Internet:
A story about how Hilary Clinton and others are now announcing their presidential campaigns on the web (in favour of a televised speech in a hall) (22nd Jan): http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1995721,00.html
Music:
UK independent music labels band together to create 'Merlin' - a new organisation to cocordinate and control their licensing online (22nd Jan): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1995650,00.html
Print:
Why magazine formats are starting to look online (22nd Jan): http://media.guardian.co.uk/mediaguardian/story/0,,1995276,00.html
Internet:
An article on a US murder motivated by jealousy between two men about their online relationship with a young woman ... who wasn't a young woman (22nd Jan):
http://www.cnn.com/2007/LAW/01/22/deadly.triangle.ap/index.html
Security:
Microsoft Vista's new DRM protection comes under fire (22nd Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6286245.stm
Internet / Video games:
An article about how the right wing, French 'Front National' has become the first political party to open up an HQ online in Second Life and the virtual protests that resulted (including avatar protestors throwing 'exploding pigs' ... (20th Jan): http://www.guardian.co.uk/france/story/0,,1994882,00.html
Security / Cinema:
News that a hacker claims to have cracked the AACs (Advanced Access Content System) used on the new HDDVDs (also used on the Blu-Ray system) (19th Jan): http://redherring.com/Article.aspx?a=20493&hed=Claim%3A+High-Def+DVDs+Cracked§or=Industries&subsector=SecurityAndDefense The story was first posted at the end of December 2006. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061229/tc_nm/dvds_hacker_dc_2
Interfaces:
An article on the drive for new touch-sensitive screens to replace older interfaces (18th Jan): http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,1992309,00.html
Music:
A great article on the current state of the digital music market. 'New music players, a growing number of broadband connections and a proliferation of online stores helped digital music sales double last year but the surge was still not enough to reverse a declining music market.
Record companies' digital sales jumped to $2bn (£1bn) in 2006 from $1.1bn a year earlier and continued to take market share, according to the latest update from the global industry group IFPI yesterday. Downloads to mobile phones, computers and music players now make up 10% of global music sales but as sales of physical formats such as CDs continue to fall, digital has not come to the rescue'. (18th Jan): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1992749,00.html
Television:
One of the biggest stories this week is the racist abuse of Shilpa Shetty on the UK's Celebrity Big Brother which has provoked protests in India. Whilst much of their knowledge comes from newspaper reports as India cannot receive Big Brother on television and Channel 4 has blocked the live web stream outside the UK, The Guardian (18th Jan, p. 3) say that clips from the programme have been made available on Youtube.
Warfare:
China tests a missile against an old space satellite ... heralding, perhaps, a new development in 'information warfare' (19th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6276543.stm
Internet:
A US lawsuit linking Myspace to sexual assault. News Corp and Myspace sued by parents (18th Jan): http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/internet/01/18/myspace.lawsuit.ap/index.html see also (19th Jan): http://technology.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,1994438,00.html and http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6277633.stm
Music:
An article on CD remastering and the problems of increasing noise (18th Jan): http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,1992325,00.html
Cinema:
On the move to digital cinema at the multiplex (18th Jan): http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,1992327,00.html
Internet:
Myspace is developing new security software to help parents (18th Jan): http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/internet/01/18/myspace.safety.ap/index.html
Mobile Phones / Television:
An article on the failure so far of mobile television (17th Jan): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1991842,00.html
Internet:
2m Chinese teens addicted to the internet, according to report (17th Jan): http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/internet/01/17/china.internet.addicts.reut/index.html
Economics:
Apple reports a 78% surge in profits in the 3 months to Dec 30th 2006, boosted by Christmas sales of the ipod (17th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6272051.stm
Future Technology:
On the development of a new robot to help combat snipers (17th Jan): http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/01/17/robotic.head/index.html
Music:
Digital music sees sales double: global digital music sales have almost doubled to around $2bn (£1bn) in 2006, according to an industry report, now constituting 10% of all sales. The IFPI's 2007 Digital Music Report said consumers last year downloaded 795 million tracks, up 89% on 2005, from almost 500 legitimate online music services available in 40 countries (17th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6270855.stm But see also a recent report that US album sales fell 4% in 2006 (5th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6233553.stm
Mobile Phones:
Naomi Campbell admits she hit her maid with a 'jewel-encrusted cellphone' ... (17th Jan): http://www.themoneytimes.com/articles/20070117/naomi_admits_hitting_her_maid_with_cellphone-id-102719.html
Future Technology:
An article on the spread of virtual reality technology in the business world (17th Jan): http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/01/15/virtual.reality.ap/index.html
Internet /Television:
Skype founders move into internet TV broadcasting with a new service called 'Joost' (16th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6266391.stm This month's Wired magazine has a story about it at: http://www.wired.com/news/wiredmag/0,72506-0.html?tw=wn_index_1 as does The Guardian (22nd Jan): http://media.guardian.co.uk/mediaguardian/story/0,,1995274,00.html
Video Games:
An expansion pack for World of Warcraft goes on sale (16th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6263987.stm
Internet:
A story from Wired on how Yahoo was overtaken in online advertising by Google: http://www.wired.com/news/wiredmag/0,72497-0.html?tw=wn_index_2
Internet / Cinema:
Netflix introduces an instant-viewing service for subscribers to watch TV shows and movies over the web (16th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6261509.stm
Mobile Phones:
a Californian man is apparently set alight by his cellphone ... (16th Jan): http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/01/15/cell.phone.fire.ap/index.html
Television:
Iraq's newest cult hit - an insurgent satellite television channel (an example of new media digital television niche programming ...) (15th Jan): http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1990353,00.html
Television:
UK's Channel 4 faces a funding gap as profits 'plummet' - caused by advertisers reducing their spending on television (implicitly shifting their spending to new media) (14th Jan): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1990376,00.html
Wednesday, 17 January 2007
Wednesday, 10 January 2007
'Happy hanging': Saddam and the mobile phone
Undoubtedly the biggest new media story of the new year has been the mobile phone footage of Saddam Husssein's execution.
The Iraqi government released an 'official' video that was silent, heavily edited and ended before his death (see the BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6218485.stm ) But within days unedited mobile phone footage was released, with sound, showing the abuse and taunts he received and also showing his death (see: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6224531.stm and http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6221751.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6220829.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6218875.stm )
And new unofficial video of his body in the morgue was also posted online (9th Jan: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6243747.stm )
I'm not sure the events need any more commentary but it's a remarkable - and historic - example of the power of new media and especially of how the era of official, managed and edited, top-down news decided for us by Governments, businesses or media industries etc. is over: now one person with a phone potentially has as much broadcasting power as any media corporation. The ease with which the phones were carried into the exceution chamber and morgue and the ease with which the videos were globally disseminated by the internet also highlights how difficult these new media forms are to control. The videos also demonstrate how new media are changing the rules of broadcasting, as the person taking the video had no interest in the ethical issues traditional journalists face or any risk of comeback from a public or advertisers or the law. Plus it demonstrates the taste of the audience for whom an execution video is perfectly acceptable viewing - something that isn't often addressed in traditional, paternalistic journalism.
What's also interesting is both the way in which the mobile phone video blew away the constructed reality promoted by the Iraqi government, showing how one 'reality' can be presented in completely different ways, and how much more 'real' the mobile phone video footage was. The realist aesthetics of the hand-held camera are obvious but the mobile images made for a very uncomfortable sight, giving much more 'reality' than the first video.
On the other hand these images don't exist in a vacuum - they take their place in a contemporary, rapidly expanding 'atrocity exhibition' that includes beheading videos, the Abu Ghraib images of tortured Iraqi prisoners, the 'shock and awe' fireworks of the second Gulf war, the World Trade Centre explosions, the copter-cam close-ups of the trapped victims, the scenes of the jumping people and the smart-bomb camera images of the first Gulf War ... all the way down to You've Been Framed, the World's Wildest Videos and happy slapping mobile phone videos. As Baudrillard says in Fatal Strategies: 'ours is a pornographic culture par excellence ...'
The Iraqi government released an 'official' video that was silent, heavily edited and ended before his death (see the BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6218485.stm ) But within days unedited mobile phone footage was released, with sound, showing the abuse and taunts he received and also showing his death (see: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6224531.stm and http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6221751.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6220829.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6218875.stm )
And new unofficial video of his body in the morgue was also posted online (9th Jan: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6243747.stm )
I'm not sure the events need any more commentary but it's a remarkable - and historic - example of the power of new media and especially of how the era of official, managed and edited, top-down news decided for us by Governments, businesses or media industries etc. is over: now one person with a phone potentially has as much broadcasting power as any media corporation. The ease with which the phones were carried into the exceution chamber and morgue and the ease with which the videos were globally disseminated by the internet also highlights how difficult these new media forms are to control. The videos also demonstrate how new media are changing the rules of broadcasting, as the person taking the video had no interest in the ethical issues traditional journalists face or any risk of comeback from a public or advertisers or the law. Plus it demonstrates the taste of the audience for whom an execution video is perfectly acceptable viewing - something that isn't often addressed in traditional, paternalistic journalism.
What's also interesting is both the way in which the mobile phone video blew away the constructed reality promoted by the Iraqi government, showing how one 'reality' can be presented in completely different ways, and how much more 'real' the mobile phone video footage was. The realist aesthetics of the hand-held camera are obvious but the mobile images made for a very uncomfortable sight, giving much more 'reality' than the first video.
On the other hand these images don't exist in a vacuum - they take their place in a contemporary, rapidly expanding 'atrocity exhibition' that includes beheading videos, the Abu Ghraib images of tortured Iraqi prisoners, the 'shock and awe' fireworks of the second Gulf war, the World Trade Centre explosions, the copter-cam close-ups of the trapped victims, the scenes of the jumping people and the smart-bomb camera images of the first Gulf War ... all the way down to You've Been Framed, the World's Wildest Videos and happy slapping mobile phone videos. As Baudrillard says in Fatal Strategies: 'ours is a pornographic culture par excellence ...'
7-14th Jan
Music:
An unsigned band make UK chart history, entering the top 40 on download sales without being signed to a label (14th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6260995.stm see also (16th Jan): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1991104,00.html
Video games:
A US woman dies after a water-drinking contest to win a Wii - a 'hold your wee for a Wii' game! (14th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6261509.stm
Mobile Phones:
A man is awarded damages after the wrong phone number is given on TV: a Chinese man who received thousands of text messages when his mobile phone number was accidentally used in a TV series has been awarded compensation (13th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6258939.stm
Internet / Video games:
An article on Second Life and its virtual economy (11th Jan): http://media.guardian.co.uk/newmedia/comment/0,,1988163,00.html
Internet:
Myspace launches a French service (11th Jan): http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/internet/01/11/myspace.france.reut/index.html
Music:
A new download store taps the boom in interest in classical and jazz (11th Jan): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1987312,00.html
DVDs:
Warner officially announce the launch of their dual format HDDVD/Blue-ray discs (10th Jan): http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=5659
Mobile Phones/Music:
Apple announce the production of the iphone (9th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6246063.stm Other articles on the phone and its features can be found at (10th Jan): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1986895,00.html and (11th Jan): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1987514,00.html
Mobile Phones:
Yahoo! announce their new 'Go' mobile service with a new internet interface (9th Jan): http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/8466/52/
DVDs:
News on the current state of the format war between HDDVD and Blu-ray (9th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6243383.stm
Radio:
An article on a new, popular US radio station called 'Jack' described as like an Ipod shuffle - another great example of how old media rejuvenate themselves either by beoming new media (going digital), including new media in their content (discussing new media) or simulating new media (taking on their features and benefits such as by imitating the music player shuffle function) (9th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6214080.stm
Television:
An article on a new technology called ShapeshifterTV that allows users to influence story lines by texting the programme as they watch (8th Jan): http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,1985078,00.html
Internet:
A journalist announces that he isn't interested in audience feedback and participation. An interesting corrective to Web 2.0 hype (8th Jan): http://media.guardian.co.uk/mediaguardian/story/0,,1984740,00.html
Music:
Changes to the UK singles chart mean that all downloaded tracks now count towards the chart (8th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6239415.stm
Internet /Video Games:
Creators of the online game Second Life open source part of their code for game users (9th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6245599.stm
Internet:
A survey on myspace use and attitudes among young people (8th Jan): http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/internet/01/08/myspace.teens.reut/index.html
Internet/Mobile Phones:
Mobile Phone company Vodaphone becomes the latest company to offer a UK broadband service (8th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6240851.stm
Music:
An opinion piece on why digital rights management (DRM) in music may be dead soon (8th Jan): http://www.wired.com/news/columns/0,72412-0.html I don't buy it myself. Actually what we're seeing is an extension of DRM as television and cinema look to implement their own DRM systems as they explore digital/net delivery so it's going to become an even bigger part of the consumer model of the future. The music industry similarly will not give up DRM, seeing it as the only way to retake control of their product. What's holding back the spread of music DRM at the moment is the online industry's own competition. Inflated prices aiming to maximise profits from a poorer quality product (the download), proprietal formats and hardware restrictions designed to secure the maximum monopolistic market position through consumer-lock-in and convoluted DRM imposing arbitrary restrictions on transferral, playing and copying are all working against the success of the digital music sector. Cheaper pricing and an industry agreed interoperability would improve the customer experience and the industry could use this to smuggle through a single set of DRM standards that would normalise restrictions such that the majority of consumers would accept them as necessary and intevitable. Luckily for us the music industry is too competitive and greedy to move in this direction. If they do we're going to see the massive development of DRM, or, more rpecisely, to give it its real name, increased 'digital user management'.
Internet:
A comment piece on the ruling that Youtube has to take down a video of a model taken by a member of the public (see: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6233693.stm ). The article explains how difficult it is to destroy or take down all copies of videos on the net and the issues facing Youtube (8th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6242817.stm
An unsigned band make UK chart history, entering the top 40 on download sales without being signed to a label (14th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6260995.stm see also (16th Jan): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1991104,00.html
Video games:
A US woman dies after a water-drinking contest to win a Wii - a 'hold your wee for a Wii' game! (14th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6261509.stm
Mobile Phones:
A man is awarded damages after the wrong phone number is given on TV: a Chinese man who received thousands of text messages when his mobile phone number was accidentally used in a TV series has been awarded compensation (13th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6258939.stm
Internet / Video games:
An article on Second Life and its virtual economy (11th Jan): http://media.guardian.co.uk/newmedia/comment/0,,1988163,00.html
Internet:
Myspace launches a French service (11th Jan): http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/internet/01/11/myspace.france.reut/index.html
Music:
A new download store taps the boom in interest in classical and jazz (11th Jan): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1987312,00.html
DVDs:
Warner officially announce the launch of their dual format HDDVD/Blue-ray discs (10th Jan): http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=5659
Mobile Phones/Music:
Apple announce the production of the iphone (9th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6246063.stm Other articles on the phone and its features can be found at (10th Jan): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1986895,00.html and (11th Jan): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1987514,00.html
Mobile Phones:
Yahoo! announce their new 'Go' mobile service with a new internet interface (9th Jan): http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/8466/52/
DVDs:
News on the current state of the format war between HDDVD and Blu-ray (9th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6243383.stm
Radio:
An article on a new, popular US radio station called 'Jack' described as like an Ipod shuffle - another great example of how old media rejuvenate themselves either by beoming new media (going digital), including new media in their content (discussing new media) or simulating new media (taking on their features and benefits such as by imitating the music player shuffle function) (9th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6214080.stm
Television:
An article on a new technology called ShapeshifterTV that allows users to influence story lines by texting the programme as they watch (8th Jan): http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,1985078,00.html
Internet:
A journalist announces that he isn't interested in audience feedback and participation. An interesting corrective to Web 2.0 hype (8th Jan): http://media.guardian.co.uk/mediaguardian/story/0,,1984740,00.html
Music:
Changes to the UK singles chart mean that all downloaded tracks now count towards the chart (8th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6239415.stm
Internet /Video Games:
Creators of the online game Second Life open source part of their code for game users (9th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6245599.stm
Internet:
A survey on myspace use and attitudes among young people (8th Jan): http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/internet/01/08/myspace.teens.reut/index.html
Internet/Mobile Phones:
Mobile Phone company Vodaphone becomes the latest company to offer a UK broadband service (8th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6240851.stm
Music:
An opinion piece on why digital rights management (DRM) in music may be dead soon (8th Jan): http://www.wired.com/news/columns/0,72412-0.html I don't buy it myself. Actually what we're seeing is an extension of DRM as television and cinema look to implement their own DRM systems as they explore digital/net delivery so it's going to become an even bigger part of the consumer model of the future. The music industry similarly will not give up DRM, seeing it as the only way to retake control of their product. What's holding back the spread of music DRM at the moment is the online industry's own competition. Inflated prices aiming to maximise profits from a poorer quality product (the download), proprietal formats and hardware restrictions designed to secure the maximum monopolistic market position through consumer-lock-in and convoluted DRM imposing arbitrary restrictions on transferral, playing and copying are all working against the success of the digital music sector. Cheaper pricing and an industry agreed interoperability would improve the customer experience and the industry could use this to smuggle through a single set of DRM standards that would normalise restrictions such that the majority of consumers would accept them as necessary and intevitable. Luckily for us the music industry is too competitive and greedy to move in this direction. If they do we're going to see the massive development of DRM, or, more rpecisely, to give it its real name, increased 'digital user management'.
Internet:
A comment piece on the ruling that Youtube has to take down a video of a model taken by a member of the public (see: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6233693.stm ). The article explains how difficult it is to destroy or take down all copies of videos on the net and the issues facing Youtube (8th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6242817.stm
Saturday, 6 January 2007
Up to 7th January
Filling in the news stories of the last week or so:
Internet:
Youtube ordered by Brazilian judge to take down video of a model on a beach (5th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6233693.stm
Future Technologies:
Bill Gates predicts a future of home-help robots (5th Jan): http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1983267,00.html
Internet:
ecommerce doing well - more evidence that UK shoppers are moving online (5th Jan): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1983183,00.html see also (31st Dec): http://www.guardian.co.uk/christmas2006/story/0,,1980362,00.html
Television:
The first hybrid DVD player, able to play both blu-ray and HDDVD is announced by the South Korean firm LG whilst Warner Bros have announced new double-side hybrid discs (4th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6230925.stm
Mobile Phones/Internet:
Some US mobile phone users will now be able to access and update their Myspace page via phone after the deal with Cingular Wireless (4th Jan): http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/biztech/12/18/cingular.myspace.ap/index.html
Mobile Phones:
Record numbers of texts sent in the UK over Xmas and the New Year (4th Jan): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1982212,00.html
Television:
TV companies will be offered digital adverts (rather than on video tapes), making it easier to put commecials on air and perhaps attracting advertisers back onto TV from the net (4th Jan): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1982293,00.html
Cinema/Internet:
Movie studios agree on trhe use of the Content Scrambling System (CSS) for downloaded movies to enable burned discsto be played without problems on DVD players. The story forgets to highlight how it also helps the studios by adding DRM to the discs ... (4th Jan): http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/internet/01/04/movie.downloading.ap/index.html
Television/Internet:
ITV poaches digital chief to mastermind UK's first free video-on-demand service. ITV, suffering on terrestrial television, recognises the need for an early lead in television delivery over the internet. The proposed servcie will let viewers download all of ITV's programmes, 'heralding the end of prime time TV'. All content from its four channels will be available on PC via the net either live or over a 30 day watch-again window (3rd Jan): http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article2121717.ece
Internet:
Rising numbers of UK broadband users. 'More than 69% of UK net users have broadband connections according to the latest figures from the UK's Office of National Statistics' (3rd Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6228367.stm
Internet:
Ryanair fails to shut down critical website - Ryanair has lost a fight with a disgruntled customer. The World Intellectual Property Organisation ruled that Michael Coulston's website ryanaircampaign.org did not use the trademark in bad faith, and it was unlikely customers would mistake it for the company's website. "Tarnishment in this context does not mean criticism. If it did, every website critical of a brand owner could be branded a tarnishing use." Mr Coulston said he hoped the company would get the message. "I think they don't understand the human nature of people who don't happen to be driven by greed or fear," he said (2nd Jan): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1981108,00.html
Internet/Mobile Phones:
Vodafone becomes the next mobile phone provider to begin offering broadband access to attract new customers and cling on to existing users (2nd Jan): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1981018,00.html
Mobile Phones/Cinema:
Orange adds its internet users to its cinema deal, as part of the mobile phone company's strategy to retain/increase customers in a highly competetive market - synergy between media plus special offers are becoming the new marketing tool (2nd Jan): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1981017,00.html
Theory:
An essay by Zizek on Time magazine's decision to give the 2006 award for person of the year to 'You' - to user generated content. Zizek provides a critique of this claimed digital democracy (30th Dec 2006): http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1980156,00.html
Internet:
The number of Chinese web suers grows by a third, rising to 132m people online, up 30% on last year (30th Dec 2006): http://www.guardian.co.uk/china/story/0,,1980144,00.html
Music:
Making claims of its demise look premature, iTunes is overwhelmed by shoppers in the holiday season (all of whom want to fill their new ipods ...) (28th Dec 2006): http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/internet/12/28/itunes.slowdown.ap/index.html
Internet:
News of a court case starting soon over a sex blog by a woman in Washington DC. She's being sued for invasion of privacy by one man she slept with and wrote about on her blog: 'The case dating from the 2004 blog is expected to go to trial soon. In establishing whether people who keep online journals are obliged to respect the privacy of those they interact with offline, the case could have a profound effect on the content of social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook'.(28th Dec 2006): http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1979111,00.html
Mobile Phones:
Vodafone tries to move into the Indian mobile phone market - the fastest growing market in the world (22nd Dec 2006): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1977422,00.html although their bid is challenged within days (28th Dec): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1979086,00.html
Internet:
Youtube ordered by Brazilian judge to take down video of a model on a beach (5th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6233693.stm
Future Technologies:
Bill Gates predicts a future of home-help robots (5th Jan): http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1983267,00.html
Internet:
ecommerce doing well - more evidence that UK shoppers are moving online (5th Jan): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1983183,00.html see also (31st Dec): http://www.guardian.co.uk/christmas2006/story/0,,1980362,00.html
Television:
The first hybrid DVD player, able to play both blu-ray and HDDVD is announced by the South Korean firm LG whilst Warner Bros have announced new double-side hybrid discs (4th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6230925.stm
Mobile Phones/Internet:
Some US mobile phone users will now be able to access and update their Myspace page via phone after the deal with Cingular Wireless (4th Jan): http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/biztech/12/18/cingular.myspace.ap/index.html
Mobile Phones:
Record numbers of texts sent in the UK over Xmas and the New Year (4th Jan): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1982212,00.html
Television:
TV companies will be offered digital adverts (rather than on video tapes), making it easier to put commecials on air and perhaps attracting advertisers back onto TV from the net (4th Jan): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1982293,00.html
Cinema/Internet:
Movie studios agree on trhe use of the Content Scrambling System (CSS) for downloaded movies to enable burned discsto be played without problems on DVD players. The story forgets to highlight how it also helps the studios by adding DRM to the discs ... (4th Jan): http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/internet/01/04/movie.downloading.ap/index.html
Television/Internet:
ITV poaches digital chief to mastermind UK's first free video-on-demand service. ITV, suffering on terrestrial television, recognises the need for an early lead in television delivery over the internet. The proposed servcie will let viewers download all of ITV's programmes, 'heralding the end of prime time TV'. All content from its four channels will be available on PC via the net either live or over a 30 day watch-again window (3rd Jan): http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article2121717.ece
Internet:
Rising numbers of UK broadband users. 'More than 69% of UK net users have broadband connections according to the latest figures from the UK's Office of National Statistics' (3rd Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6228367.stm
Internet:
Ryanair fails to shut down critical website - Ryanair has lost a fight with a disgruntled customer. The World Intellectual Property Organisation ruled that Michael Coulston's website ryanaircampaign.org did not use the trademark in bad faith, and it was unlikely customers would mistake it for the company's website. "Tarnishment in this context does not mean criticism. If it did, every website critical of a brand owner could be branded a tarnishing use." Mr Coulston said he hoped the company would get the message. "I think they don't understand the human nature of people who don't happen to be driven by greed or fear," he said (2nd Jan): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1981108,00.html
Internet/Mobile Phones:
Vodafone becomes the next mobile phone provider to begin offering broadband access to attract new customers and cling on to existing users (2nd Jan): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1981018,00.html
Mobile Phones/Cinema:
Orange adds its internet users to its cinema deal, as part of the mobile phone company's strategy to retain/increase customers in a highly competetive market - synergy between media plus special offers are becoming the new marketing tool (2nd Jan): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1981017,00.html
Theory:
An essay by Zizek on Time magazine's decision to give the 2006 award for person of the year to 'You' - to user generated content. Zizek provides a critique of this claimed digital democracy (30th Dec 2006): http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1980156,00.html
Internet:
The number of Chinese web suers grows by a third, rising to 132m people online, up 30% on last year (30th Dec 2006): http://www.guardian.co.uk/china/story/0,,1980144,00.html
Music:
Making claims of its demise look premature, iTunes is overwhelmed by shoppers in the holiday season (all of whom want to fill their new ipods ...) (28th Dec 2006): http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/internet/12/28/itunes.slowdown.ap/index.html
Internet:
News of a court case starting soon over a sex blog by a woman in Washington DC. She's being sued for invasion of privacy by one man she slept with and wrote about on her blog: 'The case dating from the 2004 blog is expected to go to trial soon. In establishing whether people who keep online journals are obliged to respect the privacy of those they interact with offline, the case could have a profound effect on the content of social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook'.(28th Dec 2006): http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1979111,00.html
Mobile Phones:
Vodafone tries to move into the Indian mobile phone market - the fastest growing market in the world (22nd Dec 2006): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1977422,00.html although their bid is challenged within days (28th Dec): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1979086,00.html
Saturday, 16 December 2006
December 15th -21st
Internet:
Old media becomes new media ... Monkey magazine launches online, free with registration. It's a 'men's magazine' so it's just soft porn, cars, sport and gadgets, just like Nuts and Zoo. What makes it interesting though is the interface - it's presented as a double page magazine page that you can click to focus in on or zoom out from, with pages that can be turned and containing features that are actually videos that can be played, plus sections that hyperlink to other web pages. For those of us who thought that electronic print/papers/books couldn't work, this may be one answer ... find a free issue sample at: http://www.monkeymag.co.uk/registration/
Music:
US Record companies begin legal action against Allofmp3.com (21st Dec): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6199237.stm
Music:
An Australian court has upheld an earlier ruling against a website that merely provided links to illegal MP3s and thus 'effectively authorized copyright infringement', a decision that equates linking - providing information about - with the illegal activity itself (21st Dec): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6199933.stm
Music:
HMV warns of poor profits due to online and supermarket competition (21st Dec): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1976469,00.html
Internet /Video games:
Are there really 2m people using Second Life, as was claimed last week? (21st Dec): http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,1975940,00.html
Internet:
Ofcom pushes ahead with its plan for a new PSP -Public Service Publisher, delivering content online (21st Dec): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1976440,00.html
Future Tech:
A UK Government report warns that robots could demand legal rights in the future (21st Dec): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6200005.stm
Television:
The take-up of digital television continues to rise, according to media watchdog Ofcom. Quarterly figures show that 73.3% of households watch digital services on their main TV set, a rise by around 800,000 over the last three months. Around 18.5 million have digital TV installed, with increasing numbers watching on second or third sets. The figures also show that 9.3 million households now have digital terrestrial television, such as Freeview. More households (7 million) watch digital terrestrial TV than traditional analogue TV (6.4 million) on their main set, according to Ofcom's report (20th Dec): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6197747.stm
Internet:
An article on the arrest of Tom Stephens in relation to the Ipswich/Suffolk killings, the media interest in his Myspace page and attacks on his 'friends' (20th Dec): http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,1975648,00.html His Myspace page is soon taken down ... before he is charged with anything ...
Music / Security:
Sony BMG finally settles on the compensation payable to computer users affected by its November 2005 placing of a DRM XP 'rootkit' on consumer's computers (20th Dec): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6197107.stm
Cyborgs:
'The world's most advanced bionic hand' is fitted to a man in Scotland (20th Dec): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6193681.stm
Internet / Television:
The BBC announces it will make hundreds of BBC TV programmes available on a file-sharing network to make them available to audiences overseas, although they will be paid for and come with DRM (20th Dec): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6194929.stm
Internet:
Hamleys toy store 'pillaged' after internet error lets customers get up to 60% discount. It says at first that it will honour the orders (19th Dec): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1975206,00.html but the next day it backs down and refuses (20th Dec): http://business.guardian.co.uk/retail/story/0,,1975865,00.html This coming not long after the Threshers email voucher offer was spread virally around far more people than the company bargained for in early December ... see: http://www.guardian.co.uk/christmas2006/story/0,,1963310,00.html and http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6198828.stm
Security:
A report on Google and Yahoo's operations in China (19th Dec): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6191171.stm
Television:
£600m of the BBC licence fee will go towards helping the elderly get digital TV (19th Dec): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1974973,00.html
Internet:
A conference on social networking has to be cancelled because of lack of interest ... presumably people weren't that interested in actually meeting each other! (18th Dec): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1974179,00.html
Internet:
On the spread of viral videos and movie clips (18th Dec): http://media.guardian.co.uk/mediaguardian/story/0,,1973938,00.html
Mobile Phones:
Orange are in talks with Google for a 'Google phone', providing information wherever you are (17th Dec): http://www.guardian.co.uk/mobile/article/0,,1974094,00.html
Internet:
'You' are named as Time magazine's 'person of the year' - as in the producers of user generated content (17th Dec): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6187113.stm On January 4th 1983 Time announced 'the man of the year' for 1982 was the computer. As it said: 'There are some occasions when the most significant force in a year's news is not a single individual but a process, and a widespread recognition that this process is changing the course of all other processes.' Now, given the realisation of the computer's potential through increased processing power, the power of computer networking, the economic and practical democratisation of the technologies of computing and digital production and the transformation of media content into a digital form so that it can be produced and dissemintated over these networks ... we have the user as the person of the year ...
Video Games:
Over enthusiastic users of the new Wii controllers lead Nintendo to recall and improve wrist straps (15th Dec): http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/12/14/wii.danger.ap/index.html Within a week they're hit by a lawsuit for damages ... (20th Dec): http://news.com.com/2061-10797_3-6145335.html The newly launched Wii is already outselling PS3 (for the moment) in the US (10th Dec): http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/fun.games/12/10/nintendo.sony.reut/index.html
Video Games / Internet:
Posted a few days ago but important enough to include - a story about Sony faking Youtube style video postings from PSP (Play Station Portable). Their hoped-for viral marketing failed when the fakery was discovered ... (11th/14th Dec): http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/games/archives/2006/12/11/new_sony_viral_marketing_ploy_angers_consumers.html
Security:
A hacker attack at UCLA affects 800 000 (12th Dec): http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/ptech/12/12/ucla.data.theft.ap/index.html
Old media becomes new media ... Monkey magazine launches online, free with registration. It's a 'men's magazine' so it's just soft porn, cars, sport and gadgets, just like Nuts and Zoo. What makes it interesting though is the interface - it's presented as a double page magazine page that you can click to focus in on or zoom out from, with pages that can be turned and containing features that are actually videos that can be played, plus sections that hyperlink to other web pages. For those of us who thought that electronic print/papers/books couldn't work, this may be one answer ... find a free issue sample at: http://www.monkeymag.co.uk/registration/
Music:
US Record companies begin legal action against Allofmp3.com (21st Dec): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6199237.stm
Music:
An Australian court has upheld an earlier ruling against a website that merely provided links to illegal MP3s and thus 'effectively authorized copyright infringement', a decision that equates linking - providing information about - with the illegal activity itself (21st Dec): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6199933.stm
Music:
HMV warns of poor profits due to online and supermarket competition (21st Dec): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1976469,00.html
Internet /Video games:
Are there really 2m people using Second Life, as was claimed last week? (21st Dec): http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,1975940,00.html
Internet:
Ofcom pushes ahead with its plan for a new PSP -Public Service Publisher, delivering content online (21st Dec): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1976440,00.html
Future Tech:
A UK Government report warns that robots could demand legal rights in the future (21st Dec): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6200005.stm
Television:
The take-up of digital television continues to rise, according to media watchdog Ofcom. Quarterly figures show that 73.3% of households watch digital services on their main TV set, a rise by around 800,000 over the last three months. Around 18.5 million have digital TV installed, with increasing numbers watching on second or third sets. The figures also show that 9.3 million households now have digital terrestrial television, such as Freeview. More households (7 million) watch digital terrestrial TV than traditional analogue TV (6.4 million) on their main set, according to Ofcom's report (20th Dec): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6197747.stm
Internet:
An article on the arrest of Tom Stephens in relation to the Ipswich/Suffolk killings, the media interest in his Myspace page and attacks on his 'friends' (20th Dec): http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,1975648,00.html His Myspace page is soon taken down ... before he is charged with anything ...
Music / Security:
Sony BMG finally settles on the compensation payable to computer users affected by its November 2005 placing of a DRM XP 'rootkit' on consumer's computers (20th Dec): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6197107.stm
Cyborgs:
'The world's most advanced bionic hand' is fitted to a man in Scotland (20th Dec): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6193681.stm
Internet / Television:
The BBC announces it will make hundreds of BBC TV programmes available on a file-sharing network to make them available to audiences overseas, although they will be paid for and come with DRM (20th Dec): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6194929.stm
Internet:
Hamleys toy store 'pillaged' after internet error lets customers get up to 60% discount. It says at first that it will honour the orders (19th Dec): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1975206,00.html but the next day it backs down and refuses (20th Dec): http://business.guardian.co.uk/retail/story/0,,1975865,00.html This coming not long after the Threshers email voucher offer was spread virally around far more people than the company bargained for in early December ... see: http://www.guardian.co.uk/christmas2006/story/0,,1963310,00.html and http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6198828.stm
Security:
A report on Google and Yahoo's operations in China (19th Dec): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6191171.stm
Television:
£600m of the BBC licence fee will go towards helping the elderly get digital TV (19th Dec): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1974973,00.html
Internet:
A conference on social networking has to be cancelled because of lack of interest ... presumably people weren't that interested in actually meeting each other! (18th Dec): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1974179,00.html
Internet:
On the spread of viral videos and movie clips (18th Dec): http://media.guardian.co.uk/mediaguardian/story/0,,1973938,00.html
Mobile Phones:
Orange are in talks with Google for a 'Google phone', providing information wherever you are (17th Dec): http://www.guardian.co.uk/mobile/article/0,,1974094,00.html
Internet:
'You' are named as Time magazine's 'person of the year' - as in the producers of user generated content (17th Dec): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6187113.stm On January 4th 1983 Time announced 'the man of the year' for 1982 was the computer. As it said: 'There are some occasions when the most significant force in a year's news is not a single individual but a process, and a widespread recognition that this process is changing the course of all other processes.' Now, given the realisation of the computer's potential through increased processing power, the power of computer networking, the economic and practical democratisation of the technologies of computing and digital production and the transformation of media content into a digital form so that it can be produced and dissemintated over these networks ... we have the user as the person of the year ...
Video Games:
Over enthusiastic users of the new Wii controllers lead Nintendo to recall and improve wrist straps (15th Dec): http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/12/14/wii.danger.ap/index.html Within a week they're hit by a lawsuit for damages ... (20th Dec): http://news.com.com/2061-10797_3-6145335.html The newly launched Wii is already outselling PS3 (for the moment) in the US (10th Dec): http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/fun.games/12/10/nintendo.sony.reut/index.html
Video Games / Internet:
Posted a few days ago but important enough to include - a story about Sony faking Youtube style video postings from PSP (Play Station Portable). Their hoped-for viral marketing failed when the fakery was discovered ... (11th/14th Dec): http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/games/archives/2006/12/11/new_sony_viral_marketing_ploy_angers_consumers.html
Security:
A hacker attack at UCLA affects 800 000 (12th Dec): http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/ptech/12/12/ucla.data.theft.ap/index.html
Friday, 8 December 2006
December 8th-14th
Music:
On changes in music recommendation and discovery through new media (14th Dec): http://media.guardian.co.uk/newmedia/story/0,,1971057,00.html
Music:
Has iTunes passed its peak? On contradictory research into the success of downloads (14th Dec): http://media.guardian.co.uk/newmedia/story/0,,1971068,00.html
Mobile Phones:
Slingbox helps make 3G mobile phones relevent - the Slingbox connected to your own TV sends the signal directly to your phone (14th Dec): http://media.guardian.co.uk/newmedia/comment/0,,1971147,00.html
Video Games:
Controversy over a new Christian video game (14th Dec): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6178055.stm
Mobile Phones:
Norwegian trials of personalised adverts on mobile phones (14th Dec): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6180509.stm
Internet:
Blogging set to peak next year. A report on the slowdown in blog growth (14th Dec): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6178611.stm
Internet:
Mypsace records more US page views than Yahoo for the first time In November, News Corp.'s MySpace recorded 38.7 billion U.S. page views, compared with 38.1 billion for Yahoo Inc., according to comScore Media Metrix. MySpace's growth was 2 percent over October and triple the 12.5 billion recorded in November 2005. (13th Dec): http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/internet/12/13/myspace.yahoo.ap/index.html
Security:
UK online banking fraud up 8000% in two years (13th Dec): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6177555.stm
Television:
The new Reality TV Show - a rape trial with a celebrity jury ... (13th Dec): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1970725,00.html
Internet / Security:
The US State Department turns to Google to help it track Iranians with links to the country's nuclear programme (12th Dec): http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1969860,00.html
Video Games:
German gamers face jail for acts of violence in video games 'on humans or human looking characters'!!! (12th Dec): http://www.guardian.co.uk/germany/article/0,,1969920,00.html
Internet:
Government website planned to shame absent parents who refuse to pay maintenance for their children (10th Dec): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6166045.stm
Media History:
First Edison light bulbs may sell for £300 000 (9th Dec): http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,,1968254,00.html
Music:
Aging rockers in plea for copyright extension to 95 years ... and in the process they become pawns in the music industry's continued legal piracy against the public (8th Dec):
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1967046,00.html
Security:
Internet criminals are using students as 'sleepers' - part of a great report offering an overview of the new types of cybercrime appearing (8th Dec): http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/news/story/0,,1967228,00.html
Music / Mobile Phones:
"Concern" over children swapping music over their mobile phones (who's concerned? Not me, not the kids, only a music industry whose definition of 'piracy' always omits their own prices and practices ...) (8th Dec): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6217998.stm
On changes in music recommendation and discovery through new media (14th Dec): http://media.guardian.co.uk/newmedia/story/0,,1971057,00.html
Music:
Has iTunes passed its peak? On contradictory research into the success of downloads (14th Dec): http://media.guardian.co.uk/newmedia/story/0,,1971068,00.html
Mobile Phones:
Slingbox helps make 3G mobile phones relevent - the Slingbox connected to your own TV sends the signal directly to your phone (14th Dec): http://media.guardian.co.uk/newmedia/comment/0,,1971147,00.html
Video Games:
Controversy over a new Christian video game (14th Dec): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6178055.stm
Mobile Phones:
Norwegian trials of personalised adverts on mobile phones (14th Dec): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6180509.stm
Internet:
Blogging set to peak next year. A report on the slowdown in blog growth (14th Dec): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6178611.stm
Internet:
Mypsace records more US page views than Yahoo for the first time In November, News Corp.'s MySpace recorded 38.7 billion U.S. page views, compared with 38.1 billion for Yahoo Inc., according to comScore Media Metrix. MySpace's growth was 2 percent over October and triple the 12.5 billion recorded in November 2005. (13th Dec): http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/internet/12/13/myspace.yahoo.ap/index.html
Security:
UK online banking fraud up 8000% in two years (13th Dec): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6177555.stm
Television:
The new Reality TV Show - a rape trial with a celebrity jury ... (13th Dec): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1970725,00.html
Internet / Security:
The US State Department turns to Google to help it track Iranians with links to the country's nuclear programme (12th Dec): http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1969860,00.html
Video Games:
German gamers face jail for acts of violence in video games 'on humans or human looking characters'!!! (12th Dec): http://www.guardian.co.uk/germany/article/0,,1969920,00.html
Internet:
Government website planned to shame absent parents who refuse to pay maintenance for their children (10th Dec): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6166045.stm
Media History:
First Edison light bulbs may sell for £300 000 (9th Dec): http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,,1968254,00.html
Music:
Aging rockers in plea for copyright extension to 95 years ... and in the process they become pawns in the music industry's continued legal piracy against the public (8th Dec):
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1967046,00.html
Security:
Internet criminals are using students as 'sleepers' - part of a great report offering an overview of the new types of cybercrime appearing (8th Dec): http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/news/story/0,,1967228,00.html
Music / Mobile Phones:
"Concern" over children swapping music over their mobile phones (who's concerned? Not me, not the kids, only a music industry whose definition of 'piracy' always omits their own prices and practices ...) (8th Dec): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6217998.stm
Tuesday, 5 December 2006
December 1st-7th
Internet / Television:
Google moves into TV ads with BSkyB deal: 'In the first such deal for Google, the Californian firm will provide BSkyB with technology so it can offer email and internet telephony to customers of its fledgling broadband product. Google, which paid $1.65bn (£840m) for YouTube in October, is also licensing its video search and sharing technology, which Sky will use to set up its own user-generated content site. Google will also operate the search engine on BSkyB's new broadband website, sharing advertising revenues with the broadcaster, as it does for other internet firms such as AOL. The two companies are also exploring "future forms of web, TV and mobile advertising", Google said. The company, which dominates the lucrative search advertising market, is already experimenting with newspaper, magazine and radio advertising in the United States, using its technology to sell adverts in the so-called offline world. Under the BSkyB deal, Google will be able to move into TV advertising. Google is looking to use information about viewing habits, which can be obtained through the broadcaster's set-top boxes, to produce more targeted TV advertising. Eventually, marketing experts could tailor campaigns to specific viewers, even storing adverts on the set-top box itself' (7th Dec): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1966056,00.html
Internet:
Myspace to block sex offenders (7th Dec): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6216736.stm
Video Games:
Dell enters Second Life. Dell invites you to go to 'Dell Island': http://www.dell.com/html/global/topics/sl/index.html?redirect=1
Mobile Phones:
Mobiles cleared of cancer risk (6th Dec): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6209960.stm
Internet:
BSkyB has announced a partnership with Google to provide its broadband customers with branded search, email and other services including a YouTube-style video sharing website (6th Dec): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1965485,00.html
Internet:
Avatars consume as much energy as Brazil! (5th Dec): http://www.roughtype.com/archives/2006/12/avatars_consume.php
Internet:
BT enters the broadcasting market with football challenge to BSkyB. BT will offer a free set top box with its broadband service to offer a range of television services on demand (5th Dec): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1964404,00.html
Internet / Security:
Iran censors net access to specific sites (4th Dec): http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1963099,00.html
Internet / Security:
Too many passwords and logins on the net creates a security risk as users reuse familiar passwords (4th Dec): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6199372.stm
Internet / Security:
US Government signs a deal on .com domain names with Verisign, giving it control until 2012 (4th Dec): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6199394.stm?ls
Cinema:
DVD pirate receives 6 month sentence plus a £55 000 fine or another two year sentence, for importing and distributing pirated DVDs (4th Dec): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6206210.stm
Security / Cinema:
US movie industry lobbyists kill a bill that would have stopped companies and individuals from using deceptive practices to obtain private data about another - arguing they need to do this to combat piracy (1st Dec) : http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,72214-0.html?tw=wn_index_16
New Technologies:
Satnav sends ambulance on 200 mile detour (2nd Dec): News in brief page -http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1962275,00.html
And from the December issue of Wired:
Internet:
The Youtube article already mentioned: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.12/youtube.html
Internet:
An article on the Lonelygirl15 Youtube video: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.12/lonelygirl.html and article
A study of customer generated advertising: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.12/tahoe.html
Internet:
A murder on Myspace and its effects on the community: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.12/murderblog.html
Google moves into TV ads with BSkyB deal: 'In the first such deal for Google, the Californian firm will provide BSkyB with technology so it can offer email and internet telephony to customers of its fledgling broadband product. Google, which paid $1.65bn (£840m) for YouTube in October, is also licensing its video search and sharing technology, which Sky will use to set up its own user-generated content site. Google will also operate the search engine on BSkyB's new broadband website, sharing advertising revenues with the broadcaster, as it does for other internet firms such as AOL. The two companies are also exploring "future forms of web, TV and mobile advertising", Google said. The company, which dominates the lucrative search advertising market, is already experimenting with newspaper, magazine and radio advertising in the United States, using its technology to sell adverts in the so-called offline world. Under the BSkyB deal, Google will be able to move into TV advertising. Google is looking to use information about viewing habits, which can be obtained through the broadcaster's set-top boxes, to produce more targeted TV advertising. Eventually, marketing experts could tailor campaigns to specific viewers, even storing adverts on the set-top box itself' (7th Dec): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1966056,00.html
Internet:
Myspace to block sex offenders (7th Dec): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6216736.stm
Video Games:
Dell enters Second Life. Dell invites you to go to 'Dell Island': http://www.dell.com/html/global/topics/sl/index.html?redirect=1
Mobile Phones:
Mobiles cleared of cancer risk (6th Dec): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6209960.stm
Internet:
BSkyB has announced a partnership with Google to provide its broadband customers with branded search, email and other services including a YouTube-style video sharing website (6th Dec): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1965485,00.html
Internet:
Avatars consume as much energy as Brazil! (5th Dec): http://www.roughtype.com/archives/2006/12/avatars_consume.php
Internet:
BT enters the broadcasting market with football challenge to BSkyB. BT will offer a free set top box with its broadband service to offer a range of television services on demand (5th Dec): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1964404,00.html
Internet / Security:
Iran censors net access to specific sites (4th Dec): http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1963099,00.html
Internet / Security:
Too many passwords and logins on the net creates a security risk as users reuse familiar passwords (4th Dec): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6199372.stm
Internet / Security:
US Government signs a deal on .com domain names with Verisign, giving it control until 2012 (4th Dec): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6199394.stm?ls
Cinema:
DVD pirate receives 6 month sentence plus a £55 000 fine or another two year sentence, for importing and distributing pirated DVDs (4th Dec): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6206210.stm
Security / Cinema:
US movie industry lobbyists kill a bill that would have stopped companies and individuals from using deceptive practices to obtain private data about another - arguing they need to do this to combat piracy (1st Dec) : http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,72214-0.html?tw=wn_index_16
New Technologies:
Satnav sends ambulance on 200 mile detour (2nd Dec): News in brief page -http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1962275,00.html
And from the December issue of Wired:
Internet:
The Youtube article already mentioned: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.12/youtube.html
Internet:
An article on the Lonelygirl15 Youtube video: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.12/lonelygirl.html and article
A study of customer generated advertising: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.12/tahoe.html
Internet:
A murder on Myspace and its effects on the community: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.12/murderblog.html
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