Oh the shame of watching shows on my computer.  It is admittedly a guilty pleasure to cue up a site like hulu and play a show in the background while I work, surf, or game.  But when hulu only had teaser clips from several shows, I went in search and found other sources online for watching my favorite episodes.  Here are the results:

I was naturally stunned after receiving the letters above.  Most of the blackouts are the company names or information that could more readily identify me.  The first letter was from a Universal Studios rep telling my Internet Service Provider that I had downloaded a Copyrighted episode of the TV show Psych.  The second letter was from my ISP telling me to read the first letter and obey the law.

The effect on my Internet TV watching was considerable.  I naturally would have avoided copyrighted materials had I realized that they were not being distributed properly.  But with the amount of information available freely on the Internet, how is one to know?  Here’s a list:

Check with the source’s website first.  Especially with TV shows.  If their main site lists certain episodes, the rest are probably only legally available on DVD.

Don’t view videos that have been dubbed or subtitled with foreign languages.

Don’t use peering programs unless you really know what you are doing.  I thought I did.  A certain drummer proved no one is safe when pulling information from peering programs.

Don’t trust the website to know what is legal.  Their goal is to get you to their site and hit you with ads.  

If you do get a letter, like I did, follow the instructions and remember; Big Brother is always watching!

Voice mail is your representative when you are not there to answer.  It should be concise, to the point, and professional.  Here are some tips to make sure your representative makes you look intelligent:

1)  Write out your new message before recording.  Even if it’s a vacation greeting. Not only will you save yourself time, it will sound better to the caller.

2)  Go to a room where there is no background noise and only use the handset.  Wireless headsets are cool for everyday use, but you don’t want the slightest crackle in your recording.

3)  Hold the handset a little further away from your mouth than normal.  It will still pick up your voice and you will not have loud noises when pronouncing certain words.

4) When it begins recording, try not to breathe into the phone or take a deep breath right before or during speaking.  Holding the mouth piece right below the chin can also help prevent heaving breathing on your recording, but some phones will not pickup your voice as well.

5) Wait half a second before speaking after the beep notifying you to start recording.  When finished, wait until a count of 2 before stopping the recording.

These tips will help the recording sound much better and while it is unlikely anyone will nominate you for an award, they will not think to themselves, “I hope he changes that message soon.”