Daily Marauder

GOT WI-FI?: YOUR BUS DOES

This morning, I got an e-mail from a friend laying out the details of her enjoyable free wi-fi experience in transport.  She’s on her way out of the city for some July 4^th vacation fun and sent me this e-mail for inclusion in our next edition of Got Wi-Fi?

Dear Marauder,

I am thinking of you as I break free from the city and journey up to Boston this 4th of July weekend.  Why am I thinking of you/ flaunting my vacation getaway, you ask?  Well, I’ve discovered the best little way to travel in (sorta) style AND on the cheap.

While planning my escape from New York a friend recommended Bolt Bus.

Much like the Chinatown buses that many NYC-ers are familiar with, Bolt Bus is a standard 49-seater coach with luggage storage below and a WC on board.

BUT the kicker is that Bolt Bus offers free Wi-Fi and has power outlets at all of the seats.

So as we lumber up I-95, I can see my co-passengers working (eek), updating their iTunes libraries, emailing or most importantly, keeping up with the celeb gossip blogs.  This is a bus ride truly Marauder-stamp-of-approval-worthy.

While the bus itself is what most buses are, the service is a certain point of differentiation. Jackie, our driver is welcoming and funny, the bathroom is clean(!) and the prices are insanely low…$20 from NYC to Boston.

You can tell from their website that they cater to a different demographic.  Check out www.boltbus.com and tell me you don’t get a strong Virgin Atlantic vibe- v. hip, v. modern.  Just like yours truly.

Kiss, kiss,
Miss Mary Joan

Wi-Fi Action

Mary says that her computer deemed her connection ‘Excellent’ and she had no problem logging onto her company’s secure website.  For some reason, she had difficulty logging onto other basic sites including Google and Yahoo which took a couple times refreshing to get through.

Cost to Ride

$20: NYC to Boston

$20: NYC to Washington D.C.

$7 - $13: NYC to Philadelphia

Final Call

Free wi-fi, super low price and a friendly bus driver.  What’s not to love?  If you don’t feel like making the drive, give your hands something better to do and take the wi-fi bus.

Contributing Writer: Mary Joan Cunningham

ONLINE SITE OF THE WEEK: A BLOG DIGEST

Ever wondered how all of these blogs stack up?  A friend (let’s call her Jigga Hu) sent this to me a while back and I’ve been looking for any reason to send this around.  Sigh.  Opportunity strikes.  If you haven’t heard of all of these, it’s an ideal time for investigation.  Click on the image above to be directed to Vanity Fair’s site and links to all of the blogs.

WATERFALLS?: YES PLEASE

As I ventured out for my morning bike ride yesterday, I noticed something new in the east river.  Olafur Eliasson’s waterfalls are live y’all.  Above, photography from the New York Times.  Click the above photo for a multimedia gallery.  Below is a photo taken from my iPhone Thursday morning.  For a complete description on the waterfalls, click here.

Related articles

• NYC Waterfalls: Night Moves [via Zemanta]
• NYC Waterfalls from the Water [via Zemanta]
• The Freakin’ Waterfalls Are On: The Press Conference [via Zemanta]
• The Freakin’ Waterfalls Are On: A Video [via Zemanta]

ONLINE VIDEO OF THE WEEK: WHERE THE HELL IS MATT?

If you haven’t seen the original version, perhaps you should start here.  In 2003, a friend captured Matt getting his silly dance on in Hanoi, Vietnam.  The video was passed around on the internet and Matt became quasi-famous.  Stride gum approached him in 2006 and offered him expenses to travel to 39 countries on 7 continents to dance in a variety of locations.  After releasing that video in June of ’06, Matt received thousands of responses from all over the world.  Matt approached Stride Gum to venture out this time, not to dance alone, but to dance with groups of people.  This time he traveled to 42 countries and danced with a cast of thousands.

The video was uploaded on June 20^th and has already been viewed over 2 million times.  The video speaks to bringing together separate cultures all over the world using one silly dance as a universal language.  Couldn’t love it more.

If you want more information on the creation process, here’s a full explanation from the creator himself.

DROP IT LIKE ITS HOT: ROKU MAKES ME HAPPY

I finally got the Roku out of the box and took it for a test drive. After 1 minute connecting to my wireless network and Netflix account, I was on my way. The hardest part of the entire process was probably upgrading my Netflix package to accommodate for the device (I was one of those people on the next-to-nothing plan).

The device immediately searched through my queue of 100 titles to pull out the 10 that were available instantly to watch.

The What

I’m assuming you’ve heard about the Roku but if not here’s the skinny. The device allows you to watch titles in your Netflix queue (available to watch instantly) on your television screen rather than just your computer screen.

In Use

The Roku is exceptionally easy to use. The interface is simple in the vein of Apple interface design. The only choice the user is allowed to make is which title to watch from those available. No searching or adding titles is allowed. I’m down with that especially being that my computer is always seconds away. Here’s my only request: Allow viewers the ability to watch trailers for those titles available.

Selection of Titles

Roku’s site boasts 10,000 titles but in searching for titles which mattered to me, I was a little disappointed. That said, I’m sure selection will improve over time.

Quality of Video

Connections exist for both HD and SD even though Netflix only currently offers titles in SD quality. That’s bound to change. I connected my HD TV to the HD component video cables in hope of a brighter tomorrow. . .

Speed

When I selected Super Size Me, the title began within seconds. Easy breezy. BTW, recommend this documentary. Thoroughly convinced me that when faced with a fast-food-only selection, kiddie size is the only way to go.

Price

$100

Buck Stops Here

It’s a great little device at just the right price. To get one of your own, click here.

Alternative Netflix Viewing Options: On Your XBox

Instead of buying a Roku to watch your Netflix movies, you can install a plug-in for free on your XBox and watch for no additional charge. The XBox plug-in may be a little buggy and slow but it does allow you to edit your queue and search through all titles available to watch instantly.  The Roku only allows you to watch titles already in your queue.  If you have an XBox, this is the way to go.

Related articles

• 10,000 Netflix Vids Zapped to Your TV [via Zemanta]
• Netflix sells out of Roku set-top boxes, but could it have been intentional? [Online Video] [via Zemanta]
• 6 Takes On The Netflix Player [Netflix Player Reviews] [via Zemanta]

ONLINE VIDEO OF THE WEEK: ANIMATED RADIOHEAD

To say that Radiohead has been wildly inventive in the digital space with this last album, would be putting it mildly.  Don’t believe me?  Click here.

Back in the winter, Radiohead challenged animators to create a piece of animation using music from their new album.  Thousands of videos were submitted.  From these, 13 finalists were selected.  Until June 30^th, you can vote on the list of 13.  Each piece of animation is wondrously inventive.  Anyone who thinks users can’t create content complimentary to professionally-created content should have a look at these videos.  Here’s my favorite below.  I almost teared up. . .just a little bit.

THE WB.COM: A LOT TO LIKE BUT A LITTLE TOO LATE

Finally got access to the WB.com site and am overjoyed by endless hours of OC watching. Californiaaaa…

Above, is the video player screen which allows full screen mode, clipping, mash-ups, and sharing.

Here’s what I like:

• Access to The OC, and some other WB shows
• Searchable video directory
• A link to TMZ for celebrity photos/videos with a highlight on the stars from the WB-showcased shows.
• Easy, simple and fun-to-use interface (A+ here)
• And best of all: media-mash-ups allowing remixing of your favorite shows to come (below)

In Short

Here’s a vertical site that seems to be doing most things right. I still don’t think vertical sites will win in the end. Users want a consolidated place to find all of their online content needs (could be Hulu) rather than separate destinations per series. Still, a great site with really simple and fun functionality.