It's a total hatchet job, just ten minutes spent messing on PS with the idea. Might end up working on it with pen/pencil later.
Friday 31 July 2009
Saturday 25 July 2009
Saturday 18 July 2009
Wednesday 8 July 2009
Thursday 2 July 2009
"If You Splash Rhythmically While Doing It, You're Not Drowning; You're INNOVATING"
I've mentioned the U.S. answer to new media circa 1999 - "HULU" - before, and its in the news today. Well, technically it's been in the news for the reason I'm about to explain for a few days already. I think Engadget.com had it last week. Anyway.
Here's the thing - "HULU" is a website which you can visit to watch tv shows from several notable providers(NBC & FOX for sure, I don't know of others(It's been U.S. only, but apparently at some point soon U.K. viewers will start to be able to use it), for free. Well, technically the same way as you would with free-to-air tv; It's paid for with ads in the content you're watching.
The reason why HULU is in the news now, is that HULU has been blocked from being accessed by customers who were using the Playstation 3 games machine. I've never looked into it, but I can guess PS3 users were using the PS3 web browser to do this, and now anyone using a PS3 to access HULU, is barred at the gate. Apparently the move was to do with - according to NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker:
"we're committed to Hulu being an online experience."
Now, I will come clean, that comment was made about another online service called "Boxee", which allowed people with a variety of computers and devices to get access to an amalgam of online video services such as HULU; The main beneficiary of Boxee users was that they could load it onto an Apple TV set-top-box. The quote was mentioned in a story reported on by the IMDB news from "Studio Briefing", where the story was the HULU/PS3 issue, and it seems to be a similar issue to Boxee - ie the story is that HULU is being purposefully kept away from tv screens, and on computer monitors. And that is part of the criminally stupid mindset of the distribution industry.
Rather than take advantage of the fact that people who can access your content might actually want to WATCH your content(Which would be an achievement for NBC), the people behind the service want to actually control who can and who can't, further creating difficulties in people being able to access the content(In a legitimate, legal way, too), and generating an immense air around HULU that it is in fact run by very difficult people, who are only happy if you follow their checklist to get in the front door.
Idiots.
I mean, I know the probable reasons behind this. Either advertisers, or executives trying to anticipate the behaviour of advertisers, have gotten a bee in their bonnet over both their online, HULU advertising, and their broadcast advertising being seen in the same place, that is to say; On a TELEVISION.
And if their advertising, which will be expensive, is perceived by anyone as overlapping in any way, it becomes an issue. For example:
Advertiser: I'm paying you £X to advertise on your tv channel.
TV Network: Yes.
Advertiser: And I'm paying you £Y to advertise on your swanky online service that you say is the future, and a way of combating the internet.
TV Network: Yes.
Advertiser: I found out last night that there's a games machine that can access this service online.
TV Network: Uhhhhh........Mega Drive?
Advertiser: Could be.
TV Network: Ok?
Advertiser: It plugs into my daughter's tv.
TV Network: I'm with you so far, but.....
Advertiser: She can watch the online service via the console, see my ads, then switch the channel, and see my ads on your tv channel.
TV Network: Ah.
Advertiser: If I'm paying for adverts in two different places, but you can see them in just one place, shouldn't that mean I should be paying you less?
TV Network: Hahahaaa, oh nonononononono. No, that thing with the games console? Is what we call a glitch.
Advertiser: Oh?
TV Network: Indeed.
Advertiser: Go on.
TV Network: Yes, a "glitch", an "error", or "mistake", that comes up unexpectedly. The internet's causing all sorts of problems. We have our sorcerers reporting to us daily on these teething -
Advertiser: I'm sorry, "Sorcerers"?
TV Network: Yes, for the interweb. Can be very dangerous for those not.....nevermind. Anyway, it's a glitch, and we'll fix it so that you can't see your ads from both the internet and broadcast on the television, through that games machine.
Advertiser: That's all I wanted to hear.
TV Network: Anything else, master?
Advertiser: No, that's all. Back to my throne made out of baby skulls I think.
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