Filed under: MISC
APPLE DECIDES TO UNLOCK THE KEYS TO THE IPHONE UNIVERSE
Definition of Pwned by UrbanDictionary.com:
Getting your ass whoped by anyone who is better than you, causing disgrace and/or shame. Basically sucking. (Leo- “dude you got SEROUSLY PWNED by that old lady”)
Up until yesterday, Apple was getting pwned by anyone wishing to berate them leveraging the fact that the iPhone is STILL not on an open source platform.
Since June, we (the consumers) have been forced to accept web-based iPhone applications rather than applications developed with a SDK.
Why? WHY Apple why?
The original Mac was built on an open source platform allowing developer access to the inner working’s of the machine to create “killer” Mac applications. SDK translates simply to “Software Developer’s Kit” allowing developers access to the programming specifications of the phone. Currently, iPhone applications are web-based and therefore only accessible through Safari.
Think about it this way, Facebook opened its environment to developers and look how many wicked applications Facebook users have access to.
Well, the laws of Apple land have officially changed. Steve Jobs issued an open letter yesterday on Apple’s web site (click on the iPhone image above to view) stating that the iPhone would open to third-party developers by February ‘08.
Steve Jobs, you might just get a Valentine’s Day card from moi.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced Wednesday that he would open up the company’s iPhone and new iPod Touch to approved third-party developers beginning in February. Apple has come under fire from displeased owners who have found fault in the limited amount of applications available for the devices. (Yahoo!/Associated Press 10/17)
Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE
BROADCAST/CABLE
Kevin Martin, head of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, is circulating a plan to relax media-ownership rules, including repealing a rule that forbids a company to own a newspaper and a broadcast station in the same city. The rule change could come within the next two months. (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/18/business/media/18broadcast.html?_r=1&oref=slogin 10/18)
A group of media and Internet companies plans to announce a set of guidelines they have agreed on aimed at protecting copyrights online. The participating companies include Viacom, NBC Universal, Disney, News Corp. and Microsoft. YouTube owner Google is notably absent. (http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB119269788721663302.html 10/18)
Nielsen and ESPN are partnering to create a model to measure people’s use of media on platforms including television, the Internet and mobile devices. The panel will also examine how TV promotions bring people online and how online promotions direct people to watch ESPN programming. (http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2007/10/17/espn-nielsen-form-measurement-partnership 10/17)
The number of DVRs in the US has doubled in the past year exceeding 20% of the Nielsen’s National People Meter sample for the first time. Local tune-in remains strong with the average US household watching an average of 8 hours 14 minutes of TV a day.
Time Warner Cable has begun replacing its Passport interactive program guide with set-top boxes using the OpenCable Platform that supports two-way services such as video on demand. So far, the company has deployed 150,000 OCAP set-tops to new digital-cable subscribers, and it plans to use the new technology in all its divisions by the end of 2008. (Multichannel News 10/17)
Disgruntled Comcast subscriber Mona Shaw, 75, took a hammer to the local office of the cable operator and smashed the computer keyboard and telephone of a customer service rep. “I was just so upset,” she says. A Comcast exec responds: “Nothing justifies this sort of behavior.” (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/17/AR2007101702359.html 10/18)
Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
ONLINE/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
MySpace founders Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolfe are signing a new contract to stay with News Corp. Also: Anderson and DeWolfe are said to be getting equity in MySpace China and will be the highest paid employees at News Corp. after Roger Ailes. (http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/mixed-media/2007/10/17/myspace-founders-re-up-at-news-corp 10/17, http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/news-corp-re-signs-myspace-founders/ 10/17)
Facebook plans to more than double employees to 700 in the next year to develop new features and sell more advertising, says CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The No. 2 social-networking site has “almost wrapped up” its financing. Also: A Facebook IPO is “definitely years out.” (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ahjCtte6CMdY 10/17, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ahjCtte6CMdY 10/17)
Good news for Hulu.com? Video-sharing Web sites took a small hit in traffic in September, as television networks pressed hard to promote streamed episodes of fall premieres on their own Web sites. YouTube saw its unique audience dip for the first time in more than a year. (http://www.tvweek.com/news/2007/10/videosharing_sites_take_hit_fr.php 10/17)
Time Warner’s AOL, which is cutting 1,200 jobs in a restructuring, now envisions itself as a network of Web sites, blogs and services, including TMZ, MapQuest and Engadget. “AOL is like Procter & Gamble,” explains boss Randy Falco. “P&G has a number of brands underneath it.” (http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/17/randy-falco-looks-to-soap-to-clean-up-aols-web-business/ 10/17)
Viacom’s Comedy Central is opening a Web site for “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart,” offering about 13,000 video clips from every minute of the show since its 1999 inception. TheDailyShow.com, which will be free and supported by advertising, is seen as a response to YouTube. (http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-mtv18oct18,1,810516.story 10/18)
I heart the Daily Show. Here’s to your Moment of Zen.
Viacom’s MTV is quietly deploying a Hot or Not competitor called NextorNot.com. The new site allows users to peruse profiles and photos of other users and rate who they think is most attractive. The “hottest” guys and girls will be featured on MTV dating shows. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/10/17/mtv-launches-hot-or-not-competitor-nextornot/ 10/17)
When you find youself ‘nexting’ everyone that crosses your path on this site, you know you’re too old to play. Ideally, this site is built for the 16 - 24 age range set in my approximation.
Fans of Sony’s “Seinfeld” can go online at tv.yahoo.com and vote for their favorite episode. Yahoo will count the votes, then the top 10 will air in syndication Nov. 12 to 26. Yahoo will give all 197 local TV stations carrying “Seinfeld” access to a video player featuring show clips. (http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/17/randy-falco-looks-to-soap-to-clean-up-aols-web-business/ 10/18)
News Corp. will probably make WSJ.com subscription-free and will open the MySpace social-networking site to developers to add online readers and advertisers. “We want a bigger presence on the Internet,” says chief Rupert Murdoch at the Web 2.0 Summit. “Things are changing so fast.” (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aI4qrVB3XTHw 10/18)
Yet another major station group is seeing the Friday-night lights, as Gannett acquires HighSchoolSports.net, covering all things high-school-sports-related. Gannett’s purchase follows moves by Hearst-Argyle, Belo, Fox and CBS to launch or buy Web sites about high-school sports. (http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6492308.html 10/17)
Weather.com introduced a new geo-targeted tool allowing users to wave their mouse over 200,000 points of interest and pull up weather information for that area. The interactive map includes such locales as schools, parks, golf courses and beaches.
Social community sites such as Wikipedia are good places to reach online communities but are not the place for marketing, says Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales at the DMA 07 conference. Marketers should “do good work,” he says. “Somebody will eventually notice.” (http://www.dmnews.com/cms/dm-news/internet-marketing/42742.html 10/18)
DoubleClick has partnered with TV-focused ad-technology firm Visible World to develop a new platform that will combine DoubleClick’s DART and Visible World’s intelliSpot system to create location-specific online video ads. (ClickZ 10/18)
Top Visited US Broadcast Network TV Show Websites (Week ending October 13, 2007)
Rank Network Website Market Share of Visits
1 NBC Deal or No Deal 16.78%
2 ABC Dancing With The Stars 9.49%
3 NBC Heroes 5.80%
4 NBC The Office 3.34%
5 FOX America’s Most Wanted 2.98%
6 ABC Women’s Murder Club 2.78%
7 ABC Grey’s Anatomy 2.69%
8 ABC The Bachelor 2.33%
9 The CW America’s Next Top Model 2.19%
10 FOX Prison Break 2.16%
Source: Custom report from Hitwise
Filed under: WIRELESS
WIRELESS
Sinclair, Fox and other broadcasters plan to beam local television stations to cellphones, video iPods, in-car DVD players and other gadgets. The effort could pump fresh life into local stations that have steadily lost viewers to cable TV, the Web, game players and mobile phones. (http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/technology/2007-10-17-free-mobile-tv_N.htm 10/17)
Filed under: GAMING
GAMING
Sony and Microsoft have ramped up their ongoing console battle with market-leading Nintendo, with cheaper consoles set to go on sale this holiday season. Sony will offer a $399 PlayStation 3, featuring a 40GB hard drive, built-in Wi-Fi and a Blu-ray drive, while Microsoft will introduce a $279 “Arcade” version of its Xbox 360. (Financial Times (free content) 10/18)
