Category: Media
Sony's Qriocity on-demand movie streaming service to launch in February
You've had Netflix, you've had iTunes; the next contestant in the great "Battle of the Online Movie Services" is Sony's Qriocity. Heading to anything with a Xross Media Bar on it (be it your PS3 or soon-to-be-released web-connected Sony…
ASUS launch High Definition Eee Box 1501 tiny desktop PC
Featuring a slot loading optical disk drive, the Eee Box 1501 is small enough to be mounted on the back of a monitor or flatscreen TV.
LaCie unveil LaCinema Classic HD media player and server
The LaCinema Classic HD is set to feature some pretty attractive functions by the looks of things. Giving change back out of £200, it's not too badly priced either.
BBC watchdog calls for a break on the corporation's online activities
Against a background of criticism of the BBC by commercial media rivals which have struggled to monetise online content, Lyons has told the corporation it needs to restructure its online content or face the consequences. The alternative could see a radical restructure forced on the BBC by a future government which may have close links to media owners.
"Beyond the core offer of news, sport, education, children's and the iPlayer, which parts of the online service are essential to the BBC's mission and which could be stopped?" asks Lyons inthe report. He also questioned the future of content not tethered to specific BBC programmes.
Will you ditch Google for Bing to get the news?
In theory it sounds like a winner. Microsoft, in Bing News, becomes the number one place for users to search for news, while media organisations get money from Microsoft for cataloguing their stories.
However before messrs Murdoch and Bullmer get carried away there are few things worth bearing in mind
Microsoft reaching out to FT and other publishers in bid to beat Google
So Microsoft has approached the FT then. The interesting part is which other companies Microsoft has approached. Even if it knows the FT isn't saying.
The move comes off the back of Rupert Murdoch's plans for Google to deindex all News International's online content. The agreement with Microsoft could mean that for the first time a search engine company has paid to index news stories.
For Microsoft it could give the company a much needed unique feature for its Bing search engine in that it could become a hub for news. The key for the company though is whether other publishers will follow News International.
Build your own daily newspaper with Fingertips
Similar in practice to news sites such as NetVibes and Meehive, Fingertips hope that its simpler interface will find favour with news readers worldwide.
The BBC social media editor with no Twitter account
He may have great credentials at working in the corporation – he has been Sports News Editor for BBC Sport – but given that his new role is all about managing the User Generated Content hub within BBC Newswire you would have thought that he would have been a hard core blogger or at least have a Twitter account.
Only 5% of Britons would pay a subscription to read online news sites
Bizarrely younger, poorer and lower class readers are more likely to pay the subs than older, richer and posher ones.
Are Cameron and the Tories planning to make you pay for the BBC news website?
Of these two issues the BBC is obviously the one that is concentrating the minds of media barons the most. How can they possibly charge readers for online stories when a first rate news organisations is offering their content for free?
