The second half of Apple’s one-two punch

Posted on June 24, 2010 by Chris Morris

If you have even a passing curiosity in the tech world, you probably heard that the iPhone hits stores today. And even if you didn’t, there’s a fair chance you passed a long line of people at your local Apple store.

This fourth phone from the company in four years is already a phenomenon. Pre-orders were 10 times higher than previous products, including last year’s 3GS. (600,000 preorders were logged on the first day.) It got so bad, in fact, that Apple’s site had to keep moving back the ship date for people ordering online, as it was unable to keep up with demand.

Vuvuzelas invade YouTube

Posted on June 24, 2010 by Chris Morris

Oh YouTube… not you too.

The Vuvuzela – which has sprung to fame thanks to the World Cup – has popped up on the viral video service, bringing its droning angry buzz sound with it. A new button slipped onto the site’s videos recently, letting masochists add the sound to videos they watch.

How Ubisoft and Michael Jackson came together to make a game

Posted on June 23, 2010 by Chris Morris

With the one year anniversary of Michael Jackson’s sudden death approaching, Ubisoft announced last week that it would be releasing “Michael Jackson: The Game” later this year.

It’s a title that makes sense, especially as the dance genre seems ready to explode, but we were curious: How did the French publisher and the King of Pop come together in the first place? It turns out to be a pretty interesting story.

eReaders: Barnes & Noble gets serious

Posted on June 21, 2010 by Chris Morris

Barnes & Noble’s nook eReader has hardly been struggling, but the company’s device hasn’t exactly been top of mind for most shoppers. The iPad and Amazon Kindle tend to leap to most people’s minds first. Today, the company is taking steps to change that.

It’s doing so in a way that makes a lot of sense: Cost. Barnes & Noble has announced a new version of the nook that eschews the 3G connection and only uses Wi-Fi. They’ve smartly priced it at $149.

New venture makes historical stock footage affordable

Posted on June 14, 2010 by Chris Morris

Indie and amateur filmmakerslooking to add some historical context to their works have a new outlet.

The recently launched CriticalPast.com offers an extensive collection of royalty-free photos and video footage, most of which hasn’t been online previously. With video of everything from Coney Island in the 1890s to World War II to news reports on 1994’s Whitewater scandal, the site has things covered.

‘The Hangover’ tops all-time On Demand movies

Posted on June 9, 2010 by Chris Morris

Mix three groomsmen, a tiger and major memory gaps, then subtract one tooth and you’ve got the ingredients for the most popular On Demand film in the delivery system’s history.

Avail-TVN has put together a list of the 20 most-watched video on demand titles and “The Hangover” tops the list. On Demand viewing has grown exponentially in the last three years, with titles often bowing the same day as the DVD goes on sale, so it’s not too surprising that the list is made of recent films. (None was released earlier than 2007.) There are some surprising omissions, though. No Disney-Pixar film made the cut, for example.

Apple rolls out the iPhone 4

Posted on June 7, 2010 by Chris Morris

Going in to the keynote of today’s Worldwide Developer Conference, pretty much everyone knew Apple would be rolling out its fourth generation iPhone. But the Cupertino-based company still managed to spring a few surprises on the crowd.

The iPhone 4, which goes on sale June 24 – will have a host of new features, including the ability to shoot high definition video and easily edit it on the phone. The device will record video at resolutions of up to 720p, shooting at 30 fps – making the new iPhone a possible tool for guerilla video shoots from indie filmmakers.

Fly the iPad skies

Posted on June 4, 2010 by Chris Morris

It was probably only a matter of time…

Jetstar Airways has become the first airlines to make the iPad available as an in-flight entertainment option for passengers. The Australian carrier (a subset of Qantas) will rent the tablet computers to interested fliers for AUD $10 ($8.40 in U.S. dollars) during a two-week trial at the end of June.

The iPads will be equipped with movies, TV shows, eBooks, games and more.

Steve Jobs forecasts the future of film

Posted on June 1, 2010 by Chris Morris

Apple CEO Steve Jobs is a man who’s known for forward-looking (and often controversial) opinions. For the most part, those have centered around the computing world, but that the ongoing “D: All Things Digital” conference, he had a few thoughts about what might be coming for the film industry.

“I … think you’ll be able to watch a first run movie before it hits theaters… if you want to spend a bunch of money,” he told the crowd in a question and answer session (according to onsite reporting from Engadget).

Two months… 2 million iPads sold