Filed under: Feature | Tags: Bicycle, Bike, Brooklyn Bridge, New York, New York City, Park Avenue
ONLINE SITE OF THE WEEK: RIDE THE CITY
Six days out of the seven, I ride my bike in NYC. Because I ride so frequently, where to go and how to get there safely is almost second nature for me. But for some folks, riding in New York City is a scary proposition.
This site, should help calm those fears down a bit. If you’re not a NY-er, apologies. The site is only New York focused for the time being. Type in a starting and ending location and the safest route will appear on screen.
For example, here’s my ride to work.
You can do it Rebel Without a Cause style as well requesting the quickest route rather than the safest. Usually after you’ve had the brush with death alla that bus driver who doesn’t see you, you go for the safest route.
Even better yet, wait till August 9th and take a ride down Park Avenue in style, traffic free from 72nd street down to the Brooklyn Bridge. That’s just less than 7 miles of uninterrupted biking bliss. Ride On.
Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: Golf, Monday Night Football, Rocco Mediate, Secret Diary of a Call Girl, Showtime, Sports, Tiger Woods, U.S. Open
Monday night’s season premiere of Showtime’s “Weeds” attracted 1.35 million viewers, the best turnout for an episode of an original series on the network in the last four years. The series, about a pot-peddling mom, also provided a strong setup for new show “Secret Diary of a Call Girl,” which lured 949,000 viewers, the best performance for a new series on Showtime. Variety (6/17)
The U.S. Open golf playoff Monday between Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate on ESPN posted a 4.2 household rating and 4.7 million viewers, the best turnout for a golf telecast in cable TV’s history. The tournament, which was won by Woods, also gave ESPN a nice online bump: ESPN.com logged 5.1 million visitors during the event, a 256% increase over last year’s Open. TVWeek.com (6/17)
Tiger Woods
A primetime episode of Nickelodeon’s “iCarly” last Friday at 8 p.m. pulled in 4.5 million viewers, more than any other nonsports show in basic cable to date, Nickelodeon said. The episode, “iCarly Saves TV,” was seen by 1.9 million viewers between the ages of 9 and 14 and 1.9 million between the ages of 6 and 11. Multichannel News (6/17)
Cablevision’s Rainbow Media Holdings has completed its $496 million acquisition of the Sundance Channel. According to this report, Rainbow executives soon are expected to announce how the channel will fit with existing properties, especially IFC, and whether the two indie-movie networks will merge. The New York Times (6/18) , Newsday (Long Island, N.Y.) (6/17)
The legal haggling over “Project Runway” will be delayed a month. The case, which involves the popular show’s moving from NBC Universal’s Bravo to Lifetime in the fall, is now set for July 17 before New York Supreme Court Judge Richard Lowe. Multichannel News (6/17)
Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA | Tags: AOL, Google, Mark Cuban, Microsoft, News Corporation, Time Warner, Wall Street Journal, YouTube
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
Hulu has one huge advantage over YouTube, says Internet entrepreneur Mark Cuban. The NBC-News Corp. site presents videos with advertising while Google’s video-sharing site is merely “a hosting service.” By next year, he predicts, Hulu will have “more revenues” than YouTube. (Iwantmedia 6/18, http://www.blogmaverick.com/2008/06/16/hulu-is-kicking-youtubes-ass 6/16)
Time Warner’s AOL will begin distributing video clips from Scripps Networks’ HGTV, Food Network, DIY Network and Fine Living Network. The videos will be available on AOL Video and the portal’s Food, Home and Slashfood sites. Scripps started to place its clips on YouTube last month. (Iwantmedia 6/18, http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/technology/news/e3i79825b157551fdb956fa273cbbbe656b 6/17)
Microsoft has acquired Waltham, Mass.-based Navic Systems, a company that helps advertisers fine-tune their ad messages on a number of platforms. Navic uses information culled from cable set-top boxes to provide advertisers with a range of demographic and geographic insights to more accurately target consumers. Adweek (6/18) , The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) (6/18)
Universal Music Group and CBS Radio’s music site Last.fm are announcing a deal to make UMG’s music video catalog available for free, on-demand streaming. The deal is Last.fm’s first major video partnership. UMG and its artists will receive revenue for every video viewed. (Iwantmedia 6/18, http://www.fmqb.com/Article.asp?id=751312 6/17)
By 2013, average video viewing will rise from the current four hours a day to five hours a day, a 25% jump, according to a new study by Forrester Research. The big increase, the report said, will come from people viewing content online, which is expected to build from 10% now to 35% in 2013; on mobile phones or portable devices, from 8% to 15%; and via VOD, from 20% to 45%. Advertising Age (6/17)
Filed under: WIRELESS | Tags: 2GB Memory Stick Micro, Camera phone, Cyber-shot, Digital camera, Memory Stick, S302 Snapshot, snapshot, Sony Ericsson
Sony Ericsson has introduced three phones — a pair of devices meant to compete directly with digital cameras and the F305 handset dedicated to gaming that contains motion-detecting software similar to the Nintendo Wii. The cameraphones are the flagship C905 Cyber-shot — an 8.1-megapixel device with 2GB Memory Stick Micro for storage — and the S302 Snapshot, which carries more modest features, including a 2-megapixel camera. Pocket-lint.co.uk (6/17) , Pocket-lint.co.uk (6/17)
AT&T has added a pair of subscription applications aimed at making it easier for users to watch and share photos and videos on mobile devices, mainly through social networks. JuiceCaster 6.0, from Juice Wireless, lets subscribers post content on more than a handful of networking sites, while access to Buzzwire gives them access to more than 5,000 video clips. American City Business Journals/Sacramento, Calif. (6/17)
Filed under: GAMING | Tags: MTV, MTV Networks, Neopets, Nickelodeon Kids and Family Group, Nicktropolis, Rock Band, Sumner Redstone, Viacom
The Nickelodeon Kids and Family Group, part of Viacom’s MTV Networks, has created new divisions for gaming and for virtual worlds. The gaming group will develop content for a variety of platforms, including CD-ROM, online, handheld and consoles, while the virtual-worlds unit will focus on online experiences, such as Neopets and Nicktropolis. Variety (6/17) , The Hollywood Reporter (6/17)
Filed under: TECHNOLOGY | Tags: Apple, Apple iPod, In-flight entertainment, iPhone, iPod, Ipod Friendly Skies, United, United Airlines
United Airlines on Monday announced plans to offer a new in-flight entertainment system on some of its aircraft that will enable iPod and iPhone users to connect their devices. (http://www.macworld.com/article/133982/2008/06/united.html 6/16)
Bummer. Only for international flights. That said, when flying transatlantic, it’s good to know I will have a power port close by. Even better still, the connection allows video on an iPod to be presented through the headrest. Awesome town.
Philips showcased its version of a trifecta in New York on Monday: a new line of LCD TVs that it has split into three series: 5000 Series, Eco TVs and 7000 Series, which the company touted as having faster refresh rates, a range of styles and other high-end features. The company also unveiled a new Blu-ray player, iPod docking/speaker system, six-speaker/single-chassis sound bar, wireless music system as well as personal-care and lighting products. Dealerscope (6/17) , ElectronicHouse.com (6/17)
HP is bringing out a new CE device dubbed MediaSmart Connect, which allows users to transfer digital media from any computer in the home to any of their high-def TV sets. The system, which functions as a Windows Media Center extender, allows people to watch videos, listen to music or view photos in a high-quality HDTV format instead of on their computer monitor. TMC Internet Telephony (6/17) , ElectronicHouse.com (6/17)
Sanyo has introduced its first 4LCD video projector, a semi-portable unit dubbed the PLC-XP200L. The system, which will be available in September, adds a fourth color-management panel to the usual red/green/blue arrangement, thereby enabling better picture quality as the projector gets brighter, according to the company. Electronista (6/18) , TWICE (6/18)
Weighing in at 2.4 pounds, the new Portege R500-S5007V has supplanted the Lenovo Thinkpad X300 as the world’s lightest notebook computer, Toshiba asserted on Tuesday as it introduced the model, which is just 0.77 inches wide at its thinnest depth. Toshiba also pointed to another first: a 128GB power-saving solid-state drive that takes the place of the hard drive and expands the laptop’s battery time. The New York Times/IDG News Service (6/1
Filed under: MISC | Tags: Copyright infringement, Directories, European Union, IFPI, International Federation, Internet service provider, Music, The Pirate Bay
Worldwide music sales are dropping to their lowest level since 1985, according to new figures from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Online piracy is seen as a key culprit. The organization wants Internet providers to help to stop illegal copying. (http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/media/article4160553.ece 6/18)
