Gawker: valleywag, pando

NBC Direct still doesn't work

Jackson West — Thu, 15 May 2008 18:40:00 EDT

Liz Gannes, a veteran online video reporter whom I've worked with and is no slouch when it comes to getting almost any newfangled content application to function, couldn't get NBC's relaunched video-on-demand software to work. The offering is powered by a file-sharing download process from Pando, but not much good if users can't even install the software. Isn't there a company that already has a delivery and payment system for 720p video content from the networks — one that NBC used to work with? Meanwhile, to get your 30 Rock fix online, Gannes says stick with Hulu. Just looking at the listed bugs on the download page would be enough to scare off anyone who's confused by file-sharing sites.

Blip.tv's Dina Kaplan saves Ryan's privates

Jackson West — Fri, 09 May 2008 19:40:00 EDT

New York-based online video distribution startup Blip.tv went weekend warrior on file-sharing startup Pando in a game of paintball. Pictured here are the bruises left from getting hit on the leg of COO Dina Kaplan. But her colleague Ryan Chambers really took one for the team — right in the, ahem, family jewels. Click through for Kaplan showing off more battle scars and Chambers describing his harrowing brush with infertility.

Sure, smart kids can gloat about how they're doing better now than all those popular athletes in high school who got fat and stuck in dead-end jobs, but at least jocks know enough to wear cups.

In another "We don't need no stinking iTunes"...

Mary Jane Irwin — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 17:12:33 EST

In another "We don't need no stinking iTunes" ploy, the NBC Direct download service will offer high-definition videos. Feign surprise. It turns out NBC partnered with peer-to-peer tech company Pando so it could distribute hi-def on the cheap. [TechCrunch]