José does not tolerate incompetence

You guys have heard of Google, right? Congratulations, you’re smarter than the likes of Sony and Adidas! A new study has found that these companies, and other prominent FIFA World Cup sponsors, like Coca-Cola and Emirates, have failed to leverage Google (specifically) and the Internet (more generally) to link themselves to the event. You’d think that after shelling out so much money to be known as “the official TV of the FIFA World Cup” or whatever they’d have a guy making sure their Web sites pop up when you search for, you know, “soccer world cup” and “world cup 2010.” I wouldn’t be surprised if CrunchGear ranks higher in Google searches at this point!

So the deal is that these companies aren’t trying their best to link World Cup search terms to their brand. The idea being that it you search for “world cup soccer,” you get a Sony or Adidas site relatively high up. They are, after all, paying FIFA boatloads of cash to sponsor the event.

To give you an idea, go search for “soccer world cup.” The first result is FIFA’s Web site, followed by Wikipedia, a TV listings site, and ESPN. But then some Flash game site pops up, and it has zero to do with the World Cup or soccer. Why isn’t there a Sony site in its place talking about its efforts to broadcast the tournament in 3D, or an Adidas Web site explaining the technology of the Jabulani ball?

Apparently Sony has experimented with paid Google links (those links to the side that nobody clicks), but the study found that people are far more apt to click “natural” links than paid ones.

I mean, we still have two months till the big show kicks off, so there’s still time for these guys to get their acts together, but it’s altogether remarkable that some two-bit Flash game site outranks the likes of Sony and Adidas.

Sort it out, folks!

I’ve never used a Tivo, but I hear good things, especially with respect to its on-screen guide. I have subscribed to Time Warner Cable and DirecTV, and I can tell you that their on-screen guides are basic at best, junk at worst. There’s more than 1,000 channels, and the best you can do is break that into “Sports” and “Entertainment and Music”? Gee, thanks. I bring all of this up because Macrovision (of all people) has said, “You know what, yeah, those on-screen guides could use a new coat of paint, and then some. There has to be more you can do than merely diving those 1,000 channels into “News and Information” and “Movies.” So let’s make a new, better guide, tap into the Internet, and call it a day. Oh, and let’s also change our name to Rovi.” And it did.

Yes, as of today, Macrovision has changed its name to Rovi. The change coincides with a big re-think of what the company is, and what it wants to be. I spoke to a few of the guys (well, one guy) the other day, and he laid it out for me: whereas Macrovision had become synonymous with preventing people from copying media (I had to use an old, pre-Macrovision VCR to rip a scene from a Simpsons DVD in high school), Rovi is more focused on organizing your thousand-channel TV listings, or making sense of Internet-derived audio/video content. Or, simply, it’s focused on building a better guide, for you. The guide’s codename is Liquid.

And now some screens to show what I’m talking about.

There’s your main TV listings. Rather than what DirecTV does, of showing the next several hours all on a flat plane with no distinguishing characteristics, what’s airing right now is given preferential treatment, with later time blacks fading away from the eye. That you can actually see the show, or at least a screenshot, you’re hovering over is a nice touch.

And here’s a more photo-oriented guide. It has a very Plex look about it, which just goes to show you how professional such homebrew applications have become.

And here’s a show close-up. From here, you’ll be able to branch out to find other, similar TV shows or movies, or, say, find all TV shows or movies starring a particular actor. So you’re watching Ferris Bueller’s Day Off on one channel, and wouldn’t you know it, Glory is airing two hours from now on another channel.

So it all looks very nice, yes.

And another thing I’d like to highlight: friend recommendations. Surely you have several online “friends” (from something like Flixster) whose movie tastes sync with your own. Well, the idea here is that you’d anoint a few of them with the ability to recommend you TV shows and movies. You’re a fan of Seinfeld but never gave Arrested Development a try? Surely a friend will point you in that direction.

Now, when is all this coming out? Not for a little while yet, sometime early next year. The idea is to partner up with TV manufacturers so that Liquid, or whatever the final name ends up being, comes pre-installed.

Comcast has just jumped on the iPhone bandwagon with the “Comcast Mobile App” — now available for free download from the iTunes App Store.

According to a report on Open Salon, Apple appears to be preparing direct movie and TV show downloads on the iPhone.

Open Salon claims that an ad appearing in the free version of the app Twitterfon is the first place this new iPhone feature was discovered. However, the ad in question is nowhere to be found at press time and hasn’t been confirmed.

iTunes TV ad

(Credit: Open Salon)

According to the report, the ad supposedly led to a place that pointed to some movie and TV show listings. The listings were broken down by genre, and although titles were listed, none would work when accessed.

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Originally posted at iPhone Atlas

TiVo has featured online scheduling and DVR control for a while, but it wasn’t anything special as it could only preform simple tasks. Not anymore. The website just got a refresh in the style of the TiVo Beta Search and is now loaded with features. In fact, there isn’t much that the new site can’t do.

One of the biggest, and best, updates to the new site is the one click episode and season recording options. Previously users would have to navigate away from the original site for these options. Not anymore. Simply click the button, and the show will be recorded or a Season Pass scheduled.

Speaking of the TV listings, the new full screen mode is a welcomed upgrade. It now displays 50 stations without a page refresh and a snap to use.

There is so much more too. The new site can control Internet downloaded shows, view/edit the To Do List, and can easily switch between controlling different TiVos. I, for one, will use the site more. In fact, it’s kind of easier to use the website now instead of navigating through the TiVo’s menu tree. Well done, TiVo.