Filed under: Feature | Tags: 139 Norfolk, Action, Browser Based, drv-in, Games, NY, NYC, Party Games, Ping Pong, Pong, Video Games, YouTube
PONG 2.0 ON THE LES, NYC
You may remember this space on 139 Norfolk Street for its former role as a mock movie drive-in. Well, today marks the official recreation of the space for the grand re-opening of Pong 2.0. The space daylights as a design studio owned and operated by two brothers who decided to do something innovative with their extra space. Enter ping pong table.
The Table
For a mere $80, you too can add your name to one of the ping pong paddles on the wall and visit anytime (during open hours) for two months of play. The mini paddles at the end are reserved for the pros. If you’re not ready for membership, 20 minutes of play costs $10. Yah, that is pretty freakin’ expensive especially when you consider that its $10 PER PERSON. Whoa. For more reasonable prices, head to Fat Cat in the West Village which will only cost $5 for an hour of play.
The Match
I brought my own paddle to intimidate the competition but. . .[sigh] I lost.
The Digital
I was initially drawn based on the chameleon nature of the space and the digital backdrop for the pong. A live twitter feed chronicles the ‘action’ and official games are recorded for upload on YouTube.
Here’s a game from the last edition of Pong:
The Live Feed
If you’re really obsessive, you can check in on the table at all hours to study your competition.
The Low Down
In one word, overrated. It was fun to drop in and play a little but the space is tiny (only 1 table), the air conditioner struggles to keep up in this heat wave, and the price is far too expensive. I’ll go play some cheaper games and record them myself if I need to, thank you.
Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: Beijing Olympic Games, Hollywood Reporter, NBC, NBC Universal, Project Runway, Robert Greenblatt, TCA Awards, Television Critics Association
AMC’s “Mad Men” was awarded the distinction of being the program of the year at the TCA Awards. In the comedy category, NBC’s “30 Rock” took home the award for best comedy. The Hollywood Reporter (7/19)
NBC Universal said it would reap record ad revenue from the Beijing Olympic Games while reporting that it has sold 90% of its spots and has set a goal of reaching $1 billion, according to this story. The company plans 3,600 hours of coverage on a number of platforms, including its cable channels. Broadcasting & Cable (7/21)
Showtime, coming off the success of “Dexter” and “Weeds,” plans to keep its focus on original programming. “In terms of subject matter and complexity of character development, it has to be really out on the edge,” said Entertainment President Robert Greenblatt in an attempt to detail what will make the Showtime programming cut. Forbes (7/20
A U.S. federal appeals court is dismissing a $550,000 indecency fine against CBS for the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show that ended with Janet Jackson’s breast-baring “wardrobe malfunction.” The Federal Communications Commission “acted arbitrarily and capriciously.” (http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080721/cbs_janet_jackson.html 7/21)
Reports that CBS News will replace evening news anchor Katie Couric after the U.S. presidential election or the inauguration are not true, says division chief Sean McManus. “I can say, and I have said, that it’s not true.” Couric adds: “I can’t really control what media writers write.” (http://www.forbes.com/business/2008/07/18/tv-couric-cbs-biz-media-cx_lr_0718couric.html 7/18)
Time Warner Cable on Aug. 1 will add horror-centric network FearNet to its video-on-demand offerings. The carriage deal brings FearNet, which is partly owned by Comcast, to 29 million digital-cable homes. Multichannel News (7/21)
Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA | Tags: AOL, Carl Icahn, Facebook, Jonathan Miller, Rhapsody, Robert Kotick, Yahoo, Yahoo Inc
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
Carl Icahn and Yahoo have come to a settlement over control of Yahoo’s board. In return for three board seats, Icahn has agreed to withdraw his alternative slate of nominees and back down from a full-fledged proxy war. Icahn will be given a seat on the board, existing board member Robert Kotick (CEO of Activision) will step down, and the board will be expanded to 11 members from the current ten. The two resulting empty seats will be determined by vote, filled from Icahn’s alternate slate of directors and giving him three seats on the new board. Former AOL CEO Jonathan Miller will also be eligible to take one of the empty seats, and likely will. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/07/21/icahn-backs-down-from-yahoo-proxy-fight-in-return-for-three-yahoo-board-seats 7/21)
iLike, the music service with a massive following on Facebook and increasing popularity elsewhere, has introduced full-song playback on its flagship site, iLike.com. Through its partnership with music subscription service Rhapsody, the site will be offering over 5 million songs from all of the major labels and a variety of indie artists, too. In conjunction with the launch of full song playback, the site is also launching a new self-serve ad platform for concert promoters. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/07/20/ilike-launches-full-song-playback-and-ad-platform 7/20)
This is mad hott.
Watching full-length shows online won’t destroy television viewership, according to a study commissioned by CBS. The study of 50,000 people, conducted by Magid Media Labs, finds that 35% of online watchers say they are now more likely to watch CBS on TV after finding shows online. (Iwantmedia 7/21, http://blogs.reuters.com/mediafile/2008/07/21/online-viewing-wont-kill-tv-cbs 7/21)
Time Warner’s struggle to sell AOL is putting more pressure on the media company’s stock price as the advertising slowdown spreads to the Internet and the pool of potential buyers shrinks. According to one investor, AOL has “become yesterday’s story in the Internet world.” (Iwantmedia 7/21, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601204&sid=a7mbfoBX3u.c 7/21)
Facebook is unveiling a redesign to reflect changes in how its members communicate. Users now are apt to exchange just one-sentence, Twitter-style messages. (Iwantmedia 7/21, http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080721/ap_on_hi_te/facebook_facelift 7/21)
Napster, the Internet music pioneer whose shares have plunged 95% in six years, is seen as takeover bait for hedge funds zeroing in on a cash hoard exceeding the company’s market value. Napster controls half of all U.S. online-music subscriptions and is seen as “dirt cheap.” (Iwantmedia 7/21, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aoh.JuHEG690 7/18)
NBC will try out incoming “Late Night” host Jimmy Fallon in brief, 5- or 10-minute nightly segments on the Internet, starting this autumn, long before the young comedian replaces Conan O’Brien, who will leave the show to take over the “Tonight” show from Jay Leno next year. (Iwantmedia 7/21, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/21/arts/television/21fallon.html?_r=1&oref=slogin 7/21)
Viacom’s MTV is now airing clips it exclusively premieres at least a half-dozen times during a single three-hour weekday video block. MTV exec Brian Graden calls the strategy “hyper-saturation,” and views the move as a way to get ahead of online outlets like YouTube in influence. (Iwantmedia 7/21, http://www.nypost.com/seven/07202008/business/carpet_bombing_videos_120747.htm 7/20)
Google exec David Eun and Web pro Mark Cuban are to appear as panelists for a field hearing that the U.S. Federal Communications Commission is holding Monday to discuss “the future of digital media.” Another FCC panel will probe “the broadband of tomorrow.” (Iwantmedia 7/21, http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117989161.html?categoryid=1009&cs=1 7/21)
Barry Diller’s IAC/InterActiveCorp is signing agreements to raise almost $2 billion to finance the spinoffs of three divisions, part of a plan to break up the company. The deal will leave $1.3 billion to invest in its Ask.com search engine, acquisitions and emerging Web sites that IAC develops. (Iwantmedia 7/21, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601204&sid=apFvWJlZQbyc 7/18)
Filed under: WIRELESS | Tags: iPhone, Mobile phone, Qik, Software release life cycle, Streaming media, Twitter, Video, YouTube
Qik, the video service that streams live feeds from your mobile phone, has finally launched its public beta. The site has also introduced a number of new features to the service, including support for restricted group access to videos, self-service event streams, and a new embeddable player. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/07/20/start-streaming-qik-opens-to-the-public 7/20)
Filed under: GAMING | Tags: Blu-ray Disc, Guitar Hero World Tour, Jimi Hendrix, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Playstation 3, Sony, Wind Cries Mary
Executives for Sony’s PlayStation games console unit are looking to sell over the first nine years 150 million units of its PlayStation 3, which has a built-in Blu-ray disc player. The company said that its original PlayStation had reached 102 million units worldwide and that PlayStation 2 had sold 140 million units in its first nine years. Financial Times (7/21)
“Guitar Hero World Tour,” the fourth iteration of the popular game that’s scheduled for an Oct. 27 debut, will feature Jimi Hendrix and his music. The new version will include Hendrix anthems such as “The Wind Cries Mary” and “Purple Haze.” USA TODAY (7/18)
The $40 billion computer-gaming industry, according to this report, is looking to broaden its search for new customers. Companies are appealing less to cutting-edge games and more to those that have never owned a gaming console or who haven’t updated their equipment in many years. Los Angeles Times (free registration) (7/21)
Filed under: TECHNOLOGY | Tags: Apple, Business, China, Forrester Research, Hollywood Reporter, Retailing, Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, us
TECHNOLOGY
The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers says it believes a standard is essential to propel the 3-D home-entertainment industry. “If the studios have to make different (types of) discs for these home entertainment systems, it’s not going to happen. And consumers, I think, will not want to read the box to see what will work on their sets,” said SMPTE Engineering Vice President Wendy Aylsworth. The Hollywood Reporter (7/21)
Despite a troubled economy, consumers spent $10.1 billion on home-video discs during the first half of the year, according to Video Business magazine. Titles such as “I Am Legend,” “Alvin and the Chipmunks” and “Enchanted” helped the market remain basically flat with year-ago revenue figures. Variety (7/20)
The so-called “terabyte lifestyle” made possible by the movies, TV shows and music available for download now will add fuel to the home-server industry, according to a report from Forrester Research. While only about 400,000 U.S. homes currently have servers for their computer-storage needs, the figure will grow to 4.5 million by 2012, the study predicts. The New York Times/Reuters/Billboard (7/21)
The opening of Apple‘s first retail store in China drew more than 400 people, including some who camped out overnight to be one of the first inside. Apple products have been available in China for years, either through specialty retailers or smuggling, one expert said, but the Beijing store is Apple’s first dedicated retail outlet. An Apple executive said more Chinese stores were to come. Network World/IDG News Service (7/19)
