A few weeks back, we broadcasted a live basketball game  and it was my first time doing a live show so, I thought I should share my experience. Last Tuesday, we broadcasted another live game as well!   The first thing is that we were very lucky to have a good team planning and working on the day of the broadcast but, even with them the whole time is very stressful. The other thing is that there is so many moving parts, that technical issues are bound to happen but, we were lucky to have only a few minor technical problems. No matter how much planning goes into a live production, things are bound to go wrong and slight errors will be made. The only thing you can do is to prepare and practice. This is done by an all volunteer crew and i’m sure a professional crew who does this regularly will be able to run a much smoother production. However, the whole process of doing a live show is very stressful and there is no real way to cover mistakes if you are doing a true live show. Although it was stressful, it was also a lot of fun and I hope that we do more in the future.

Comcast, the major cable conglomerate is buying NBC-Universal which is a television network as well as film production company. This is a very scary purchase for $30 Billion because it give Comcast control of a large amount of content. Comcast has had a history of not being a very good content company and better at the distribution. The best example of this is when Comcast bought TechTV and merged it with it’s gaming channel, G4. While TechTV had high-quality content, G4 didn’t and Comcast made the TechTV shows more like the G4 programming and canceled many of the great shows TechTV had. The main reason that Comcast bought the channel was because they wanted the TechTV audience but they didn’t care about the shows or the people who made the shows.

One idea is for if the merger goes through, which is in the hands of the FCC, is that NBC would operate the same as they currently do, and take over the operation of all of Comcast Productions as well because they have proven themselves very successful at producing content. This is the best option because it would leave NBC to do what it is best at and Comcast would continue to  be the giant cable monopoly that they have been. However, if Comcast tries and interfer with the NBC content, then NBC can be in a lot of trouble! The other fear of this purchase is that Comcast would then have partial ownership of Hulu, the online video site which competes with their own Fancast. I hope the FCC put a lot of thought into the ramifications of this purchase before approving it because it could severely disrupt the television industry.

In a previous article, I mentioned how much I have liked listening to audio books, however, they are a bit on the expensive side usually around $15 per book. However, I have found a few websites that offer free audio books although many of them are public domain books meaning there are probably a lot of repeats, but they still are entertaining and if you are into classic works of literature, then this is a great list of resources to hear great books anywhere.

1. Librivox
2. Audio Books For Free
3. Free Classic Audio Books
4. Books Should Be Free
5. Learn Out Loud
6. Barnes and Noble Free Audiobooks (Also has paid audio books)
7. Project Gutenburg
8. Free By Chris Anderson (a book about free distributed as a free audio book)

I have heard about Audiobooks, from Leo Laporte and services like Audible but, never put any thought into listening to audiobooks but, I recently tried a free trial of Audible and have enjoyed every minute of listening to my audio book. When I got my book I started to read it while I walked to classes and it is just great. I actually tried to spend more time walking so I can hear more of my audio book. When I listened I felt like  I got all the information out of it because I could hear it. Now, that I listened to my first audio book, I plan to go back and listen to more books because I get the information more easily and really enjoy the experience. I also can carry several books on my iPod and carry them wherever I go. The only downside is that every book is not able to heard as an audio book somewhat restricting your choices but there are still thousands of books in a variety of genres to listen to and enjoy!

As I mentioned in my previous post, I am going to put together a full Media center solution that will be 100% cable free and will let you access all your web content online on your big TV and be without cable. I will jsut get into it

TV:

LG – 47″ Class / 1080p / 240Hz / LCD-LED HDTV: $1,800

If you need to save some money then you could find a cheaper TV instead of this one. This is a very nice TV and I really like the 4 HDMI inputs!

Computer:

Base Mac Mini: $600

You could, if you want to save money you could buy a used or old Mac Mini or any other computer although, this solution is designed for a Mac. You could also use your old computer as a Media center like I do on my desk and save money here!

Software:

Firefox: FREE

VLC Media Player: FREE

Flash Player: FREE

Miro Podcatcher:FREE

iTunes: FREE

Game Console: (Optional)

Nintento Wii: $250

I mentioned in a previous post about why I love the Wii and it is a great machine to add some more entertainment to the media center! this is not necessary.

Accessories:

Display Adapter: Mini Display to VGA: $30

VGA to HDMI Cable: $10

Total: $2,690 (Plus applicable taxes and fees)

For less than $2,700 you can have a full media center with everything you need. The great part of this system is that you don’t need to subscribe to cable or aything and you can just buy the content you want and other free web content like video podcasts as you need it! This is much betteer than having to pay a small fortune monthly for extra content you don’t want or care about. As I said you could modify this to make it more expensive or less to meet your needs but, this a good all around system that you can use. In fact, I left a sound system out of my solution but, if you want to you can add this. I hope to use a similar plan in my future home!

As I mentioned in my previous article, books are too expensive and inefficient. However, Amazon has solved that problem with their Kindle ebook readers but why pay for another piece of hardware if you have a iPhone or iPod. and there is a free app for reading ebooks called Kindle and is made by Amazon as well and let’s you buy as well as read electronic books and makes reading anywhere simple.

Reading on the Kindle is so easy you just tap either side of the page to go forward or back in the book. You can even change the font size to create your optimal reading environment. You can also download books off Amazon’s mobile book store and then sync them wirelessly to your device. I have been reading iCon: The Second Coming of Steve Jobs on my iPod Touch and it is the best reading experience of my life.

I reccommend all iPhone and iPod Touch users since it is a free application and books are usually around $10 and let’s you take your books anywhere in your pocket!

The music industry as we know it is in shambles and the way it currently operates is no longer viable or logical anymore. In the next ten years or less, the entire industry will operate under a totally different model and will be much better for the artists and the listeners. This new model is as follows, first there are no record labels music will be produced directly by the artists and their own crews although they may rent studio space for recording so the quality remains the equivolent with what is on the rest of the market. The music will then  be distributed over digital music stores only, no more CDs and records at the same prices as they are now and all tracks will be DRM free. But, since they don’t have to pay the record label more of the money will be given to the artists. The artists may also adopt the free download model, like Nine Inch Nails, or the donate what you think the albulm is worth model like RadioHead.  This would, I think provide more money to the artists because they don’t have to all that money to the record labels. I think this new model will be much more efficent than the current music industry and would make it more fair to listeners and artists.

Podcasts are great ways to inform many people as well as express your self about any topic that you want. I have started several podcasts and I want to provide the steps that you need to take to start a podcast of your own. I will focus mainly on what you need to do and not specifics for audio or video because the creatiuon process is still very similar. I want to share my knowledge because podcasts are a great media to inform others of what you know as well as a profitable buisness.

1. Find A Topic
2. Plan the Format or Flow of the Show
3. Name Your Show
4. Make a topics list (Unless time sensitive show)
5. Create a Website (I Recommend Wordpress and Podpress plugin)\
6. Make A Logo
7. Revise Show Format
8. Prepare to Record:

Audio:

In-Person:

Audacity

Skype:

PC: Hot Recorder

Mac: Eccam Call Recorder

Video: Camera and Microphone (Suggested)

With those steps I have created several podcasts and I think are a good workflow to creating a podcast and is what I will use in the future. I hope that anyone considering starting their own podcasts try it because all though it can be difficult and nerve racking at times, it is very rewarding and very fun!

Digital music downloads have redefined the music industry and although this is much better for the consumer, the record labels are still trying to stick with their old methods that drive consumers to piracy. I believe that there are several methods the record labels need to adopt in order to save the industry and their business or record labels will become a thing of the past.

1. Abandon DRM

People have said for quite some time they want no restrictions on the music they bought legitimatly and they are just being treated like trash by the record labels. Amazon MP3 was the first to sell DRM-free Mp3s and iTunes recently went DRM free as well. People just want simple music files!

2. Let People Rip their CDs

When people bought CDs in their prime, they did not have any idea computerize media would become so prominent and why should people pay again for their music instead of just ripping, copying from disk to computer, and use them on their digital devices. The law around this has been a gray area for way too long and this needs to end because people should be allowed to copy music they legally own.

3. Let the Artist Choose the Price and Distribution Model

Several artists have chosen to distribute their music for free over the internet, and have let people try their music before they buy it and if they pay they get to choose the price. The two leaders of this movement were Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails. Radiohead also, distributed MIDI files of some of their sonegs so that listeners can make their own remixes and mashups. They also created the model of picking your own price and being able to buy if first for free and then go back and pay what you want.

These three practices will save the record industry and could restore faith of the consumers. This can save a large industry that has been poorly managed for a long time.

As I have said before I believe that in the future, that people’s home media centers will all be based around a computer or computer like device like the Apple TV. This is important because instead of just being able to play media you have on physical media like tapes and DVDs you can play off your hard drive and stream media from the internet. I bleieve that in the next 20 years a computer-based home media solution will be standard. This also allows people to play media off computers in the house and stream media. It also allows users to watch and listen to podcasts on their full media center so they can have enjoy their media on the full setup in their living room.

If you want to do this now you can buy and Apple TV or hookup a computer to your TV and have it stream from other computers and from the internet. I think that is one of the best ways to reuse your computer and can help everyone enjoy their media much more.