Tag: movies - Part 2

Amazon Instant Video Myths and Facts

I originally wrote this post, dated 5/27/13, for the Kindle Fire on Kindle Nation Daily site, and it’s reprinted here in full with that site’s permission. Amazon’s policies and processes described here are accurate as of that date, but subject to change at any time in the future. The comment thread on Amazon’s page dedicated to yesterday’s $5 Instant Video sale Gold Box deal was very lively, and filled with many myths and signs of confusion. An earlier KF on KND post on Managing Your Instant Video Library addressed a lot of the confusion surrounding Instant Video licensing and usage, but it seems more information is still needed. MYTH: You don’t really “own” the Instant Videos you purchase, because Amazon or the studios can make them unavailable at any time. FACT: You most definitely DO own the Instant Videos you purchase, though not in the form of physical copies. Licensing restrictions placed on digital…

Bargain Hunters: It’s An Ideal Time To Get A Free Amazon Prime Trial

5/16/13 UPDATE: Note that the 30 Day Free Prime Trial offer may no longer be in effect; it was valid as of the writing of this post, and comes back from time to time, but I can’t guarantee it’s still in effect as you read this. I am a bargain hunter par excellence, I know a great deal when I see one. I also know that time-consuming, hassle-filled “bargains” aren’t really bargains at all, and neither are low prices on crummy products or services. Having said all that, I can tell you that taking advantage of free trial periods for premium services is one of the major tools in my bargain hunter’s utility belt. Free Trials: These Days, It’s Easy To Cancel Before The Expiration Date You may be leery of “free” trials, because as we all know the sellers’ goal is to hook you in and hope you forget…

Can I Share Content From My Thingie?

This is a question I get pretty often, in many variations. “Can I share the movies on my iPad with my daughter, on her iPad?” “Can my wife use an app I bought for my Galaxy Tab on her Android smart phone?” “Can my roommate listen to the audiobook I got for my Kindle Fire on her own Kindle Fire after I’m done with it?”  The answer to the question of whether or not you can share content from your thingie with someone else’s thingie is twofold: It depends on the thingies, and the content. I can’t possibly address every portable device (the thingies) or every existing piece of content. So I’m going to deal in types of thingies and types of content.

Watch With The D-Media Mom: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

In which I presume to add my own commentary track to a noteworthy film. I have probably watched Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band twenty or more times by now, and I expect I’ll watch it at least twenty more times before I shuffle off this mortal coil. I saw it the first time in a theater, at about the age of 12, so many of the observations I’m about to share are from my 12 year old self, back then. Hopefully, more than a few of you can relate. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is one of those movies that was pretty universally panned when it was first released, and entire generations of movie watchers have been hating on it ever since. But I LOVE this film, and I think that by the end of this commentary, many readers will at least find a lot to marvel at—if not exactly “appreciate”—in it. In particular, pay close attention…

Wilderness Dumbass Movies

Let me open by saying I have done minimal research on the three real-life people whose stories are told in three of the movies I’m about to tear down, because I didn’t enjoy any of the films enough to want to learn more about the real life figures and frankly, I’ve got better things to do with my time than study up on people I don’t care about. So if you’re about to come at me all, “But in real life…”, forget it. I don’t care about “in real life,” I’m only talking about these movies. And in these movies, those three guys are Wilderness Dumbasses. Two of the guys I’m about to talk smack about died on account of their Wilderness Dumbassery. While I am sorry for the loss to their family and friends, and do not celebrate the deaths of any well-meaning and essentially decent people, the lesson…