COOLTIDBITS

Bruce Williams Signs Off Tonight

Business and finance talker and Radio Hall of Famer Bruce Williams has announced the end of his self syndicated radio show March 5th. In a letter posted on his official website, he stated in part:

...After a great deal of thought, I have concluded, as has been said many times, “all things come to an end”, and this is true for me of my radio career. As a consequence, it is my painful chore to announce with much regret that March 5th, will be my last Network broadcast...
There have been enormous changes in our industry in the past 3 ½ decades. Those of you who have been in the business for a long period of time know full well many of the things to which I elude. Those of you running independent stations are more aware then anyone of the challenges you face. The last several years have been very difficult economically for most. There’s no question that there will be continued innovations in this enterprise and the choices are clear, adjust or leave...
I have learned “never say never”. This moment is closing a chapter of my life, which has meant a great deal to me. I have no broadcast plans. This is not to say that if someone made an overture that I would automatically say no. Unlikely, but the door is never firmly closed...
.. I never expect to retire in the traditional sense. Some people look forward to sitting around the fireplace, playing golf, etc. That has never been my ambition. I enjoy working and will continue as long as I am physically capable. One door closes another door opens. I hope this is to be the case in this instance. To be continued…..

Gratefully and Very Cordially,
Bruce H. Williams

The New Jersey native who began his radio career in 1975 and was one of the original NBC Talknet talents in 1981 along with Sally Jesse Raphael, had been self-syndicating his show in association with Rocky Mountain Radio and Global American Broadcasting.

Goodbye, my friend. I wish you well.

Why Does Indiana Hate Redbox?

This week the office of Vanderburgh County, Indiana Prosecutor Stanley Levco threatened criminal charges against retailers with DVD rental kiosks on their premises unless they remove R-rated movies and other material considered harmful to children. The office of the prosecutor cites an Indiana law prohibiting dissemination of matter harmful to minors, a Class D felony.

Any action taken against movie rental kiosks would primarily affect Redbox, with 880 machines in Indiana. Competitors Movie Cube and Blockbuster Express also operate kiosks in Indiana, but only have about 16 locations combined in the state, according to the websites of each company.

Letters sent to retailers in recent weeks by the office of Vanderburgh County Prosecutor Stanley Levco may amount to the largest crackdown yet in Indiana.
It's driven, at least in part, by the kiosks' old-school competitors -- the brick-and-mortar video stores that say they provide safeguards by requiring customers renting R-rated DVDs to show ID.
Kiosks, they say, aren't playing by the same rules, though Redbox officials say their kiosks require customers to affirm their age and are on firm legal ground.
"I'm not on a crusade," said Paul Black, an Evansville attorney who says he suggested the inquiry to Levco's office on behalf of a client who operates several video store locations. "We're just looking for a level playing field here."
Black, who declined to identify his client, said Levco's office sent letters to about a dozen stores in Vanderburgh County.
Video Buyers Group, a trade organization representing 1,700 independent video store owners, also has been in contact with Levco about his latest action against kiosks, said Jon Engen, the organization's marketing manager.

This is not the first time Redbox has had trouble in Indiana. In late 2007, Union City, Indiana officials were successful in having Redbox remove R-rated films from McDonald's locations. Then, in 2008, the city of Winchester raised the same issue with Redbox locations at Walmart.

Arguments about the appropriateness of movie ratings aside, forcing a company to carry only G-rated films would effectively drive it out of business. A quick look at box office results shows less than 10 new films were released in 2009 that were rated G. Expanding this search to PG shows about 35 more new films released in 2009. Film ratings are a result of a voluntary system put in place by the MPAA to guide parents and do not reflect or constitute law. No law states films must be rated or that retailers or theaters must abide by MPAA ratings.

Does this represent some vendetta Indiana officials seem to have against the movie vending company? Are residents of Indiana more conservative than those of the average state? Or, as suggested by the article, are Indiana officials susceptible to influence by competing brick-and-mortar video stores and their trade organizations?

In a world where any content imaginable can be almost instantly accessed in any home with an internet connection, or on your child's mobile phone or handheld video game, this is an example of officials that are stuck in decades-old thinking and are out of touch with reality.

[via Courier-Journal]

Wifi Thief Lady Calls TechGuy

I love how she keeps on about how 'it was a Linksys in my neighborhood...'
I mean, we've all been there. Moved into a new apartment, no internet hookup yet; don't want to pay for hotel wifi and find an open connection...but to intentionally leech on someone else's open wifi connection for a year and a half! This should convince you to secure your wifi if you haven't already. If not, who knows what is being downloaded or posted to the internet on your connection right now!

Heads in the Cloud - episode 7 - The Height of Insanity

DOWNLOAD OR LISTEN TO PODCAST

walmart DID remove porn from Vudu

Disasters spur twitter, ustream, skype use
http://gigaom.com/2010/02/27/use-social-media-to-track-the-chilean-earthquake/
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-10461062-36.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

Twitter rolling out new features?

Facebook oops

1080p flash on netbook?

Hackers targeted more than just Google
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9163158/More_than_100_companies_targeted_by_Google_hackers
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/23/intel-says-it-was-attacked-at-the-same-time-as-google/

Open wifi effectively would be outlawed in new UK bill
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Economy_Bill

ACTA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Counterfeiting_Trade_Agreement

Examples of border crossing stupidity

http://tkyte.blogspot.com/2007/03/crossing-border.html
http://ask.metafilter.com/29626/Woe-betide-those-at-CollegeHumorcom

Gizmo Drive
ISO loading to virtual drive letters, ISO ripping and burning
http://arainia.com/software/gizmo/overview.php?nID=4

Andrew Koenig Remembered

Andrew Koenig, son of Star Trek actor Walter Koenig, had been missing for over a week, prompting public pleas from his family and a massive police search. Sadly, his body was found earlier today in a Vancouver, Canada park. His obituary has been posted at Walter Koenig's website.

Andrew Koenig – actor, director, writer, producer, editor, activist - passed away this month in Vancouver, British Columbia after a long battle with depression.

A funny, caring, gifted, passionate and multi-talented young man, Andrew was best known as “Boner” in the 1980’s sitcom “Growing Pains”. He was the video producer for the podcast “Never Not Funny”, performed at The Improv in Los Angeles, and has had roles in the movies NonSeNse, InAlienable, The Theory of Everything, Batman: Dead End, and on television in “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”, “G.I. Joe”, “My Two Dads”, “21 Jump Street”, “My Sister Sam”, and “Adam-12”. He edited over a dozen films and directed, produced, and wrote many others.

Andrew was an activist his entire life and was best known to those who knew and loved him as a compassionate, ethical man who lived according to his conscience. He was a vegan, active in environmental causes, and in animal and human rights and was quick to take an active role to help on a grass roots level. Most recently, he had been working on behalf of the people of Burma, and was arrested during the 2008 Rose Bowl parade for protesting American involvement in China's Olympics due to China's support of the Burma military regime.

Andrew’s disappearance caused a worldwide campaign of support and search efforts by those who were lucky to be his friends and by those whose lives he touched. A beautiful human being, Andrew died in his favorite city, filled with friends, in a park he loved.

Former co-stars and Star Trek actors have been publicly expressing their sympathy on Twitter.

"RIP Andrew Koenig, missing since Valentine's Day, was found dead in Vancouver, Canada," Alyssa Milano tweeted. She also urged her followers to help anyone they know with similar issues to Koenig's: "If you know someone suffering from depression, please do everything in your power to get them help. R.I.P. Andrew."

With Andrew's dad, Walter Koenig, part of the original "Star Trek" cast and Andrew himself a guest star on "Deep Space Nine," many members of the sci-fi show's family reached out online. William Shatner offered condolences to his onetime co-star for the loss of his son. "My deepest sympathies to Andrew Koenig's family," he tweeted. "I will grieve with them."

"Star Trek: Next Generation" star LeVar Burton also took to Twitter: "Offering prayers for Walter & Judy Koenig as well as their beloved son, Andrew..."

Wil Wheaton, who also starred on "Next Generation," was stunned by the news. "Oh my god," he tweeted. "I just heard that Andrew Koenig's body has been found in Vancouver. He was only 41. My heart goes out to his family."

Milano offered some comfort to her fellow grieving tweeters. "~GROUP HUG~ Get in," she wrote.

Walter Koenig made this expression for others affected by depression:

“My son took his own life. If your one of those people who feel they can’t handle it any more, if you can learn anything from this: it’s that there are people out there who really care. You might not think so…but there are people who really, really care. And before you take that final decision, check it out again…talk to somebody. And for those families who have members who they fear are susceptible to this kind of behavior, don’t ignore it, don’t rationalize it. Extend a hand."

Walmart Officially Purges Porn From Vudu

In a move we speculated about in this week's podcast, Walmart has fairly quickly taken action to remove pornographic content from the Vudu HD streaming service. Vudu's AVN channel was gone as of yesterday afternoon. Vudu was the only internet movie streaming service that offered both mainstream Hollywood movies as well as adult content

Here is the letter sent to Vudu's adult content providers.

Dear VUDU After Dark Partner,

As you may have recently heard, VUDU was acquired by Wal-Mart. In conjunction with this acquisition we will be discontinuing the “After Dark” adult service over the coming days. Upon completion of the shutdown process, we will settle all accounts with you and ensure that you are paid the full amount you are owed under our existing agreement.

Attached to this agreement, please find a voluntary termination notice to our existing distribution agreement. As there has been no breach of contract by either party, there are no grounds to terminate the agreement under its existing terms. However, given the discontinuation of After Dark, we believe it makes sense for both sides to voluntary terminate the agreement. The alternative is to allow the agreement to expire under the existing terms, but we believe this is cleaner for all parties.

We ask that you complete, sign and return this termination notice at your earliest convenience. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Walmart evidently has big plans for Vudu. What was once a settop box that offered HD movies has morphed into a service now being included on many devices, among them Vizio TVs, heavily sold at Walmart. If Walmart can use its retailing clout and partnerships to improve consumer awareness of the Vudu service, it may give Netflix, Blockbuster, Amazon VOD, and Blu-ray all a run for their money.