Archive for the ‘media’ Category
Seven things you didn’t know about Olivia Munn
March 12th, 2011 | 
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Posted in 2011, Entertainment, media, MTV, Olivia Munn, omVideo | 
Tags: MTV, Olivia Munn, The Seven, video | 
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Google acquiring Web-based photo editor Picnik
Picnik, which makes an online photo editor, announced on its blog Monday that the company is being acquired by Google.
The editor works directly with online photo libraries like Flickr, Facebook, and Picasa Web Albums. Users can also upload files to the service and download them again when they are done. The editing capabilities it offers are a natural complement to a Picasa, even though the technology appears to be a mismatch: Picnik works in Flash, while most advanced Google apps use the slower JavaScript. (Google, however, is working to improve JavaScript performance with its Native Client technology.)
Neither Picnik nor Google provided financial terms of the deal in their blog posts.
Flickr uses Picnik by default. It will be interesting to see how Yahoo, which owns Flickr, deals with the new owner of its preferred photo editor.
Picnik is a Webware 100 winner. It competes with Pixlr, Fotoflexer, and Aviary.
Picnik brings photo editing to the browser.
Source :
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10461627-2.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
Posted in Entertainment, Google, Internet, media |
Tags: Google, Picnik, Web-based photo editor |
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Is Google preparing to challenge iTunes in the cloud?
As the four biggest record companies wait to hear more about a proposed iTunes cloud music service, word comes now that Google has kicked the tires on a start-up specializing in cloud media.
Google has showed interest in possibly acquiring Los Angeles-based Catch Media, a company that intends to help make it simple for consumers to enjoy their digital movies, music, and books across numerous different hardware and service platforms, according to sources with knowledge of the negotiations. It’s unclear whether talks between Google and Catch have gone beyond informal discussions.
Google CEO Eric Schmidt (left) and Universal Music Group CEO Doug Morris prepare to shake hands at the Vevo launch party two months ago.
(Credit: Greg Sandoval/CNET)
If Google did acquire the company, it could help the search giant keep pace with Apple’s expected efforts to take iTunes to cloud computing. Last month, CNET reported that Apple has spoken to the top labels about plans to offer a streaming music service free of charge to consumers. Before agreeing to any new licensing deals, the labels are waiting for Apple to supply more information.
A Google spokesman responded to a request for comment by writing: “While we’re always talking to various people about various things, we don’t comment on rumor or speculation.” A representative from Catch declined to comment.
Catch doesn’t offer or store content. The company wants to be to digital media what Plus, Cirrus, and ATM networks are to the banking industry. Catch has developed a technology that helps hardware companies and service providers register, track, route and clear digital media as it moves across different platforms.
If Catch has its way, consumers will one day access media from different vendors and devices as easily as people withdraw money from any available ATM.
Founded in 2003 by brothers Boaz Ben-Yaacov and Yaacov Ben-Yaacov, Catch is focused on cloud-based music at this early stage in its development, sources said. In order to enable the cross-platform accessing of songs, Catch has licensed music from all four major record labels: Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and EMI Music.
Conceivably, Catch is one way Google could equip Android cellphone owners with a means to access their iTunes music libraries.
Google’s interest in a start-up focused on cloud music has sparked speculation within the recording industry about the search engine’s music plans.
According to a December story in The Wall Street Journal (subscription required), Google was attempting to buy Lala, but Apple won out.
In December, Apple paid more than $80 million to acquire the company, which enables users to store a copy of their music libraries on the its servers and then access those songs from anywhere they can connect to the Web.
Barely two months prior to Lala’s acquisition, Google made news by partnering with the streaming service on a music-search deal. One music industry source said Google began circling Catch soon after losing Lala.
Because Google was pursuing an acquisition of Lala, some in the music industry see the search engine’s interest in Catch as part of a larger effort by Google to go deeper into digital music.
According to music sources, the industry would welcome a new music venture from Google CEO Eric Schmidt with open arms, sort of like how the chiefs of three of the largest labels literally welcomed Schmidt to the Vevo launch party in December.
Google’s YouTube has already become one of the Web’s biggest music outlets. Music videos at YouTube and Vevo, a site created by three top labels with YouTube’s help, attract millions of viewers each day.
The music industry has said for years that it would prefer an iTunes rival to emerge. As Apple and Google’s businesses increasingly begin to collide, who better than to face down Jobs and Apple than Schmidt and Google?
Source :
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-10455535-261.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
Posted in Apple, Entertainment, Google, media, Mozilla |
Tags: Apple, Catch-Media, Google, iTunes, movies, multi-media, Music |
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Dish ordered to pay TiVo $200 million
Dish Network has been ordered to pay about $200 million to TiVo in an ongoing patent dispute over DVR technology.
The lawsuit goes back to 2004, when TiVo sued EchoStar (now a part of the Dish Network) for violating a patent on a “multimedia time-warping system,” which involved recording a program on one channel while watching another.
A jury in 2006 found that Dish’s digital video recorders infringed upon a patent held by TiVo and ordered it to pay TiVo $73.9 million in damages. That ruling has been upheld in two separate federal appeals. Dish has said its engineers updated its software years ago to design around TiVo’s patent and that they removed the features TiVo claims infringe on its patent. But the company hasn’t made much progress with that argument. Dish was ordered to pay $103 million plus interest to TiVo in June for being in contempt of court for violating a permanent injunction on selling DVRs with infringing technology.
Full story :
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10345910-93.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
Posted in Dish Network, DVR, Entertainment, media, TiVo, TV |
Tags: Digital Media, Dish Network, DVR, TiVo |
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Disney to buy Marvel for $4 billion
The Walt Disney Co. has agreed to acquire Marvel Ent. in a stock and cash transaction worth $4 billion.
Under the terms of the deal, Marvel shareholders would receive $30 per share in cash plus approximately 0.745 Disney shares for each Marvel share they own. Based on the closing price of Disney stock on Friday, the transaction value is $50 per Marvel share or approximately $4 billion.
Disney will acquire ownership of more than 5,000 Marvel characters, including Iron Man, Spider-Man, X-Men, Captain America, Fantastic Four and Thor.
The boards of both companies have approved the pact, which is subject to antitrust review and the approval of Marvel shareholders.
Robert A. Iger, Mouse House prexy and CEO, said in a statement: “This transaction combines Marvel’s strong global brand and world-renowned library of characters including Iron Man, Spider-Man, X-Men, Captain America, Fantastic Four and Thor with Disney’s creative skills, unparalleled global portfolio of entertainment properties, and a business structure that maximizes the value of creative properties across multiple platforms and territories.”
Disney will acquire ownership of 5,000 Marvel characters, including Iron Man.
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118007932.html?categoryid=13&cs=1&nid=2562
Posted in Entertainment, media, movies |
Tags: Disney, Iron Man, Marvel, Olivia Munn |
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