The most shocking part of "Generation Like," PBS’s new Frontline documentary about youth media culture, occurs when a bunch of teenagers confess they don’t know what the term "sell-out" means. This term, so vital to the identities of at least three generations that had come before them, didn’t register as something negative. In fact, it didn’t register at all. If you hear a loud crunching noise at around 10pm tonight, don’t worry. It’s just a bunch of old people wringing their hands in unison.
It’s easy to call reality TV stupid. Or inane. Or just boring. But could it be nefarious? Could it actually making us all way too accepting of perpetual surveillance? Maybe.
In recent months we have seen the content offering on Apple TV set-top box being gradually increased, and the process continued. PBS and Yahoo Screen apps have now been added to Cupertino’s set-top box, allowing customers to view content from both services. Yahoo initially launched the Yahoo Screen app for iOS devices over a month ago, it contains video from programs such as The Colbert Report, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Saturday Night Live, original Yahoo programs, music as well as live news and events. In recent months, ESPN, Disney Channel and HBO apps have been added to the Apple TV to increase the content offering.
The PBS app will allow users to watch some of its shows, not all of them. It will require users to sign in using the PBS registration system, Facebook or Google+ and identify the PBS affiliate that broadcasts in their area. The app doesn’t offer live streaming of programs, but many programs will be available for viewing through the Apple TV apps within 24 hours of broadcast. Programs like Frontline and Downton Abbey, one of PBS’s most watched programs, will be offered. PBS says that Downton Abbey season 2 and 3, which will be aired through December as well as the new season 4 episodes that begin in January will be available for a limited time after the broadcast.
Yahoo Screen And PBS Added To The Apple TV original content from Ubergizmo.
Yahoo’s been working hard to include support for Apple services in its Screen iOS app, now it’s gone one better and launched its video-discovery app on Apple TV. With an emphasis on comedy, Yahoo Screen has been designed to collate the best of web video, including clips from Saturday Night Live, The Colbert Report, and The Daily Show, as well as live news, events and music. You’ll also be able to browse trending videos and watch Yahoo Originals programming, which are delivered direct to your Apple TV without the need to AirPlay them across. AllThingsD reports that PBS has also quietly pushed a new app, letting users get their Nova, Frontline or Antiques Roadshow fix (older episodes of Downton Abbey will be available shortly after PBS begins re-airing seasons early next year). Today’s update may only available to US users but Apple isn’t being shy about broadening the number of Apple TV apps available across the globe.
Filed under: Internet, Software, HD, Apple
Source: Yahoo Screen (Tumblr)
Computers may be ubiquitous now but in 1990 they were just beginning to enter the mainstream. And like any revolutionary technology, the desktop computer was viewed with more than a little skepticism by the average American. Luckily, David Neil of PBS’s Newton’s Apple was there to explain to a group of dubious high schoolers that computers are not inherently evil. And he brought a two story exhibit to help illustrate.
Roku can now tell you how to get, how to get to Sesame Street with new PBS channels
Posted in: Today's Chili
Big Bird (or “Big Yellah,” as we like to call him) and his Sesame Street cohorts are now available for streaming on your Roku box. Not just that, but his non-avian colleagues from PBS and PBS Kids are also making the trip, arriving today in new PBS and PBS Kids Roku channels. The two new channels offer more than the on-demand access to PBS programming you’d expect; PBS Digital Studios’ work is also available to stream (we’re quite fond of it, if you couldn’t tell).
While it’s not 100 percent clear what exactly is available at any given time, PBS’ announcement says “hundreds of videos” can be accessed, which are pulled from the archives, from national and local daily programming, and include biggies like NOVA, Frontline, and American Experience (it stands to reason that heavy hitter Downtown Abbey won’t be available, given its exclusive license with Amazon starting next month). PBS Kids is similarly well-stocked, with “more than 1,000 videos,” which includes everything from Curious George to, yes, Sesame Street. There’s a short teaser video of the service being used just below the break, should you not be able to contain yourself until you get home.
Update: According to Roku, not all Roku players support the new PBS channels. “Both PBS and PBS Kids are available immediately for all Roku 3, Roku 2, Roku LT, new Roku HD players and the Roku Streaming Stick in the US,” the company says. Heads up!
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Science, HD
Source: Roku
It’s going to look silly! But more seriously, it seems like we’re all going to have to accept that wearing technology is going to be the real future and not just the imagined future of science fiction movies. We won’t know we’re in the future until we’re wearing technology like Google Glass or Apple’s supposed iWatch. PBS Off Book decided to take a look at what that future of wearable technology would look like. More »
Photoshop Has Changed the World
Posted in: Today's Chili Can you imagine a world where Photoshop doesn’t exist? A world where we can take every picture at face value and believe that there was no airbrushing, no retouching, no nothing? I can’t. Photoshop has made it impossible for me to not question what I’m seeing and at the same twisted time has also redefined my image of what things are supposed to look like. PBS’ excellent Off Book series takes a look at how Photoshop is remixing the world. More »
I Love This Little Girl Who Wants to Make a Hoverboard After Watching Back to the Future II
Posted in: Today's Chili This short film, “Hoverboard”, is about a girl and her teddy bear trying to create a hoverboard after watching Back to the Future II. I can totally relate to her because I was trying to make my own hoverboard really hover just last month. You’re an inspiration girl! More »
Hacking is still a loaded concept for many, often conjuring negative images of corporate espionage, fraudsters and prank-minded script kiddies. PBS’ Off Book wants to remind us that hacking wasn’t always seen this way — and, thanks to modern developments, is mending its reputation. Its latest episode shows that hacking began simply as a desire to advance devices and software beyond their original roles, but was co-opted by a sometimes misunderstanding press that associated the word only with malicious intrusions. Today, hacking has regained more of its original meaning: hackathons, a resurgence of DIY culture and digital protests prove that hacks can improve our gadgets, our security and even our political landscape. We still have a long way to go before we completely escape movie stereotypes, but the mini-documentary may offer food for thought the next time you’re installing a custom ROM or building your own VR helmet.
Filed under: Misc, Networking, Internet, Alt