Restaurant scores will return to web soon

For years, the state has offered restaurant inspection scores in a searchable online database on the web. Over the weekend, they disappeared, and were replaced by a message which some took to mean they would no longer be offered online.

That's not true, according to Amanda Morris of Tennessee Department of Health, who said the scores should be restored to the web soon, and in the meantime citizens are welcome to contact the state health department with any questions.

Morris told the Times-Gazette on Tuesday that the disappearance of the scores was the result of an issue with a third-party database vendor, and it was the former vendor, not the state, which put up the message indicating that scores would no longer be available. Morris said the state is looking to get a new vendor up and running so that the scores can again be provided online.

Movie rental blues

The closure of both the Hollywood Video and Movie Gallery locations in Shelbyville (both owned by the same parent company) demonstrates the peril of operating a technology-based business and failing to keep up with changes in technology and consumer habits. Movie rental stores were a big, successful industry just a few years ago, but a combination of competitors ate away at that business: rental-by-mail firms like Netflix, rental kiosks like Redbox, pay-per-view movies from cable and satellite, and streaming content over broadband (into which Netflix has expanded as well). I don't think it was any single factor that killed rental stores; rather, it was a combination of new technologies and services and business models.

Meanwhile, speaking of streaming content over broadband, the popular video site Hulu is now, as has been rumored for some time, adding a paid service. Only the five most recent episodes of current TV shows will be available free on Hulu; if you want to go back any farther, and enjoy full seasons, you'll have to pay $10 per month for a subscription to "Hulu Plus." The paid service will also offer higher resolution and will work with more devices. There's already talk about how Hulu Plus might compete with Netflix's streaming services. So Netflix is trying to secure deals with more content providers. The technology web site TG Daily (no connection to the T-G) reports that Netflix has signed a deal with a company called Relativity Media to bring its movies to on-demand streaming sooner.

'Read It Later'

I mentioned the Evernote service in this space a few weeks back; one way I use that service is to save a web page which I don't have time to read now so that I can go back and look at it later. Today's edition of the "Netted By The Webbys" (netted.net) newsletter, which it seems I'm constantly mentioning, points out a service designed solely for that purpose. Read It Later (readitlaterlist.com) allows you to create a "to do" list of web pages which you can access from any computer. If you see a web page at work and would like to take a closer look at it later, after you get home, you can add it to your saved pages.

The service works as a browser plugin; you add it to Firefox, Internet Explorer, Chrome, Safari or other browsers, and there's also an app you can download for your smartphone.

As with many such services, there are free and "pro" versions depending on how many features you'd like.

A room of one's own

Another catch from Netted By The Webbys was Roomle (roomle.com), an online space planning tool that helps you visualize what a room will look like. This one is free. You don't have to register to try it out, but you must sign up if you want to save your work. You can upload plans or simply sketch a room out with the easy-to-use tools. Then, you add furniture, windows, doors, and so on. It's fun to play with, and could be a useful tool in imagining your next big home or office project.

--John I. Carney is city editor of the Times-Gazette and covers county government. He is also the author of the self-published novel "Soapstone." His personal web site is lakeneuron.com.