videos

Hey, Bubblenauts! It's the second episode of Crave UK's new gadget show, set aboard a little Bubble Ship, floating in space. This week we investigate the gluttonous power consumption of modern gadgets, and prove that "digital" doesn't necessarily mean "more advanced."

We also take a look at a laptop made entirely of bamboo, and kick one particuarly obnoxious mobile phone out of the airlock, where it explodes into a billion shards of ill-concieved plastic resin.

Climb aboard the Space Bubble, a geostationary satellite high above the surface of Earth, crewed by a solitary … Read more

Make magazine--purveyor of awesome and amusing DIY projects and kits--has added a new product to its online store -- the Cellular Automata video synthesizer kit. It may look like a hippie guitar pedal, but actually it creates endearingly retro (but mostly annoying) audio and video akin to an Atari 2600 meltdown. The kit offers RCA audio and video outputs, costs $50, and is mostly preassembled. You will have to find your own enclosure (the rainbow-colored wooden box is only a suggestion) and solder on the knobs and a reset button.

The video synthesizer works off a mathematical idea called … Read more

Football-loving couch potatoes rejoice: here's a new way for you to get your NFL fix on during the tragically long off-season. SI.com, the online arm of Sports Illustrated, will be launching a new video portal, NFL Draft FilmRoom, so that you'll have access to video highlights of each of the college football players who have been selected to the NFL's 2007 draft. (If you're not a football fan, FYI, this is a huge deal.)

The picks for the '07 NFL Draft will be announced on April 28 and 29 in NYC.

The power behind this … Read more

Among the networks, ABC.com has been one of the most aggressive in terms of streaming full versions of its shows online after they've aired on TV. During those quieter moments at work--some call them smoking breaks without the smoking--you can watch episodes of Lost, Grey's Anatomy, Ugly Betty, and more, right on your computer screen. Until a few days ago, however, the picture was rather small. Now ABC.com has launched a new full-screen "HD-quality" video player, and the "broadcast" looks shockingly good.

Meanwhile, NBC also has spruced up its online video player, … Read more

Most well-funded Web 2.0 start-ups spend their extra capital on logo T-shirts, Frisbees, or beer mugs. But if you're the ever-classy Joost, the hush-hush online video start-up, you make a commercial to explain your product. I'm not sure whether this will actually be shown on televisions in one country or another, or if it'll stay on the Web. Ironically, it's being distributed via YouTube, which is certainly going to be one of its foremost rivals.

I think the commercial is a little dull. It could use some Diet Coke and Mentos.

(Adverblog via PSFK)

Well, the NCAA tournament is winding to a close, which means that it must be just about time for baseball season. And because Steve Jobs is eager to take over your whole life, including your sports-watching experiences, you're going to be able to get your MLB fix at the iTunes Store this season. Apple will be selling 25-minute daily recaps of the season for $1.99 (or $7.99 for a month's worth) and two featured full-length games each week, also for $1.99 (or $19.99 for a "season pass"). A selection of "classic&… Read more

We got the tip today about a brand new service called Bubble Guru. Its goal is simple: to give your blog or Web site visitors a short pop-up video message that runs and closes without any user interaction required. You can also record and send message to friends via e-mail. For viewers, there's no escape--the talking bubble will follow them as they scroll down the page.

The service is by no means a full-fledged video blogging tool; it falls into a strange subcategory between video messaging and a pop-up advertisement. It's also a little early in development, offering no way to save and track the messages you've created. For now the service is free, but a paid subscription version is on the way for about $10 a month.

We thought long and hard about the usefulness of this for the casual user. In truth, video embedding services from YouTube or Viddler is much more user friendly. Users can turn those videos on and off at their discretion and pass any interesting ones along to a friend. That, however, isn't the point of Bubble Guru. This service is all about grabbing your attention, which it does very well. We've embedded one for you: to see what it looks like, click "read more" below.… Read more