YouTube has partnered with PBS to ask Americans to share their Election Day voting experiences on a new YouTube video channel, Video Your Vote.

The initiative hopes to educate voters on the entire process and a wide array of issues associated with voting in America, while enabling the world to watch pivotal moments in this election as they unfold. In the first presidential election since YouTube’s inception, this program aims to gather massive amounts of polling place video, with the Channel serving as an online library for Election Day footage.

“Voters have documented each step of the 2008 election on YouTube and this phenomenon will culminate on November 4 as people head to the polls to determine the forty-fourth President of the United States,” said Steve Grove, YouTube’s head of news and politics. “This partnership with PBS, an organization known for offering rich perspectives, will help voters examine all aspects of voting from the registration processes, to reforms, to technology and election administration, to the actual casting of ballots.”

Starting today, voters can share their voting experiences via the Video Your Vote YouTube Channel. On November 4, the Channel offer an online destination for up-to-the-minute coverage from voters contributing videos straight from thousands of precincts across the country.

Some of the best videos will be showcased on PBS television, as part of The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer’s Election Day broadcast. They may also be used throughout PBS’ election coverage, both on-air and online.

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There’s something very important missing from the new line of MacBooks that Apple introduced today: FireWire ports.

Here’s the port lineup for the new MacBooks:

• MagSafe power port
• Gigabit Ethernet port
• Two USB 2.0 ports (up to 480 Mbps)
• Mini DisplayPort
• Audio line in
• Audio line out
• Kensington lock slot

Yep - if you’ve bought a FireWire audio interfaces or FireWire mixers, or if you use FireWire to import videos from your video camera, the new MacBook line is not for you.

This is a very disruptive move on Apple’s part, and could lead some people in new media to skip this generation of MacBooks and see how the future of FireWire pans out.

If you need a new Mac laptop now and you’ve got an investment in some pricy FireWire gear, plan on dropping 2 grand or more on a MacBook Pro, or scooping up one of the great deals on refurbished MacBook Pros.

The McCain/Palin campaign has found itself caught in a DMCA/Fair Use YouTube battle, after having campaign videos pulled from the site because of their use of copyrighted material.

The campaign’s letter, embedded above, makes a great against the over-zealous enforcement of DMCA claims.

Let’s hope that politicians getting ensnared in the DMCA/Fair Use battle will lead to a future where moms don’t have to go to court because there’s a Prince song playing in the background of their baby videos.

via Lessig

A still skeletal Steve Jobs today made a bunch of ho-hum MacBook introductions, most notable for killing off Firewire and introducing a new manufacturing process. 

Along the way, though, he said something interesting about Blu-Ray HD DVDs:

“Blu-ray is just a bag of hurt,” said Jobs. “It’s great to watch the movies, but the licensing of the tech is so complex, we’re waiting till things settle down and Blu-ray takes off in the marketplace.”

In 2007, we suggested that HD video via the Internet was going to beat both HD DVD and Blu-Ray:

Internet TV is plagued by the same problems as Blu-Ray and HD DVD: limited content, complex setup and high cost for hardware. Nevertheless, Internet TV is already good enough to make users realize that high definition video discs are a tangent to the real future of video delivery - Internet TV.

It looks like Steve Jobs & Apple are betting on Internet HD TV delivery. 

“We have the best HD movie and TV options in iTunes,” noted Apple Senior VP Phil Schiller. 

I currently regularly watch several television shows and podcasts via the Internet in HD video. The image quality is not perfect, but good enough enough for most people, and will only get better. 

At this point, does Blu-Ray even matter?

Apple’s set to make a new batch of hyped-up introductions today.

Here’s something they probably won’t be introducing, though - the iVinyl portable turntable.

Internet video site Joost today launched its new Flash-based web video service and introduced social networking tools designed to make it easier to share and find videos.

“People have always relied on their friends’ recommendations to figure out which movies they want to watch, or talked about their favorite TV shows and moments with friends and colleagues,” said Joost CEO Mike Volpi, CEO. “ Joost has combined those real-life experiences in one online destination.”

The new website features a number of ways that people can interact with video and with other people on Joost:

• voice opinions about video through comments;
• add “shouts” or tags;
• find out what friends are watching by adding friends through most major online webmail services; 
• interact with others in the Joost community through groups around favorite shows, characters or artists.

Also new is the “JoostFeed”, which aggregates all of the activities that are happening on Joost in order to help guide a person’s Joost experience.

The JoostFeed is viewable on Joost or can be exported to any online social tool or website. Joost also is working with a number of third-party platforms, including Boxee, chumby, Delicious, Digg, FriendFeed, Lifestream, Meebo, Mister Wong, Netlog, Netvibes, reddit and VideoSurf, to make it easier for people to use and access Joost across the web. In addition, Joost will implement Facebook Connect, which allows people to enjoy Joost within the context of their real identity and friendships on Facebook.

While the Flash-based video player is a big improvement, Joost still makes several missteps with its site.

The site plays an intrusive animation every time you visit the home page, instead of delivering useful tools. In addition, watching videos requires signing up for account.

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The makers of the Flip Video family of camcorders have announced a new personalization platform that lets you design a custom Flip Mino camcorder.

This new service, created in partnership with CafePress, also gives you the option to share designs with the community to earn commissions. 

“We created the Flip Mino to be a fun and simple way for people to share their stories with video. And now they can express themselves not only with the videos they record, but the camcorders they use,” said Pure Digital CEO, Jonathan Kaplan. “We see this as the new design frontier in personal electronics.”

Users can choose from thousands of designs from artists, leading design firms, celebrities, and iconic brands, or they can upload their own image to create a one-of-a-kind camcorder. CafePress users have the ability to design Flip Mino camcorders to sell on www.cafepress.com or www.theflip.com,

The Flip Mino features an internal rechargeable battery and 2GB of on-board flash memory for 60 minutes of video. The Flip Mino retails for $179.99. Flip camcorders are compatible with Windows software and Apple’s Mac video applications.

While the pundits may still be debating who the political fallout of the Biden/Palin Vice Presidential Candidate Debate, it looks like Tina Fey, Saturday Night Live and new media are the real winners. 

Tina Fey’s impression of Sarah Palin has been hugely popular, big enough to influence the future of television. According to Integrated Media Measurement (IMMI), twice as many people saw Tina Fey’s routine online as watched it on television. 

Among all the people who saw at least one of the three SNL Tina Fey sketches, 33% watched it on television during the original broadcast and 67% watched after the original broadcast either online or on a DVR.

“This is the first time we’ve seen delayed viewing numbers this big,” said Amanda Welsh, head of research for San Mateo, Calif.-based IMMI. “Usually it’s the other way around, with the overwhelming majority of viewing occurring during the actual broadcast.”

“Because of the multiple media platforms available to consumers, it is becoming increasingly easier to propagate viewing around the world–which, as was the case here, far exceeded the original viewership,” she added.

People’s attention is moving online - and viral videos like the Tina Fey Sarah Palin sketches are getting bigger audiences online than offline.

SNL sees the writing on the wall: if the audience is online, that’s where the money is going to be, so SNL executive producer Lorne Michaels is in talks to develop an Internet video destination based on the show.

Wine Library’s Gary Vaynerchuk hits the nail on the head with this awesome rant on the state of advertising in the economic downturn.

A new scientific study brings bad news for iPod lovers. 

The report found that those who listened for five hours a week at high-volume settings exposed themselves to more noise than permitted in the noisiest factory or work place. The study also warns that people may not realize the damage until years later.

“Regularly listening to personal music players at high-volume settings when young,” the report said, “often has no immediate effect on hearing but is likely to result in hearing loss later in life.”

Users listening at high volumes for more than an hour a day each week risk permanent hearing loss after five years. This is equivalent to 5 percent to 10 percent of the listeners, the study concluded.

“Some authors stress that if young people continue to listen to music for long periods of time and at high volume levels during several years, they run the risk of developing hearing loss by the time they reach their mid-twenties,” the report said. “Among young people, there are many reports of temporary or persistent tinnitus induced by loud music, but very few studies have focused on the relationship between the use of personal music players and tinnitus.”