Joost is the new baby from the clever guys that brought us Kazaa and then Skype. It has been known as The Venice Project until now and is basically TV on demand on your computer but will no doubt leverage their established credentials in building huge online communities. This is how they explain it:

Joost™ is a new way of watching TV on the internet, which uses new and established technologies to provide the best of both the internet and TV worlds. We’re in the process of making it as TV-like as we can, with programmes, channels and adverts. You can also see some things that we think will enhance the TV experience: searching for programmes and channels, for example, as well as social features like chat. There are many more new features to come!

This is a significant step towards what I referred to as TV 2.0 in a previous post.

I’ve got a beta account so will post my experience once I have had a chance to play with it.

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Haven’t been able to access my blog for nearly two weeks now. Earthquakes in Taiwan on Boxing Day damaged undersea fibre optic cables that severely affected capacity for almost every ISP in Asia and meant that I have had virtually no International Internet access during that time in Hong Kong and then China. Probably a good thing for me in terms of having a break as I was on holiday, however, I’m perplexed at how little the Western press has picked up on this story. It is a serious problem affecting many businesses and individuals. You don’t realise how reliant you are until you have to go without for a while.

Just got upgraded to Upper Class on my flight from Shanghai to London on Virgin-Atlantic. Not really too sure why but happy nonetheless. It was actually my first flight with them.

The seat configuration is pretty amazing. You can’t even see another passenger so have a complete feeling of privacy. The onboard bar is also pretty cool.

The last time I was upgraded for free like that was 10 years ago on a United flight from New York to LA.

What better film to watch when you are flying out of a city than The Departed?

This is the perfect American remake of the Hong Kong Chinese movie “Infernal Affairs”. Martin Scorscese has been demolished by the critics for this movie. However, those critics obviously haven’t seen the original. This is Scorcese’s tribute to Hong Kong cinema.

The masses will never queue up for a movie in Cantonese with English subtitles and so they will never understand how far Hong Kong film makers have come since Tarantino and his ilk started stealing from them.

The Departed does not feel like a US movie and that is because Scorcese stayed as true as he could to the orginal but still transporting the story from HK and Triads to Boston and the Irish Mob.

I loved it and despite what you will read in the press, rent “Infernal Affairs” and then watch “The Departed”. You will enjoy both and also understand why the undisputed genius of American film making (Godfather, Raging Bull, The Aviator, need I go on?) saw fit to pay homage to Hong Kong cinema.

If you like “Infernal Affairs” then rent … You will not be disappointed.

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