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We're Not Who You Think We Are

The Darknet Panel: Meet The Consumer

March 15, 2006 by Kassia Krozser

I admit it – when I heard that the MPAA was sending someone to SXSW to sit on the “The Future of Darknets: Can Hollywood See The Light?”, my first thought was, “That’s gonna be fun.” You know, fun in the way that root canals happening to someone else are fun. Fun, fun, fun.

And it was. I have a sick sense of humor that way. As Kevin Smokler said the next day, “There’s a street fight a-brewin'”.

Let me set the scene: the panel was hosted by J.D. Lasica, author of Darknet: Hollywood’s War Against The Digital Generation. Panelists included Kori Bernards of the MPAA, Mark Ishikawa from BayTSP, Ian Clarke, creator of Freenet, Heather Champs from Flickr (who was mad as hell about the DMCA, a perfect mood for the panel), and Dave Toole of Outthink. Oh, and a room packed with tech geeks, media consumers, and filmmakers. These groups were not mutually exclusive.

[Read more…] about The Darknet Panel: Meet The Consumer

Filed Under: Mediacratic Tagged With: Anti-Piracy, Darknets, DMCA, JD-Lasica, Jon-Else, MPA, MPAA, Sing-Faster, SXSW, SXSWi

The Daily Loper – March 15, 2006

March 15, 2006 by Lopy

Todays links of interest:

  • TV Networks Gear Up For Telling ‘Upfront’ Talks
    Upfront buying speaks to confidence. The networks think this will be their year. Everyone else notes that money is being spread far and wide — think new media, not old.
  • Sony Delays Playstation 3 By Six Months
    It’s official. Sony is giving XBox 360 an even bigger head start.
  • You are killing us!
    Are too many fan favorites on TV shows getting offed? Or have all-of the high-profile deaths on “24” in the past couple of weeks just made it seem that way? The L.A. Times investigates, and in the process spoils this weeks eps of “24” and the “Sopranos.
  • ‘Sopranos’ Muscles Into iPod Territory
    The other best show on TV may also be available for download soon. For now, however, you’ll just have to be satisfied with clips, interviews and recaps.
  • YouTube: Natalie Portman Rap Search
    This morning’s (08:08AM 03-15-2006) search on YouTube for “Natalie Portman Raps” returned 4 results.
  • Museum of bad album covers
    Just in case your digital music collection has you missing album art.
  • Sony, Others Won’t Degrade HD Content on Analog Outputs
    Some actual consumer-friendly news coming out of the Blu-Ray and HD DVD camps? Huzzah!

Filed Under: The Daily Loper

AOL Launches In2TV

March 15, 2006 by Jim Connelly

AOL launched their In2TV service today, featuring an eclectic mix of 30 Warner Bros. TV shows from the past half-century. Some good, some bad, some on DVD, some not — and all available for high-quality streaming in their entirety with “minimal commercial interruption.” 1 to 2 minutes, for now. Though if it’s successful, that will no doubt sneak up a bit: the whole point, of course, is another revenue stream.

We haven’t yet had a chance for a test-drive of the service through the Medialoper Review Labs — the pilot ep of Welcome Back Kotter, prior to Travolta becoming a superstar, will be just the ticket — but here are a couple of random initial impressions:

  • The home page is clean and well-organized: less clutter than iTunes, and easier to find stuff than Google video or YouTube.
  • Don’t come here looking for full seasons. Looks like they’ve launched with about 10 eps of each show.
  • They’ve also launched with features and interactive games.
  • There is more than one way to find an individual show: they’ve categorized them, have a search feature, broken out clips; and have a “show all feature” that actually lists more than a few at a time.
  • One of the best ideas: “Pilot Theatre,” which is exactly what you would think.

All in all, a nice auspicious start for IN2TV: one can only hope that they add more shows, and more episodes for each show.

  • AOL Television: In2TV

Filed Under: Services, Television Tagged With: AOL, google-video, In2TV, iTunes, streaming-video, Television, YouTube

HD DVD: Stumbling out of the Gate

March 14, 2006 by Jim Connelly

Warner Home Video, the only studio which had a firm release date for any HD DVD titles — March 28 — has now told retailers that the date isn’t so firm after all. Worse yet, they really aren’t sure when they’re gonna release those titles.

“To be honest, the outlook is tenuous — we’re still coming out with an initial slate, but we may be a week or two later; we just don’t know,” division president Ron Sanders said.

Translation: don’t look for any HD-DVD movies before Easter, or maybe even Memorial Day. Fourth of July? Meanwhile, the big mass market retailers are reportedly canceling pre-orders and changing ad campaigns to compensate for the lack of product. And no other studios had even announced actual release dates. Even without the format wars, this would be a less than auspicious beginning.
Meanwhile, Toshiba, the only manufacturer to even make the players right now (though LG just announced their dual player), is going to be all dressed up with nowhere to go.

And nowhere seems to be where the format is headed right now.

  • A blurry picture for HD-DVD as launch nears
  • HD DVD likely be a sluggish start with no movies for the launch
  • LG to deliver dual-format HD DVD/Blu-ray

Filed Under: HD DVD/Blu-Ray Tagged With: Blu-Ray, HD-DVD, LG, Toshiba, Warner-Home-Video

The Daily Loper – March 14, 2006

March 14, 2006 by Lopy

Todays links of interest:

  • Google News Credibility Foiled By 15-Year Old
    New media fooled by fake press release. That’s something the old media would NEVER fall for.
  • Portable music hearing risk needs more study: NIH
    At least two members of the ‘loper team have been volunteered to be part of the study.
  • Apple Offering Full Length Movie on iTunes
    Well, a made-for-Disney channel movie, but it’s a start
  • Razr Makes Limited Reappearance in Stores
    Even the pink ones.
  • US judge in Google case grills Justice Department
    Already with the follow-up – in other news, the government doesn’t need Google’s data, but the data would help. So why is this in court?
  • Judge to Order Google to Give Up Some Data
    And yet, we the people, can’t figure out this is going to help the government prove anything.
  • YouTube: Natalie Portman Rap Search
    This morning’s (08:21AM 03-14-2006) on YouTube for “Natalie Portman Raps” returned 4 results.
  • Arbitron to Launch ‘People Meter’ Without Partner
    In the year 2006, radio starts thinking, “Hmm, maybe we should figure out who’s listening to us.” The ‘loper team is standing by with the answer radio doesn’t want to hear.
  • User Spending on Web Content Soared in ’05
    Further proving that people will pay if it’s something they want.
  • SXSW 2006 Interactive Panels Podcasts
    Miss the conference? Or maybe you just missed an early morning session after a late night out. No problem, you can listen to the SXSW panels during your morning jog
  • Google Goes to Mars
    Now that they’ve conquered The Earth, this is the obvious next step in what future historians will call “The Google Galactic Empire.”
  • Was it the Bloody Mary?
    Isaac Hayes has decided to leave “South Park.” Apparently he’s just realized that Matt and Trey like to offend people.
  • The Combined AT&T and BellSouth Will Control 22% of Consumer Telecom Spending and 34% of Business Telecom Spending; Merger Announcement Further Consolidates Telecom Marketplace
    In 2084, they’re gonna have to break ’em up all over again!!

Filed Under: The Daily Loper

Fast, Cheap, and Redefining News: Rocketboom

March 14, 2006 by Kassia Krozser

When we started Medialoper, one comment I heard really resonated, but probably not in the way the speaker intended. In a discussion about creating content for Internet-distribution only, a well-meaning but ill-informed pundit opined that regular, quality content required major infrastructure behind it. There was no way (no way!) that people working out their living rooms could produce programming on a regular basis.

Mr. Pundit, meet Rocketboom.

Rocketboom is a daily video log (vlog, if you will). Think of it as a hipper, cooler, smarter nightly news. With correspondents around the world and regular production schedule, Rocketboom pulls in over 250,000 daily viewers — people who catch the current show and people who access the programs extensive archives. The daily program is largely created by two people: director/producer Andrew Baron and co-writer/host Amanda Congdon. Others work on the show in various capacities. And, as revealed during their SXSWi session “Democratization of the Moving Image”, almost no expense has been made to produce this show.

[Read more…] about Fast, Cheap, and Redefining News: Rocketboom

Filed Under: Actual Mileage Tagged With: Amanda-Congdon, Andrew-Baron, Rocketboom, SXSWi, vlog

Nick Denton Is The Most Generous Man On The Internet

March 13, 2006 by Kirk Biglione

Battling Roomba RobotsI know, the title of this post might surprise some of his employees. And it’s true that after arriving early to the Side Bar we were a bit skeptical that there was really going to be much of a Lifehacker party. The fact that there was no cold wine and exactly one half pint of Guinness Stout didn’t bode well for the evening’s festivities. Really, when has anyone ever ordered a half pint of Guinness? It sort of seemed like someone might have forgotten to add ‘party planning’ to their next actions list.

The unannounced live performance by Diamanda Galas on the outside patio only added to the confusion. Nothing against our old friend Diamanda, but we were forced to stuff quarters in the jukebox to offset her sonic attack with the sounds of Tom Waits, Jonathan Richman, and Sly and the Family Stone.

Eventually the Lifehacker crowd showed up and Nick Denton started paying for our drinks. All was well. Better yet, we were treated to battling bluetooth enabled Roombas that also played pool. What more could a Medialoper possibly ask for?

Factlet learned from the Side Bar mens room wall: 2,500 left handed people every year are killed using products designed for right handed people. Don’t let this happen to you. If you’re a lefty, get a left handed mouse immediately.

Thank you Lifehacker.

Filed Under: Robots!, Unexpected Results Tagged With: Gawker-Media, Interactive, Lifehacker, Nick-Denton, Roomba, Sly-Stone, SXSW, SXSWi

The Daily Loper – March 13, 2006

March 13, 2006 by Lopy

Todays links of interest:

  • Why newspapers must ask some searching questions
    Or, how you can stop worrying and learn to love Google. (Reg. req’d)
  • After iVillage Deal, Big Media Companies Case Other Sites
    Meet the new bubble: crazy money for questionable benefit. You’d think they’d have learned by now.
  • Howard Stern: Empire
    Why is Howard Stern smarter than you? Well, he owns the product that is known as “Howard Stern”. He’s not working for the man — he is the man. Once you get past the onerous New York Post registration and fight through the irritating pop-under ads, you’ll
  • Web First, Print Later
    Magazines are launching full-fledged content on the web. The question is, “Why do they bother with print at all?”
  • Feds Put the Screws to Ryan Adams Fans
    Their heinous crime: leaking pre-release tracks of Ryan’s Jacksonville City Nights album online to other Ryan Adams fans. All of whom went out and bought it anyway, no doubt. For that, a pair of music fans face 11 years while the RIAA cackles with glee.
  • YouTube: Natalie Portman Rap Search.
    This morning’s (08:19AM 03-13-2006) search on YouTube for “Natalie Portman Raps” returned 3 results.
  • A Curate-Your-Own Museum Web Site
    Note to entertainment executives: museum directors are now hipper than thou.
  • As Internet TV Aims at Niche Audiences, the Slivercast Is Born
    It’s not quite the meek inheriting the Earth, but it’s further proof that consumers are questioning old media’s relevance. Why dream when you can create?
  • Remember Beta? Blu-ray battle is here, and it could be even worse
    The Blu-ray/HD battle might be a bruiser, but will the consumers even notice?
  • Was Origami overhyped?
    Gee, what do you think? Perhaps more surprising, Scoble declares Paul Harvey ‘the most respected radio voice in America’. Just how old is Scoble anyway?
  • EFF Call to Get Your Sony Rootkit CD Settlement
    Seriously, if you actually bought one of these CD’s you should be compensated – don’t delay

Filed Under: The Daily Loper

My Sony Settlement, Part 1

March 13, 2006 by Jim Connelly

I was one of the unlucky people who happened to purchase a copy-protected CD from SonyBMG last year.  It was the Foo Fighters album On Your Honor, and I remember at the time cursing the fact that I couldn’t rip it to put it on my hard drive to listen to at my leisure.  Turns out that was the least of my worries, as they also left my hard drive vulnerable because they decided that the simple act of purchasing a CD from a band I’ve always liked meant that they could do anything that they wanted to do with my system. 

Gee, thanks SonyBMG!! Thank you ever so much for that!! And by the way,this whole fiasco actually kept me from buying another SonyBMG album that I had borrowed and actually quite liked: My Morning Jacket’s Z. Sheesh. No wonder people like Kirk have given up purchasing physical CDs, even while the record companies try desperate measures to force people to do just that. 

In any event, thanks to the EFF call to get the settlement, I am now going to get whatever restitution that I am offered, and I thought that it might be fun to track the process.

 

[Read more…] about My Sony Settlement, Part 1

Filed Under: Actual Mileage, Music Tagged With: copy-protection, EFF, rootkit, SonyBMG

Museums Meet Web 2.0

March 13, 2006 by Kassia Krozser

This year’s SXSWi festival is filled with several micro-themes, one, of course, being the idea of remixability. Today’s tech people don’t see entertainment as a static concept. They’re moving ahead as if this is a generally accepted principle — as always, it’s up for to the rest of the world to leap on the bandwagon (and they always do).

Leaping boldly into the void is Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. In creating an online design museum, the institution is embracing Web 2.0 and making art accessible to the public in a new and exciting way. The relaunched website will allow visitors to create virtual collections, act as their own curators, even help museum staff by adding to the institution’s knowledge-base. In other words, the museum realizes that the dialogue doesn’t have to go just one way.

Among the models that [Kevin] Farnham and Maeda point to are Yahoo’s My Web 2.0 and the site http://del.icio.us. Users on those sites already are creating communities through “tagging” — Web-speak for linking personal reactions to items on a site. Tags allow spontaneous communities of strangers to share interests in seemingly random ways.

The Washington Post rightly wonders if museum culture can survive radical upheaval — museum websites are traditionally staid and as likely to entice browsing as a brochure for teeth whitening. And if a museum’s website can’t engage people, what hope does the museum have?

It’s not wrong to wonder how a Smithsonian museum can survive as the Wikipedia of design culture. Or whether a museum site modeled after the populist photo-sharing http://Flickr.com — with favorite artifacts and amateur points of view — would diminish an institution’s reputation. The bigger question for all museums is how to flourish if they don’t.

  • A Curate-Your-Own Museum Web Site

Filed Under: Unexpected Results Tagged With: Cooper-Hewitt-National-Design-Museum, museums, remixability, smithsonian, SXSW, SXSWi

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Previously on Medialoper

  • Certain Songs #2695: that dog. – “long island”
  • Certain Songs #2694: that dog. – “minneapolis”
  • Certain Songs #2693: that dog. – “never say never”
  • Certain Songs #2692: Terry Allen – “The Beautiful Waitress”
  • Certain Songs #2691: The Tenants – “Sheriff”

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