Home again, home again, jiggity-jig

I'm back from the out-of-town part of my vacation, and I'm very glad that I have four days to relax at home now before I have to go back to work!

Going Bye-Bye

I just wanted to let you know that I'll be gone for a while. I'll be back by the time fireworks bloom in the sky!

The WB Online: Field test

So I tried to watch the first episode of The Gilmore Girls, which is a show I've always wanted to get into, but I only made it as far as the first 15 minutes. The video was so herky-jerky in fullscreen that I was starting to feel seasick. Since school isn't in session this week, our network has been silky-smooth, so I know the problem wasn't on my end, but theirs. In 15 minutes, I also didn't encounter a commercial. I know they're going to have them eventually, because what else would their business model be, but maybe they haven't arranged for sponsors for the beta? Of course, no one wants to watch more commercials than they have to, but it seems like they would want to test out the commercial functionality by at least putting in some of their own promos. Hulu had ads during their beta, and since they found they had lots of problems getting them inserted in the right places, it was good that they did beta-test them.

I also tried the Facebook functionality, and I now have the first episode of Gilmore Girls embedded on my profile. The problem is that I didn't really want the whole episode there. Supposedly you can mark a clip that you want to embed, but no matter how many times I try it, the whole show keeps showing up. Maybe this is another problem that needs fixing?

All in all, I stand by my original position: the site is too beta-y to make a final judgment on yet.

The WB Online: First thoughts

So I finally got into the beta of the The WB Online, and guess what? It's very beta-y! They have only the first 5 episodes of each show, but I guess it gives you a feel for what it will be like. I was unimpressed with the quality of the video in fullscreen, although it's passable, just not that great when compared to Hulu. It also shows a lot of annoying video promos, etc. when you're sitting on a page trying to decide what to watch, a feature that I hate. (You try to make up your mind when the Friends theme song is blasting at you!)

Anyway, I thought you'd like to know the list of shows they have at present, so here goes: All of Us, Blue Water High (?), Buffy, Dangerous (?), Friends (which we all know was on NBC, so obviously it must have been produced by Warner Brothers), Gilmore Girls, the OC, One Tree Hill, Smallville, and The Wayans Brothers.

I looked up the two shows that I hadn't heard of on that list. They are both from Australia, so I'm not exactly sure what's up with that.

At some point I'll try out more of the features. It's supposed to interact with Facebook in a way that could be cool or could just be annoying. I'll also try watching a full episode of something and tell you if the quality evened out and how many ads there were.

Code solver's paradise

If you like codes and things (and you know who you are), you've just got to read this article!

Reversal of fortune

So this morning when I walked into the library, our library accountant was waiting for me with a letter. She said she'd wanted to give it to me on Friday to make my weekend a happy one, but I wasn't here. Well, it wasn't exactly what I was expecting. I got a raise, and it was a substantial one. Now I guess I have to buy some furniture and give the cat a name.*

*I have been reminded that before I get around to that, first I have to buy a cat!

New online TV watching options

It's been a while since I posted about anything new in online TV watching, but I noticed a post today on Tidal TV, a new service that has just gone online. Their gimmick is that they play shows from different cable channels in real time (although not in the same real time you'd get if you were actually watching the show on TV). I don't get this. Is this supposed to be online TV watching for channel surfers? Since I'm very much an appointment TV watcher, this doesn't appeal to me at all.

That reminds me, though. I also heard a few days ago that The WB Online has launched their beta. I signed up for it, but haven't gotten invited yet. I'll let you know more once I get in.