The Re-birth of Home Movies, Or Why YouTube Is About To Get Worse

from DealExtreme.comAfter playing with the iPhone 3GS for a few days, it's clear that the video function is the killer feature. Yes, video has been available on cell phones for years, and yes you've even been able to upload directly to YouTube with some, but putting it on the iPhone is a game changer, for better or worse.

As we mentioned here recently, there's been a mysterious disappearance of the once omni-present parents with video cameras at kids' events. Well, the iPhone might resurrect the family video market with parents able to quickly and easily shoot and share clips. Only instead of just having distant relatives subjected to video viewing during the family reunion, now we'll all be exposed to them through YouTube.

This really could go one of two ways, and will most likely go both simultaneously: Having millions of decent cameras out there with quick and easy posting capability could lead to an increase in compelling video, capturing moments that would otherwise be lost forever. Or we could get more of the inane video that a majority of people seem to dislike, and yet someone is still making it, and even more people are watching it.

Either way, in six to eight months, we predict an incredible surge in video flooding YouTube from the iPhone. Whether it'll be anything we want to watch is another story.

Starting your Friday gently: a robot band!

I know, I know. It's Friday. You'd rather not be in the office. You know what you need? No, not a fake doctor's excude to get out of work. You need a pick-me-up in the form of something that will restore your faith in humanity while getting you up and dancin' . I speak of course, of a robotic band:

Apple TV: YouTube not ready for the big screen

I have to admit, this past weekend was my first hands on experience with Apple TV outside of it's debut at Macworld. I was impressed with it's photo 'screen saver' mode when idle, it really set my brother's living room off nicely.

As I was exploring the Apple TV I went to it's native integration with YouTube to see how it handled streaming content from WiFi. I decided it was appropriate to test the Apple product with a favorite video of mine: Mac Vs. PC Rap, from Pantless Knights Productions. I was impressed with the streaming, but not so much with the video quality.

My brother has about a 40" TV. It isn't the largest you can get, but by no means is it small. YouTube looks decent on the computer, but it does not make the transition to the big screen very well. All I can say is pixelated. It serves its purpose, but don't expect a crystal clear viewing experience.