Archive for May 12th, 2008
 According to Portfolio, Apple and HBO will team up to offer HBO original programming on iTunes in the next couple of weeks, and HBO may receive variable pricing and/or a higher profit percentage for its shows than other content providers. This is large, not only because it marks HBO’s first huge move into the on the internet media market, but also because they’ve managed to strong-arm a notoriously stingy Apple into their own financial terms.
What’s impressive is how HBO got Apple to negotiate beyond its usual terms. If you remember, the fixed $1.99 episode price and profit splitting are what led to the Apple/NBC divorce in the fall. Now, Apple has backed down from its stance and appears to be into the flexible pricing scheme. Portfolio believes Apple wants this partnership to drive Apple TV sales. I also wonder if NBC on the Zune Marketplace shook ‘em up a tiny.
And if HBO does come to iTunes, it will be their first mainstream venture into the online media market. They’ve been hesitant up until now, presumably because it might cannibalize subscription revenue. While they are testing an on the internet on-demand system with a planned national rollout, it’s currently only available in Wisconsin, and requires a subscription to HBO through cable providers.
While no specifics have been declared, Portfolio hints that it could simply be older/cancelled shows, such as Deadwood and The Larry Sanders Show. This would make sense, because watching new shows would still require a subscription, and HBO doesn’t show many replays of shows no longer in production. In any case, Portfolio says this will likely play out in the next two weeks, with a simultaneous announcement/availability of content. Let’s keep our fingers crossed. [Portfolio via iPodNN]
 
 Via [Gizmodo]
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RIM has finally made the Blackberry Bold official. No exact release date yet, but the press release does mention that the Bold should be available “around the world beginning this summer. ”
Key points from the announcement:
Via Mobilecrunch
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Did I miss something? When did Microsoft and RIM become all buddy-buddy? While there were empty rumors that Microsoft was looking to buy RIM back in September of ‘07, I don’t think we’ve seen the two companies in a headline together since.
Putting aside the whole matter of being competitors and all, the two have announced that they are collaborating to bring Windows Live services to the Blackberry platform. Support for both Hotmail and Messenger should go live sometime this summer.
Amongst the standard stuff, Hotmail for Blackberry will feature Push e-mail support, and integrated support for links and contact pics. Messenger for Blackberry will feature IM and group chats, conversation saving, and file/picture transfers.
Via Mobilecrunch
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Eye-Fi announced two new wireless memory cards this day, and they’ve dubbed their original card with a new name.
The new line-up:
- Eye-Fi Explore: The Explore card can automatically locate nearby WiFi networks and geotag your pics using Skyhook’s global Wi-Fi positioning system. It can also automatically connect to any of Wayport’s 10,000+ hotspots (in other words, pretty much each McDonald’s in the US). MSRP $129.
- Eye-Fi Share: The original Eye-Fi card with a new name. It allows users to automatically upload pics straight to their favorite pic sharing service over WiFi. MSRP $99.
- Eye-Fi Home: This one’s for the folks who transfer a lot of photos to their personal, but don’t need them to be auto uploaded to any pic sharing sites. The Home allows users to transfer photos directly to their Computer without the use of cables, card readers, or docks. Pretty much the same card as the Share, without the sharing part. MSRP $79.
All 3 cards carry 2 gigs of storage, are Mac/PC compatible, and should hit the shelves on June 6th.
Eye-Fi will be showing off the Explore card at today’s Where 2.0 Conference, which I’ll be attending - anticipate some more details later.
Via Mobilecrunch
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Posted by: admin in Video
Here’s the intro for Geek Cool the new daily show on LiveVideo starting 5/12
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I’m from Columbus, Ohio. I’ve been away for years and whenever we return to good old CMH we’re amazed at the pace of life. Everyone is in their vehicles, driving driving, and they move like whales through the deep, honking plaintive cries and gathering krill — AKA Rally’s — on the fin. This French fry […]
I’m from Columbus, Ohio. I’ve been away for years and whenever we return to good old CMH we’re amazed at the pace of life. Everyone is in their cars, driving driving, and they move like whales through the deep, honking plaintive cries and gathering krill — AKA Rally’s — on the fin. This French fry cup holder is clearly from that storied flyover land and each time I see something like this I wonder how I survived my 18 years there without falling into a diabetic coma.
Incidentally this item is sold out. That’s right. People purchased enough of these things to force the company to replenish the stock. Eli Eli Lama sabachthani
Via [crunchgear]
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 Normally, I would get excited about these pants with a daisy that changes color when next to your hot hot skin. But it’s Monday today, and Monday’s the day I do the washing and the ironing. Tuesday is J.’s day for LEGO—he’s currently attempting to do the Kama Sutra out of bricks, Wednesday we’re watching all Flight of the Conchords episodes back-to-back, Thursday I’m teaching the dog how to mow the lawn, Friday is National Morris Dancers Day, Saturday I’m learning how to make a lava lamp using a paperclip, boogers, an old milk bottle and our bedside lamp. So, it’ll have to be Sunday. Hang on, I’ve just seen the price. Thirty bucks? I feel a headache coming on. [Ethical Superstore]
 
 Via [Gizmodo]
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In a move which seems absolutely out of character for them, Apple has stopped selling iPhones through their on the web store. No “Out of Stock” message or anything to indicate why - they’ve simply removed the “Buy” button.
While this doesn’t absolutely indicate that the 3G iPhone is dropping soon, it .. what am I saying? It definitely indicates that a 3G iPhone is dropping soon. It couldn’t be a bug at this point; it’s been like this for a day now. Apple would certainly notice if their on the internet iPhone sales mysteriously flat-lined for over 24 hours. Unless a huge group of people screwed up and then decided to go on vacation simultaneously, something’s going down.
To add to the evidence, each Apple store we called was either totally out of iPhones (both models), or had some miniscule number of 16 GB models left.
So, what’s this? It’s a genius marketing move by Apple. It gets the rumor mill churning and crowds buzzing, with little effort or cost on their end. In fact, it could even save Apple money to halt selling the old version a few days before the new one hits the shelves. Everyone who could exchange their suddenly antiquated devices for the fresh model would, so Apple would wind up with’em back in their inventory minus however much it cost them to handle the exchange. They’re offsetting sales a few days to save time and money, and building hype as a side effect.
Anyone want to take a stab at when it’ll hit?
Via Mobilecrunch
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Eye-Fi announced two new wireless memory cards this day, and they’ve dubbed their original card with a new name.
The new line-up:
- Eye-Fi Explore: The Explore card can automatically locate nearby WiFi networks and geotag your pics using Skyhook’s global Wi-Fi positioning system. It can also automatically connect to any of Wayport’s 10,000+ hotspots (in other words, pretty much each McDonald’s in the US). MSRP $129.
- Eye-Fi Share: The original Eye-Fi card with a new name. It grants users to automatically upload pics straight to their favorite pic sharing service over WiFi. MSRP $99.
- Eye-Fi Home: This one’s for the folks who transfer a lot of pics to their personal, but don’t need them to be auto uploaded to any pic sharing sites. The Home grants users to transfer photos directly to their Computer without the use of cables, card readers, or docks. Pretty much the same card as the Share, without the sharing part. MSRP $79.
All 3 cards carry 2 gigs of storage, are Mac/PC compatible, and should hit the shelves on June 6th.
Eye-Fi will be showing off the Explore card at today’s Where 2.0 Conference, which I’ll be attending - expect some more details later.
Via Mobilecrunch
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In a move which seems completely out of character for them, Apple has stopped selling iPhones through their on the internet store. No “Out of Stock” message or anything to indicate why - they’ve simply removed the “Buy” button.
While this doesn’t totally indicate that the 3G iPhone is dropping soon, it .. what am I saying? It definitely indicates that a 3G iPhone is dropping soon. It couldn’t be a bug at this point; it’s been like this for a day now. Apple would certainly notice if their on the internet iPhone sales mysteriously flat-lined for over 24 hours. Unless a huge group of people screwed up and then decided to go on vacation simultaneously, something’s going down.
To add to the evidence, each Apple store we called was either absolutely out of iPhones (both models), or had some miniscule number of 16 GB models left.
So, what is this? It’s a genius marketing move by Apple. It gets the rumor mill churning and crowds buzzing, with little effort or cost on their end. In fact, it could even save Apple money to halt selling the old version a few days before the new one hits the shelves. Everyone who could exchange their suddenly antiquated devices for the fresh model would, so Apple would wind up with’em back in their inventory minus however much it cost them to handle the exchange. They’re offsetting sales a few days to save time and money, and building hype as a side effect.
Anyone want to take a stab at when it’ll hit?
Via Mobilecrunch
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