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Hazel Butters
Prompt Communications

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Technology Update

By Sean McManus and Lance Concannon

Video no longer killing stars

People aren't watching video on their iPods, a new study from Nielsen Media Research concludes. Nielsen studied 400 iPod users in October and found that only 15.8% had ever used video and only 2% of time was spent watching video. Apple's higher capacity iPods now support video, which means that users with big music collections will acquire video capabilities in passing.

Artechnica suggests that factors such as battery life and screen quality might be the reason why people don't use video, but we think it's equally likely that they can't get it to work and they don't want to flash their gadgets in public places.

High definition TV trials a success

A joint statement released by the five major terrestrial TV broadcasters this week hailed the success of their first trials of high definition TV broadcasts. In June this year 450 households were given HD receiver boxes as part of the trial, and their feedback will help shape the future HD strategy adopted by the broadcasters. 95% of the participants said the HD broadcasts had met or exceeded their expectations, and unsurprisingly, almost all of them said that they felt it was important that HD broadcasts should be available on Freeview channels.

EU coughs Up EUR9 billion for ICT research

According to The Register, the European Union is planning to stump up EUR9 billion to fund research on information and communication technologies. The boys in Brussels are unhappy with Europe's declining status as an IT powerhouse, and hope that injecting some research money will help us show those other continents a thing or two about technology innovation. A study showed that of the top 100 spenders on R&D, 36 were European compared to 39 from the US.

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Marketing Update

By Elissa Fry and Lisa Facinelli

Mobile madness

These days a mobile is much more than a little box for vocal communication and badly written text messages. Mobiles are fast becoming an all-round accessory for emails, internet access, RSS and many other cool features that come to life at the touch of a button. According to New Media Age, 40.7 million people in Q3 this year used their mobiles to access the internet to browse and download information.

The Mobile Data Association recorded a one million user increase in mobile internet use from July to September alone. So it's really no surprise to see MySpace tracking down mobile providers like a blood hound on a hunting spree to promote MySpace mobile services across Europe. According to Brand Republic, MySpace is concentrating on three main areas, mobile, video and international expansion. MySpace decided on this initiative due to the high demand for greater functionality from its 130 million users.

East coast versus west coast in American cell phone etiquette

No matter where you come from, you have undoubtedly been irritated by cell phone use at some point in your life. But does your location influence your cell phone etiquette? PC Today tells us it does. When west coast cell phone users find themselves in a "questionable setting", 65 percent find it wrong to answer a call compared to only 56 percent of cell phone users in the northeast.

However, it's not just about answering those phone calls. Those ever so clever ring-tones can just about send you over the edge too. In a survey by Cingular Wireless, those on the Pacific coast are most likely to silence their phones before entering a school setting, restaurant, or movie theater. This differs from those in the south who are more likely to put an end to those ringers before going to church and residents in the northeast who stop the rings before entering retail stores.

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Consumer Technology Update

By Dave Wilby

Bloggers welcome defamation ruling

The Californian Supreme Court has ruled that individual internet users cannot be held liable for reposting defamatory statements written by others - a significant victory for bloggers, newsgroups and other web publishers. According to ZDNet UK, the court did acknowledge that "recognising broad immunity for defamatory republications on the internet has some troubling consequences", however, in the US at least, unless Congress revises the law, anyone who now claims to be defamed by an internet posting may only seek damages from the "original source of the statement".

Podcasts yet to capture public imagination

A new survey conducted by the Pew Internet and American Life Project suggests that very few US internet users are hooked on podcasts as yet, although a respectable level of experimentation continues to rumble. The figures reveal that although 12 per cent of US internet users had downloaded a podcast to date, just one per cent of respondents said that they would usually download a podcast on any given day.

These figures have remained static since a similar survey back in February. This is further evidence that so-called industry experts have little idea of how the podcast market will ultimately shape-up. According to the BBC, a forecast by research firm The Diffusion Group last year had suggested that podcasts could have a US audience of 56 million by 2010, but a further report by Forrester Research in May estimated an audience of just 12 million by the same date.

Lycos Cinema encourages movie bores to chat through films

Do you have friends that insist on talking throughout any film you're watching together, telling you what other films the actors have been in and other 'fascinating' facts that 'add to your enjoyment' of the movie? Great, isn't it? Thankfully, Lycos knows how much we all love this additional amateur commentary, and has launched Lycos Cinema, a site which not only offers oodles of low-budget films for free viewing, but also provides a built-in chatroom so that up to ten friends can talk simultaneously as they watch each film.

However, it looks like the service will currently only attract the very quirkiest film know-alls thanks to 'cult titles' such as 'Savage Laggon' replacing those pesky populist Hollywood blockbusters cinema goers hate so much. SFGate reports that Lycos is already considering adding a voice-chat feature to let users speak directly to each another throughout their chosen films. Excellent!

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On the Blog

This week our blog features some analysis of the huge growth in the free newspaper sector, and a look at some of the exciting new features offered by Internet Explorer 7.

US Media Report

By Heather Lynch

Media giant Fox has done the right thing for once, pulling its print and broadcast deal with the infamous OJ Simpson, and his obviously offensive book "If I Did It." Rupert Murdoch pulled the deal only after the satellite Fox stations rebelled against it independently. While publishing star Regan, reknowned for provocative deals, pleaded ignorance of hard people would take this, and said she'd hoped the book and interview would serve as a confession. ....

Fox Media Interactive president Ross Levinsohn, the engineer of its much-hyped $580million MySpace acquisition this year, has resigned while his cousin Peter Levinsohn - no nepotism here - who was president of Digital Media for Fox Entertainment Group, takes over. No explanation for the resignation was given, though Peter has run digital media for Fox for two years now. Departing President Ross is credited with having built News Corps' Internet Division from the ground up.

Print and online publisher IDG will be providing a family-oriented gaming site, GameProFamily.com, to be full of reviews and attempts to bridge the gap between parents' attitudes towards graphic games and the more youthful perspectives that love these games.

Radio giant Clear Channel may be going private, as two Boston investment firms are bidding on the public company that has been disappointing Wall Street. Clear Channel owns over 1,000 radio stations as well as many television stations, and plans to sell off many, after its attempts to up its share values have failed. Some analysts think private ownership is more appropriate to the struggling media industry, with the patience afforded to ride out the transition from traditional media.

UK Media Report

By Annie Kasmai

Ed Curran, editor-in-chief for Independent News & Media and the editor of the Belfast Telegraph has received an OBE at Buckingham Palace for his services to journalism.

Curran started his career in journalist in 1966 as a trainee journalist for the Telegraph, progressing to deputy editor in 1974. He was also the launch editor of the Sunday Life in 1988 when he moved to Cardiff to take up a place as editor of Wales on Sunday, he recieved the accolade of 'Editor of the Year'.

More recently, in 1993, he was appointed editor of the Telegraph and he progressed to editor-in-chief of Independent News & Media in 2005. As well as these roles from 2002 through to the present day Curran is also a member of the Press Complaints Commission.

Early next month, an application will be launched allowing newspapers to share their classified ads and news. The application will be provided by US- based CityTools and it will allow publishers to networks with one another and discuss articles written by the general public.

Publishers will pay $650 as a flat monthly fee and for this they will receive access to articles submitted on the website, aimed at the public. On this website, people can share original news pieces under a creative commons licence.

The president of CityTools, Robert Cauthorn said the following about the launch of this new application: "Imagine this as a combination of a file-sharing network and a social network for newspapers where they can discover one-another, form alliances and aggregate markets all for the benefit of the reader, the advertiser and the publisher - everybody wins."

Best of the 'Net

By Sean McManus

Stripcreator

Had an idea for a rib-tickling sketch but don't have the skill to draw it? Stripcreator will help you to make a three frame cartoon strip, featuring a series of pre-drawn characters. The character templates can be a bit limiting, but they do leave you free to focus on your story, set-up and punchline. If you want to browse what others have done, cut straight to the top-rated comics. The most recent contributions make Fred Bassett look funny.