Hulu Desktop

I am a believer in that some large-screen DHTV sets in the near future would come with built-in CPUs (wireless keyboard, trackball or mouse included of course) for online computing. This will enable TV users to have the option of surfing the Web, watch online videos from Hulu or Youtube, check emails, scan Twitter and FaceBook accounts, etc., in a small area of the TV screen simultaneously, while watching a TV program (or take the entire TV screen for internet use during those loud and annoying TV informercials.)

But now, for those of us who are more likely to watch TV shows on a computer from our own favorite video sites, today's innovation from Hulu sounds darn good:

 “Hulu Desktop is a lean-back viewing experience for your personal computer. It features a sleek new look that's optimized for use with standard Windows Media Center remote controls or Apple remote controls, allowing you to navigate Hulu's entire library with just six buttons.” – Hulu

BTW, I learned of Youtube from a co-worker, and discovered Hulu from my youngest son when he was five-year old (he probably learned from his older brothers.)

WSJ Video: Twitter onstage at the D7

Wall Street Journal: Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher interview Biz Stone and Evan Williams of Twitter at the D7: All Things Digital conference in Carlsbad, Calif.

I think I might feel like tweeting one of these days.

Breaking-news visual story telling

This post was created on Dec. 10, 2008 for another blog with much wider display format (for learning purpose.) This shows how you can use free Web hosts like Slice.com and Google Maps/Streetview features to visually tell a major breaking-news event quickly, from any location using a computer with access to the Internet.

F/A-18 jet crashes into homes

A Korean immigrant who lost his wife, two children and mother-in-law when a Marine Corps jet slammed into the family’s house said Tuesday he did not blame the pilot, who ejected and survived. (AP photos show in slide below)

Smoke rises from a fire in a suburban neighborhood, foreground, after an F-18 military jet crashed in San Diego Monday, Dec. 8, 2008. In the background is the runway at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. (AP/Denis Poroy)

View F/A-18 jet crashes into homes in a larger map with picture.

Below is interactive Google Street View showing the destroyed homes and neighborhood before the accident. Click and dragmouse to activate:

Google Street View (undated) of the homes before the crash:

View of the destroyed homes immediately after the Dec. 8 crash. (AP/Matt Rose):

Mapping game by UMapper

See how quick and how accurate you can locate a capital city in Europe. Created by radu.capan. To visit the map, click this UMapper link. Once you are there, click on square icon in upper-right corner of map for full screen.

The New York Times TimesReader2.0

"It reads like a newspaper. Updates like a Web site. And delivers like The New York Times. The new Times Reader 2.0 delivers the entire day's Times in seconds, so you can carry it wherever you go."

Click on image to NYT Web site for video demo.

H1N1 flu tracker map by Recombiomics

Here is the link to this comprehensive map. Below is the introduction excerpt:

“ Tracking the progress of H1N1 swine flu

This map and the data behind it were compiled by Dr. Henry Niman, a biomedical researcher in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, using technology provided by Rhiza Labs and Google. The map was compiled using data from official sources, news reports and user-contributions. ”

White House photostream

This is the White House photostream on flickr. Pretty cool.

From WordPress: Twitter’s killer mate potential

EXCERPTS:

“ Introducing the P2 Theme: Blogging in Realtime

P2 brings blogging into realtime - whether alone or as a group, public or private. This short video takes you through the unique features of the P2 theme, available for your WordPress.com or self-hosted WordPress blog today. ”

Here is the original article.