We’ve all heard about Last Comic Standing, how about Last Gadget Standing? It has nothing to do with funny gadgets or anything funny about them, but it does have to do with bragging rights. Hosted by a duo of guest emcees – Gary Dell’Abate and Jon Hein from the infamous Howard Stern Show, Last Gadget Standing, according to the good folks from CES (Consumer Electronics Show), singles out one product that’s voted as “most likely to change the face of technology.”
How to watch the Super Bowl ads
Honda's Super Bowl commercial has already racked up more than 11 million views online. Save Ferris!
There are a lot of great things about being Canadian. We’ve got universal health care, other countries tend to like us, we know the right way to spell “colour” and “neighbour”, easy access to poutine and good beer… the list goes on.
But every year when the Super Bowl rolls around, we’re reminded of one of the downsides of living in this great nation: We don’t get to watch the good commercials.
With airtime for the game selling for as much as $4 million US per 30-second spot, advertisers naturally bring out their big guns. Supermodels, special effects, celebrities, monkeys, laughs, tears… if only the Super Bowl itself could be this entertaining.
Problem is, even if you watch the game on a U.S. station, the feed will be subbed out for CTV’s own. Which means you’re getting commercials localized for our maple syrup-lovin’ market. Hey, did you know American Idol is on CTV? After the 15th promo spot airs during the game, you sure as heck will.
If you absolutely must see the Super Bowl commercials that our American cousins will enjoy today, here are some tech-savvy strategies that might help. None of which requires leaving the country. Whew!
Watch them now
Dozens of advertisers have already released their Super Bowl commercials online to capitalize on advance buzz, or to feature extended versions that won’t be aired on TV. (Honda’s salute to Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is the most-watched so far, with more than 11 million views.) They’re a bit scattered across the web, but you can find most of them at Adweek’s Super Bowl hub, or our own Canoe.ca.
Stream the game
This will be the first year the Super Bowl is streamed live online, through NBC Sports and some mobile phone providers. The catch is we’re not sure if they’ll be showing the TV commercials in the online stream (and the NBC online broadcast might be unavailable in Canada anyway.) While the U.S. Attorney General recently shut down a bunch of illegal sports streaming sites, user-driven video sharing websites such as Justin.tv and Ustream.tv will almost certainly do an end run around the law and have live streams from U.S. networks – including the commercials.
Get an antenna
If you live close enough to the U.S. border, you might be able to use an HDTV antenna to pick up a signal from an NBC station in the States, which will naturally feature the full roster of American commercials. As an added bonus, these over-the-air signals are in crystal clear, uncompressed (or at least less-compressed) high-definition. There are tons of antenna retailers out there, but Xtek.ca has a good selection of gear, as well as primers on how to set it all up. Of course if you don’t have one already, this might have to wait until next year’s Super Bowl. Not even FedEx does same-afternoon delivery.
Wait a little while
While some advertisers won’t reveal their commercials before the game, they invariably put them online moments after the ads air on TV. YouTube’s AdBlitz channel will round up all the commercials after the game is over, and there are even iPhone apps – like the $1.99 Super Ads app – that are updated with new commercials as soon as the ads hit the web. This means you can actually use the commercial breaks during the game for more important things, like fetching beer and going to the bathroom. These truly are enlightened times we live in.
Super Bowl XLVI game day inspired apps
Greg Gazin - February 4th, 2012
With Super Bowl XLVI just around the corner, in addition to ensuring you have eats and treats and reserve your best seat on the couch, there are a number of Super Bowl inspired apps that you can indulge in before, during and probably after the game. Let’s have a peek at just a few of them.
Final Cut Pro X v10.0.3 introduces multicam editing & more
Greg Gazin - February 2nd, 2012
Final Cut Pro X, Apple’s profession video editing application has become a little more powerful, offering a number of enhancements needed to keep up with today’s demand for professional broadcast quality video.
How to Watch the Super Bowl on an 80” TV
Greg Gazin - January 30th, 2012
Unless you are one of the 70,000 or so lucky fans with tickets to Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis next weekend, the next best way to enjoy the game along with 100 million others, would be to watch it on a big screen TV in high definition.
iBooks Author fine print EULA causes stir
Greg Gazin - January 25th, 2012
iBooks Author, Apple’s new app that allows you to create your own interactive e-books, recently introduced to you here at CanoeTech, has generated many oohs and ahhs, but it’s the End User License Agreement (EULA) that seems to have caused quite a stir.
Steve Jobs spirit lives on in iBooks 2 for iPad
Greg Gazin - January 24th, 2012
Jobs transformed the way we consume music, watch movies and use our phone, so why not the way we read textbooks? Although Jobs, is no longer with us, he certainly had at least “one more thing” cooking before his passing. Jobs was always big on education and using technology to enhance learning. The reference in his biography where it said that he believed that the textbook publishing industry was an “$8 billion a year that was ripe for digital destruction,” was certainly a clue.
Sites offline as Internet goes on Strike
Greg Gazin - January 18th, 2012
A number of sites across the web have either gone dark, blacked out or have definitive messages emblazoned across their home pages today, January 18, 2012, as the protest against the controversial proposed US legislation – SOPA (Stop On-line Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect IP Act) escalates.
Quick Hit: iDry airtight waterproof case
Greg Gazin - January 17th, 2012
I was quite intrigued with the possibility of a totally waterproof iPhone. Truth is, it might be a little while before all of our gadgets are totally waterproof right from the factory. In the meantime, if you need to take you iPhone or iPad somewhere when it will get really wet or there is a lot of water, you do want to ensure you keep them dry. So Benzitech unveiled iDry – waterproof cases that have an airtight seal.
CES 2012: HzO shows off waterproof iPhone
Greg Gazin - January 12th, 2012
Have you ever dropped your iPhone or any other electronic gadget for that matter into the toilet? Chances are that when it dried out it probably didn’t work or likely not function the way it should. And even if you are using a protective shield or case, water is a determined beast. It will eventually find its way to penetrate down through to the guts of your device and play havoc on its electronics.