Kevin spotted a nice deal over on Woot for a $30 refurb Gyration keyboard and mouse. Back in my HTPC days I used this (or a similar model) to control a projector-attached computer. The remote and keyboard use RF, so you have increased range without line-of-sight issues. And being so compact, these are pretty unobtrusive on the couch or coffee table. Additionally, the gyroscopic features of the mouse (moving it in the air) were nice to use while reclining without worrying about a hard surface (though the couch cushions were often sufficient). The mouse charger/dock acts as your USB receiver — mine happily sat on top of the subwoofer. I don’t know what these run for today, but I recall paying over $100.

Never enough time…

• TiVo to expand service beyond Taiwan into mainland China. (LA Times)
• Smut giants show Hollywood how to fight back. (Business Week)
• Blockbuster says Netflix patents not enforceable. (Reuters)
• MovieBeam gets a boost from Magnolia Pictures. (HD Beat)
• Win a trip to Hawaii and/or a DT TiVo. (TiVo)

If you’ve been reluctant to download the UK version of the Slingplayer, you’ll be happy to hear Slingplayer 1.2 Beta has been released for the US… and packing many of the same features (no, you won’t get DVB-T support or auto 16×9 detection). I had a brief chat with Sling VP Jeremy Toeman, and other than the obvious addition of skins support he emphasized enhanced home LAN video quality via both the software and firmware (1.8) update. Toeman also mentioned those using the integrated analog tuner (as I usually do) now have the ability to fine tune channel frequencies and/or drop channels altogether.

Having used both the UK version and now the 1.2 beta, I can tell you my home bitrate has doubled and video quality is excellent. The new default (”Bauhaus”) and bundled “Brushed Steel” skins are far more attractive than the style-challenged original. The ability to drag and drop favorite channel buttons is a feature that won’t see much use outside of initial config, but also adds some nice functional polish to the player. So, in conclusion, go grab this update!

In case you haven’t heard, Netflix is proudly trumpeting the arrival of banner ads. While this might please stock holders, I’m not sure how much value advertising clutter affords the typical customer. In fact, on my 1024×768 laptop the new banner ad for Sony’s Monster House combined with the Netflix Father’s Day promotion fills nearly 50% of Firefox with crap.

Personally, I find this development at odds with CEO Reed Hastings’s recent comment to Business Week: “We think the differentiator will be this incredible Web site.” Plastering Netflix.com with banner ads is not incredible and certainly doesn’t differentiate you. Actually, it does differentiate you from most pay services which are banner-free — web advertising has largely been the domain of free online services (such as yours truly).

With that in mind, I wrote Netflix customer service hoping to broker a deal. I told them as a paying customer, I’d rather not see third-party advertising. Assuming they would choose Sony’s deep pockets over my relatively shallow ones, I also offered a compromise of having Netflix lower my monthly fee by 25 cents for every banner ad I’m served. Customer service rep Crystal responded, “We understand your concerns with advertisements on the Netflix site. These advertisements are designed to enhance customer experience with content that appeals to our members’ movie tastes and cannot be removed from your individual site experience.” Sadly, she didn’t respond to my almost-revolutionary advertising model.

At the end of the day, this isn’t a huge deal (more like a slightly disturbing, though not entirely unexpected, development)… However, someone should call them on it and I nominated myself.

Been thinking about getting a Slingbox? Is $100 off retail enough to force your hand? If you’re game, add the $199 Slingbox to your cart and then use code DISH2006 for another $50 off.

(via Gizmodo)

Never enough time…

• Netflix talks small film distribution and movie downloads. (Business Week)
• Echostar, DirecTV, and WildBlue team for satellite broadband service. (CNET)
• Connecticut gives IPTV thumbs up. (GigaOM)
• What Netflix could teach Hollywood. (NY Times)
• Kenya and Uganda get PVR in time for World Cup. (All Africa)

Valleywag reports photo-sharing site SmugMug has received a cease and desist letter from TiVo in regards to their usage of thumbs up/down functionality and/or graphics. CEO Don MacAskill claims SmugMug is not in violation of TiVo’s trademarks as they aren’t using the symbols in an interactive television application. MacAskill suggests TiVo’s legal department will be rather busy if they start going after the likes of Digg and every other thumbs up/down ranking system. Without being privy to the letter, I’m not ready to pass judgment either way… Though I have to ask: What would Fonzie do?