The holidays are here!

I want to wish everyone a happy holiday season.

It’s been an amazing year with all the exciting developments in the digital home world—like the updates and improvements to the Sony BIVL and AT&T Homezone and the way Yahoo! Digital Home service brings these experiences into our living rooms. I can only image that next year will be even better.

I look forward to sharing more with you in 2008. Happy holidays!

- The Digital Home Guru

While I was watching TV this weekend, I noticed some great new features on my Sony Bravia Internet Video Link (BIVL).

First of all, it’s got new sports highlights streamed directly from Yahoo! Sports, which I love because I’m a sports fanatic. Now I can catch all the plays I missed and watch them over again on my big screen whenever I want.

I also really like the short videos that feature quirky people from all over the Web (People of the Web)—like the girl who broadcasts her life 24/7 and the guy who spent $1,000 on a pizza.

Since the holidays are here, I’m on the lookout for cool gifts for my nephews and fun things to do with them. With the Sony BIVL, I can easily get ideas and video reviews of the hottest new toys. I can also watch exclusive trailers for movies like “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” and “Alvin and the Chipmunks,” so I can plan out what we can see over the holidays.

I love that I can do all this in the comfort of my living room with nothing more than my remote control! Can’t wait to see what they’ll think of next.

- The Digital Home Guru

Yahoo! Widgets recently announced an upgrade of its desktop platform to version 4.5. What does that mean? A ton of cool new features and widgets for us to use!

One of the major changes is that Yahoo! Widgets now supports Flash and HTML, in addition to JavaScript. This means that Web widgets can now easily turn into desktop widgets, like my favorite Video Search widget from PageFlakes. (I use it to search for videos across different sites.) With these new upgrades, Yahoo! is working with the Web’s best distribution platforms, including Netvibes, Clearspring, and MuseStore.

With more than 4,300 widgets available now and many more to come, Yahoo! Widgets 4.5 also provides some great search, rate, review, and tag features. So it’s really easy to find what I want. One desktop widget I’m really loving these days is the Streaming TV Widget that I use to watch TV shows right on my media player.

There’s definitely a lot going on here. Keep an eye out for cool new widgets in the coming weeks, like the All-Star Ballot Widget from the NBA and the RockYou Slide Show Widget!

- The Digital Home Guru

Alas, credit is given where credit is due!

The Consumer Electronics Association recently selected the Sony BIVL (Bravia Internet Video Link) as an Innovations 2008 Award honoree in the Home Networking product category. The Sony team will receive this prestigious award at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

The Sony BIVL seamlessly streams Internet content directly to compatible Sony HDTVs. BIVL owners can access Yahoo! news, weather, and financial information just by using their remote controls. The Sony BIVL is currently available in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

Congrats, Sony BIVL!

- The Digital Home Guru

Expanding beyond the U.S. and Canada, Sony recently launched the Bravia Internet Video Link (BIVL) in Mexico. Now, our friends South of the Border will be able to access exciting Yahoo! features and original Web video with just a click of their remote controls.

In addition to getting local news and weather, the people of Mexico will also be able to check major financial markets and personal stock portfolios right on the TV. To alleviate the language barrier, user-generated videos and content categories and descriptions will be available in Spanish.

And where can our Mexican friends get the Sony BIVL? Online, of course . . .and in all major retail stores.

- The Digital Home Guru

The countdown to CES has officially begun.

What does Halloween have to do with CES? Well, not much. But my Elvis costume got me thinking.  Last year, the Yahoo! booth was packed, as conference attendees chowed down on Cold Stone ice cream and checked out the latest and greatest from Yahoo!

 What about this year?

Well there may not be a lot of ice cream but there will be some more exciting news from Yahoo! The Digital Home team will be there, too.  So mark your calendars and be sure to stop by, as we get closer to the big event.

Yahoo!’s very own JP, Director of Product Management, spoke at the CableLabs summer conference in Keystone, Colorado.  CableLabs is a non profit consortium of leading U.S. cable providers, focused on exploring new technologies.

CableLabs hosts a few conferences each year. This year, Yahoo! was invited to speak on the Web 2.0 panel.  I tried to attend, but alas, blog writers aren’t considered members.

Even though I couldn’t make it past security I’m sure JP gave an interesting presentation.  The house was packed and the number of attendees was way up over last year.

Want to know more about this event? Read about it here.

This morning was a total mess for my roommate.

As usual, he sprinted out the door since he was late for work.  To make matters worse he was stuck in traffic an extra hour because of an accident on Highway 101.  Not good, especially since his boss has already given him a lecture about his “time issues”.

 I, on the other hand, cruised into work with no stress at all. Thanks to our nifty series 3 TiVo and Yahoo!, I took a few seconds to check the local traffic on the TV, before I left the house.  So, instead of being trapped in my car on 101 like my roommate. I was able to plan ahead and cruise to work on surface streets.  I even had enough time to grab some coffee. 

 Ahhhh, the luxuries of having Yahoo! on your TV.  A couple of smart seconds can save you an hour of stress—- and a lecture.

Tired of pulling out big, old photo albums or crowding around your PC to share photos when friends and family come over? Who knew that sharing your Flickr photos on TV could be so easy. 

I subscribe to AT&T Homezone service. Starting this week I can access and share my Flickr photos and sets—right from my living room.  This is especially convenient since I just got back from a weekend camping trip to Yosemite—-where I took some amazing wildlife photos. 

With a press of my TV remote I can kick back on my sofa with my parents, who are in from the East Coast, and look at the pictures I just took on the trip. However, note to self: Next time, remember to take out any awkward or unflattering photos before the slideshow starts-like the one my buddy took of me being chased through the woods by a bee. Having them displayed on my big-screen TV-where everyeone, even Mom, can see them in glorious detail- only adds to the embarrassment.

 -The Digital Home Guru

Finally, my Canuck relatives can experience what I’ve been writing about!

In the next few weeks, Sony will launch the Bravia Internet Video Link (BIVL) in Canada.  Like the U.S. version, the Canadian BIVL will have original Web video, along with plenty of useful Yahoo! features.

BIVL enhancements available in the Great White North, include access to user-created videos in French, and the ability to check the major financial markets and personal stock portfolios-right on the TV. The folks up north will also get local news, and weather information - just in time for the autumn chill and winter frost.

Our friends and family in Canada will be able to get the Sony BIVL in all major retail stores and of course, online.

-The Digital Home Guru