Mon, 15 Sep 2008
Social Social!!
I have been playing with some alpha and beta software the past few months. Well, actually, I do that all the time, that's not news. But I like to tinker with Media Server software when I can. And now that I have a newer computer that can actually display stuff, it's been more fun. In the past you've heard me talk about how badly I've wanted to build a "myth box". It's basically a home-theater+dvr server. (Patrick has written much more about it, check out his site). There is other software out that's a bit easier to use if you're less inclined to tinker though and have a spare machine around. And if you have a Mac there's Plex and Boxee (and Sapphire, a plug-in for Front Row). But I was thinking about the Mac software a lot recently. And this morning on the bus there was a guy on his cell phone talking about Web Two Point Ohhhh (I should point out that he wasn't that loud, but the rest of the bus was quiet). But listening to that guy talk about Social Sites (and someone in the office talking about Facebook) reminded me that just because a site has a "social" aspect it doesn't make it any better than other software. In some cases it can be worse. Bear with me, I'll circle back to this . . .
So let's look at some of the Mac software available:
(fyi, none of these have time-shifting TV like Myth) Front Row- a built-in "theater" for Macs -- works out of the box and it's great. Downside? Files must be in certain formats (there are ways around this) and the music and vids need to be either in iTunes, or tied to it . . . (I know I'm oversimplifying). But this will meet the needs of 99% of the typical users, especially the ones that don't like to tinker. Sapphire, a Front Row plug-in- It shows up as an menu option in Front Row, but it can scan your library and add posters and info from imdb. Avi and other files work great and it'll display if you've already watched an episode of a show or a movie. I kinda dig Sapphire. Plex (and Aeon-- was osxmbc)- Another great one- really good looking. It's more for a dedicated media box though. It's pretty slick- plays just about everything you throw at it. The only negative thing I've noticed is that sometimes it's hard to get the right posters or info to show up- but I think that's my fault for the way I name my movie files. Boxee.tv- Similar to Plex, but also has a social aspect to it. IE- you can see what your friends are watching or listening to. (If you play a dvd or movie file through your computer running boxee it's marked as "watched")
Boxee definitely has some positive things going for it. But here's where I get back to that guy on the bus. Let's say we both use boxee and we're both "friends" on the site. He can see what files I watch and I can see his. But do I want to?
Let's say I'm looking at Avner's page (he's the built-in Boxee friend -- the founder-- similar to Tom on Myspace). Sure he can set some files as private- but it's kind of hard.
Maybe he added me as a friend because he knows I have weird (but good) taste in Movies. But if I forgot to set some files as private, do I want him seeing that I watched not only The Fountain on DVD, but Thai Soapy Massage 37 or Sorority Sisters 3 because I forgot to mark "teh pr0n" as private?
And what about him? I think he's in Israel and his profile page shows that he watched Run Fatboy Run on the other day. Sure, that's fine if we're buddies.
But what if he doesn't know that I work for the RIAA's European/Mediterranean office and I know that Run Fatboy Run isn't available on DVD until the 23rd of September in the US and not for two more weeks in Israel? Then what happens? Do I check to see if he really watched it on DVD which is one level of "bad" or do I find out if he watched a "rip" of it which is a whole 'nuther can of worms.
Obviously, he would drop me as a friend for starters. And then he'd start being much more restrictive about his private files and the updates his "friends" could see. And once you do that, you're not really using the social aspects of the software as much. What then?
15 Sep 12:16 | /tech | 1 comment(s)
