Top Items:
Michael Barbaro / New York Times:
Wal-Mart and Studios in Film Deal — Wal-Mart Stores may have lost the online DVD rental battle, but it has no plans to lose the higher-stakes video downloading war. — Today the company will introduce a partnership with all of the six major Hollywood studios — Walt Disney, Warner Brothers …
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Om Malik / GigaOM:
Wal-Mart, The Grand Delusion, Part II — Back in the 1990s, you knew things were getting a tad frothy when you found companies with essentially no expertise in a "hot business" expanding into businesses they had little or no clue about. A good case in point: Enron and its broadband push.
Discussion:
Good Morning Silicon Valley
Gizmodo:
Breaking! Wal-Mart First to Offer Digital Movies From All "Big Six" Studios — Interrupting my sleep and scoring a major coup in digital distribution—one not even his Jobsness has pulled off (yet)—Wal-Mart has become the first (and thus far, only) digital distributor to go into business …
Ken Fisher / Ars Technica:Wal-Mart signs all six studios to new service, beating Mr. Jobs (for now)
Steve Jobs / Apple:
Thoughts on Music — With the stunning global success of Apple's iPod music player and iTunes online music store, some have called for Apple to "open" the digital rights management (DRM) system that Apple uses to protect its music against theft, so that music purchased from iTunes can be played …
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Martin Beckford / Telegraph:
Apple warns iPod users against Vista — IPods could be damaged by Microsoft's new computer operating system, the company behind the popular digital music players has warned. — Apple, the long-standing rival of Bill Gates's Microsoft, is urging users not to upgrade their PCs …
InterActiveCorp:
IAC Reports Q4 Results — IAC (Nasdaq: IACI) released fourth quarter 2006 results today, reporting $1.8 billion in revenue, an 8% rate of growth over the prior year, and $268 million in Operating Income Before Amortization, reflecting slight growth. Adjusted EPS was $0.67, compared to $0.50 in the year ago period.
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Danny King / Bloomberg:
IAC Profit Declines 98% on Writedown of Coupon Unit (Update3) — Feb. 6 (Bloomberg) — IAC/InterActiveCorp, the Internet and media company assembled by billionaire Barry Diller, said fourth-quarter profit fell 98 percent after the company wrote down the value of its entertainment coupon division.
Discussion:
Screenwerk
Tropical SEO:
Andy Hagans' Ultimate Guide to Linkbaiting and Social Media Marketing — Is anyone else sick of link baiting yet? I sure am. It's dominating talk on all the SEO forums and conferences; it's gumming up the works of all of my favorite social bookmarking sites; and it's forcing me get off of my lazy rear and make good content.
USA Today:
Kodak plans to sell inkjet printers with cheaper ink — Struggling photo giant Eastman Kodak is launching a new line of inkjet printers aimed at luring digital shutterbugs back to Kodak paper. The pitch: cheap ink. — Kodak's ink will sell for about $25 when the printers hit stores in March.
Discussion:
Good Morning Silicon Valley, Guardian Unlimited, Techdirt, Business Filter, VoIP & Gadgets Blog and Gadgetopia
Reuters:
Gorbachev to Gates: Show software 'pirate' mercy … MOSCOW, Russia (Reuters) — Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev on Monday asked Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates to intercede on behalf of a Russian teacher accused of using pirated software in his classroom.
brad's life:
Microsoft & OpenID — So Bill Gates just announced earlier this morning (while I was sleeping in / recovering) that Microsoft is supporting OpenID. — When I made OpenID, I intentionally left the method of authentication undefined. (feature, not a bug!)
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VoIP News:
Hacking Skype: 25 Tips to Improve Your Skype Experience — How versatile is your Skype? Ours can podcast, translate French, take conference calls from 15 people, and tutor calculus. — HACKING SKYPE: 25 TIPS TO IMPROVE YOUR SKYPE EXPERIENCE — How versatile is your Skype?
Emily Nussbaum / New York Magazine:
Say Everything — As younger people reveal their private lives on the Internet, the older generation looks on with alarm and misapprehension not seen since the early days of rock and roll. The future belongs to the uninhibited. — Find Kitty Ostapowicz on Livejournal, MySpace.com. — Y
Joseph Menn / Los Angeles Times:
Disney yet to refresh website as promised — Walt Disney Co.'s commitment of late to new technology has boosted the company's stock and earned Chief Executive Robert Iger a reputation as a far-seeing leader in a hidebound industry. — Now for the downside.
Dave Zatz / Zatz Not Funny!:
Dave Joins Sling Media (!) — Let's just say it's been a crazy few weeks... As the title says, I've joined Sling Media! Obviously, I've been a fan for a while and Sling's CES announcements convinced me these guys are really out there pushing the envelope in the digital media space.
Amy Roe / Seattle Times:
A Kirkland cafe with no prices — With its blood-red walls and black leather sofas, Kirkland's Terra Bite Lounge looks like any other coffee shop — until you get to the menu. There are no prices listed. Terra Bite doesn't have them. — You read that right: No prices.
