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.
Details are scant, but Amazon will be launching online video streaming service soon
Amazon, the world’s largest Internet retailer, will be launching an online streaming video service in the next several weeks, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said a little too matter-of-factly at the D: All Things Digital conference. One detail: The streaming service will start immediately for viewers, unlike Amazon’s Unbox product, in which users are required wait a period of time as content downloads.
Finally! Somebody (Vudu) extends movie-rental deadline beyond 24 hours
Vudu, the movie-on-demand service with its own set-top box, has upgraded its software to version 1.5 — ho hum — but this upgrade includes the ability to extend the rental period past the 24-hour deadline.
Sony’s agreement to use tru2way technology will eliminate set-top boxes, but not right away
Sony will incorporate a cable TV technology called tru2way in new televisions. Tru2way is an open java-based platform that allows developers to create all sorts of applications like games, eBay notifications, or interactive guides. Tru2way televisions from Sony and other manufacturers means that set-top boxes could become extinct. Plug your connection directly into your TV and get HD, DVR, VOD, and programming guides without the STB.
Catching up with Time Warner Cable, Blockbuster, TiVo, iTunes UK, and Netflix
A round-up of other Internet TV news: Set-top boxes, digital download kiosks, newspaper columns, Hollywood and more.
Digital Music news
Could we be edging closer to a Europe-wide ‘iPod tax’?
Consumer electronics companies including Apple, Nokia and Sony, maybe softening their stance against a Europe-wide copyright levy on “the sale of products that can be used to copy music, books, films and other protected content”, according to a report.
This is a guest post by Michael Pinto, Creative Director of Very Memorable, Inc. a design firm that specializes in the youth market and interactive media: “With the iPhone taking away the mind space of the iPod, the Zune already seems to be in an orphan category with consumers.”
Mobile news
Google demos Android again; it’s full of promise, but we’re still waiting for the real deal
Google demonstrated its Android operating system again, this time at the I/O conference in San Francisco. And, well, it’s still full of promise, just in case you were wondering.
Location-based services like Whrrl on iPhone to usher in Internet of people, places, and things
Get ready for the Internet of people, places, and things. Thanks to the iPhone and Android, it’s just around the corner — no pun intended.
Imagine a world where your computer, cellphone, games console, storage devices, media streamers and other hardware all play nicely together, so that, for example, music, photos and video can reach the television or Hi-Fi no matter where in the home it originates. That world is one which the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA), an industry consortium backed by big name consumer electronics, computer and mobile device manufacturers such as HP, Microsoft, Nokia and Samsung, is aiming to create through support for the UPnP (Universal Plug ‘n’ Play) AV standard.
That’s a wrap. Thanks for stopping by.
