The Blog of Rudy Amid

As a standards and HD-DVD fan, I’m always in a look out to what the DVD Forum is doing to recover from the loss of the HD-DVD vs. Blu-Ray battle.  Toshiba, being the main player in the HD-DVD format, has said they’ll venture into the movie download arena.  Earlier this week they had unveiled their first initiative by revealing a new product logo: DVD Download DL.

Reception to this news is met with much skepticism. If Toshiba is trying to squeeze more pixels out of a standard DVD’s 480p resolution and label it as “the new high resolution format”, then it’s obviously over-reaching!  Toshiba is not the expert in viral marketing.  The rumors about Toshiba’s next project created more head shakes than head turns.  Maybe Toshiba had relied on the product to speak for itself in the past, but in today’s information hungry consumers, they expect more from the company’s marketing department.

Now it looks like Toshiba is venturing into Internet based rich content (possibly interactive) using the existing DVDs.  The idea has its merits, but there are questions that need to be answered:

1. Is it safe to assume everyone has Internet access?  If they do, will they have Ethernet or Wi-Fi installed so it can talk to the new DVD Download DL enabled players?  Geeks like me will have Wi-Fi available, but some (most?) folks will not.  This may change when Laptops and Ultra Portable PCs are becoming standard equipment in every household.
2. Does a regular DVD watcher really care about interactive Internet enabled extra contents?  Maybe when it’s available people will start using it.  “If you build it, they will come.”
3. Is it going to be cheap?  The reason HD-DVD became so popular during its last days was because the price actually went all the way down below $150.  Toshiba may use this strategy again.  Sony still has yet to learn this lesson.
4. What will happen to Multi-discs, Super Special Ultimate Edition, Fancy-boxed set DVDs?  All of the extras are usually included in the purchase.  DVDs will go back to 1 disc format, one version release, making it a simpler choice.

Then there’s the ever curious CH-DVD or Chinese HD-DVD standard that was also recently approved.  It’s basically HD-DVD for China and its market.  What market may that be?  Chinese made movies, such as from Hong Kong, Taiwan, or the mainland?  Or is it more towards the “free” variety?  Obviously Toshiba will not encourage piracy, but the way for mass adoption is always via underground.  Other such successful adoptions include MP3, DiVX, Xvid, and VCD.  It sure raises a lot of eye brows.

So are you ready for the next generation DVD experience?

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We went to Panera Bread.  It was an overcast day when we talked about:

• Co-worker looks like Rick Yune.
• Kobe Bryant is the 2008 MVP for Lakers.  But is he to blame for Laker’s loss to the Celtics?  Our opinions were split evenly.
• Co-worker still haven’t seen Casino Royale with Daniel Craig.  Darker, much less campy James Bond movie.  Much like the new Batman series with Christian Bale.
• Hands Free Phone law starting July 1 2008 in California.  Are the cops going to enforce it the same way they enforce speeding?  Will they start pulling people over if they see people not using hands-free?  Popular opinion is they will treat it like a seat belt law - they won’t charge you with it, unless you got pull over for some other moving violation.

  [Update: There is a FAQ (thanks LK!) for the hands-free cell phone law stating:
  Q: Can I be pulled over by a law enforcement officer for using my handheld wireless telephone?
  A: YES. A law enforcement officer can pull you over just for this infraction.]

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Twitter’s popularity is on an all time high.  I can tell they’re being used more often now by the amount of Twitter tools available out there.  Here’s a round up on what I’ve recently used regularly, in addition to what I’ve listed before.

1. Summize
   It’s becoming de facto search engine for Twitter.  Fast and reliable.  Hat tip to Rachel who pointed this out to me.
2. Twitpic
   Sharing pictures over Twitter has never been easier with it.  The built-in picture post from Twhirl is a nice bonus.
3. Twerpscan
   I sometimes wonder how many people I follow don’t follow me back.  Well, this site will help me figure it out.  What I haven’t figured out is whether I should unfollow them.  I can learn a lot from the “A-List” talking heads.  I must confess that I’ve unfollowed some of the big names, which will remain nameless.
4. Twitter Sync
   A Facebook application that lets me use my Twitter posts as my Facebook status updates.  Fully configurable.  It worked great until Twitter decided to temporarily disable their IM feature, which pretty much broke the app.  Nevertheless, it’s a useful application and I’m anticipating Twitter IM to be re-enabled so I can use it again.  I don’t like changing my Facebook status manually.
5. Everything Twitter
   Not an application, but it’s a blog run by the social media diva, Corvida.  She has everything related to Twitter.

Bonus:

Because people noticed every single thing wrong with Twitter, the company decided to create their own, ever useful, Twitter Status Page.  It’s not always up-to-the minute but it provides useful information on their progress, or lack of it.  Since I’m already a tumblr user, I just simply follow the updates in my dashboard.

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My daughter, Kaitlyn, just had her birthday celebration last Sunday at The Little Gym. We invited her friends for some games and snacks. Activities include singing, running, jumping, giant rainbow parachute games, bouncy inflatable runway, and photo sessions.

Then we served them melons, strawberries, grapes, dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets, turkey wraps, chips, birthday chocolate cake, with pink lemonade and water for drinks. The afternoon ended with everyone getting goodie bags with balloons.

All in all, the kids had a great time. I could also tell the parents were enjoying it too, watching their kids laugh and play. At that moment, I wanted to be 3 years old again, and join the fun. Ah, it’s so nice to be a kid - without any care in the world. All they can think about is just having a good time.

Happy Birthday, Kaitlyn! We are looking forward to celebrate your next birthday!

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We went to Curry House this week.  It was a very warm day when we talked about:

• A co-worker likes sprint car racing.  Pretty expensive hobby, but it looks like a lot of fun.
• The laugh out loud movies: Dumb and Dumber, Borat, Harold and Kumar, and Eddie Murphy movies up to Beverly Hills Cop.
• The heat wave above 95F.  California feels like Las Vegas.
• Las Vegas’ hotels are suppose to be cheap now due to the sagging economy and the heat wave.
• Britain’s Got Talent 2008 front runner with a beautiful moving voice for a 6 year old: Connie Talbot
• When’s a good age for kids to have a cell phone or iPod?  Popular consensus is during middle-school (Junior High) age of 11 or 12 years old.  Otherwise, it’s just too soon.
• New menu choice: Curry Set
• Busy weekend last week with both Basketball and Golf US Open championships.

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