iPad Free App of the Week: March Madness on Demand

If you are bitten by the March Madness bug, you need to get this app now.

This free app will let you watch every game of NCAA® March Madness® LIVE on your iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad! NCAA® March Madness On Demand® gives you FREE live streaming video of every game of the NCAA 2011 Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament.  Free live streaming is HUGE!

Watch every game from the NEW First Round on March 15-16 to the Final Four® April 2-4 over both Wi-Fi and 3G.. Catch all your favorite rivalries, upsets, and buzzer beaters as they happen. Plus, get alerts for your favorite teams, know when games go into overtime, crunch time, and more. You’ll never miss an upset!

This app includes: Game Center for iPad – use the app to see in-game highlights, live box scores and team leaders in a single screen. Perfect as a companion to watching the game. 

Bu the real prize here is the FREE live video of every game from the new First Round to the Championship game (requires sign-in with a valid email address)

I tried it out for the play-in games last night and it worked perfectly.

As bonuses you can also manage your bracket game from the app. Access your picks and track your progress. Make sure to sign up at ncaa.com/bracket.

Also you can comment on the games live with Facebook and Twitter.

This app is your complete March Madness headquarters.

Talking With the Ski Lift Guy From the AT&T Commercial

It's the best commercial on TV right now.  I know it's hard to say there is a "best commercial", but this one is.

I'm talking about the AT&T commercial for 4G wireless where the two guys are on the ski lift and one guy asks the other if he has permission to ask his ex-girlfriend Sheila out.  He says sure, but the other guy has already been texting her and she had been waiting for a year for him to ask here out.  Keep in mind the guy who used to date Sheila says they broke up only six months ago.

Oh, no.  So when Sheila sends a video over by broadband, the dumped guy wih the beard rips the phone out of the first guys hand and chucks it off the lift.

Here's the actual commercial to see if you don't own a television.

Well the guy with the sunglasses and beard who is being called a Zach Galifianakis wannabee is actually none other than actor Derek Reckley.

Reckley single-handedly steals the commercial.  His all in one grab the phone, throw it, and then put his sunglasses back on is classic.  He even does a little hair flick as he puts the glasses back on.

I spoke with Reckley about some of the finer points of the commercial.

Rick:  How many takes did it take to do the perfect throw off the lift chair?

Derek Reckley:  1 time, duh.

Rick: You have to listen closely, but you did a little "umph" as you heave the phone off the lift.  Was that all you, or was that put in during post production. 

Reckley:  That was me, and it was done all at the same time.

Rick:  Where was the commercial filmed?

Reckley:  Mt. High.  (Mt. High is located in the San Gabriel Mountains of Southern California)

Rick: You had the look of a pro skier in the commercial, are you an actual skier?

Reckley:  That was my 3rd time skiing, so I'd have to say I'll be going pro next go around...

Note:  Reckley can be found in other commercials and other projects on the internet, including Casual which is on Hulu.  There he plays a more serious role, showing off his versatility as an actor.

AT&T Stores to Start Selling Kindle 3G

AT&T today announced it will begin selling Amazon's bestselling Kindle 3G in AT&T company-owned retail stores nationwide beginning March 6. Amazon's Kindle 3G continues to be powered by the nation's fastest mobile broadband network, AT&T. AT&T will include Kindle 3G in its connected devices displays throughout AT&T company-owned stores, offering customers the opportunity to test drive the device onsite. The latest generation Kindle has received rave reviews from the New York Times, Wired, CNET, PC World, PC Magazine, and more, and it is also the bestselling product in the history of Amazon.

"Amazon has without question pioneered the eReader space with Kindle, and it's exciting to not only connect this device through our network, but now offer it in our stores to readers around the country ," said Glenn Lurie, president, emerging devices, AT&T. "As the first dedicated eReader offered in our stores, we are confident the Kindle will be an attractive addition to our in store connected devices lineup."

Kindle 3G, which connects over Wi-Fi as well as AT&T's mobile broadband network, wirelessly downloads books, magazines, newspapers, blogs and personal documents to a 6-inch, high-resolution electronic paper display that looks and reads like real paper.

"We're excited to work with AT&T to offer Kindle 3G to AT&T customers across the country," said Mike McKenna, Vice President, Amazon Kindle. "Customers tell us they love Kindle 3G because of its light weight, battery life of up to one month, and advanced paper e-ink display that works in direct sunlight. Customers love being able to think of a book and be reading it in less than 60 seconds thanks to AT&T's wireless network."

The new Kindle 3G boasts the advanced paper-like Pearl E Ink display that is easy on the eyes and works outside in direct sunlight; readers can store up to 3,500 books, get one month of battery life with the wireless off with no pesky monthly wireless fees or annual contracts. The light weight of the Kindle makes it easy to take with you everywhere you go -- all for only $189.


iPad Free App of the Week: Hipmunk

Hipmunk, the flight search website that claims to take the agony out of buying flights online, has brought its unique technology to the iPad and iPhone.

The company adapted its easy-to-read grid schedule of flights and adapted it for iOS. This gives customers all the same features as the parent site, including the ability to check details and buy.

New features on the app include the ability to email flight links. Users can also request a code from the app that allows them to return to their basket on their computer rather than finalizing a booking via their phone.

After you've selected a flight you are directed to the website where the deal was found (either the airline's site or a travel site like Orbitz or Expedia) so you can complete your purchase.

The app, which was released on Tuesday (February 22), is just he latest in making your travel easier from Hipmunk.

Russian Women Shovel Snow in Miniskirts

A good amount of snow fell on St. Petersburg this week and the shovels came out -- and so did the stiletto heels and miniskirts.  What?

With high-heels on their feet and construction helmets on their heads, the group, which calls itself X-Z movement, dug the city out, shoveling snow in front of a crowd of spectators on the icy streets by the Griboedov Canal.

"[X-Z] was started by a group of like-thinking girls who decided they could solve problems through the power of their feminine beauty," said the group's press secretary, who uses the pseudonym Eva Tornado. "With vivid, beautiful actions we can turn the attention of people and of the government to the issues that concern us.

By clearing snow in not-so-warm clothing, the group got a lot of attention. But this isn't its first news-making demonstration.

Last summer, when a hot spell hit St. Petersburg, the X-Z women appeared in the city center to offer their services by spraying the sweaty crowds with water guns.

Later, when it was revealed that the breakwater that protects St. Petersburg from flooding was damaged, they gathered in the city center to give extreme swimming lessons to passers-by.

As with previous demonstrations, the snow-shoveling event wasn't just about beautiful women being beautiful.

"[T]he city doesn't want to remove the snow, so people have to do it themselves," Tornado said. "It makes us embarrassed for our city's many splendors, by foreigners refusing to come here. Last year a giant icicle fell and put a tourist in the hospital, and this year the situation is only worse. If the city doesn't want to take care of it, we can try to get the people involved. ... We're drowning in snow."

The group's leader, Aleksandra Eliseeva, told a local paper that "the snow-filled streets are the main reason there are so few foreign men visiting the city. They see the state of the city on webcams and refuse to come. If we clean the area in front of the cameras, they'll come to Petersburg again."

Leave it to Russian women to go to extremes.