The NYT has taken some data released by Netflix (the top 50 rental titles for each zipcode) and made some interactive heat maps out of it. It’s weirdly fun. [More]
entertainment
Speak Out Against Ticketmaster-Live Nation Merger At TicketDisaster.org
By 12.17.09
Yesterday a bunch of consumer advocates and anti-trust people held a press conference on Capitol Hill and asked the Department of Justice to block the Ticketmaster-Live Nation merger. If you, too, feel that this spells nothing but trouble for consumers–that a Ticketmaster-Live Nation monopoly would ruin competition and increase ticket prices–then check out the website TicketDisaster.org. From there, you can contact the DOJ to voice your opinion about the proposed merger, read up on reasons why the merger sucks for consumers and for the concert industry, and sign up for updates. (Thanks to JammingEcono!)
GM Reveals Secret Project It Developed With Bailout Money
By 12.17.09
Finally, the truth is revealed: this is clearly where the bailout money went. Below, watch a Chevy Volt promotion song-and-dance-spectacular performed earlier this month at the LA Auto Show. [More]
This Customer Is Not Impressed By Time Warner Cable's Revamped DVR Service
By 12.14.09
This past summer, Time Warner Cable introduced a new DVR service to subscribers. The New York Observer noted at the time that some of the changes–namely the “Start Over” feature that lets you watch something from the beginning even if you just switched to it–were nice. At least one customer, however, doesn’t agree. In fact, now that he’s given the revamped service a 4-month trial run, he’s ready to list the problems with it, some of which sound suspiciously anti-consumer. [More]
Another Example Of How To Go Cable-Free
By 12.11.09
We’ve posted before about how to break your cable habit without giving up on TV altogether–it’s possible, but can’t happen without some work on your end. This week, the New York Times’ Nick Bilton explained how he and his wife have combined their existing devices with a few new ones to create a content stream that enables them to watch what they want without cable. [More]
Let This Comic Strip Show You How To Save Money At The Movies
By 12.8.09
Scott Meyer frequently makes brilliant observations in his “Basic Instructions” comic, and by brilliant I mean nutjob. In the most recent one, “How to Save Money,” the comic version of Meyer realizes how expensive movie concessions are. Considering how many people commented on this the last time I posted about it, I thought you might find his ideas useful. Now I’m off to buy a stovepipe hat! [More]
Should Concert Promoters Have To Disclose Lip-Syncing?
By 11.9.09
Various people in the country of Australia are upset at Britney Spears for lip syncing — and feel that it is dishonest for the pop star not to disclose that sometimes she’s just mouthing along while she dances.
DVD Price War: Harry Potter, Star Trek For $10
By 11.6.09
Walmart announced yesterday that it will be slashing prices to below wholesale on 10 of the most popular DVDs that will be released soon, says the LA Times. Target announced that it will be matching Walmart. Amazon has not yet responded.
Streaming Movies: Best Buy Preparing For A World Without DVDs
By 11.3.09
Best Buy announced a “a Best Buy-branded offering, available starting early next year,” that will stream “first-run DVDs” online directly to consumers, says the NYT Bits Blog.
Save Money on Cable Television and TV Services
By 7.17.09
Given the state of the economy, it seems like everyone is looking for ways to save on non-discretionary expenses. Lucky for us, The Digerati Life offers some useful thoughts on how to cut back on TV services without turning off media completely. Their five suggestions include:
Target Is Somewhat Liberal When It Comes To "Kids" Programming
By 6.15.09
Hey, where was Target back in the day when our parents were looking for a babysitter? The one we had wouldn’t let us watch anything cool. Certainly not anything with a huge “CENSORED” sticker on the front of it.
Make Your Own Playdough
By 5.17.09
Looking for a cheap way to entertain your kids or spice up a rainy day? Make your own playdough! The homemade stuff may not come in a shiny yellow play-doh container, but you probably have most of the ingredients in your cupboard already, and the concoction won’t smell or contain yucky toxins. Hit the jump for the recipe…
By 5.15.09
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If we owned a Blockbuster franchise, we’d seriously think about just renting out the space to a bunch of Redbox kiosks. Blockbuster reported a 42% drop in revenue for the first quarter of 2009, which CEO Jim Keyes blamed on people going out to watch movies at theaters instead. Regarding the Redbox threat, Keyes said they hope to have 3,000 kiosks functioning by the end of the year. Redbox, on the other hand, has about 12,000. [Reuters]
CBS Is Counting On Leno To Fail In Prime Time
By 5.8.09
You know how much it sucks to lose a $5 bill, right? Well, times that by 11 million and you get an idea of how CBS president and CEO Les Moonves felt during the first quarter of the year, when his company lost $55.3 million.
By 2.4.09
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Time Warner as a whole reported a 4th quarter loss of $24.2 billion today. The cable unit, which lost $8.16 billion, suffered as people canceled subscriptions due to the economy. Yowch. [NYT]
By 7.16.08
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If you’re a fan of Joss Whedon (or Nathan Fillion or Neil Patrick Harris or Felicia Day), you can watch Whedon’s new online-only supervillain musical for free until July 20th. [BusinessWeek]
9 Ways To Save At The Movies
By 6.7.08
Summer means movies, but don’t get stuck paying $12 per ticket or $7 for a bag of popcorn. Instead, check out these nine ways to slash your movie budget without missing any summer blockbusters.
By 5.12.08
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Blu-ray players just aren’t selling that well, says Business Week. Maybe that’s because Sony has said that prices for players “likely won’t fall below $200 until the end of next year—at the earliest.” [Business Week]
