I actually removed the "DVD Pick" of MICHAEL JACKSON'S MOONWALKER. It was one of Ain't It Cool News picks from the second week of January and I was suprised to see it finally released on DVD. While it looks somewhat legit, as it was pointed out, the cover art has some Asian characters, and as some of the Amazon reviewers posted, its an import copy. Why it says Region 1/NTSC is beyond me, so I am guessing its not an authentic Warner release. Noting the lack of third party sellers, it gives me reason to believe this was not officially released in the US. Also, with Michael Jackson's death and a timely release with THIS IS IT, I would suspect more of a red carpet treatment for this title. Interestingly, there is another listing that suggests "US RELEASE" in which a single third party seller is offering this title without Asian characters. The seller states its a 2010 release and official Warner product, but with only one seller offering it, I am dubious its legit. Going to stores like Best Buy, Fry's and Target and none of them have a copy, my stance is this remains a title yet to see US digital soil. Also, how come there is no Blu-ray version? Warner would surely have capitalized on the BD venue for better sound and picture with something people have been waiting for a long time. It's also not available on their official website.

 In other news, Lost Season 6 premieres tomorrow, February 2nd, to what is probably a very excited audience. This will be the final season for the mysterious show that hopes to settle once and for all what all the hoopla on the island are. Sales have increased in boxed sets, and this is, perhaps, in large part due to Amazon's amazing sale right now where all the LOST SEASONS are around $20 or less (for SD only; blu-ray are around $35 each). A pre-Christmas sale gave you all 5 seasons for $15.00 each, and the prices now are pretty close to that. If you are a Prime Member, then you get it at the speed without the fuss. There is still the Limited Edition Season 5 set in both standard and Blu-ray for the collector. 

In tech news, Apple announced last week their Apple iPad. Lots of speculation has been made about this product and reactions seem to be an even splt. On the one side many people believe there is no reason to get it if you already have an iPhone and a MacBook, claiming its an oversized iPod Touch. On the other hand, many people that do like it and feel its just right and can fulfill the need of those who have neither. While its still early to tell, as they are not available until March, there seems to me a lot of potential to be had with this device than in its current state. I am excited to see it develop as a possible iVideo Touch. This will also open up new development for their apps because of the size/ratio difference from the iPhone and iPod Touch. There are about 6 versions available; 3 different size disc space, and then mirrored, but with a 3G network instead of wi-fi.

Unfortunately for Apple, iPad is the name they came up with, which is probably their weakest point. With Apple being so appreciated as great marketers, you would have thought a keener brand name might have crossed their paths at some point. It is one letter difference from iPod and so conversations are going to have a lot of "Pad? Pod?" types of interruptions. At this point, I would love to see a stylus in there, also a better means to interact on the web as well as a means of watching streaming video, such as on hulu.com. Netflix has also given thought about streaming on their iPad, but has other fires to tend to in the mean time. 

 With the iPad set in motion, Apple has opened up its iBookstore on iTunes and is opening up the market of eBooks. This is obviously a direct threat to Amazon and their Kindle. What the iPad offers is a larger screen for both reading and viewing, but it also has over 140,000 aps to choose from their iTunes, giving them a heavy lead in terms of hardware. The Kindle, while nice, is not as graceful looking a creature as iPad, nor is it as functional. Basically its a one-note song device that is designed for the sole purpose of capitalizing on Amazons marketplace buyers. 

In an interesting (and probably wise) move on Amazon's part is to fuel their readership into other venues, similar to what Netflix is doing with their streaming movies. Because so many people already own different devices,and then to have a single dedicated device (thats is relatively expensive), having software applicable to such toys as the iPhone, Blackberry (coming soon) and even Macbooks (coming soon) and PC Laptops makes a lot of sense. All you need to do is download software and then you can peruse  the Kindle Bookstore. Most books Amazon is offering are around $9.99 or less. In a recent dispute with publisher Macmillan, Amazon removed their listings from availability until the resolve. Amazon wanted to offer titles at $9.99, but Macmillan feels that Amazon is pushing prices down which will affect peoples buying habits later on. Amazon conceded this point, albeit disgruntled, but Macmillan won this time around. 

So a new war wages on with publisher, iPad and Kindle and who has the best and cheapest means of getting it to the people (if that is what they want).