Apple and Google alliance just got stronger

by Steve O'Hear

August 8th, 2007 | Posted in Mobile, Net TV, Other | Comments12 Comments

Apple and Google alliance just got strongerYesterday’s Apple press event saw the unveiling of new iMacs and major updates to the company’s iLife and iWork software suites. But it also provided further insight into the cosy relationship developing between Apple and Google, with greater integration between the two companies’ product lines.

What’s new? iMovie ’08 adds the ability to upload video direct to YouTube, and iWeb (Apple’s web page creation software) now integrates with Google Maps and YouTube, along with support for Adsense.

Combine these efforts with the existing iPhone tie-ins — Google Maps, YouTube, Gmail — along with AppleTV’s recently added support for YouTube, and we can see how the Apple/Google alliance is strengthening.

And there’s more to come. Continue reading »

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NBC Universal: long-term greedy, not short-term greedy

by Daniel Langendorf

August 7th, 2007 | Posted in Mobile, Net TV, Other | Comments3 Comments

nbc universalGeorge Kliavkoff, NBC Universal’s chief digital officer, calls it like he sees it. Appropriate, considering he came to NBC Universal from Major League Baseball.

In an interview with Forbes.com, Kliavkoff said that video distribution on cellphones in the United States is a broken business model and that the carriers and NBC Universal (as well as other big-media content providers) are “long-term greedy, not short-term greedy.”

No argument here.

In this country, if you look at the gross revenue of content distribution on mobile phones, 9 percent of the gross revenue goes to the content owners, 70 percent stays with the carriers, and 21 percent goes to content aggregators and other middlemen. We think over time that’ll get fixed. I believe the carriers are like us, long-term greedy, not short-term greedy.

Continue reading »

Internet and mobile video not safe from censors

by Ryan Jarrett

August 7th, 2007 | Posted in Mobile, Net TV | Comments1 Comment

V-chip - Internet and mobile video not safe from censorsIt was reported this week that some members of the U.S. Senate believe that the rating system used in US televisions needs to be taken further. There are moves to power-up the controversial V-Chip so that it can be embedded into more devices — such as computers, games consoles and mobile phones — which will, in turn, give parents greater control over what their children are able to watch.

The V-Chip, which has been compulsory in all televisions sold in the States since January 2000, allows parents to set filters which will block out content above certain rating levels. These levels are then encoded into television programs broadcast in the U.S. Continue reading »

Interview: Zattoo co-founders

by Steve O'Hear

August 7th, 2007 | Posted in Net TV | Comments6 Comments

Zattoo live TV on the InternetZattoo (see our review) is one of only a few Internet TV applications that I use on an almost daily basis. It enables me to watch live television — which includes all of the BBC’s offerings along with a few other European channels — in a window in the corner of my laptop, while I remain productive: blogging, replying to or writing email and chatting over IM. In this way, Zattoo is pitched very differently to competitors such as Joost or Babelgum, both of which attempt to re-create part of the “lean-back” experience of traditional TV.

I caught up with two of Zattoo’s co-founders (via email), Sugih Jamin and Beat Knecht, to find out more about the company’s mission and its Silicon Valley-esque roots in academia. Continue reading »

What's next for the AppleTV?

by Daniel Langendorf

August 6th, 2007 | Posted in Audio, Net TV, Other | Comments29 Comments

apple tvWhenever I think of the AppleTV, I squeeze my eyes shut, click my heels three times, and say, “There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home.”

Where I go in my mind’s eye is the living room. I’m laying on the sofa watching television or a movie on a modest but impressive 42-inch plasma display. At the heart of my home theater, the device running the whole operation, is the AppleTV. I download from the Internet the TV shows or movies I buy, rent, or request on demand in high-definition. I record one show while watching another. I watch Internet TV programs on “stations” like Joost, YouTube, or MySpace.

Then I wake up. This is no Oz. Continue reading »

Amazon invests in social music site

by Steve O'Hear

August 6th, 2007 | Posted in Audio | Comments7 Comments

AmieStreet — Amazon invests in social music siteVentureBeat reports that Amazon has invested an undisclosed sum in AmieStreet.com. The social music site has a unique business model where all songs start off free and rise in price — up to 98 cents — the more they are purchased. Anybody can upload their music to AmieStreet (tracks are sold as DRM-free MP3s) and artists keep 70% of any revenue generated from sales. The site also reward fans when they recommend songs to their friends by giving them credit to buy more music, creating a social network around music discovery.

Last week we pitched Amazon as an underestimated player in the battle for the digital living room, noting properties such as the video on-demand service, UnBox, as well as their soon-to-be launched digital music store. Add into the mix user-generated review sites such the Internet Movie Database (IMDB), Digital Photography Review, and Amazon.com itself, along with today’s news of its investment in a social music site, and its clear that the e-commerce giant knows more about our digital lifestyles than ever before.

Indian web TV portal shows another way

by Ryan Jarrett

August 6th, 2007 | Posted in Net TV | Comments2 Comments

Watch India - Indian web TV portal shows another wayDigital Spy are reporting that Watch India, a subscription-based Internet TV channel with a focus on Indian programing, has been a great success: “In its first month, it managed 100,000 unique viewers, with over 33,000 coming from the UK alone.”

Watch India has a particularly strong position regarding its appeal to ex-pat Indians. While I have no knowledge of the availability of good Indian television content outside of India, it’s likely that by offering programs direct, Watch India can provide a wider range of content — including more recent productions — than that the limited offerings of cable or satellite television. If the programming on Watch India can mirror content “back home”, and offer it worldwide, then I can only see its popularity growing, and also the possibility of other foreign language TV portals being developed. Continue reading »

BBC iPlayer review – one week later

by Ryan Jarrett

August 5th, 2007 | Posted in Net TV, Review | Comments45 Comments

Ryan is a UK-based IT consultant and blogs regularly on digital content.

BBC iPlayer download reviewAfter much frustration, I finally received my iPlayer beta log-in details late last Friday. This allowed me to access the walled area of the BBC website that contains the mythical iPlayer. So, after a week of testing, here’s what I experienced, and, finally, what I think of the iPlayer. Continue reading »

Weekly wrapup, 30 July – 3 August 2007

by Steve O'Hear

August 3rd, 2007 | Posted in last100 weekly wrapup | Comments1 Comment

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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Top digital lifestyle news

Lots of news this week. Continue reading »

Video of the week: "the show with zefrank"

by Daniel Langendorf

August 3rd, 2007 | Posted in Video show of the week | Comments1 Comment

ze frank logoIt’s a bit odd to be writing a review about a video podcast that began on March 17, 2006 and ended on March 17, 2007. Today, in case you don’t know or have to look it up, is August 3, 2007.

But this is no ordinary video podcast. It’s living beyond the end. “the show with zefrank” is still a Featured Video Podcast (comedy) on the iTunes Music Store. “zefrank the songs”, a soundtrack for “the show” featuring such ditties as “If the Earth Were a Sandwich” and “Stinky Nipples”, is also being sold on the iTMS. Continue reading »

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