Following the shutdown of MegaUpload, the hacktivist group Anonymous reportedly hacked multiple government and entertainment sites including the Justice Department, Universal Music, BMI, the MPAA and RIAA.
Personal information on MPAA chairman Chris Dodd was posted, including his home address, phone numbers and children’s names.
“According to reports on Twitter, the group also has been attempting to pull down the website of the White House, but so far it hasn’t succeeded,” noted The Hollywood Reporter last week.
MPAA gave a statement, criticizing the groups actions: “Unfortunately, some groups believe that speech or ideas that they disagree with should be silenced…The motion picture and television industry has always been a strong supporter of free speech. We strongly condemn any attempts to silence any groups or individuals. The Internet is home to creativity, innovation and free speech. We want to keep it that way. Protecting copyrights and protecting free speech go hand in hand.”
Time Warner Cable has announced the launch of TWC TV for Apple’s iPhone.
“TWC TV allows subscribers of the second-largest U.S. cable operator to watch live TV from within the home, change channels on their set-top box and manage their DVR from their iPhone,” explains The Hollywood Reporter.
In order to access the interactive program guide, channel tuning and DVR management features, customers will need a set-top box or DVR that uses the “Navigator” interactive program guide, according to THR.
“TW Cable was one of the most visible pay TV providers at CES 2012 this month, which drew a positive review from Wells Fargo analyst Marci Ryvicker.” In the related article, THR notes that TV Everywhere is gaining momentum.
The app is currently available for download in the App Store at no additional cost for Time Warner Cable customers with a broadband connection.
In response to the latest piracy debate, GigaOM blames the studios for forcing consumers to download illegally by not making it easier for them to find and pay for content.
“Hollywood’s windowing system is essentially keeping consumers from being able to access the content that they want to watch. Without a reasonable option to pay, many are left to pirate a film that they wouldn’t go to the theater for anyway,” the article states.
Most of the time, people pirate content that they can’t find in a legitimate way. That doesn’t mean, however, that they won’t pay if the content were available.
Hollywood is concerned about losing theater sales but, as the article points out, “there are plenty of consumers who won’t go to the local megaplex to see a romantic comedy or drama, but are happy to pay for the convenience of watching it on the TV at home or on another device.”
Hollywood continues to preserve the current distribution and windowing scheme despite the rapid evolution of content consumption. Although it has made some concessions with UltraViolet, “until those movies are available in a timely fashion — i.e., not months after they’ve already left theaters — there will remain a huge audience that the studios will never capture, whether it’s because they’ve pirated the film or because they’ve chosen to watch something else,” GigaOM concludes.
The recent shutdown of MegaUpload by the FBI has provoked a number of defensive responses among other sites that may have similar businesses.
Some have turned off their services all together, while others are vocally pointing out differences between their sites and MegaUpload.
FileSonic and FileServe are preventing users from downloading files uploaded by others. Uploaded.to has stopped accepting U.S.-based users.
“MediaFire and RapidShare, both of which are often used to host and download copyrighted content, have gone on the offensive, giving statements to the press that attempt to draw the line between their models and what MegaUpload was doing,” reports ReadWriteWeb.
“If the charges are to be believed, what MegaUpload was up to was particularly egregious. Still, the whole affair raises questions about where the line is. People can use any number of mechanisms for sharing files with each other, including copyrighted material,” explains the post. “If the FBI can raid MegaUpload and shut it down, what’s stopping the authorities from going after other services?”
“Verizon Communications Inc. is pushing hard to move its FiOS TV service beyond the set-top box and onto the latest gadgets — from TVs and tablets to gaming consoles — to fend off competition from online video services such as Netflix, Amazon and Apple’s iTunes,” reports Reuters.
In a CES interview with Reuters, Joe Ambeault, the director of product management for FiOS TV, detailed Verizon’s plans to push the service on multiple platforms and devices to insure the survival of FiOS.
The company already has a deal with Microsoft to bring the service to the Xbox. It’s now working with content providers to allow consumers access on mobile devices outside the home. Additionally, Verizon announced deals with LG and Samsung to have FiOS on their smart TVs.
Ambeault also talked about his desire to get FiOS on the Apple TV whenever it becomes available. He wants the service to be associated with innovative devices like the Apple TV and LG Magic Remote to interest consumers.
In an effort to facilitate the creation of peer-to-peer apps across multiple mobile platforms, Qualcomm has created AllJoyn, a software developer kit that enables design and output to Android, iOS, Windows Phone and even Linux.
The technology enables “proximity-based, device-to-device communication without the use of an intermediary server,” according to the company.
“Typically developers have not been able to use things like Bluetooth and Wi-Fi in devices to enable their applications to work across different platforms in the same room, or nearby. Applications that wanted to enable multiplayer games in proximity haven’t had an easy way to do that,” said Qualcomm’s Brian Vogelsang.
The beauty of the approach is that none of the activity goes through the cloud — it’s all local, device-to-device — which makes it cheaper for developers (who don’t have to invest time and resources in cloud compatibility) and allows quicker response time for the end-user.
What’s in it for chipmaker Qualcomm? “Qualcomm believes in an Internet of everything — that all devices need to be connected. That if people create better mobile experiences it will sell more devices.”
A small company was making waves at CES by demonstrating the world’s first eye-controlled arcade game — an adapted version of the classic Atari game “Asteroids.”
Tobii, a Swedish company previously focused on helping people with physical limitations, is eyeing far greater things for its technology.
At their booth the company had laptops outfitted with their eye-tracking technology. Attendees were flipping through photo albums, navigating Microsoft Windows and playing games. The systems were incredibly intuitive to navigate and very responsive, if not a little bulky.
Tobii plans to fix that, however, and in an estimated three to four years, it plans to shrink the sensor so that it doesn’t alter the form factors of the devices it’s used in, while not drastically impacting the price.
The technology works by shining a near infrared light onto the eye and detecting the reflections off the pupil.
Near infrared light was chosen as the operating wavelength because it offers a robust response that works reliably in any light, giving the user the freedom to use the controls no matter where they are.
The company is targeting a very broad market with plans to develop it as a touch-less assist for surgeons and license its OEM technology to various companies, including a car manufacturer interested in detecting driver drowsiness.
XPAND’s new $119 YOUniversal 3D glasses work with both RF and IR protocols.
The active shutter glasses feature LCD lenses and a rechargeable lithium-ion battery.
YOUniversal eyewear is programmable to personalize the 3D viewing experience. They come in three sizes and a variety of colors. Frame weight ranges from 1.62 to 1.66 ounces.
The company is a founding member of the Full HD 3D Glasses Initiative, which is working to make active shutter glasses interoperable.
It supports protocols by LG, Sony, Panasonic, HP, JVC, NVIDIA, Vizio, Bang & Olufsen, Sony, and others.
The glasses produced a great 3D image during our demo at CES.
North Carolina-based AikenLabs was demonstrating its motion capture accessory system in the CES Gaming Pavilion.
Sensors containing accelerometers and gyros are attached using velcro straps and wirelessly transmit to a server base station.
The base station receives signals from eight sensors, and each sensor can have two satellite sensors attached to it, making it possible to capture motion from 24 points on the body.
Unlike with the Kinect, motion capture is not restricted by position, line-of-sight to base station or lighting. Other technology would be needed to capture finger motions and facial gestures.
The Immersive Motion Desktop Professional Starter Kit with the server and two sensors is available for pre-order at $499. Additional sensors cost $129.
Applications include monitoring and providing feedback on body motion for physical therapy, sports instruction and robot controls.
“Congressional leaders on Friday indefinitely shelved two antipiracy bills that had rallied the Internet and rocked Capitol Hill, dealing a major defeat to the traditional media industry while emboldening a new breed of online political activists,” reports The New York Times.
The Wednesday online blackout had a profound effect on the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House and the Protect IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate.
However, Senator Harry Reid tweeted that he is optimistic the delay will enable issues to be resolved and a compromise should come within a week. He added that the longer it takes to pass anti-piracy legislation, the more jobs will be lost and economies hurt “by foreign criminals who are stealing American intellectual property and selling it back to American consumers.”
In the House, Republican representatives have almost completely backed away from SOPA. It will be redrafted but “the Committee remains committed to finding a solution to the problem of online piracy that protects American intellectual property and innovation,” says Rep. Lamar Smith, chairman of the Judiciary Committee.
In a related article, Los Angeles Times looked into what censored Chinese bloggers were saying about the U.S. Web companies’ uproar regarding censorship. Some more or less laughed while others used the opportunity to promote their own case, suggesting “Americans should try a minute in our shoes before invoking online Armageddon.” China’s Internet companies have “no choice but to submit to government pressure.”
In this 90-second CES video demo, LG showcases its new voice recognition capabilities.
LG’s new Magic Remote, which will come packaged with the company’s new line of Smart TVs, will include the Dragon TV platform from Nuance Communications for voice recognition.
The demo illustrates how a TV viewer can access a Web browser through the app bar, while watching a television program, and search for Pizza Hut via voice command.
Additionally, viewers can use the voice recognition tech for Content Search to access videos from YouTube, Hulu and others.
“We also have our Social Center this year for voice recognition. While you’re sitting on your couch, you can update your Facebook account and/or tweet your friends while you’re watching your football game.”
At CES, Intel promised that “2012 will be the year of the Ultrabook,” reports Mashable.
“Future Ultrabooks will have touchscreens and voice recognition, Intel vice president of PC Client Group Mooley Eden demonstrated at CES. Intel showed off several concept Ultrabooks doing things like swiping through a Windows 8 Metro interface via the screen.”
“Intel didn’t demo voice recognition, but Nuance’s chief marketing officer, Peter Mahoney, made an appearance to announce a partnership with Intel to put his company’s voice-recognition tech into Ultrabooks,” explains the post.
The company also teased gesture control and suggested that real-time language translation is “in the works.”
Intel’s concept laptop shows rear touch enabled display for alerts and calendar browsing (see 2-minute video demo).
CNET offers its take on the highlights of last week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
In addition to the anticipated array of ultrabooks and connected CE devices, the show introduced a pair of 55-inch OLED TVs from LG and Samsung: “Don’t expect either of these TVs to be cheap when they hit the market. But make no mistake, OLED is in your future.”
There was real diversity in the crowded tablet market, with standouts including the Asus Memo 370T and the Toshiba Excite X10.
“Google TV got more interesting with a few new devices and the announcement that the OnLive gaming service will work with it,” reports CNET. “But overall there wasn’t as much innovation in the home video space as enthusiasts may have liked to have seen.”
There were 3D printers such as the Makerbot Replicator and 3D Systems’ Cube; a surprisingly small number of new laptops; compelling ultrabooks led by the Dell XPS 13 and HP Envy 14 Spectre; three exceptional point-and-shoot cameras with the Fujifilm X-Pro1, the Nikon D4, and the Canon PowerShot G1 X; and a surprise showing by Gorilla Glass 2, now stronger and allows screens to be 20 percent thinner.
Software and apps took on a new presence this year: “BlueStacks for Windows 8, our Best of CES Award winner in the Software and Apps category, brings you the entire Android app catalog in Windows 8. Several new apps are helping those who want to drop cable TV do so with ease. Aurasma is a cool app that brings augmented reality to both Android and iOS devices.”
“Some of the most notable things about this year’s show were the products we didn’t see,” explains the wrap-up. “Phones bearing Ice Cream Sandwich, the latest version of the Android operating system, were expected to dominate CES this year but were largely missing in action. Instead, 4G LTE, Windows Phone, and AT&T were the real stars of the mobile show. Highlights included the Nokia Lumia 900, the HTC Titan II, the Motorola Droid 4, the Droid Razr Maxx, and the Samsung Galaxy Nexus.”
The trends that emerged from CES this year included tablets and slim laptops, smart TVs, fitness gadgets, power efficiency — but we also saw less focus on the products themselves (and their specs) and more about how the devices connect with consumers and each other. The show was really about the social experience possible with using the products.
“It’s not so much a trend as a reality: consumer electronics must go social to stay relevant,” Mashable reports, noting how social-oriented CES has been. “The companies that will be most successful capitalizing on them are the ones who merge all of them into an overall experience: one that’s social, open and empowering.”
The article explains how this year’s convention focused not on technological advances, but on how the new devices will keep you connected. Intel and others supported the idea that customers don’t want to merely consume but also create, connect and interact.
Mashable suggests this is a “paradigm shift for consumer electronics” and developers will have to go beyond integrating Wi-Fi capabilities and social networks to create an overall social experience with technology.
