Aereo Wins Again: Federal Appeals Court Upholds Ruling

Aereo, the Internet service startup backed by Barry Diller that streams TV stations without compensation, has won another battle with broadcasters. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York yesterday upheld a ruling in favor of Aereo, which could set the stage for a full-blown trial. Broadcasters sued the startup last year claiming the service violates copyright law, but a district court judge denied the request for a preliminary injunction. Monday’s 2-1 decision affirms the lower court ruling. Continue reading Aereo Wins Again: Federal Appeals Court Upholds Ruling

Akamai Hopes to Put Your Wireless Data in The Fast Lane

Links on mobile devices take an average of 5-6 seconds longer to load than those opened on desktops. Massachusetts-based company Akamai is out to help solve that problem, at least for companies willing to pay. Because the truth is, some consumers abandon slow-moving mobile transactions if they take too long. Akamai aims to create a “fast lane” on the radio waves on which wireless services are offered. Continue reading Akamai Hopes to Put Your Wireless Data in The Fast Lane

Amazon to Acquire Goodreads for Competitive E-Book Edge

Amazon announced it will purchase the popular book discovery and recommendation website Goodreads, a social service that centers on book recommendations and reviews. The acquisition — which comes at a time when readers are increasingly turning to tablets and e-readers to search for authors and books — could help push Amazon ahead of competitors Apple and Google in e-book retailing. Continue reading Amazon to Acquire Goodreads for Competitive E-Book Edge

New 49ers Stadium to Boast Simultaneous Wi-Fi for All

The San Francisco 49ers are set to open a new stadium for the 2014 NFL season. When the Santa Clara Stadium opens, it will feature the best publicly accessible Wi-Fi network of any sports facility in the country. Every single one of the potential 68,500 fans will be able to connect to the wireless network at the same time, with no limits on uploads or downloads. Until now, such a feat was thought to be impossible. Continue reading New 49ers Stadium to Boast Simultaneous Wi-Fi for All

Ongoing Projects at MIT Media Lab Offer Look at the Future

Take a look inside the MIT Media Lab for an indication of what technology (and life, in general) will look like in the coming 10 years, suggests Business Insider. The article summarizes a tour taken of the Lab, where students are working on projects involving robotics to programs allowing virtual interaction with the real world — all projects guaranteed to get you thinking about the future. Continue reading Ongoing Projects at MIT Media Lab Offer Look at the Future

Motorola Mobility Report: More Video, but Viewers Frustrated

According to Motorola Mobility’s recently released Fourth Annual Media Engagement Barometer, consumers are watching a great deal of video on multiple screens, but are frustrated with the process. Time-shifting technology and mobile devices have led to a significant shift in global media consumption. The Engagement Barometer is an independent global study of video consumption habits among 9,500 consumers in 17 countries. Continue reading Motorola Mobility Report: More Video, but Viewers Frustrated

Will Spotify Be Next to Develop Video Streaming Service?

It seems a number of major media companies are looking to get into streaming video as it continues to grow more popular. On-demand music service Spotify is the latest company rumored to be in the planning stages of such a service, perhaps a surprise to many since its focus has thus far strictly involved music. But two sources say Spotify intends to grow into an on-demand music and video service, including original content. Continue reading Will Spotify Be Next to Develop Video Streaming Service?

Social Second Screens: Twitter Wants in to TV Ad Business

Business Insider deputy editor Nicholas Carlson admits that he did not plan on watching this year’s Academy Awards ceremony until he logged in to Twitter and read the many comments about the red carpet. He then tuned in, compelled to be a part of the ongoing conversation. Twitter believes that this type of response will allow the company “to get in on the $70+ billion that Nielsen says is spent on TV advertising in the U.S. every year.” Continue reading Social Second Screens: Twitter Wants in to TV Ad Business

Amplify: News Corp. Offers Educational Tablet to Schools

At the SXSWedu conference in Austin, Texas earlier this month, Joel I. Klein of News Corporation’s Amplify education division (and former chancellor of New York City schools), took the stage to make a surprising announcement: a 10-inch Android Amplify Tablet for K-12 schoolchildren. In addition, Amplify plans to provide schools with curriculum and infrastructure to store students’ data. Continue reading Amplify: News Corp. Offers Educational Tablet to Schools

Mobile World Congress: GSMA Says Time for NFC is Now

At the recent Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, there was a clear message sent by the GSMA, the congress’s organizing body: Near Field Communication (NFC) might finally be ready to have its day. That message may be hard to believe, considering NFC has been on the cusp of breaking through for nearly a decade and still has yet to achieve mainstream adoption. However, the technology was everywhere at this year’s MWC. Continue reading Mobile World Congress: GSMA Says Time for NFC is Now

Two Full-Sized Tablets Priced to Compete at Under $300

Apple’s iPad is now three years old. Since it hit the market in 2010, it has sold more than 120 million units and basically launched the tablet industry as a whole. But pricing remains an issue for those consumers considering making a purchase, as many name-brand tablets start as high as $499. And even lower-priced, full-sized tablets sell for between $300 and $400. However, this is about to change. Continue reading Two Full-Sized Tablets Priced to Compete at Under $300

Game News: Electronic Arts CEO Riccitiello to Step Down

Electronic Arts chief exec John Riccitiello is set to resign in the wake of the videogame company’s disappointing earnings and stock figures. EA announced that Larry Probst, current EA chairman and former CEO, would serve as executive chairman while the board searches for a replacement for Riccitiello. In a letter to his employees, Riccitiello took responsibility for the “shortcomings” in EA’s recent results. Continue reading Game News: Electronic Arts CEO Riccitiello to Step Down

Vevo TV Streaming Music Platform is All About Devices

With the launch of Vevo TV — a 24-hour live stream of curated programming — Vevo has taken an additional step toward becoming a full-fledged music television network. The new channel uses MTV-like VJs and is available on the Web and mobile devices, as well as via Roku boxes and Xbox 360 gaming consoles. Looking ahead, the company hopes to take Vevo TV to cable distributors and have it compete with the likes of MTV and VH1. Continue reading Vevo TV Streaming Music Platform is All About Devices

Wall-Sized Touchscreens in Our Near Future, Says Microsoft

According to Microsoft’s vision of the future, our lives will soon be impacted by large, wall-sized touchscreens, on which we will perform daily tasks, communicate with loved ones and much more. Additionally, all of our gadgets will respond to our voice commands and we’ll be able to seamlessly transfer information between devices with just a few swipes and/or taps. Continue reading Wall-Sized Touchscreens in Our Near Future, Says Microsoft

Consumers Increasingly Turn to Tablets for Mobile Content

Based on numbers from mobile ad network Jumptap, which covers 134 million mobile users in the U.S. and 206 million mobile users worldwide, tablets accounted for 18 percent of all traffic on its network — compared to 78 percent for smartphones and 4 percent for feature phones. With the data from Jumptap’s most recent monthly report and its latest projections, tablets are set to continue this upward trend at a rapid pace. Continue reading Consumers Increasingly Turn to Tablets for Mobile Content