I posted TV picks today. Gonna try to get back in the habit of doing them again. (Feed available here as rsstvpicksnet.)

Today's Gold Box Deal of the Day over at Amazon is on Ally McBeal: The Complete Series for just $79. Previously the cheapest I'd seen it is $99 and yesterday it would've cost you $122 at Amazon. List price is closer to $200. (Were I not broke, I'd be tempted to buy the set for myself as I suspect the improved picture quality and extras would make it worth it for moi.)

At long last, this quirky David E. Kelley series hits DVD in the U.S. I bought single season sets from the UK (or was it Australia?) a couple of years ago. I'm really glad to see it get a proper release in the U.S. with all of the original music intact plus some extras.

The show got a bad rap in a lot of ways, I always felt. Sometimes it went a bit too far or ran off the rails, but a lot of the time it was really fun. There were definite elements of fantasy in the show, possibly more so than in any other Kelley series. If your impression of the show is based on commercials, articles, reviews, and clips-- well, you've probably gotten the wrong idea about it.

As with most Kelley shows, this one made me laugh and also brought tears to my eyes at times. And it made me think about some tough issues, too. And, of course, it was fun. And there's his trademark affection for oddballs, because that's just how he rolls. Peter MacNicol really gets to shine here too.

The first two episodes are available for free right now on iTunes. And Amazon has the first episode available for free right now. In case you want to check those out.

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I have a Peek and I love it. I use it to read and send email, read and send text messages, and to update my Facebook status. Using blip.fm and other tools, I can update twitter accounts and all sorts of other things. Can read feeds, get weather, and other stuff via email.

Text is king here, though you can view pictures attachments on it. It's been fun reacquainting myself with the many things you can do via plain text emails. Posting to LJ is one, of course.

The lovely thing is that unlimited texting and emailing costs $20/month or $250-300 lifetime (lifetime of the unit). Compared to how much a smart phone with a data or texting plan can cost, it's cheap. Also cheap way to get email for those who lack internet access or a computer at home. I still carry a cell phone, but it's on my folks family plan. I may switch to a cheap pay as you go plan as I prefer texting/emailing to talking voice most of the time.

The Peek (and other variants) runs on the TMobile Network, though one never has to deal with TMobile and there are no contracts; this all goes through Peek.

The new TwitterPeek is just for twitter-- doesn't have email or texting, just twitter. And you can only use one account with it. Is an interesting use of the Peek though. The monthly rate for it is cheaper.

Here are the models available currently at Amazon:

• Peek Pronto Mobile Messaging Device with Lifetime Service Included (Grey) ($299)


• Peek Pronto Mobile Messaging Device with One Year of Service Included (Grey) ($229)</l>
  
  
• Peek Mobile Email Device (comes in grey or aqua or black cherry, $20 on sale, sometimes as much as $50) These are Peek Classics, running the older software. They can be upgraded to Peek Prontos, but you'd need to mail them to Peek or have someone upgrade the software using an upgrade cable. I have one and have done upgrades before. There are charts on the peek site and in the amazon info about the differences between Peek Pronto and Peek Classic software.)


• Peek Pronto Mobile Messaging Device (Grey) ($50 - 80). For some inexplicable reason, it seems like Peek Prontos only come in grey. So if you want one in another color, you'll need to buy a Peek Classic and have it upgraded. Peek doesn't charge for the upgrades on unactivated Peek Classics or on ones with really old software.)

I have a few spare Peeks in Aqua which have been upgraded to the Peek Pronto software (by yours truly) so if anyone local is interested in giving one a try, let me know and I can sell you one for cheap or loan you one to try out. You can sign up for a month at the $20 rate and cancel after a month. There aren't any set-up fees or contracts. Also if anyone signs up and mentions me as referring them, I get some months free service (not sure how many) and you may get a deal too. I'll have a look and see what the current offers are. So if you decide to give a Peek a try, get in touch with me and I'll give you the skinny on it. Pester me if you have questions, too.

TwitterPeeks are the same hardware, but with different software I'm guessing. They do twitter and only twitter, but in a very easy fashion.

• TwitterPeek Mobile Tweeting Device with Lifetime Service Included (comes in grey or aqua, $199)


• TwitterPeek Mobile Tweeting Device with 6 Months of Service Included (comes in grey or aqua, $99)

We purchased our Peeks at Target on clearance when they cleared out the Peek Classics. They now sell grey ones at most Targets.

If you poke around the Peek website you'll find links to their blog and to forums where peek users talk about how they use theirs.

(And yes, those are referral links from ours truly to amazon. If you shop for anything via those links, I get a cut of what you spend.)

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