Archive for October 4th, 2005

Become A TV Reporter With blinkx

blinkxblinkx has announced the launch of my blinkx.tv - a new service available through its video search engine, www.blinkx.tv.

At my blinkx.tv, users can upload and store their video blogs free of charge; they can also enter a search and save it as a “channel”, which will be automatically and perpetually updated with relevant footage. This personal “channel” can then be viewed as a single, uninterrupted media stream, either online, or when downloaded to their desktops or portable video player. In this way, blinkx is empowering Internet users to customize not only what video content they receive, but also how and when they view it.

Someone can upload personal footage and commentary on Hurricane Katrina to my blinkx.tv. blinkx will then automatically normalize the content, convert it into Flash, create an audio transcript, and index the file. The user’s video clip will then become part of a living library, so that another visitor to my blinkx.tv who searched for New Orleans and weather would find that segment on Hurricane Katrina, along with other related user generated content, featured in their own customized channel.

“There’s been a huge amount of noise about IPTV, but we’ve yet to see any real progress in this area,” said blinkx founder Suranga Chandratillake. “At blinkx, we believe that IPTV should combine the interactive, customizable experience of the Internet, with the simple, seamless way we watch TV - with my blinkx.tv, we’re collaborating with our users to experiment with how we think that might look.”

my blinkx.tv gives both users and content providers a glimpse of the future and sets a new expectation for what users can anticipate from their interactions with TV and Internet content. The service, which today exclusively leverages exciting user generated content, is expected to expand rapidly to include popular titles from major commercial content providers.

Add comment October 4th, 2005

It’s The Space Race All Over Again

Start of a Rocket Racing League Race. Credit: Rocket Racing LeagueThis may not fit into to the usual repertoire of TechSmec.com interests, but the proposed Rocket Racing League makes it into today’s news on a pure ‘wow’ factor.

10 private rocketeers, or possibly lunatics depending on your point of view, are planning to race aircraft powered by two, 400-pound thrust rocket engines fueled by liquid oxygen and alcohol. They’ll hit a top speed of 218 mph, but don’t expect to see that kind of velocity throughout the race. Each rocket only carries about three minutes of fuel for a race that will last much longer, so pilots will have to continually shut-down and restart their engines depending on the race situation.

How appealing this will be to the public very much depends on how watchable the sport will be and as things stand it’s hard to imagine how something happening at 5000 feet could be a spectacle from the ground. Air racing is still pretty common around the world in turboprop aircraft, but you don’t get people turning out in their tens of thousands to watch that. However, turboprops don’t produce a 20 metre long flame out of their backside or make a noise that rattles your insides, so we’re prepared to give the Rocket Racing League a go.

One exciting proposal is a video game that will run alongside real races allowing gamers to ‘virtually’ race with the competitors.

If the league gets off the ground (no pun intended) then expect to see racing in 2007.

Add comment October 4th, 2005

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