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January 25, 2005
Blog of GoDaddy Founder
Bob Parsons is the founder of GoDaddy, the biggest domain registration company in the world. I found his blog when I was tranfering domains today, to my great surprise, it's not like other company blogs, just another way of press release, it's very interesting indeed, don't miss it.
Category : Internet
Posted by dvd software at 01:43 PM | Comments (0)
January 18, 2005
Yahoo Acquires Movable Type
Google owns blogger.com, how about Yahoo? Within six months Yahoo will acquire Six Apart - the owner of Movbable Type and TypePad. Here is an interesting analysis of the blog world.
If you have a blog, I bet you want to say something to the comment spammers, how about these words?
Category : Blog Issue
Posted by dvd software at 07:58 PM | Comments (0)
Google Recruiting Fiber Expert
Is Google planning to build a global fiber optic network from scratch? And, if so, why?
Picasa 2 was released, Picasa is a free image software acquired by Google several months ago.
Category : Google
Posted by dvd software at 07:38 PM | Comments (0)
January 09, 2005
Microsoft AntiSpyware Beta1
Download MS AntiSpyware and protect your online privacy. This software works like a firewall or anti virus software, watch your computer in real time.
Category : Miscellaneous
Posted by dvd software at 10:14 PM | Comments (0)
HD DVD Unveils Launch Lineup
Blu-ray counters with added hardware manufacturers
The feared high-definition format war drew its first real blood here last week when the group of studios backing the HD DVD standard unveiled the first 80 or so titles slated for release in the format this year.
At an elaborate presentation here during the Consumer Electronics Show, Paramount Home Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Entertainment and Warner Home Video, along with Warner's affiliated labels New Line Home Entertainment and HBO Video, showcased a mix of new releases and catalog titles that will accompany the first HD DVD players when they're introduced in the fourth quarter.
In other technology news at CES, TiVo shares climbed last week on the news that the digital video recorder maker would join Microsoft in producing new features for its service, such as recording TV shows onto DVDs. Share prices promptly dropped again the next day, however, after DirecTV announced it would be dissolving its deal with TiVo.
Among the titles to make their HD DVD bow this year are the upcoming Warner theatrical releases Batman Begins, starring Christian Bale; Constantine, starring Keanu Reeves; and the Tim Burton-directed Charley and the Chocolate Factory, starring Johnny Depp.
The three new releases will lead a slate of 50 titles from the studios, which also includes The Polar Express and The Phantom of the Opera along with HBO's The Sopranos and New Line's Rush Hour and Final Destination.
Paramount will contribute the upcoming Cameron Crowe film Elizabethtown and the recent Manchurian Candidate as part of a 20 title slate.
Universal will offer Van Helsing, The Bourne Supremacy and The Chronicles of Riddick.
The announcements gave the HD DVD camp a public relations victory in its battle against the competing Blu-ray Disc standard championed by Sony, Panasonic and others.
With Blu-ray players unlikely to reach market in the U.S. until sometime in 2006, Sony and its allies had nothing comparable to HD DVD's slate of titles with which to grab headlines at CES.
That didn't stop Blu-ray from giving as good as it got, however.
At their own packed event for the press, Blu-ray supporters showed no signs of backing down from the fight and insisted that their format's greater storage capacity and advanced features would ultimately trump HD DVD.
"The reality is we have a year until any product is on the market, and I'd like to think that between now and then the massive lineup of companies supporting Blu-ray would be a pretty good argument that Blu-ray is the way to go for the industry," Pioneer senior VP Andy Parsons said.
In addition to the format's 14-member "Founders Group," the Blu-ray Disc Assn. now boasts 100 members, including an impressive line up of consumer electronics, high-tech and videogame manufacturers.
New members unveiled at CES include Electronic Arts, Vivendi/Universal Games, Sun Microsystems and Texas Instruments.
In addition to set-top players, the Blu-ray camp is counting on PC-based Blu-ray ROM drives and Sony's planned PlayStation 3 to help build the hardware base for the format.
While HD DVD is currently ahead of Blu-ray in terms of studio support, the roster of hardware makers committed to building HD DVD players remains limited to the format's principle developers Toshiba, NEC and Sanyo. France's Thomson (RCA in the U.S.) has said it will sell both HD DVD and Blu-ray machines.
The Blu-ray camp was able to showcase one major studio commitment at its event, receiving a strong endorsement from Buena Vista Home Entertainment president Bob Chapek.
"It's important not to go half way, but instead truly launch a format that is clearly a major advancement forward," Chapek said. "By doing this, we stand the best chance of meeting and exceeding consumer expectations the way that DVD did in its early years."
Later that same evening, however, Chapek made a plea to both camps to continue to seek ways to unify the two formats and avoid a potentially destructive battle in the marketplace.
Speaking at the annual gathering of the Digital Entertainment Group, for which Chapek serves as president, the Disney home video chief said, "For the last several years, I, as well as my colleagues, have warned against the dangers of a format war. Those dangers are no less severe today than they were six months or a year ago.
"I think it's safe to say that nobody really wants a format war," Chapek continued. "It's just a question of what the respective parties are willing to concede in order to make such a war a moot point before it gets started."
In an interview, Chapek said Disney was floating "a number" of technical and strategic proposals to both sides at CES that the studio hopes will encourage unification talks.
"We haven't given up hope of a single, unified format," Chapek said.
Disney's own allies in the Blu-ray camp, however, showed little interest in unification.
"Blu-ray is radically different from the other proposal in terms of the vision behind it and the value it will deliver to the end user," Panasonic senior VP Richard Doherty said. "Those principles are simply too valuable to be compromised."
Disney also is angling to have some of its technical proposals--particularly in the area of interactive features--incorporated into the formal specifications of any eventual unified format. That could give the studio a piece of the potentially lucrative revenue stream derived from patent and technology licensing fees.
"We could end up as part of the patent pool," Chapek said. "We've made our proposal regarding an applications (i.e. interactive) layer to both sides, and if it becomes a part of either format, or of a unified format, we could well end up owning intellectual property in that layer."
Chapek's efforts at peacemaking aren't without controversy, however.
Executives at several other studios privately expressed frustration over what they see as an attempt by Disney to force its way into the patent pool without regard to the best interests of the industry.
"There's nothing new in what they're proposing," one senior executive at another studio said. "They're just trying to keep the issue [of interactivity] alive so they can get a piece of the patent pool. So now they're saying interactivity will bring unification."
Chapek's dual roles as Blu-ray champion and DEG president also has created friction with other studios.
At the DEG board meeting scheduled for Friday, Jan.7, one or more studios were expected to demand that Chapek step down as president of the organization.
"Blu-ray isn't going to be on the market until sometime in 2006. I'm going to be on the market this year," one high-ranking executive at an HD DVD studio said. "So I'm supposed to have a Blu-ray guy heading up efforts to promote the launch of HD DVD? He can't have it both ways."
Category : Industry News
Posted by dvd software at 08:53 PM | Comments (0)