Skip to Content

Submit your nominations for the Luxist Awards' Best in Decor
AOL Tech

boing boing posts

Filed under: iPod Family, Cult of Mac

Steven Levy on BoingBoing podcast

by Scott McNulty (RSS feed) on Dec 6th, 2006

Steven Levy, the author of The Perfect Thing (reviewed here), is the guest on Boing Boing's fourth Get Illuminated podcast (warning, some things on Boing Boing may not be work safe). He discusses the all things iPod with Mark Frauenfelder.

Steven's audio is a little rough around the edges, but the podcast is still interesting.

Tags: boing boing, BoingBoing, ipod, stephen levy, StephenLevy, the perfect thing, ThePerfectThing

Filed under: Humor, Multimedia, Video

Get that authentic "cinema experience" on your Mac

by Conrad Quilty-Harper (RSS feed) on Jun 14th, 2006

You know the "cinema experience" that movie executives keep harping on about? Y'know, the "experience" that cinemas use to justify stupidly high snack and ticket prices? Well, a company has created a program that lets you relive this authentic experience from the comfort of your Mac.

Peanut Gallery, billed as a "shared media experience" by its creators, allows you to recreate this experience from within a virtual 70's style movie theater. You can even chat over the movie along with seven other viewers via the web or Bonjour and animate little silhouette avatars that sit in rows of seats. Getting up and leaving after you realize you've spent your hard earned money on another piece of Hollywood crap has never been so easy; you don't even have to leave your chair to leave your chair! Don't worry if you're a little late for the showing, because there's also an option for a pre-show reel which, for extra realism, you'll be able to fill with annoying commercials and trailers for films you're completely uninterested in.

Still, I'm a little angry that there's no implementation of a few other cinema features we all know and love including "mobile phone goes off at the tense bit" or the "crying baby". They didn't even place an obligatory anti-piracy PSA at the beginning! The pre-screening frisk down by a burly police officer is also missing. Another thing: Peanut Gallery doesn't disable my iSight or jam my cellphone for the duration of the film. Talk about unrealistic. How am I supposed to feel like I'm actually at the movies with essential parts of the cinema experience missing?!

I give the program a B+ for effort, but I think a little more of a police state/Big Brother-style attitude is needed.

[Via Daring Fireball]

Tags: Big Brother, BigBrother, Boing Boing, BoingBoing, Cinema, Experience, Peanut Gallery, PeanutGallery, Police State, PoliceState

Tip of the Day

To get an instant map to any address, just go to your Address Book and right click on the address field of any one of your contacts and select "Map Of." The address will then be revealed in Google Maps on Safari. You can do the same if a data detector determines there is an address in an e-mail in Mail.

Learn More

Follow us on Twitter!

TUAW flickr Pool

www.flickr.com
 TUAW [Cafepress]

Featured Galleries

DNC Macs
Macworld 2008 Keynote
Macworld 2008 Build-up
Google Earth for iPhone
Podcaster
Storyist 2.0
AT&T Navigator Road Test
Bento for iPhone 1.0
Scrabble for iPhone
Tom Bihn Checkpoint Flyer Briefcase
Apple Vanity Plates
Apple booth Macworld 07
WorldVoice Radio
Quickoffice for iPhone 1.1.1
Daylite 3.9 Review
DiscPainter
Mariner Calc for iPhone
2009CupertinoBus
Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D
MLB.com At Bat 2009
Macworld Expo 2007 show floor

 

Most Commented On (7 days)

Recent Comments

More Apple Analysis

More from AOL Money and Finance

AOL Radio TUAW on Stitcher