Tech blogger Randall Meeks (played by Fred Armisen) stops by to show off the device. The skit really seems to be poking more fun at Google’s voice recognition technology than anything. He has a quite bit of trouble getting Google to recognize the Wi-Fi password and the word “Italitan.”

At one point, the device starts playing porn sounds, which Meeks has some trouble muting.

This is certainly not the first time the device has been parodied, but now that it’s in people’s hands, the jokes have made quite the comeback.

“Jon Snow. Hannah Horvath. Sookie Stackhouse. If any of these names ring a bell for you, then you’re going to be very happy to hear that we’ve just added HBO to our TV lineup. Starting today, our Google Fiber TV customers will be able to add on our new HBO package to their plan for $20/month (plus tax). The plan will include HBO, HBO2, HBO Signature, HBO Family, HBO Latino, HBO Comedy, and HBO Zone,” says Product Head Larry Yang on the Google Fiber blog.

Not only HBO, but Google Fiber is now offering Cinemax (Max, MoreMax, ActionMax, ThrillerMax, WMax, @Max, 5-StarMax, and OuterMax) for $10 a month.

Google Fiber already offered Showtime and Starz for $10 a month, and now if you want to get all four premium channels you can do so for $40. If you were planning to get all four anyway, this saves you $10 a month on the HBO.

In all, this means that you can get Google’s 1 Gbps internet + TV and 4 premium channels (including HBO) for $160 a month in Kansas City (and soon, Austin). Talk to plenty of cable subscribers and you’ll find that that’s not a bad deal, comparatively.

Google hopes to start construction on Fiber in Austin in 2014, and should have their first customers up and running by the middle of that year.

The Bangor Daily News reports that Time Warner Cable customers in Maine have started to receive letters informing them of a price increase for cable services. Starting March 1, TWC customers will see their bills for basic and standard video service increase by $2.50 and those with digital only services will see an increase of $5.

Andrew Russel, TWC’s communications manager for the Northeast, told the Bangor Daily News that the price increase won’t actually effect the majority of its customers because they’re locked into a promotional package with a set price. The increase also doesn’t effect those who use TWC for Internet or Home Phone services. In short, only those with TV packages will see their prices increase.

So, why the change in pricing? Some people will undoubtedly automatically jump to the conclusion that lowering prices for customers near Google Fiber areas have forced it to raise prices in other areas. That actually doesn’t seem to be the case here as the price of Internet would have gone up if it were.

The price increase only affects cable subscribers, and that can be attributed to the rising cost of programming. TWC specifically points out the cost of local broadcast channels and sports programming as the culprits behind the higher prices.

That being said, it’s still unfortunate that subscribers in the areas affected have no choice but to accept the price hike. The lack of competition in Internet and cable television has effectively killed any chance of customers being able to demand better prices. Until more options are available to consumers across the country, you can either stick with it or cut the cord altogether. If you choose the latter, you might want to check out Netflix and its new original series House of Cards.

The left-hand side of the page is graced by the beloved Festivus Pole:

Here, Jerry Seinfeld and Frank Costanza explain:

Google has actually been celebrating Festivus for years. As far back as 2007, the Webmaster Tools team celebrated with the Feats of Strength and the Airing of Grievances.

[via Matt Cutts]

“With the updated YouTube app for Android and Google TV rolling out today, you can play any video from your phone or tablet YouTube app on your TV with just one button,” a YouTube spokesperson tells WebProNews. “The feature will be coming to more devices and screens in the future, as we work to make YouTube the platform for the next generation of channels.”

“We’re making it even easier to play videos from your phone or tablet on your TV, with a YouTube app update for Android and Google TV that automatically pairs your devices on the same WiFi,” explains product manager Timbo Drayson. “Just find a video on your YouTube app for Android — like the latest video from GoPro or H+ The Digital Series — click the TV icon that appears, and the video will play instantly on your Google TV.”

“Like a remote control, you can pause, scroll or skip to the next video with your mobile device as it plays on your TV,” Drayson adds. “Since your devices are connected in the cloud, you can also do things like find the next video to watch from your tablet or browse around the web on your phone, all while the video plays on TV. You can even connect multiple devices to the TV to have your friends add to the playlist.”

Mobile currently makes up over 25% of YouTube total views, and that percentage is growing. The peak viewership of YouTube occurs during the evening primetime hours. That should bode well for YouTube’s emphasis on original content. Word is that they’re increasing their investment in this area. More on that here.

Users will be able to buy or rent content directly through the Google Play Store on Google TV devices, and purchases users have made on other devices will be automatically available through Google TV.

“Google Play titles will also be discoverable through our TV & Movies app, which brings recommendations for shows and movies available on live TV and apps like Netflix, Amazon, and now Google Play,” says Google TV Product Manager Ambarish Kenghe.

“For developers, this update also enables many other Google Play features including auto-updates, subscription billing, and smart app updates,” Kenghe notes. “Google Play gives you one place to find, enjoy and share your favorite entertainment with millions of songs and thousands of movies and TV shows for sale, and adds to the millions of entertainment options available for you on Google TV through YouTube, TV & Movies, Search and the full web through Chrome.”

Kevin Bacon will be ecstatic.

Today’s update of the YouTube app was announced this morning on the Google TV blog by Maciek Molerus, a Google TV Software Engineer. The update will include recommendations that will suggest YouTube videos based on those a user has already watched and favorited. Also, the app will now allow users to perform a channel search, making it easier for users to find the channel they are looking for.

In addition, Molerus promises users will see a smoother experience using the YouTube app. The app will now automatically select a resolution for videos based on user’s network connections. It will switch to a lower resolution rather than stop to buffer the video. Also, users can now +1 videos from Google TV, sharing them instantly to Google+.

All of these changes sound nice, but they do beg a fundamental question surrounding Google TV. Why add PC features to a television? Why is that the direction of the trend, and why is television so special. Thought of the other way around, isn’t video just one aspect of what is possible on computers? Shouldn’t we all have computers hooked up to our large, central monitors where we view video, play games, and chat with our friends and family? Let me know where you stand and leave a comment below. And don’t tell me about a wireless mouse and keyboard being harder to use than a TV remote – those things are some of the most poorly designed gadgets of the last three decades.

The clunky cable box is viewed by many as an obstacle to a newer generation of devices and software that can integrate television and the Web. One set-top box executive said, “Software is the value, not the hardware.” Some executives believe the box will shrink but not go away completely. One executive in the business added, “Boxes will get thinner because more intelligence will be in the cloud, but you’ll still need a gateway to the home.”

While still probably too early to know for sure, Google is highly likely to sell off the business. The main reason is because cable operators have shunned buying boxes from Motorola prior to Google’s purchase. As a result, Motorola has been losing share ever since trying to sell the business for $4.5 billion in 2009. It doesn’t help either that Apple TV and Roku have been stealing the show. The price tag is expected to be even lower with many in the business speculating a sale in the range of $2.5 billion to $4 billion.

As part of our overall goal to make the web better for users, last year we announced a new project: to provide a community with Internet access more than 100 times faster than what most Americans have today. The response was overwhelming—nearly 1,100 cities felt the need for speed—and we were thrilled by the enthusiasm we saw across the country for better and faster web connections. Thank you to every community and individual that submitted a response, joined a rally, starred in a YouTube video or otherwise participated.

After a careful review, today we’re very happy to announce that we will build our ultra high-speed network in Kansas City, Kansas. We’ve signed a development agreement with the city, and we’ll be working closely with local organizations, businesses and universities to bring a next-generation web experience to the community.

Pending approval from the city’s Board of Commissioners, we plan to offer service beginning in 2012. We’ll also be looking closely at ways to bring ultra high-speed Internet to other cities across the country.

Over the past decade, the jump from dial-up to broadband has led to streaming online video, digital music sales, video conferencing over the web and countless other innovations that have transformed communication and commerce. We can’t wait to see what new products and services will emerge as Kansas City moves from traditional broadband to ultra high-speed fiber optic connections.

Now, that aforementioned 2012 is here. And Kansas City is not only getting broadband, they’re getting Google TV, if the state approves their application. According to a report in The Wall Street Journal:

“Google could launch its TV service as soon as a month or two from now, according to a media executive currently involved in negotiations to license channels to the service. The service would offer subscribers live TV, as well as on-demand and online access to TV channels, similar to services from major cable operators, this person said.

While the plan for now is restricted to Kansas City, this person said Google had discussed expanding it to other markets that Verizon Communications Inc. hasn’t entered with its FiOS fiber-optic TV service. It remains unclear whether Google intends to do so, but it would have that right under at least some of the deals it is currently negotiating with TV channels, this person said.

Earlier this month Google said it had begun laying fiber-optic cables in Kansas City, Mo., and neighboring Kansas City, Kan., that would provide Internet service at competitive rates to local residents but at speeds more than 100 times as fast as what is available today.”

According to people who understand the marketing market, the decline in print ad spending in the U.S. is expected to fall $33.8 billion this year while the amount of money funneled into online advertising is expected to seesaw upwards to $39.5 billion. Online adverting spending already grew 23% in 2011 and this year’s speculation would see an additional growth of 23.3%. Actually, barring any paper robot revolution, print ads are looking to remain static from here on out.

If bar graphs aren’t your thing, eMarketer explains:

“Advertisers’ comfort level with integrated marketing is greater than ever, and this is helping more advertisers—and more large brands—put a greater share of dollars online,” said David Hallerman, eMarketer principal analyst.

The growing amount of time consumers spend with digital platforms and advertisers’ view of the internet as a more measurable medium—especially as the soft economy forces businesses to be more accountable with their ad dollars—are both significant contributors to digital’s growing footprint, Hallerman added.

TV advertising spending, however, forecasts sunnier skies if you’re looking to sell some ads. eMarketer estimates that spending on TV advertising is expected to grow 6.8% this year and will continue to generate growth over the next few years.

One reason eMarketer states that TV advertising will continue to grow is “a result of the rapid rise of digital advertising and brands’ continued confidence in television advertising, despite increasingly fragmented viewership and the soft economy.” Duh. The television market will always be a fertile ground to plant ads because people will never stop watching television. Hasn’t anybody ever seen Wall-E?