Posts Categorized: Miscellaneous

Enjoy the Super Bowl with Replay Video Capture 7

Posted January 26th, 2015 | Category: Applian Software, Miscellaneous, Replay Video Capture, Video.

What a season of football! And it’s all about to end in a week with the Super Bowl. Specifically, a game between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks. If you’re like us then you aren’t just watching it for the end score, but also for the halftime show, the expensive commercials, and the pre-game commentary. Now, you don’t even need to watch it from the ugly jumbo TV in that noisy pub you hate, you can actually stream it LIVE on your PC through NBC. Which also means that you can record all of the spontaneous action and hilarity with your copy of Replay Video Capture 7.

In fact, one of our favorite parts of watching the NFL is pretending we’re the Bad-Lip Reading folks and coming up with our own witty quips in the mouths of 200+ lb. athletes. If you record and capture the game on February 1st, you can even make one for yourself! And just in case you missed it, they released the new NFL Bad-Lip Reading 2015, so be sure to check it out below for inspiration. Oh, and don’t forget to grab Replay Video Capture before kickoff on Sunday!

Try it for FREE today!

Dr. Wilson’s Possibly humorous Distraction – Vol 9

Posted January 14th, 2015 | Category: Miscellaneous.

We love Lego just as much as we love technology, which is why this hilarious video is this months’ PhD Video! Eddie Izzard, the British rambling funnyman takes on technology as his jokes and ideas are mirrored with Lego pantomimes. Get some laughs today, and check out the video below.

On the topic of Lego, your Applian Doctor himself, Jeff Wilson, had his nudge with fame as his Flickr photoset got published on io9. In his words, “I don’t know about the “subversive” bit, other than I was trying to show that the much maligned Lego Friends series for girls can be a lot of fun if you think outside of the Heartlake City boundaries”.

Lego’s ‘Friends’ dolls are a popular, if problematic, piece of gendered merchandising – but in the hands of creative Lego fans they can become something much cooler. We’ve had Lego Superfriends, and now thanks to Flickr User Jeffrey Wilson we’ve got the Lego Girls donning Mech suits.

Pretty cool, huh? See more here.

Best Media Sites: Nerd Herd Edition

Posted August 7th, 2014 | Category: Applian Software, Miscellaneous, Replay Capture Suite, Replay Video Capture.

So you know about YouTube and Netflix. But what about those undiscovered gems around the Internet just ripe for the downloading and recording? Check out these Applian-compatible sites to use on your Suite of products. Note that not all sites are compatible in all countries.

This month, we wanted to feature the sites that tickle our brain, make us think, and get us inspired in the most instructional ways. Here are six fantastic sites that you are definitely going to want to record, download, and keep forever… because learning is contagious and continual.

Archaeology Channel:

Archeology Channel This has to be Indiana Jones’ most-visited webpage – well, maybe next to Google Maps. Here, you can explore human culture from Ancient Greek myths to isolated tribes in Southeast Asia.

Documentary Storm:

Documentary Storm Get some of the freshest and compelling documentaries here. For those with an elevated taste in cinema, these informative pieces run the gamut and beat out anything you might find on Netflix Streaming.

Documentary Net:

Similarly enlightening, this network of docs does a great job of sorting by length, geographical location, and rating. Use your recording software to keep your own archive of priceless nonfictional cinema.

John Locker:

Providing a bit more obscure documentaries and educational pieces, this site has a huge variety of professionally produced and independent shorts (and films) that you can dig deep into.

TED Talks:

The online source for the global lecture series, the site has all of the talks in-full in all of their motivational glory. Certainly living up to its motto: ideas worth spreading.

PBS:

The granddaddy of televised education; Public Broadcasting Service has provided generations of media content. From your first Sesame Street song to the compelling Antiques Roadshow, PBS still has awesome editorial features and political commentary.

As always, be sure to use only the best to capture your favorite videos and media using Replay Capture Suite. If you’ve got a favorite video outlet on the web, be sure to give us the low-down in the comments or on our Facebook Page.

Comcast will Double my Speed – after I Visit The Comcast Store

Posted April 24th, 2013 | Category: Miscellaneous.

Calling Comcast about my internet service is always an adventure, but today was especially interesting. I was getting less than my promised 20 Mbps download speed, even after upgrading to a DOCSIS 3 model like they told me to three weeks ago, and so I gave them a call. The really polite gentleman on the phone had me read the MAC address and serial number of the modem to him, and then told me that Comcast speeds would be doubling in a week or so. Good news, right?

Next, he told me I had to go visit the nearest Comcast store, and give them the same information I had just given him about my modem. I asked why, but never got an answer. When I finally persisted, explaining that the nearest store was all the way across the city, he told me he could just use the information I had given him over the phone, and that I didn’t really need to visit the store after all. WTF?

I’m sure this is a ploy by Corporate to get more people to the stores so that they can be talked into upgrading to some new DVR or service, but was it really necessary – or even a good idea? Had I not kept asking why I had to do this, I might have spent half a day just to become victim to a sales effort. Not cool.

Anyone else have this experience? Let us know in the comments.

Play the Search Suggestion Game

Posted March 12th, 2013 | Category: Miscellaneous.

I’m at a SEO conference today, and one of the best presentations was by a group of Google employees on some of the moral and ethical challenges of running a search engine. Matt Cutts – the Google official SEO blogger – was on the panel, as well as a couple of other people.

I was amazed at how a lot of issues come up with how to handle certain Google search results. Some of the panel’s examples were interesting. Should a suicide note left on a web site come up when searching for the victim’s name? Should a white supremacist hate site about Martin Luther King come up in the search results for MLK? Should posts warning about the dangers of vaccinations come up when searching about the safety of vaccines appear – in spite of sound scientific evidence against and the fact that misinformation could cost lives? And in some cases, Google execs in foreign lands have been arrested for videos appearing on YouTube – what does Google do about that? I had no idea.

Another fun aspect of this debate was the search suggestions that Google provides. These mirror what people are actually entering, and aren’t censored or edited at all – in spite of the fact they can be offensive to some. Try entering “asians are b” or “americans are f” and see what Google expects you to type next. It’s both funny and horrifying.

At our family dinner table, I shared this with the kids, and we tried the Search Suggestion game on their names. We tried “Bryce is” and “Laurel is”, and got some hilarious results – both complementary and insulting. Try this with your own kids names for fun!

Fun with domain sellers

Posted October 24th, 2008 | Category: Miscellaneous.

Occasionally, it’s good to take a break from talking about streaming media recording solutions. Here’s a story of something we encounter more often than you think.

Every once in a while, we get people with marginally valuable domain names to sell contacting us and asking for an excessive amount of money. Here’s one guy with a somewhat relevant three letter domain we had some fun with. (The domain name and author’s name have been changed).
“Bob” wrote:

Hi Bill,
We own site XYZ.com and were looking to sell it.
We would much rather sell it – previously we were entertaining offers in the high 5 figures – let me know your highest bid and maybe we can work something out.
Thanks
Bob

My reply:

Hi Bob –
Your site and domain will require a lot of work. Google says you have 1 outside link, and a 2 page rank for the home page, and your Alexa rank is 600,000+, which means you have very little traffic. If you were me, how would you justify a 5 figure price were I to present this to my partners?
Thanks,
Bill

Bob writes back:

Hi Bill,
It all comes down to supply and demand – we are only interested in getting the current market value.
eg. a similar 3 letter domain sold for $195,000 last week => MCC.com

See the link below:
http://www.dnjournal.com/domainsales.htm

In my opinion, XYZ.com is a much higher quality domain with much more potential…

Try searching XYZ vs MCC on google.com it generate results for 62,100,000
“Results 1 – 10 of about 62,100,000 for xyz. (0.05 seconds) ”

The XYZ.com domain is clearly more valuable than other simple 3 Letter dot com domains e.g. MCC.com
With the right promotion & development this domain can easily be turned into an 8 figure/year operation.
Due to the current economic situation, I would be willing to let it go for under $195,000 – but it must be a competitive offer…
Thanks
Bob

And my response:

BOB –
IMO, WTF? LOL
– BSD (CEO)

The iPhone – Great for Mobile Media Lovers

Posted July 1st, 2007 | Category: Apple, Applian Software, Cool Products, Miscellaneous.

I’ve always been a gadget hound. So, no surprise that I waited in line all day to be one of the first to grab an iPhone. The Apple iPhone is the ultimate convergence device. Sure, it’s pricey, but I’m loving the fact that I have a phone, iPod , camera and email/internet device that fits nicely in my pocket. Plus, it is without a doubt the most beautiful device I’ve ever owned.

Replay AV, Replay Media Catcher and Replay Converter make great companions for the iPhone. Use Replay AV or Replay Media Catcher to capture online media. Use Replay Converter to convert your audio or video to a format suitable for playing on your iPhone. It’s really easy. Replay AV will even transfer your newly recorded and converted media to iTunes automatically. Next time you sync the iPhone your recordings will be there ready for you to enjoy or show off to others.

Video that can be played in iTunes will sync with the iPhone. Use Replay Converter to convert your home movies to iPod video format and take them with you on your iPhone.

For me, the iPhone was worth the wait. It’s functional and beautiful. This morning I heard that the Apple store I had camped out at still has a few in stock. My first thought was Ugh! You mean I stood in line all those hours for no reason??!! But actually, I’m glad I had the experience. It really was fun and exciting to be 9th in line. I proudly earned my geek badge on iPhone launch day.

MP3 Compression

Posted April 21st, 2007 | Category: Miscellaneous.

Maximum PC has an interesting article about the quality of compressed MP3s. While not totally scientific, the results nonetheless indicate that a 160 Kbps VBR MP3 file is often indistinguishable from the original. If you have friends who are audio snobs, tell them to go read the article!

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