Disney is closing down their Movies Online service on Dec. 31st

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Disney just announced in a press release they are closing their entire stream-and-watch digital service on December 31st.

If you made any purchases directly with the online streaming store you can get a refund (according to the FAQ) by sending an email “by February 28, 2013 to support@disneymoviesonline.com with “Refund Needed” in the subject line. Be sure to include your name, mailing address, and phone number … and we will mail you a check. No additional action is necessary on your part.”

This doesn’t have anything to do with the Disney Combo packs with a “Digital Copy” sticker that are still in stores. You can still download those from either iTunes or Windows Media Player on your computer (according to the FAQ) like this…

  • Transfer to Mac:
    • Insert the Disney Digital Copy disc into your Mac’s DVD drive, launch the application, click on the “Activate” button from the main menu and follow the on-screen instructions.
    • The iTunes application will open and guide you through the transfer.
    • When prompted by iTunes, enter the unique code found on the insert located in your DVD or Blu-ray package to activate your Disney Digital Copy.
    • After the transfer completes, the movie can be watched on your Mac and transferred to your iTunes compatible device.
  • Transfer to PC:
    • Insert the Disney Digital Copy disc into your PC’s DVD drive, launch the application, click on the “Activate” button from the main menu and follow the on-screen instructions.
    • Choose either iTunes or Windows Media for your Disney Digital Copy.
    • If you choose iTunes, the iTunes window will automatically open and guide you through the transfer:
      • Input the unique code found on the insert located in your DVD or Blu-ray package to activate the Disney Digital Copy
      • After the transfer completes, the movie can be watched on your PC or transferred to your iTunes compatible device.
    • If you choose Windows Media, follow the steps below:
      • When prompted, input the unique code found on the insert located in your DVD or Blu-ray package to activate the Disney Digital Copy and follow the on-screen instructions.
      • After the transfer completes, the movie can be watched on your PC and transferred to your PlaysForSure compatible portable device.

 

The Disney-streaming-movies was brilliant while it lasted. After logging in to the service and keying in a unique code for every Disney movie,  you could watch that movie anytime from any web browser! That was a stroke of genius! Why not watch the movie when you want where you want if you own the original copy!?  Unfortunately, some dopey-grumpy-greedy dwarf must have found out about this brilliant idea, and that was that. I bet there will probably be a “monetized” version of this service in mid-2013.

Dailybooth is shutting down. Download your photos before December 31st.

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If you haven’t heard by now, Dailybooth is shutting down.

If you are a Dailybooth user, you can still download your photos by going to http://dailybooth.com/export and signing up for an archived download of all your photos.

Here’s a copy of the email sent to all users…

“Dear *|USERNAME|*,

A picture a day, every day. DailyBooth was launched based on that simple idea. We never could have imagined what it would become more than three years later.

The community each one of you helped create is truly one of a kind. There have been many unforgettable memories created amongst us and none of this would have been possible without you. For that, we’re truly grateful for what you’ve helped DailyBooth become.

Regrettably, this email comes with unfortunate news. DailyBooth is shutting down. Keeping the website running is no longer feasible.

On Wednesday, November 14th, the website will no longer allow you to add new content. Shortly thereafter, the website will be changed allowing you to only be able to download your photos. You’ll be able to download your photos until December 31st, 2012. After this date all content will be permanently deleted.

We can’t thank you enough for everything.”

Recall on NESQUIK Chocolate Powder

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Nestlé is recalling their NESQUIK Chocolate Powder drink mix (that magically delicious powder that changes regular chankla-flavored milk to chocolate milk) because they might be infected with Salmonella.

According to the press release from the FDA…

“To ensure the safety of consumers, Nestlé is recalling selected NESQUIK Chocolate Powder. The recall is limited to the following sizes, UPC and production codes of NESQUIK Chocolate Powder:

Size UPC Code Production Codes
40.7 oz. Chocolate (72 servings) 0 28000 68230 9 2282574810
2282574820
21.8 oz. Chocolate (38 servings) 0 28000 68090 9 2278574810
2278574820
2279574810
2279574820
2284574820
2284574830
2285574810
2285574820
2287574820
2289574810
2289574820
10.9 oz. Chocolate (19 servings) 0 28000 67990 3 2278574810

The affected NESQUIK Chocolate Powder was produced during early October, 2012. To locate the production code, consumers should look on the bottom of the canister, adjacent to the consumer expiration date. All affected products have an expiration date of BEST BEFORE Oct 2014.

Consumers who may have purchased the affected NESQUIK Chocolate Powder should not consume it, but instead should return it to the place of purchase for a full refund or contact Nestlé Consumer Services at (800) 628-7679.”

Syncing nightmare with Bento (AKA: Erasing a database in one step)

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Here’s something I found out the hard way.

If you use Bento for Mac and iPhone, deleting a database on the iPhone will also delete the master database on the Mac on the next sync.

Let me type that again, because I still can’t believe it.

If you delete a Bento database on the iPhone, on the next sync, the master database on the Mac, the one with all the critical information you’ve been building up, will be completely erased.

No warning. No confirmation. No temp file hiding in the library. Nothing in the trash to recover. The database is gone. Wiped out. Nuked from orbit. Buh-bye.

Deleting a master database from a field device should take confirmation, a second password confirmation, re-re-confirmation, and the last two addresses you’ve lived at. For a database program to allow an immediate nuke without any prompt? That’s beyond unacceptable.

Filemaker knows about this issue (here and here), but their response has always been “ah, just restore from weekly backup”.

Ah, no. Hell no. This is a crippling “should have never got out of beta” design flaw.

Zero-star rating for Bento. Don’t ever use this app.

Best. Baby. Pacifier. Ever. [PHOTO]

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Best. Baby. Pacifier. Ever.

Best. Baby. Pacifier. Ever.



And the dad in this photo is enojying it as much as the baby.

If *anyone* knows where to get one, please email me. This was originally on reddit, but nobody there knows where the original is from, either.

Kellogg is recalling Mini-Wheats cereals. Metal mesh found in the product.

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Kellogg just announced they are recalling their very popular Mini-Wheats cereals due to some metal mesh getting into the cereal.

Here’s the big writeup from Food Business News about the recall…

BATTLE CREEK, MICH. — The Kellogg Co.  is recalling about 3.2 million boxes of Mini-Wheats in the U.S., Canada and Mexico due to possible fragments of metal mesh that may have gotten into the products. The company said the metal contamination may be due to a faulty manufacturing part.

The recall is expected to cost the company between $20 million and $30 million.

The recalled cereals include Frosted Mini-Wheats Bite Size Original and Mini-Wheats Unfrosted Bite Size with the letters KB, AP or FK before or after the “Best if Used Before” date, which ranges from April 1, 2013 to Sept. 21, 2013.

“Because our number one priority is the quality and safety of our foods, as a precautionary measure, Kellogg voluntarily recalled certain packages of Mini-Wheats Bite Size cereal,” said Kris Charles, company spokesperson. “No other cereals are impacted and there have been no reports of any injuries associated with these foods.”

The Spongebob Voice Actors dubbing classic movies [VIDEO]

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I know it’s an old clip, but it still makes me laugh. And if you don’t know who Spongebob Squarepants is, get off my lawn right now.

Monday Morning Music : 10/08/12

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Every Monday I like to post some music to start the week off on the right foot.

This week…

Shakira – Addicted To You



… a little musical blasphemy with OV7’s – Prisioneros …



…and finally, an 80’s classic, Cyndi Lauper – The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough

A look inside a self-serve cappuccino machine

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You know those self-serve “cappuccino” machines that vend all different kinds of flavored coffees? The ones that look like this…

20120927-030633.jpg

I saw one that was left open yesterday. While I wasn’t expecting a barista on duty, I wasn’t expecting to see this either…

20120927-030831.jpg

It’s all powdered mix.

The powdered mix is apparently measured out and sprinkled over a hot water tube and, at least at this location, dispensed through never-cleaned spigots.

Yummy!

Oh, and that spinning whirring noise when you press the button before the “coffee” flows? It’s not a coffee bean grinder revving up – it is just a special effect to sell the product.

I don’t know why I had assumed there were actual coffee beans somewhere in those devices. From now on, I’m sticking to the real stuff.

Was $9,999.99. Now only $209.90! [PHOTO]

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20120926-090223.jpg

I didn’t think the Archos series was that expensive.