THE IMPRACTICAL TIPS

Video

Sometimes you simply want to sit back and relax--y'know, just watch a video on whatever mobile device you have handy. We used to have to jump through multiple hoops to do that; for instance, I'd run DirectShow Dump to strip out any DRM nonsense and then use 3GP Converter to transcode the video into different formats. These days, we have it easy. For some people that means watching show clips on cell phones. Other folks download Tivo content to a PSP or iPod. Me? I record shows on my Media Center PC and transfer the recordings at the touch of a button.

Let's not forget about the whole Webcast revolution. PC World Senior Editor Melissa J. Perenson put together a great, comprehensive feature looking at TV on the Web. Below, I mention a few specific things that are worth watching, but here's one big disclaimer: Many of the shows are region-locked. For example, as I write this, Hulu works only in the United States. My apologies to anyone in other countries.

Stephen King's N: Part of a massive multimedia effort to promote Stephen King's next book, Just After Sunset, N is a horrifically beautiful-looking Web miniseries.

Crawford: This indie documentary, which looks at the town that George W. Bush moved into, recently premiered exclusively on Hulu.com.

Sci-Fi Drive In: The Sci-Fi Channel has a small but cool collection of classic science-fiction movies and serials. I mean, Radar Men From the Moon? Truly old-school awesome.

Heroes: Going Postal: Not every high-powered freak in the world gets profiled on the hit NBC TV series. These Webisodes follow a mailman with supersonic abilities.

Gemini Division: Rosario Dawson stars in this futuristic cop thriller. Be sure to check out the whole site for all the cool interactive features (and the oh-so-subtle Microsoft plugs throughout the clips).

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog: This musical about a lovelorn supervillain is an Internet phenomenon.