DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE SAMSUNG JUKE
The video above was created to advertise the Samsung Juke handset which launched in October on the Verizon Wireless network. I am studying every move in anticipation of my next dance competition with the co-workers. Bring it people. It’s all fun and games until someone breaks an ankle.
The Samsung Juke is Verizon’s answer to a music-enabled phone at an affordable price. The phone is currently available online in 3 colors for $79.99 on a 2-year contract (compared to the $399.00 with 2-year contract for the iPhone). The Juke comes with 2GB of storage (compared to the 8GB of capacity with the iPhone) and a 1.3 mega-pixel camera that works well even in low light (unlike the iPhone). The Juke swivels 180 degrees to open and reveal a key pad.
I dig the swivel and the lower price but I can’t imagine texting to the degree that I do successfully on that miniature key pad.
Along with the Juke, Verizon released the BlackBerry Pearl, LG Venus and LG Voyager. See below from left to right starting with the Juke).
Thank you TO for passing this video along. My dance moves thank you.
Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE
For your Premieres calendar – mark down Lipstick Jungle to air on Thursdays at 10p beginning February 7 on NBC. The thinking here is to avoid airing repeats of ER (did you know there’s a writers strike underway?), and bring out Lipstick Jungle in a strong time period. The show stars Brooke Shields, Lindsay Price and Kim Raver as three highly successful New York City career women.
I could do without the title and the cheesy shoe graphics, but I will watch. After watching the trailer, I’m in like Flynn.
Cowboy fans and Green Bay Packer backers are up in arms on the eve of their teams’ biggest game of the year. Tonight’s contest between 10-1 Green Bay and 10-1 Dallas will be unavailable in a majority of Wisconsin and Texas counties due to the ongoing dispute between the NFL Network and major area MSOs including Time Warner Cable and Comcast. The latter decided to place the NFL Network on a digital tier after it drastically upped its carriage fees to 70 cents/subscriber. Time Warner has offered to make it a premium option, but neither seems close to adding the channel to its basic line-up. The NFL Network actually asked the FCC to step in earlier this month to force Comcast to play ball.
When the back door pilot of the remake of Knight Rider airs on NBC, it will include the talents of Bruce Davison, Wayne Kasserman and Greg Ellis who have all recently joined the cast. The project stars Justin Bruening as Mike Tracer, aka Michael Knight’s son; no word yet on who will voice KITT, the car (in the original, this was William Daniels).
This post on TV Squad was so simply hysterical, I had to re-post it here. TV Squad ponders, how many of the futuristic features KITT showcased in the 80’s now come standard on cars today? Observe:
KITT: “Michael, I know a shortcut–”
Michael: “Yeah, I’ve already Googled it here on-screen. Thanks, though, buddy.”
KITT: “Michael, before you get out you should know the temperature has dropped twenty degrees outside.”
Michael: “I know, it says so right here by the rear-view mirror.”
KITT: “Michael, my internal diagnostics are reporting a temperature fluctuation in–”
On*Star Technician: “This is On*Star, we’re showing a temperature fluctuation in–”
KITT: “Now that’s just rude.”
On*Star Technician: “Excuse me?”
KITT: To interrupt someone while they’re talking. That’s incredibly rude.”
On*Star Technician: “Are you the driver? Is everything–”
KITT: “Well, I should hardly–”
Michael: “While you two work this out, I’m gonna get out here and kick some ass. Did you remember to polish your hood for when I need to come sliding across it after I piss these guys off, KITT? I’m still chafed from last time.”
KITT: (sigh) “Yes, Michael.”
With a through-the-roof ratings summer, a number of cable TV shows are popping up as favorites to win the lion’s share of Golden Globe nominations, according to this story. AMC’s “Mad Men,” FX’s “Damages” and Showtime’s “The Tudors” are building strong buzz in the run-up to the awards show. (Variety 11/27)
HBO is developing a feature-length film about controversial baseball slugger Barry Bonds, who was indicted for allegedly lying about his steroid use only weeks after breaking the all-time home-run record. The film will be directed by Ron Shelton, who is also expected to write the script after the writers’ strike has been ironed out. (Variety 11/28)
The Democratic National Committee plans to announce that it is canceling the final presidential debate in its fall series because of a potential writers strike at CBS News, a sponsor of the Dec. 10 event. “CBS Evening News” anchor Katie Couric was to be the moderator. (http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/democrats-cancel-debate-at-picketed-cbs/ 11/28)
Wayne Davis, a former exec with cable provider Charter Communications, is proposing a new, Web-centric business model for the cable industry: Instead of launching linear video channels, cable operators should partner with online giants like Google to offer online channels. (http://money.cnn.com/2007/11/28/magazines/fortune/waynedavis_1129.fortune/index.htm 11/29)
Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cablevision, Mediacom, Charter, and RCN among other cable companies, got a boost to their stocks Wednesday after reports that FCC commissioners dropped the proposed imposition of the 70/70 rule. (Broadcasting & Cable 11/28)
Kevin Martin, head of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, is proposing that the agency quickly adopt a rule that would prevent Comcast, the nation’s biggest cable company, from becoming larger. Cable-TV industry execs are complaining that Martin’s policies are inconsistent. (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/29/business/media/29cable.html?_r=1&oref=slogin 11/29)
Cablevision has developed a new weather service that incorporates climate readings from more than 550 traffic cameras in the company’s tri-state market. The service, developed with News 12 Networks, is available to Cablevision’s digital-cable subscribers. (CED Magazine 11/28)
Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
MTV Networks plans to make every episode of the hit animated comedy “South Park” free online as part of a strategy to reach consumers everywhere. The Viacom division found that the online popularity of “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” helped boost television viewership. (http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSN2864695720071129 11/29)
Currently, only clips of the show are available. Click below to watch. Point your mouse to the Tourette’s clip. Cartman explains the illness.
ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox, which are in a pay dispute with Hollywood television writers over online video advertising, will generate $120 million of revenues in 2007 from free Web streaming, according to media buyer Starcom. “Desperate Housewives” and “Heroes” are “big Web hits.” (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/49e3d7a8-9e1c-11dc-9f68-0000779fd2ac.html 11/29)
Republican candidates faced off in their first-ever CNN/YouTube debate Wednesday, addressing user-submitted questions on taxes, the Bible and gun control. CNN’s staff viewed nearly 5,000 videos for the GOP debate — about 2,000 more than they saw for the Democrats’ debate. (http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/11/28/debate.main/index.html 11/29)
In the wake of mounting criticism, Facebook execs are discussing changes to a controversial advertising tool that publicizes users’ Web activities outside of the popular social network. Alterations to the recently introduced Beacon system could be announced as early as today. (http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/nov2007/tc20071128_366355.htm 11/28)
Oh snap!
Walt Disney has formalized some of the M&A functions to accelerate its position in the digital media space, and has formed a group headed by Kevin Mayer, the EVP of Corp Dev at Disney. Techcrunch reported on it first here and we have confirmed some more details. The group includes VPs Leigh Zarelli and Matt Pillar, working with Mayer. (http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-disney-formalizes-digital-ma-group-looking-at-sub-20-million-deals-outs 11/28)
AOL is flooding the Web with dozens of new and updated Web sites — TMZ, Bluestring, Truveo — many of which do not even bear its famous name, in an attempt to expand its network and reach people wherever they may be. The AOL brand “is no longer as important as it once was.” (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/28/AR2007112802286.html 11/29)
While online video has had a place on most of the 150 websites behind Gannett’s over the past few years, the company has found it difficult to seamlessly organize, distribute and, most important, make money from it. The McLean, Va.-based media company thinks it has a solution: form an online video network that will allow it to manage content from its various U.S. properties-85 newspapers, including USA Today, and 23 TV stations-more easily. The increased scale from a single video pipeline is also intended to make Gannett’s videos more attractive to advertisers and lead to wider distribution via syndication deals. (http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-gannett-preps-online-video-network-to-streamline-content-ads-syndicatio 11/28)
With rumors flying about a possible sale of LinkedIn to News Corp., Dan Nye, CEO of the professional social networking site, told Fortune’s Adam Lashinsky that he remains committed to “go long.” He didn’t deny that a buyout offer had been made, just that it would take a “heckuva lot”-well more than $1 billion-for the company to agree to a sale. Of course, you wouldn’t really expect Nye to say anything else, even if the company were deep in talks. Meanwhile, says Nye, the company has 200 employees, nearly 17 million members-up from 9 million when he came on board in February, and expects $75 million – $100 million in revenue next year. (http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-linkedin-ceo-coy-on-sale-1-billion-not-enough 11/28)
The desire for greater control over how Google, Yahoo and other search engines index and display news from other Web sites is driving an effort to revise a 13-year-old technology for restricting access. A new proposal will be unveiled Thursday at the Associated Press. (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071129/ap_on_hi_te/search_engine_access 11/29)
Yahoo is powering a new ad product for Adobe PDF, a beta service for publishers launching overnight. (It’s literally called “Ads for Adobe PDF Powered by Yahoo!”) The idea: offer publishers the chance to include contextual, text-based ads next to PDF-based content and give advertisers in Yahoo’s network a new channel with a web-like ability to track ad metrics. For readers, it could open access to PDF-based content that has been limited to paid subscribers. (http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-adobe-yahoo-pair-up-for-pdf-ads-launch-beta 11/28)
Planned debt offerings from EMI and Warner Music Group will have to wait. FT reports that the companies had been looking to raise cash in order to pay investors, refinance debt and fund operations, but a combination of macro conditions and industry-specific difficulties makes it very unlikely. It’s not clear to what extent EMI’s stated plans to aggressively ramp its digital business is contingent on it raising more capital, but something will have to give. Tomorrow’s earnings report from WMG should provide greater visibility into its capital condition. (http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-as-capital-dries-up-emi-looking-to-cut-funding-of-trade-groups-report 11/28)
Blockbuster launched a Facebook app called MovieClique allowing users to search for movies, rate and review them and create viewing lists to share with friends. Story, cast and production information appear with each profile created. The rental chain is also in talks with mobile carriers to launch a mobile phone viewing application, according to comments made by CEO James Keyes at the Reuters Media Summit.
Cool application but it’s been done several times already in Facebook.
Hearst-Argyle Television struck an agreement with Google to give its 30+ local station sites the right to resell Google AdWords to small and medium sized businesses within their local markets. The company will share in the per-click through revenue generated from traffic initiating from its sites. Local search is one of the fastest growing segments of internet advertising, expected to climb from $1.9 billion in 2007 to $9.3 billion in 2010 according to Yankee Group estimates.
A month after acquiring Webshots from CNET, American Greeting is making a second buy in the online photo space: OTCBB-traded PhotoWorks for $26.5 million. (http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-american-greetings-acquiring-photoworks-second-online-photo-buy 11/28)
Filed under: WIRELESS
Google has launched the test version of a tracking feature that, via its Maps tool, identifies a mobile-phone user’s location, even if the handset is not GPS-enabled. However, “Google Maps With My Location” reportedly lacks the precision of GPS and only displays the general neighborhood location of the user, not a specific address. (The Washington Post/Associated Press 11/28, PCWorld/IDG News Service 11/28)
Fans who can’t pick up tonight’s game can go to NFL.com and NFL Mobile on Sprint to torture themselves and view live “look ins” of the action. The feature will break in live :15 and :45 minutes past each hour and each time either team has the ball in the red zone (inside the opponent’s 20 yard line.) The look ins as well as an interactive studio-produced show will be available for all 7 of the remaining games scheduled to be broadcast by the NFL network this season.
Analysts predict 2007 may be remembered as the year that mainstream consumers embraced touch screen technology. While Apple’s iPhone garnered much of the limelight, most major wireless carriers now have a partial or full touch screen handset in development or already on sale. (Forbes 11/28)
Filed under: GAMING
MTV Networks is deeming the first week of sales for its “Rock Band” video game a success, saying the product is “flying off the shelves.” MTV is looking to go head-to-head with Activision’s “Guitar Hero 3,” which posted first-week sales of $115 million. (The Hollywood Reporter/Reuters 11/29)
Nintendo officials have reported that retailers sold 350,000 Wiis in the U.S. last week, marking one of the most successful sales weeks for the console. However, officials are warning consumers that Wii consoles may be in short supply for the rest of the holiday shopping season. (USA TODAY/Associated Press 11/28)
Filed under: TECHNOLOGY
TECHNOLOGY
Tivo announced a partnership with German PC solutions provider Nero integrating its celebrated DVR interface with Nero’s PC-based TV tuner. Tivo announced Q3 revenues of $58.3 million (up 11% from last year) and narrowed net losses of $8.2 million. Overall subscriptions fell from 4.4 million to 4 million, partly due to the steady loss of DirecTV customers. (The satellite provider no longer offers a Tivo option.) (http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-earnings-tivo-q3-revs-up-11-percent-losses-narrow 11/28)
TiVo will develop a digital video recorder that uses the cable industry’s OpenCable Platform, according to Tom Rogers, the company’s chief executive officer. With the middleware protocol, the device will enable users to interface with two-way cable offerings in OpenCable-supporting systems. (Multichannel News 11/28)
Filed under: MISC
CHRISTMAS TREE LIGHTING: REALITY VS. SECOND LIFE
In case you missed it, tonight was the annual tree lighting in Rockefeller Center with special guests Celine Dion, Ashley Tisdale, and Carrie Underwood. Observe real tree above. Observe virtual tree below.
To jog your memory, NBC hosted a concurrent tree lighting event last year in Second Life in over 18 different regions reaching over 1,000 avatars. This remains the largest concurrent event ever launched in Second Life. What does it all mean? Currently, I don’t think much. While registrations to Second Life have been rising exponentially (see below), engagement levels have not been quite so positive.
Tis the season for Second Life? I suppose if you want to avoid your family and friends that much, anything is possible.
