Archive for September, 2008

Moore's "Slacker Uprising" to forgo theaters and debut exclusively on Web

by Daniel Langendorf

September 5th, 2008 | Posted in Net TV | Comments3 Comments

“Slacker Uprising,” filmmaker Michael Moore’s latest documentary, will debut exclusively on the Internet for free.

The documentary documents the controversial Moore as he treks through 62 cities during the 2004 U.S. presidential election to rally young voters (trailer). It will be available for download from Blip.TV for three weeks beginning Sept. 23.

A DVD of the film will be released Oct. 7 through Amazon.com and Netflix.

“Slacker Uprising” bypasses traditional theatrical release. In fact, Moore’s people say no consideration was given to releasing the 97-minute film in the theaters, which is unusual considering his last two films — “Sicko” and “Fahrenheit 9/11” — are two of the three highest grossing documentaries of all time.

“This is being done entirely as a gift to my fans,” Moore said in a statement. “The only return any of us are hoping for is the largest turnout of young voters ever at the polls in November. I think ‘Slacker Uprising’ will inspire million (sic) to get off the couch and give voting a chance.”

Amazon's Video on Demand service poised to give Apple's iTunes a run for its customers

by Daniel Langendorf

September 4th, 2008 | Posted in Net TV | Comments3 Comments

Say goodbye (and good riddance) to Amazon Unbox and say hello (and welcome) to Amazon Video on Demand.

Amazon launched its new video streaming service Thursday. After a quick downloading and viewing of the TV show “Eureka,” we say Amazon Video on Demand is a worthy contender to Apple’s iTunes.

For one, Amazon’s new video service works where Unbox failed — it plays on Macs. And, another plus, the video starts steaming instantly. A big improvement over the boxy Unbox.

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Why Chrome is a win-win for Google

by Steve O'Hear

September 4th, 2008 | Posted in Mobile, Other | Comments4 Comments

For those that have been off-line for the last few days and without access to a television or other forms of old media, Google has announced and released the first version of its own web browser called Chrome (see ReadWriteWeb’s extensive coverage).

But do users and developers alike really need another browser? Google says that Chrome recognizes and builds on the best innovations of its competitors, but more importantly has built a web browser from the ground up to cope with the shift towards cloud computing in which the web has “evolved from mainly simple text pages to rich, interactive applications.”

“What we really needed was not just a browser, but also a modern platform for web pages and applications, and that’s what we set out to build”, says Google.

A few examples of how Google has put this into practice with Chrome include a faster JavaScript engine called V8, and “multi-threading” so that if a web app running in one tab crashes it won’t impact on the performance of other open pages/apps.

It’s highly debatable, of course, whether Google can be any more successful than others who have tried to grab market share from Microsoft who bundle its own Internet Explorer with the various flavors of its Windows operating system.

It could be argued, however, that whatever Chrome’s eventual market share, it serves as a win-win for Google. Here’s why:

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Nokia's all-you-can-eat music service to land in UK first

by Steve O'Hear

September 2nd, 2008 | Posted in Audio, Mobile | CommentsNo Comments

No carrier support

Nokia’s all-you-can-eat music subscription service, will launch first in the UK next month, but the real news is the lack of carrier support. Instead, Comes With Music will be offered on a pre-pay handset only, the slightly dated Nokia 5310 XpressMusic, sold exclusively through Carphone Warehouse, the same retail chain who in conjunction with 02 have partnered with Apple to sell the iPhone.

Described by Nokia as “a revolutionary way for people to discover and enjoy music”. Comes With Music gives those who purchase a supported handset “unlimited access to the entire Nokia Music Store catalog with the ability to keep all downloaded tracks even after the year is over.” It’s seen as a direct attempt by the world’s number one handset maker to take on Apple’s iPhone/iTunes music service – ironic considering that both offerings will now compete for shelf space at the Carphone Warehouse during the busy Christmas period.

As we’ve noted before, Nokia’s aggressive moves into the ‘services’ space was bound to hit a nerve with carriers who offer their own competing products. According to The Guardian newspaper (via mocoNews), Nokia has touted Comes With Music to all five UK networks, none of whom have found it attractive enough to bite. So far at least.

The major labels on the other hand seem more than willing to play ball. To date, Universal Music, Sony BMG and Warner Music have already signed on, and Nokia is hopeful that EMI will also soon join.

Why didn't we think of this? Microsoft planning mob app store of its own

by Steve O'Hear

September 1st, 2008 | Posted in Mobile | CommentsNo Comments

The news today that Microsoft is preparing to launch a mobile app store of its own to support the upcoming release of Windows Mobile 7, seems like a no-brainer in light of Apple’s successful offering for the iPhone. So much so that it begs the question: why didn’t they think of it before?

It’s not just a Microsoft issue. Nokia, Sony Ericsson, and Palm, for example, also largely leave it to others such as Handango to offer a marketplace for third-party applications.

However, I’d suggest that those aforementioned companies aren’t entirely to blame for not offering their own centralized app store for their respective platforms. Apple has a distinct advantage, at least for now: a single device/platform, as well as success in wresting an unprecedented amount of control from its carrier partners.

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