Categories
Mostly Everything

Samsung announces Viki Premiere: All-Asian Telenovelas Download Service

I read an article yesterday about how the Philippines (as well as other countries in Asia) are pushing for an All-Asean VISA pass for foreigners. It’s similar to a Schengen VISA, but applied to Asia so that it unites then entire Asia in terms of tourism. After reading this, I hopped on to another announcement that’s in a different field altogether but still relevant by principle.

Last week at the Samsung SEA Forum, our very own Ariel Arias announced a new line of SMART TV’s (and I really feel bad because it renders my two 40″ Samsung SMART TV’s obsolescent!) but alongside this he also announced a new service called Viki Premiere which will debut in South East Asia. Essentially, Viki premiere is a subscription-based service exclusive to Samsung allowing all Asean neighbors to download and watch each other’s popular “Jewel in the Palace” tele-novelas (Korean, Filipino, Chinese, etc) and they will have respective subtitles and / or dubbing in each country’s language.

Why is this epic?

  • It is a powerful statement to go for digital downloads. The Philippines (and the rest of Asia) absolutely needs its own digital distribution system for music, movies and other forms of entertainment. We can’t default to iTunes because they have Western-focused content. What about Asia?
  • It is contextually brilliant as it brings together the rich pop culture of all the nations in South East Asia, pushing them to compare, improve and discuss their shows in a one stop digital platform.
  • Because digital distribution is sexy

Although they didn’t go into detail about how this will work, it appears that the service will be tied into their new line of SMART TV’s (I’m not sure if the previous models will be able to avail of the upgrade but theoretically, they should). In addition, Samsung has revamped its AllShare platform turning it into its own Cloud-based sync platform. This allows you to sync content between your SMART TV, Galaxy phones and tablets.

Parting shot: World Domination.

Categories
Mostly Everything

Real or Fake: Pirate Bay announces it will start hosting using low orbit servers

Say what you want about software pirates but you cannot deny the fact that software piracy is building the future of computing tomorrow, today. Think of the most popular application for distributing your movies and music — torrents — and how it is being used to share information in the most convenient way possible. My take on piracy has always been a functional one more than a financial one: i don’t mind paying for my media. What I don’t mind is the hassle of going through hell just to install something i legitimately bought.

Today. the Pirate Bay has once again taken computing to the next level. They are set to be using drones to hover their servers in the air:

TPB LOSS

We were down a few hours earlier today. There’s no need to worry, we haven’t been raided this time. We’re only upgrading stuff since we’re still growing.

One of the technical things we always optimize is where to put our front machines. They are the ones that re-direct your traffic to a secret location. We have now decided to try to build something extraordinary.

With the development of GPS controlled drones, far-reaching cheap radio equipment and tiny new computers like the Raspberry Pi, we’re going to experiment with sending out some small drones that will float some kilometers up in the air. This way our machines will have to be shut down with aeroplanes in order to shut down the system. A real act of war.

We’re just starting so we haven’t figured everything out yet. But we can’t limit ourselves to hosting things just on land anymore. These Low Orbit Server Stations (LOSS) are just the first attempt. With modern radio transmitters we can get over 100Mbps per node up to 50km away. For the proxy system we’re building, that’s more than enough.

But when time comes we will host in all parts of the galaxy, being true to our slogan of being the galaxy’s most resilient system. And all of the parts we’ll use to build that system on will be downloadable.

Low Orbit Server Stations. That’s mind-blowing. Is this an early April Fool’s joke or a lot of amazing technology at work (for those curious, this is done via Magnet Links) to prove a point about the free Internet?

Categories
Mostly Everything

Look what just finished downloading!

Total File Size: 7.6GB
Launch Date: May 15 2012

You can pre-purchase the game as early as now in time for the launch in about 2 months.

Categories
Mostly Everything

Thoughts on the Samsung Galaxy Beam: Android Phone with Built-in Projector

Samsung Galaxy Beam Bangkok

I really want this phone to fly. Well, if not the phone, then at least the concept of adding a 15-lumen projector to a smartphone, in the same way that cameras and GPS are now built into your mobile, it doesn’t get highlighted as a main selling point, but as a staple in handheld devices. Imagine the following scenarios:

  • an artist (in this case an independent film maker) wants to show off his new movie via an impromptu screening in a public area. All you need is a wall and the requirement that the movie be no longer than 2 hours (that’s the battery life of the phone when you turn on the projector)
  • Protest rallies .. you can easily set up a multimedia hub
  • Impromptu statements, which, although highly controversial can really serve its purpose: “Eat here!” or “Don’t eat here — service really bad!”

Marketers have been consistently trying to find more ways to bring together the Internet and real-world behavior. With “social” and “sharing” becoming the buzz of the industry the past few years, how would retailers feel if you could literally write something on their store wall, and not just on Facebook?

Samsung Beam Demo

The Samsung Galaxy Beam boasts a decent spec sheet for a modern-day smartphone: ships with Android 2.3 Gingerbread, 4″ WVGA display, and runs on a 1GHz dual-core processor. The Beam is their first projector-enabled smartphone (640 x 360 at 50 inches maximum size) at 15 lumens. It doesn’t perform very well during daylight but at night, it can definitely grab your attention.

Samsung Beam

Categories
Geek

Installing PC Games: Then and Now

Mass Effect 3

Huge, huge realization about the PC gaming industry today. You see, I finally found the time to install Mass Effect 3 for the PC. Yup, you read it right. You actually need to dedicate time to installing it as if it were a chore. If the multiplayer wasn’t so epic, I would have thrown a fit.

Here’s why:

Installing Games Before:

1. Buy the retail box
2. Insert disc into PC
3. Install the game
4. Play the game

Installing Games Today:

1. Pre-order the game to get exclusive in-game bonuses
2. Buy the game (either from the retail store or via digital download)
3. Insert disc into PC (if retail copy)
4. Install Download Client (EA uses Origin) by downloading it (you NEED Internet)
5. Figure out if Origin carries over from previous EA Account
6. Retrieve old password from EA Account
7. Install the game
8. Download the patch fixes
9. Retrieve pre-order rewards via DLC
10. Purchase Day 1 DLC that DID NOT come free with the game, yet still very important because it contains a huge crux of the game’s lore
11. Download 500+ MB of data for update
12. Play the game

I mean, WTF right? I’m all for giving money to the gaming industry but I can really understand why people pirate games. It isn’t just about not being able to afford an original copy, but also about how bootleg versions don’t put you through such a tedious process.