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Link: http://mashable.com/2010/03/05/top-10-web-series-february/

Just in case you needed something online to watch - now you have 10 ideas.

If you’re looking for some video entertainment to watch on your lunch break, this chart is a great place to start. Find a show you’re interested in and click the play button to the right to check it out.

February’s numbers contain quite an upset — long-time chart-toppers Fred and Happy Tree Friends gave way to a newcomer on the chart: The Annoying Orange. They still hold the #2 and #3 spots, respectively, however. Key of Awesome cracked the chart only recently, but it has already propelled itself to #4 with 300% growth since last month. Impressive!

Link: http://mashable.com/2010/03/04/boxee-funny-or-die/

Which is cool cus Funny or die makes stuff like this video

Link: http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/03/05/mini-wireless-keyboard-with-touchpad-and-laser-pointer/

This wasn't nearly as cool till the laser pointer part was mentioned.

There’s the “dazzling bright LED” backlighting, the world’s first touchpad that can be used in both the horizontal and vertical positions complete with advanced “capacitive sensing technology, comparable to a real notebook touchpad,” and the “innovative design of the navigation keys” that’ll make you “feel the thrill” of being able to play games wirelessly.

Link: http://www.businessinsider.com/viacom-gutting-hulu-by-yanking-daily-show-and-colbert-report-2010-3?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+typepad%2Falleyinsider%2Fsilicon_alley_insider+%28Silicon+Alley+Insider%29

Viacom just pulled the Daily show and Colberts show. (The Daily show was the third most popular show on Hulu)

This hurts everyone - I like Hulu's player and site way better, it dilutes both audiences... But what worries me is if more shows get pulled, people will have less and less reasons to go to Hulu.

Well, I'll cross my fingers that everything works out.

Link: http://gadgetynews.com/lenovo-mini-wireless-keyboard-shocker-being-sold-by-brando/

Another one from the big pile today - this one looks a bit different.

Pretty much ideal for use with Windows Media Center, Boxee, or just about any other PC-based media center application and saves having to get up off your sofa

It’s powered by two AAA batteries and the USB receiver neatly right inside the controllers battery compartment.

As well as ordering from Brando you could, if you so wished, order it directly from Lenovo and save four bucks – and perhaps a little more as Lenovo always seems to have a variety of coupon codes floating around.

Link: http://dvice.com/archives/2010/02/tiny-fanless-pc.php

Something for everyone in this box -

The big plus of this minuscule Habey BIS-6620 ultra-compact PC is its total silence, playing back 1080p video with no fans. For that price, though, you don't get a hard drive, but there's a place to plug CompactFlash and SD cards in the front, and there's a 1.8-inch internal hard drive bay inside. You can load up any flavor of Windows or Linux, too.

Link: http://www.redferret.net/?p=18877

I'm kinda into these tiny full keyboard/touchpad HTPC controllers. This one's not only incredibly small - it's alpha geek looking cool as well.

The RedFerret takes it for a spin in review if your curious.

It'll set ya back $120 - but alpha geek never comes cheap does it?

Link: http://wwitv.com/

Can't have enough channels to view during those exploratory HTPC days eh? Here's a site full of channels.

Link: http://www.hulu.com/adzone

Got a jonez for commercials after the big game? Hulu now has a channel where you can watch all the commercials that you want.

Link: http://www.ghacks.net/2010/02/04/tv-gorge-offers-restriction-free-online-tv-experience/

Can't have too many of the free TV sites right? Here's a new one to try out.

TV Gorge is an online TV viewers dream come true. The service streams episodes of popular English TV shows such as Dexter, Criminal Minds, 24, NCIS or Numb3rs to users from around the world.

Even better s the fact that those tv shows are offered in high quality and do not only offer the latest episodes that have just aired but also previous episodes.

Link: http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=7123&tag=wrapper;col1

With a respectable HTPC case no less - this is the way to go if you want HTPC goodness but don't plan to play the latest games on it.

What I’m going to outline here is an entry-level system that’s going to be able to handle all the basic tasks that you’d expect of an HTPC system. It’s going to be able to handle HD resolution video (1080p and 720p), cope with streaming video, upscale DVD, ad will even be good for playing games, as long as you’re not too greedy when it comes to resolution. It’s also going to have plenty of storage space so you’ve got plenty of room to store your ever-growing library of media.

Link: http://mashable.com/2010/01/29/nfl-hulu/

Before you get too excited - you won't be seeing this weeks game.... BUT you can see a bunch of NFL network stuff and that in itself is pretty darn cool.

- America’s Game: The Super Bowl Champions: Documentary series on the journey to the big game.

- Hard Knocks: Popular training camp reality show.

- Greatest Games: 90-minute show on some of the NFL’s most famous and historical games.

- Game of the Week: The NFL picks a few of the top games from the week and re-airs them with all of the gaps and waiting around edited out. There are over 70 episodes up now on Hulu.

- Live Wire: A weekly NFL recap show.

- Season in Review: Yes, it’s a review of the last season’s big events.

- Sounds of the Game: The NFL Network mics up players and coaches and turns that into a surprisingly awesome show.

- Super Bowl Highlights: Exactly as it sounds.

Actually it's darn close to awesome.

Link: http://forum.boxee.tv/showthread.php?s=c3511ef5f4744db689549ac655074c37&t=14197

What do I think about the beta?

Well, I installed the alpha and I didn't get too far - it was plagued by any number of issues. I suppose I could have dealt with 'em but the deal breaker for me was the Windows alpha didn't integrate with Netflix.

The Beta is worlds apart from the Alpha. Basically - It ROCKS.

Go get it and start having HTPC fun ... you'll find a whole 5 minute setup to get going and if you want to get fancy then expect to spend maybe 20.

** Bonus hint - go install some apps - specially Clicker.

Link: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/12/boxee-beta-first-look/

I tried the alpha and while it had potential it just didn't have the features for me to get into it too far. Luckily the beta has come a long way,

The Boxee beta, which is currently invitation-only but will be made available to all as a free download during the Consumer Electronics Show the first week of January, improves the stability and the usability of the alpha significantly.

The company will be offering a dedicated set-top box next spring, but the software — which runs on almost any computer — is almost fully cooked. I’ve been testing the new Boxee beta on an Intel Mac Mini hooked up to my HDTV for a little over a week. Windows and Linux versions are also available.

While I’m not ready to tell the cable guy to stuff it (as much as I’d love to), my evenings have been filled with hours of streaming video pulled down from literally scores of online sources. The quality ranges from watchable to spectacular.

I'll give it another try for sure - one thing no one has said is if it's integration with Netflix has been fixed.

Link: http://www.global-itv.com

I was just recently going through my older HTPC links and found Global ITV still working and serving up goodness just like it used to.

This site is a very cool platform that will burn endless hours of boredom and give you 3000 or so channels of live TV worldwide - and that's just for starters.

Anyway thought I'd pass it along - Enjoy!

Link: http://tesla.liketelevision.com/liketelevision/search/search.php?q=christmas+cartoons&theme=guide

If you're looking for some rather classic Christmas shows - and by classic I mean truly retro - look no further.

To me it's always a trip looking into how the holidays were celebrated 40 years ago. (or more)

I like Television (good htpc site) has 9 beauties for your perusal.

Enjoy!

Link: http://www.uberreview.com/2009/12/fit-pc2i-tiny-desktop-runs-windows-7.htm

This right here is the perfect machine for a media controlling beauty - I only wish it had a 7.1 output ...

Intel Atom Z530 1.6GHz, or Atom Z510 1.1GHz processor, 1 GB of RAM with a 2GB upgrade option, 4GB of on-board flash memory and a 2.5-inch drive bay.

So, what can it do? If you look at the back there are 4 USB ports, a pair of Ethernet ports and a mislabeled HDMI port. If you get the WLAN option it would be a great way to stream 1080p video to your TV and if you shell out the dollars for an SSD you can have a totally silent system. I liked the DVICE idea of mounting it on the back of the screen, but the form factor is such that you can hide it away just about anywhere.

Link: http://www.automatedhome.co.uk/New-Products/RUVO-MiniCap-7-Tiny-Fanless-1080P-HDMI-PC.html

Small - Pre built - and ready to serve up TV and Media Goodness right outa the box.

The Ruvo 's 1.6Ghz Intel ATOM 230 is a single core CPU compared to the ASRocks Dual Core 330, but with the same ion GPU doing the real work, it runs XBMC pretty much the same way The RuVo is HDMI only where the Rock is HDMI and VGA - but this should be ideal for its purpose - an inexpensive 1080P HiDef streamer. The ASRock also has the advantage of an integrated optical drive, however its fan means its not silent like the Ruvo.

The Ruvo has a 533MHz front side bus and ships with 2GBs of DDR2-667. Despite its size and the fact you'll want to stream data from your server, rather than store locally, storage is impressive in the form of a 2.5” 320GB SATA hard drive. In fact when you think about it this gives you the opportunity to fill the machine to throw in a suitcase and take with you on holiday. The specs continue with HDMI, Gigabit Ethernet, 6 USBs, audio in / out and microphone.

Holy goodness- I want!

Link: http://www.geek.com/articles/gadgets/wireless-keyboard-htpc-remote-works-with-almost-everything-20091112/

featuring

a fully functional QWERTY keyboard and a trackpad into a device about the size of a paperback book, the Wireless Keyboard HTPC Remote works with pretty much any system you can hook up to it, including Windows (2000, XP & Vista), Linux (Debian-3.1, Redhat-9.0, Ubuntu-8.10, Fedora-7.0), Mac OS, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and the Wii. You can buy it now for $40.

$40 bucks? You can't go wrong with that!

Link: http://www.clicker.com/

Clicker links to around 400,000 TV episodes, 50,000 music videos and 30,000 movies in an easy-to-navigate directory.

There are also additional services if you register for a free account, including creating a playlist and even setting up a Tivo-style season pass for future episodes from the same source

Probably the best way to find anything HTPC wise on the web - it's pretty darned fantastic.

Enjoy !

Link: http://www.wired.com/underwire/2008/10/fright-night-wa/

This years offering of Free content available on the web dwarfs past years. Wired points out 5 places that have piles of full length high quality movies all ready for your consumption.

Enjoy!

Halloween wouldn’t be complete without a good old-fashioned scream fest. But why worry about battling crowds at video stores when plenty of classic horror flicks are available for free online viewing?

From modern zombies and Japanese monsters to campy classics like Rocky Horror’s "Time Warp," Wired.com’s ghastly guide will walk you through scary fare on the web.

Link: http://gizmodo.com/5387909/hulus-free-glory-days-are-officially-numbered

This is sad, if Hulu goes paid service then it's viewership is likely to plummet. I don't know if I'd even use it after that. Then again on the other side of the coin, if they were reasonable on the fee (say 30 bucks a year) and when you paid that you got no commercials.... well, maybe.

Tell ya what tho, there's no way I'm paying to watch shows with commercials. Period.

Link: http://www.ohgizmo.com/2009/10/15/glidetv-navigator-replaces-your-htpc-remote-and-mouse/

Aiming to replace a keyboard,mouse,remote control,and trackpad - and it looks like it just might fit the bill too.

At $150.00 you'll maybe want to wait and see it reviewed, but if it works as advertised it might be perfect for some higher end HTPC setups.

Link: http://www.windowsfordevices.com/c/a/News/Via-Technologies-EpiaP720/?kc=rss

For those of you that think that mATX (P55) board I had up last week was just wayyyyy too big, I give you this coaster sized HTPC miracle.

The Epia-P720 adheres to Via's 3.9 x 2.8 inch (10 x 7.2cm) Pico-ITX standard, but, unlike the company's previous such offerings, is touted as delivering "stunningly smooth playback of the latest HD video formats," including 1080p. The board pairs the 1GHz Via Eden ULV CPU with Via's recently released VX855 media processor, which includes DirectX 9-compatible graphics and hardware acceleration for video decompression.

No pricing yet.

Link: http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2009/09/15/seagate_upgrades_freeagent_theatre/

While this may not be a solution for everyone I can certainly see a market for such a kit.

Seagate has tweaked its connect-your-hard-drive-to-your-telly offering, FreeAgent Theatre, marking up the device's moniker with a plus sign to indicate its superior status.

The new model adds support for 1080p output over HDMI - the previous version peaked at 1080i over component-video - and incorporates not only an extra pair of USB ports but also an Ethernet port, giving the FreeAgent Theatre+ basic Nas functionality.

heh, Telly - you can tell this came from across the pond.

Link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=dv_digg_free2?ie=UTF8&docId=1000128561

Ok, no it's not the greatest lineup in the world but it's yet another way to stick it to the cable guy.

that is all... move along.

Link: http://paidcontent.org/article/419-advertising-everywhere-comcast-broadband-trials-bring-clutter-worries-t/

Oh well, I just posted about this as a possibly good thing, and now it turns out that it's gonna suck. You know, a big reason people like sites like HULU is that the ads are managed better - and they're quieter - and there's fewer of them.

I'm not gonna be too interested in watching a 1/2 hour show online if there's 10 minutes of ads interspersed.

So there ya have it - sad but true.

Link: http://www.pcworld.com/article/167904/abc_arrives_on_hulu_finally.html

Popular streaming syndication site Hulu now has all the major networks in its camp except CBS.

Today is the official kick-off for the content partnership between Hulu and Disney, with "Grey's Anatomy" coming to the online streaming site.

In addition to "Grey's Anatomy," Hulu says it will be introducing more ABC content this week, but the site is not revealing what will be appearing just yet. Instead the site will post daily updates on its Hulu Days of Summer online calendar, and post hints leading up to new content debuts on the company's Facebook and Twitter feeds.

Nice! - now just one more network and HULU will be your online HTPC destination.

Link: http://hackaday.com/2009/06/24/hackit-boxee-now-on-windows/

It's very much a beta but it runs and I'm gonna give it a try - well, at some point when I have the time to do something like that ... sigh.

Anywho for those of you with windows boxes / htpc's and free time - check it out.

Link: http://www.realtechnews.com/posts/233

“New Intel chips allow surround-sound audio and integrated wireless networking abilities. A version Intel expects to be sold next year, code-named Sandow, includes a high-definition TV tuner, a smaller form factor, and software to aggregate media from multiple PCs in the home.”

Well, this will be interesting - I could put a SFF htpc to very good use - put everything on one chipset and add a small SSD - now we're talkin!

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqxENMKaeCU&fmt=22

I haven't had the time to watch this but I did at least hear the shots of earth from above are spectacular... It's a movie to the tune of Global Warming warning - so be advised. However from what I've heard it's worth it even if you're not subscribed to the whole warming theory.

HOME is an ode to the planet’s beauty and its delicate harmony. Through the landscapes of 54 countries captured from above, Yann Arthus-Bertrand takes us on an unique journey all around the planet, to contemplate it and to understand it. But HOME is more than a documentary with a message, it is a magnificent movie in its own right. Every breathtaking shot shows the Earth - our Earth - as we have never seen it before.

Link: http://www.engadgethd.com/2009/05/28/hulu-desktop-app-puts-a-remote-control-friendly-face-on-for-macs/

And it's optimized for remotes - so I'd say this is a super cool addition to any HTPC. To check it out go to Hulu and click Labs.

Hulu Desktop is a lean-back viewing experience for your personal computer. It features a sleek new look that's optimized for use with standard Windows Media Center remote controls or Apple remote controls, allowing you to navigate Hulu's entire library with just six buttons.

Link: http://www.hardocp.com/news.html?news=Mzk1OTcsLCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdCwsLDE=

With a 1.6GHz Atom, 1GB DDR2-533, HD video and a $240 - $399 price tag, this would be an inexpensive way of putting a PC on the LCD in your living room

Wow - look at the size of that! - The price is right too... I'll have to put this in my list of considerations.

Link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/5364781/BBC-shows-could-be-shown-in-their-entirety-on-YouTube.html

They are in talks right now. I'd love to see that. I know I'm probably in the minority of folks in the states that really like the BBC... but maybe more people would notice they've got some right good programming...

Old bean.

Link: http://digitaldaily.allthingsd.com/20090430/finally-disney-hulu-deal-announced/

Well, despite their deal with You Tube - looks like they are hedging their bets .... Disney / ABC Content coming soon to HULU

Long live HULU - really, its the main reason I haven't missed broadcast TV since 2008