Lopy

Todays links of interest:

• Executives: Choice is bad for cable
  Yes, god knows that we don’t want to give the consumer any kind of choice whatsoever
• Dave Chappelle’s Block Party
  This is such a perfect candidate for simultaneous theatre, cable and DVD release . . .
• Intel Mac Mini’s Video Card
  The new Mac Mini’s on-bard video card is optimized for HD video playback. Need any more clues about Job’s intentions?
• Search and you will find … an old news story?
  It’s a new world, people, wake up and redesign your thought process. Or at least make your websites easier to use.
• Showtime may revive ‘Arrested Development’
  Breathe slowly. Do not get your hopes up. Try to maintain a sense of decorum. (Reg req’d)
• Podcast hosting splits NPR, affiliates
  The podcast revolution must, by definition, have a backlash. Leave it to the NPR crowd to start the ruckus.
• CBS accuses Stern of foul airplay
  From the CBS desk: When all else fails, sue the guy.
• TV May Be Free but Not That Free
  In this episode, the defiinition of "free" TV causes confusion. Network executives bite their nails.
• Microsoft Updates Web Search Offering
  And in other news, Microsoft takes on Craigslist.
• AP, MSN Launch Online Video-News Service
  Alas, a service I can’t use. Ah, well, there’s always CBS via cell phone.

Todays links of interest:

• Blu-ray to Shine In May
  Sony announces May 23rd as street date for first Blu-Ray discs. Millions make a note not to care.
• Mobile phone sales hit 817 million in 2005
  No statistics, however, about how many of those phones were pink.
• US online piracy crackdown nets three guilty pleas
  Well, that oughta solve the problem!
• Re-Imagineering: When the Tail Wags the Dog, er, Mouse.
  It’s not just your imagination. Pirates Of the Caribbean actually was better when you were a kid. Looks like some Pixar people are out to fix it.
• CBS Asks YouTube To Remove Video
  Is it time to devote a full-time reporter to CBS? With all these cease-and-desists, YouTube has got the be the hottest thing going.
• CBS Stations Missing Stern
  Was it just yesterday that we noted that traditional radio needs to engage audiences. Recent ratings suggest that letting your most popular figure go doesn’t help in ratings.
• Iliad of The Future: The ePaper Device – Softpedia
  Another e-reader (see: Sony Librie) to use electronic paper technology. If only these things weren’t so big.

Todays links of interest:

• The New Naughty
  Or as Jim would say, frakkin’ right!
• ‘Old’ radio fights satellite with HD as its weapon
  The advantage of "old" radio: free. The disadvantage of "old" radio: programming. HD won’t change listener minds. Maybe it’s time to figure out why they’re leaving fo satellite in the first place.
• Don?t Get Stampeded By The 7.1 Parade
  On the relative merits of 7.1 vs. 5.1. Personally I’m happy with 2.1. After all, I only have two ears.
• Dr. Gervais’s Frankenstein
  The power of podcasts: how they can transform a local cult figure into a world-wide cult figure. "… if the next Einstein or Newton comes along and nicks me idea about people aging backwards and turning into a baby ? if that happens, I’ll be livid."
• Digital product placement alters TV landscape
  Related, no doubt, to the technology that is used to fill a cafe on Caprica with many different versions of the known Cylon models.
• A see change
  A consideration of all of the shows with seasons starting this spring; the "perpetual TV Season"; and great cancellation stories, including the show that got canceled during its very first ep.
• The Last Aria of Tony Soprano
  Speaking of shows with seasons starting this spring, here’s an interview with the two men who are responsible for creating one of the greatest charcters in all of popular culture.
• Terry Gilliam Calls For Better Movie Piracy
  In the latest volley in his now decades-old war against Hollywood, Gilliam says that his only quibble with DVD piracy is the low quality, not the money that H’wood claims it’s losing.
• PlayStation3 Delayed?
  Stories are flying that Sony’s PlayStation3 — scheduled for this spring — could be delayed as far out as 2007. This could affect the penetration of Sony’s Blu-Ray version of the HD DVD.
• Study Finds Test Scores Not Lowered by Television
  So by all means, use the TV as your defacto babysitter!
• He Helped Build the iPod; Now He Has Built a Rival
  A former Apple designer has created a new media player for Samsung. While the player offers a quality user experience, there’s still no iTunes support.
• Dick Cavett vs. Sly Stone
  Clips like this one are the reason why YouTube is so great. Until they get shut down, sued, or bought out …
• Most get news from broadcasters
  This probably should be noted by CBS executives. Consider this our attempt to help them.
• Top 10 Strangest iPod Accessories
  Apparently Wurlitzer doesn’t realizes that iPod owners don’t need a 100 CD changer.
• Survey: Rural Broadband Users Closing Gap
  In order for the new media revolution to take place, broadband needs to be as common as cable television. It’s getting there.
• Ask Bouncing Butler in Ambitious Makeover
  RIP Jeeves – Ask.com thinks living without a butler will save its world.

Todays links of interest:

• Ruling may undercut Google in book scan fight
  Perfect 10 decision could reverberate and bolster author claims of copyright protection.
• New DVDs already sparking copy-protection confusion
  Copyright protection: good. Consumer anger: bad. The motion picture industry’s obsessive search for effective encryption is leading to its biggest nightmare: consumers who can’t be bothered to figure out what works on which player.
• Internet Explorer 7 Adds New Security
  This just in: Internet Explorer 7 has tabs. Yes, tabs. In the year 2006, they are finally getting around to tabs. We are trying to figure out how anyone uses the ‘net without them right now.
• Future of the Internet Highway Debated
  The rhetoric over ownership of lines versus consumer demands is heating up — and it may be the phone companies who lose. If you take the "highway" analogy seriously, then we’re talking about a true public space. . .
• Digital product placement alters TV landscape
  It goes without saying that product placement needed to move to the next level — it’s only been a year since its last shift. With digital placement, you can see a new type of crackers in every media window.
• s.beat combines MP3 player, tools of survival
  Finally, a useful alternative to the iPod: the Swiss Army knife crossed with an MP3 player.
• Turner to Leave Time Warner
  Say what you want about his stone craziness, but always remember this, the man created CNN. Which only, you know, changed everything.
• Where the Money Is in Wireless
  One analyst’s take on who might win in the personal wireless revolution.
• Racy Material Missing From ‘Running’ Game
  "What about the Children?!?!" group succeeds in getting simulated oral sex scene removed from online movie trailer/game. Next on their list: oral sex itself!!
• Next-Gen DVD Copy-Protection Debacle
  Between the format wars and the hosing of those of us who were early HDTV adopters, it’s looking like the HD DVD is becoming the biggest "why even bother?" since the laserdisc.
• Justice Dept. Rejects Google’s Concerns
  This feels like a fishing expedition. There must be better ways to protect children.
• Speed of sound: from disc to download
  A quick look at how the way people have gotten their music over the past half-century or so. From the 78RPM to the mp3, one thing hasn’t changed: the fact that an obscure technological specification often drives what people call the end product.
• New technology offers TV show viewing – without the TV
  A nice roundup of the current state of cross-platform TV on Demand — which, of course, could be completely out-of-date tomorrow.
• Apple to offer full-length feature films via iTunes Store.
  Man, Tom Cruise will look short on an iPod.
• A Milestone for iTunes; a Windfall for a Downloader
  Team coverage of the billionth iTunes download continues. Stay tuned for more . . .

Todays links of interest:

• Michigan teen downloads billionth iTunes song
  And gets a bunch of cool stuff, earning the wrath of those of us who downloaded the other 999,999,999.
• Judge delays BlackBerry cutoff decision
  Life continues to have meaning for millions of people.
• Creative May Be iPod Threat
  Yeah surrrrre. And Apple may be a Windows threat.
• Clap Your Hands Say Yeah: A word of mouth revolution
  How the Brooklyn band used the Internet (and a key rave review) to garner critical and semi-popular commercial success.
• NBC has company in the Olympic TV business
  How networks world-wide are covering the Olympics.
• Industry fiercely opposes unbundled TV
  The cable industry is going to fight a la carte programming tooth and nail. And even if they lose, no doubt that they will make it incredibly difficult to add and delete channels on the fly.

Todays links of interest:

• Frank Zappa versus Robert Novak (video)
  Remember the good old days, when Tipper Gore was our biggest fear?
• Wired News: Work More, Do Less With Tech
  Clearly, spending the day searching for stuff on eBay is becoming a national crisis.
• Appointment TV – Still In Decline
  Advertisers think certain events are TiVo proof — consumers didn’t get that memo. Internet viewing, up. DVR use, up. Appointment TV, down.
• KFC plants hidden secret in new TV ad
  The ultimate challenge: can KFC’s secret blend of tasty ingredients stop the TiVo user in his tracks?
• Intermix Media sued by its founder
  MySpace is worth more than your space.