Kornheiser took Post Buyout

read the D.C. Sports Blog:

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/dcsportsbog/2008/05/kornheiser_takes_buyout.html

California adult entertainment tax

no need to put my thoughts here Story is below:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080512/media_nm/california_pornography_dc

NFL News

The Owners approve the use defense helmet radios.   i think this is a ggod thing

One tidbit on Heath Ledger

i must admit i do like him as a actor and its sad to see him go but the movies i have of his order patroit, ned kelly,Brothers Grimm,  even the tv series Roar  and my fav of his that is in my top 20 movies all time A Knights tale.  he will be missed as an actor.

Now as far as the Dark Knight, I hope its good.

Brian B getting new gig

it has been reported that the former ravens coach could be getting a new gig at ESPN taking parcells place

Netflix’s apple TV

from CBS.com:

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS) ― DVD-by-mail service Netflix Inc. will begin delivering movies and other programming directly to televisions later this year through a set-top box that will pipe entertainment over a high-speed Internet connection.

The set-top box, to be made by LG Electronics Inc. as part of a partnership announced late Wednesday, is designed to broaden the appeal of a year-old streaming service that Netflix provides to its 7 million subscribers at no additional charge.

LG Electronics didn’t reveal how much the set-top box will cost when it hits the market in the summer or early autumn. Similar devices made by Apple Inc. and Vudu Inc. cost $299 to $399.

A bevy of other gadgets designed to bring more digital entertainment into living rooms is expected to be unveiled next week at a major consumer electronics show in Las Vegas.

Netflix’s streaming service is the cornerstone of the Los Gatos-based company’s strategy to retain and attract customers as technology makes it easier to rent and buy movies within a few minutes instead of waiting for them to be delivered through the mail.

Although Netflix says its subscribers - an estimated 8.8 million in 2006 – have watched more than 10 million movies and TV episodes through its “Watch Instantly” option so far, the streaming service has been too constraining for many subscribers.

That’s because all the streaming service’s programming must be watched on a personal computer, unless the viewer knows how to link a high-speed Internet connection into a TV monitor.

The set-top box is supposed to serve as a bridge that will enable just about anyone with a high-speed Internet connection to plug in a few wires so they will be able to access Netflix’s Watch Instantly feature on their TVs.

Subscribers will still need to use a computer to pick out which programs they’re interested in streaming. The selections, culled from more than 6,000 titles available in streaming library, will then show up on the TV screen.

“It’s going to be very slick and easy,” said Reed Hastings, Netflix’s chief executive officer. “We want the TV experience to be very relaxing and not like visiting a Web site.”

Depending on which subscription plan they have, Netflix customers can watch anywhere from five to 48 hours of programming through the streaming service each month at no extra cost.

The LG Electronics alliance is just the first of several partnerships Netflix hopes to strike this year to extend its delivery options beyond the mail. Although he wouldn’t provide specifics, Hastings listed video game consoles and high-definition DVD players as other potential channels for Netflix.

“We want to see 100 Netflix-capable devices on the market,” Hastings said.

With more than 90,000 titles available in its DVD library, delivering movies through the mail is expected to remain Netflix’s primary money maker for years to come.

Nevertheless, Netflix has spent about $40 million on the development of its streaming service during the past year.

The financial commitment hasn’t been enough to convince many investors that Netflix will be able to survive a widely anticipated shift that that will turn DVDs into an afterthought as digital downloading proliferates.

The persisting worries are one of the biggest reasons that Netflix’s stock price remains roughly 30 percent below its highs of nearly four years ago, even though the company has become more profitable while signing up millions of new subscribers since then. Netflix shares fell 27 cents Wednesday to finish at $26.35.

Netflix’s growth tapered off last year amid tougher competition from Blockbuster Inc., but Blockbuster recently signaled it’s backing off in the battle by raising the prices of several popular plans.

One of Netflix’s most formidable threats yet may be looming just around the corner, with Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple reportedly preparing to launch an online movie rental service that is supposed to include titles from News Corp.’s Twentieth Century Fox and Walt Disney Co.

Apple so far hasn’t commented on the reports, which have predicted a formal announcement will be made at the Cupertino-based company’s Macworld conference later this month.

An online movie rental service could give more people a reason to buy Apple’s device for delivering programming to TVs. The gadget, called Apple TV, so far hasn’t taken off like the company’s wildly popular iPod and iPhone. Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster estimates about 1.8 million Apple TV devices had been sold through 2007, but he expects another 2.9 million units to ship this year.

“If (Apple) does what has been reported, they will reach a very big market,” Hastings said. “But the addition of Apple to the rental market isn’t causing us to lose any sleep.”

I wonder will it be uptodate  cause their watch instantly content isnt

RIAA not suing over CD ripping

Okay, so we’ve done some digging into the RIAA’s lawsuit against Jeffery Howell, in which the industry is claiming that ripped MP3s are “unauthorized copies,” and it turns out that Jeffery isn’t actually being sued for ripping CDs, like the Washington Post and several other sources have reported, but for plain old illegal downloading.

read more | digg story

Top 100 Albums of 2007

A seemingly indie heavy look back at 2007.

read more | digg story

Fox to allow DVD ripping to Apple’s iTunes

Also in Apple’s movie rental deal yesterday with Fox: Apple will license its FairPlay copy-protection technology to Fox for DVD movie releases. This will allow DVD purchasers to easily — and legally — rip movies to their computers for playback on iPods and iPhones.

read more | digg story

Fall Premiere Dates

Schedule accordingly fellow tube watchers

Sept. 11 (NBC) The Biggest Loser season premiere
Sept. 14 (FOX) Nashville series premiere
Sept. 17 (FOX)  Prison Break season premiere
Sept. 17 (FOX) K-Ville series premiere
Sept. 17 (NBC) Deal or No Deal season premiere
Sept. 18 (CW) Beauty and the Geek season premiere
Sept. 19 (CW) America’s Next Top Model season premiere
Sept. 19 (FOX) Back to You series premiere
Sept. 19 (FOX) ‘Til Death season premiere
Sept. 19 (FOX) Kitchen Nightmares series premiere
Sept. 19 (CBS) Kid Nation series premiere
Sept. 20 (CBS) Survivor: China season premiere
Sept. 23 (FOX) Simpsons, King of the Hill and Family Guy season premieres
Sept. 23 (CBS) 60 Minutes, Cold Case and Shark season premieres
Sept. 24 (ABC) The Bachelor and Dancing with the Stars season premieres
Sept. 24 (NBC) Chuck and Journeyman series premieres
Sept. 24 (NBC) Heroes season premiere
Sept. 24 (CBS) How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men, Rules of Engagement and CSI: Miami season premieres
Sept. 24 (CBS) The Big Bang Theory series premiere
Sept. 25 (CW) Reaper series premiere
Sept. 25 (FOX) Bones and House season premieres
Sept. 25 (NBC) L&O: SVU season premiere
Sept. 25 (CBS) NCIS and The Unit season premieres; Cane series premiere
Sept. 26 (ABC) Private Practice and Dirty Sexy Money series premieres
Sept. 26 (CW) Gossip Girl series premiere
Sept. 26 (CBS) Criminal Minds and CSI: NY season premieres
Sept. 26 (NBC) Deal or No Deal season premiere
Sept. 26 (NBC) Bionic Woman and Life series premieres
Sept. 27 (ABC) Ugly Betty and Grey’s Anatomy season premieres; Big Shots series premiere
Sept. 27 (CW) Smallville season premiere
Sept. 27 (NBC) My Name Is Earl, The Office and ER season premieres
Sept. 27 (CBS) CSI and Without a Trace season premieres
Sept. 28 (NBC) Las Vegas season premiere
Sept. 28 (CBS) Ghost Whisperer and Numbers season premieres; Moonlight series premiere
Sept. 30 (FOX) American Dad season premiere
Sept. 30 (ABC) Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters season premieres
Sept. 30 (Showtime) Dexter season premiere
Sept. 30 (Showtime) Brotherhood season premiere
Oct. 1 (CW) Everybody Hates Chris, The Game and Girlfriends season premieres; Aliens in America series premiere
Oct. 2 (ABC) Cavemen and Carpoolers series premieres
Oct. 3 (ABC) Pushing Daisies series premiere
Oct. 4 (NBC) 30 Rock season premiere
Oct. 4 (CW) Supernatural season premiere
Oct. 5 (NBC) Friday Night Lights season premiere
Oct. 7 (CW) Life Is Wild series premiere
Oct. 7 (ABC) America’s Funniest Home Videos season premiere
Oct. 12 (ABC) Men in Trees season premiere; Women’s Murder Club series premiere
Oct. 15 (ABC) Samantha Who? series premiere
Oct. 18 (CBS) Viva Laughlin series premiere
Oct. 25 (NBC) Scrubs season premiere
Nov. 27 (ABC) Cashmere Mafia series premiere