ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC Offer Incredible Lineup of Programming in Stunning HD on the iTunes Store
iTunes Tops 200 Million TV Episodes Sold, Including Over One Million HD Episodes
Apple today announced that all four of the major networks are offering primetime programs in stunning high definition on the iTunes(R) Store including viewer favorites “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Lost” from ABC, “CSI” and “CSI: Miami” from CBS, “Bones” and “Prison Break” airing on FOX, and “Heroes” and “The Office” from NBC Universal. The iTunes Store is the world’s most popular online TV store with over 200 million TV episodes sold, including more than one million HD episodes purchased since the launch of HD programming on iTunes last month.
“We’ve got an incredible Fall 2008 TV lineup with over 70 primetime comedies and dramas, including many of the most popular shows on TV in stunning HD,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of Internet Services. “With over 200 million episodes sold, iTunes customers have proven they love watching television on their computer, iPod, iPhone and TV with Apple TV.”
The iTunes Store features the world’s largest online catalog of TV programs with over 70 primetime comedies and dramas from the major networks and television programs from over 70 cable networks including Bravo, Comedy Central, Disney Channel, ESPN, FX, HBO, MTV, Nickelodeon, Sci Fi, Showtime and USA. Standard definition television shows on the iTunes Store are $1.99 per episode, while HD programs from ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX are $2.99 per episode. Many series offer a season pass option which allows customers to purchase entire seasons at a discounted price.
The list of HD programs now available on the iTunes Store includes ABC’s “Brothers & Sisters,” “Desperate Housewives,” “Dirty Sexy Money,” “Eli Stone,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Life on Mars,” “Lost,” “Private Practice,” “Samantha Who?” and “Ugly Betty.” CBS programming includes “CSI,” “CSI: Miami,” “CSI: New York,” “NCIS” and “Numb3rs.” FOX shows include “Bones,” “House,” “Prison Break” and “Sons of Anarchy,” which airs on FX. NBC shows include “30 Rock,” “Heroes,” “Kath & Kim,” “Knight Rider,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “Life,” “Lipstick Jungle,” “My Own Worst Enemy” and “The Office,” and SCI FI Channel’s “Battlestar Galactica” and “Eureka,” and USA Network’s “In Plain Sight,” “Monk,” “Psych” and “The Starter Wife.”
The iTunes Store is the world’s most popular online music, TV and movie store with a catalog of over eight million songs, over 30,000 TV episodes and over 2,500 films including 600 in stunning high definition video. With Apple’s legendary ease of use, pioneering features such as iTunes Movie Rentals, integrated podcasting support, iMix playlist sharing, the ability to turn previously purchased tracks into complete albums at a reduced price, and seamless integration with iPod(R) and iPhone(TM), the iTunes Store is the best way for Mac(R) and PC users to legally discover, purchase and download music and video online.
Pricing & Availability
iTunes 8 for Mac and Windows includes the iTunes Store and is available as a free download from (http://www.itunes.com/). Purchase and download of songs and videos from the iTunes Store requires a valid credit card from a financial institution in the country of purchase. Video availability varies by country.
Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award- winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.
(C) 2008 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh, iTunes, iPod and iPhone are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Source: Apple
Peachpit Announces Free Creative Suite 4 Online Resource Center and New Line of CS4 Books
Peachpit today announced the launch of a Creative Suite 4 online resource center, and the publication of new books designed to enable readers to get the most out of the powerful features of CS4, Adobe’s latest software release. The resource center and books are aimed at all levels of users and cover all that’s new in CS4 including Adobe Photoshop CS4 Adobe InDesign CS4 Adobe Illustrator CS4 and more.
The new Creative Suite 4 online resource center offers complimentary sample chapters, video tutorials, detailed book descriptions with pricing and availability and articles from CS4 experts, including Whats It Going to Take to Run Photoshop CS4? A Real World Guide to the Hardware You’ll Need Getting Familiar with Paths in Adobe Flash CS4 Professional and Creating Tables in Dreamweaver CS4.
Peachpit’s CS4 lineup of books includes more than 50 titles. The first books are scheduled to ship this month, immediately following the launch of CS4. Adobe Photoshop CS4 Up to Speed will be the first available title, followed shortly by the bestselling Classroom in a Book series, officially backed by Adobe, and the Visual QuickStart Guide series—Peachpit’s classic task-based series that has been a leader for over 15 years and has sold over 11 million copies. Readers can also look for Scott Kelby’s The Adobe Photoshop CS4 Book for Digital Photographers, just one of the books that has made Scott Kelby the #1 computer book author for the 4th year; as well as the popular Real World, Studio Techniques, and How-Tos series coming in late 2008 and early 2009.
For CS4 users who can’t wait for the printed book, several titles will be available as Rough Cuts through Safari Books Online, including Adobe Fireworks CS4 Classroom in a Book and Adobe After Effects CS4 Visual Effects and Compositing Studio Techniques. Rough Cuts provide access to an author’s developing manuscript before the final product is published, and are regularly updated as new material becomes available. While the book is in progress, users can choose to purchase electronic access with unlimited viewing and PDF downloads of each revision, pre-purchase the print book, or get the best of both worlds—electronic access immediately and the print book later. Free trials of Safari Books Online are available now.
About Peachpit
Berkeley-based Peachpit has been publishing the industry’s best-selling books on the latest in graphic design, desktop publishing, multimedia, Web design and development, digital video and general Macintosh computing since 1986. Its award-winning books feature step-by-step explanations, time-saving techniques, savvy insider tips, and expert advice for computer users of all sorts. It is the home of the internationally recognized Visual QuickStart Guide series, the design imprint New Riders and its highly popular Voices That Matter series, and is the publishing partner for Adobe Press, lynda.com, NAPP, Apple Certified, AIGA Design Press and others. Peachpit is part of Pearson, the international media company. Pearson’s primary operations also include the Financial Times Group and the Penguin Group. Learn more at www.peachpit.com and www.pearson.com.
JustTweetit Launches a New Twitter Directory
Filed under: Site Launches, Tech News, press release
Are you interested in finding like-minded Twitter users? If so, check out JustTweetit.com The site is well designed and easy to navigate and has bright fun graphics. You can quickly add your name and information. Simply add your name to the existing directory, and then you can find or be found by others who share your same tastes.
The newest Tweeters are featured on the main page, and a brief description of each Tweeter is provided as well. The site will also include a “Featured Tweeters” section in the future, where “exceptional” Tweeters are brought into the limelight. It is also possible to suggest Tweeters that stand out in the community because they are friendly and helpful to others to be added to this forthcoming list. There is a also a “Cool Stuff” heading that collects goodies like mobile and developer tools alongside assorted Twitter graphics and services. Be sure to check out the JustTweetIt blog as well.
Website to Transform Discovery of Sporting Talent
UsportStar.com Launches on Tuesday October 7, 2008
A highly original website that showcases new sports talent is being launched at Chelsea Football Club on October 7, in conjunction with the opening of the major football business exhibition, “Leaders in Football”.
UsportStar.com is the first in a series of community driven portals by Dreamscape Media and is designed to target people with genuine sporting talent. By combining the worldwide appeal of Youtube with the extraordinary popularity of reality television shows, UsportStar.com generates content from video clips uploaded by the public. This user-created content promotes the skills and sporting ability of athletes of any age who believe they may possess star potential.
The use of the site to register and upload videos of sporting prowess and skills will be open to everyone. It is a concept which will reach out to people of all ages and backgrounds, drawing them even closer to the sports they love and increasing their sense of involvement. For many it will fuel dreams of discovery and achievement by showcasing the talent and skills of athletes of any age and ability who think they have what it takes.
Usporstar.com is expected to become a primary source of talent for professional team scouts, managers, major brands, agents and academies. The site will be a major point of reference for all professionals who are constantly on the look out for promising young sportspersons.
UsportStar.com has been developed with attention to detail, to ensure its broad appeal, ease-of-use, effectiveness and ethicality. All teams, scouts and agents will be thoroughly vetted and authorised, and all videos checked and verified; parental approval and protection of young people is intrinsic to the site’s design.
UsportStar.com’s ambition is to become the largest online sports community the in the world.
Pargat Mangat, a Director of Dreamscape Media, the owners of Usportstar.com, said: “UsportStar.com will not only allow users from around the world a chance to showcase their sporting talent, it will also provide new and incredibly diverse search options for teams, brands and organizations to view and contact these users, who previously may never have had the opportunity.”
Dreamscape Media plans to become the first global media company to embrace the power and creativity of user-generated content across wide-ranging sporting categories, enabling users to connect with a vast new audience in an entirely new way.
rss.com Domain Name set for 750,000 USD Sale
Torex Appoints Sedo to Oversee Web Address Sale
Sedo, the leading marketplace for buying and selling Internet domain names and websites, has been appointed by Torex Retail Holdings (Torex(TM)) to oversee the sale of rss.com.
With the development of the Internet, Really Simple Syndication (RSS) has emerged as the industry standard term which describes the delivery of automated news feeds over the web.
Jason Richards, global vice president, information services, Torex, commented: “Following our review of our digital assets, we’ve concluded that the domain name RSS, while having significant value in the marketplace, is not totally indicative of the Torex product, support and service offerings on a go-forward basis. Rather than maintaining this asset, we feel that it is better suited for a company in the media, publishing or entertainment sector where it should have stronger market appeal. Sedo is the ideal partner for us to announce its availability and oversee its sale.”
Nora Nanayakkara, director of business development at Sedo, commented: “It’s not often a name with such pertinence comes onto the market. As well as being short and memorable, the name has a widespread meaning. It’s a fantastic opportunity for an online media company to acquire it and grow its readership.”
With over 3,810,000,000 page results for “rss” in Google, businesses can use the name as a powerful asset to attract new customers, boost search engine rankings and grow online advertising revenues. Since being parked and monetised through Sedo, the name averages 20,000 unique views a month.
Rss.com is planned to go up for auction on www.greatdomains.com in October with a $750,000 USD reserve. Buyers can submit their interest either by contacting Sedo directly or by visiting www.sedo.co.uk and searching for the Internet domain name.
Top 10 domain names sold by Sedo:
1. Vodka.com (USD$3m)
2. Chinese.com (USD$1.1m)
3. Invest.com (USD$1.015m)
4. Website.com (USD$750,000)
5. Telecom.com (USD$700,000)
6. Annuity.com (USD$600,000)
7. Blue.com (USD$500,000)
8. Villas.com (USD$478,000)
9. Gibraltar.com (USD$ 360,000)
10. Sport.co.uk (USD$265,000)
NOTES TO EDITORS
About Sedo
Sedo, an acronym for “Search Engine for Domain Offers,” is the leading online marketplace for buying and selling Internet domain names and websites. With offices in America, Germany and the UK, Sedo has assembled the world’s largest database of domain names for sale, with more than 14 million listings. The success of Sedo’s model has attracted a global membership base of more than 790,000 domain professionals. Sedo is majority-owned by AdLINK Group (ISIN DE0005490155 / German WKN: 549015), which is part of the German United Internet AG (ISIN DE0005089031/ WKN 508903). Sedo offers regional versions of its site for the UK (Sedo.co.uk), France (Sedo.fr), Germany (Sedo.de), and Spain (Sedo.com).
For additional information, please visit http://www.sedo.co.uk.
About Torex - http://www.torex.com
Torex is the leading global provider of innovative, integrated technology solutions to the extended retail marketplace.
Torex has 20 years’ experience of working in partnership with the world’s most forward-thinking retail, petroleum and convenience and hospitality brands to entice, engage and retain their customers.
Over 7,000 customers worldwide depend on our proven, best-in-class solutions and knowledgeable industry experts to help them identify, define and deliver a more personal and qualitative experience for each customer, and to maximise profitability, increase ROI and achieve competitive advantage. Torex customers include McDonald’s, Tesco and Selfridges.
Search Activity for Sarah Palin Outnumbers Joe Biden 2200 to 1
John McCain Jumps Ahead of Barack Obama on this Week’s Lycos Top Search List
Tina Fey and Dancing with the Stars along with Toni Braxton are Among Big Search Gainers on Lycos
The Lycos 50 for Week Ending Sept. 27, 2008
Lycos, a leading provider of social publishing, media and search services, today announced the following information from The Lycos 50, the most popular Internet search terms and trends for the week ending Sept. 27, 2008.
Biggest Movers and Shakers for Week Ending Sept. 27, 2008:
1. Paul Newman 600 %
2. Dancing with the Stars 533 %
3. The Office 480 %
4. Tina Fey 425 %
5. David Blaine 400 %
6. Lindsay Lohan 395 %
7. Toni Braxton 340 %
8. Criss Angel 275 %
9. Heroes 233 %
10. Halloween 170 %
Search Gainers:
While polling numbers show Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (#43) leading his Republican rival Sen. John McCain (#42), McCain has the lead in web search activity on Lycos, generating 20 percent more online interest than his Democratic opponent. But it’s Gov. Sarah Palin (#12) who continues to drive the most search interest. Although Palin dropped out of the top 10 this week, she is still more popular than actress Megan Fox (#13), the WWE (#15) and hip-hop star Kanye West (#16). And in comparison to her vice presidential rival, searches for Palin outnumber searches for Sen. Joe Biden 2200 to one. Biden is the least searched of the political candidates, registering search activity far below the top 50 terms on Lycos, receiving as many searches as song lyrics and school loans. Meanwhile, search popularity for actress Tina Fey catapults 425 percent since returning to Saturday Night Live portraying the Republican vice presidential candidate. And Dancing with the Stars struts onto this week’s top 10 Movers and Shakers list, with search activity increasing five-fold over the past week, while online interest in DWTS contestant Toni Braxton more than triples following news of Braxton’s recent health issue. Prior to beginning a demanding regiment for Dancing with the Stars, Braxton experienced a heart problem called Microvascular Angina. Most patients with Microvascular Angina, also known as Cardiac Syndrome X, suffer pain when doing extraneous exercise. The condition hasn’t stopped the Grammy-winning singer who plans to continue competing on the popular ABC series.
About Lycos, Inc.
Lycos, Inc. operates search and social media web sites that foster online communities, including the new Lycos Cinema community, bringing people together one flick at a time. Other Lycos products and sites include Lycos.com, Hotbot.com, Tripod.com, Angelfire.com, Gamesville.com, Lycos Mail, Webon, WhoWhere.com and The Lycos 50(TM). Lycos, Inc.
Lycos(R) is a registered trademark of Lycos, Inc. All other product or service marks mentioned herein are those of Daum Communications Corp., Lycos, Inc. or their respective owners. All rights reserved.
Source: Lycos, Inc.
Gale Launches New Online Content Marketplace AcquireContent.com
Filed under: Site Launches, Tech News, press release
AcquireContent.com Provides Scaleable Content Syndication and Creation Services for Businesses
Gale announces the launch of AcquireContent.com, a new online content marketplace that highlights Gale’s high-quality and unique content assets and provides robust content licensing, syndication and content creation services to Web site owners, media outlets, publishers, research database providers, Internet start-ups and other businesses. From magazines and newspapers to comprehensive encyclopedias and directories, businesses will find large volumes of dynamic, accurate content at AcquireContent.com.
A service of Gale, a part of Cengage Learning, AcquireContent.com offers over 10,000 unique sources of content covering more than 500 different topic areas. The site features content that is both diverse and compelling, covering a wide range of consumer interests, from the latest business trends and health and wellness research to how-to topics, pop culture, entertainment and more. Gale’s content will engage all types of audiences: from research professionals to general information seekers. The site enables businesses to find the content they need quickly and provides on-site tools to easily bookmark collections of content that they are interested in licensing.
AcquireContent.com offers several flexible licensing programs, allowing businesses to get just the content they need. Potential clients and existing partners can also work directly with Gale representatives to commission the creation of original, custom content developed just for their site and optimized for maximum search engine discoverability. Content can be easily integrated into a business’s site or service with AcquireContent.com’s platform services. Gale can also create custom, white label solutions for online businesses including hosted web pages, search widgets, and e-commerce.
“Content is still king, especially when it comes to building a successful business online,” said Paul Mouton, Director of Business Development at Gale. “With AcquireContent.com, you have instant access to a massive volume of unique and engaging content. And, if we don’t have exactly what you need, we have the capability to quickly create custom content that addresses your needs specifically.” With its success in serving the information needs of libraries, school, universities, and businesses for over 50 years, Gale is expanding its already strong position in the online content marketplace with AcquireContent.com, by providing scaleable content syndication solutions for any business.
For more information, contact Lindsay Brown at lindsay.brown@cengage.com
About Cengage Learning and Gale
Cengage Learning, formerly Thomson Learning, delivers highly customized learning solutions for colleges, universities, professors, students, reference centers, government agencies, corporations and professionals around the world. Gale, part of Cengage Learning, serves the world’s information and education needs through its vast and dynamic content pools, which are used by students and consumers in their libraries, schools and on the Internet. It is best known for the accuracy, breadth and convenience of its data, addressing all types of information needs — from homework help to health questions to business profiles — in a variety of formats — books and eBooks, databases and microfilm. For more information visit: www.cengage.com or www.gale.com.
About AcquireContent.com
Located at http://www.acquirecontent.com/, AcquireContent.com is Gale’s online content marketplace, and the single source for content licensing, syndication, and creation services for businesses and organizations. Offering more than 10,000 unique sources of content in over 500 different topic areas, AcquireContent.com provides scaleable content solutions for any business.
Source: Cengage Learning and Gale
SGN Launches iBowl for iPhone
Filed under: Product Launches, Tech News, press release
Using the iPhone’s unique accelerometer technology iBowl simulates a mobile bowling alley where you swing your iPhone like a bowling ball
Today, on the heels of the release of the hugely popular game iGolf, SGN, the leading social gaming company, has launched iBowl. Like iGolf, iBowl leverages the innovated accelerometer mobile technology platform for the iPhone to let bowling fans, sports and gaming enthusiasts play on-the-go.
“We are continuing to push the boundaries of social gaming to engage all gamers and enthusiasts in innovative ways through our creative use of platforms such as the iPhone,” said Shervin Pishevar, CEO of SGN. “The success we have seen with iGolf demonstrates the demand for this kind of entertainment for all audiences.”
Pishevar continues, “SGN is committed to developing social games for all audiences across all platforms and leading the industry with mobile applications that push the social networking envelope.”
iGolf and iBowl are the first two games in a series of iPhone and mobile gaming applications that will be available over the coming months. To play iBowl, the user depresses the ‘BOWL’ button on the touch-screen interface throughout the swing and releases the button at the end of the swing to direct the bowl down the bowling lane. By twisting your wrist while you swing the iPhone the player can create spins and control the direction of the bowling ball. Updates to this game will be available by October 13, 2008.
Today iGolf has been chosen as a ‘Featured Game’ in the Apple App Store. With over 900,000 downloads to date, iGolf is a leader in downloaded games for the iPhone.
The development of iPhone games marks SGN’s expansion in mobile and social gaming technology, heralding its commitment to expanding the “social graph” established on social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, Bebo and Hi5 across multiple platforms and form factors. SGN is taking its extensive experience in the development of original and engaging game play an applying cutting-edge technology to create a compulsive game play experience.
About SGN
SGN is the largest developer of social networking games and applications. SGN’s current network of games commands over one million game players per-day across multiple social networking platforms including Facebook, MySpace and Bebo. For more information go to www.sgn.com.
Will Plastic Logic’s Technology Trump Kindle’s Business Model?
Havard Business Publishing had an interesting post about the Amazon Kindle Reader today.
As a loyal supporter of Amazon.com’s Kindle e-reader, an email from a client titled “Throw that Kindle away!” was sure to catch my interest.
The email linked to a video demonstrating an electronic reader that a U.K. company called Plastic Logic plans to launch next year. The video is eye-catching. Plastic Logic’s device–which is powered by the same E Ink technology behind readers offered by Amazon and Sony–is the size of a sheet of paper and has a stunning 13-inch screen.
As the company’s name implies, the device is based on plastic technologies originally developed at Cambridge University. Plastic Logic is betting that lower capital costs and a simpler production process will provide it with a sustainable cost advantage over devices based on silicon.
A beautiful design and a sustainable cost advantage certainly sound troubling for Amazon. How worried should Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos be?
Innosight’s lenses suggest not too worried, unless Plastic Logic dramatically shifts its approach.
Bailout Vote Fails to Pass 205 to 228
Last minute outrage at Nancy Pelosi’s remarks and angry calls from people in their districts might have caused a few to change their minds about supporting this bill which has now failed to pass. The Dow, at the moment, has dropped over 500 points. The following statement was just released by former U.S. House speaker Newt Gingrich, who originally raised many of the doubts about the proposed Bush administration effort to rescue Wall Street — and who on Saturday called for Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s resignation:
“I have sadly come to two painful conclusions.
“First, the crisis of the credit markets is real and could have horrendous consequences dislocating the world market, causing enormous economic pain, and discrediting free market capitalism for a generation.
“Second, as long as Secretary Paulson is in charge, it is impossible to get a creative or significantly better solution. The House Republicans, reinforced by John McCain, have improved this bill significantly so it is less bad than the original Paulson proposal. However, they cannot improve it more because of Paulson’s intransigence, which is an even greater obstacle to a good bill than the liberal Democrats who run the House and Senate.
“Therefore, while I am discouraged at the final collapse of the Bush Administration, and frustrated by the Democrats’ passion for the taxpayer’s money, I would reluctantly and sadly vote for the bailout were I still in office.
“I understand and sympathize with any member who votes no.
“The bill is not the best proposal for solving the crisis. It is not even a good proposal for solving the crisis.
“However it is the only proposal Secretary Paulson would support and his support was essential in this setting.”