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
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.
Following a successful experiment with “The Daily Show”, MTV Networks says that it plans to 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”.
Netflix has signed a deal with NBC Universal to offer online episodes of “Heroes” and past episodes of other series such as “30 Rock”, “Friday Night Lights”, and “The Office.” Netflix subscribers will have the option of watching these shows immediately on their computers at Netflix.com or on DVD.
More digital lifestyle news:
- The end is near? Yahoo! and AOL may shut down Internet radio service
- EMI parent Terra Firma mulls cutting back support for RIAA, IFPI
- TiVo and Nero partner to bring TiVo’s DVR solution to the PC
- NBC becomes first broadcast network to tap into TiVo for advertising insight
- The Mobile Web remains far off, and inevitable
Features
Dan Langendorf took Deutsche Grammophon’s new online classical music store for a spin and declared it a “wonderful” experience, noting the availability of competitively priced and high quality DRM-free downloads.
In a post titled ‘Why the AppleTV is outdated already‘, last100 editor Steve O’Hear notes that the online video landscape has changed dramatically since the AppleTV was launched last January. With so many disparate Internet TV services now on offer — both paid-for and ad-supported — “for Apple to make a real success of the AppleTV the company will need to forgo revenue from the iTunes Store or at least break iTunes’ monopoly in relation to the company’s set-top-box”, argues Steve.
That’s a wrap for the week. Enjoy the rest of the weekend readers!
