Category - Television

Would you like to shape the future?

I guess all of us would like to put our own spin on which way the world is heading in one way or the other.

Television plays such a big part in so many lives and so having input into the way we watch the box can make a difference to our world.

Murdoch University is conducting research into our television watching habits and interactive television.

TV Panel gives you the opportunity to take part in research that may help shape the way we watch and interact with television in the future. They regularly ask people in the Perth area to fill out internet surveys and occasionally visit the university to be part of their studies.

There are rewards for helping out. If you sit around and watch telly for a short while and then answer a few questions they’ll give you a $20 gift card. They’re also putting panel members into the draw for a new generation video iPod valued at $449.

Pauline and I have been part of the panel for quite some time.

If you live in the Perth metro area and would like to know more, just visit the TV Panel website.

Posted by Rodney Olsen

Technorati Tags: Television – Research – Future

Do you think some of your friends would enjoy reading Watching the future? Please use the buttons below to share the post. Thanks.

Around 50 years ago, 8 children burst onto the small screen singing about a thick black substance that Australians love but everyone else seems to hate.

The Happy Little Vegemites television advertisement ran for decades and is still a well loved part of Australian TV history.

Kraft, the makers of Vegemite, are now trying to track down the children who sang the Vegemite jingle all those years ago. It seems that no production records were kept when the ad was created and so they now have no idea who the children are who took part.

While they were children back then, the young performers would now be into their fifties and sixties.

This article at News.com.au tells us that the Kraft company has devised some secret questions to make sure that those who might come forward are the real deal. I hope they’ve got some pretty good methods to weed out the wannabes.

I remember only a couple of years ago when the Royal Australian Mint was looking to portray the famous World War II Dancing Man on a one dollar coin, several men came forward claiming to be the one who was filmed dancing in a Sydney street in New South Wales, Australia all those years ago. If you haven’t heard of the Dancing Man, the legend began after the end of World War II when on August the 15th, 1945, a reporter took note of a man’s joyful expression and dance as he celebrated the end of war and asked him to do it again. The man consented and was caught on motion picture film. The resulting film has been played again and again on television and film ever since.

So, were you one of the happy little Vegemites 50 years ago?

Posted by Rodney Olsen

Technorati Tags: Vegemite – Dancing Man – Kraft

Do you think some of your friends would enjoy reading Are you a happy little Vegemite?? Please use the buttons below to share the post. Thanks.

I didn’t realise just how advanced the iPhone actually is. I’ve got to get me one.

Posted by Rodney Olsen

Click here for regular email updates from this blog.

Technorati Tags: iPhone – Funny Video – Conan

Do you think some of your friends would enjoy reading iPhone? Please use the buttons below to share the post. Thanks.

You might not immediately know the names Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom but you’ve probably used one of their services.

Janus and Niklas are the two entrepreneurs who gave the world free online telephone calls through Skype and co-founded the file-sharing service Kazaa. Using some of the money they made from the sale of Skype, they’re now launching a global broadband television service called Joost.

“Joost™ is a new way of watching TV on the internet, which uses new and established technologies to provide the best of both the internet and TV worlds. We’re in the process of making it as TV-like as we can, with programmes, channels and adverts. You can also see some things that we think will enhance the TV experience: searching for programmes and channels, for example, as well as social features like chat. There are many more new features to come!”

While it’s still unclear exactly what Joost will eventually look like, how many channels they’ll provide and just how good the service will be, thousands of people (myself included) have already signed up to test the new service. I’ve registered and now I’m waiting for confirmation to start trialling the service. With so many people wanting to jump on board it may take a little while to hear back from the Joost team. You can get a closer view of the screenshot by clicking on the picture in this post.

If you want to get in before the rush and start testing Joost, just head to the website and give them your details.

I’ll let you know if I get to be one of their test team as soon as I hear anything from them.

Mind you, I suppose that it comes down to the age old problem. They might be supplying lots of extra free entertainment for the world but will they be providing the extra hours in the day we’ll need to make use of the service?

There’s already an endless supply of easy ways to use the 24 hours we’re given each day. The challenge is to use our time wisely and productively.

Posted by Rodney Olsen

Click here for regular email updates from this blog.

Technorati Tags: Global Broadband Television – Joost – Technology

Do you think some of your friends would enjoy reading Joost – Global Broadband Television? Please use the buttons below to share the post. Thanks.

How quickly we forget.

I played a song by past Australian Idol finalist Anthony Callea on the radio yesterday. It reminded me of the DVD that Emily borrowed on Sunday afternoon from the local DVD hire place. It’s a look back at Australian Idol …. the very first Australian Idol back in 2003.

While the programme over the past few years has helped some of the contestants do amazing things I was surprised at how little I remembered of many of the top 12 contestants from that first year. We watched a fair bit of the first series at the time but there were people in the final 12 on that DVD that I had no recollection of at all. I remembered a little of the pig farmer and one or two others but I wouldn’t know many of them if I fell over them in the street.

I wonder if any of those finalists who showed such promise, and were hailed by the judges as future stars, are playing in some little club somewhere each night to a group of 30 people, or if they’ve returned to their former jobs. How many of the dozens of bright shiny finalists from the years the show has been running could we name now? How many of them have gone on to live ‘the dream’?

As for not remembering most of them, I’m wondering if it’s a case of bad memory on my part or an indication of how quickly your 15 minutes of fame can be over.

Posted by Rodney Olsen

Click here for regular email updates from this blog.

Technorati Tags: Australian Idol – Fame – Television

Do you think some of your friends would enjoy reading Australian Idle?? Please use the buttons below to share the post. Thanks.