Filed under: MISC
Halo 3 Brings the Line and the Good Reviews
Last night at midnight, Halo 3 was unleashed to the public. Here’s a few photos from the Midnight Madness party here in NYC (Best Buy at 44th/5th). Not quite as well put-together or engaging as the iPhone release but filled with the gaming obsessed none the less. I really can’t wait to see what the one-day tally is on game sales.
Photo Credit: Joystiq
Master Chief
Photo Credit: Joystiq
Ludacris at the Launch Party
Photo Credit: Joystiq
G4′s Halo 3 Game Review
Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE
BROADCAST/CABLE
Time Warner Cable is having its share price target cut 8.9% by Merrill Lynch’s Jessica Reif Cohen, who says U.S. cable provider faces greater competition from “lower priced” telephone and satellite companies. TWC is unlikely to “deliver meaningful growth,” she says. (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a7kzo.jMesVM 9/24)
The official announcement was made – AMC will renew its first original scripted drama Mad Men for a sophomore season. Produced by Lionsgate, Mad Men’s season one finale will air October 18 at 10p.
NBC Universal and Cox Communications will present a free trial offer of five NBC primetime shows via On Demand, exclusively to Cox Digital Cable subscribers in Orange County and Palos Verdes, CA. The shows include 30 Rock, Friday Night Lights, Las Vegas and the new Life and Bionic Woman. Episodes will be available on Cox’s On Demand service the day after they premiere on the network. Digital Media (9/24)
The Disney Channel is developing a TV series and an original movie revolving around kid rock group the Jonas Brothers. The live-action spy-comedy series is scheduled to go into production early next year, and the movie is scheduled to debut on the channel in the summer of 2008. (The New York Times/Reuters/Hollywood Reporter 9/25)
Since July, cable companies have deployed more than 650,000 set-top boxes with CableCard devices, according to figures provided by the NCTA to the FCC. Comcast is leading the CableCard charge: As of Aug. 31, the company had 145,843 CableCards installed in set-top boxes that weren’t its own. (Multichannel News 9/24)
AT&T Ohio has applied for a statewide franchise to expand its video services. The 10-year franchise would put AT&T in direct competition with Time Warner Cable, which, according to a spokesman for the cable company, would also apply for a statewide license. (Akron Beacon Journal (Ohio) 9/25)
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission is proposing a $4,000 fine against Comcast for airing a “video news release” for a sleep aid without telling viewers that the spot was paid for by the product maker. Comcast says cable programming is not covered by the FCC. (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070925/ap_on_go_ot/fake_news_fine 9/24)
Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
EchoStar agreed to acquire Sling Media for around $380 million in cash and stock options. It is a move that could help popularize the company’s game-changing technologies such as the video sharing service Clip+Sling and a sign that the #2 satellite broadcaster is making a push to keep up with innovations from rival DirecTV. Sling founders Blake and Jason Krikorian and Sling Entertainment President Jason Hirschhorn (former digital exec at MTV) are expected to remain with the company. (http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/echostar-mulls-split-two-firms/story.aspx?guid=%7B9415D44F%2D53D7%2D4C10%2DA4C9%2DCCC0DC461B9E%7D 9/25)
Microsoft is said to be debating whether it should go public with the takeover proposal it made for Yahoo earlier this year in an attempt to prod shareholders to force management to the bargaining table. Microsoft will do a deal with “either Facebook or Yahoo, but not both.” (http://www.nypost.com/seven/09252007/business/msoft_looks_to_facebook_if_yah.htm 9/25)
ValueClick, the second-biggest U.S. Internet advertising broker, is being seen as a potential takeover target. Recent acquisitions of online ad companies by Microsoft, Google, Yahoo and AOL are stirring speculation that ValueClick could be next, analysts say. (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aTsk.z.hrrDg 9/24)
Amazon.com is launching an early version of its digital music download store, which is seen as a potential rival to Apple’s iTunes system. Amazon’s store allows users to buy music without copy protection technology. Most songs are priced from 89 cents to 99 cents. (http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSWNAS474420070925 9/25)
Love it. DRM-free and plays in both iTunes and Windows Media Player. Add to that the fact that DRM-free tracks are $.89 – $.99 as compared to iTunes $1.29 for the same DRM free tracks, and I’m a believer. After tracks are downloaded, they are instantly added to iTunes making for a seamless transition.
Amazon will now offer users of its Unbox video-download service free fall pilot episodes from studios NBC, CBS and Fox with no commercials. Company officials expect the marketing move to attract more attention to the service. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer 9/24)
Wes Anderson’s newest film The Darjeeling Limited, scheduled for release on Sept. 29, will be promoted this week with the release of a 13-minute short called Hotel Chevalier. To help make it a hot commodity, Anderson convinced Natalie Portman to appear sans costume in the clip, even though she has only the briefest of cameos in the feature film. The short premieres tonight at Apple Stores in New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Santa Monica and will be up on iTunes for free tomorrow.
Hotel Chevalier
Mixx launched in private beta, combining social networking features with user-recommended news articles, videos and photos. Users can customize their “Your Mixx” start pages by choosing topics they are interested in, and the site will help find like-minded members by comparing categories, tags and locations.
Google filed a motion with an EU regulator for permission to buy DoubleClick on Friday, and competitors like Yahoo have already started complaining the deal would concentrate too much power within a single company. Meanwhile PR firm Burson-Marsteller, a unit of Y&R, teamed up with Microsoft to launch I-comp.org to help create a dialogue on the issue.
The CW will preview full-length pilots of the comedy Aliens in America and the drama Life is Wild on Yahoo! TV prior to their on air debuts. “Aliens,” premiering October 1 at 8:30 pm ET after Everyone Hates Chris, is available now while “Life” can be seen starting from Saturday. (http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=120678 9/24)
Oxygen launched a branded YouTube channel featuring embeddable clips from shows such as Tori & Dean: Inn Love, The Bad Girls Club and Mo’Nique’s F.A.T. Chance. 
The Republican CNN/YouTube debate is set for Nov. 28, but so far two of the biggest names in the GOP field — Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson — have yet to sign up. Romney has publicly criticized the format. Some 1,850 YouTube user videos are already uploaded for the debate. (http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2007/09/25/still_waiting_on_gop_youtube_d.html 9/25)
The City of New York has gone broadband. Mayor Bloomberg unveiled NYC TV On-Demand, a creation of public-owned NYC TV showcasing original programming produced by the city entity. The player features over 500 condensed versions of shows like Secrets of New York and includes a cool search function allowing users to browse by topic, borough or activity.
ReelTalkTV.com has launched as a companion to the NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution show Lyons and Bailes Reel Talk, debuting in syndication Sept. 29 & 30. The site will feature weekly blogs, discussion boards, box office numbers and news sourced from Access Hollywood.
Eileen Naughton, Google’s director of media platforms, spoke at the Online Media, Marketing and Advertising Conference in New York on Monday. “The velocity of change is absolutely accelerating,” she says. New advertising media such as mobile and video “have real utility.” (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aDoDNTFpjouw 9/24)
Filed under: WIRELESS
WIRELESS
Apple issued a warning yesterday: utilizing one of the various unlocking programs floating around the web for the iPhone may causes “irreparable damage” to the pricey phone’s software, rendering it useless when future Apple-issued updates are installed. (The first of these updates, including a new Wi-Fi link to the iTunes store, is due out later this week.) Needless to say, any damage done by such unauthorized hacks are not covered under the warranty. (Los Angeles Times 9/25)
CBS Mobile and Paris-based game publisher Gameloft introduced a mobile game based on CSI Miami. Designed to immerse users as lead investigator in a series of mysteries inspired by the show, the games can be downloaded directly from AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon phones.
Filed under: GAMING
GAMING
Today’s release of “Halo 3″ has been compared to recent cultural crazes such as Apple’s iPhone and the final Harry Potter book. Gamers have lined up at retailers across the U.S., to pick up their copy of the final chapter in the “Halo” trilogy. (
ClipSyndicate 9/24, Reuters 9/25, CNET 9/24)
Filed under: TECHNOLOGY
TECHNOLOGY
Sales of high-definition DVD players may not reach their full earning potential this holiday season, as many consumers remain torn between the ongoing battle between Sony’s Blu-ray format and the Toshiba-backed HD DVD, according to this article. “If there was a clear winning horse, I would have bet on that horse,” shopper Couper Samuelson said. (The Wall Street Journal 9/25)
As production of the One Laptop Per Child machines gets under way, the nonprofit will on Nov. 12 offer U.S. customers two laptops for $399, one for themselves and another for a child in Afghanistan, Cambodia, Haiti, and Rwanda. Denmark education professor Jan Soelberg said the early model he tried was a bit slow and buggy, but had the capabilities of any other modern laptop. (BusinessWeek 9/24, Yahoo!/PCWorld.com/Computerworld Denmark 9/22)
