Author Archive

TiVo points to AppleTV's future

by Steve O'Hear

December 3rd, 2007 | Posted in Net TV, Other, Social | Comments1 Comment

TiVo points to AppleTV's futureAside from supporting YouTube, the AppleTV is about as Internet-connected as a first generation iPod. This despite the device sporting an Ethernet connection, high speed WiFi, and running Mac OSX under the hood.

In comparison, TiVo’s Linux-based line of “broadband-connected” DVRs play host to a growing range of web services, which, as of today, now includes the photo-sharing sites, Fox Interactive Media-owned Photobucket and Google’s Picasa. TiVo previously offered support for the now defunct Yahoo! Photos, and many had expected the company to add support for Yahoo-owned Flickr as a direct replacement, so it’s with some surprise that they’ve chosen to partner with two competitors instead.

With the new update, TiVo subscribers can access their own digital photos hosted on Photobucket or Picasa, as well as those shared by friends and family, through their broadband-connected TiVo boxes. “Photos will be displayed at the highest possible resolution on each TiVo box, meaning TiVo Series3 and TiVo HD subscribers can see their memories in full high definition”, according to the press release.

Continue reading »

Weekly wrapup, 26 – 30 November 2007

by Steve O'Hear

December 1st, 2007 | Posted in last100 weekly wrapup | CommentsNo Comments

Here’s a summary of the week’s digital lifestyle action on last100. Note that you can subscribe to the weekly wrapups, either via the special weekly wrapup RSS feed or by email.

Enter your email address:

Top digital lifestyle news

Verizon, the number two U.S. carrier, received a pat on the back from many in the tech blogosphere by announcing that they are opening up their network to any phone and any software application, meaning that consumers will have more choice over the devices and software they use on Verizon’s mobile network. However, last100’s Dan Langendorf was less than impressed, saying the move “is nothing more than Verizon counter-punching in a high-stakes heavyweight bout between the carriers, Google, the government, and consumers.”

As if to add weight to Dan’s cynicism towards Verizon, Google officially confirmed it will be bidding in the upcoming mobile spectrum auction . But how intent is the company on winning?

In Internet TV-related news this week…

The three major British terrestrial TV networks – the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 – have announced an initiative, known as “Kangaroo”, to develop a combined service for accessing their on-demand and catch-up services.

Continue reading »

MTV Networks to put every South Park episode online

by Steve O'Hear

November 29th, 2007 | Posted in Net TV | Comments2 Comments

South Park fans rejoice (“Kenny” to live online forever).

MTV Networks to put every South Park episode onlineFollowing a successful experiment with “The Daily Show”, MTV Networks will make every episode of “South Park” available free online sometime next year, as part of the company’s wider distribution strategy “to reach consumers everywhere” (see the Reuters report).

The lesson learnt by MTV Networks subsidary, Comedy Central, when it made the entire archive of “The Daily Show” available for streaming online, is that Internet TV viewing can lead to more traditional television viewing. In other words, The Daily Show’s television viewing figures are up not down, even though fans are able get an unlimited fix via the show’s own website.

Continue reading »

TiVo and Nero partner to bring TiVo's DVR solution to the PC

by Steve O'Hear

November 28th, 2007 | Posted in Net TV, Other | CommentsNo Comments

TiVo and Nero partner to bring PVR software to the PCIn more TiVo-related news (following yesterday’s hookup with NBC), the company is partnering with software maker, Nero, to develop a TiVo/Nero branded DVR solution for the PC. This will see the two company’s compete with existing PC software-based DVR products from Microsoft (Media Center), Snapstream (BeyondTV) and SageTV.

In the accompanying press release, TiVo’s CEO, Tom Rogers, is quoted as saying:

“This agreement provides TiVo with an opportunity to deliver its interface and differentiated feature set globally via the PC, enabling TiVo to use all avenues of mass distribution — from consumer electronics, to cable and satellite boxes and soon, the PC.”

Continue reading »

Why the AppleTV is outdated already

by Steve O'Hear

November 26th, 2007 | Posted in Net TV | Comments2 Comments

Why the AppleTV is outdated alreadyThe online video landscape has changed dramatically since the AppleTV was launched last January. Along with a range of me-too video download stores competing directly with iTunes, there exists a confusing mix of ad-supported destination sites run by the television networks themselves, including Hulu, and the catch-up service, NBC Direct, complemented by desktop Internet TV applications such as Joost and Babelgum (again, both ad-supported), as well as video aggregators like VeohTV. Perhaps recognizing this, Apple CEO Steve Jobs himself has sought to reposition the company’s set-top-box away from “completing the story”, in terms of Apple’s digital lifestyle strategy, to being relegated to the company’s hobby.

And yet its still difficult, if not impossible, to get content originating from most Internet TV services onto a television, something which the AppleTV solved with regards to iTunes. So why has the AppleTV failed to ignite the market for PC to TV devices? That’s the question posed by Tom Krazit, over at CNET’s Crave.

Continue reading »

Weekly wrapup, 19 – 23 November 2007

by Steve O'Hear

November 24th, 2007 | Posted in last100 weekly wrapup | CommentsNo Comments

Here’s a summary of the week’s digital lifestyle action on last100. Note that you can subscribe to the weekly wrapups, either via the special weekly wrapup RSS feed or by email.

Enter your email address:

Top digital lifestyle news

The big news this week was Amazon’s entry into the eBook space (see ‘Amazon to launch eBook device and service‘). The company launched its own eBook device “Kindle” and accompanying U.S.-only eBook store and service. One notable difference between the Kindle and other competing hardware-based eBook readers, is the ability to purchase and download content over-the-air using the mobile broadband standard, EVDO.

In Internet TV-related news, the set-top movie box service, Vudu, has starting offering HD content. Beginning November 23, Vudu is giving every new buyer copies of both “The Bourne Identity” and “The Bourne Supremacy” pre-loaded on their set-top boxes in HD. They also will have the opportunity to download the third movie in the trilogy, “The Bourne Ultimatum”, to own for $25 when it becomes available in mid December.

Continue reading »

Review: MediaGate's MG-350HD (another PC to TV device)

by Steve O'Hear

November 23rd, 2007 | Posted in Audio, Net TV, Review | Comments3 Comments

Disclaimer: MediaGate is currently a last100 sponsor.

Review: MediaGate MG-350HDPitched by the company as an AppleTV alternative, MediaGate’s MG-350HD shares much of the same media extender functionality, whereby photos, music, and videos can be streamed from a PC to a TV. In addition to streaming, when fitted with an internal hard drive, the MG-350HD can operate as a network attached storage device to house and playback all of a user’s home media.

In the looks department, the MG-350HD is no stunner, but it’s far from ugly either. Resembling the shape of a typical external hard drive with the addition of the give-away 802.11g-compatible WiFi antenna, the device has a solid and durable feel to it. The front panel features a navigation pad, media playback controls (start/stop etc.), status lights and an infrared receiver. The inclusion of physical controls adds clutter to the design and seems a little frivolous at first — until the day you misplace the supplied remote, that is. On the rear of the device are a plethora of connectivity options: including USB device/host ports, DVI out, S-Video out, digital coaxial out, component-video out, Ethernet, optical out for 5.1 audio, composite-video out, and stereo RCA audio outs. The S-Video, component and composite video options will come in handy for those without a HDTV, although, as the name suggests, the MG-350HD is geared towards a High Definition world. Unlike the AppleTV, MediaGate’s device doesn’t require a Widescreen television and can be operated in 4:3 mode.

Continue reading »

SpiralFrog loses $3 million in three months

by Steve O'Hear

November 20th, 2007 | Posted in Audio | Comments2 Comments

SpiralFrog loses $3million in three monthsSpiralFrog, the ad-supported music download service that we reviewed back in September, is bleeding cash at a rate of $1 million per month over the last three months.

Marshal Kirkpatrick, over at our sister blog Read/WriteWeb writes:

According to financial filings required by the company’s investors and dug up by Joseph Weisenthal at PaidContent, the company reported a Q3 loss of $3.4 million on revenue of only $20,400, leaving only $2.3 million in the company’s bank account.

Such huge revenue losses based on a measly turnover of only $20,400 doesn’t seem to bode well for SpiralFrog’s business model. It’s hard to comprehend how the company has such high operational costs, although it’s a lot easier to decipher why there has been such low take-up of the service. Getting music for “free” sounds great until you factor in the inconvenience of having to log in regularly to sit through more ads and surveys in order to stop the music you’ve already downloaded from expiring so that it will continue to play. Couple this with the fact that the music only works on a Windows PC through Windows Media Player — no transferring to portable devices, let alone an iPod — and it’s clear that SpiralFrog is no competitor to piracy or other more traditional download services such as iTunes.

The company’s answer? Marketing, marketing and marketing — including ‘hiring’ bloggers.

From SpiralFrog’s SEC filing:

“Execute marketing campaign in the United States aimed at 13-34 year olds, through one or more of the following approaches: hire gorilla marketing firms for unconventional promotions; consumer targeted press releases; advertising on some of the youth community sites; or hiring ‘bloggers’ to attract attention to us on the internet.”

Also see: Music industry: five alternative business models

Amazon to launch eBook device and "service" later today

by Steve O'Hear

November 19th, 2007 | Posted in Mobile, Other | Comments1 Comment

Amazon to launch The eBook is nothing new, and nor are hardware-based eBook readers — I’ve even read a number of eBooks over the years on various Palm devices, for example. However, later today Amazon is set to unveil the latest stab at an dedicated eBook device and accompanying service called the “Kindle”.

Richard MacManus, editor of our sister blog Read/WriteWeb, has the details:

This week, wrote Steve Levy in a rapturous article in Newsweek, Amazon will release the Kindle – an e-reader that uses E Ink and will have Internet connectivity. The latter point is what will differentiate the Kindle from its chief competitor currently, the Sony eReader that was launched in 2006.

Levy wrote in Newsweek that the Kindle ” will change the way readers read, writers write and publishers publish.” He unleashes other doozies of hyperbole too: “the iPod of reading” and “the first ‘always-on’ book”.

The Kindle will cost USD399, which is $100 more than the Sony eReader. But the wireless Internet connectivity easily makes the increased price worth it. The wireless is via a system called Whispernet – which according to Newsweek is based on the EVDO broadband service offered by cell-phone carriers, allowing it to work anywhere and not just Wi-Fi hotspots.

The Kindle will be able to hold 200 books, with new releases being offered for just $9.99. Also, apparently blogs will be part of the service – at a cost of either 99 cents or $1.99 a month per blog.

There are quite a few issues that might hold back adoption of the Kindle, namely the tricky balancing act that is DRM and eBook formats, the user experience of the device itself, and the age-old question of whether people really want to read books — most of which aren’t time sensitive — electronically.

I also have a feeling there maybe another issue at stake.

Continue reading »

Weekly wrapup, 11 – 16 November 2007

by Steve O'Hear

November 16th, 2007 | Posted in last100 weekly wrapup | CommentsNo Comments

Here’s a summary of the week’s digital lifestyle action on last100. Note that you can subscribe to the weekly wrapups, either via the special weekly wrapup RSS feed or by email.

Enter your email address:

Features

Ryan Jarrett kicked off the week on last100 with a post featuring six pioneers in the digital music space, ranging from David Bowie to the Arctic Monkeys. Readers were invited to submit their own pioneers, with Prince, Public Enemy and Trent Razor being notable omissions from our original list.

Daniel Langendorf took NBC’s new TV catch-up service, NBC Direct, for a spin, and was unimpressed: “If you like living by network TV schedules, NBC Direct may be for you. For those of us who time shift, NBC Direct is a huge disappointment.”

Continue reading »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »