Monkey Bites

two cool Flickr mash-ups

DirecTV to Get Early View of Fox Shows - New York Times

In a further erosion of the decades-old model for distributing TV shows, subscribers of DirecTV will be able to pay to download some Fox Entertainment Group programs to their digital video recorders up to two days before they appear on television.

Rising Competition in Cellphone Music - New York Times

Verizon will charge $1.99 for a song sent over the air. It will also sell songs downloadable to phones through a PC from a Verizon music site for 99 cents each, the same price charged by online music stores like Apple iTunes.

As long as the cell providers lock up their content tightly, this won't be much competition for Apple.


The Nitpicking of the Masses vs. the Authority of the Experts - New York Times

After the Nature report, Wiki's entry, like the others deemed to have flaws, was flagged at the top with a warning label ("This article has been identified as possibly containing errors") and retreated temporarily into the safety of imprecision

Provider of TV Movie Channels Looks to Expand to PC's and Video Players - New York Times

Starz Entertainment Group is introducing a $9.99-a-month subscription service that will allow people to download movies from the Internet and watch them on their computers, portable video players and television sets.

Subscription may not be taking off in music, but for movies, this seems like an incredible idea.


Google CES keynote: a Pack of Video

Describing the CES as a geek convention, Page bemoaned the fact that he can't easily connect a camera with a "pocket hard drive" because of a lack of software and open standards. He encouraged manufacturers and developers to embrace open standards to allow devices to interoperate easily and to work the same, no matter where you plug them in.

Are MMORPG goods theoretically taxable?

On April 15, 2004, I will truthfully report to the IRS that my primary source of income is the sale of imaginary goods and that I earn more from it, on a monthly basis, than I have ever earned as a professional writer.

DRM lurks in the background at CES

Will we see movement towards a more unified DRM? From what I've seen here at CES, I think prospects are looking good.

Verizon CEO says Google and Microsoft should pay more for the use of high-bandwidth web apps

Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg stated that he feels web application vendors such as Google and Microsoft are not paying enough for the bandwidth these applications use.

Umm, don't the users pay for the bandwidth they use?


DirecTV and Microsoft make love connection

DirecTV and Microsoft have signed a long-term agreement that will tightly integrate DirecTV's programming with PCs running Windows Media Center edition, the Xbox 360, and some portable devices.

Intel pimps Viiv with a baker's dozen of major partners

"If it is protected content, it will move throughout your home but it's still very much protected."

BBC offers classic news clips for free

For the first time we are sharing content with the public, who have already paid for it, and also allowing you to share it with others - as long as it is not used for commercial purposes.

Broadcom's hybrid HD DVD, Blu-ray chip

While the start to the next-gen optical format wars is just now heating up, some companies are working on ways to force a cease-fire.

Lenovo to embed cellular connections in laptops

Cingular Wireless has reached an agreement with PC manufacturer Lenovo to include links for its fastest wireless service in its new laptops.

Slashdot | Interactive Campaigning ala Wiki

But Ashdown's site takes public participation on his campaign Web site one step further -- opening his platform to all. The site is based on the "Wiki" open-source model made famous by Wikipedia.

TechCrunch » AllPeers Is The FireFox “Killer App”

AllPeers is a simple, persistent buddy list in the browser. Initially, interaction with those buddies will be limited to discovering and sharing files - If you choose to, you can share any file on your network with one or more of your friends. They will be able to see what files you choose to share (even getting an RSS feed of new files you include), and with a single click download it to their own hard drive.

SNIU


FORTUNE: Congress botched digital TV - Jan. 4, 2006

Yes, the very same federal government that is cutting back on college loans and food stamps will soon be issuing TV vouchers.

Microsoft unveils entertainment strategy - Jan. 5, 2006

Urge launches with over 2 million tracks for purchase or as part of an all-you-can eat subscription, an option the iTunes music store doesn't have. The offering will include exclusive material from MTV, though it will not be compatible with iPods, which are currently the most popular MP3 player.

Slashdot | The Engineer Behind Microsoft's TV Strategy

Gates in an email to Mr. Belfiore asked why Apple's remote control had just six buttons. The standard Media Center remote from Microsoft has 39 buttons. (Mr. Belfiore's explanation: Front Row computers don't have TV or digital video recorder functions and thus don't need as many buttons.

No word on whether Gates buys it. (Having just used one of the six-button remotes, I'll offer a hint: it's about good design.)


PBS | I, Cringely . January 5, 2006 - A Commercial Runs Through It

Google is going to let the telco and cable companies burn their capital building out IP-TV, knowing that Google will still be the only game in town for the crux of the whole thing: the ability to show every viewer the specific ads that companies will pay the most to show him at that specific moment.

Slashdot | Apple Sues Burst.com in iTunes Patent Dispute

Burst.com, a patent holder of many patents covering streaming video and time-shifting of video, has been sued by Apple after license negotiations broke down.

Slashdot | New Music Player to Spread Files Wirelessly

get on the subway to work and when you arrive there your available music has doubled

Not sure this is really SNIU...but cool.


Slashdot | Sony to Settle Spyware Suit with Downloads?

The court papers said Sony BMG would try to offer Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes as one of the download services available to the consumers.

Sony enshrines iTunes as standard.


GameDAILY Biz: The news source for video game industry professionals

Some of the films set for BD include The Fifth Element, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Desperado, For a Few Dollars More, The Guns of Navarone, Hitch, House of Flying Daggers, A Knight's Tale, Kung Fu Hustle, The Last Waltz, Legends of the Fall, Resident Evil Apocalypse, Robocop, Sense and Sensibility, Stealth, Species, SWAT and XXX.

Slashdot | Motorola Unveils iRadio

An article in Reuters says that iRadio will be a subscription music service that will go on sale this year.

Slashdot | The Patent Epidemic

usinessWeek is running an editorial titled The Patent Epidemic, which chronicles not only how abusive and absurd our patent system has become for software and business method patents, but how it hurts even traditionally innovative fields such as the automobile industry.

Slashdot | Swedish Filesharers Start 'The Piracy Party'

Tired of being called criminals, a group of Swedish filesharers have started a new political party, The Piracy Party (Piratpartiet in Swedish).

--Ari