Sad, a bit embarrassing, and unsurprising:

Glenn A. Britt, the company’s chief executive, said in a group interview on Friday that the challenge for digital video was that there was no simple way to get Internet-based video onto the television screen. He wasn’t familiar with AirPlay.

“I’m not sure I know what AirPlay is,” he said, though he noted that he was an enthusiastic Apple customer. “Today we want to be on every screen. Today it’s a little bit clunky to get programming from the Internet onto the TV — not so hard to get it on your iPad. What’s hard is the plumbing, what wires do you connect, what device do you use. So the current Apple TV, the little thing, the hockey puck, really doesn’t do anything to help enable you to get Internet material on your TV.”

Peter Burrows and Andy Fixmer have a really interesting article for Businessweek about Apple’s involvement with product placement and the media, along with quite a bit of historical context (via Daring Fireball):

…HP gets lots of free product placement, but usually in scenes where filmmakers want the setting to feel, well, typical. “If the studio is using the product as it would be used in the real world, then it makes perfect sense to select HP,” says Christensen, who has gotten HP desktops on the sets of The Office and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. “Government agencies use tons of HP.”

Apple products, on the other hand, sometimes take a lead role as an object of devotion, as in a famous 2010 episode of Modern Family. Airing just two days before the first iPad hit stores, the episode centered around dad Phil Dunphy’s quest for the new device.

It seems Facebook is a bigger threat to SMS than iMessage. It makes sense, since most smartphones (and some other phones can access Facebook) and it goes through a data connection instead of per-message costs.

Much like Louis C.K. did earlier, Aziz Ansari (of Parks and Recreation fame) is selling his standup special directly for $5. I saw him on Saturday night, and he promised that the special features completely different material than his tour and what has aired on Comedy Central in the past. I really have to give credit to comics who are following this DRM-free, pay-for-a-show-and-watch-where-you-like model.

Marco Arment, of Instapaper fame, shares an amusing comment directed at him, and shows why site comments may be overrated.