Netflix is testing out an incognito mode, so you don't have to be reminded of those poor viewing choices

It is too bad that Netflix is only in the testing stages of an incognito mode for their video streaming service. Worse yet, they are very hesitant to make any claims that the service will be available any time soon, if at all. One thing is for sure, we want this.

So, one's mind often goes to nefarious places when you say the word "incognito", for most of us, we are just looking to not be reminded of the cartoons that our children watch, or that one B-list horror flick we put on when our friends were over that one time.

Chromecast website got a little update, significantly improved app discovery

On the eve of the first birthday of the Chromecast, Google has pushed out an update to the Chromecast website. The update brings much needed improvements to app discovery, and really nothing else of consequence.

App discovery used to be a static list of a small collection of apps that supported Chromecast. Of course, there are now hundreds of apps, for Android, iOS and the desktop, that were only really to be found in the Google Play Store.

Google Chromecast has new competition, Mozilla Netcast powered by Firefox OS

This isn't the first time Google's Chromecast has seen competition in the streaming-stick set-top box segment. Chromecast is an HDMI dongle, not much larger than a USB flash drive, which you simply plug into the back of your TV and use your Android device to 'cast' videos and pictures to the big screen.

Roku has built a competing device. Google's own Google TV is a larger form factor, but many consider to be a competitor itself, not to mention the Android TV that we expect to learn about at Google I/O tomorrow. Amazon Fire TV is yet again a different classification of device, but offers competing streaming capabilities. This time, however, Mozilla and an unknown hardware manufacturer are looking at building a true competitor to Chromecast.

TVPRO, a set-top box built for video conferencing

I had the chance to look into the Kickstarter campaign for a new set-top box called TVPRO. I will admit that I really like the idea behind this device, but am afraid that it is just a little too late to the smart TV party.

The likes of Google's Chromecast and other vendors' running Google's Chrome OS are already on the market, tackling much the same tasks. In the Google camp again is new news about the upcoming Android TV. I won't even go into all of the other offerings, including Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, TiVo and more. With all of this competition already at market, TVPRO must have something up its sleeve to make a go of this? Is it their fitness training system called Reshape, perhaps.

Music related news and apps from the first week of May

Checkout this collection of the biggest music and audio news and apps for the week. In the news department, we've got a possible acquisition of Beats Electronics, a good deal on tunes in the Google Play Store and Pandora is testing out a new way to make some money. As for those apps, one winds it up and the other brings it all back down to sleepy town, let's check out Spoticast and Doze.

Chromecast - Continuing to Add Value

In a recent app approval group launch by Google, allowing apps to officially connect with the Chromecast, one key app was approved that I believe is extremely powerful: Avia Media Player.


After a generous $2.99 in-app fee to "Unlock Extras" on top of the free install, Avia makes available two key functions that I had previously not been able to accomplish with any great success, 1. Cast media stored on your Android device to your Chromecast, and 2. Cast media stored on select Cloud Services to your Chromecast.

Chromecast, or Not to Chromecast?

That is the... er, let's call it... a question.

For a very affordable $35, you can get your hands on Google's entry into the 'tiny-pc-for-your-tv' market, the Google Chromecast. You may be asking yourself where this stands versus GoogleTV, this is smaller. For those that have not heard of it yet, it is a USB stick sized unit that plugs into the HDMI input on your tv, is powered by usb (from your tv, or the supplied power unit) and let's you play online, and some offline, content on your television.

The primary use-case would be to fire a YouTube video from your Android Tablet up to your TV so you can continue to surf on your tablet. Sounds magical so far, but is it? Depending on your needs and expectations, yes, it is magic. If, however, you just wanted to play content you already own, maybe not so much.

Let me explain. Right on the box it advertises that it can handle YouTube, Netflix, Google Play content (video and music) and pass a tab from your Chrome browser. The first thing you'll notice is that the first three items are streaming services, if your home internet regularly leaves you buffering, don't expect the Chromecast to speed things up. If you are lucky enough to live in a Gigabit world, where buffering is not an issue, you will love the Chromecast for these services. Luckily, audio is a little easier to tackle, so popping your music to the tv, via Google Play Music, is a snap.