2009 January « Daily Marauder

ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA by Marauder

January 26, 2009, 7:45 PM
Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA | Tags: comScore, Facebook, Internet Explorer, Microsoft, Microsoft Windows, Twitter, Windows 7, Windows Vista

ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA

Microsoft has just pushed live its Release Candidate for Internet Explorer 8, the latest update to the world’s most widely used web browser. You can download it here. Unfortunately the release is only for Windows Vista, XP, and Server – if you’re trying out Windows 7 you’ll have to wait for the next OS update to try out the RC. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/01/26/microsofts-ie8-release-candidate-is-live 1/26)

Twenty-four of this year’s Oscar-nominated films are already available in DVD quality on the Internet, according to independent programmer Andy Baio. This is the highest percentage of Oscar contenders to appear online since he began tracking them six years ago. (hIwantmedia 1/26, ttp://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10149360-93.html 1/23)

Twitter, which just recently turned down a half billion dollar acquisition offer from Facebook (albeit to be paid mostly with Facebook stock), is dipping back into the venture capital market, Techcrunch has heard from a source with knowledge of the deal. They’ve signed a term sheet with at least one venture fund to raise a new round at a $250 million valuation. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/01/24/twitter-raising-new-cash-at-250-million-valuation 1/24)

While 2008 was Twitter’s hockey-stick year, Twitter’s little brother FriendFeed is also beginning to show hockey-stick tendencies in its growth. According to comScore, FriendFeed attracted 950,000 unique visitors worldwide in December. That’s a tenfold increase since June, when comScore counted only 93,000 unique visitors worldwide (and nearly double since September, when it was 550,000). (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/01/25/friendfeed-hits-nearly-one-million-users-grew-tenfold-in-the-past-six-months 1/25)

After watching your share of this year’s Oscar nominees, you might find yourself following the time-honored tradition of renting every tangentially related film in the hopes of finding something else just as good. Type in Slumdog Millionaire or The Wrestler, and Netflix will offer up recommendations that are “more like this.” But if you are looking for quirkier recommendations, the kind that you’d find at your local independent video store, then head on over to Clerkdogs. The human-curated movie recommendation site has an OscarMatch feature that suggests 400 films similar to this year’s crop of Oscar nominees. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/01/26/clerkdogs-has-your-oscarmatch-quirky-movie-recommendations-you-wont-find-on-netflix 1/26)

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WIRELESS by Marauder

January 26, 2009, 7:42 PM
Filed under: WIRELESS | Tags: Apple, Deutsche Bank, LG Group, Mobile phone, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung Group, Sony Ericsson

WIRELESS

Are cell phones no longer a growth business? At least in the fourth quarter, cell phone shipments actually declined. According to Deutsche Bank analyst Brian Modoff, shipments from the top five cell phone manufacturers (Nokia, Samsung, LG, Sony Ericsson, and Motorola) dropped 13 percent year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2008. Unit shipments decelerated from 14 percent growth in the second quarter to 2 percent growth in the third quarter, and then finally went into negative territory in the fourth quarter. (http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2009/01/26/cell-phone-shipments-no-longer-growing 1/26)

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GAMING by Marauder

January 26, 2009, 7:41 PM
Filed under: GAMING | Tags: Console Platforms, GameDaily, Games, Media Control GfK International, Nintendo, Northrop Grumman, Video game, Wii

GAMING

Thanks chiefly to Nintendo’s Wii, video game sales hit $32 billion worldwide in 2008, a 20% year-over-year increase, according to a new report from Media Control GfK International. The report went on to say that the DVD/Blu-ray video market fell 6%, to $29 billion, marking the first time games outpaced the video discs. GameDaily BIZ (1/23)

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TECHNOLOGY by Marauder

January 26, 2009, 7:40 PM
Filed under: TECHNOLOGY | Tags: Apple, Blu-ray Disc, DVD, Hardware, iPod, Microsoft, Walt Disney Pictures, Zune

TECHNOLOGY

The 3D theatrical version of Lionsgate’s gorefest My Bloody Valentine 3D outperformed the standard version 6-to-1, according to 3D equipment vendor RealD. My Bloody Valentine, the first feature film to be released in more than 1,000 digital 3D cinemas, grossed $27 million during its first week in release, with 71% of the receipts coming from 3D screens. (Cynopsis 1/26)

Tried to go last night and hit the “sold out” sign. I guess I should have realized how popular this thing would be. Take 2 on Thursday.

Microsoft‘s Zune media player is said to be suffering a revenue decline of 54%. The $100 million revenue drop “reflects a decrease in device sales,” says Microsoft in a U.S. regulatory filing. Meanwhile, Apple says it is seeing an increase in sales of its rival iPod media player. (Iwantmedia 1/26, http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2009/01/zune-gasps-for.html 1/23)

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has thought of a new way to promote its Blu-ray releases. For the first time the studio will window Blu-ray releases slightly ahead of their DVD counterparts, per VB. The strategy will begin with Disney’s animated hit Bolt – coming out on Blu-ray on March 22, two days before the DVD. (Cynopsis 1/26)

For the first time, a new generation of Americans that grew up with home computers and a wide range of video gaming options is turning 40 and taking control of the business world and other elements of society, according to this analysis. “They are responsible middle-aged parents, and many are coming into the full flower of their professional lives,” the author writes. The New York Times (1/23)

Klipsch soon will roll out three new home-theater systems — the HD Theater 1000, HD Theater 500 and HD Theater 300, all of which are 5.1 setups with left, right and center front channels, a pair of surrounds and a subwoofer. The units are priced to move as well: the 1000 will begin shipping in February with an MSRP of $900, the 500 rolls out in March for $600, and the 300 comes out in April and will cost $400. ElectronicHouse.com (1/23)

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A GOOD REASON TO USE YOUR CELL PHONE AT A PARTY by Marauder

January 25, 2009, 6:46 PM
Filed under: Feature | Tags: Cell Phones, CLL, Facebook, Mobile phone, New media, Sapporo, Science and Technology, Twitter

A GOOD REASON TO USE YOUR CELL PHONE AT A PARTY

Cell Phone? Check.

Jumpsuit? Check.

Cocktail? Double check.

Welcome to LVHRD’s next new media communication experiment entitled (CLL) PHN-LCKN ’09. Coming to a soon-to-be disclosed location in Tribeca Monday January 26^that 9PM, this party encourages mass cell phone use. Here’s how this thing goes down. Upon entry, guests are given a jumpsuit with a number and asked to fill out a short bio like the one in the image above. These jumpsuit-wearing fashionistas are then treated to cocktail-like libations from Dewar’s and Sapporo and music from Portland-based band Yacht.

Conversations between strangers at this party are enabled via cell phone. Upon gazing over at the bushy-haired hipster boy across the way, I can look up the number on his jumpsuit for the profile he provided on the way in. I can then either choose to engage in conversation concerning something I read in his witty bio or stalk him from afar.

All data will be collected by a master database to monitor the experiment’s success rate. In essence, it’s like a live action version of Facebook or Twitter with cocktails for extra fun.

Tickets are $30 with open bar. Click here to purchase and remember:

No jumpsuit. No cell phone. No service.