Filed under: Feature, TECHNOLOGY, WIRELESS | Tags: Ad-Supported, Debate, Free Wi-Fi, gWiFi, I Love Free WiFi, iPhone, JiWire, Meraki, Platform, Politics, Wired, XO Laptop
PLATFORM FOR PRESIDENT: FREE WI-FI
As provided by Wired, the above map represents free Wi-Fi locations across the United States as they exist today or are under construction. Click on the image above for a closer look.
I have been a huge supporter of free ad-supported Wi-Fi for some time now. After watching debate after democratic nominee debate focused on the war efforts in Iraq and universal health care, I’d love a change of direction.
Free Wi-Fi
Providing free municipality-wide Wi-Fi would empower those that need a different perspective and a push in the right direction. The internet allows access to an endless stream of information as well as groups of people with thoughts on just about any topic.
Free Wi-Fi is a service not only facilitating a community of techno-enabled; it’s also a service enabling the underprivileged. The cost of a computer has fallen drastically while the monthly broadband subscription price has remained high, in relation to what low income families can afford. Below is an example of high design meets low cost in the XO laptop created specifically for children in impoverished nations as well as right here at home.
XO Laptop
The Beauty of Free Wi-Fi
Everyone benefits. Advertisers benefit from a large audience and targeting abilities previously not available. The public benefits from the free service.
The Red Tape
Government bureaucracy insanity.
Solutions for Now
Below are a few sites that allow users to quickly find neighboring free Wi-Fi access points. Hey Citysearch and Yelp! Could you go ahead and add this feature to your ratings system? Thanks. For more information on the digital divide, click here.
I Love Free WiFi
Great site for offering the more coffee cup experience as opposed to the park/hotel experience.
gWiFi
Wi-Fi locations are a bit sparse but I like the easy interface.
Meraki
I commend Meraki for offering Wi-Fi on a mesh network rather than through stand alone Wi-Fi access points. This mesh network is cheaper than Google’s original plan to offer city-wide free Wi-Fi. Now the only lingering question will be: Will local advertising revenue support the cost associated with establishing citywide Wi-Fi? Well, San Francisco is a great market to test this out in.
JiWire
Nice set of locations but I prefer seeing this on a map rather than as a list.
Frankly, the killer app in locating a free Wi-Fi network is most likely toting around an iPhone and selecting a network whenever your beloved friend asks you if you’d like to. Thank you iPhone. That said, many can’t afford an iPhone for locating access and therefore a city-wide solution is certainly of value to so many. If someone could focus on empowering the masses by offering the information to lead them there, they’d have my vote.
Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE
The CW is dropping its comedy division, laying off 25 to 30 staffers. The struggling network, born in 2006 from the former UPN and WB, is expected to focus on areas where it has had the most traction — unscripted programs like “America’s Next Top Model” and serial dramas like “Smallville.” (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i027bb05df1d76cf8b518acdbcfb60614 3/4)
The line between film and TV programming got increasingly blurry as Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman said the company’s Paramount movie studio would begin creating cable TV content for MTV and other Viacom-owned channels. Dauman also said the company was looking into film projects as well as international growth for channels such as BET and Comedy Central. (MediaPost Communications 3/3)
The premiere of Lifetime’s new reality competition series Your Mama Don’t Dance last Friday (9p) attracted 1.6 million total viewers and a 1.15 HH rating.
Why is Ian Ziering hosting anything? That scares me.
Buoyed by a Democratic primary season that attracted new voters, CNN’s prime-time audience of 25- to 54-year-olds soared 150% in February over year-earlier levels. The boost gave the Time Warner channel its first victory over News Corp.’s Fox News Channel in six years. (http://www.crainsnewyork.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080302/FREE/241023799/1008 3/1)
TNT, in a bold move leading up to the upfront ad-selling season, has announced plans to develop an all-original prime-time programming slate on Monday through Wednesday nights as early as 2010. “Cable has taken the measure of broadcast TV in sports, news and theatrical movies, and now we’re ready to knock down the last bastion of broadcast dominance: weekly TV series,” said Steve Koonin, president of the Turner Entertainment Networks. (Variety 3/3)
A new comedy project for CBS - Single White Millionaire. The Warner Bros. TV project has been given the official cast-contingent go-ahead. The show is about a millionaire in his ’30s who decides it’s about time he figure out his personal life and settle down.
BET Networks with debut two new series on March 18 – Black Poker Stars Invitational and Iron Ring, airing them back to back beginning at 1030p. Black Poker Stars Invitation features celebrity trash-talking poker players in Hollywood. Iron Ring takes a punch at celeb-managed mixed martial arts fighting competitions.
After learning that one of its chefs had garnished his resume as nicely as some of his dinner plates, the Food Network made the quick decision to not renew chef Robert Irvine‘s show at the end of the current season. Dinner: Impossible will air all of the remaining episodes of the season, and the network may then chose to re-think its immediate decision about a new season. Irvine said on his extensive resume that among those he had cooked for are the British Royal Family and a number of US Presidents.
NBC Universal made a long-term carriage deal with Comcast to launch mun2 in April on the majority of its digital cable television line-ups. Telemundo will also be added to the Comcast systems in Seattle and Detroit next month. The deal additionally included a provision for Comcast to offer various programs from both networks on its On Demand service. (World Screen News 3/3)
Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
Nine Inch Nails followed in Radiohead’s footsteps and launched their latest album, the 36-track instrumental “Ghosts I-IV,” as a free download (the first 9 tracks anyway.) The band also offers several pay options. For $5 you get all 36 digital tracks and a 40 page PDF; the $10 set comes with a two CDs and booklet; $75 buys you a data and Blu-ray DVD and the $300 “ultra-deluxe limited edition package” includes two numbered prints signed by Trent Renzor himself. Excessive traffic had crashed the site as of yesterday, but Amazon’s DRM free MP3 store has the $5 version.
The user interface is a bit easier to use than Radiohead’s and I like that specific options are offerered rather than the pay what you want offering. I went with the free download option receiving an e-mail in my inbox with a link to a download site and a zip file. Easy breezy.
Deal value in the U.S. media industry could reach record levels in 2008 if pending mega transactions like Microsoft’s bid for Yahoo are completed, says PriceWaterhouseCoopers in its annual report on media M&A activity. Online advertising will “remain an active arena.” (http://www.forbes.com/business/2008/03/03/media-mergers-deals-biz-media-cx_lh_0303mediamergers.html 3/3)
A trailer for Paramount‘s long-awaited new Indian Jones movie racked up more than 200 million views worldwide during the first week of its release, the company told the AP. The studio built hype for the trailer by premiering it on Good Morning America and streaming it exclusively online at IndianaJones.com and Yahoo! Movies before showcasing it in theaters.
Michael Eisner’s Vuguru will debut its next big original web series, indie rock-themed mockumentary The All-For-Nots, next week simultaneously online, on mobile devices and on HDNet, reports The New York Times. Vuguru will make the series, sponsored by Chrysler and Expedia, available on outlets such as YouTube in the U.S., but it will restrict access to it in foreign markets to protect its syndication value.
Here’s some video I took when the All-For-Nots played the Mercury Lounge in NYC in December. Don’t hate. All I had on me was a digi cam and well, my hands shake. . .
Amazon launched a video widget program allowing Amazon Associates affiliates to earn referral fees for video views they accumulate on their websites. The site welcomes comedic, topical and how-to videos and provides 19 different templates to chose from, including a widget for its Unbox video service.
Yahoo’s onePlace is a new service from Yahoo! which allows you to dump bookmarks into dedicated folders where you can view and arrange them on the fly. The example they give is a trip: you add your flight info, the weather, your hotel, and some things you’d like to see. You can also drop in video, audio, and pictures and view it all from your WinMo or BlackBerry phone. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/04/yahoo-oneplace-mobile-content-collection 3/4)
Hollywood super producer Steven Spielberg is preparing to launch a new social network, we’ve heard from multiple sources. The focus will be on users who’ve had or who are interested in sharing paranormal and extraterrestrial experiences. The new social network may also have original video content investigating alleged ghost and UFO stories. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/03/steven-spielbergs-ghost-town 3/3)
DoubleClick, still awaiting EU approval in its merger with Google, is forming a vertical ad network called the DoubleClick Revenue Center to offer advertisers a more unified structure for their online ad buys. The move will place it in direct competition with companies such as Adify, which provides a technology platform enabling publishers such as NBC Universal and The Washington Post to build their own ad networks around specific categories.
Digg, the community-driven news site, plans to give individuals more control over how they view stories, shifting power away from its core loyal users. In an apparent move to boost traffic, Digg will let visitors pick which stories they want to read by setting alerts and making suggestions. (http://www.portfolio.com/news-markets/national-news/portfolio/2008/03/04/Website-Digg-Makes-Changes 3/4)
(Below) That’s right people. Healthier, happier social life. Party of one! Yes, but what if someone takes away my right to blog. Blogging paralysis so to speak.
A new study has found Bloggers are better adjusted and live healthier, happier social lives.The research, from Swinburne University of Technology found that “people felt they had better social support and friendship networks than those who did not blog” after a two month blogging period when compared to people who do not blog. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/03/blogging-is-good-for-your-social-life-study 3/3)
Cinemax offers viewers the chance to pick their favorite movie death blow moment offering clips to watch before casting your vote.
Currently, 300 is the favorite and after watching that clip, I’d have to agree that crazy monster guy getting a knife to the face wins the prize.
Warner Music will allow 7digital.com to provide DRM-free MP3 downloads to customers in the U.K., Ireland, Spain, France and Germany. Already offering EMI’s music catalog, 7digital plans to add more labels. (Yahoo!/Reuters 3/3)
Google’s YouTube is facing criticism for making it too easy for people to upload violent or explicit adult content after a 25-year-old mother was filmed while being raped. Also: A video of a U.S. Marine throwing a puppy off a cliff in Iraq was viewed by 150,000 people on YouTube before it was removed. (http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3482663.ece 3/4, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article3481977.ece 3/4)
So it took longer than originally planned, but Virgin Charter – the site where well-heeled travelers can find and book (expensive) charter flights – has officially opened its doors to the public after almost a year-long closed beta period. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/03/youre-now-free-to-book-really-expensive-flights-online 3/3)
Six Apart just made designing a blog layout so easy that even a dummy like me can do it. On its TypePad service, it added a few more themes to bring the total up to: “100 themes, over 1000 professional designs, and an infinite number of customization possibilities.” (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/03/six-apart-introduces-blog-design-for-dummies 3/3)
NBC Universal will divide digital, research and marketing duties among three execs — Salil Mehta, Mike Pilot and Jeff Gaspin — after the departure of integrated media boss Beth Comstock, who is headed back to parent General Electric. Comstock will oversee digital initiatives for GE. (http://www.nypost.com/seven/03042008/business/nbcus_digital_divided_into_3_100385.htm 3/4)
Filed under: WIRELESS
Google is bringing offline apps to mobile phones – and this has nothing to do with Android. Google Gears, which allows developers to create apps that run on Firefox and Internet Explorer when offline, is supposed to launch later today under the name Google Gears for mobile. (Information for developers is already available here). It will support only Pocket IE running on Windows Mobile devices to start (Windows Mobile 5 and 6), but will expand to other mobile browsers eventually. (Presumably, that includes Safari on the iPhone and Opera Mobile).
In the latest alliance between Microsoft and Nokia, the mobile-phone maker said that millions of its handsets would support Silverlight, Microsoft’s online video technology. Nokia said it would initially make Silverlight available for its S60 platform, used in its more advanced phones, but would eventually include S40 software, made for less expensive handsets. (Yahoo!/Reuters 3/4)
Filed under: GAMING
A group representing 4 million teachers in six countries, including the U.S., wants retailers to stop selling “Bully: Scholarship Edition,” a video game that the educators say encourages bullying by rewarding players who harass fellow students and teachers. Developer Rockstar Games, whose updated version of the original game, “Bully,” goes on sale today, said that critics were overreacting and that the game was meant purely as entertainment. (The Globe and Mail (Toronto) 3/4)
Bully: Game Credits, Intro & Mission #1
Ads in casual Web-based games are expected to be the major contributor to the segment reaching $1 billion by 2012 — a 100% spike over last year’s spending levels, according to a report from eMarketer. (Mediaweek 3/3)
Filed under: TECHNOLOGY
A Japanese researcher has invented a system known as the Kome Kami Switch that will allow people with disabilities to control their iPods based on eye movement. The switch could also be used to control televisions, lights and other common electronics, the developer says. (Yahoo!/Agence France-Presse 3/3)
