Hasta La Gadget!

Amazon Prime has never been better than Netflix, but it has steadily improved over the past year in the wake of Netflix’s nonsense. And when you consider it’s part of an $80 bundle that includes free Amazon shipping, the service becomes all the more attractive. More »

Netflix has certainly proved that customers like the idea of paying a low monthly fee in exchange for being able to try out all sorts of things that they don’t really have any interest in buying. Other startups have come forward since, including rental-by-mail services for toys, books, and video games. And here’s a new one – ties.

University of Alabama law school graduates Scott Tindle and David Powers decided they weren’t having enough fun with their law practices so they decided to let business people look like they own a lot of ties, giving them access to between one and five ties at a time for a monthly fee ranging between $11.99 to $29.00. As soon as they ship a tie back, they get a new one.

“We wanted to come up with an interesting business idea, and since we are both lawyers, ties seemed to be a good fit. With some ties going for $90, this is a good way to expand your wardrobe without breaking the bank,” Tindle said in a USA Today interview. So who’s interested in the service? “We have customers from every walk of life. Lawyers, college professors, people in business. We try to offer a good selection from known designers. We are also working with regional tie companies to give our customers a good selection to choose from,” said Powers.

[via USA Today]

TieTry becomes the ‘Netflix of ties’ is written by Mark Raby & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Western Digital must not want to leave casual TV gaming to the Roku crowd. Our friends at the FCC have just posted a filing that shows the as yet unannounced WD TV Play taking on its set-top rival with a dedicated gaming channel. We’re only given a small peek into the new media hub’s gaming universe through the pre-release user manual, but we know that a Texas Hold’em variant and other titles will find their way in through the gaming services Funspot and PlayJam. No signs have surfaced of a Roku-like motion control, either, although the remote has been given an overhaul compared to its WD TV Live cousin with prominent shortcut buttons for Hulu Plus, Netflix and Vudu. There aren’t any immediate clues as to when the otherwise pedestrian-looking Play will take over store shelves — that said, the virtually complete details hint that there’s not long to wait.

Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment

WD TV Play media hub revealed by the FCC, puts Texas Hold’em on the big screen originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Jul 2012 21:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you want to enjoy streaming movies in the UK, currently you have to rely on either Netflix or Lovefilm. Neither are ideal, with missing titles and long waits before new movies show up on either service. Sky has decided to throw its hat into the ring, today announcing Now TV. The service, which launches tomorrow, will offer two methods for watching movies: pay as you go, or via a monthly subscription.

Customers will be able to choose from over 1,000 titles from Sky’s catalogue, with movies costing between 99p and £3.49. If you don’t fancy paying per title, then the Now TV also offers a monthly subscription called “Sky Movies Pass” which costs £14.99 per month. That will give you access to around 600 movies from all the major studios. Sky also promises that five new movies will be added to the service every Friday, with the titles available on Now TV 12 months before they arrive on services such as Netflix or Lovefilm.

Better yet, there’s a 30-day free trial for the service. After that, you’ll have to pay per title or use the monthly subscription. The service will launch tomorrow on PCs, Macs, and select Android devices. Sky says that an app for the iPhone and iPad is also coming, and the service will eventually roll out to hardware like the PlayStation 3 and Roku streamers. Movies won’t be the only content either, with sports and TV shows coming in the future from Sky Sports and Sky Atlantic. The monthly subscription may be expensive now compared to Netflix and Lovefilm, but it may be worth considering given the expanded movie library and the promise of additional content.

Sky launches Now TV streaming movie service is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

I’ve become an expert of sorts on entertainment. I’ve spent the better part of my life watching televisions, enjoying movies, listening to my favorite artists, and playing video games. To me, having all of that media available to me whenever I want it is a blessing.

Because of that, I spend an awful lot of time evaluating different entertainment opportunities. From Netflix to Hulu Plus to iTunes, I’m always out there examining what’s best and what might need some work.

For a long time, I truly believed that Netflix was the best entertainment option available to me. The platform had all kinds of movies and television shows, and it was cheap. Netflix was, for a while, the best living room entertainment option we had.

But now, I’m starting to move away from that. Netflix’s content library is on the decline, and I’m finding myself watching programming on Hulu Plus and HBO Go far more often. To me, those two services are delivering the very best in living room entertainment.

How, you might ask? Simple: top-notch content.

Let’s start with Hulu Plus. Although the commercials can be annoying, the sheer amount of content on the service is delectable. I can watch some of the latest episodes of television shows I might have missed, as well as check out some older films that, in some cases, really aren’t too bad. Granted, Hulu Plus has its limitations, but for those looking for a solid television alternative to Netflix, it’s quite good.

“How HBO gives away so much content for the price is beyond me”

HBO Go, however, might just be the best addition to the living room experience I’ve seen in years. How HBO is willing to give away so much of its content for only the price of subscribing to its network is beyond me. But I’m more than happy to take advantage.

If you haven’t tried out HBO Go, you should do so sooner rather than later. HBO offers every episode (yes, you read that correctly) of its series both on now and off the air. In addition, it comes with the network’s documentaries, sports coverage, and films.

The issue with HBO Go is its general lack of availability in the living room. Unless you have certain devices or televisions, you’ll more than likely be watching it on a computer. Luckily, my Samsung television recently started supporting HBO Go, so I can watch all of its programming right from the couch. Over time, I expect more vendors to support the application, as well.

So, let’s consider this new scenario: when we want to watch popular, current major network and cable programming, we can opt for Hulu Plus. And in those cases where we want to check out what, I believe, is a grouping of even better shows and entertainment, we can go for HBO Go.

With Hulu Plus and HBO Go in tow, I don’t quite miss Netflix. In fact, I couldn’t care less about it.

HBO Go And Hulu Plus: The Perfect Living Room Marriage? is written by Don Reisinger & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.