One of my favorite Web apps got an upgrade recently, and this morning I had a chance to test it out. Cooliris has added a browser plug-in to replace the default full-screen app launch it’s had to date. I’ve played with Cooliris on and off for the past ten months, and while I love the interface, it rarely occurs to me to launch the application for browsing. That could change now that there’s no separate application to launch, just a Firefox (or IE, or soon-to-be Safari) tab.

ReadWriteWeb covered the update in detail, which includes other features like hyperlinked metadata for Flickr. However, perhaps the one note left out is how this (hopefully) sets up Cooliris for integration with new sites. I am firmly convinced that Cooliris has the interface for online shopping. If the technology was officially integrated with, say, Zappos, where someone could click on the nifty Cooliris button to bring up a 3D wall of shoes, I believe awareness of and demand for the app would skyrocket. Not to mention, it could potentially drive new revenue for online vendors. In an Apple iPhone world, where the importance of user interface has been significantly elevated, Cooliris should be in its glory.

UPDATE: Sungale has let me know that there will be another firmware update before the frame officially hits retail. The company is graciously letting me hold on to the frame until the update, and I plan to post again.

I’ve had something of an obsession with Wi-Fi photo frames ever since eStarling brought the first one (disastrously) to market. So naturally I jumped at the chance to get my hands on the new Sungale touch-screen, Wi-Fi, widgetized photo frame – colloquially known as the ID800WT.

Sungale’s attempt to create a photo-displaying widget station is ambitious to the say the least. I’ve seen other manufacturers add wireless connectivity, limited access to Web content, and touch-screen capabilities, but not at the level that Sungale attempts. Everything on the screen is touchable, and the widget menu includes weather, news, Picasa, Gmail, YouTube, and Internet radio access. Alas, the execution doesn’t currently live up to the vision. The Sungale ID800WT is decent as a standard digital photo frame, but it’s not the tablet of the future that it aims to be.

Full review, specs, and photos after the jump.

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The broadcast digital transition today reminded me of all the old “portable” TV sets that were once the height of cool tech, and are now headed to the junk yard. (Don’t throw them away, find out where to recycle at Earth911.com.) I had a couple versions of these old mobile TVs. One was portable in the sense that you could move the six-inch-by-12-inch block from outlet to outlet or regularly feed it six C batteries. The other was small enough to hang around my neck and took some smaller form of battery. Neither got reception worth a damn.

In contrast, today’s mobile TV is both watchable and more convenient. But interestingly it’s not what I pictured a few short years ago. It’s not broadcast signals on my cell phone. Back in January I had the phenomenal experience of getting to watch the presidential inauguration live in HD on my netbook while on kid patrol at a local moonbounce warehouse. It felt like magic. Last weekend I had an equally magical mobile TV moment at, of all places, Disney’s Magic Kingdom. Despite following excellent instructions on how to negotiate around long waits at the park, there were still a few long-ish lines that couldn’t be avoided. Enter the iPod. Not even our iPod Touch, mind you, just the regular iPod with video. My three-year-old daughter patiently waited her turn to see the Disney princesses with stored up TV and movies at hand – in her hand, actually. Obviously nothing was live, but it was still mobile TV to her, and far more entertaining than the snowy pictures of my old portable sets.  We’ve truly entered the era of mobile TV, whether it’s as we envisioned or not.

Gone from Hulu “every one” isn’t a fair characterization*, but it seems FX has gotten a bit stingy in streaming full TV episodes. There was a small note in a recent GigaOM Pro report (yes, I subscribe) stating that FX removed three seasons worth of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia from Hulu in the first quarter of 2009. This struck me because of commentary I heard from a Discovery Channel exec back at The Cable Show. The Discovery Channel is not interested in streaming free episodes online, preferring instead to protect its dual-revenue business model with both advertising and carriage fees from pay TV operators. Perhaps other cable networks like FX see wisdom in this?

A quick review on Hulu found six FX shows represented, but only four shows include full episodes. Rescue Me is the standout with 55 episodes available. Canceled show The Riches has 20 episodes, and 30 Days has 18 episodes. Sunny has only seven episodes available, while Burn Notice, Nip Tuck, and Sons of Anarchy have none. The lack of Burn Notice episodes surprises me given that the popular show returns to air this week, though FX says it will stream episodes again on Hulu when the new season starts. (As a commenter points out below, Burn Notice is on the USA Network. Sorry All, I had Burn Notice on the brain, but it’s still interesting that available episodes online are limited.)

There is very little consistency in how content owners are distributing video online, but it seems likely that less and less of it will be free in the future, particularly if/when initiatives like Hulu-on-Roku become a reality. I think of this as one of the reasons it’s good to be an early adopter. With more of the mainstream jumping on the Internet video bandwagon, content owners and providers (like the cablecos) have more incentive than ever to limit what’s available for no charge.

*The title and first line of this post are a reference to the folk song “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?”. I am a child of a child of the sixties.

If you’re looking to avoid tech support duty as we approach the broadcast digital TV transition day (now June 12th), there’s some good news out of the FCC. The agency has agreements in place with several contractors to provide free converter box installations. Oddly, I discovered this from the Consuming Interests blog out of Baltimore, but the free service looks to be available in a number of areas nationwide. Plug in your zip code at the DTV.gov site and you’ll get a list of contractors in your area. Some only offer phone support or walk-in clinics, but some actually promise free in-home installation.

Although DTV transition tests have gone well so far, I’m in favor of installation help that goes beyond relying on local volunteer firemen. Hopefully by now folks have also sorted out their converter box coupon issues. The final countdown (really this time) is upon us.

Skooba, venerable maker of Checkpoint-friendly laptop bags and other sturdy computer cases (and CES CtrStg sponsor), has started selling Proporta-brand cases for portable gear as of today. Normally I wouldn’t bother reporting on reseller news, even a US exclusive, but 1. I like Skooba, and 2. Proporta has some nice-looking stuff. I’ve found it oddly difficult to find nice cases for some of my gadgets, so any new supplier is welcome.

The full Proporta line-up includes everything from drawstring, to leather, to neoprene, and outfits itsy bitsy devices like the iPod Shuffle (all versions) all the way up to 10″ netbooks and full-size laptops. I had hoped the netbook cases would include include handles (I’m ready to replace my fashionable-but-rapidly-soiled Golla bag freebie), but like most on the market, they’re only netbook sleeves with no easy carrying attachment. On the other hand, the Proporta selection of iPod and other MP3 player cases is quite impressive. Fashion and function are both well represented.

No word on how wide a range of products Skooba will sell from the Proporta line (iPod cases now, but more products coming soon), but Skooba did send us a coupon for our readers if you want to do some shopping. You can get 15% off any Proporta items through the end of May. Use discount code PROPORTA.

Glen Hardin of Time Warner Cable recently wrote a comprehensive (and fabulous) article for Cable360 on the 2008 ruling in favor of Cablevision’s right to offer network-based DVR services. In it he uses the more precise term Remote-Storage DVR (RS-DVR) rather than Network DVR (nDVR) to describe the technology Cablevision has proposed. Is the difference in jargon critical? Actually, yes. Even if you have very little interest in the technical details, there are practical ramifications to the fact that Cablevision may one day soon launch RS-DVR rather than true nDVR services.

Very briefly, nDVR refers to a service where a program can be recorded and stored in the cable network and then accessed by any subscriber. In contrast, RS-DVR refers to a service where any subscriber can record a show and store it on the cable network, but that stored programming is only available to the person who recorded it. For legal reasons, even if two people want to record the same show, it has be recorded twice, and each recording discretely stored.

RS-DVR is legally pragmatic, but technically it represents a series of trade-offs. Instead of set-tops that need loads of storage space, you end up with mammoth amounts of space needed on the network. Discrete storage of each recording also means that there’s no way to cache content for more efficient delivery of popular programming. And finally, the fact that each recording requires its own video ingest means that video servers need significantly more ingest capacity than they currently have.

There’s a lot of potential in network-based DVR services, even the somewhat hamstrung approach of RS-DVR. (More storage options, everything on-demand, new interface options for management of recordings) However, the technical burdens mean that RS-DVR won’t necessarily provide subscriber cost savings early on as some might expect. Also, I have to wonder at how smoothly RS-DVR can be implemented in the short term given the new technical requirements. I expect there will be kinks even once the service finally becomes available from a service provider near you.