Rhode Island-based Hasbro, manufacturer of popular toys including G.I. Joe, Mr. Potato Head, My Little Pony and Transformers, is reportedly in advanced talks to acquire DreamWorks Animation. Hasbro would pay a mix of cash and stock according to current terms of the proposed deal. DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg is said to be looking for more than $30 a share for the sale. The news comes shortly after Japanese telecom SoftBank was reported to be a prospective buyer. Continue reading Toymaker Hasbro in Talks to Purchase DreamWorks Animation

Amazon and Hachette have finally resolved their ongoing public dispute, which began back in January. Hachette will now have the ability to set its own prices for e-books and print books, but will be offered incentives for selling at lower prices. Despite yesterday’s announcement, seen by most as a victory for Hachette (in the short term), Amazon still controls almost half of today’s book trade. In addition, the long-running dispute showed the industry that Amazon is not afraid to use its power to affect sales. Continue reading Amazon, Hachette Settle Long-Running Dispute Over E-Books

Comcast introduced a new version of its television operating system, X1, at a media event in San Francisco on Wednesday. The system runs apps, records content to the cloud, and personalizes recommendations for users. The remote control features voice command, and the software also allows users to summon a technician to fix a problem if needed. These advanced technologies bring criticism that Comcast could become a gatekeeper of TV content, thereby violating net neutrality in the process. Continue reading Comcast Updates X1, Critics Concerned About Net Neutrality

In order to create and distribute new original music programming, Live Nation Entertainment has launched a joint venture with Vice. Live Nation is a concert promoter, while Vice is a media producer that primarily targets younger audiences. Planning to launch in early 2015, the digital network will target millennials on the Internet, on mobile devices, through television, and in theaters. Hundreds of hours of music shows and editorial content will be featured with an emphasis on live music. Continue reading Live Nation Teams Up with Vice to Launch New Digital Network

Bandcamp, an online music store that supports promotion of independent artists, will now offer individual subscription platforms. Artists will be able to share content, merchandise, and other offers, choosing their own subscription rate. Music will be available to subscribers through downloads or streaming via the mobile app. As a bonus for new subscribers, artists can choose to give items from their back catalog. Bandcamp currently features 12 million tracks and 1.6 million albums. Continue reading Bandcamp Gives Artists More Control with Subscription Service

The MPAA has launched an ad-free search engine that helps viewers easily locate movies and TV shows available from authorized sources. WhereToWatch.com — essentially a refresh of the WhereToWatch.org site launched last spring — is the latest effort by the trade group to combat piracy and provide consumers with legal options for accessing their media content. The site offers links and related info for titles available via Amazon, Apple’s iTunes, Hulu, Netflix, SnagFilms and WolfeOnDemand. Continue reading MPAA Points Viewers to Legal Sources for Movies, TV Shows

Yahoo’s latest acquisition is being heralded by some analysts as a smart move for its video business strategy. Yahoo has agreed to purchase BrightRoll, a leading platform in the video advertising space, for $640 million in cash. The deal follows the $6.3 billion recently earned by Yahoo from its investment in Alibaba. Acquisition of the video ad company could prove to be the perfect complement to Yahoo’s strategy to push more video content on its site and mobile app. Continue reading Video Advertising: Yahoo Acquires BrightRoll for $640 Million

This past year, Mozilla announced plans to develop a website that could support virtual reality. In June, it released an update with an experimental design for Firefox and the Oculus Rift. And earlier this week, to help celebrate Firefox’s 10th anniversary, Mozilla launched MozVR.com, a site featuring virtual demos, website blueprints, source code and guided tutorials to propel the growth of VR online. For now, the experience is only possible with the support of Firefox’s VR-enabled feature and an Oculus Rift headset. Continue reading Mozilla Launches First of its Kind Native VR Web Experience

Pop star Taylor Swift’s new music video “Blank Spaces” comes with an app that offers fans an interactive experience in the video’s pristine mansion setting. The app is available for iOS and Android, and it gives viewers a chance to explore the scenes featured in the music video, see Swift dance just a few feet away, and discover Easter eggs with extras such as Polaroids. This app may point to the future of music videos, and could provide an ideal testing ground for virtual environments. Continue reading Taylor Swift Music Video Offers a New Take on Virtual Reality

Spotify Chief Executive Daniel Ek defended his streaming service in a statement released Tuesday in response to Taylor Swift’s decision to pull her entire collection of songs from Spotify. Swift, whose latest album “1989” sold almost 1.3 million copies in its first week, pulled her collection from Spotify because she believes the company does not fairly compensate music creators. Ek, however, pointed out that his company has now paid $2 billion in royalties and helps prevent piracy. Continue reading Spotify Chief Exec Responds to Taylor Swift Pulling Her Music

Dozens of computer scientists are calling on the Supreme Court to reverse its ruling that made application programming interfaces eligible for copyright protections. That decision came as part of a federal appeals court case in May over whether Google had copied Oracle’s Java API. The scientists believe that API copyrights would threaten the technology sector and stifle innovation, while Oracle contends that the decision was “a win for the entire software industry.” Continue reading Leading Scientists Urge Supreme Court to Ban API Copyrights

Elon Musk, entrepreneur and CEO of SpaceX and Tesla Motors, has set global Internet access as his most recent endeavor. Working together with former Google executive and WorldVu Satellites founder Greg Wyler, Musk plans to design smaller and less expensive satellites that would compete with those already in space. Sources predict that the duo plans to launch close to 700 of these satellites. The projected cost of the project is in the range of about $1 billion. Continue reading Elon Musk Plans to Provide Internet Access on a Global Scale

Walmart is launching its first video streaming stick, Vudu Spark, in time for the holiday season. This HDMI stick simply plugs into a television, connects to a Wi-Fi network, and starts playing movies and TV shows from Vudu, the Walmart-owned streaming video service. Vudu Spark will be competing with similar products, such as Google’s Chromecast and Roku streaming sticks, both of which already offer access to the Vudu app and many other streaming services. Continue reading Walmart to Introduce Vudu Spark Streaming Stick for Holidays

Just three months after Facebook cut off the messaging capabilities from its mobile app, the company’s standalone messaging app, Facebook Messenger, now has 500 million monthly active users. That’s a 150 percent increase over last year. Much of the success is thanks to David Marcus, the former CEO of PayPal that took over the Messenger operation. In the future, Marcus and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg plan to integrate payments and possibly advertising into the Messenger app. Continue reading Facebook Messenger Growing Rapidly with 500 Million Users

As the market for cloud computing continues to expand, customers can expect to pay less for more. Increased competition in cloud computing is leading to greater storage at lower prices. And at the given rate at which customers are being offered lower prices, tech companies await their greatest challenge — “the race to zero” — or the moment when unlimited storage will be available at no cost. Amazon is one of the first companies to reflect this trend with the cost of its Web Services. Continue reading Race to Zero: Reduced Costs of Cloud Storage and Services