Houston.BloggersPub

Nike and other companies have had some big time basketball commercials over the years. NaismithLives.com writer Todd Kapostasy compiles a list of basketball commercials with video.

SEE THE LIST

(Thanks Brian!)

You know I can’t resist posting this one. But many of these are current and I would assume there are a lot more ridiculous instances out there.

SEE THEM

(Thanks Ed B.!)

If you have read this blog for a while, you know I am a big Flip Video evangelist.  Why?  I simply used one.  My zeal has passed on to lots of others at this point.  That says a lot about the product.

Heck, even while I was taking video of James’ birth, a hospital staffer asked me about this tiny video camera.

Now Pure Digital, the maker of The Flip, is unleashing an HD camcorder on us. It just came out this Wednesday.  The following is from an email the company’s rep sent me:

The remarkably slim Flip Mino HD will make shooting and sharing HD video simple and affordable for the first time. Weighing just over 3 oz., the $229 Mino HD is a great alternative to
a pricey, bulky HD camcorder.

The Mino HD features 720p resolution, 4GB built in memory, 60 minutes of recording and all-new built-in FlipShare software for even easier saving, organizing and sharing of video from your computer. And one more industry first: Mino HD is the first and only custom “designable” HD camcorder.

Here are the details for the spec folks:

Flip MinoHD Features and Availability:
* Weight: 3.3 oz.
* Resolution: HD 720p
* 4 GB of internal memory to record up to 60 minutes of HD video
* 1.5 inch anti-glare LCD display
* Internal, lithium ion battery recharges when USB arm is connected to computer
* One-touch recording with 2x digital zoom
* Touch-sensitive buttons for recording, playback, fast forward, rewind, pause and delete
* FlipShare software:
o On-board application installs directly when connected to any PC or Mac
o Drag-and-drop interface for easy browsing, playback, organizing and video archiving
o Integrated online video publishing to YouTube, MySpace, and AOL Video
o Free, unlimited private emailing of videos and video greeting cards
o Custom movie editing, with the option to use your own music and add titles/credits
o Capture still photos from any standard or high definition video
o Order DVDs online and have them shipped anywhere in the world
o TV connection for instant viewing (cable included)
o Tripod Mount
* Available in black at Amazon.com, BestBuy.com, WalMart.com, TheFlip.com and leading retailers
* “Designable” at TheFlip.com
* Suggested retail price: $229.99

More here.

Now I hope HD stands for high definition.  I don’t actually see that spelled out anywhere online or in the emails to me.  Naturally we would all assume, but I want to actually see it in writing.

If you have satellite radio, then you probably got a surprise today, especially as an XM subscriber. As I blogged earlier this week, the Sirius XM merger finally hit your radio.

All of my presets are now Sirius channels. I like what I hear so far and am really excited about getting BBC Radio 1. We listened to that station anywhere we could pick while traveling across Scotland last year. SEE MORE

One thing XM subscribers do not appear to be receiving yet are the Howard Stern channels.

Here are links to the new channel guides (print these for your car):
- XM’s new channel lineup
- Sirius’ new channel lineup

See more info on programming changes.

Earlier this week I was hoping that XM 77 Audio Visions would stick around.  It did not, but now we have XM 72 The Spa which seems just as good as Ambien.

Last week I dusted off a great interview with Houston blogger Laurence Simon full of advice for bloggers and those who are just interested in the medium. Here is part 2 below. This was a segment I did for Technology Bytes on KPFT back in April 2006, but the info still hold true today.

In part 2, Simon talks about how to get readers to a blog and keep them, making money with a blog and more.

If you can’t use YouTube at work, click here to listen to the audio .

Like I said before, still great advice even years later.

I got a chance to play with a G1 (aka the Google Phone) by HTC the day before the long awaited handset came out. Jeff Ehling was doing a story on the barcode reading function.

It was pretty cool. The T-Mobile phone is not as elegant as the iPhone, but at least it has a real QWERTY keyboard that I can actually type on.

Of course the real value of the G1 are all those programs you’ll be able to download that will allegedly give us some cool apps. Some Apple enthusiasts might argue the iPhone is already doing this, but the G1 will allegedly be more open source and not as closed as Jobs phone.

Jay Lee went farther than I did. He didn’t just play with a Google Phone. He went out and bought one. READ HIS REVIEW HERE

According to phonescoop, broadcasters are quietly testing a service that would send digital television to mobile phones.  That means TV is going up against the phone companies who also offer video services:

The association representing the broadcasters has successfully tested transmitting digital TV to mobile phones and laptops with modems in Chicago and Denver. Digital TV broadcasts are a year from commercial deployments, and the broadcasters are still mulling any business plan for providing such a service. Broadcasters could add DTV to their service offerings for a one-time cost of $100,000 to add the proper transmitter to their exiting equipment. READ FULL STORY

So the question is, just who are these broadcasters? The networks? Locals? Both?

(Thanks Will-E)

Looks like talent at MSNBC will resort to anything to get the ratings of CNN or Fox News. Morning anchor Joe Scarborough drops the F-bomb without even blinking. Watch the reaction from his guests.

WATCH THE VIDEO

And speaking of a Scarborough, Ken Hoffman writes about KPRC Channel 2 reporter Elizabeth Scarborough (no relation to Joe I’m sure). Elizabeth’s father is Chuck Scarborough who is a very famous anchor at WNBC in New York.

(Thanks Ed B.)

My old pals in Austin/Houston based Woozy Helmet have a new album out today called Get Down. If you like indie noise pop, you are going to love this album. In fact, I highly recommend it. Jay, Toto and Brandi know how to mix in raw energy with lots of nice catchy hooks. Think of a combination of The Pixies and Sonic Youth.

The band was nice enough to let me give mikemcguff.com readers two free mp3 downloads from Get Down:
- Nixon (Jessica)
- We Support the Italian Stewardesses

Click here to buy the album, plus the chance to download a lot of Woozy Helmet’s mp3s.

If you are looking for something to do this weekend, you can check out the band’s live show!

Houston
Saturday, November 15th, 2008
7pm - 10pm
Artstorm at the Caroline Collective - 4828 Caroline Street
Woozyhelmet, The Jonx, Wild Moccasins
Philip Durbin’s art exhibit, A Coarse Portal, will be on display during the show
free - all ages