Michael Antonoff

Apptitude
From PiP to Zoom: A Brief History of Screen-Splitting
Michael Antonoff  |  May 13, 2020
Whether you’re using a TV, tablet or phone to shelter at home, your screen is becoming ever more crowded. Though TV news still relies on a traditional split screen when an anchor hands off a story to a correspondent, Lester Holt now regularly leads off NBC Nightly News by addressing a gaggle of bobbleheads (some masked) in which ten correspondents peer into cameras from locations as wide ranging as the other side of the world to the other side of Lester’s desk.
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ApptitudeAudio Video News
How I Kept 60 Minutes Honest and Killed My Shot at TV Stardom
Michael Antonoff  |  Dec 11, 2018
It had been a rough 24-hours for Steve Kroft, the 60 Minutes correspondent. His boss had just been fired for sending an eye-popping text to a female reporter at CBS News investigating sexual harassment at the company. In the New York Times the next day, Kroft called the text "threatening and inappropriate. It’s unfortunate, and everything about this situation saddens me.”
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Audio Video News
If You Hate Sports, You'll Love Cable
Michael Antonoff  |  Nov 08, 2018
The first thing to fade from my bloated cable bill when I dropped all sports channels was a line item called the Regional Sports Network Fee. It was a monthly tax that cost me $5.89 just for the ability to tune into channels I never watched. And it was a fraction of the more than $30 that instantly vanished from my cable bill once I customized my lineup minus the sports channels I'd been force-fed for years.
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Audio Video NewsNew Products
TiVo Bolt OTA: Bring Your Own Antenna
Michael Antonoff  |  Sep 27, 2018
Members of the cord-cutter's club are glad to save $100 or more each month by weaning themselves off cable TV or not signing up at all. Still, some cutters suffer remorse. They miss the convenience of a set-top DVR with its sleek onscreen guides, search facility, ability to amass recordings of their favorite series and navigational shortcuts. Suddenly, they're looking at apps across devices to fill the gaps.
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Apptitude
As CDs Go, So Go the Apps
Michael Antonoff  |  Jun 22, 2018
Remember when you'd pop a CD into a computer and click "Import" in iTunes or "Rip CD" in Windows Media Player?
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Speaker Buying TipsSpeaker TechAudio Video News
The Ultimate Guide to Smart Speakers
Michael Antonoff  |  May 27, 2018  |  Published: May 24, 2018
The smart speaker is about to change the way you live. Are you ready?

It’s not every day that a new consumer electronics category comes along that has an adoption rate projected to be faster than that of any other device, including smartphones, computers, TVs, and radios.

Some 56.3 million smart speakers are projected to ship this year, nearly twice as many as last year and 10 times the number shipped in 2016, according to Canalys. In the first quarter of 2017, only 7 percent of U.S. households had smart speakers. By the end of 2020, 75 percent are expected to have them, according to Gartner and Edison Research.

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Apptitude
How to Binge on Top Shows for Free
Michael Antonoff  |  May 18, 2018
Most streaming services offer free trials to first-time subscribers, so it’s possible to feast on a tower of see-food without paying a dime. These trials extend from one week to 30 days, but the onus is on the new subscriber to cancel just before their credit card is charged.
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Apptitude
Lights Off, Fan On: Automating Home Theater Ambiance
Michael Antonoff  |  Apr 20, 2018
The snappiest way to adjust the ambiance in my home theater is to touch an icon on my phone to start the ceiling fan a-twirling. Touch another icon, and the fan’s room light turns off. Getting the fan’s speed right may require another tap or two. It should be fast enough to dry TV viewers’ brows but not so fast as to cause paper plates and napkins to fly off the coffee table.
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Apptitude
8 Startups Set to Soar
Michael Antonoff  |  Apr 01, 2018
Venture capital is flowing into an array of startup services poised to exploit the emerging trends of 2018. We know because we happened to retrieve a document entitled “Where to Put Your Money Now” that had fallen out of the pocket of a tuxedo-clad capitalist as he stepped into a black limo and sped off.
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Throwback Thursday
Flashback 1998: Reflecting on 20 Years of Netflix
Michael Antonoff  |  Mar 15, 2018
When Netflix launched its DVD-by-mail service 20 years ago, the dozens of websites selling DVDs said the newcomer would never survive. Funny how almost all of those competitors are now long gone.
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