BBC iPlayer Now Works On Apple iPhone, iPod Touch
March 9, 2008
Gadget hounds who own an Apple iPhone and/or the iPod Touch will now be able to watch BBC programming on the go with the BBC iPlayer.
While the iPlayer broadband TV website has been used by millions of people, mobile users have been out of the loop due to the fact that the mobile web browsers have not been compatible with the Flash technology used by iPlayer.
The iPhone still cannot stream BBC video over the mobile networks, but it can stream the programming over wi-fi networks. The service is only available now to residents of Britain and works for programs within seven days of broadcast.
The top five most popular shows at the moment are: Top Gear, Love Soup, That Mitchell and Webb Look, EastEnders, and Friday Night With Jonathan Ross.
“We started with the iPhone because it is the device most optimised for high quality video. It displays the BBC iPlayer site and BBC programmes nicely,” said head of digital media technologies Anthony Rose on the official blog.
“We’re working on making BBC iPlayer available on many more browser-enabled devices over the coming months.”
Report: Google And Microsoft About To Bid On Digg
March 8, 2008
According Michael Arrington’s super-secret sources, Digg is about to be courted by both Google and Microsoft.
And the TechCrunch founder says it won’t come cheap. According to the unnamed source, Digg was floating around a price tag of $300 million to sell previously, but is willing to take less.
Supposedly Google is willing to bid between $200-$225 million, and Arrington’s source that would be acceptable to Digg.
Microsoft’s offer will reportedly be a chunk less than that, but it only makes sense. After all, much of the website’s revenue comes from a substantial three year deal that was made with Microsoft last July.
It’s expected that the terms of the sale would give Microsoft an option to bail out of the current deal.
Naturally, if Google were to bid on the big kahunu and win, it’s most likely we’d be seeing Adsense on the site in no time flat.
Paramount Abandons HD DVD, After Tuesday They’re Out
February 29, 2008
It’s long been expected that Paramount would be jumping off the HD DVD train and hopping aboard the Blu-ray express. After all, the high definition format is officially kaput.
Today the company has made it official, announcing that the March 4th HD DVD releases of both Into The Wild and Things We Lost In The Fire will be their final two discs using the format.
Paramount had a slate of top-notch movies scheduled to be released in HD DVD throughout the spring, including The Kite Runner, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and the Paul Thomas Anderson epic There Will Be Blood.
It’s expected that they will all reemerge on Blu-ray, but no official word has been given on the matter. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the first Blu-ray discs from Paramount are expected to roll out this summer.