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Blockbuster teams up with Dish Network

Earlier this month, Dish Network and Blockbuster released Blockbuster Movie Pass. This service allows for streaming movies and TV shows directly through the DishOnline.com. Additionally, DVDs and games will be delivered through the mail.

If you have Dish Network, Blockbuster Movie Pass will cost an additional $10 per month. This includes unlimited streaming, and one-disc-at-a-time delivery. The comparable Netflix service will cost $15.98. Upgrades with two and three discs at a time will be $15 and $20 respectively.

Blockbuster claims the available movies and TV shows are over 130,000, with 34,000 available for streaming. This is compared to Netflix with 31,700 streaming titles, and over 100,000 DVDs.

One advantage Blockbuster always had over Netflix was the ability to return movies to a Blockbuster store, where you pick up a new rental while your next by-mail delivery immediately ships. Blockbuster also rents games, which Netflix hasn’t gotten into yet.

Dish Network purchased Blockbuster out of bankruptcy earlier this year for $320 million.

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich unveiled

Last night, Google unveiled the latest iteration of the Android OS platform, version 4.0, code named Ice Cream Sandwich.

According to Google; Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich brings an entirely new look and feel to Android. The lock screen, widgets, notifications, multi-tasking and everything in between has been rethought and refined to make Android simple, beautiful, and beyond smart.  

Here’s a quick video preview of the new Samsung Galaxy Nexus phone, the first device to support Ice Cream Sandwich.

Google is highlighting the following as the primary features of Ice Cream Sandwich

Face Unlock

Android 4.0 supports facial recognition phone security! Now this is pretty cool. Using the front facing camera on the Galaxy Nexus, you can unlock your phone with a mere smile.

Android Beam

Using NFC (Near Field Communication) technology, Android phones will now be able to “beam” information to one another quickly and easily when in close proximity. You’ll be able to share contacts, websites, apps, media, just about anything with another Android phone, no cables or network connectivity required.

Voice Typing

Google’s innovation with voice input and voice recognition continues. The new voice typing feature will allow you to “type” emails, blog posts, or any other text just by talking.

Google +

Google’s social networking service is getting another big push thanks to tight integration in Android 4.0. The Android app will offer easy sharing options, a messenger app that allows you to communicate with groups of friends and a video chat feature.

The debut device

The Samsung Galaxy Nexus smartphone itself will feature a dual core 1.2GHz processor, a 720p HD display, single motion panoramic camera, zero shutter lag, “top notch” low light performance, 1080p video recording AND editing!

Booyah! This is what I’ve been waiting for. I’ve actually be considering the purchase of an iPhone 4S lately, primarily due to the video editing capabilities. Now that the Galaxy Nexus is set to arrive in November, it’s looking like it will be my next phone.

For more deets, check out the Google blog post on Android 4.0 and the Galaxy Nexus website.

Are you looking forward to getting your hands on Ice Cream Sandwich?

UltraViolet has arrived

The most promising content ownership solution from the owners of properties has finally arrived. On October 11, Warner Home Video released Horrible Bosses on Blu-ray Disc and DVD with UltraViolet enabled. Warner is committed to including UltraViolet on all upcoming releases, including Green Lantern, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, and Shameless: The Complete First Season.

Sony has also announced the upcoming releases of The Smurfs and Friends With Benefits will be UltraViolet enabled.

Every major studio except Disney is on board with the technology, and there is massive support on the hardware manufacturer side as well. The Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (DECE) group of companies is hoping to challenge the streaming or renting concept we’ve all embraced for one of true content ownership.

Best Buy and Walmart are both interested in selling UltraViolet hardware.

How it works

UltraViolet logos will be located on compatible Blu-ray Discs and DVDs, and inside there will be a redemption code. The user will set up an account at UVVU.com and enter the codes. The content will then be available for use on up to ten devices (PCs, HDTVs, BD players, mobile devices, etc). Up to six people may be registered on each account with access to the content.

Eventually, UltraViolet content will be available for purchase as digital-only, but this may be burned to disc by the end user.

The caveat

Until UltraViolet-enabled hardware becomes available, owners of Horrible Bosses (and other future Warner Bros. UltraViolet content) will only be able to watch the digital copy at Flixster.com. Hardware support should follow in early 2012.

A look at DealFun.com online auctions

The company dealfun.com is providing its own unique take on the online auction process.

The site is nothing like ebay, as participants at DealFun are bidding on products sold by the auction site itself, not some mysterious, questionable 3rd party seller. All items are brand new and they offer up auctions on a variety of products such as the Apple iPad, iPhone, Amazon Kindle, Laptops, LED TVs, PS3′s, Watches, Jewelry, Toys and many other items.

DealFun touts their customer service as one of their main focuses, claiming that it is “Absolutely fantastic, prompt and courteous customer service.”

So how do these auctions work exactly? Here’s the video explanation of the service:

To participate, essentially you must register an account, buy a bid pack (at 60 cents per bid) in order to be able to bid, choose products that are up for auction and then place bids to attempt to win. Once you win an auction, which they claim can be up to 95% off retail price, you then purchase the item.

DealFun also wants to let everyone know about a few other site features. There is no weekly or monthly win cap. A buy it now feature allows you to purchase an item even if you don’t win the auction, with a discount off retail price equal to the value of the bids you’ve spent on that auction. A Beginners auction area allows newbies to polish their skills and test out the new service. The site also features a win guarantee: If you don’t win in the first 24 hours, all of your bids are restored for future use.

Disclosure: This article was a sponsored, paid post.

Tanaza: Cloud management for WiFi access points
If you are a small business that owns and operates multiple WiFi access points, you are probably already aware that wireless routers and access points lack administrative standards.

There are a plethora of companies out there that provide WiFi solutions, including D-Link, Netgear, Linksys, Belkin and many more. All of these companies seem to use their own proprietary interfaces for providing administrative access to the WiFi settings. With so many different GUI’s, settings and options, this can quickly become a nightmare for any organization. But what if you could solve this headache with a simpler interface?

Tanaza aims to provide a solution to this mess with the Tanaza Cloud WiFi Management SaaS. Their cloud solution provides a unified interface for you to manage WiFi access points from numerous vendors, easing administration, saving time and reducing confusion. Yep, that’s right, Tananza says it’s compatiable with multiple vendors and it’s cheap.

Let’s take a look at their video explanation of the service.

Tanaza sounds like a good solution for those organizations in need of managing many different WiFi access points. If your business or organization needs something like this, it looks like their service is worth checking out.

Disclosure: This article was a sponsored, paid post.

Qwikster is dead on arrival

Netflix has a case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Less than a month after Netflix CEO Reed Hastings announced DVD-by-mail would be spun off to form Qwikster, another email is sent out saying Qwikster will not happen after all.

It is clear that for many of our members two websites would make things more difficult, so we are going to keep Netflix as one place to go for streaming and DVDs.

This means no change: one website, one account, one password … in other words, no Qwikster.

What a horrible year for Netflix PR. They’re flailing to find footing with their established, loyal customer base.

New TV content coming to Netflix

Netflix and AMC announced a new multi-year, non-exclusive agreement today to bring loads of new TV programming to Netflix. (Remember, Netflix will soon be a streaming only service.)

Earlier this year, AMC already brought two of the greatest shows to ever exist to Netflix streaming: Mad Men and Breaking Bad. Now, they’re bringing even more great shows – like The Walking Dead and Portlandia – from AMC, IFC, The Sundance Channel and WE tv.

Since Netflix lost Starz, they’ve had a lot of money in their budget free up to make a lot of new partnerships. Hopefully this will continue. I mean … They’re getting Bridezillas.

Read the press release
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