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.

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Internet TV news on last100

The WB is reborn as an online video site offering original programming and “reruns”

First up, Warner television group is bringing back The WB brand not as a television network but an online video site, writes Dan Langendorf. The new WB (thewb.com) will feature original short-form content developed by talent like director/producer McG (“Terminator 4” and the “Charlie’s Angels” movies) and writer/producer Josh Schwartz (“Gossip Girl”). Additionally, the new WB will provide “reruns” of shows which ran on the network from its birth in 1995 to 2006, when it merged with the UPN network to form The CW for the 2006-2007 TV season.

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.

Support last100: If you would like to enquire about sponsoring last100 (including our weekly wrapup) please contact us for a Media Kit.

Internet TV news

First off, Viacom, Paramount, MGM and Lionsgate announced a joint venture to create a new premium TV channel and VOD service, to be rolled out in the fall of 2009. The project will include a strong online component, according to Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman: “It will also meet the needs of varying distributors and take advantage of online distribution…innovative both in presenting the content and in distributing it.”

Netflix’s ambitious Internet TV plans are forging ahead, with three new set-top box partners to integrate the company’s ‘Watch Now’ video streaming service into their products by the end of the year. Who those partners are, Neflix won’t say, while speculation builds that Microsoft (XBox 360) could be one. However, we think it’s more likely that we’ll see Netflix compatibility added to a number of media streamers, such as those produced by D-Link and KISS (Linksys). The company has previously announced a partnership with Korean manufacturer LG Electronics to stream movies, TV shows, and other content to LG high-definition televisions or set-top boxes by the second half of 2008.

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.

Support last100: If you would like to enquire about sponsoring last100 (including our weekly wrapup) please contact us for a Media Kit.

Top digital lifestyle news

Adobe Media Player launches – does the world need another Internet TV app?

The big Internet TV news this week was the full launch of Adobe Media Player (AMP) version 1.0. Built using the company’s Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR) — a cross-platform technology designed to bring web-based applications to the desktop — AMP is an aggregator and media player that enables users to subscribe to, download and playback Flash-based video.

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.

Support last100: If you would like to enquire about sponsoring last100 (including our weekly wrapup) please contact us for a Media Kit.

Digital lifestyle news

In the same week that Apple’s iTunes became the No. 1 music retailer (overtaking Wal-Mart), MySpace announced a new joint venture with three of the four major record labels. To be rolled out in stages over the next few months, MySpace Music will offer paid-for, DRM-free MP3 downloads (no details on pricing or quality), ad-supported music and video streaming, ringtones for cell phones, concert ticket sales, and merchandise.

On the Internet TV front, Blinkx launched BBTV.

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.

last100 features

Inside story: the making of a TV torrent

Following the news last week that Canadian broadcaster CBC would be releasing a TV show through BitTorrent as a free and legal (DRM-free) download, we published the inside story courtesy of last100’s Guinevere Orvis. In a post titled ‘Inside story: the making of a legal TV torrent‘, Guinevere, who worked on the CBS project, wrote: “Why in the year 2008, seven years after BitTorrent’s birth and a lifetime in Internet years is this a groundbreaking thing? Let’s break down what it takes to get a legal torrent going and maybe we’ll get some answers.”

Will 2008 be the year of the music tax?

In our recent Year in review (2007) for digital music, we predicted that the idea of a music flat-rate or so-called music “tax” would be one model that will be pushed hard by the major record labels in 2008. Universal Music Group, publicly at least, has been most committed to the idea. First, by touting its own Total Music plan, and then through announcing a partnership with Nokia as part of the handset maker’s “Comes With Music” offering. Now it seems that Warner Music has been handed the flat-rate baton.

More digital lifestyle news

• Whether people want it or not, AT&T will deliver live mobile TV in May
• Nokia hopeful of signing up all four major labels for all-you-can-eat music offering
• Motorola’s decline in mobile industry has been coming for a long time
• 3G iPhone said to be imminent – will it help UK sales?
• Sony BMG has a (half-baked) plan for a subscription music service
• Report: Two record labels ready to sign on for new MySpace Music
• Forget about getting any work done, every episode of “South Park” now available online

That’s a wrap for the week!

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.

Top digital lifestyle news

The big Internet TV news this past week is that Joost is reportedly switching strategy and will be bringing its service to the Web browser. Last100 editor Steve O’Hear wrote that the move “would signal an admission that Joost’s strategy to build its service around the kind of ‘lean back’ experience that it hoped to deliver via a full screen desktop application has largely failed.” Also Steve points out that the Internet TV landscape has changed dramatically — there are now a plethora of companies serving a similar mission to Joost, including big hitter Hulu, the NBC/Fox joint venture.

We also reported on Canadian broadcaster CBC’s decision to release a TV show for download, free, legal, and via BitTorrent; YouTube announced the winners of its annual video awards; and a new set-top box from Myka downloads and delivers torrents right to your television.

On the mobile front, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission announced that the big winners in the 700 MHz wireless spectrum auction were, indeed, Verizon and AT&T, the two biggest players in the industry. Dan Langendorf says that now the wait it over, it’s time for the U.S. mobile industry to innovate.

Following comments from Adobe, we also looked at the implications of Flash on iPhone (or the lack of). In a post titled ‘Who needs Flash on iPhone more? Adobe or Apple?‘, last100 editor Steve O’Hear asked: Is Adobe committing itself to building the missing version of Flash that Jobs demands? Or does Adobe really believe it can go-it-alone? “Without Apple providing the hooks to enable Adobe to tap into the iPhone’s Safari web browser,” Steve contended, “it’s hard to see how a Flash plug-in could be implemented. Instead, Adobe might be able to create a work around: some kind of stand-alone Flash Player that opens full screen to play certain content.”

In the same week, Microsoft hedges its bets and licenses Flash Lite from Adobe.

In Digital Music, LimeWire’s DRM-free music store launched; and there have been reports that Apple is exploring an “all you can eat” subscription model for the iTunes Store.

That’s a wrap for the week!

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.

Top digital lifestyle news

Lots of Internet TV news this week. Hulu – the online video project from News corp. and NBC/Universal, with participation by Sony, MGM and others – launched to the general public in the United States. In a post titled ‘Here’s The Good, The Bad, The Achilles Heel‘, Dan Langendorf delves into the highs and lows of Hulu..

In other news, Joost, the Internet TV service, is making live-streaming video available through an update to its desktop client. Also TiVo keeps improving its “television services” offering. This time, TiVo is adding YouTube to its ever-expanding lineup. We also reported on Nintendo launch of a DS Lite video download service in Japan.

Other news…

• Looking back at a week of numbers from NIN, to the iPhone, to a pop-singing prostitute
• Another DVR-like patent unearthed for Apple; this one might be game-changing
• The Beatles land on iTunes, in the form of “American Idol” performances

Features

• 10 mobile apps and services for sharing media
• Interview: Steve Hofstetter, an up-and-coming comic, successfully plays same game as Radiohead, NIN

That’s a wrap for the week.

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.

Top digital lifestyle news

The major news this week was the unveiling of Apple’s Software Developer Kit (SDK) for the iPhone and iPod touch. At a special event in Cupertino, Steve Jobs and co. explained how third-party software development would work on the iPhone/iPod touch, and demoed some example applications – games, instant messaging, sales, medical – all of which, it was claimed, had been produced in under two weeks. Jobs also announced enterprise features for the iPhone, including push email. Dan Langendorf delves into the details, noting “on paper at least, Apple is satisfying nearly every major wish expressed by developers, consumers, corporate users, and IT folks with the imminent release of the iPhone 2.0 software platform.”

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.

last100 feature posts

We kicked off the week on last100 with a hands-on review of Nokia’s latest Internet Tablet, the N810. Last100 editor Steve O’Hear wrote: “The first thing to notice about the N810 – beyond its good looks and very solid feeling build – is how Nokia is pitching the device. Despite its relatively high price and Linux foundations, the N810 is being pitched as a consumer-friendly device for those who want to stay connected to the social Web.”

Next up, in a post titled From “Alfred Hitchcock” to the “A-Team”, where to find classic TV on the Web’, Daniel Langendorf examined recent efforts by the U.S. television networks to offer up their classic content online.

Digital lifestyle news

• iPhone’s future coming into focus: SDK = iPhone 1.5, 3G networks = iPhone 2.0
• Video: GPhone Android demonstration
• Hulu expected to add content from Warner Bros., new “networks” continue to emerge
• iTunes overtakes Best Buy to become No.2 music retailer in U.S.
• Since when did Sony become ‘pirate’-friendly?
• DivX to shut down online video service Stage6; “wild ride” is over

That’s a wrap. Thanks for stopping by.

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.

Top digital lifestyle news

In a post titled ‘Blu-ray wins format war – much longer HD download battle lies ahead‘ we reported on the news this week that Toshiba is to cease production of HD DVD players and recorders, meaning that the next generation DVD format war is over and Blu-ray wins. “However, a much longer battle lies ahead – HD downloads – leading some to argue that the next-gen DVD format war is irrelevant. In the future consumers won’t buy physical media, they’ll purchase and download it over the Internet. True but let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves.”

In Apple-related news this week, BBC Worldwide (the commercial arm of the UK public broadcaster) has started selling television shows on iTunes UK. The BBC has also confirmed that a version of its UK-only TV catch-up service, iPlayer, will be coming to the iPhone and iPod Touch within weeks.