Geek Choice Blog » Entertainment

Louis CK’s digital experiment clears $1M

Joseph Ruthaford — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 14:01:08 +0000

First off I would like to wish all my readers a safe and happy holidays. Now I would like to talk about something that I found very interesting. A comedian by the name of Louis CK has done something that in recent memory I haven’t seen anyone do before. He created his own comedy special and instead of getting it done through HBO or Comedy Central, he decided he was going to show it through the internet. Now if you don’t know much about Louis CK, he is a comedian that started right here in the home town of Geek Choice, Boston and has had decent success over the years. Now that success has gone to a new realm, an online comedy special. The comedy special is Live at the Beacon Theater which you can purchase for $5 on his website. In just 12 days of this special being put on his site he has cleared the $1M mark. Which just goes to show you that you always don’t need the brass of high power TV executives to make something happen for yourself. If you have followed anything that Louis CK has done in the past, the great thing about this is that he has a TV show on FX just called Louie. Now that might not seem like it is special, it is more or less just like anything else right? Wrong, he has total and utter creative control of the show with no say from the people at FX. So this is probably the greatest thing for artists who want to make something special for themselves. I salute you Louis CK for making such a bold move that paid off in a big way.

Joseph Ruthaford — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 14:10:37 +0000

Google Music has finally launched and there is plenty to talk about for all you Android users out there. You can get it on the Android marketplace.

The store offers more than 13 million tracks from artists on Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, EMI, and the global independent rights agency Merlin as well as over 1,000 prominent independent labels including Merge Records, Warp Records, Matador Records, XL Recordings and Naxos. Google has also partnered with the world’s largest digital distributors of independent music including IODA, INgrooves, The Orchard and Believe Digital.

You can purchase individual songs or entire albums right from your computer or your Android device and they’ll be added instantly to your Google Music library, and accessible anywhere. Google is also giving you the ability to share a free full play of a purchased song with your friends on Google+.
So let’s see what Google Music can do!

Ad-based Apple TV deal with CBS not happening

Joseph Ruthaford — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 13:12:36 +0000

CBS CEO Les Moonves is known to occasionally drop pieces of information that he’s not supposed to on his company’s earnings calls, and this quarter was no exception. When asked about CBS’s appetite for striking deals with new streaming providers that might not have the money to pay cash up front to license its content, Moonves said that CBS had decided against joining an Apple TV service because it was based on an ad split. Apple is rumored to be working on a subscription streaming service that would have content from many TV networks and would go up against the typical cable and satellite services. From what has been reported the CBS philosophy of getting paid for upfront licensing fees for syndication of its content online, as opposed to partnering on revenue-sharing agreements. This is also why CBS didn’t join Hulu. Although it looks like that move is paying off as they struck a deal with Netflix and Amazon earlier this year and the CW also licensed its shows to Netflix and Hulu.

E3 Hardware Breakdown Part 2

Joseph Ruthaford — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 13:46:22 +0000

Today I am focusing on the Playstation Vita which is the new handheld console of the Sony family. Looks like an original PSP with a touch screen to me. But is that all it really offers is a wonderful touch screen? So the cost of this will be $249 with wi-fi and $299 with 3G. 3G is going to be exclusive to AT&T it looks like so if want to use 3G you will have to hook up with their data plans like the iPad. So here are the main differences between the PSP and the new PS Vita:
• Advanced portable entertainment system
A high performance CPU / GPU combined with OLED enables rich, visually striking graphics never seen before on a portable entertainment system. PS Vita also adopts the Super Oval Design form factor, which fits comfortably in users’ hands.
• Revolutionary User Interface
A unique multi-touch pad on the rear, with the front touch display. Two cameras on it’s front and rear, as well as three motion sensors, gyroscope, accelerometer, and electronic compass.
• LiveArea™
Every game title for PS Vita will be provided with a space called “LiveArea™” where users can share the fun and excitement with other players.
• Location-based services
SCE will provide location-based services on PS Vita as part of the basic features utilizing PlayStation Network. The new application called “Near,” developed specifically for this service and the network, will be pre-installed in the system.
• Wi-Fi and 3G network connectivity
PS Vita is equipped with 3G in addition to Wi-Fi.
• Closely coordinated with PlayStation Suite
The newly developed and released game content for Android based portable devices can also be enjoyed on PS Vita.

Many sources say new Nintendo HD console coming

Joseph Ruthaford — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 12:55:05 +0000

Gamers have been waiting years for Nintendo to finally release its Wii successor, and Game Informer has heard from multiple sources that the company will unveil it at E3 this summer if not sooner. There has been talk about an HD Wii for some time now, and the time is perfect – almost necessary – for Nintendo to jump start itself with this new system. The company has been feeling the bite since Wili sales have declined from the previous years, and this week’s news that Nintendo could be dropping the price on May 15th of the Wii and an attempt to move as many Wii units as possible out of the retail channel before the new system hits. There is no confirmation if this new system will be backward compatible with the Wii or if it will even carry the Wii branding as has often been rumored. It is our understanding that Nintendo is trying to embrace the western gamer and will likely launch a new brand with this console. Around the office we have dubbed the system Nintendo HD. However, this information at this point is conjecture.