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Filed under: Adobe, Beta, Web

Adobe Story offers web-based script (as in movie) writing and collaboration


Somewhere in the depths of my mind, there's a burning desire to one day write a screenplay. It probably has as much to do with my disbelief at some of the crap that actually gets made into Hollywood movies as my own creative desire, but it is what it is.

So when I woke up this morning and checked on Adobe Labs, my curiosity was piqued by Story, a new web-based script authoring app that is now available to test on Adobe Labs.

Obviously Story isn't for everyone. I can, however, easily see this become a terrific compliment for animation studios who use Adobe products like Flash to produce their cartoons. Since it's web based, Story provides anywhere (with net access)/any time access to your writing tools and documents - critical, because you never know when a flash of brilliance will strike.

Story is tailored to the script-writing process, making it easy to hack together character bios, drop links to web pages you want to reference, and, of course, compose your masterpiece. There's even a full screen option for distraction-free writing.

Aspiring creatives, give Story a try and tell us what you think in the comments! Story recommends IE6 or later, Firefox 2.0+, and Safari 3.x. Other browsers will receive a warning message, but you can click through and try your luck -- Chrome 4 worked just fine for me.

Filed under: Fun, iPhone, Humor

RunPee goes mobile with a new iPhone app

RunPee, the website that tells you when it's safe to take a bathroom break during the movie you're watching, was a big hit when Lee wrote about it back in May. If you're a RunPee fan who's been wishing for a better, more practical mobile method of using the site, you might be interesting in the iPhone app. Now you can simply whip out your iPhone before the credits start and see when it's time to go relieve the effects of that large soda.

The best part about the iPhone app is that it will allow you to quickly check RunPee from the bathroom and read the site's quick synopsis of what you missed, so you can jump back into the movie when you return. Don't worry about spoilers, though, they're obscured by default so you won't accidentally read them before it's time. Sure, it's kind of a novelty, and definitely not the most useful thing you're going to have on your phone, but using it even once would be fun.

Filed under: Fun, Games, Internet

Fifteen Web sites to surf when you should be working

Although some folks affectionately call them "time wasters," we prefer to think of our little jaunts into the far reaches of the Internet as "exploratory ventures that perhaps lead to a greater understanding of the world in which we live."

Not buying it? You're right, they're time wasters.

FreelanceSwitch.com thinks so too, and they've compiled a great batch of Web sites to check out when you have some free time (or even when you don't). There are a couple oldies-but-goodies (Desktop Tower Defense and movie trailers on Apple.com) but there are also some new ones. Be sure to check out Very Funny Ads and Duels.

Then get back to work!

Filed under: Fun, Internet

Fame ranking with Famousr - Today's Time Waster

famousr celebrity gameCare for a little celebrity time waster? Famousr has a database of over 8000 actors where you as the viewer are presented with two famous people and have to guess which one is viewed as the more popular star. Users are awarded points, given a title and can save and view high scores.

The Famousr database has a unique calculation that determines a "fame rank" from combining statistics through multiple sources including mentions on blogs and news as well as the volume of movies and shows the celebrity has been featured in.

Famousr also features a game called Who is"That Guy". It displays a picture of a movie star that you might recognize, but just can't figure out what movie they played in. It gives a list of movies that you choose from as a guess, and lets you know if you guessed correctly.

Filed under: Fun, Internet, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Web services, Social Software

Cube got you down? Listen to a Movie!


Listen To A Movie is a website designed solely for the purpose of listening to your favorite movies and TV shows. The site contains a pretty substantial collection of low-quality audio files for popular movies and TV shows that can be listened to for free using the sites built-in audio player. Clips can be paused, fast-forwarded and rewound to get to your favorite parts, or you can scroll through parts that translate much better when you can see them. You can also comment on your favorite movies, read small plot outlines, and of course purchase the DVD.

Designed for "the cubicle workers of the world," the player can be quickly put in "stealth mode" which disguises it as an excel spreadsheet when you boss walks by. While the excel sheet is still blatantly an explorer window that says "Listentoamovie" on it, you could fool the less observant passerby. This isn't exactly the best way to "see" a movie for the first time, but for things like episodes of The Simpsons or movies you may have seen a thousand times, it can be a great way to pass the afternoon in the ol' cube.

Filed under: Internet, Video, News, Web services

Today Only: Free Movie download from AOL

AOL Video

AOL is offering 30 or so movie titles for free download today only (one per email address). You can get some of your favorites including:

  • Nacho Libre
  • The Muppets Take Manhattan
  • Mission Impossible 3
  • Spongebob Squarepants Movie
  • Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
  • Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle
  • My Dog Skip
  • Failure to Launch
  • Jack Frost
  • Zoolander
  • Patriot Games
  • National Lampoon's Christmas
  • School of Rock
  • Last Holiday
  • The Perfect Storm
  • Jackass: The Movie
  • Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights
  • Rugrats Go Wild
  • Breakfast at Tiffany's
  • Can't Hardly Wait
  • Maid in Manhattan
  • Star Trek 1
  • Men in Black
  • All I Want For Christmas
  • The Prince and Me
  • Only Natural
  • Analyse This
  • D.E.B.S.
  • Easy Rider
  • Flatliners
  • White Christmas
  • The Golden Child

You won't be charged at checkout, but a credit card is required to verify your U.S. address and you must have a screenname to download a movie. As you might imagine there is a backlog of downloads going on right now, but AOL is saying that everyone will be able to receive their full download in spite of the server load. Enjoy a free movie download from AOL. Here is the official T&C from the download page at AOL Video:

Terms and Conditions
Offer good from 12/2/06 at 6:00 am ET through 12/3/06 at 6:00 am ET, or until supply of free videos is depleted, whichever comes first. Open only to US residents, 18 or older, who have an AOL or AIM address. A credit card is required to confirm US address. Only the select videos listed on the promotional page are available for free. There is a limit of one free download per person and e-mail address.

DISCLAIMER: AOL is the parent company of Weblogs, inc. Download Squad is a member of the Weblogs, inc. network.

Filed under: Internet, Video, News, Web services

ClickStar: Movie Downloads done right?

ClickStar

Downloading movies was supposed to be fun, easy, painless, and the next big wave of digital entertainment. Not quite. How about not even close? No service has really lived up to the ideal standard we had in mind. So far the whole movie download service idea is as big a flop as light-up shoelaces, or bread made from rock, or even The Land Before Time quintrilogy. A new service called ClickStar hopes to be the answer (like all the others have and failed). Founded by the venerable Morgan Freeman, the service will begin its foray on December 15th. There will be DVD quality downloads for a fee, as well as the ability to watch movies on your TV. Another emphasis of ClickStar, besides improving the download dilemma is that documentaries and even JPL content from NASA for educational purposes will be available. Will ClickStar rule the day or go the way of the others?

Filed under: Fun, Adobe, Time-Wasters

Animator vs. Animation II - Today's Time Waster

Animator vs. Animation III don't know if it really qualifies as a time-waster if it's not something you can play, but nevertheless Animator vs. Animation II is right up our alley. It's a great Flash animation by Alan Becker about a Flash animator's creation that goes awry. If you enjoyed the original Animator vs. Animation, you'll enjoy its sequel, which features a lot more creativity on the part of Becker as Firefox, AIM, Photoshop, and even My Computer get in on the act. Definitely worth watching twice.

Filed under: Audio, Fun, Internet, Photo, Video, News, Microsoft

Xbox movie downloads, take that Apple

Microsoft Living roomRussell Heimlich over at our sister blog DV Guru has a great article on Microsoft's step into the living room (beyond gaming) with their TV offering, which soundly beats Apple's actual delivery of their iTV device. We have all known for awhile that Microsoft was aiming for our living rooms with the sexy stylings of the Xbox 360 and the many media-streaming features it offers. Along with HD-DVD support, Microsoft is far ahead of Apple, giving all us dumb consumers a way to have living room Internet-enabled content. Of course I am talking about us consumers other than Russell, who has had this functionality for a year, and some of our readers even longer I suspect. So what of Microsoft, Apple, and your living room or den? Is the Xbox 360 the killer app of cozy-home living room multimedia, or will Apple reign supreme, eventually? If it isn't operating systems we're fighting over, it's the living room, or MP3 players, or browsers. Xbox movie downloads, here we come. If the Xbox contained a HD-DVD burner, that would be sublime.

Filed under: Internet, Video, News, Web services

BskyB's UK movie download service

bskybSo you wanna watch a good flick with your mum? BSkyB, the British satellite TV broadcaster has restarted its popular movie download service, after having shut down in August due to a security breach and subsequent patch from Microsoft to fix their DRM. Up until it was shut down, over a million downloads were, well, downloaded, making BSkyB's service Europe's most popular download service to date. Any folks in the UK feel like sharing your experiences with our readers? Is BskyB a good service, and if so what do you like about it? Dislike? What about here in the States? I have pretty much written off the whole idea until someone comes up with a better way to download (except iTunes). I am biding my time until then, what about you?

Filed under: Internet, Video, News, Web services

Georgie thinks movie downloads are the future

Goerge LucasMr. Star Wars, the geek-man, OB1 himself, none other than George Lucas thinks movie downloads are where it's at for the future of movie entertainment distribution. Really? We didn't see that coming. Steve Jobs has also been chatting with Lucas at various times about the idea, which isn't surprising now that iTunes now has movies from Disney, with more to follow invariably. Lucas and Jobs have history as most people know in the Pixar sale back in the day. The two it seems are interested in where movies are headed. Diversity of content is a big thing, as the audience will determine what movies make it and which don't. The media moguls seem to think that most people who would download movies are somewhat picky, and generally I have to agree. I am picky too, can't deny it, I want movie studios, download services, websites, and software makers to cater to me, and so does everyone. It isn't that out of the ordinary. Lucas says that those who can capitalize on the public's wants and desires by producing the kind of content they want will win in the new world of movie downloads. This begs the question then, are the theatres in trouble of becoming extinct? Will they have to reinvent themselves to remain relevant? Maybe not extinct tomorrow, but what about in five or ten years?

Filed under: Fun, Windows Mobile, Palm, Productivity, Microsoft, PalmSource, Commercial

Leonard Maltin 2007 Movie Guide Released

Leonard Maltin Movie Guide Splash ScreenThe newest version of the Leonard Maltin Movie Guide has been released by LandWare. If you are ever in the video store and want some guidance to pick out something good you can use this guide. This new version has the complete listings of both of the 2007 Movie Guide and the Classic Movie Guide by Leonard Maltin.

LandWare makes this product not just for the Smartphone platform, but also the Pocket PC, as well as their original platform of the Palm OS. This year's update now includes support for the Motorola Q, which is why this caught my eye. Just the other day I was watching "The Great Escape" and had a question about one of the actors in the film and my old "Video Hound" book never made it out of a box (or was lost tossed) during move back early this year. As I was watching the baby, I could not leave the room to use the other computer, so if I had this on my Q it would have been great. I just downloaded the trial version and will be checking it out this weekend.

Check out screen shots after the break.

[Via Qusers.com]

Read more →

Filed under: Video, News, Web services

Amazon's Unbox movie downloads begin!

Amazon UnboxAmazon ends speculation and buzz by announcing their Unbox movie (and TV too) download service today! TV shows will be $1.99 (gee, that sounds familiar), movies will be $7.99 to $14.99 and $3.99 to rent them. Who knows at this point, but I'll bet if the service is the cat's meow it could give Blockbuster and even Netflix a run for their money. I see Amazon's service as taking the waiting out of getting your movies and TV shows, much like Apple, except it seems that Amazon has a bit more of a selection at this point. Hopefully Amazon's use restrictions will be bearable and I will be able to burn movies to play on my set-top player as well as my PC. They are even offering one free TV show to hook you.

Read more →

Filed under: Fun, Games, Freeware, Time-Wasters

The Last Starfighter - Today's Time Waster

last starfighterThis is all too sweet. Some lucky dudes got a replica of the arcade cabinet used in the movie The Last Starfighter, and they are preparing to load a copy of the game used in the movie on it. Well, the game Starfighter is also a replica... But it's fun! And it's free. And with a little soldering know-how and a few spare weekends, maybe you too could build such a replica. The one they bought was used in a documentary on the movie (which is odd enough in itself), as the original was destroyed. And as one astute digg'er noticed, these guys have also given us a replica (mostly) of the game Jeff Bridges plays in his arcade in Tron, Space Paranoids! Now if they would slap together the Global Thermonuclear War game from War Games, we're all set...

[Via digg]

Featured Time Waster

Graveyard Shift - zombie-busting Time Waster

With Halloween fast approaching, it's a great time to get in some practice defending your territory against zombies. In Graveyard Shift, you take aim at zombies and other creepy-crawlies, blasting them into splatters of cartoony green guts. It's a casual first-person shooter, and it's very easy to get the hang of - use the mouse to aim, click to fire. Graveyard Shift has at least 15 levels, and it might even have some secret stages I haven't unlocked yet. They key to getting good at Graveyard Shift is learning to use ...

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