Digital Media Wire | connecting people & knowledge » 2010 » August » 31

Pirate Bay Doc Filmmaker Reaches Online Fundraising Goal

Mark Hefflinger — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Los Angeles - It took the maker of a documentary about Swedish file-sharing hub The Pirate Bay just three days to raise the $25,000 he needs to finish production from online donations, TorrentFreak reported. A campaign on the Kickstarter crowd-sourced fundraising platform has thus far raised $30,525 for filmmaker Simon Klose’s "TPB AFK," described as "an observational, character driven film about three guys whose hobby homepage became the embryo of a global political movement."

Related Links:

http://tinyurl.com/293hos3

(TorrentFreak)

http://tinyurl.com/33n86du (Kickstarter)

http://www.tpbafk.tv

New York Times Integrates Facebook Login

Mark Hefflinger — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

New York - The New York Times has added the ability for readers to log in to its website using their Facebook accounts. The feature will not replace current site registration, but will — if users opt-in to add the new feature — show stories that a user’s Facebook friends have liked or commented on at NYTimes.com. Meanwhile, The Times will be able to post status messages, notes, photos and videos on the Facebook Walls of users who opt-in.

Related Links:

http://tinyurl.com/27rghmr

http://tinyurl.com/235ht8m (NYT FAQ)

Amazon Kindle to Sell at Staples Office Supply Stores

Mark Hefflinger — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Seattle – Amazon.com (NASD: AMZN) has reached a deal with office supplies retail store chain Staples (NASD: SPLS), which counts 1,500 U.S. locations, to sell its Kindle e-book reader device. Aside from the company’s own website, Amazon’s Kindle had previously only been available at Target stores.

Related Links:

http://tinyurl.com/29lbxml

http://www.staples.com

Borders Cuts Prices on Kobo, Other E-book Readers

Mark Hefflinger — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Ann Arbor, Mich. – Books and media retail store chain Borders (NYSE: BGP) has cut the prices on the various e-book reader devices it sells in its stores. The Kobo e-reader will now sell for $129, while price cuts were also made on the Aluratek Libre (now $99), and Velocity Micro’s Cruz Reader R101 ($199) and Cruz Table T103 ($299).

Related Links:

http://www.borders.com

MTV, Foursquare Partner on STD Test “Check-in” Badge

Mark Hefflinger — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

New York - Viacom’s (NYSE: VIA) MTV on Tuesday announced a partnership with location-based social network Foursquare, that will award young people who "check-in" at health clinics for STD testing in September with a special badge. The MTV GYT badge is part of MTV, MTV, the Kaiser Family Foundation, Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) and the Centers for Disease Control’s "GYT: Get Yourself Tested" campaign.

Related Links:

http://www.foursquare.com/MTV

http://www.GYTNOW.org

Napster Releases Music App for Samsung HDTV App Store

Mark Hefflinger — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Los Angeles - Best Buy-owned (NYSE: BBY) digital music service Napster on Tuesday announced the release of an application for Samsung Apps, an HDTV-based application store. U.S. customers with certain connected Samsung televisions, Blu-ray players and home theater systems can now access their Napster service subscriptions via those devices.

Related Links:

http://tinyurl.com/2fmmkar

http://www.napster.com

http://www.samsung.com/apps

NASA Posts Early Space Agency Photos on Flickr Commons

Mark Hefflinger — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Washington – NASA has partnered with Yahoo’s (NASD: YHOO) Flickr photo-sharing service to publish nearly 200 photos from the early days of the space agency. The photos, which will appear on Flickr’s The Commons section, will let viewers add tags and share comments. The Commons was launched in partnership with the Library of Congress "to increase access to publicly-held photography collections and provide a way for the public to contribute information and knowledge."

Related Links:

http://tinyurl.com/2dtkyqr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nasacommons

AOL Acquires Mobile Software Firm Rally Up

Mark Hefflinger — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Palo Alto, Calif. - Looking to bolster its mobile offerings, AOL (NYSE: AOL) said on Tuesday it has acquired mobile software developer Rally Up, creator of the Rally Up and FacePlant social networking apps.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The company’s nine-person team will be based at AOL’s new West Coast office in Palo Alto, Calif., where it will work with David Temkin, the company’s vice president of mobile.

The move marks a new mobile strategy for AOL, which for the first time will [...].

Report: English-language, Free-to-Play Games to Hit $2B in 2015

Mark Hefflinger — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

San Diego – The market for English-language, free-to-play PC games is expected to grow from $250 million in 2009 to $2 billion by 2015, according to a report from market research firm DFC Intelligence.

The firm credits broadband adoption, a growing willingness of consumers to buy digital content, and improved payment options like prepaid retail cards.

Free-to-play games allow consumers to download and play for free, with the option to purchase virtual goods, or upgrade to a more fully-featured subscription tier.

By year’s end, such games are projected [...].

Microsoft to Raise Price of Xbox Live Subscriptions

Mark Hefflinger — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Redmond, Wash. – Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) has announced plans to raise the subscription fees for the "Gold" level of membership to its Xbox Live online game service for the Xbox 360, the Associated Press reported.

Set to take effect on Nov. 1, the price of an annual Gold-level subscription will cost $60, up from $50; the three-month plan will cost $25, up from $20; and the price of a one-month subscription will rise from $8 to $10.

Similar price hikes will also be seen for Xbox Live [...].