Internet Explorer Patch released!

As informed on December 16th (see breaking news: Internet Explorer compromised), Microsoft had warned the world's most popular web browser users that a fatal flaw had been discovered.

Great news, in only 8 days Microsoft releases the Patch to get rid of the flaw.

If you IE, you definitely want to get it...

Want your video game to get noticed?

You want your media to be acknowledged by culture? Use culture to your advantage!

You most probably have heard about president Georges Bush dodging and ducking shoes thrown at him. Apparently, so did a game developer and that got him to be noticed...

Interesting eMarketing study

Social networking websites and YouTube should be delighted analysts say. Promotional spending for internet based video ad is set to increase exponentially as opposed to TV ads.

duh! Or darn!

Goodbye MacWorld

The major gathering where Steve Jobs held his keynote address to the rest of the world scheduled to take place in January 2009 will be the last one. Moreover, it seems Steve will not be hosting it.

Whilst Apple preaches the event's obsolete necessity, the general consumer and critics are associating it to a sick Steve Jobs...

"...the times are a changing..." as Bob Dylan sang.

A new breed of taxes

As a means to compensate for the New York state deficit, the governor of the big apple's state is proposing an iPod tax!!

And as usual, this sort of news comes with a twist...

EMI launches its own online music store

It's official. EMI is launching the EMI online music store. Fans will have the option of buying music and have access to their favorite EMI artists' biographies and so on...

The question is: Will it survive?

Cheech and Chong are back...

Big Vision Entertainment and Chamber Bros Entertainment have announced their intention to bring the iconic stoned duo back to life in animated format...

Guitar Hero and Rockband newcomers

Aerosmith's idea did not seem too far fetched: Metallica just confirmed: You will be able to perform 28 of their tracks as any of the band members. Good news for the drummers, as an expert mode will be created....

On the other hand, Pearl Jam chose to follow the Beatles and make the reissue of Ten downloadable through Rockband.com

RIAA's legal strategies to be questionned

A judge in Rhode Island postponed the hearing of a key lawsuit where the defendant will be represented by a team of Harvard law students assisted by their professor.

Their main argument could be of a controversial nature...

Breaking News: Internet Explorer compromised

A major security flaw has been detected in Internet Explorer.

This "glitch" allows hackers to steal your various passwords. You are strongly encouraged to switch to an other web browser if you currently use IE.

Microsoft are trying their best to come up with a patch to "heal" its product.

Music Sales Strategies

Kid Rock and AC/DC refused to sell individual tracks on the iTunes store, at the expense of not distributing through that channel. On the other hand Lil' Wayne made it really big by doing the strict opposite.
Each of the aforementioned strategies are supported by significant industry key players. Read the article, know the numbers.... where do you stand?

The video game industry is catching on

The gaming industry has, it seems, started to face the consequences of the economic crisis. Despite sales going up, the slope of the graph has decreased.

Read full article

Survey reveals troubling facts....

A survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of Intel polled 2,119 personal computer American users to find out about their "priorities"...

And the winner is...

Google getting booed

Google has just been accused of stabbing web neutrality issue in the back...
Is it just another fine example of bad phrasing???

Britain could "extend" the copyright law

The UK legends are worried about not making money from their art after a while. In Britain, an artist owns his or her music for 50 years. The Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney are not too thrilled. As a result, the british culture minister is considering a little amendment...

Should artists own their music forevermore? What do you think?

Playstation Home out today!!!!

"Think of it as a hybrid of Facebook, Second Life and the prettiest game lobby ever"

Tim Clark - Official Playstation Magazine

The best part is that it is free*
*if you happen to own a PS3 and are a registered user of the Playstation Network

Check it out!

Bad news for the once good news Webbies

The good: The US Federal Communications Commission wanting to sell radio frequency space and push for free internet.

The bad: Lawmakers and Telecom companies are creating obstacles.

The ugly: Who do you think will succeed and how?

US Game Industry... Good News!!!

The credit crunch does not seem to affect entertainment. It seems the consumer is still concerned about having fun and following trends despite the difficult financial times. In a nutshell, the US video game industry rose 10%!!!!

As to the financial value and the most popular games, check it out...

Gamers' voice put to the test

Ubisoft has decided to test the consumer's claims by not placing any DRM on the highly anticipated remake of the epic game Prince of Persia.

Will the people be right?

Oops upside your head gamers!!!

TN games has in the past released a vest for gamers to wear in order to "feel" the effects of being hit by bullets when playing first person shooter games.
I guess for some this was not enough as the firm has just announced a rather disturbing upcoming product...

1984 or safety?

The Australian government wants to have a certain level of control regarding access to specific content. Though the objective does remain noble in many ways, a lot of people are angered by the action taken and claim this to affect the country's democratic values...

Where do you stand, protect yourself from pigeons by using the net over your balcony, or simply enjoy the view and deal with the potential consequences?

Post your comments people!!

A booming market thanks to the paranoid

If you thought only James Bond could have had a camera in his watch, you better think again! The credit crunch has generated a lot of panic amongst the bold and the doubtful and a store that specializes in selling Spying Products is having the best Christmas ever...

Watch the video... (click on title)

Made it through YouTube

Have you ever posted video footage on YouTube? How many views did you get? Although it is very much possible for a person to make a "very decent" amount of money, do you know anything about the limitations, hardships, and figures?

A couple of cases...

Stop sharing illegally, Start selling legally!

Here is a brand new business idea based on a question that might rock a lot of people's boats: If one can sell his or her CD's in the second hand market, why should somebody not be allowed to sell their unwanted MP3s?

Intrigued? (click on title)

Why do we call it mouse?

You will not believe how old this is... Check out this fantastic video about how the computer mouse became known as the mouse

How often do you say 143 to your partner?

Fibonacci was a rookie! Text messaging youth have developed a vocabulary that a lot of people might find hard to imagine. This is beyond ASAP and c u later...

(click on title 2 c y...)

DRM killed the videostar...

Does the name Spore mean anything to you? It probably does if you are into games. When released in September 2008, EA had implemented some serious DRM angering a lot of consumers.
Consequence...

Google releases the most popular searches for 2008

It might be worth some investigation. Guess who made it as most popular search in the UK in 2008?

... not the news!

Need a little pocket money?

You definitely know about the financial crisis... you might have to tighten your belt. Then again, what brand is it?
A big round of applause to yet another strike of cybergenius.

music...check! Games...check! Porn...

You might have heard of the RIAA and IFPI and even game companies suing people for downloading content illegally. However, many people in the UK have received a letter asking them to cough up for downloading porn illegally.
The only problem, or so it seems, is that the accused seem to have been selected randomly...

Meet the Music Industry's trend setter

Whether you own an iPhone or would simply call yourself an iWishIhadOne, you probably have heard about some applications made available for the little device. Does Tap Tap Revenge ring a bell? No?
Well it seems Moby and Tiesto have heard of it...

Care to play?

South Korea is in for 200 million Dollars! By 2010, the country is hoping to be ranked number.... (click on title)

Koobface Unleashed!!!

Code red!
Facebook users beware of Koobface, a malicious worm that uses a savvy approach to "invite" it to your computer...

(more info click on title)

We're roaming... I wanna roam it with you...

You might have been fortunate enough not to catch Vodafone's version of Bob Marley's "Jammin" on Television. It seems however that EU governments took it as a wake up call...

Read the full article by clicking on the title.

The world is ok... for professional networking websites!

You most certainly must have heard about the economic crisis. Whilst most companies are closing down, employees are getting laid off and the stock market is radically fluctuating, there seems to be some good in this whole situation.
Linked in and Xing could not be any happier...

How happy are you?

It was an unofficially known fact that just became official. If you watch TV a lot, you are officially labeled as unhappy.

If you know the names of all the LOST characters by heart, it might be time for you to sell your TV...

Second Life for musicians????

You might have heard of second life. You might even own an avatar or a piece of land? As a musician, new options...

Adobe teams up with ARM

ARM may not mean much to you as opposed to Adobe. In a nutshell, ARM manufactures chips placed on mobile phones. So what is the connection with Adobe?

Well, great news for mobile Internet freaks... (click on title)

Finetune (click)

Have you ever heard of Finetune? Or maybe similar websites such as Deezer, Imeem, last.fm, or Songerize?
Yes, those websites you can use to create playlists of tracks to be streamed. One would have thought the concept to be ingenious enough, but Finetune just took it to another level...
The iPhone version!

ISPs to be neutral by law (click)

Internet Service Providers have had the authority to limit and/or censor content of search engines... not anymore?

The economy will not affect the players...

Despite of the failing economy, Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft seem to be quite confident about the Christmas season in terms of sales.

Which console do you not own yet?
(click on title for more)

70% less spam just through one web host!

Spams... do you hate them as much as we all should? One web host was recently shut down by ISPs in the US and the amount of spam mail has decreased by 70%!

Is this the end of spam?
Well, it is a bit more complicated than that...

For more (click on title)

YouTube goes live!

On November 22nd, San Francisco will stream to the world Youtube's first webcast featuring Youtube all stars. Yes even the Dutch will be there...

More (click on title)

E.A Games to upset Personal Trainers!!!

As of spring 2009, you will have the opportunity to get your own personal trainer for one time 60 dollar fee.
Hint: Wii ... are the champions...

More... (click on title)

Paper... Plastic... Phone!

Whilst the West is still trying to figure out business models that could make the alternative feasible, our Japanese friends have been using it for quite some time.
50 million people own a very special type of phone, the type you could use to pay for things!!

Are we to say goodbye to our wallets?

Read on

What spammers really cash

Those annoying messages you get on a very regular basis do feed people or so it seems. A brilliant study that has been conducted in California gives you the figures.

Intrigued?
More...

Hollywood key players profile

With an increasingly depressing economic climate, Hollywood too will have to do some cleaning. The key players are slowly to leave their positions to younger and bolder individuals to be able to cope with the everlasting evolution of business models. The Hollywood reporter gives you the profile of 35 individuals who would be the most suitable candidates.

More...

Do you miss your CD booklets?

Not to worry! From now on, you will be receiving a CD booklet including listings, lyrics and photos with your downloaded MP3s just as if you were to buy the CD. First device to be compatible, none other but his majesty the iPhone.

Read on...

Some beats are more important than others...

Researchers recently found out that headphones could jeopardize pacemakers. The magnets inside the headphones can interfere with the devices...

Read the full report.

Full length feature films... on YouTube!!!

As a means to increase advertising, YouTube just signed a deal with MGM allowing the Google Inc. company to add feature films as well as television shows for you and me...

More

Can games be art? Of course!

Some games are innovative from a storytelling point of view, while with others the design is an art-form on its own.
The Unfinished Swan is one of the latter. Check this trailer, it's stunning.
Next year is the official release.... let's see if this game has great gameplay as well.

link

360 Music deals

Music downloads will eventually be free, and will serve as little more than marketing collateral to other revenue streams.

Read more...

about 360 Deals...

CNN and .... star trek

During the Election 2008 event, CNN went star trek.

I see an opportunity for TV and games...

Nokia dethroned

3rd quarter 2008, Apple and Research In Motion have taken over the Smart Phone market. Is this the beginning of the end for Nokia?

More

MySpace getting greedy?

Whether you have an account is irrelevant, you have heard of MySpace. You might even hear a bit more about the Rupert Murdoch company that does not dismiss the possibility of adapting to a very different market...

Read on

Windows 7: Big Brother is watching you

Microsoft has just shown the world its brand new operating system Windows 7. The features seem interesting enough in terms of innovation except for one thing...

More

Opera at another level

Whether you like theater or not, one can only appreciate the complexity of the art as both directors and actors get one and only one shot.
Add high technology to the equation, one can only be perplexed. For example, at the latest presentation of Berlioz's Damnation de Faust, a singer' s dynamics and pitch had an effect on the intensity of flames coming out of her head (digital).

Curious?

p.s: Make sure to have a look at the audio slide show.

MP3 what?

Whether you are vegetarian or eat organic foods or simply take a look at food and/or media product packaging, you might have come across logos certifying the authenticity and legitimacy of the applicable products. Another breed has joined this approach in order to increase consumer awareness...
MP3!!!

Read more about the MP3 Logo.

USB 3.0

It's here... soon! The specifications seem appealing enough but the final details will be revealed on November 17th at the WinHec.

Check it out...

Last.fm welcomes Billboard

Both names sound familiar. Why not join forces? Billboard has made their hot 100 playlist available on last.fm

more

Microsoft it is!

You might have heard about the agreement Yahoo and Google have been trying to reach for some time now in order to avoid a buy out from none other than Microsoft. Unfortunately, due to government restrictions, Google decided not to push it and take the case to court.

Consequence: Jerry Yang, Yahoo's CEO, is starting to reconsider Microsoft as a potential buyer.

Find out more...

Mind your wireless microphone's signal

The FCC (Federal Communication Commission) has just allowed use of White Space. This means that the likes of Google and Microsoft might mess with your TV reception and yes, wireless mic signal too...

More

Videogames taking over the Entertainment industry

That's it! It has happened! The UK has reported that the video games industry has exceeded the music industry in terms of revenue!

Read on...

True Picture in Picture?

Texas Instruments seems to have found the solution for your television evenings. From now on, you will not mind not having the remote control...
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/technology/news/e3ic9655ee4528b1af43d23dd04691fcca2

comScore's Extended Web Measurement

Error proof interpretation of Internet Marketing outcomes sounds like science fiction... not anymore! comScore has just released the e-marketers redemption.

http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/content_display/news/media-agencies-research/e3ic9655ee4528b1af4ad6291e43dd2e287

The Mobile Wars

Microsoft just signed an initial agreement with LG electronics. Nokia's Symbian still seems to be in the lead; however, Microsoft Windows 6.1, Apple Inc's iPhone, Research in Motion's Blackberry, and Google's Android are becoming stronger than ever.

Which of the platforms will take over the market and dethrone Nokia?

http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE4A211720081103

Social Network for artists

If you are involved in film making or simply a Jedi fan, the name Rick McCallum might ring a bell. The none other but producer of the Star Wars prequel has recently taken over as chairman of a new kind of Social networks.

SohoMuse will be a platform developed to "[...]facilitate the exchange of ideas and Art work in a 3D environment[...]"

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i63073cda9189a10c8375291b6a4c53f9

MTVisionary Marketing

MTV and Myspace recently signed an agreement allowing MTV to use Auditude on uploaded videos.
What is Auditude? In a nutshell, it is a technology that audits and measures consumer behavior. However, it is a bit subtler than that....

http://www.nytimes.com/external/readwriteweb/2008/11/03/03readwriteweb-myspace_and_mtv_cant_beat_em_j.html

How would you vote for "[...] civilised internet"

The French might be able to pull it. A new law could be passed requiring Internet Service Providers to report on your cyber-activities to an appointed government agency... The consequences can get interesting...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7706014.stm

Computing Democracy

Have you ever thought about some features your laptop could have had? Asus and Intel want to know about them for the development of the first "user-friendly" laptop...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7704709.stm

...4...3...

Though EMI still refuses to comment on the matter, it seems they are thinking about handing over their US distribution to the "other" giants.

Has the countdown begun?
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10080270-93.html?tag=newsEditorsPicksArea.0

You got to pay if you want to play

Saul Hansell, a NY times blogger, reports on the potential outcomes of user habits versus Broadband connections.

Will you have to pay more for your internet connection?
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/31/video-is-dominating-internet-traffic-pushing-prices-up/

Beware of the Sinowal

Whether you buy or simply do some of your banking online, don't think that SSL pprotection and Antivirus Software are enough to protect your financial information.

A virus that has been operating for two years has just been detected and it's not pretty...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7701227.stm

Hats off Mr. Branson!

You would have thought that Nokia's (check blog archives) Comes With Music was revolutionary enough. Sony Ericsson did and will be releasing a service along those lines in January 2009.

However, both of these services have a serious catch: DRM.

All of a sudden, Datz shows up with a new business model. Sure, only EMI and Warner have signed, but it is only a matter of time before Sony BMG and Universal strike a deal.

In a nutshell, 100 pounds, 1 year, unlimited download of DRM FREE music!!!

Steve... we have a situation...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/technology/newsid_7699000/7699487.stm

The iTunes Store can wait... Really!

Can you buy your favorite Beatles tracks from the iTunes store? No
Would you like to? Yes
How about being Paul Mc Cartney instead!!

Forget iTunes, we are going new business model!
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/30/business/media/30music.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Yes you can Google it...

As if it was not enough for Google to acquire the official status of verb... care for some books?

Google it!

Witch hunt is not a game...

You thought the RIAA and the IFPI did their fair share. They did and are still hunting digital pirates of any age everywhere. Thankfully, organizations such as the EFF and the FAC are here to try to monitor it all from the consumer and artist standpoints.

However, today yet another giant of the entertainment industry (game industry) has started a witch hunt of its own and the first victims.... your parents????

Play on...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7697898.stm

Watch out iTunes Store!

A revolutionary idea has been developed by Nokia and it is called beware music industry!!! In a nutshell, you buy a decent cellphone and get FREE access to five million tracks to download!

What... is the catch?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7595622.stm

Another round of applause to Richard Branson for selling the Virgin Music Megastore chain... from savvy to Zavvy.