Sega Dreamcast 10 Years Young

Oh what could have been. If only Sega hadn't burned it's customers with past gaming failures like the Saturn and 32X. If only consumers didn't buy into the marketing hype of the coming PS2.

Anyways, next time you line up for a consumer electronic launch event, remember Sega did it first with the Dreamcast 9-9-99

Oh yeah, that whole white plastics thing......also first.

Beatles To Showcase New Format At Apple Event?

For many years now, The Beatles have been arguably the highest profile holdouts from iTunes. Their (technically their rights holders) have shown through agreements like the one with Rock Band, that they are willing to bring the Beatles song catalog into the digital realm.

Couple that with the fact that we've been hearing for some time that Apple is working on a new, more immersive format for iTunes albums, moving beyond simple liner notes. Also keep in mind that the Beatles catalog is in the process of being remastered for a September 9 release, the same date as the next Apple event.

Coincidence? We doubt it.

Apple's "Cocktail" project is rumored to bring together music, behind the scenes video, and interactive liner content. Would there be any better way to pry money from the hands of Beatles fans who already own every piece of Beatles music than with extras that have never been available before. It will also allow Apple to get a huge amount of publicity for the new format.

Exclusive Online Screening of "Welcome To Macintosh" Documentary, Right Here

We're excited to let everyone know that on the heels of the wonderfully received debut of "Welcome to Macintosh" at Macworld, we will be presenting the film Monday night at 9:30 PM ET / 6:30 PM PT right after TDL Live. Rob Baca, and Josh Rizzo will chat with viewers throughout the film, and answer your questions.

If you're into such things, the full press release is below. Go forth and spread the word. Oh, and don't forget our channel is completely embeddable, so your site can have show the movie Monday night too!

Exclusive online screening of “Welcome to Macintosh” documentary on tDL

PHILADELPHIA - On the heels of its Macworld 2009 presentation in San Francisco, the new Apple centric documentary, "Welcome to Macintosh" will have a special one-time online screening, Monday, January 12th. At 9:30 PM ET on TheDigitalLifestyle.tv

Filmmakers Rob Baca and Josh Rizzo will participate in a live chat during
the screening where viewers can ask questions about it the movie, the people and the creation process.

"We are thrilled to bring this special screening to the Mac community," said
Ryan Ritchey, founder of TheDigitalLifestyle.tv. The film's Macworld
presentation drew and international crowd and included discussions with Apple legends Steve Wozniak, Guy Kawasaki, Ron Wayne, and others.

TheDigitalLifestyle.tv is an online video network dedicated to Apple news,
rumors, and has the largest collection of Apple-related videos in the world.

“With acceptance in five international film festivals, "Welcome to
Macintosh" is reaching its goal of bringing the story of Apple and the
Macintosh to the new generation of iPhone and iPod users around the world,” said Rob Baca, Co-director of the film.

The widescreen DVD is NTSC Region Free and includes over three hours of
extended interviews, a "making of" featurette, theatrical trailers, behind
the scenes photo journal, Mac symbiosis montage, interactive menus and
subtitles in English and Spanish. It is available today on FilmBaby, Amazon
and the films website welcometomacintosh.com.

"The DVD goes far beyond the movie, exploring in-depth the stories and
experiences that made the Macintosh what it is today" said Josh Rizzo,
co-director of the film. "There are so many great stories to hear, we are
very excited to have the opportunity to share them."

"When we set out to create an online video network dedicated to Apple and
its fans, this is just the kind of programming we wanted to find," says
Ritchey.

Robert Baca a & Joshua Rizzo are 2002 graduates of Ithaca College's Roy H.
Park School of Communications. Robert resides with his family in Columbus
Ohio where works as a producer of industrial and commercial videos. Joshua
currently resides in Los Angeles and works as a post production systems
engineer for TV and film. Welcome to Macintosh is the first feature-length
film they have directed.

Apple Music Special Event: The Good, The Bad, The Missing

Let's break out the Sept. 9 Apple Music into three parts: The Good, The Bad, and The Missing:

The Good:

Steve Jobs Appeared: While people are sure to continue to speculate on his health, the bottomline is, he was there, and he is actively involved with the company.

iPod Nano: A decent update, staying a step ahead of the competition, at least in terms of "bang for the buck." New shape means new cases, which means even more revenue for Apple, and accessory manufacturers. As a former Apple retail worker though, I feel bad for those who will be dealing with customers looking for specific colors. It sounds harmless enough, but look for another post shortly on why it can be hell.

iPod Touch: A curved shape is nice, and a price drop is swell, but the speaker is probably the biggest feature to propel the touch forward, and sells a lot more apps.

HD TV shows: Great for those who want HD on their computer/Apple TV

NBC Shows Return: More content is always better.

The Bad:
$79 Earphones: Let's hope Apple learned its lesson with the HiFi speaker. If these earphones don't stand up to the other $79 options, then don't put them out there.

The New Nano Look: When the 3rd gen "fatty" Nano came out, some people hated it, some loved it, and some were won over. It looks like the new Zune-esque screen will garner equal love and disdain.

Audio DRM Still Kicking: More the labels fault than Apple at this point, but let's let the music go free. Are there any statistics to indicate the iTunes Plus tracks have been pirated in any great numbers?

The Missing:

Music Subscription Service: Two major advertisers during MTV's VMA's were Rhapsody and Verizon, both peddling subscription music plans. No iPod/iTunes ads at all. Apple needs to get in on subscriptions before it's too late.

Apple TV: No news on company's biggest "hobby." No sales figures either.

CPU Updates: While not expected at a music event, the fact remains several Macs are due for updates on the surface, and under the hood.