11 February: A day of protest in Europe against ACTA

Access, an organisation that says it is a “new global movement for digital freedom”, has organised an international day against ACTA on February 11, hoping the world comes out in “an unprecedented showing of solidarity” against the treaty. TheNextWeb reports.

Access already seen 331,976 people sign its Anti-ACTA petition and has gone one step further to assist in notifying its website visitors of protest events in their local area. The organization has begun listing Facebook events for each protest around the world, motioning for individuals to create their own and request for them to be added to the list.

Read full article.

Google Hangouts to watch local news

Google+ recently added video conferencing capabilities to its platform. Like Skype, you may have used Google+ hangouts to talk to your friends face-to-face for free using your computer. But have you used it to watch your local news? Social Times reports.

Google has started rolling out Google+ hangouts On Air to public figures, celebrities and users with large number of followers. Whereas the original Hangouts were limited to groups of ten, with one host and nine participants, the new version allows everyone beyond the participating group to watch the hangout as a YouTube live stream. The host can broadcast the session to specific Google+ Circles or to the public on Google+.

Television stations love it because it’s basically a broadcast tower in the middle of a social network.

Read more.

Web pages have gone black on the Internet before, in protest of the Decency Act in 1996

Web pages have gone black before, right after Bill Clinton signed the Communication Decency Act on February 8, 1996. The bill included a provision which limited freedom of expression on the Internet.

Yahoo was responsible for spreading the campaign initiated by the Voters Telecommunications Watch, by turning its pages black for 48 hours in support of the Coalition to Stop Net Censorship and linked to instructions for other websites to do the same. Readers were greated on Yahoo with "Why is this page black?"

Also known as Black Thursday, the campaign spread like wildfire, with US websites blacking out their pages one after another, including CNN, Time and The New York Times. The whole thing went unnoticed in Europe. Internet early days, I thought at the time, but here we are 16 years later with SOPA and those protesting against it are not being heard and not being covered by the main press in the US or anywhere else.

Hopefully the Internet's big players will go dark, it's the only way to get attention.

The Communications Decency Act which gave rise to the protest was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court on June 26, 1997.

Amazon signs deal with Hollywood to sell moves that can be dowloaded

An Amazon.com executive says the retailer has signed a deal with a Hollywood studio to sell movies that can be downloaded from an online "locker" system four studios have put together. stuff reports.

The extent of Amazon.com's support of the UltraViolet online locker system is unclear. But the deal signals that Amazon is at least open to trying it.

UltraViolet launched late last year. The idea is to enable consumers to play purchased movies, whether downloads or DVDs, on any device.

Read more.

Change your Twitter picture to a black banner Stop SOPA

If you've been on Twitter today, chances are you've seen a change in some of the avatars. The San Francisco Gate explains why.

Instead of regular pictures, about 2,500 people have changed their images to a black banner that says STOP SOPA using BlackoutSOPA.org.

Blackout SOPA was created by Hunter Walk and Gregor Hochmuth yesterday at noon, so it has caught on pretty quickly.

If you want to change your picture, visit www.blackoutsopa.org, authorize the app on your Twitter account, and choose one of three "Stop SOPA" templates. You can easily revert to your original picture if you decide to stop supporting the cause.

Big TV makers sign on to Google TV

The world's three largest television makers — Samsung, LG and Sony — are working on Google TV.

Google TV allows people to surf the Internet on TVs, using its popular Chrome browser. In addition, it allows users to search a pay-TV provider's listings and offers about 150 apps to shuttle people to digital media.

[via USA Today]

How Apple could shake up TV: A la carte channels

Apple's much-expected TV could have one big trick up its sleeve: Giving consumers the power to pick--and pay for--only the channels they want. C/Net reports.

... Apple already offers a number of TV programs as subscriptions through its online store, giving buyers a way to purchase both single episodes and entire seasons. The difference, of course, being that customers must wait for the show to be broadcast before it's available to download. (In some cases, shows aren't available until the entire season has aired.) Wu is suggesting that Apple would rather move to live streaming of the programming, just like what customers get through their cable provider.

Read more.

TorrentFreak’s annual Top 10 list of the most pirated television shows

Via DigitalTrends, TorrentFreak’s annual Top 10 list of the most pirated television shows:

Apple to launch 'voice-activated' TV dreamt up by Steve Jobs

According to Metro, Apple is developing a TV set that reacts to a viewer's voice and gestures - and it could be available by summer next year, according to reports.

Dubbed the iTv (although it is highly unlikely the company will be allowed to use this name), Apple hopes its latest product will be as ground-breaking and transformative as the iPhone was to mobile phones and the iPod was to portable music players.

According to the Guardian, Japanese firm Sharp will begin commercial production of the hi-tech flatscreen TVs in February before a release in the latter half of 2012.

Read full article.

Film industry takes on iTunes with Ultraviolet

The film industry is launching a new movie download service called Ultraviolet which has the backing of all the major US film studios, in an attempt to take on Apple's iTunes. The Telegraph reports.

The service works by giving consumers a code when they purchase a film on BluRay or DVD. They can then use the code to add the movie to their Ultraviolet library, meaning they can download digital versions of the film onto their computer or stream it over the internet from the Cloud. Users can enjoy films on any device, such as a computer, smart phone or tablet PC, unlike iTunes which ties users to Apple products such as the iPhone and iPad if they want to watch films while on the move.

Read more.

Sony to develop its own smart TV platform

Sony has just announced via The Wall Street Journal that it will be creating its own “smart TV” platform after sales of its own Google TV-powered TV failed to meet expectations. The new TV is also said to be competing with the TV that Apple has been rumored to be working on. No other details yet.

[via Ubergizmo]

'CanIStream' Shows You Where You Can Stream, Rent, Download Or Buy Movies

CanIStream.it is a new search engine that shows you where you can stream, rent, download and buy movies. TechCrunch gives it a good review.

The site checks the libraries at Netflix, Amazon, iTunes and Hulu and provides links to the appropriate listings. And if a movie isn’t available, you can sign up for CanIStream.it, set a reminder and the service will email you when the movie’s availability changes.

Read more.

Netflix Loses 800,000 Subscribers After Price Hike

According to TIME Techland, Netlfix reported a loss of 800,000 subscribers, mostly due to the PR nightmare that came after it raised its prices for its combined streaming and DVD plan by 60%.

Full Walter Isaacson/Steve Jobs Interview From 60 Minutes

MacRumors has posted the full Steve Jobs interview from 60 Minutes.

Coming to a Gadget Near You: A Movie for All Your Screens

After three years of negotiations, last week a consortium of large Hollywood studios, gadget makers and retailers launched a cloud-based service that lets people watch online or mobile versions of the movies they bought on DVD or Blu-ray. This free "digital locker" called UltraViolet keeps track of movie purchases and gets copies of them onto laptops, smartphones and more.

[via The Wall Street Journal]

Movie studios about to give up on DVDs

After years of fighting, movie studios have finally worked out that punters are no longer interested in DVDs and are planning to kill off the format, reports TechEYE.net.

According to the LA Times, studio executives think that the only way of turning around a 40 percent fall in home entertainment revenue is to speed the delivery of movies over the Internet.

Read more @Dr. Michael Zelman.

Health advice made available on TV

A new digital TV channel has been launched in the UK for patients access health information and advice from the comfort of their own home. [via Orange News]

NHS 24 is also using the system to pilot a scheme where patients can book appointments with their GP.

The channel, available through Freesat, Sky and Virgin, gives people who do not have the internet at home the opportunity to access health advice and information on local services.

It will feature information from NHS 24, NHS inform and Care Information Scotland web services.

Read more.

Netflix signs pay TV deal for Dreamworks animation

Online video rental company Netflix Inc said it won pay TV rights to Dreamworks Animation movies starting in 2013, the first time a major Hollywood studio has chosen an Internet streaming player over a traditional cable channel.

[via Reuters]

When Your Therapist Is Only a Click Away

Video conferencing has become a popular way for therapists to reach patients, but opportunities for exploitation, especially by those with sketchy credentials, are rife.

[via The New York Times]

Al Jazeera launches "Activate" telling stories of activists around the world

Activate is brand new series on Al Jazeera telling the stories of activists around the world as they challenge authority, take direct action and stand up for what they believe in. This is true grass roots activism. Use the map to follow the activists, interact with them, watch the films and tell them about a campaign that you think should be on the Activate Map.

Watch the preview of iProtest, the first show on Activate. One woman's battle against Apple and the alleged abuse of working conditions.

Hangout Academy Will Turn Google+ Hangouts into Education Platform

Hangout Academy will connect people in search of knowledge with experienced professionals and hobbyists willing to share it. Details about the product are currently under wraps, but Hangout Academy is expected to launch Oct. 9.

[via Launch]

Netflix spins DVD rentals into new business dubbed ‘Qwikster’

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings in a letter to subscribers on Monday stated that Netflix will no longer operate the DVD rental-by-mail service that carried it to the top of the home entertainment industry. Instead, Netflix will be a streaming-only service while the DVD rental business is spun off and rebranded Qwikster. BGR reports.

I messed up. I owe you an explanation,” Hastings’ letter to Netflix customers begins. “It is clear from the feedback over the past two months that many members felt we lacked respect and humility in the way we announced the separation of DVD and streaming and the price changes. That was certainly not our intent, and I offer my sincere apology.

Read full article.

Apple cancels iTunes TV rentals

Apple has done away with TV show rentals. Several bloggers noticed the option to rent individual episodes missing from iTunes and Apple TV Friday, and Apple later confirmed the decision was based on lack of interest.

[via GigaOM]

'Chinese YouTube' to make Nasdaq debut

Chinese video sharing website Tuduo plans to raise $174m at a valuation of $3.2bn when it becomes the latest internet company to make its Wall Street debut on Wednesday. The Guardian reports.

Similar to YouTube, Tuduo shows user-generated videos as well as licensed and in-house content. Tuduo's bigger rival, Youko, raised $203m when it floated on the New York Stock Exchange in December.

Read more.

Pay TV Industry Loses Record Number of Subscribers

The weak economy is hitting Americans where they spend a lot of their free time: at the TV set. TIME Techland reports.

They're canceling or forgoing cable and satellite TV subscriptions in record numbers, according to an analysis by The Associated Press of the companies' quarterly earnings reports.

The chief cause appears to be persistently high unemployment and a housing market that has many people living with their parents, reducing the need for a separate cable bill.

But it's also possible that people are canceling cable, or never signing up in the first place, because they're watching cheap Internet video. Such a threat has been hanging over the industry. If that's the case, viewers can expect more restrictions on online video, as TV companies and Hollywood studios try to make sure that they get paid for what they produce.

Read full article.

The Creator Of TED Aims To Reinvent Conferences Once Again

The conference’s original founder, Richard Saul Wurman, is working on a new creation that radically overhauls the formula used by TED--much as TED itself reinvented the standard business conference model when Wurman launched it in 1984. Fast Company reports.

Wurman’s plan is to stage a series of improvisational one-to-one conversations, held in front of a small invitation-only audience and then disseminated via a high-quality app.

Read full article.

iTunes in the Cloud now offering TV shows

Apple has added TV shows to its iTunes in the Cloud service, which will allow users to re-download TV shows they've already purchased to multiple devices.

US-only for now, but pre-bought shows available on all devices.

[via TechRadar]

Fox Paywall Coming to Online TV Shows

Effective August 15, Fox will require a pay TV subscription to watch shows like Family Guy and Glee on Hulu or Fox's own website within a week of the shows' original air dates.

For now, only Hulu Plus and Dish Network subscribers will be able to jump the paywall, but Fox promises to add authentication for other satellite and cable providers soon.

[via TIME Techland]

Wal-Mart offers video streaming on website

The world's largest retailer on Tuesday started streaming many movies the same day they come out on DVD, in a second bid for a share of popular movie rental and streaming website Netflix Inc.'s business and just two weeks after Netflix announced new price increases.

[via AP]

Warning: Oslo Bombing Video Is a Facebook Scam

From Mashable: Watch out for a bogus post on Facebook that claims to link you to a video from an Oslo security camera, showing the detonation of a car bomb near a Norwegian government building in which at least 10 people were killed.

So if you see the following message:

“[Video] OSLO Security Camera Captures Blast!”

Don’t click on it, delete it from your Facebook feed, and report it to Facebook security. Help Net Security says the scam is infecting one user per second.

Hangouts can turn broadcasts into a two-way medium

Indie pop singer Daria Musk spent more than six hours in a Google+ Hangouts session Saturday night, playing with a few fellow musicians in a recording studio somewhere in Connecticut and having people from all over the world listen in and cheer her on.

However, the first ever live concert conducted in Google’s new group video chat service had one major constraint: Only ten people could join Musk’s Hangout at a time; others were told to try again later.

[via GigaOM]

Films to be released in the home on the day of it's release

The BBC on the future of movie releases to your home - on the same day as their release in the theaters.

There was a time not too long ago when audiences expected to wait months for a movie to move from the cinema into the home.

But since 1999, the average window between release has fallen from 27 weeks in 1999 to a current average of 17 weeks and could fall even further - with some companies offering films in the home on the day of cinematic release.

Richard Taylor looks at the businesses looking to close the gap between the cinema and films on-demand in the home.

Watch video.

Sony Films Leave Netflix

Movies distributed by Sony Corp.'s Sony Pictures Entertainment were removed (temporarily) from Netflix on-demand Internet service Friday. The removal of an unspecified number of movies stemmed from a contractual issue between Sony and Liberty Media Corp.'s Starz cable channel.

Read full article in The Wall Street Journal.

Susan Boyle's life set for stage show

The BBC reports that the life of Susan Boyle, who found fame on Britain's Got Talent in 2009, is to be made into a stage musical.

The singer surprised judges with her rendition of the Les Miserables song I Dreamed A Dream. Her performance went on to become a YouTube hit.

"I never thought my life story would end up on the stage," Boyle said.

Elaine C Smith will play the 50-year-old from Scotland, who has sold over 14 million albums worldwide.

Read full article.

Warner Announces China's First Video on Demand Service, but Is It Legal?

Warner Bros. has signed what could be a historic deal to make its movies available to homes throughout China on Video on Demand... as long as it turns out to actually be legit. TIME Techland reports.

Warner Bros. Entertainment has announced a partnership with YOU On Demand Media to provide China's "first national Pay-Per-View and Video On Demand platform," to launch in the summer with movies including the last Harry Potter installment.

... The Hollywood Reporter points out that with the Chinese media market tightly controlled by government regulators - only 20 imported films are allowed for theatrical release each year - it's also uncertain whether or not the deal will even be approved by the authorities at this point.

Read full article.

CCTV website rebuked over YouTube clip

According to The Telegraph, a controversial website that allows members to monitor CCTV cameras has been ordered to make changes by privacy regulators after footage from a shop was uploaded to YouTube.

Security video streamed to amateur store detectives' computers by Internet Eyes was saved and posted online in violation of data protection legislation, according to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

The regulator received a complaint after the clip, which included an identifiable image of an innocent shopper, was discovered on Google's video sharing website.

Read full article.

Related: - Citizens monitor CCTV footage for a reward

Comcast Bringing Skype Messaging, Video Calling to TVs

Comcast's is partnering with Microsoft-owned Skype to bring video calling to HDTVs everywhere. TIME Techland reports.

You'll need a high-def screen, a special Comcast set-top box, a "high quality" video camera (probably not a cheap one) and—maddeningly—a "specially designed" standalone remote, in case you want to tap out text dictums in lieu of jibber-jabbering face-to-face.

Read more.

French regulators ban the words Facebook and Twitter from TV and radio

In a seemingly strange move, French media regulators have banned the words “Facebook” and “Twitter” from appearing on TV and radio unless a program specifically talks about the services in a news story, according to This Much I Know, via VentureBeat.

The motivation behind the ban is that the regulators believe mentioning Facebook or Twitter unfairly promotes a commercial enterprise over other enterprises, according to French regulator CSA. Basically, Facebook and Twitter are getting an unfair advantage over smaller social networks with each mention.

Read full article.

Mobile signals to interfere with digital TV

Interference from future mobile signals might make digital TV unwatchable for some Britons, Ofcom has said, reports the BBC.

About 3% of TV-watching Britons could suffer interference from fourth-generation (4G) mobile, said Ofcom. Signals from base stations handling 4G services might cause interference in set-top boxes and digital televisions in homes nearby.

Filters will solve the problem for some, said Ofcom, but others may have to use other ways to get TV signals.

Read full article.

Fanhattan Launches iPad App to Aggregate Movies, TV Shows From Netflix, Hulu Plus, iTunes

Fanhattan from Fanhattan on Vimeo.

Entertainment discovery service Fanhattan wants to help consumers find which film and TV content is available, where and in what form - from rental to purchase and subscription, for download, in streaming form, in theatres or on DVD.

To that end, Fanhattan, on Wednesday launched a free iPad app that brings together movie and TV show content from top digital media services, namely Netflix, Hulu Plus and Apple's iTunes, as well as the ABC Player.

Read full review in The Hollywood Reporter.

US. Poverty a problem for pay TV

For years, execs at pay TV companies and telcos boasted about their growth as subscribers continued to pay more for new cable services, next-generation smartphones and faster broadband. Amid the euphoria, however, those execs didn't address what might happen to their bottom lines when consumers could no longer swallow those increasingly larger bills. Variety reports.

In a foreboding new report titled "U.S. Telecommunications and Cable & Satellite: The Poverty Problem," one analyst concludes that a major risk facing companies like Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Verizon and AT&T is not heated competition from each other, or a fast growing outlier like Netflix, but rather poverty.

Read full article.

TEDTaxi: A new idea-spreading device from TEDxBuenosAires

Brilliant video from TEDxBuenosAires: TED called on the city’s most remarkable speakers: Taxi drivers, to connect the ideas of TED with the citizens of Buenos Aires.

50 taxis
20 passengers per week
1 week
7000 listeners

[via TEDBlog]

Net pirate monitoring firm hacked

Trident Media Guard, a French company specialized in software to prevent unauthorized copying of files over the Internet and hired by the French government to track down net pirates, has been hacked.

[via the BBC]

TV shows try to get multitaskers attention

Trying to hold the attention of multi-tasking viewers is proving problematic for these plot-intensive shows. The Los Angeles Times reports.

Audiences don't just focus solely on their screens these days, most people are watching TV with a laptop on their legs," says Laurie Zaks, executive producer at ABC.

... The challenge has forced producers to become even more creative in trying to keep viewers engaged. Robert and Michelle King, the married co-creators of CBS's "The Good Wife" go with the hostage approach. Typically, "The Good Wife" runs at least eight minutes before the opening credits and a commercial break, much longer than most shows. Last week's opening act ran 15 minutes.

Read full article.

TV Everywhere? Cable on the Net Isn't There Yet

TIME's Technologizer looks into TV on TV versus TV on the Internet, while the TV industry still grapples with the concept and deals with technological hurdles and business models.