NEC develops Wideband Wearable Antenna

Nec has announced that they have successfully developed a wearable wideband antenna that can be used in clothing in order to increase your reception in areas with low reception levels.

[Akihabaranews via Engadget]

Bob Dylan's Youtube plea

Rock legend Bob Dylan is asking fans to send clips to YouTube to create a video for classic single Like A Rolling Stone, reports UK's Mirror.

"Dylan, 66, wants to see fans singing or reading the song in an inventive style.

The 1965 track was declared the greatest ever in 2004 by Rolling Stone magazine.

"Dylan, 66, wants to see fans singing or reading the song in an inventive style. Dylan's editing team will merge the best clips in the online competition."

STRIKE UPDATE: Deadline at Hand, But Many Think WGA May Hold Off

Negotiators for the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers returned to the bargaining table Tuesday and apparently got no closer to striking a deal.

And while the Thursday 12:01 a.m. deadline is rapidly approaching, many industry insiders continue to believe that the WGA will not walk out immediately.

[via Broadcasting & Cable]

The Pirate Bay Sees a Future Without BitTorrent

The guys from The Pirate Bay are always working on interesting side-projects, but there is one in particular that’s so significant, it might be the future of filesharing. For a while now, they have been working on a brand new protocol - which may come to replace BitTorrent in the near future.

[TorrentFreak via fosfor gadgets]

nip/tuck personalized voice mail - to ruin someone's day

Have a friend who feels bad about his or her body? Exploit that weakness to comic and/or devasting effect with the latest “Send a personalized message” from TV series nip/tuck.

You pick the part of your friend’s body that needs some work (breasts, butt, calves, ears), and doctors Sean McNamara and Christian Troy will handle the rest in a quick, traumatic phone call.

[via Adfreak]

YouTube Costume!

Spotted on Core77, a YouTube costume for Halloween. How cool is that?

Anti-Clinton Video Draws Web Audience

According to The Washington Post, a stinging 13-minute video by a bitter Clinton foe is finding its own Internet audience.

"The clip, a preview of a longer film by one-time Clinton donor Peter Paul, has scored more than 1.4 million hits on Google Video and about 350,000 on YouTube

Paul is a Hollywood entrepreneur, former partner of Spider-Man creator Stan Lee and convicted felon who has sued the Clintons in connection with a celebrity-packed fundraiser he helped organize for her 2000 Senate race. A California appeals court earlier this month ruled that Sen. Clinton should be dismissed from the suit.

But Paul has devoted a Web site to the case and his film, "Hillary Uncensored," in recent days has been touring New England College campuses. On Tuesday, the film is scheduled to be screened at the Metropolitan Club in New York City. "

Piracy derailed biz growth, report says

The ready availability of pirated material is largely to blame for a slowdown in the film, television and music industries after years of uninterrupted growth, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. The Hollywood Reporter reports.

"In a 400-page report on counterfeiting and piracy published Monday, the Paris-based OECD notes declining royalties, a drop in the number of performers kept under contract and job losses in the entertainment industry's production, manufacturing and retailing arms.

"... The piracy problems faced by the music and film industries seem considerably worse than other sectors, because ... in the age of digital recording technology, the product is generally authentic and the quality of the pirated copies can be very good."

The report said the situation is likely to worsen, as online transfers eliminate the need to transport the pirated goods long distances or across customs borders, which is when such goods are most at risk of being apprehended."

TV 'raises kids' blood pressure'

US researchers studying over 500 children found that the amount of time spent watching television was linked to the severity of obesity as well as the presence of high blood pressure, a new study suggests, reports inthenews.co.uk

"... "Children who watched between two and four hours of television a day had a 2.5 times increased risk of high blood pressure compared to those watching less than two hours a day."

Policing copyright will never work

It's all the rage these days: crackpot proposals to automatically police the internet for copyright violations, stopping them even before they occur. Each different filtering option involves identifying false positives and are an incredible invasion of privacy to boot. And can't work, according to Cory Doctorow in an article for The Guardian.

"Remaking the internet to invade privacy and silence our conversations is a crummy idea, but even worse is the fact that it won't actually stop or even slow infringement. But for so long as there are technology companies with magic beans to sell - and desperate, ageing entertainment execs willing to buy them - we'll have to keep fighting.

"From YouTube's promise to find and stamp out copyright infringing uploads to the counterproposal from the motion picture studios and Microsoft to find and stamp out infringing uploads, everyone is getting in on the act.

The problem is, it's all lies, wishful thinking and irresponsible promises. "

Sarkozy Walks Out on 60 Minutes Interview

France's president abruptly ended a "60 Minutes" interview aimed at introducing him to U.S. audiences, dubbing it "stupid" and a "big mistake" and refusing to answer questions about his wife. The Associated Press/Variety reports.

"Before the CBS news show interview in Paris even began, Sarkozy called his press secretary "an imbecile" for arranging the session on a busy day.

"I don't have the time. I have a big job to do, I have a schedule," Sarkozy said through a translator before the interview began. In English, he added: "Very busy. Very busy."

Watch on YouTube.

The knives are out for Hulu.com

Today Hulu, the new-media creation of two old-media rivals, NBC and Fox, will begin privately testing its new service with select users at hulu.com. It will also begin sending its videos to the sites of five distribution partners, Microsoft, AOL, MySpace, Yahoo and Comcast. The New York Times reports.

"Hulu is presenting select episodes of some 90 television shows, including new and old programs from NBC (“The Office,” “The A-Team”), Fox (“24” and “The Simpsons”) and an assortment of smaller broadcasters like USA Networks

All the shows are viewable inside a Web browser and festooned with advertisements.

... Critics have questioned whether NBC and Fox are truly motivated to make Hulu succeed. Both networks make many of the same programs freely available on their own Web sites.

In addition, Fox sells ad-free, downloadable versions of its programs on Apple’s iTunes. NBC pulled its material off iTunes earlier this fall, citing Apple’s reluctance to let content creators set their own price and now sells shows on Amazon.com’s Unbox service.

NBC recently removed its content from YouTube to make way for the Hulu introduction. Hulu “is really the centerpiece of what we’re trying to evolve to digitally,” said Jeff Zucker, president and chief executive of NBC Universal."

Walgreen sees movie-burning DVD kiosks at stores

Walgreen plans to put kiosks that can make DVDs of popular movies in drugstore photo departments next year, using a new system that would increase selection while avoiding piracy. Reuters reports.

"Recent change in copy-protection rules governing DVDs have freed Walgreen and other retailers to tap this new movie market by letting consumers burn digital copies onto blank discs at stores, industry watchers said.

Walgreen is working with Hollywood studios and consumers will be able to make DVDs in about 15 minutes."

USC Unveils YouTube Channel

The University of Southern California has established an institutional Channel on YouTube as part of an ambitious program to expand its capabilities in technology-enhanced learning and distance learning.

"As part of the agreement with YouTube, USC will maintain a central Channel, found at www.youtube.com/usc, with sub-Channels available to schools and other academic units that develop video programming.

The Channel's creation was spearheaded by Suh-Pyng Ku, USC's chief technology officer for enhanced learning.

"In addition to opening up the traditional classroom experience through the application of state-of-the-art technology tools, we also are using online technologies to expand learning opportunities for students and others both on campus and around the globe," Ku said.

[via California Chronicle]

Related: - UC Berkeley puts courses on YouTube

Fans of 'The Office' hold convention

According to the Associated Press, thousands of fans of "The Office" made a pilgrimage to northeastern Pennsylvania this weekend to party in the town where the NBC sitcom is set.

"Die-hard devotees of the workplace comedy have been visiting Scranton landmarks referenced in the show, getting autographs from cast members and participating in contests.

The first "Office" convention kicked off Friday morning and runs through Sunday.

The networks are streaming ahead

When the networks first put their product in cyberspace for streaming, there was concern that the viewing on PCs would cannibalize the regular TV audience. Not to worry. The Denver Post reports.

"The research that we have done shows that it's additive," said Jeff Gaspin, NBC's digital-content chief. "Of course, there was some concern that, as you increase the number of streams of these shows online that it might cannibalize the on-air audience, but it's just not the case. Everything we have seen said that it helps people catch up."

In the case of "Heroes," by the time the ninth episode rolled around, the network posted the first episode online and it drew a crowd. Gaspin assumes "if they are watching the first episode, they are learning about the series, and there's a good chance that they will then catch up with the series on air."

... Whether streaming becomes a profitable goal in itself, or a way to direct the audience back to the primetime TV set, remains to be seen. For now, it may be time to get your feet wet. "

"Streaming is a fad, and a bad one at that"

An article in The Denver Post reports on how the networks are offering primetime episodes in streaming - more on that here - but what's entertaining are the interviews of skeptics who say streaming is a fad, and a bad one at that.

"Phillip Swann, president and publisher of TVPredictions.com, believes "streaming is not the future, not in any kind of long form."

Swann belongs to the old school that insists PCs are for work, TV is for entertainment (!), and the twain don't meet.

"All the networks trying to put their programming online are going to fail," Swann maintains. "People are simply not going to sit around on a computer and watch television. For 30, 60, 90 seconds they can see some guy hit himself in the head on YouTube, but they won't sit for a whole half-hour of "Two and a Half Men."'

"Do people really want to watch 'Desperate Housewives' on a 2.5-inch screen when they just bought a 56-inch screen?" he asks.

To him, "all these efforts to try to make a TV out of a PC and a PC out of a TV have consistently failed. It's trying to put a square peg in a round hole."

Hahahahahahahahahaha.

Picture of Yokai via we-make-money-not-art.com

Root Canal procedure on YouTube

YouTube, famous for its entertaining clips, now has a growing list of informative videos, too, posted by experts on many subjects — including dentistry. The New York Times reports.

"A few enterprising dentists with a bit of the auteur in them have created discussions and demonstrations of root canals and other dental procedures for YouTube in unscripted, live takes with patients. The videos may turn out to be useful marketing tools, promoting the dentists’ abilities and attracting new customers to their practice.

Dr. Jerry Gordon, a dentist in Bensalem, Pa., (dentalcomfortzone.com) is the director and star of the video “Root Canal Demonstration.” Looking relaxed and friendly, Dr. Gordon explains the ins and outs of the procedure, treating a real patient, and showing each of the steps from painless injection to completion.

The video, which runs nearly 10 minutes, was shot by a local videographer and cost about $2,000. It has been viewed more than 11,000 times in the two months since it was put up.

Dr. Gordon said that his patients liked the videos, shown first on his Web site and later on YouTube. “People are genuinely appreciative of the information,” he said."

YouTube getting a redesign, sunglasses needed

A YouTube redesign is in the works and viewers' feedback is welcome.

Check out the preview of YouTube's new rollout and send them your thoughts. Suggested feedback topics include:

-- Overall presentation
-- Global navigation and "tabs"
-- Merge of Videos and Categories
-- Use of "on hover" navigation menus
-- Things you like, things you don't, and why
-- Any other suggestions or ideas you may have

[download squad via Techmeme]

Apple Taps Into UGC for New Ad

Apple has turned to the YouTube crowd for its latest iPod Touch advertisement, enlisting the help of 18-year-old English student Nick Hawley. NewTeeVee reports.

"Using the song “Music is My Hot, Hot Sex” by Brazilian band CSS, Hawley created the ad for the Touch and uploaded it to YouTube.

It caught the attention of the folks at Apple, who subsequently flew Hawley out to L.A. to work with advertising firm TBWA\Chiat\Day. Together, they will create the finished spot, using Hawley’s ad as inspiration.

Watch the video

Australia: YouTube revolutionaries upstage the party machine

Australia's two main political parties, with their multi-million advertising budgets, are proving no match for the power and creativity of the guerilla videomakers of the internet, reports The Sydney Morning Herald.

"The parties are putting out commercials and videos every day, but are often outdone by the efforts of the YouTube generation.

Hugh Atkin, 23, a law student at Sydney University, has scored a big hit on the internet with his clip that depicts Kevin Rudd as a Chairman Mao figure in a video styled on Chinese propaganda films.

"Rudd impress and frighten Australian person with his earnestness offensive," reads the alleged translation of the Chinese commentary, set to heroic music.

... All the big parties have started their own YouTube channels for this election. The ALP channel has a number of negative advertisements that it has not shown on television. The most popular is one that attacks the Coalition parties on interest rates. It has dozens of videos on its own website, including several that seem more like lifestyle TV shows than advertisements."

YouTube: Kevin Rudd gets an earful

Footage apparently showing the man tipped to become Australia's next prime minister eating his own ear wax during Question Time - 6 years ago - has now become a hit on YouTube. The Telegraph reports.

"Over 180,000 web surfers have watched four different clips of the Labor Party leader Kevin Rudd on the video sharing website.

The footage was taken at least six years ago, when the Member for Griffith was still on the backbench.

Mr Rudd, who has enjoyed a substantial lead in opinion polls heading into the November 24 election, may now face a backlash, according to news.com.au, which suggested the footage "could do more damage to (his) election chances than any policy blitz".

Why was someone arrested over the TV Links website?

The Guardian looks into the legitimity of arresting someone over the TV Links website.

"According to the Gloucester police, the arrest was carried out for alleged violations of Section 92 of the Trade Marks Act.

... Alex, writing on the Impact blog from UK law firm Freeth Cartwright, agrees. "On the facts that we know so far, it is difficult to see how the providing of links to infringing copies of TV shows gives rise to a civil or criminal liability under UK law," he said.

The Trade Marks Act may not fit the alleged crime. "The Trade Marks Act makes the unauthorised use of trade marks in relation to goods an offence; but this is a law that was written to catch counterfeit goods," said Kim Walker, head of intellectual property at Pinsent Masons. "The provision of links is surely a service, not a sale of goods. It seems an unlikely way to deal with the problem."

Alex at Freeth Cartwright says: "Such links might constitute an offence under other parts of copyright law (distributing infringing copies or communicating copies to the public in the course of business), but it is again difficult to see how the facts meet these offences."

Viewers' shifting habits redefine 'TV hit'

Gossip Girl was the can't-miss show for CW, the fledgling network struggling to establish its own identity. Yet the premiere Sept. 19 averaged 3.5 million viewers, modest even by the network's low standards, and a million of them left the following week. USA Today reports.

"A total bust? Not quite. The soap about privileged Manhattan teenagers gained 20% among young adults who recorded it, then watched in the seven days after the first airing. It's a top-five network show among teenage girls, the top new show among all teens and the biggest seller on iTunes.

So, far from getting a quick hook, Gossip Girl was instead the first show of the new season to be extended beyond the customary 13-week tryout for a full 22-episode season.

It's a case in point of how Hollywood's definition of a hit TV series is radically changing. Though still the primary focus, "live" TV ratings are no longer the sole barometer of success. As viewing habits change, programmers are struggling with how to factor in DVR use, Web viewing, sought-after niche audiences and online chatter when weighing shows' health."

TV-Links man released

According to The Register, the 26-year-old Cheltenham man at the centre of an investigation into the website TV-Links has not been charged with any offense, and has been released pending further investigation.

In Foray Into TV, Google Is to Track Ad Audiences

Google is set to announce a partnership today with the Nielsen Company the voice of authority in measuring television audiences, that will give advertisers a more vivid and accurate snapshot than ever before of how many people are viewing commercials on a second-by-second basis, and who those people are.

[via The New York Times]

"Purple Violets" released exclusively on iTunes

Edward Burns - the director of indie favorites like "The Brothers McMullen" and "She's the One" - at a shooting session of his film "Purple Violets." It will be the first feature film to makes its commercial debut on Apple's digital download service.

[via IHT]

When 'piracy' is easier than legal purchase

Excerpts from an interesting C/net article dated September 13, 2007:

"Foreigners, due to the lengthy delay between a show airing in the US in markets abroad (and to the lack of pay-per-view options), have already been driven to illegal file sharing.

In Australia, where the broadcast of US shows is typically delayed between 22-30 months, many viewers have given up on waiting for their favorite shows to appear on the tube, and have instead turned to BitTorrent (or video sharing sites which offer streaming).

According to a report published in 2006, "Australians are responsible for 15.6 percent of all online TV piracy, bested only by Britain, which accounts for 38.4 percent. The US lags behind in third position at 7.3 percent." (maybe because they have so many other options to watch legally).

Hollywood praises Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement

Hollywood praised the news that the United States government is teaming up with some of its trading partners to launch a new initiative to combat intellectual-property piracy, which includes the offshore theft of TV shows and movies.

The United States is currently in talks with Canada and the 27 member states of the European Union, as well as Japan, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand and Switzerland.

[via Broadcasting & Cable]

EC forms new anti-piracy coalition

The European Commission on Tuesday unveiled a global initiative to fight counterfeiting with an anti-piracy pact with the U.S., Japan and South Korea. The Hollywood Reporter reports from Brussels.

"... Dubbed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, it also aims to keep pace with the changing nature of intellectual property theft as digital storage allows films and music to be copied at ever-faster rates.

Officials said the pact will look at the increasing role of the Internet in spreading pirate digital content as governments have struggled to tackle Web sites and peer-to-peer services offering free copyrighted material."

Whistling in the dark: Why not simply emulate the way US networks are fighting TV piracy? And offer non-US online viewers pay-per-view or ad supported content.