Media ReDEFined by jason hirschhorn

It's official: Audiophiles are over CDs

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 13:53:00 GMT

Stereophile magazine poll finds more audiophiles listening via music servers than CD players.

Emmys: Basic cable's breakthrough

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 21:09:44 GMT

AMC's "Mad Men" and FX's "Damages" make history.

Pandora's Success With iPhone Bodes Well for Internet Radio

Mike Shields — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 05:06:00 GMT

Internet radio upstart Pandora has streamed 3.3 million songs to iPhone users since the launch of its new mobile application, making it the third most popular such application for the red hot device—the newest version of which Apple released on July 11.

NBCU's Jeff Zucker, Harvey Weinstein Take Project Runway Feud to Court

Steve McClellan, Adweek — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 13:34:00 GMT

Jeff Zucker, president and CEO of NBC Universal and Harvey Weinstein, co-chairman of The Weinstein Co. (TWC), offered colorful and conflicting testimony Thursday (July 17) at a hearing in New York State Supreme Court—the first public hearing in their lawsuit over the hit Bravo program Project...

Meebo Brings Ads to IM Conversations

Brian Morrissey, Adweek — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 15:42:00 GMT

Rolls out a new ad format that places ad messages between user responses

Acid Test: Rolling Stone Looking at Possible Smaller, Glossier Version

Lucia Moses — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:07:00 GMT

For the third time in recent years, Rolling Stone is testing a smaller, glossier version of the iconic, oversized music magazine.

We Dislike Newspapers, But They Do Not Drive the News Corp. Story

Rich Greenfield — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 13:32:27 GMT

Newspapers are a lightning rod for investor criticism of News Corp. and its Chairman and CEO, Rupert Murdoch. While we cannot defend the price paid for Dow Jones (given the rapid deterioration of Newspaper advertising), nor can we fathom why News Corp. has continued to operate/own the money-losing...

Satellite radio saga takes unexpected turn (AP)

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 08:27:05 GMT

AP - WASHINGTON (AP) During his tenure at the Federal Communications Commission, Jonathan Adelstein has been a fierce critic of government policies that allow big media companies to get bigger. So it came as a surprise when the Democratic commissioner put forth a proposal that would allow the...

Barenaked Ladies cancel Disney show after drug rap (Reuters)

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:18:15 GMT

Reuters - Popular Canadian band the Barenaked Ladies has pulled out of a children's charity show organized by Walt Disney Co after lead singer Steven Page was charged with possessing cocaine, the band said in a statement posted on its website on Friday.

Ex-Guns N' Roses drummer arrested in Los Angeles (AP)

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:20:26 GMT

AP - Former Guns N' Roses drummer Steven Adler has been arrested in Hollywood for alleged drug possession.

'Desperate Housewives' Creator Says End In Sight

The New York Times — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:14:36 GMT

"The women of Wisteria Lane may have only a few more years to resolve their assorted problems."

'Life On Mars' Is One Thing; TV In Britain Is Really Another World

Brian Stelter — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:02:28 GMT

Jason O’Mara, the star of “Life on Mars.” (ABC) Britain has proved to be a gold mine for television formats, as “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire,” “American Idol” and “The Office” have proven. But when producers try to adapt scripted formats, the...

EMI AND RCA/J ON THE MOVE

By BRIAN GARRITY and MARK DeCAMBRE — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 07:33:34 GMT

A pair of New York-based music labels are on the move. EMI is hunting for new, smaller New York headquarters for its North American recorded-music operations after completing a global cost-cutting initiative last month that eliminated some 2,000...

BRING IT ON, EA: TAKE-TWO

Bloomberg — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 07:33:34 GMT

The maker of "Grand Theft Auto" and "BioShock" video games doesn't feel boxed in the corner by industry giant Electronic Arts, whose hostile offer for the firm expires today. Take-Two Interactive Software boss Strauss Zelnick said it isn't...

Why Metered Broadband Is Bad for Microsoft, Google & Us

Allan Leinwand — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:21:00 GMT

Here’s a horror scenario for everyone on the content side of the Internet: A consumer comes to a web site to download a movie, work presentation, software update or photos, and just before they commit to the download they pause and wonder: Am I over my usage quota this month? How much will...

Why Silicon Valley Should Be Worried

Om Malik — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:24:13 GMT

Updated at the bottom: We have short memories in Silicon Valley, which is both a blessing and a curse. We forget the bad times as quickly as we forget the good times. At the turn of the century, everything went to hell with the dot-com bust. Then the pendulum started to swing the other way; the...

Apple iTunes rival eMusic to unveil overhauled website

Jemima Kiss — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:35:30 GMT

eMusic, one of Apple's most aggressive rivals in online music retail, will launch a radically overhauled website on Tuesday, July 22, combining content and features from the web's most popular social networks and media sharing sites. As part of a strategy to focus on discovering new music,...

3G Phone Battery Life

Michael Gartenberg — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:25:55 GMT

In addition to the iPhone 3G, I'm spending some quality time with the new HP 910 which is Windows Mobile based. One thing I'm looking at is battery life. I agree with James Kendrick totally. While 3G radios inherently use more power to a greater degree, the added functionality of 3G leads to...

Deploying international online video

Zia Daniell Wigder — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 21:49:56 GMT

One of our reports this summer will look at how companies are deploying online video outside of the US. Having spoken with several companies helping to enable online video on international sites, it’s clear there’s a great deal of interest in deploying video in international markets,...

Former Yahoo Exec Karin Gilford Joining Comcast As SVP of Fancast

Rafat Ali — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 03:40:04 GMT

Karin Gilford, the former GM of Entertainment at Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) who left earlier this week, is joining Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA) as we reported earlier. Now her position there is official: she is joining as as SVP of Fancast and Online Entertainment. Gilford will build and manage Fancast, the...

@ MusicTank: Lavigne To Rake $2 Million From YouTube Plays

Robert Andrews — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:50:53 GMT

Avril Lavigne is set to score a big pay day thanks to YouTube revenue. Nettwerk Management CEO Terry McBride told MusicTank's Face To Face With The Millennials in London today: "There's about a $2 million cheque waiting for her for all her YouTube plays." The YouTube video for Lavigne's Girlfriend...

BBC's Huggers Confirmed Future Media & Technology Director

Robert Andrews — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:06:57 GMT

As we and several others forecast back in April, BBC future media and technology (FM&T) controller Erik Huggers has just been confirmed in the director role, its top new media post, replacing Ashley Highfield on August 1. He will control a 2008/09 budget of £114.4 million ($228 million) for...

CBS Chiefs to Face Questions in Rather Suit

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 03:50:48 GMT

Two top CBS executives have agreed to answer questions from lawyers for Dan Rather, who has accused the network of violating his contract.

Cyberfamilias: A More Flattering Shade of Green

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 13:04:37 GMT

CarbonRally.com offers a few dozen ways that individuals — or teams — can save energy.

What Will Facebook Announce at Its F8 Developer Conference Next Week? Let the Speculation Begin.

Erick Schonfeld — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:05:22 GMT

Next Wednesday is Facebook’s F8 developer conference, and speculation is swirling about what Facebok might announce at the event. Last year, CEO Mark Zuckerberg kicked off the Facebook Platform for Web app developers, which is now its’ own mini-industry. So what will Facebook announce...

Who's Watching Hulu? A Bunch Of Dudes

Michael Learmonth — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:16:00 GMT

The last time we looked, users of NBC U (GE) and News Corp.'s (NWS) Web TV service Hulu were more likely to be Baby Boomers than Gen Y. In March, Hitwise estimated 47% of visitors were 55 and older. But that sample was pulled while Hulu was still in private beta, and presumably over-represented...

Jerry To Yahoos: Check It Out! Our Media Blitz Is Working!

Peter Kafka — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:43:00 GMT

Formerly mute, Jerry Yang can no longer keep his mouth shut. His latest effort: An all-hands video posted on the company intranet this morning. Even in this transcript, you can see that he's almost gloating about his Bill Miller coup. And he can't help but to point out how dutifully us media types...

Amazon Not Building Out AWS To Compete With CDNs

Dan Rayburn — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:47:44 GMT

Over the past few months, there has been a lot of speculation on what Amazon might be working on in regards to their EC2 and S3 service and whether or not their AWS offering is going to compete with content...

Wealthy UK Artists Want Their Families To Get Paid Multiple Times For Their Artwork

Michael Masnick — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:11:00 GMT

A few years ago, we wrote about the rather silly plan in the UK to create an "artist resale right." This says that even if an artist has sold his or her work, if that work is resold, the artist still gets a 4% cut. The non-economic thinking on this is that an artist is forced to sell his or her...

Why ISP's 'Stand' Against Child Porn Is Actually Not A Stand Against Child Porn

Michael Masnick — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:56:30 GMT

Following NY Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's success in getting ISPs to turn off Usenet access and pretend it was a victory against child porn, a bunch of cable providers under the umbrella of the NCTA have announced an agreement with 45 attorneys general, claiming that they, too, are taking a...

Amazon Video on Demand: Why build one online video service, when you can build two at twice the price?

MG Siegler — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:06:47 GMT

Anyone who still doesn’t think that online digital distribution of films is the real deal apparently slept through this week. Today brings another big announcement: Amazon is launching a service, aptly called Video on Demand, which will allow some 40,000 films and television programs to be...

Google Buys Russian Online Ad Firm

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:49:00 GMT

Google agreed to buy online ad company ZAO Begun from Russian Internet firm Rambler Media for $140 million.

Web Draws on Comics

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:34:00 GMT

Warner Bros. will release an online Batman series in conjunction with the film "The Dark Knight," a hybrid of comic books and animation that the studio calls "motion comics."

Vogue Models a New Reality Series

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 13:18:00 GMT

Vogue magazine has teamed with IMG to create an online reality show about the fashion industry. The $3 million series is among the biggest-budget Web-TV projects to date.

Stars to 'Believe' In

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 01:59:00 GMT

"X-Files" star David Duchovny talks about his favorite leading men. Also, we review EA's "NCAA Football 09," a football game that captures the spirit of the sport without bogging it down with verisimilitude.

Against All Odds

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:57:00 GMT

Over the past few years, real-estate entrepreneur Sam Nazarian has injected new buzz into the Hollywood club scene and now intends to resurrect Vegas with the same kind of cool. The odds, as they say, are against him.

Digg's Kevin Rose Digs Pinback, Knife

Scott Thill — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 04:08:00 GMT

Social net phenom Kevin Rose crafts a short but chilled playlist perfectly built for code slaves and indie music fans. What, no Metallica?

Analysts: Google investors "freaking out for nothing"

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 04:29:20 GMT

Investors hammer Google's stock for missing Wall Street estimates, but the search giant turns in another stellar quarter and the company is well positioned to weather tough times. By Yi-Wyn Yen

HP's grand vision: measure everything

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:34:55 GMT

Imagine walking down the supermarket aisle with a cheap device you could hold up to a tomato. If the sensor detects a pesticide residue, you'd know the "organic" label is a lie. Similar tools could track the chemical content of water in a stream, telling you if there was lead contamination and when...

TelePresence: video teleconferencing gets real

George Colony — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 21:28:13 GMT

Quickly: Cisco's high-definition video conferencing TelePresence system will change how large companies communicate. Last week I avoided a trip to California by having my one-day meeting with Cisco leadership via TelePresence. This is the company's next generation video conferencing. It...

Most Say Ads a 'Reasonable' Cost of Free Online Video

mmcilroy@adage.com (Megan McIlroy) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:10:00 GMT

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Good news for the growing number of ad-supported video services popping up online: The majority of digital video consumers will find the inclusion of advertising a "reasonable" expectation for accessing free online video content.

Online Ad Growth May Be Losing Momentum

aklaassen@adage.com (Abbey Klaassen) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 22:48:00 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AdAge.com) -- Three months ago it seemed as though the internet advertising industry could get through this tough economy relatively unscathed. But in what may be a bad sign for a seemingly recession-resistant sector, several internet companies have reported relatively disappointing...

Despite Recession, Marketers Expect Growth in Digital

Timothy Fields — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 08:01:00 GMT

75% anticipate increase in spending for new media and online initiatives in the next year.

'Dark Knight' Promo Bombs

Kenneth Hein — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:13:00 GMT

A cake wired to look like an explosive device caused a local buzz building campaign to blow up in the faces of the Santikos Theater chain.

Amazon remodels Unbox

Jon Healey — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:30:28 GMT

Here's an interesting Adams Media Research stat I learned from Scott Hettrick's fine Hollywood in Hi-Def blog: revenue from Blu-ray disc sales this year is expected to be three times the entire market for downloadable movies. Perhaps that explains why Amazon is adding a costly (to Amazon) new...

Online ad group adds to sector's worries

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 02:00:00 GMT

Fears about a spreading cyclical slowdown in some areas of online advertising and e-commerce reverberated through Wall Street yesterday after ValueClick, which runs...

Nintendo says sold 666,000 Wii in U.S. in June

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 22:34:27 GMT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Nintendo Co Ltd sold 666,000 units of its Wii video game console in the United States in June, becoming the country's best-selling video game console, the company said on Thursday, citing figures from market research firm NPD.

Movie shows alien's-eye view of Earth and Moon

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 22:42:14 GMT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A spacecraft sent on a mission to inspect comets has filmed the Earth and its moon from 31 million miles away, making an alien's-eye view of our world.

Yahoo may revisit News Corp if AOL dims: source

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:38:13 GMT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc is unlikely to get into a bidding war over AOL with Microsoft Corp because if Microsoft gets in the way, Yahoo could instead renew talks over News Corp's Web properties, a person with knowledge of the plans said on Thursday.

Websites offer foreclosure victims comic relief

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:06:46 GMT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Borrowers who have lost their homes, thousands of dollars and their good credit ratings can at least have a laugh thanks to real estate agent and Web site creator Lisa LaShawn.

Volume rises for music video games

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:54:59 GMT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - It turns out everyone just wants to be a rock star.

Rhapsody Links With Death Cab For Ads

By Kamau High, N.Y. — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:00:00 GMT

Online music service Rhapsody will use the chart topping group Death Cab for Cutie in it's next ad campaign, Billboard.biz has learned.

StubHub Seals Deal With Virgin Fest

By Mitchell Peters, L.A. — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:00:00 GMT

StubHub seals a partnership with the Virgin Mobile Festival, to be held Aug. 9-10 at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore.

Most Entrepreneurial Supermodels

Kiri Blakeley — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:20:17 GMT

It pays to be pretty. It pays more to be savvy.

The New 'Odd Couple': Microsoft and Icahn

Vindu Goel — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:23:01 GMT

Yahoo warned shareholders Thursday not to trust the "odd couple" of Microsoft and Carl C. Icahn. The three entities are embroiled in a proxy fight for control of Yahoo's board.

Wikipedia Tries Approval System to Reduce Vandalism on Pages

Noam Cohen — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 23:44:25 GMT

Wikipedia is considering a basic change to its editing philosophy to cut down on vandalism. It would add a layer of checkers to approve changes, eliminating some of the spontaneity that has made the site, at times, an informal source of news.

Google Deliberately Sells Fewer Ads - and May Have Gone Too Far

Saul Hansell — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 01:25:30 GMT

Even though its second-quarter results disappointed Wall Street, Google insisted it is doing well. Part of the reason for the decline: Google is deliberately reducing the percentage of search pages with ads.

Interview: Bill Carr, EVP of Digital, Amazon: On Amazon's New VOD Service

Rafat Ali — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 21:52:12 GMT

Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) launched its Amazon VOD streaming service in limited beta earlier today, and we wrote about some of the details last night. I spoke briefly to Bill Carr, the EVP of Digital Media at Amazon, on the service, and he clarified some details: Unbox vs Amazon VOD: VOD is now the...

Come2Play: The Ning of Social Gaming Networks

Roi Carthy — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:09:53 GMT

A few months ago in a Globes interview (Hebrew), I commented that Israeli startups may have missed the window of opportunity in casual gaming. Shortly thereafter the CEO of Kampyle told me that a sister company in Yossi Vardi’s portfolio called Come2Play is doing some interesting things in...

Is This The Future Of Search?

Michael Arrington — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 01:52:39 GMT

The video above shows a user interface being bucket tested by Google to select (probably randomly determined) users. Earlier today we showed a screen shot of the interface and a video of the search history, recorded by Adrian Pike, the CTO of startup Tatango. This new video, however (also recorded...

SILVERMAN CHANNELING JACK WELCH

By PETER LAURIA — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 07:17:34 GMT

Don't blame Ben Silverman or Marc Graboff for NBC Universal's dismal financial performance this year - the co-chairmen of the company's broadcast network and television studio have increased profits by over 50 percent in their division. Realizing... This item provided by NY Post: All

Glam Media jumps into e-newsletter market

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:02:00 GMT

Glam Today will give its independent publishers some exposure and provide a new place for the company to put ads, but it's entering the same market as big players like DailyCandy.

How to preview Facebook's redesigned profiles

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 21:27:00 GMT

They're not official yet, but a quick and easy link can hop you right over to the future of the social network's look.

What the Hell Happened to Kleiner Perkins? [Voices]

Chris Morrison — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 07:01:31 GMT

By Chris Morrison, Blogger, VentureBeat How do you know when one of the world’s most respected investment firms has veered off path and bet wrong? That’s the crux of the question raised by a piece in this month’s Fortune entitled “Kleiner bets the farm” that puts Kleiner Perkins Caufield &...

Getting Divorced? Pick A State

Marlene M. Browne — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 12:20:17 GMT

A-Rod's wife, Cynthia Rodriguez, is hoping to get a better settlement by filing for divorce in Florida rather than New York.

Favre Tempted to Hit Training Camp

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Brett Favre says he's tempted to show up at the Green Bay Packers' training camp just to call the team's "bluff"

Arts, Briefly: Europe Says Copyright Groups Must Compete

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 02:13:20 GMT

In music news that’s causing dissonance on both sides of the Atlantic, Europe has decided to remove national boundaries to online music sales.

Cyberfamilias: A More Flattering Shade of Green

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 04:27:18 GMT

CarbonRally.com offers a few dozen ways that individuals — or teams — can save energy.

Keifer Going to War for Activision

editor@gamedaily.com — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 19:18:50 GMT

24's Kiefer Sutherland to Star in the next Call of Duty.

7 wannabe iPhone killers

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 01:53:54 GMT

These copycats also have touchscreens, built-in music players, a high-speed 3G network and, unfortunately, power-hungry batteries. Can they dent iPhonemania?

How eMusic hopes to keep Its groove

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 18:08:38 GMT

When eMusic launched 10 years ago, the online music subscription service faced some long odds. It refused to protect songs from illegal copying, which ruled out major label acts like Britney Spears.

Ethnic minorities accuse TV programmers of tokenism

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 23:00:01 GMT

Ethnic minority groups have accused broadcasters of perpetuating racial stereotypes with token characters in a report which says their efforts to reflect a multicultural society are "very poor".

DanceJam Partners With Evolution Of Dance Guy, Weezer And Janet Jackson

Calley Nye — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 23:19:54 GMT

DanceJam, a dance-focused social network that launched in March, has announced several major partnerships and features today. (Disclosure: Michael Arrington is an investor). The first partnership, with Weezer, is being promoted by Judson Laipply, the guy we’ve all seen dancing in that...

Tech Weekly podcast: Sir Tim Berners-Lee on safeguarding the web, and domestic data storage

Aleks Krotoski, Jemima Kiss, Charles Arthur, Bobbie Johnson, Scott Cawley — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 21:26:15 GMT

In this week's Tech Weekly with Aleks Krotoski ... Sir Tim Berners-Lee tells Bobbie Johnson all about "web science". It's a new discipline that will pull together different strands of research and thinking about the web, with a view to safeguarding its future. He explains how it will differ from...

The videogames that will never see the light of day

Steve Boxer — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 11:45:36 GMT

Can you imagine spending more than two years of your working life on a single project, only to discover that your labour of love will never see the light of day? If you work as a games developer for long enough, that particular form of heartache will become only too familiar - the canning of...

BBC says it adds billions to value of economy

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 02:00:00 GMT

The BBC will assert today that it adds £6.5bn to the value of the economy, about twice the amount it collects in licence fee payments, citing research commissioned...

How to play the short game

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 18:36:00 GMT

As more companies come under attack from short-sellers, executives have to decide how to respond to their attentions

AddictingGames makes play for social-network gaming

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 04:00:00 GMT

The Nickelodeon-owned site will announce several steps to turn its Flash-based games site into more of a community for teen players.

How to Measure Innovation

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 18:17:00 GMT

NESTA, the independent British organization, is working on a new index to assess the state of innovation within specific industries

WMG Expands Mobile Offering With SendMe Deal

By Antony Bruno, Denver — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:00:00 GMT

Warner Music Group is licensing its catalog to SendMe Mobile, a direct-to-consumer mobile content distributor.

Blackberry Maker Under Siege

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 17:58:00 GMT

Needham downgrades Research in Motion in wake of cheaper version of the Apple iPhone.

DISH gets HD boost with successful satellite launch

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 12:33:58 GMT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - DISH Network Corp's plans to roll out more high definition video channels received a boost in the early hours of Wednesday after the successful launch of its EchoStar XI broadcast satellite.

Blinkx launches video search for partner sites

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 09:12:13 GMT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Web video company blinkx Plc said on Wednesday it is launching a video search service for websites to integrate on their pages and share in advertising revenue generated by users' searches.

Plumpy'nut

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 23:00:00 GMT

Every year, 5 million children die worldwide from malnutrition. That's one child every six seconds. Now, the relief group Doctors Without Borders says it has something that can save millions of these children. It's called "Plumpy'nut" - a ready to eat and cheap to produce food that might be the...

A Crackdown on India's Cybercafés

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:04:00 GMT

India's cybercafés could be headed for extinction as a nationwide clampdown in the name of anti-terrorism threatens their existence

BT Rolls Out a Massive Fiber Network

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 17:43:00 GMT

The telecom giant announced a network investment expected to connect as many as 10 million homes to the superfast broadband service by 2012

Facebook Outpaces Peers on Growth in June

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:16:00 GMT

New ComScore numbers show that while users spent less time on social networks in general, Facebook grew its number of visitors

Why Korea's SK Telecom Wants Sprint

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 12:13:00 GMT

With its home market nearly saturated, Korea's No. 1 mobile-phone operator seeks an acquisition to become a big player in the lucrative U.S.

AT&T Speaks Out Against Yahoo-Google Partnership

iteinowitz@adage.com (Ira Teinowitz) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 23:16:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AdAge.com) -- A major internet advertiser is sounding the alarm about a Yahoo-Google ad deal. AT&T publicly warned that Yahoo's deal to start replacing some of its own search ads with those supplied by Google could hurt advertisers by driving up prices.

Meebo launches instant message platform so other web sites can build branded chat services

Eric Eldon — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 04:00:40 GMT

Meebo is turning its instant message aggregator service into a “platform” that other web companies can use to build instant message features into their own sites. The new platform, officially called Meebo Community Instant Messaging, is a way for the company to take advantage of a trend...

E3 trendspotting: the triumph of music

Dean Takahashi — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 07:28:51 GMT

LOS ANGELES — I just came back from the “Rock Band 2″ party at the E3 video game show. Inside the Orpheum theater, The Who belted out 40-year-old songs to the delight of the crowd. The event was the most exciting so far in a dull conference that has proved, in most respects, to be...

EU Plans To Extend Copyright; Turns Copyright System Into Welfare For Musicians

Michael Masnick — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 20:51:00 GMT

Just as we feared, the EU has now approved copyright extension of performance royalties from 50 years to 95 years. This is basically an approval to steal from the public. The public made a deal with musicians 50 years ago: give us music, and we'll give you performance royalties for 50 years. The...

Web-based program gives the blind Internet access

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 03:38:51 GMT

Blind people generally use computers with the help of screen-reader software, but those products can cost more than $1,000, so ...

Boy band promoter ordered to repay victims $300M (AP)

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 03:39:27 GMT

AP - ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) Lou Pearlman and federal authorities have finally agreed on how much the former boy band promoter swindled from banks and investors in a decades-long scam: a staggering $300 million.

Former AOL executives back documentary film site (Reuters)

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 11:05:23 GMT

Reuters - Three former top executives of Time Warner Inc's AOL are backing a new online video venture being launched on Thursday aimed at creating a new outlet for documentary feature films, a category that has struggled to gain mainstream attention.

Joker Plays the Wild Card in Dazzling Dark Knight

Hugh Hart — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 23:16:00 GMT

Batman's back, but Heath Ledger's the star in the finest comics flick of 2008. It's a stunning, disturbing and fitting end to the summer of the superhero movie.

Griffin Named President of MSNBC

Anthony Crupi — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 08:37:00 GMT

Phil Griffin is ceding control of NBC’s Today, freeing him to focus exclusively on the oversight of MSNBC.

Mass Media

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 10:00:00 GMT

It’s one thing for a star to like a script. It’s another for him to sink $21.3 million of his own money into the production to get the film made. Yet that’s exactly what Kevin Costner did with Swing Vote, the new Disney comedy about an affable loser (Costner) who casts the...

What's Project Runway Worth?

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 10:00:00 GMT

Hollywood insiders have been waiting for Harvey Weinstein’s bubble to burst ever since he and his brother, Bob, split from Disney in 2005. Despite $1 billion in equity from Goldman Sachs, the Weinsteins have yet to produce a huge hit—except Project Runway, the cult cable-TV show hosted...

The Song is Over

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 04:00:00 GMT

LOS ANGELES—AC/DC and Metallica may be licensing tracks for Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero, but there are signs the brief love affair between the videogame industry and the music business may be nearly over. At E3 in Los Angeles this week, videogame makers from Nintendo to Activision...