchips are passive RFID devices, and don't require an internal power source, so they can last the lifetime of a pet. They're about the size of a grain of rice and generally cost under $100. Scans for the chips are standard when a lost or stray animal is found by authorities, and the biggest hassle is figuring out which of the why-are-there-this-many services has the owner's information.

Willow's owner joked that all of his pets are microchipped, and he'd microchip his kids if he could. But really, if it's this easy to reunite a cat with its family across five years and half the country, why aren't we microchipping basically everything in our lives? [NY Times, The Atlantic, Wikipedia, LA Times]

Image credit: Bebeto Matthews/Associated Press

You can keep up with Kyle Wagner, the author of this post, on Twitter and sort of Google+. Related Stories

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Xbox Live "Metro" Brings More Bing, Kinect, and Cable TV Integration To the Holidays [Xbox Live]

I sat down with Microsoft the other day to talk about the upcoming Xbox Live refresh that includes fancy new Bing integration, Kinect controlling nearly everything, deeper Facebook integration, and watching live cable TV on your Xbox.

Microsoft talked about partnerships with regional cable providers that would integrate the console with their services. Live TV and video on demand are currently being discussed. Basically, your Xbox becomes a cable box. Some partnerships will include live TV access, others will just be Video on Demand. If you're lucky, your provider will allow you to access both on the Xbox. Like Netflix, you'll be able to chat with friends while watching TV. When asked about DVR capabilities, while they don't have plans for it now, they didn't discount the possibility. But I wouldn't hold my breath.

Microsoft intends to announce cable-provider partnerships when the service goes live during the holidays and will continue to announce new partnerships thereafter.

And because telling everyone about your crop situation on Facebook wasn't enough, deeper Xbox Live integration with the social network gives gamers the ability to post all, or only some, of their achievements. Additionally, posting a message about a game via a new feature known as Beacons is intended to announce a game you intend to play to your Xbox and Facebook friends.

The Bing demo was impressive as it featured the ability to search not only the Xbox Live and Zune Marketplace, but also the content of their partners like Netflix, Hulu, and the video on demand libraries of cable partnered cable providers. Gamers can speak their queries via the Kinect or type them in with the control pad.

Users can control nearly every aspect of Xbox Live with Kinect except for the settings portion. So expect to yell and wave your arms in front of your TV while looking for add-ons for your games.

Finally, they showed me the new remote for the Xbox that's expected to hit store shelves in November and set you back $19.99. No, the remote does not have a keyboard and they have no immediate plans to release one with a keyboard which seems like a great opportunity for a third-party hardware developer.

The Xbox Live dashboard refresh, codenamed "Metro," is expected to hit this holiday season.

Related Stories

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Mozilla Brings the Best of Honeycomb to Firefox for Tablets [Internet]

Mozilla released a sneak peak at Firefox for Tablets today, a version of the popular web browser built on the Firefox Mobile engine but optimized for a tablet's roomier screen.

As we can see from the screen shots, tabs will now either appear along the left or top of the screen—depending on its orientation. Yes, it looks like Android 3.0, likely because Mozilla drew inspiration from Honeycomb's design language. But, Android influence aside, Firefox's trademark elements like the large Back button and unique tab shape be included. [Firefox for Tablets via Mashable]

A closeup of the design details

The Awesomebar You can keep up with Andrew Tarantola, the author of this post, on Twitter, Facebook, or Google+. Related Stories

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.