Yesterday, at Google I/O, Google announced the latest extension of its empire, Google TV.

This technology could potentially revolutionize television, as it opens the door to many possibilities by  implementing the web into your TV screen with just a simple “Box.”

For a myriad of information on this new technology, make sure to stop by here.

NBC and Fox joined forces in 2007 to stream the respective networks’ content (and their affiliates’) over the web through Hulu. Originally intended as simply a TV streaming site, Movie content from studios like Universal, 20th Century Fox, MGM and Sony were added to the mix when Hulu launched out of private beta in early 2008. Since then, Hulu has grown as a phenomenon and has even replaced the real TV set for some. So enough with this jibber-jabbering on Hulu. As you most likely know, the Steelers were the victor in todays Super Bowl XLIII (43). However, as always, the Superbowl ads are the true stars of the day. Ads from Pepsi, Coke, and Budweiser graced the stage as always, however we got special treats in the form of 3D, yes that 3D, commercials and a special commercial for Hulu. Hulu’s minute spot featured Alec Baldwin and is quite funny, thus we’ve got it featured for you above. And lucky for Hulu, it (most likely) did not have to shell out loads of money ot pay for the spot considering it’s parent company NBC hosted the Super Bowl festivities. Hulu really is a great resource to catch up on television, considering some of the most popular shows on TV (Heroes, House, and 24) are all streamed on the site for free. And just incase you want to check out all the ads featured during the big game, Hulu’s posted them for viewing. (The revolving list below contains all of Hulu’s streaming Super Bowl ads.)

Sling Media announced that they will submit an iPhone version of the popular SlingPlayer application  to Apple for certification sometime this quarter. The application will have the same features known to the SlingPlayer application. Incase you are unaware, Sling Media has products that allow users to stream content from their TV (along with a DVR like TiVo) over the internet to any computer worldwide. Sling Media has added a dedicated iPhone page to its website, featuring an overview video explaining the software.

This year marks my third for attending the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.  As a few of you might already know, my father is the almighty Yahya Ahdout, the owner and CEO of dreamGEAR, a video game/iPod accessory and speaker producer and distributor, and he is my ticket into this amazing show.  You can find his wonderful products at many places including your local Best Buy, Wal-Mart, and Blockbuster.  One of his latest items is the Warbeast Guitar Controller for all Guitar Hero, Rock Band, and Rock Revolution games on PS2/PS3. But, enough of that, lets get to the good stuff.  I will be at the show for its entirety, and I will constantly be blogging and posting every interesting thing that I find.  Like Engadget and Gizmodo, we will be posting about the biggest announcements by all the different companies, but I will also use my time to go around the smaller booths and post about the pretty cool things that everyone forgets about.  As I roam from hall to hall and booth to booth, I will be accompanied by a very good friend of mine, Michael York, who is getting his new blog off the floor, and will be working in compliance with us at blargKABOOM.

Finally, the things I will be bringing with myself on my journey:
Canon EOS 30D – To snap pictures of everything for all you guys to see!
Asus eee 901 – For blogging on the go while on the show floor.
Apple iPhone 3G – For constant tethering, and music on the go. As it is also of course my telephone.
MacBook Pro – Yes, mine is in fact the first generation model, but it will be my home-base for posting in the hotel room. 

And also, a little background for those of you who do not know what CES is; ah god im too lazy, just read about it on Wikipedia here!

Enjoy!

via Engadget

Blockbuster is jumping on the set-top-box bandwagon. Yup, sounds crazy, movie rental store Blockbuster is releasing a set-top-box. Well, it’s true. Joining the likes of Apple TV, VUDU, Roku, and Xbox 360, Blockbuster is making a play at the digital downloads world. Blockbuster’s service, Blockbuster On-Demand (we know, very unique), offers rentals from $1.99 to $3.99 with varying viewing period limits. Right now, Blockbuster’s got an offer where for $99 you get 25 free-rentals and the MediaPoint box. No subscription required. That right there may be a key selling point considering that the economy’s so unstable and people might not want to waste money monthly on a movie service.

Barack Obama elected President is definitely the main story tonight, but the side store – CNN used hologram technology during their election coverage. What? Hologram do you say? No…. this isn’t Star Wars. Well, it may not be up to the Star Wars bar yet, but it’s getting there. CNN “beamed” (as Wolf Blitzer says) Jessica Yellin into their election central zone via hologram. The technology worked by circling Yellin with cameras and computers than analyzing the data and projecting it onto our TV sets. Unfortunately George Lucas and the Star Wars team take the lead here because it looks as if the TV viewer is the only person seeing Yellin and she is not actually there in the studio projected in front of Blitzer. But still, there was a hologram on TV: the future is here.

CNN video

story via Engadget

UPDATE – To see will.i.am and a behind-the-scenes CNN video, read more.

TiVo is easily the most popular DVR around the country and for those TiVo users with the TiVo HD, HD XL, and Series3 models, you are about to get a welcome addition to your TiVo: Netflix streaming. Similar to the current streaming offered by the Roku box and other services, the service offers Netflix subscribers “all you can eat” access to over 12,000 movies and TV shows streamed over the internet. The rollout of Netflix has already begun through a beta program, but the official rollout is planned for mid-December.

via the Crave blog

In the beginning of this month, Microsoft launched a new $300 million ad campaign designed to start combatting back against the ever-so-popular “Get a Mac” ads and the increase in Mac popularity. Their first attempt grabbed funny man Jerry Seinfeld along with Chairman Billy G to give Microsoft a more amicable and personal feel. The ads weren’t really successful and most people didn’t relate the ads to Microsoft and didn’t get the point. Only two Seinfeld/Gates ads aired, the first about Bill Gates getting shoes at a discount shoe store, the second about the two living with the average family. Well, the second phase of that ad campaign has begun and Microsoft has kicked Seinfeld out and switched to a larger campaign to attack the “Get a Mac” ads more literally. Featuring a John Hodgeman (PC in the Mac ads) look-a-like starting the ad by him saying “Hi, I’m a PC, and I’ve been made into a stereotype,” and then the ad continues with a large amount of people all saying “I’m a PC” or something of the sort. This second campaign aired tonight during The Office and will, hopefully for Microsoft, be successful. Check out the ad after the jump.Click here to view the embedded video.

There you have it. Just as reported, HBO shows are now on iTunes, and with prices of $1.99 and $2.99. Rome, The Sopranos, and Deadwood go for $2.99 each, while Sex and the City, The Wire, and Flight of the Conchords are the standard $1.99 each. The big story here is not HBO on iTunes, it’s the pricing. Apple has opened the floodgates to new networks who want this same type of varying pricing strategy. If this doesn’t bring back NBC, what will.

It looks like HBO shows like The Sopranos, Entourage, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and more will be entering the iTunes store soon, and this HBO deal will mark the first deal Apple has made that includes ‘flexible pricing.’ No word on what flexible pricing exactly means, but it could be Apple budging on the $1.99 price for TV shows or it could mean the network getting a different percentage of revenues. Still, this is a big leap for Apple. This ‘flexible’ deal means that those studios that didn’t like Apple’s strict pricing options will now be able to get what they want. Coincidentally, NBC Universal, who pulled out of iTunes because of Apple’s non-flexible pricing, recently started making its way back into the UK store this month. So could this ‘flexible pricing’ mean the return of NBC to the US store? Hopefully, because this flexibility was exactly what NBC wanted when they pulled out last year.

via AppleInsider

Touchpad Pro uses iPhone’s multi-touch technology and lets you touch the screen to use the mouse, double-tap to double click, etc. It also lets you use the iPhone’s keyboard as your keyboard, either horizontally offering you a much easier keypad, or vertically like with most applications. The keyboard is only there when you need it though, so you can have even more room to use your “mouse.”

The setup process is relatively easy as well, at least on a Mac. All you need to do is turn on Screen Sharing under Sharing in System Preferences, and find out what your address is, set a VNC password to control your computer, plug-in the information on your phone, and go. For more complete instructions, click here. Using the latest version of Installer.app, you shouldn’t have to add a source to download the app, so just look out for Touchpad Pro inside of Installer, and download that, and you are set.

(Thanks for the tip Eric!)

Apple posted three new iPhone advertisements yesterday: “Bet,” “Brilliant,” and “Music Store.” “Bet” features the ability to search the internet anytime anywhere, even to win a bet. “Brilliant” focuses on iPhone’s Google Map application and the ability to find your location and get turn-by-turn directions to where you want to go. Lastly, “Music Store” features the iTunes WiFi Music Store and how it’s similar to a record store, but on your phone. All three ads can be found at Apple’s iPhone site.

via iLounge