Do you remember the annoying kid that sat in the back of your classroom and made fart noises, threw stuff and just wanted to get a rise out of people? He started Jubbling. But the equally annoying kid sitting next to him just made a film – “spOILed the Movie.” Hooray for fossil fuels! [Guardian]
spOILed The Movie
October 3, 2011 By 2 Comments
The Hive Dock For iPhone 4
May 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment
One of the Jubblingest features of the iPhone 4 is that when it’s paired with Netflix’s Instant’s TV and movie catalog, it works as a low-power consuming alternative for watching television. The only downside is that the iPhone 4 is only viewable and barely audible for one person. The Hive dock might change that to two or more. It’s a simple and ingenious way to listen to amplified music and watch expanded video from your iPhone 4. It’s done through design and does not require a separate power source. The Hive’s video magnifying glass is a little reminiscent of products available in the 1970′s that magnified our TV screens.
The Hive will sell for $45 and is expected to be available in September 2011. The company behind the product, Screendoor Studio, is busy trying to raise funds through Kickstarter. Watching the video above, it’s apparent that one of the drawbacks using the magnified lens would be reduced viewing angle; only the person directly in front of the screen will get a magnified, full image. Plus, for amplified audio, a coffee cup seems to be an easy Macgyver solution.
But the Hive docking station could still be a nice iPhone 4 accessory for watching video, as an alarm clock and speaker amplifier. You’ll easily save $45 in electricity and batteries versus watching standard TV and using external speakers.
Champagne Environmentalist: Do As I Say, Not As I Do
April 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Question: Is the net effect of celebrity support in eco causes a positive or do they put off as many people as they attract?
There is a great article on The Guardian’s Green Living Blog, Hypocrisy of champagne environmentalists is deceitful and distracting. Its author, Ed Gillespie, writes about how celebrities and public figures beg
us to live a more sustainable lifestyle and yet enjoy a lifestyle most of us can only dream of. He offers several examples of eco-celebrities and their extreme consumption.
Jubbling posted an article in May 2010 about the hypocritical nature of Hollywood’s preaching and its reality – Hollywood Love$ Green Message$. How Does It Feel About Jubbling?. Being an eco-celebrity seems to be the 2000′s equivalent to the 1990′s recovering addicts; it gets you in the news. I have a feeling that Eco-Celebrity Rehab is just around the corner.
Greenpeace and Green Celebrities Aligning To Encourage Facebook To Power Data Center With Renewable Energy… Via Facebook (Again)
February 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Treehugger.com has a post, “Celebrities Tell Facebook to Ditch Coal”, about a new push to get Facebook to move out of its mostly coal powered data center into one that uses an increased level of renewable energy. We wrote about this issue back in September 2010 when it was just Greenpeace leading the effort. But now, green celebrities are taking to Facebook and asking people to join the push too. Here is a video from Ed Begley and his wife, Rachelle Carson regarding the issue:
Jubbling gets it but for some reason, we’re having a hard time making sense of it. We had the same problem with this back when Greenpeace stood up against the new Facebook data center because in both cases, they’re taking their protest to Facebook. It’s kind of like driving a gas guzzling car cross country to protest the fact that there are too many gas guzzling cars. Think about it. Maybe making a stronger statement would be to leave Facebook in mass in order to make your statement; I’m sure MySpace would appreciate this.
Anyway, I don’t think Mark Zuckerberg is listening too closely. I’ve seen The Social Network and Mr. Zuckerberg probably loves seeing the spike in activity; positive or negative but always on Facebook. What he would be more apt to understand and respond to is watching users leaving his site to protest what Facebook is doing. That would require a commitment from the celebrities involved and I don’t think they’d be able to stomach that move.
Netflix Instant Is Jubbling But Finding What To Watch Will Make It Jubblinger
January 3, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Jubbling is a big fan of the Netflix Instant. Yes, titles are limited but what a convenient entertainment source that you never have to leave your house to enjoy. Netflix Instant has truly changed the way we consume – an entertainment Jubbling – and can be accessed through your Netflix enabled TV, DVD player, laptop/desktop computer, smart phone, gaming console etc. It’s on about everything now and one account can be shared by every device.
But finding something good to watch on Netflix Instant can be a challenge. I’ve used and quickly discovered that their “genre” search feature delivers mostly misses with a few hits. And you may not want to make browsing through their lists, including New Arrivals, a shared family activity. If you do, be prepared to wade through a mountain of titles that include “Zombie Strippers” and “A Dirty Shame” to find a movie you can all watch.
Fortunately, there are sites out there that can help you pick your next Netflix Instant movie and save you from the browsing hassle. Try these links out:
- InstantWatcher.com – Instantwatcher.com actually uses data supplied by Netflix to help you find videos based on popularity, release date, ratings etc. Unlike the Netflix search, InstantWatcher.com is configurable and for that reason, it makes movies seem more appealing by displaying the title, synopsis and rating on the same page. A big bonus is that you don’t have to deal with popups.
- AlwaysWatching.net – AlwaysWatching.net is another good resource because it is a human-generated list of good Netflix Instant choices and it’s loaded with movies that might slip through InstantWatcher.com’s database driven cracks. Comments supplied by visitors of this page might also help you make a good movie pick. Only downside is that the list is a little dated and some of the movies are no longer available on Netflix Instant.
The nice side-Jubbling of Netflix Instant is the ability to watch shows and movies on power curbed mobile phones and laptops – especially if only one person is watching. Rather than piping Thomas and Friends to a 150″ plasma, let your 6 year old watch it on the 4″ screen of your iPhone. And the delivery DVD side of Netflix deserves a little credit too. Leveraging the postal system and its daily delivery schedule is better than making the drive to the video store only to find out the movie you wanted is already checked out. Thanks to Netflix DVD and Instant, you never have to purchase another movie you’ll watch 5 times or less.
Now here is our short list of Netflix Instant movies/shows to check out.
- 30 Rock – After watching season’s 1-4, you should watch them again and again until season 5 is released. “Tracy Does Conan” in season one is a favorite.
- The Iron Giant – Great movie that parents might enjoy more than the kids but it’s great for both. Adapted and directed by Brad Bird, The Iron Giant is set in the 1950′s and is a story about a boy who befriends a space-sent robot and attempts to protect him from a fearful public.
- The Office – The Office is not only funny but it’s also consistent – the characters never change from the first episode to the last and that is what is so great about the show. If you only watch one episode, make sure it’s the Gay Witch Hunt in Season 3.
- Surface – Found this on AlwaysWatching.net. It’s kind of a hokey series about a sea creature and two people trying to find it and the governments effort to conceal it. The show does just enough to get you hooked for all 15 episodes and beware of the monkey girl.
Science&Sons Phonofone III Or Ceramic Coffee Cup?
December 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Ok, the Phonofone III is a great idea. It’s a self-powered ceramic iPhone 4 speaker that kicks out sound in much the same way as the old gramophone wind-up phonographs worked. Your iPhone 4 sits in a base with its speakers pointed down and the audio is channeled, amplified and sent out of the cone shaped speaker. According to Science&Sons’ website, the Phonofone will amplify your iPhone’s audio 4x’s elevating it to 60 dB without the need for electricity. The Phonofone is currently being sold directly by Science&Sons for $195 + shipping.
Done deal – let’s buy one, right? Not really. Gizmodo, one of my favorite sites, always encourages visitors to post comments about the article they just read and the Phonofone III had its share. One of the recurring themes in the comments pushed the idea that the Phonofone III is cool but can be easily duplicated by putting your iPhone 4 in a ceramic coffee cup. I had to try it myself and not surprisingly, it worked great. I didn’t measure how much the audio amplified in the coffee cup but it was a obvious improvement. Changing the angle of my iPhone 4 in the coffee cup also tweaked the bass and treble levels.
Don’t get me wrong, I still like the Jubbling built into the electricity-free Phonofone III but I’m just not in a rush to go out and buy one. Maybe a smaller and less expensive version that also worked as a coffee cup might be enough to justify my purchase. Or maybe Science&Sons could create a version that was clear and let your iPhone 4 sit behind magnified glass – then you could amplify your audio and magnify your video. Or maybe I should just stick with the coffee cup for now.
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