FLASH DRIVE TV COULD BE NEXT

Flash memory maker SanDisk Corp. on Monday will debut an online video service and a USB flash drive that can carry television programs and videos from a computer for playback on TVs.

The Sansa TakeTV video player -- an ensemble of an oversized USB drive, remote control and a small dock that connects to a TV -- and its accompanying video service, Fanfare, marks the latest attempt by a company looking to bridge content between the PC and the television.

Similar to using a USB drive to store and move data files, users of TakeTV can drag-and-drop video files stored on their computer -- Fanfare downloads, home videos or other unrestricted video content from the Web -- onto the device. Users can then plug it into the cradle connected to a TV. A simple menu appears on the TV to scroll through the files for playback.

The TakeTV player is $99.99 for a 4 gigabyte model and $149.99 for an 8 GB one that can hold up to 10 hours of video. Fanfare, in a test stage, offers premium TV shows for $1.99 per download -- roughly the same price as rival services, but SanDisk says it hopes to ultimately provide a broad mixture of free and ad-supported content as well as pay-per-download videos.

Fanfare's catalog at launch is small, with about 85 titles. It features TV shows from CBS, including "CSI" and "Survivor," Showtime, TV Guide, and Smithsonian Networks. Dozens of titles are being added each week, SanDisk said.

The online video service is a new venture for Milpitas-based SanDisk, which is the leading maker of flash memory cards and holds a distant but steady second-place position behind Apple Inc. in the portable media player market with a 10 percent share in the U.S., according to market researcher IDC.

SanDisk saw an opportunity in the fledgling market it didn't want to pass up, said Kate Purmal, senior vice president and general manager of SanDisk's digital content unit.

The distribution of videos, movies and television shows over the Internet is expected to grow as companies ranging from Apple and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to the TV networks themselves compete for the audience. The various methods of getting the video from over the Internet onto the TV, however, has yet to become easy or cheap enough for the mainstream market.

CBS Corp., one of SanDisk's first major partners, found in its consumer research of the TakeTV product that people liked its simplicity, compact size, and price, said David Poltrack, president of CBS Vision.

SanDisk will need to build a larger video catalog to succeed, said Danielle Levitas, analyst at IDC.

Mock Around the Vote PROMO

Mock Convention Flashback

Check out the lean, mean political action machine that Professor David Barner personifies in this report he filed for the 1988 Westminster Mock Convention.

Another Mock Convention Promo

Mock the Vote!

As we gear up for our coverage of the 2007 Westminster Mock Convention, I pieced together a quick promo as a prototype for a BC 251 assignment.

Homecoming 2007 Parade Highlights

"Caitlyn May" Honored As Runner Up at Iris Film Fest

Congratulations go out to Mike Wolenski, Andy Polack, Julie Kepins & Ashley Pierson and their film "Who Knows What 'Caitlyn May' Do..." The project was honored as the runner up in the short documentary division in the 2007 Iris Film Festival. Festival organizers featured "Caitlyn May" during Saturday night's screenings at the Clifton Theater in Huntingdon, PA. I'd like to offer congratulations to Penn State faculty member Jerry Zolten and his documentary "Roxie Moore: A Life of Song" which took the top prize.


I was impressed by the eclectic choice of entries in the various categories from filmmakers of all ages. Iris reaches out to the novice as well as the struggling filmmakers with $30,000 budgets trying to strike deals with Hollywood studios. We enjoyed meeting other college students with class projects as well as high school teachers with a knack for storytelling.

I also enjoyed hearing from Edinboro University's Brad Pattullo on stop-motion animation. Pattullo was gracious enough to share his current project with those of us in the audience-- an amazing stop-motion mockumentary about his craft.

Two gems I singled out in this event included an animated shorted called "Fish, But No Cigar" by Tara White and Lyn Elliot. My favorite of the entire festival was a wonderfully sincere story directed Alan Beck, a Bedford County high school teacher who recruited his students and fellow teachers as the cast. His movie, "Last Skate For Couples," is exactly what this kind of competition should celebrate. Beck provided me with a copy of his film to share with my students. "Last Skate For Couples" also took home the top prize for short feature.

The organizers of the Iris Film Festival marked their second year celebrating a diverse selection of projects created by Pennsylvania filmmakers. I look forward to submitting additional work from Westminster students in this up and coming festival.

Westminster Student-Produced Documentary Feature at Iris Film Festival

CONGATULATIONS FORMER MASS COMM/SOC 109 CLUSTER STUDENTS!

The 2007 Iris Film Festival will showcase a short documentary produced and directed by Westminster College students.

"Who Knows What Caitlyn May Do..." was produced for the communications/sociology cluster course during the spring 2007 semester. The 13-minute film introduces the audience to three-year-old Caitlyn May Hickman, a child with Down syndrome, and her family: Lisa, Jason, and Leah Hickman. The family shares insights to remind the viewer that while life may seem rough at times, viewing from a different perspective makes one aware of all life's gifts.

Executive producers are Dr. Virginia Tomlinson, associate professor of sociology and director of the Drinko Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, and Bradley Weaver, instructor of broadcast communications. Dr. Mandy Medvin, professor of psychology, was also featured in the documentary. Weaver will represent the College at the festival, Sept. 21-23, at the historic Clifton Theater in Huntingdon.

Students involved in the writing, direction and production of the documentary are:

Julie Kepins, a senior psychology major, is a daughter of James and Cindy Kepins of Murrysville and a graduate of Franklin Regional High School.

Ashley Pierson, a senior financial economics major, is a daughter of James and Kara Pierson of Wellsville, Ohio, and a graduate of Wellsville Local High School.

Andrew Polack, a senior computer science and mathematics major, is a son of Samuel and Barbara Polack of Abingdon, Md., and a graduate of Edgewood High School.

Michael Wolenski, a 2007 Westminster graduate with a degree in broadcast communications, is a son of Thomas and Maureen Wolenski of Butler and a graduate of Peters Township High School.

Visit www.irisfilmfestival.org for additional information.

The County Line SHOW OPEN

The County Line debuts on WCN on Thursday, September 20, 2007.
Live and local on New Wilmington Cable 9, Comcast (Lawrence County) Channel 10.

The BC 601 Titan Traverse VIdeo (Spider Pig Version)

Here's the original "automovie" version of the Capstone @ Titan Traverse video.

You can CLICK here for all the BC Capstone Titan Traverse pix- www.flickr.com

A New Season of BC Capstone

BC Capstone students are now refining abstracts to define their senior projects and a research question that will allow them to move forward on researching and planning their work this semester. While they work on this, they’ll also develop a focus for their weblogs as they craft and publish their mission statements online.

Here’s the complete link list to the BC 2007-08 student blogs:

• Danielle A.
• Josh A. & Sunset Gardens
• Tom B.
• Jill C.
• Alex H.
• Clarissa H.
• David G.
• Pam M.
• Terese M.
• Chris N.
• T.J.
• Sky Y.

In class the next week we will meet at Titan Traverse for a twist on the liberal arts experience in higher education as we work on bonding as a capstone class and goal making for the coming year. Students must be at Titan Traverse by 2:00 Thursday afternoon (September 6). Please don’t keep the staff there waiting (being on time is an asset of a professional). Wear comfortable shoes and clothing that will allow for climbing, crawling, swinging, etc. I’m throwing on a little bug repellant as well.

We’ll tag out the conclusion of the semester with another Titan Traverse outing which will stand in for the final exam period. The only way not to get the final exam points on December 12 from 3:00-5:30 is not to participate. So please mark your calendars now that BC 601’s final will be a chance to decompress from all the other stress of final exams while also taking stock of your Capstone efforts of charting goals and social and professional networking you have in place as you wrap up your time at Westminster.