Tretakoff Musings

I recently started rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generation from the beginning. I have nothing but fond memories of the original run in the 1980s, given how excited I was for a new Trek series in my lifetime (I had only reruns and the movies to stoke my Trek interest), and it recently occurred to me that, while I diligently consumed every TNG episode, I had not experienced the series since it's original run.  Why did I do this? Well, a few reasons: With the triumphant return of Sir Patrick Stewart to the smaller screen as the venerable Jean Luc Picard , I thought it would be interesting to contrast this version with the previous, and see how far he has come. It would add color to the character, as well as Sir Patrick. Frankly, with the COVID19 lockdown, the series I have binged upon have been intense, dark, and disturbing. Combined with the activity of the world, including insane politics, homicidal police who seem to view people of color as "prey," rather than their ch...

Many people didn't like Plaxo ; I'm an exception. I loved that it pulled everything together: contacts, social, even staying in sync. But, as I wrote before , they were permanently stung with the "bac'n" problem: they spammed your friends on behalf of you, to try to build the network: once that happened, there was little to recover. Luckily, Comcast purchased them for address book migration, so they soldiered on. Actually, they did far more: they built a FriendFeed like service, added premium options, and continued to innovate. Many people, myself included, wondered what the Comcast purchase would do to contribute to that innovation. When word leaked at TechCrunch's Disrupt conference that the team would be debuting a new service, TunerFish, it sounded like a perfect marriage: Comcast's TV and Plaxo's social media. The details were vague, but they promised "one click social sharing of what you were watching." I eagerly signed up, as it...

If you didn't catch last week's episode of the seemingly unstoppable CSI , you missed the best show on TV. Thanks to TV.com. CBS' answer to Hulu (and my old co-worker's pet project), you can still take advantage. The episode is a perfect send-up of the original Star Trek , mixed with the fanaticism of the true believers. The recreation of the psuedo episodes is dead-on, and the actors are, without question, fabulous. It also manages to hilariously and powerfully mix in the folks from the new version of Battlestar Galactica , as well as the key players from it playing parts in the episode. Don't miss the cameo of Ron Moore, Galactica 2.0's creative force, standing up and screaming "You suck!" At the unveiling of the new imagining of the series in this episode. And Ellen Tigh as a guest star? Wow...well done, CSI folk.

Great news for football fans: DirecTV's " Red Zone" service will now be available to non-DirecTV subscribers , as part of a new deal between the NFL and the satellite carrier. What is Red Zone? "The Red Zone channel works much like the NFL Network's pre-season No Huddle program that goes from game to game. The premise of the Red Zone Channel is to bounce from game to game as a team moves the ball inside their opponents 20-yard line. A narrator alerts the viewer to an on-screen game change with a brief explanation of what is currently going on in that game." Best of all, hidden in the announcement was this juicy morsel: "Under terms of the deal with the satellite carrier, the “Red Zone” channel that shows live cut-ins from all Sunday afternoon games will be available to cable TV, wireless devices and the Internet. " NFL on iPhone, baby! Woo-hoo! Only 6 more months until the season kicks off with the Patriots against T.O's new team, the Bills. O...

Friday was the last episode of the groundbreaking reimaging of Battlestar Galactica, a series who's promise was only matched by the intricate plots it's amazing creator created. For four seasons (that lasted as long as six would on any other network), we watched the show peak early, and grind through, kept interested by the fact that the writers would surely finally answer all of the amazing loose ends with the finale. Well...um, not quite. This great article pointed out the major plotholes that the finale had to address. Here's how they did. Warning: if you haven't watched it, and don't want to be spoiled, stop reading now. Ready? Ok. What, exactly, is this "plan" that the Cylons have? Um, none, it seems. Unless their plan was total destruction of the skinjobs, and a rebellion that got rid of most of them. Conclusion: Fail. Who (or what) are the Head People? If we are to believe the finale, they were angels. Yes, angels. Seriously. No kidding. A sci-fi s...

Interesting news today, out of Netflix and Starz ( courtesy of CrunchGear ) that might actually make Netflix's streaming service more compelling. Netflix, as the name might imply, has always been focused on delivering content over the web. They launched their streaming service last year, which was greeted with a universal yawn, primarily because of the paucity of content. Earlier this year, they stepped up the game, announcing a $99 Roku box that allowed you to connect directly to your TV and watch streamed Netflix content on the big screen. Interesting, but same content issues. Today, they announced a two pronged approach, courtesy of Starz. First, Starz premium movies will now be available to stream on Netflix. This means that titles like the Pirates of the Carribean series, and other recent blockbusters, will now be available to watch on your computer or TV, instantly, at no additional costs. Second, and here's where it gets very interesting, they now will stream Starz'...

About a decade ago, I was running the new media ventures of a large specialty electronics and gifts company. While the web was my primary focus, I still experimented with a few offbeat ideas. One was from the country's largest cable company: they wanted to introduce one-click buying of items that were featured in certain television shows. It worked like this: the cable company would get advance viewings of upcoming episodes of popular shows. They would then look for products in the shows, and find retailers who sold them. Then, after making deals with people like me, when the show actually ran, there would be a little pop-up on screen, inviting you to buy the item for $X, and it would be billed to your cable bill, and sent to the house where your cable service was. Thus, you'd be watching an episode of Friends , and see a cool stereo; the pop-up would come up, and with one click of the remote, you could have Ross and Rachel's very own jukebox. Slick, huh? Of course, it neve...

Good news today on the new cast of Inside The NFL, now on Showtime. Replacing Bob Costas, Dan Marino, and Cris Carter are Phil Simms and James Brown; Chris Collinsworth will be the lone holdover. I'm so happy to see JB in a non-CBS environment. He was the glue of the Fox pregame show for many years; it ain't the same without him. I'll miss Costas' no holds barred approach, but JB, you had me at hello.

Years ago, a fledgling cable network, The Discovery Channel, was desperate to draw viewers. Their traditional focus of science-based programming was only getting the PBS-crowd, and not even as many, so they expanded their breadth by moving into the occasional documentary. In one, they followed a father and son in upstate New York who were making a family go of building custom motorcycles. The documentary focused on the mix of combustible personalities, how hard it was for family to work together, but how they overcame differences and leveraged their individual strengths to produce a uniquely American piece of craftsmanship. It was a hit, and the network jumped on it, turning the profile into a full series, American Chopper . What made the series work in the early years were the absolutely climactic battles between Paul Jr., who's innovative designs and creative focus were breathtaking, and Paul Sr., who overcame personal demons to forge a business, but longed to marry his metalwork...

Good news today for NFL Films fans like me. Courtesy of the always-entertaining MJD , word comes that the venerable Inside The NFL that has aired on HBO almost since its inception, has risen from the dead . For those that were not aware, this past season was the last of the highlight show's long run, leaving Dan Marino, Bob Costas, Cris Carter, and Chris Collinsworth out of a job. Of course, they had those cushy Sunday morning gigs to fall back on, and Costas is practically his own brand by now, so not too many tears. But Showtime wisely recognized the built-in audience, and swept in to revive it. No word yet if the staff is back, too, but one can hope that the NFL Films staff members that were laid off as a result of HBO's earlier decision will be back. How about it, Dan? Kick in a little of that salary?

Comcast adding SciFi to their HD lineup: good. Ability to watch the last season of Battlestar Galactica in HD: great. Comcast compressing the HD signal to the point of my DVR acting like it's had too much caffeine in trying to keep up with the compressed signal: Bad. Comcast once again admitting that they throttle bandwidth, but refusing to tell anyone why or under what standards they apply it to : Horrific. You'd think they would learn, as they are facing $100 million in fines from the FCC on their broadband throttling. But messing with people's HDTV? I can see a big boost for Verizon, AT&T, and DirecTV...

I'm usually one of the first people to simply roll my eyes at the efforts of traditional broadcast media companies to adapt to the new paradigms of online penetration. Witness the debacle of various networks as they hemmed and hawed about putting their shows on iTunes, only to pull them off over perceived pricing disputes. Or watching movie studios and television networks turn on their ardent consumers who would gladly pay to watch their content on alternate devices (iPods, laptops, etc.) by suing them. I have been patently disgusted with the 19th century approaches most have taken in the past, so months ago when I read that NBC and Fox were planning to respond to the constant "piracy" of having their shows show up on YouTube by building an online site dedicated to video streaming, I snorted in derision, and passed it off as another lame attempt to convince less knowledgeable viewers that they truly were "cutting edge." Ok, I can admit it: I was dead wrong. Hulu...

Just a quick link to a website that shows all of the NFL games every week, and what markets will see what games. After last week's trek to Petaluma to take in the Dallas-New England Armageddon, I definitely have a new appreciation for A) good sports bars with good food, friendly service and fun (not Raider-like) fans; B) the value of DirecTV's Sunday Ticket; and C)the frustration of the fan who can't figure out what game is on where. Now, where will I watch my Cowboys bounce back against the Vikings?

Yep, today's the big game. My beloved and undefeated Dallas Cowboys play host to my hometown (and also undefeated) New England Patriots. Tom Brady vs. Tony Romo. Randy Moss vs. Terrell Owens. Jerry Jones vs. Robert Kraft. All amazing matchups, but none compares to the biggest blood feud: Amy vs. Me. Yep, my wife has blossomed into a full out Pats fan, and we're going to the nearest sports bar to watch the battle unfold. Why? In the Bay Area, the biggest game of the season thus far is trumped by the Raiders vs. the Chargers. As part of NBC's whopping $3.6 billion dollar contract with the NFL for Sunday Night Football, NBC wisely got a concession out of the NFL: "flex" scheduling to allow them to select the best game for the Sunday Night national audience. So why are we not enjoying the "Highlander" ( "There can be only one" ) game in the comfort of our own home? Alas, flex scheduling does not start for 6 more weeks. NBC has to be grinding their...

With the unbelievable noise that is the iPhone, an important news item slipped out unnoticed, except by the good folks at Ars Technica: Tivo is FINALLY coming to the Comcast DVR's, over a year after it was first announced. The best part of this is this quote: "Comcast DVRs based on the TiVo software should be ready in select areas as early as August." Comcast, I'm hereby DEMANDING I be in one of those select areas. I want my Tivo Comcast DVR before Heroes and Lost start again! Our long national cable nightmare for cheap(er) DVR's may finally be on the verge of ending.

Alas, the rumors are true. While Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip was a welcome addition to my DVR, NBC clearly felt there were not enough like me. As a result, while spared the ignominious end of outright cancellation, the show has not been renewed by NBC. Sure, it gives the outside chance that another network could pick it up (CBS? Hell, how about the UPN/WB merged channel?), but it's not likely. The good news is that, as it is not officially cancelled, the rest of this season's episodes continue to air. And it's interesting: as with all Aaron Sorkin shows, it takes a little while for the cast to gel. They are just starting to, and the results are the trademark banter and repartee that don't seem forced anymore, or just a rehash of West Wing. Nonetheless, I will savor the great chemistry of the key players (whoever thought I would actually like Amanda Peet?), and see the show off into the Sunset Strip, with the hopes of seeing it, a la Deadwood , sometime in the futur...

Battlestar Galactica (the current, SciFi Channel version, not the original ABC series) is jumping off into the end of its flight. Next season will be the last of the successful remade series, according to its producers, as they feel "This show was always meant to have a beginning, a middle and finally, an end." As an incredible fan of the original series (I own the boxed DVD set: the Cylon holographic eye box is the best - thanks Lani & Pete!), I greeted the remake with a large degree of disgust and trepidation (Starbuck is a woman? Cylons look human?). I was amazed to find that it was incredible, with breathtaking effects, great storyline, and a gritty realism that few science fiction series have ever pulled off. I was hooked. Over the last seasons, however, I have been more and more turned off by the storylines: clearly, Ronald Moore (formerly of Star Trek TNG , etc.) was trying to make the series parallel current events. Occupations and their resistance, how to deal ...

Just a random post to share, of some great tidbits. - I always like to use this blog to share the new and cool online applications I find. Well, today I've found a blog that does nothing but this: I bring you MakeUseOf , a directory/blog of some of the coolest sites on the web for free things to make your life interesting. Although the visual style is closer to a wiki than a blog, it definitely offers a great, constantly updating collection of some of the more interesting sites that provide useful services to the consumer. Think Original Signal without the (ahem) noise. - Yahoo has released version 4 of Yahoo Widget Engine , promising less memory hogging, and new mini-docking, to allow your widgets to be displayed in an intuitive collection, for neatness. It also introduces a drag and drop upload widget for Flickr , as well as support for just about all old widgets. Seems like a worthy download, and is definitely sucking less of my precious resources. - Speaking of Flickr , they mi...

In case you hadn't known, I'm kind of a Trek fan. I got hooked on rerun of The Original Series (TOS), then, after being skeptical, got completely pulled into The Next Generation (TNG); TNG is still exceptional, and I could watch an episode any day or time. Deep Space Nine (DS9) kind of lost me, but Leslie turned me on to just how great the last season was. Voyager (VOY) was a bit aimless, but rediscovered that TNG vibe towards the end. Enterprise? Oooh boy. They should have stuck with the movies. However, who has not wanted to point their remote at the TV and watch the bolt of energy fly out from it? Well, combine your TOS Star Trek Phaser and your boob tube control habits to get this killer remote. I actually have a TNG one from my old Sharper Image days, complete with sound effects, but this looks to be a bit more comprehensive. And be on the lookout for the new J.J. Abrams TOS movie prequel next year. Lost meets Star Trek? Count me in!

Not sure if you have been catching it, but the Discovery Channel has been running a miniseries, FutureCar . I'm not all that keen on the editing, as they spend about 2 minutes on each cool car concept, then spend 10 minutes on a hydrogen powered go kart time trial. However, there was one car that looks to be on the cusp of reality that makes it all worth it: the VentureOne . 3 wheels. Cockpit style seating. Hybrid technology. All look spacey and futuristic. But here's the kicker: it leans into turns, up to 45 degrees! That makes driving this thing a combination of motorcyle, car...and plane. See, it takes the best of what I love about my all-wheel drive Outback Sport to a whole new level. The video section of the site really says it all: "This thing is so much fun to drive...it should have guns, or missles on it! I want to dogfight!" Rumor is, the VentureOne (the evolution of the Carver One featured in FutureCar and the videos) will come in at less than $20K and comar...