Television networks seek connections to viewers through Twitter

by Daniel Langendorf

July 18th, 2007 | Posted in Mobile, Social | Comments7 Comments

Suddenly Nathan Fillion, actor, TV star, space cowboy, was a Twitter friend. Or so I thought.

Twitter DriveWhen the Fox TV series Drive first aired in April, I noticed Fillon was a Twitter-er, a participant in the social media, short-message service Twitter. As it turned out, it was actually director Greg Yaitanes making the posts; he just used a Drive publicity photo (of Fillion) as an avatar.

Didn’t matter. Fillion or Yaitanes, I had a connection with someone working on an interesting new program, someone who would “talk” with me and feed me — and 909 friends and 718 followers on Twitter — with insider tidbits about filming, scripts, special effects during the show.

Fox may have been ahead of its time, not with the show (which it canceled) but with Twitter. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that NBC, CBS, ABC Family, and MTV are among several networks “experimenting with the marketing possibilities” of Twitter. As I discovered with Drive, there’s potential power between the network, the show, the people responsible for the show, and fans watching the show — if done right. Continue reading »

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iPhone may produce "Halo Effect" for mobile video

by Daniel Langendorf

July 17th, 2007 | Posted in Mobile | Comments3 Comments

iPhone office clip

Hanging out at the Apple Store the other day, an elderly woman buying a second iPhone was overheard talking to a sales person, who just nodded and never delivered a sales pitch. “I guess I’d better get an Apple computer,” the woman said, noting her satisfaction with the first iPhone purchase. “I’ve always been a Windows person.”

It’s here again, the Halo Effect — only this time it isn’t an iPod helping to increase sales of Apple computers. It’s the iPhone possibly affecting the sales of Apple products and introducing mobile video to a larger audience.

Research firm Interpret said Tuesday (press release) that 63 percent of iPhone users have already used the device to watch video, compared with just 28 percent of regular cell phone owners using video-enabled equipment. Fifty-one percent say they’ve also watched a YouTube video on their phone, 46 percent have watched a music video, 34 percent have watched the news, and 32 percent have watched a movie trailer. Continue reading »

Democracy Player is dead, long live Miro

by Steve O'Hear

July 17th, 2007 | Posted in Net TV, Review | Comments13 Comments

Miro Internet TV application (formally known as Democracy Player)Miro (formerly known as Democracy Player) is an open-source Internet TV application that combines a media player and library, content guide, video search engine, as well as podcast and BitTorrent clients. Developed by the Participatory Culture Foundation, Miro aims to make online video “as easy as watching TV”, while at the same time ensuring that the new medium remains accessible to everyone, through its support for open standards. Described by some as the “Firefox of media apps”, the resulting effort is a slick looking and easy-to-use application — not a mean feat when dealing in open-source methodology — that gives Apple’s iTunes (the default media player and video podcast client for many) a genuine run for its money. Continue reading »

Microsoft's Internet TV strategy: today and in the future

by Mack D. Male

July 17th, 2007 | Posted in Net TV | Comments18 Comments

This is the second article in a two part series exploring Microsoft’s Internet TV strategy.

Microsoft Internet TVIn part one, we looked at the history of Microsoft’s Internet TV initiatives. We now turn our attention to examining what you can do with the company’s products and services today, and we’ll finish with some thoughts on what to expect in the future.

Today, Microsoft’s three main television products are Windows Media Center, Xbox 360, and Mediaroom (formerly Microsoft TV IPTV Edition). Let’s look at each in turn. Continue reading »

VeohTV could feel the wrath of content owners

by Steve O'Hear

July 16th, 2007 | Posted in Net TV | Comments5 Comments

VeohTVVeohTV (see our review) is an Internet TV application which pulls in videos from thousands of sources — which currently includes NBC, CBS, FOX, YouTube, MySpace, and Veoh’s own video-sharing site — with content browsable via a simple channel guide. The idea is to give users access to a wide range of online video content, all within an easy to use, full-screen cable TV-like interface. And while the software has yet to be released to the public, it’s already coming under scrutiny from the companies whose content VeohTV is aggregating. That’s because Veoh is operating without formal licensing agreements. Continue reading »

Listeners help Internet radio fight fee battle

by Daniel Langendorf

July 16th, 2007 | Posted in Audio | Comments2 Comments

Savenetradio banner

I woke up today and the sun was shining, and I’d like to think I had something to do with with it. Internet radio is still standing, at least for now.

Months ago I signed a petition to save internet radio, sent emails to my congressman, performed ritual rain dances in hopes that I could always listen to one of my favorite internet radio “stations”, Pandora. This morning I am happy to report that my Explosions in the Sky station is working just fine. Continue reading »

"MusicPal", Freecom's new portable Internet radio

by Steve O'Hear

July 16th, 2007 | Posted in Audio | Comments3 Comments

“MusicPal”, Freecom’s new portable Internet radio“MusicPal” is a new WiFi-enabled Internet radio from Freecom. Designed to be an updated version of the kind of portable radio you might have in your kitchen or by your bedside, the device can access over 5,000 Internet radio stations, stream music from your PC or Mac, as well as operate as an alarm clock. But, perhaps most interestingly, news headlines and whether reports (pulled in via RSS) can be displayed on the device’s LCD screen. Continue reading »

Weekly wrapup, 9 – 13 July 2007

by Steve O'Hear

July 13th, 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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Before we begin this wrapup, I want to welcome our new writer, Daniel Langendorf. Dan will be a regular contributor here on last100, and brings a wealth of experience, both as a journalist and as someone who has spent over 10 years in product design and development. He’s currently studying for a master’s degree in fine art at the University of Texas (in the arts and technology program), where he also teaches a class on emerging media and communications. Continue reading »

Video of the week: "Bad Sinatra"

by Daniel Langendorf

July 13th, 2007 | Posted in Net TV, Video show of the week | Comments3 Comments

This is a new weekly feature where we’ll be reviewing an online video show or podcast every Friday. It’s our goal to introduce interesting content for all of our cool digital lifestyle devices, including iPods and PSPs, Apple TV, Windows Media Centers, gaming consoles, TiVo, even cell phones.

Steve Gillmor

I’m giving Steve Gillmor a mulligan on this one.

Steve Gillmor, the irascible technology journalist of ZDNet fame (and others), has finally returned to the podcasting airwaves with a wonderfully-named show called “Bad Sinatra,” only this time he’s wielding a camcorder, not a microphone. Continue reading »

Zune users to be paid for sharing songs?

by Steve O'Hear

July 13th, 2007 | Posted in Audio, Mobile | Comments12 Comments

Zune users to be paid for sharing songs?A recent patent application by Microsoft describes a mechanism whereby Zune users are paid for sharing songs. Currently the company’s digital audio player has the capability to wirelessly swap music with other Zune owners, with the restriction that any shared song can only be played a maximum of three times. After which you’re given the option to buy the track from Microsoft’s Zune Marketplace. In a move designed to encourage sharing — and in turn, sell more music — Microsoft proposes paying users a percentage of revenue from sales generated through tracks they’ve shared. Continue reading »

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