Call me crazy but I’ve been craving French things while here in California. I’d heard about a place in Venice that has to-die-for macarons, and I LOOOVE macarons – So, today we absolutely had to go sample them at Jin Patisserie, a pastry boutique with a relaxing, sun-kissed, Zen-like tea garden hidden behind a protective concrete wall, seemingly miles away from the hustle and bustle of city life. We arrived during lunch time so we started with some yummy sandwiches and salads, then a melt-in-your mouth dessert, which was a orange cream filled chocolate mousse sitting atop a thin layer of chocolate cake. The dessert was delicately dusted on the outside with powdered chocolate. It was exquisite. The coffee was delish and not like the icky coffee from the omnipresent coffee house chains that we hate.

Soooooooo… The Macarons at Jin Patisserie? One word: OMG. Ok, that’s like an abbreviation of three words mais bon. There is no denying that these are some of the best I’ve ever had. We got the box of 8 macarons in the following flavors: Pistachio, Mango, Sesame Seed, Matcha, Caramel, Berry, Lavender and Mocha. They were perfect.

I’m going to venture to say that I like these even better than the macarons at La Durée in Paris, which are considered THE BEST or at least among the best in France. I’m not kidding, Jin’s are better. And La Durée was my favorite place for macarons…previously.

I know! I can hardly believe it myself.

Jin Patisserie
1202 Abbot Kinney Boulevard
Venice, California 90291
Tel: 310.399.8801
Website: Jin Patisserie

Dear Sick Woman on an Air France flight from Paris to L.A.:

I hate you. You freaking whore. You’re an inconsiderate biatch. A thousands curses to you over and over again for the rest of your life.

Because you were ill yet decided to go out into the world to spread your vile germs to take the same flight as me, you, as a result, spread your illness and got me and my sweetie extremely sick. I’m sure a majority of the people on that flight got ill. Because of YOU! Don’t deny it. I know it was you. I heard you sneezing and coughing on the shuttle from the terminal to the plane, then later on the flight. A day after we landed in the U.S., we started to feel terrible and it was downhill from there for a few days after that. You see, because of you, my short trip to the U.S. has been ruined.

Did anyone ever teach you to COVER YOUR MOUTH when you sneeze and cough? Apparently, no. Perhaps that would’ve been futile in an airplane with recirculating air. Who knows – but you shouldn’t have been there in the first place! Really, did you HAVE to get on that plane? Maybe you could have worn a mask or something. You know, like in Asia.

Even though I don’t know you at all, I can say with honesty the very opposite phrase once sung long, long ago by David Cassidy from the Partridge Family – and that is: I think I hate you. Being ill has meant that I could not spend as much time visiting my family as I wanted. Why? Because unlike you, I didn’t want to spread my germs, so I stayed in bed until I got better. If you had done the same and stayed at home in bed until you got well, no one in that plane would’ve gotten sick. And neither would the people that got in contact with those on the plane, etc. I wonder just how many people you infected? Hundreds? Thousands?

That was so evil and inconsiderate of you. You made make me sick.

May you burn in hell forever and ever and ever and ever,

Sincerely,
PT Ford

From Teleread:

“…How can you read a paper book if you’re quadriplegic and can’t use your hands? And what if your only way of communicating is through blinking?

People with those and other disabilities, including visual impairments, are of special interest to us here at the Landowski Boulogne-Billancourt (Hauts-de-Seine, France) in the western suburbs of Paris… Since 2001, with our special users in mind, we have…”

Read the article

Tags: france, french, ebooks, Boulogne-Billancourt, disabilities, Locked-in+Syndrome, Landowski+multimedia+library, Digital+Lbrary+for+Disabled+Persons, Bibliothèque+numérique+pour+le+Handicap

A recent post on the Gristmill blog that recounted a conversation with a butcher reminded me that way too many people simply…have no idea. I might have to shamefully admit here that if I didn’t live in Burgundy, I would have no idea as well. Let me explain. The U.S. based blogger (Julia Olmstead) asked a butcher for grass-fed beef and he replied, ” I don’t think you could feed grass to cows…because they need vitamins and minerals and stuff.”

Um.

This brought me back to a conversation I had with my brother just a few months ago in California. He’s an avid foodie and loves to cook. We were talking about beef and I’d mentioned that Burgundy is very well-known for their Charolais beef. When you’re in our area, you can’t miss the white cows grazing on the verdant hills all around.

He said he’d come across some beef from northern California that was exceptional. “Why is it so good?” I asked. He said, “they feed it….GRASS.” And he said “grass,” I swear, like it was some sort of contraband, revolutionary forbidden feed.

“You mean weed?!” I stupidly asked. (but he said it as if it was illegal.)

“What?! No, silly. Grass, grass.” he said.

“Well. You know cows are SUPPOSED to eat grass and hay, right?” I said matter-of-factly.

“Oh. Yeah. I guess.”

The only reasons why industrial cows eat corn and “feed” is because it’s cheap and the cows get fatter quicker, so they reach slaughter months before a grass-fed cow will. Also, cows are crammed in warehouses or areas where there is no grass. Bottomline: the bottomline.

When cows are fed corn, soy and certain grains and feed (chicken manure, pig and fish proteins, bovine blood meal, pesticides), it usually results in a myriad of health problems for the cows. This is the reason why this kind of beef is pumped with anti-biotics: to keep the cow relatively healthy until slaughter time. Also, when cows are fed corn, e. coli outbreaks are more common.

Tags: france, french, cows, eat+grass, charolais, beef, mad+cow, e+coli+outbreaks

Voyages SNCF is having a promotion with very excellent prices including lowered prices on flights, hotels and 50% off trains in France.

Yes. Get your butt out of Paris and see the rest of France. You know who you are.

Check it out

From Moleskinerie:

“In order to encourage and inspire the creativity of travelers, Moleskine has decided to do its first collaboration project with Air France.If you love to travel, if you always carry a Moleskine in your pocket – join the competition and win a round-trip flight ticket to cities in Europe! You only need one qualification to enter this competition: that you love traveling.

We will invite original travel notebooks using Moleskines, which will be selected by a committee consisting of artists and travel specialists.

Details are as follows:

Travel Notebook Competition: A collaboration event between Moleskine and Air France

–Three Best Award winners will each receive a pair of round-trip Economy-class Air France flight tickets to European cities.

–An additional top seventy-five winners will receive a special Moleskine notebook set.

–All winners will have their work shown at an exhibition scheduled to tour Japan from late July 2007.

–You only need one qualification to enter this competition: that you love traveling.

–Create your very own and original travel notebook based on all sorts of voyages – those etched in your memory, or those that you are planning at this very moment, or even imaginary ones.

–Go out on a voyage with a Moleskine in search of an exciting and new adventure!

Getting Started

1. Fill out the online application form

2. Get yourself a your favorite Moleskine notebook Any kind of notebook is OK as long it’s a Moleskine. Although this is an event to promote the City Notebooks, you may use any format including the Plain or Japanese Album notebooks. (Notebooks that do not belong to the Moleskine collection will not be accepted.)

3. Then travel…
Use your creativity in search of a trip that will allow you to explore your own experiences and discoveries and eventually lead you to create original and unique works of art! You may submit a travel notebook based on trips in the past or those you are planning right now, or those in your imagination.

4. Create a travel notebook…
Describe your travels in any kind of style – through words, drawings, paintings, illustrations, or collages. Create a beautiful travel notebook.

5. Deadline
Send your notebook(s) to the following address so that it will reach us no later than June 30, 2007.

There is no limit to the number of notebooks you may submit to this competition. All works will be returned to their respective owners after the competition….”

Click here for the rest of the details

Tags: france, french, moleskine, air+france, contest, Invitation+au+Voyage

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Amsterdam-based Assistive technology software developer, David Niemeijer, just released a new Assistiveware video called, “It has made the world of difference.” It features Anne Robertson, a blind, professional translator (French to English) living in Orry la Ville, France. With the assistance of David Niemeijer’s brilliant assistive technology, which is software specifically designed for people with disabilities, Anne has been able to speed up her translation work as she can now listen to text in one language while she is typing in another language. She uses VoiceOver, the recent screen reader from Apple, in combination with naturally sounding French and British English text-to-speech voices of Acapela Group’s Infovox iVox, and AssistiveWare’s VisioVoice, which includes a French translation of VoiceOver.

Watch the video

[related: Assistive Technology and Marie-France]

In celebration of their 10th anniversary, Colette teamed up with veteran designer Lacoste and launched these cute limited edition sneakers costing 120 euros ($155), and a series of 14 polo shirts. The new editions sport each of the label’s mascots (dogs and crocodiles). The shirts cost more than the shoes! 140 euros ($182)

Tags: france, french, labels, colette, lacoste, sneakers, spring+edition, trainers, designers

A documentary on the subject of genetically modified corn and soy in France (and Europe in general) was produced in 2003 by Canal+. It is pretty alarming. It’s online at Google Video France (in French). Please watch it! It’s important. Also, please pass the link to the video to others. Click on the picture below to watch it:

It’s completely in French but the main take aways are:- Studies done on animals that consumed GMO corn developed lesions on their livers, kidneys, pancreas, testicles and problems with their blood.- The studies’ findings were never released to the public, and when journalists asked politicians and ministers of agriculture about the effects of GMO food consumption on animals, they refused to disclose the findings – saying it was “confidential.”

- Political individuals with the power to stop GMO corn from being grown in France, never agreed to meet with journalists, and never opposed the project.

- Scientists have not done any tests on the effects of GMO corn on humans. This means that no one knows if it can have similar negative effects on humans as it does on test animals.

- The corporation supplying the GMO corn: Monsanto.

- Products with GMO corn in France: corn (hee!), breakfast cereals, corn oil (this is also in salad dressings), soy oil, sauces, corn chips/snacks…

UPDATE: This video has been suspiciously YANKED from YouTube. Trying to hide the truth from people????

Tags: france, europe, ogm, gmo, corn, mais, scandals, detrimental+to+health, canal+, documentary

From: AFP/Yahoo (Photo: AFP/Theirry Zoccolan):

“Far from the power-broking of Silicon Valley, the new boss of the Internet giant Wikipedia is a soft-spoken French mother of three, who runs the global success story from a home office in a village in central France.

Florence Devouard, 38, an agronomist by training who took on the top job at Wikipedia last October, first came across the user-written online encyclopaedia in 2001, when it was still a fledgling.

“What got me hooked was…”

Read the full article

Tags: france, french, wikipedia, florence+devouard, new+boss

Him: “What’s the saying in English when a guy has muscles on his stomach?”

Me: “Do you mean like a guy who’s in great shape and has muscle definition on his abdomen?”

Him: “I guess.”

Me: “Abs of Steel or I think some people say 6-Pack Abs.”

Him: “Like a 6-pack of beer? That sounds so…you know: weird.”

Me: “How do they say that in French?”

Him: “Les tablettes de chocolat” (chocolate bars)

Me: “Chocolate bars! Of course it has to be food-related. That’s cute.”

From Reuters:

“French motorists may be driving more recklessly than usual because they are counting on the traditional pardon by the incoming president after the election in May, the transport minister said.Statistics to be released by the transport ministry on Wednesday show a 13.9 percent rise in deaths on the roads in January, with 394 victims, the daily Le Parisien reported, after an 11.6 percent drop in fatalities in 2006.

France has a reputation of producing some of the most cavalier drivers in Europe but a concerted push by the government has seen a 43 percent drop in road deaths since 2002.

The surge in fatalities in January has raised concern that drivers are counting on having traffic offences wiped off when the new president takes office in May, Transport Minister Dominique Perben said.

“I hope that’s not…” Read the full article

Tags: france, french, reckless+drivers, pv, presidential, amnesty, violations, speeding+tickets, bad+drivers

This is not good. France hasn’t really been known for convenient pre-prepped food but there has been a gradual change and now I see un-French-like foods popping up all over the place. For example, I saw a bag with a spout containing crepe batter. All ready and everything to pour into a hot griddle. I thought, “Geez, you gotta be mega lazy to buy that bag of already made crepe batter. Crepe batter is one the simplest things to make and with so few ingredients. This is the kind of thing I’d not even comment on in the U.S. because there are so many things that are convenience-oriented. It’s been like that forever, practically. Are French people getting lazy or something? This crepe batter probably uses powdered eggs, preservatives, de-clumping ingredients and more. It also brought me back to this thing I saw a little while back (already whipped egg whites), though at the time, I didn’t realize things would begin a slow downhill journey to food places I’d never imagined France would go. Then, I noticed today that things got even more “convenient” with these already made crepes, stacked and packaged in the refrigerated section. C’mon.

Again, this is something that shouldn’t merit a second glance in America, but for France, it seems relatively new. You know, cake mix that you just pour into a pan and bake. WAY more frozen foods (Picard, the most famous of the french markets that sell only frozen pre-made foods, had 1 shop in 1974 and by 2004 they had over 600 shops in France).

Then I wondered if these kinds of food were for the foreigners in France….like me! I mean, do French people buy those already made crepes? That is something I’m positive my mummy-in-law would NEVER buy. And now, they sell cookie dough that you just break apart and bake. Chocolate chip cookies. Those aren’t very French, but they are convenient I suppose.

With the multinational food conglomerates, like Kraft and Unilever, it was surely inevitable that these kinds of over-processed, pre-made “convenient food” would creep into France, but it sort of makes me sad. I liked that food here was simple, back to the basics kind of fresh food and incredibly good. Part of the reason Americans are overweight is because of these processed, pre-made, trans-fatty foods. No doubt about it. The increasing availability of these kinds of foods in France is contributing to the declining health of French people, and there is already a growing percentage of obesity in France; nearly 40 percent of the French population is overweight compared to 50% and up in the U.S. (This rate in France has been increasing 5 percent yearly since 1997.) Which means by now, it has increased even more (since the article was from 2005). Unfortunately, obesity is still rising in both France and the U.S.

Where am I going with the post? I’m not sure except perhaps to encourage people to try to avoid processed food if possible or at least limit it. You know how everyone wondered how French people could be so skinny (previously) with all of the buttery croissants, fois gras, fries and fatty foods in general? Well, eating these foods in moderation helps but a croissant probably has an advantage over the cake mix because it is just made from a couple of basic ingredients, and not from a long, laundry list of chemicals, trans-fats and ingredients that you’ve never heard of.

Tags: france, french, pas+de+pub+merci, no+spam+thanks, doors, mailbox

Mailman: Do you want a duck or a pheasant?

Me: No mail? Wha?

Mailman: Duck or pheasant?

Me: Are they, you know, dead?

Mailman: Yes.

Me: Do they, like, have all their feathers and heads and feet?

Mailman: Yes.

Me: Eiuw. I don’t know what to do with that.

My sweetie: I’ll clean ‘em. I sort of know how to do that.

Me: You know how to do that?!!! You are my hero. Cool. Pheasant, thank you.

Did anyone ever tell you that pheasant tastes a lot like chicken? It doesn’t.

Anyone want to know how to prep the bird? I took photos of the whole process but it’s pretty gruesome, so I’m not sure. Maybe in a separate page. Then again, I think I saw a deer’s leg sticking out of a pot of beans chez David Lebovitz. Talk about getting weak knees.

Tags: france, french, mailman, pheasant, hunting, gross

Sooooooooo. I tried to send a package to the U.S and it was returned to us because it contained food items. Remember? It went from our place to Paris and then they rejected it because it had chocolate in it, so they refused to send it onward to the U.S. When it was returned to us they made us pay extra for the “trouble.”

Well, a second package destined for Washington state containing lots and lots and LOTS of goodies for our friends up there, just got returned. We’d sent this package about the same time as the last, so we didn’t know about the U.S. now restricting food items from France. I also heard that the U.S. now doesn’t allow seeds (for gardens) from Europe unless you jump through hoops of fire and cut off your right arm or something and fill out gobs of redtape.

Is there a Cold War going on?

Back to our returned box. I’m not sure if this particular package actually went ALL THE WAY to the U.S., said hello, said goodbye and was sent right back to our place in France or if it was sitting somewhere for a long time. It’s hard to tell because this package should have taken 10 days to get there, but after over a month passed it was returned. There’s strange sticker on it in French and I’m not sure if it’s from the FDA (because it’s in French). The bright RED sticker says, “Return to sender. Products inadmissible without authorization of…” and then the sticker is cut off. Ok, where is the rest of the sticker?!

Anyway. Chocolate is clearly an unauthorized good as well as EVERYTHING ELSE that’s edible. Is that ridiculous? I think you can only send those items if you have a permit.

Is there a “Buy American” Campaign?

The saving grace of this whole unpleasant snafu is that we didn’t have to pay a penalty, which probably would’ve been seriously exorbitant. Why didn’t we have to pay for it? Because we have an adorable mailman who saw it at the post office and before they could slap a fine on the package and us, he snatched it away and hid it in his car – then brought it over to us. YAY HIM. We thought that was sweet. And uncommon, but we are grateful…for him, at least.

[related: Not Allowed: Mailing food packages from France to the U.S.]

Tags: france, french, international, mail, boycott+france, buy+american, snafu, europe, mailman, fda, cold+war, france+u.s.

If you wanted to take a historically deeper look into the City of Light, here’s somewhat of an eco-tour of Roman Paris that might be of interest to you. “Eco” only in the sense that you take the visit from the comfort of your computer since it is an online tour. No driving, no flying anywhere = no carbon (dioxide) footprint traces, just you discovering life in Paris during Roman times. And no tired feet!

The site is filled with information on the history, architecture, antiquities and daily life of Lutetia (Roman Paris), traces of which are still visible.

Take the Tour of Paris, a Roman City

Tags: france, french, lutetia, paris, romans, paris+a+roman+city, online+tour

Another Superbowl (the 41st to be exact) is upon us and I won’t be going to any snackalicious Superbowl parties. Wah! The (sort of) good news is that you can actually watch it live on French television on France 2. The fun begins at 10 minutes to midnight. Kickoff actually begins at 12:25am here but I think the French television programmers thought listing it after midnight looked too late. Maybe? Anyway, I’ll be awake but probably not watch it, and I don’t know anyone that gives a rat’s arse about it here. Tant pis. Yes, too bad, I say, because there could’ve been lots and lots and lots of yummies à la French food mixed with loud cheering, beer drinking and some American football action. Imagine the snacks I could have made! Would they have been massacred snacks? Me thinks YES.

Massacred French Recipe: Sept Couches Accompanées de Crackers (“crackers” in French is…crackers.)

This is just one made up Massacred French recipe (for my imaginary Superbowl party in France. How pathetic is that?) but the possibilities of butchering French and other recipes, are endless and fun. One example: Are you familiar with the 7-layer Mexican dip that is oftentimes present at these parties? I love those dips with big scoop dip size Fritos or corn tortillas. My version is probably more of a massacred Tex-Mex recipe with a French twist – because many ingredients for the actual recipe are not available in France. How ’bout a 7-layer dip that goes a little something like this:

1st layer: crème fraîche
2nd layer: snails! (ok, to be FANCY, let’s call them “escargots” sauteed in garlic butter. Don’t forget lots of fresh parsley)
3rd layer: Pureed Potatoes (first potatoes are put through a potato ricer, salt and peppered, fresh thyme added, and made creamy with…crème! of course.)
4th layer: Carmelized leeks and onions;
5th layer: Roquefort cheese
6th layter: Walnuts
7th layer: Chopped fresh figs.

Aaaaaaaannnnnnnnd voila! Sept Couches Accompanées de Crackers. How massacred is that? There’s more where THAT came from. Stay tuned.

Have fun Superbowl snacking, everyone. May the team you’re rooting for win! I’m rooting for winning snacks.

[related: Superbowl in France]

Fun Superbowl Facts & Trivia
1. 8 million lbs. of guacamole is consumed on Super Bowl Sunday.
2. 14,500 tons of chips are eaten along with that guacamole.
3. 6% of Americans call in sick the Monday after Super Bowl.
4. The average number of people at a Super Bowl party is 17.
5. More drivers are involved in alcohol-related accidents on Super Bowl Sunday than any other day of the year (except St. Patrick’s Day).
6. 35% of people who attend the game right it off as a corporate expense.
7. Super Bowl fans spend more than $50 million on food during the 4 days prior to the super bowl.
8. The Dolphin Stadium in Miami has vomitoriums.

[Read more fun Superbowl facts at Yumsugar]

But will they actually use it or erase it then download and store games?

French authorities will give out 175,000 USB memory sticks loaded with open-source software to Parisian high-school students at the start of the next school year.
The sticks will give the students, aged 15 and 16, the freedom to access their e-mail, browser bookmarks and other documents on computers at school, home, a friend’s house or in an Internet café — but at a much lower cost than providing notebook computers for all, a spokesman for the Greater Paris Regional Council said Friday.

It’s a way to reduce the digital divide, said spokesman Jean-Baptiste Roger.

The sticks will probably contain the Firefox 2 Web browser, Thunderbird e-mail client, an office productivity suite such as OpenOffice.org 2, an audio and video player, and software for instant messaging, he said.

The exact mix of software will be defined by the company that wins the contract to supply the sticks, but will be open source, he said…

Read the full article (Yahoo News)

Tags: france, french, students, schools, downloading, open+source+software, Parisian+high+schools, USB+memory+sticks

From signonsandiego:

The United States could face possible European carbon taxes on its exports if it does not sign global climate accords, French President Jacques Chirac was quoted as saying in an interview published Thursday. “A carbon tax is inevitable,” Chirac reportedly said in the interview with the International Herald Tribune, The New York Times and French weekly Nouvel Observateur.

Chirac urged the United States to sign the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which calls for steep cuts in carbon dioxide emissions believed to worsen global warming, the publications said. France has pushed in the past for a carbon tax on industrial goods from countries that refuse to sign the Kyoto accord, meant mainly to target the United States and China.

Read the full article

From Kotaku:

Developing games in France just got a whole lot easier. Recognising the medium’s importance to the nation’s culture, the French government have offered to help out with a bit of cash for local developers.

The Ministry of Culture have pledged “to finance 20% of a company’s production costs to a maximum of 3 million euros ($5.7 million) a year”. That’s a smooth move on the government’s part, not only because they’re helping local developers out but because, in their own words, “It recognises the cultural character of the video game, which involves several branches of artistic talent: writers, directors, graphic artists, musical and sound creators”.

Link

Tags: france, french, video+games, developers, incentives, tax+credits, development, atari, ubisoft, infogrames, vivendi

I found a store that sells these cute mice sculptures made my the local Burgundy artist, Jerome Champenois – and had to take a photo of their window display. We met Mr. Champenois about a year ago during our adventure in search of his home and workshop. We eventually found it. Did you miss that story? Here it is:

Hidden Gems in Burgundy: Of Iron Mice and Eccentric Men

I’m not much of a collector of anything but these are tempting because they are so adorable. Plus they would remind me of how much I loved living in Burgundy later on when I may no longer be living in France.

In France, if you don’t subscribe to cable or satellite television, your options are: Analog TV, which, depending on where you live in France wouldn’t include much more than about 5 channels – needless to say, your television enjoyment is rather limited unless you love talk shows, variety shows, French dramas and lots of bad programming. There are good shows, just far and few between (or is it few and far between? Anyway.). Another television option is internet television, which varies widely. With internet television, however, you need a special modem and your reception could be compromised if you’re downloading something. Lastly, there is TNT, (Télévision Numérique Terrestre), which is Digital Terrestrial Television. TNT works via a conventional antenna or standard aerial but the digital signals are transmitted differently than with cable, satellite or analog. 70% of France should have access to TNT by next month. TNT offers 18 free channels plus 11 subscriber (pay) channels, and the sound and picture quality equal the quality you get from satellite television. It’s impressive.

TNT is a rather new technology in France, and officially launched in 2005 but only part of France had access and it required purchasing a set top box to decode and receive the signals for clear reception. If you have a newer television, the decoder for TNT is built directly into your television, so there’s no need to buy a box – but if you happen to have an older TV that doesn’t include a decoder for TNT, you can either buy a set top box, or do what I did: get a Eye TV Hybrid – so I can watch TV on my Mac. By the way, with Eye TV Hybrid, you can watch analog, TNT, cable or satellite on your Mac (If you are already subscribed to the latter two).

What is Eye TV Hybrid?
First I must say I LOVE Eye TV Hybrid!!! Ok, now here’s what it is. EyeTV Hybrid not only is technology so you can watch television on your Mac, it also gives you the option to record television onto your hard drive to watch something at a later time (like Tivo). And it also lets you watch live then pause it if necessary, say, for example, if you have to go use the restroom. Upon returning, you simply just need to press a button to watch where you left off. It allows this function because it records what you’ve missed. If you want to watch it live, just click on a button and it will return to real time viewing. It also requires NO monthly fee. Another cool thing about EyeTV Hybrid is that you can connect game consoles (Nintendo, Playstation, Xbox) to your Mac, and play, play, play.

What does it look like?
EyeTV Hybrid is a cute attachment that plugs into your USB port. About the size of a cigarette lighter, it’s small enough to fit in the palm of your hand with lots of room left over. It contains the video tuner and a hardware encoder that captures the incoming signals and compresses it into MPEG format, all in real time. The EyeTV device is also equipped with jacks that allow capturing from a camcorder, DVD, a VCR or other analog device (to convert, for example, old VCR tapes to a digital format). There’s also a jack for a coaxial cable. The device is connected to your Mac via the USB port and you aren’t limited to just watching digital terrestrial television, you can also watch live on your Mac’s desktop, and capture your favorite shows on standard television channels, analog and digital cable or even satellite channels if you so desire.

The Remote Control
It comes with an infrared remote control but you can also use your Apple Remote for Eye TV! An idea: if you can do this, you can have a TV that uses a dedicated Mac for just television watching. Hang a flat screen on the wall, do the easy connections and voila!

How Do I Get it to Work?
EyeTV comes with software that brings everything together and creates the magic that is EyeTV. Once installed, you are taken through a very easy installation process that helps you along every step of the way. After that, can enjoy the full features of EyeTV. You will see an interface of the controls on your desktop and once you do a scan to find the television programs available, you can choose your channel and watch on-screen. You can change the size of the viewing screen to be fullscreen or something smaller. Simply click on the bottom right corner and drag the screen to the desired size.

Transferring Old VHS tapes
If you’re been wanting to take your VCR tape and bring them into the digital world, you can! And EyeTV makes it super easy to do with an “Assistant” that helps you set up everything correctly. It’s so amazingly user-friendly.

How to Record
Find what you want to record and press the record button. Ha! So Simple. You can schedule it as well by indicating the start and stop times for a show, film or other program to be recorded. Note: Your Mac must be awake to record. If you’ve recorded quite a bit and would like to archive your material, you can easily burn your programs onto a DVD using iDVD or Roxio’s Toast.

I like using Eye TV Hybrid while working on relatively easy tasks on my Mac and watching something on TV if there’s anything interesting. I can resize the TV screen to be small if I want, and fit it on my screen with all of my open applications visible. Multi-tasking couldn’t be more painless especially when I can watch music videos while working! Also I love that I can take Eye TV with me on the road to use with my laptop. Not that I need to watch TV where ever I am; it’s just good to have options.

Sidebar: I just noticed last night that the 2nd season of Dr. Who is on Thursdays (a double strip) on TNT’s France 4. YAY! Though it’s dubbed in French, it’s better than no Dr. Who at all.

Eye TV Hybrid is available for worldwide use by El Gato Systems based in Germany. For more information, visit the El Gato Website (the site is in English, French and German). To learn about digital terrestrial television, click here. To find out about TNT and the available channels, click here.

A quick reminder: If you’re in France please turn off all of your lights tonight from 7:55pm to 8pm. (or remind people in France you know) This means all of your lights including unplugging surge protectors and night lights, as well as turning off or simply unplugging televisions completely. (Many televisions in France have a red light on even when the television is turned off.)

The Eiffel Tower will be dark for 5 minutes as well.

For more information