Amazon wins race to offer online movies

Amazon.com beat Apple to the punch Thursday with a new service that lets customers download movies to their computers and take them for on-the-go viewing on portable media players -- but not on Apple iPods.

The Amazon Unbox service is expected to compete head-to-head with Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes store, which already offers music videos and TV shows and is expected to include full-length movie downloads soon.

The companies' race to launch their movie services reflects the changing ways consumers are getting their entertainment.

But industry analysts questioned the prospects of Amazon's new service because it won't work on iPods and it could be cumbersome to transfer the technology to the family room TV.

Amazon officials, however, were giddy about partnering with more than 30 studios and networks to offer its customers thousands of titles, including some TV series episodes available the day after they first run. Those will go for $1.99 per episode, while most movies will cost $7.99 to $14.99, Amazon said. Movies also can be rented for $3.99, about what consumers pay at video stores.

With the Unbox, consumers can download a video with a DVD-quality picture, Amazon said. It would enable consumers to buy a show using one personal computer, such as at the office, and download it to another, likely at home. The shows would work on any Microsoft Windows Media video-compatible portable device, including Creative Zen Vision:M.

Read the story at > Amazon wins race to offer online movies

How the web went world wide

In a few short years the web has become so familiar that it is hard to think of life without it.

Along with that familiarity with browsers and bookmarks goes a little knowledge about the web's history.

Many users know that Sir Tim Berners-Lee developed the web at the Cern physics laboratory near Geneva.

But few will know the details of the world wide web's growth - not least because the definitive history of how that happened has yet to be written. So here's your chance to learn everything. Just read this > How the web went world wide

How to end the "Skip this Ad" option

If online ads become more entertaining, offer greater interactivity and give users options for length and format, the "Skip this Ad" option may become a thing of the past, according to MediaPost's Dave Morgan.

"I think that there is a good chance that 'Skip the Ad' buttons will disappear some day; and, most significantly, consumers won't even care," he writes.

So, read this article Bringing 'Skip This Ad' To An End and learn how to end the "Skip this Ad" option for good maybe!

Graphics cards open new Windows

BBC Click looks at the role of graphics cards in the new world of Microsoft's Vista operating system. > Graphics cards open new Windows

Microsoft's new operating system, Vista, which is due to go on widespread release in January 2007 will make big demands of your computer's graphics capabilities. For PC users that has all changed, the world is full colour and funky is now the watch word.

Welcome to the world of the computer gamer where you get a new graphics card and concept every six months or so.

But the not so good news is that not everyone will have a PC that will be compatible. But of course if you buy a card yourselves you will be fine.

The death of e-mail?

"Instant" may replace the "e" in e-mail > The death of e-mail?

E-mail may be on the way out, at least for teenagers. Trends show that many young people now prefer instant communication, such as text messaging and commenting on MySpace.com personal pages, because it allows for faster conversations and shorter wait-time.

Expanded toy, baby offerings on Amazon

Amazon debuts expanded toy, baby store > Expanded toy, baby offerings on Amazon The online retailer for the first time will extend its shipping promotions to shoppers who buy toys and baby products on its site, including its long-standing free shipping promotion on orders of $25 or more.

Amazon spokesman Patty Smith said the company would continue to add selection in anticipation of the holiday shopping season. "We've got a ways to go," she said.

AOL could offer free Web to high-speed users

Report: AOL could offer free Web to high-speed users.

Read this report > AOL may offer free high-speed connection to Web Time Warner Inc.'s AOL unit is considering whether to forgo up to $2 billion in subscription revenue to switch to an ad-driven model of Web and e-mail services for users with high-speed connections, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

The proposal calls for AOL to charge monthly fees only to users with traditional dial-up service.

Microsoft to challenge iPod with wireless device

Microsoft to challenge iPod with wireless device > Microsoft seen having iPod rival out by Christmas

Microsoft Corp. is talking up a planned wireless digital music and video player to record companies, and will be sending them prototypes in the near future, with a strategy to roll out the iPod rival by the winter holiday season, according to Reuters.

Microsoft did not comment on the report.

Google Trends offers look at search patterns

Google Trends offers look at search patterns: The Internet Knows What You'll Do Next

Google Trends, a new feature that allows any Web user to track the popularity of search terms, could change the business of marketing by giving companies immediate feedback on the popularity of products and services, according this analysis.

Google, consumers benefit from new Checkout

Google, consumers benefit from new Checkout: Google service that could click with users

Google's latest venture, Google Checkout, helps expedite user-transactions and allows Google to see exactly what happens when users click ads on its site.

Google builds from the ground up

Google builds from the ground up: A Search Engine That's Becoming an Inventor

When people think of Google, they think of search, killer apps and a soaring market valuation, but as Garner Group analyst Martin Reynolds told The New York Times: "Google is as much about infrastructure as it is about the search engine. They are building an enormous computing resource on a scale that is almost unimaginable."

The diary as resume

The diary as resume >

The Diary of a somebody for recruiters, blogs offer a unique window into job candidates: Successful, enterprising bloggers who have already monetized their sites can be an attractive catch for employers, but bloggers who wade in the seamier side of the blogosphere can damage their prospects.

Mobile Web may be far from reality in U.S.

Mobile Web may be far from reality in U.S. in Real Time

For all of the Internet's benefits, the medium's major crutch in the U.S. is that it's not mobile, says Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Fry. The problem, Fry says, is that wireless carriers wield too much control over what software customers can download.

Does spam work?

Does spam work?

It Seems Somebody Is Clicking on That Spam The click-through rates for e-mail spam vary wildly from sector to sector, with approximately 5.6% of adult entertainment solicitations receiving clicks, as compared to .02% of pharmaceutical spam e-mails.

Google scares rivals, but why?

Google scares rivals, but why? Is it because So Much Fanfare, So Few Hits?

Despite its unquestioned dominance in the field of online search and search engine advertising, Google's forays into other Web sectors have not produced a long list of market leaders.

Though its maps and online e-mail offerings are widely used, they are still outmatched by rivals in terms of usage. Other niche offerings like its finance site and blog search are less popular.

E-mail versus RSS

E-mail versus RSS > A World Without Spam? Can't believe it though.

While Real Simple Syndication feeds offer some advantages that e-mail lacks, including the ability for marketers to push updated information without worrying about spam filters or other delivery issues, it is not without its downsides.

RSS is relatively easy and inexpensive, but is less useful than e-mail in terms of targeting likely prospects and offering personalization, writes OMMA Magazine's Lynn Russo.

Pending broadband legislation

Pending broadband legislation Congress' broadband battles

Congress is in the midst of its first overhaul of telecommunications legislation since 1996. CNET provides a quick and easy guide to what the pending changes could mean, focusing on the big issues of Net neutrality, broadcast flags, municipal broadband and more.

Companies seize podcast opportunity for marketing

Companies seize podcast opportunity for marketing > Companies Tap Podcast Buzz To Sell Contact Lenses, Appliances

Such companies as Johnson & Johnson, General Motors Corp. and Whirlpool Corp. have been tapping into the podcast buzz to target specific consumers.

Corporate programs on podcasts, or free audio programs for downloading onto portable music players or computers, are said to be responsible for boosting brand awareness of products such as Johnson & Johnson's Acuvue brand contact lenses, according to Naomi Kelman, president of the J&J unit responsible for Acuvue.

Mobile phone driving as bad as being drunk

The researchers used a driving simulation device for their study, published in the summer 2006 issue of Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

Is a Mobile phone driving as bad as being drunk? Just like many people who have been drinking, the mobile phone users did not believe themselves to be affected, the researchers found.

New French law attacks all technology innovators

A US technology association has labeled a new French law requiring "interoperability" of devices like Apple's iPod music player as "attack on intellectual property rights" of all companies.

But a New French law attacks all technology innovators: US group Americans for Technology Leadership, a group that includes major US firms like Microsoft, said the new law approved by France's Parliament remains troublesome despite the last-minute modifications.