Internet Key Issue In Hollywood Contract Talks

The impact of the Internet is expected to be a major factor in current talks between Hollywood screen writers and studio executives.

How much screenwriters should get paid when their work is broadcast over the Internet is potentially an issue that could result in strikes. Executives have argued that screenwriters should wait up to three years to see whether trends in Internet viewing either change or look to be set.

The business model of broadcasting content over the Internet, iPods and cell phones is still unproven, they argue. David Young, the chief negotiator for the Screenwriters Guild, recently told an audience of screenwriters at the Beverly Wilshire hotel: "Their pie has been growing and growing, while our share has been slowly shrinking. We cannot let that continue. "Clearly, this is a seminal and critical negotiation for us."

The last time that screenwriters went on strike was in 1988. The strike lasted 22 days and cost the industry an estimated $500 million. For information on digital products and services visit www.dsldance.com

Google plans search service

Internet search giant Google is to debut a new mobile search service that will let users search for ringtones, games and other content online, reports the Wall Street Journal.

The move is part of a wider effort by the company to invest more heavily in the wireless sector and challenge companies such as Verizon Wireless and AT&T. Though Google already has a mobile version of its popular web search, the company now plans to become a mobile access point for all internet content.

Seattle-based Medio, which currently runs a similar service for T-Mobile and Verizon, is another company that could be threatened by the new service. Google also unveiled at the beginning of this week a new service that will allow small and medium-sized companies to offer customers a search function on their websites. Dubbed Google Custom Search Business Edition, the product will cost $100 per year and will not require the businesses to display Google advertisements.

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Phillies star to be Verizon ambassador

Phillies star to be Verizon ambassador
Versatile and popular Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard is to become Verizon's so-called "home-run ambassador" the communications giant has announced.

Ryan, who is the reigning National League MVP, is to feature in promotional ads and will make personal appearances throughout the local area. The move is the latest by the company in a wider effort to improve its visibility and profile.

Phillip H Brown, the Verizon vice president of sales and local marketing for Pennsylvania and Delaware, said: "Ryan Howard is the perfect fit for Verizon. "Just as Ryan brings the power of his bat to the ball park every game, Verizon brings the power of its unequaled network to its customers every day."

After making his debut in 2005, Howard, 27, won the National League Rookie of the Year and in 2006 led all major league players in home runs, RBIs and times on base. He was also the fastest player to reach 100 home runs in major league history.

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Hummer.com Proves Most Useful To Online Shoppers

A new survey conducted by J D Power and Associates has revealed that Hummer.com was considered to be the most useful web site for online consumers shopping for new vehicles.

The 2007 Manufacturer Web Site Evaluation Study was based on a number of criteria, including appearance, speed, navigation and information or content. The firm found that Hummer.com received an 870 point score out of a possible 1,000, beating the likes of Toyota, Jeep, Suzuki, Land Rover and Lexus. Steve Witten, executive director of marketing and media research at J D Power and Associates, said that the manufacturer had achieved the top spot for the third time.

"A continuing focus on clear, simple navigation and crisp images and videos that demonstrate both the appearance of Hummer's models, as well as the features included in them, allow Hummer to regain the highest ranking for usefulness among automotive manufacturer web sites," he remarked. Shopping online is one of a number of popular activities enjoyed by American internet users, with a recent survey by Edison Media Research noting that 33 per cent of consumers over the age of 12 consider the net to be an essential item.http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif

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Online Gamers Increase By 17%

The number of internet users who enjoy online gaming increased significantly over the course of the last year, a new report has revealed.

Research by comScore found that the number of unique visitors to gaming sites reached 217 million globally, representing an annual increase of 17 percent. Bob Ivans, managing director of comScore Europe, said that one in four internet users now visit gaming sites, demonstrating the popularity of the sector.

"The fact that these websites are pulling in over a quarter of the total worldwide internet population shows what a global phenomenon gaming has become," Mr Ivans stated. Advertisers may find that the online gaming industry is particularly attractive, as the firm's research showed that the average gamer visits a site nine times each month, he added. Last month, Ronald M Davis, present of the American Medical Association, said that although more studies needed to be carried out into video games, parents should "closely monitor" their children's use of games and the internet.

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Google acquires online security firm

Google has announced that it has acquired Postini, a provider of security and compliance solutions for business and other users around the world.

The deal is said to be worth $625 million and will see Postini, which provides services to over 35,000 businesses, become a subsidiary of Google. The company's message security and encryption services can be used to help protect a company's email and other web-based communication systems.

Commenting on the agreement, Eric Schmidt, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Google, said: "With this transaction, we're reinforcing our commitment to delivering compelling hosted applications to businesses of all sizes." Using Postini's expertise, Google's hosting applications can help to "streamline" information security mandates for its client organizations, he added. Postini claims that its security technology helps to block more than one billion spam emails and processes two billion connections every day.

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New "Thank You" Web Site Launched

New "thank you" web site launched

As social networking sites become increasingly popular, internet users will soon be able to post messages of gratitude and share their experiences on a new web site. Unveiled this week, Thanks-o-meter.com provides a total of the number of "thank you" messages posted by visitors, as well as offering statistics showing which categories are the most selected.

George Garner, creator of the site, said: "I'd like it to become a catalyst for bringing attention to the positive things happening in our communities." Visitors are also able to write their own stories and attach private messages to their postings.

The growth in popularity of social networking sites was recently illustrated by figures publishhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifed by comScore which showed that in May the number of people in the US using Facebook.com reached 26.6 million. According to the company, this figure represented an 89 per cent increase on the number of unique visitors recorded during the corresponding month last year.

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PCs to become 'second screens' in US homes

Video content transmitted via PCs is becoming increasingly prevalent in American homes, according to a new survey.

In a yearly study about trends in usage of the internet and technology, called The Face of the Web, it emerged that online video activities are driving growth in the digital media sector.

The Ipsos Insight research found that at the end of 2006, 36 percent of Americans have watched video streams or TV programs online. This is an increase of eight percent from the year before. In addition, three-quarters of adults have used the internet to watch videos in the 30 days before the poll.

Video content is a "predominant" part of the daily lives of Americans, according to the executive vice president and managing director of Ipsos Insight's technology and communications practice, Brian Cruikshank. "Increasing penetration of broadband access and PC ownership globally signals that the PC will begin to really assert itself as a 'second screen' within the household," he added.

Research by consultancy Point Topic revealed last month that the US has the highest level of broadband penetration in the world, with more than 60 million subscribers.

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Online Music Service Sales Increase

The music industry suffered a significant loss in physical music sales in 2006, but the digital music market continued to grow, a new report has revealed.

According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), physical music shipments, such as CDs, fell by 11 percent to $17.5 billion last year, while digital shipments increased by 85 percent to $2.1 billion. Commenting on the figures, IFPI chairman John Kennedy said that the industry had hoped the loss in physical sales would have been offset by the growth in music downloads. "But while digital sales have grown as expected, physical sales have fallen by more than expected," he remarked.

The IFPI stated that digital music formats, which include those downloaded onto computers and cell phones, accounted for 11 per cent of total shipments last year. In related news, reports earlier this week suggested that Universal did not intend to renew its contract with Apple's iTunes for the online distribution of its music.

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Yahoo! launches new online marketing tool

Yahoo! has announced the launch of a new customized advertising product that tailors promotions to the web users' characteristics.

SmartAds enables marketers to target Internet users by taking their age, gender, location and online use into account, CNET News reports.

Yahoo! spokesperson Guade Paez described the new service, which also boasts an advertisement creation tool, as "behavioral targeting".

"This makes display advertising more of a direct response vehicle than just branding," she commented.

According to the news provider, the new advertisements are expected to first appear on Yahoo!'s publisher sites before being rolled out across its other partner web sites.

Last month, Yahoo! combined its US-based search and display advertising sales teams as part of its continuing effort to meet the requirements of its marketing customers.

Sue Decker, president of the firm, said that by joining the two services, Yahoo! could "better serve" its advertisers and build upon its position in the market.

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Broadband National Teams With Cables Big Three To Bundle Digital Services And HD Flat-Screen Televisions

Broadband National has teamed up with Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Charter Communications in bringing this opportunity to market

Vero Beach, FL, -- Broadband National Inc., the nations leading online marketing company that promotes digital services such as broadband, voice, and video has partnered with Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Charter Communications to create a Web site targeting the growing HDTV marketplace.

The website http://www.hdtvspecialoffer.com provides individuals who are looking to purchase new flat-screen televisions large discounts if they subscribe to Comcast, Time Warner Cable or Charter Communications. The new site offers the best deal on services from the leading cable companies, as well as substantial savings on the most popular HDTV’s.
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“In most cases individuals and families that are upgrading to high-definition television are also upgrading their home entertainment services such as video, Internet and voice,” states Mark Weibel EVP of Marketing for Broadband National. “Partnering with these three companies has given us an opportunity to help the consumer with great offers on televisions and services in one location. Users can visit the website and check for “triple play” bundles consisting of video, data and voice services and at the same time purchase the HDTV of their choice at a tremendous discount.”

Broadband National is the leading comparative shopping website for digital related services and products. Residential and business customers can use Broadband National's IBIS (Integrated Broadband Information System) technology to compare services from more than 50 local, regional and national service providers.
Formed in 2003, Broadband National is a private company conceived as a solution to a fragmented and confusing broadband marketplace. Millions have used their Web site to compare services, and purchase broadband, VoIP, and similar telecom services.

For Broadband National press inquiries please contact Mark Ballard at 772-539-0618 or visit www.broadbandnational.com

Warner Debuts Free Music Service

It has been announced that Warner Music Group's Lala.com is to offer songs to listen to for free online.

Using the site, owners of iPods can keep their iTunes libraries online, where they will be able to be accessed from anywhere and shared with any user. Lala.com also allows users to trade CDs online for a nominal fee as well as selling tracks that can be uploaded directly onto an iPod.

Founder of Lala.com Bill Nguyen accused the studios of having "done everything they can to get people to hate music." He added that Napster, which was shut down in July 2001 after an injunction was issued against it, was the "last good thing to happen to music that people loved".

"We wondered what would happen if we built a new Napster, with one hope that if you trust the consumer and don't think they are the enemy then you won't get screwed," Mr Nguyen added. Currently Lala.com has approximately 300,000 members and charges $1 per disc for users to swap CDs among themselves.

"Music is and will always be a driving force of the Internet, states Mark Weibel, EVP of Marketing for Broadband National Inc. who operates the industries leading comparative shopping website for digital products and services. "Recently, there has been a boom in "boutique" music stores that cater to specific audiences. For example, Beatportand Bleep cater to the electronic music community. Magnatune, Amie Street, and Mindawn are other examples of sites that cater to specific audiences. "

For more information on broadband and other digital products and services visit www.broadbandnational.com

Online Ad Revenues Climb

Online ad revenue saw a year-on-year growth of 26 percent in the first quarter of 2007, according to a recently released survey.

During the first quarter of this year alone, the industry racked up $4.9 billion in revenue, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers reported. In recent months there has been a scramble by many of the largest Internet companies to acquire online ad outfits. IAB president and chief executive Randall Rothenberg said: "The continued growth of online ad revenues clearly illustrates marketers' increased chttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifomfort with the extraordinary vitality and accountability of this medium."

In April Google beat out Microsoft and Yahoo! by paying $3.1 billion for the Internet ad company DoubleClick. Founded in 1995, DoubleClick is responsible for over half the advertising on the Internet, but has been criticized for its use of spyware. In May, Microsoft moved into the sector by buying advertising outfit aQuantive for $6 billion.

"Search Advertising is the major type of online advertising. Search ads can be based on the keywords that are typed, contextual advertising or behavioral targeting," states Mark Weibel, EVP of Marketing for Broadband National Inc. who operates the industries most popular comparative shopping website for digital products and services. "The costs of keywords can vary greatly depending on the demand for the term, the nature of the target market and the placement of the ad."

For more information on digital products and services go to www.broadbandnational.com

Search Results Can Be Risky

The results of Internet searches are exposing users to malware, according to a recent report from the software security company McAfee.

At least four percent of all search results could lead users to websites that could download malware, the study found. However, the study also found that the number of such results with malware fell one percent on last year's results.

Most likely to contain websites with malware are the sponsored search results purchased by their owners which appear at the top of a page. The author of the study, Ben Edelman, told vnunet.com: "The search engines could do more. "These advertisers rely completely on search engines, so the search engines are uniquely positioned to kill these businesses."

In the study, Mr. Edelman analyzed the initial 50 results from 2,300 of the most popular keywords on Yahoo! Google, AOL, MSN and Ask.com. Meanwhile, levels of malware have climbed over the last year at a greater rate than in the years before, a recent report has found. In their most recent report, IBM's Internet security systems researchers detected over 7,200 weaknesses, most of which could be exploited by attackers.

Spyware programs are sometimes installed as Trojan horses of one sort or another. They differ in that their creators present themselves openly as businesses, for instance by selling advertising space on the pop-ups created by the malware, states Mark Weibel EVP of Marketing for Broadband National Inc who operates the industries leading comparative shopping website for digital products and services. “Most such programs present the user with an end-user license agreement which purportedly protects the creator from prosecution under computer contaminant laws. However, spyware EULAs have not yet been upheld in court.”

For more information on digital products and services visit
www.broadbandnational.com

U.S. Broadband To Boom By 2012

Improving affordability of broadband will mean that almost three-quarters of U.S. households will have high-speed Internet access by 2012, according to new research.

Competition between broadband providers will encourage 36 million new subscribers in the next five years, according to Jupiter Research. The company predicts the decline of dial-up, saying that the new generation of Internet users is more likely to go straight to broadband. Jupiter Research analyst Doug Williams said: "As broadband becomes more attractive to consumers from an economic perspective, current dial-up users will be more likely to migrate to broadband service, and consumers who are new to the online population will never take dial-up service in the first place."

He went on to say that the main providers of broadband, namely cable operators and local exchange carriers, would continue to dominate the market and alternative methods of receiving broadband would trail behind. Jupiter Research provides independent research, analysis and advice about the impact of the Internet and emerging consumer technologies on businesses.

"We’re seeing continued and strong growth in the number of new broadband users, states Mark Weibel EVP of Marketing for Broadband National Inc., who operates the industries leading comparative shopping website for digital products. "We have also discovered that as consumers purchase or upgrade to broadband they also upgrade to digital and HDTV as well. We also believe that the next explosive area for growth will be in VoIP and digital voice"

For more information on VoIP and other digital products and services visit www.dsldance.com

Search Results Can Be Risky

The results of Internet searches are exposing users to malware, according to a recent report from the software security company McAfee.

At least four percent of all search results could lead users to websites that could download malware, the study found. However, the study also found that the number of such results with malware fell one percent on last year's results.

Most likely to contain websites with malware are the sponsored search results purchased by their owners which appear at the top of a page. The author of the study, Ben Edelman, told vnunet.com: "The search engines could do more. "These advertisers rely completely on search engines, so the search engines are uniquely positioned to kill these businesses."

In the study, Mr. Edelman analyzed the initial 50 results from 2,300 of the most popular keywords on Yahoo! Google, AOL, MSN and Ask.com. Meanwhile, levels of malware have climbed over the last year at a greater rate than in the years before, a recent report has found. In their most recent report, IBM's Internet security systems researchers detected over 7,200 weaknesses, most of which could be exploited by attackers.

Spyware programs are sometimes installed as Trojan horses of one sort or another. They differ in that their creators present themselves openly as businesses, for instance by selling advertising space on the pop-ups created by the malware, states Mark Weibel EVP of Marketing for Broadband National Inc. who operates the industries leading comparative shopping website for digital products and services. “Most such programs present the user with an end-user license agreement which purportedly protects the creator from prosecution under computer contaminant laws. However, spyware EULAs have not yet been upheld in court.”

For more information on digital products and services visit www.dsldance.com

Sprint To Launch Wi-Max

Sprint has announced plans to expand availability of its new Wi-Max service to 100 million people across the U.S. by the end of 2008.

Trials in Baltimore, Chicago, and Washington DC have proved successful for the mobile broadband service provider and will form a solid base for the service's launch. The company claims that mobile Wi-Max is "one of the year's hottest topics" and "is set to alter the competitive landscape for high-speed multimedia applications". Sprint aims to provide customers with a nationwide mobile data network http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifthat is faster, cheaper and more convenient a "more enhanced multimedia quality" than anything other service.

It will work with partners Samsung, Motorola and Nokia and plans to invest up to $800 million this year and between $1.5 billion and $2 billion next year. The "advanced, data-centric mobile broadband network" will enable an "Internet everywhere experience", the company stated. Sprint started out as Kansas-based Brown Telephone Company in 1899 and was eventually reborn as a long-distance service in 1986.

"Many companies are closely examining WiMAX for "last mile" connectivity at high data rates,” states Mark Weibel, EVP of Marketing for Broadband National Inc. who operates the Internets leading comparative shopping website for digital products and services. “This could result in lower pricing for both home and business customers as competition lowers prices.”

For more information on digital products and services visit www.dsldance.com

Europe Beats U.S. On Internet Usage

Europe Beats U.S. On Internet Usage

During April, average European usage of the Internet beat out usage by Americans, according to the Internet data company comScore.

An average of 122 million Europeans over the age of 15 used the internet daily during April, the comScore figures showed. This is in contrast to the average of 114 million Americans who used it every day during the same period.

The countries with the largest proportions of their populations on the Internet at any one time, was Denmark with 68 percent and Holland with 83 percent. However, as a whole, Internet penetration in Europe stood at 40 percent, compared to 66 percent in the US. The most visited website in 13 out of the 16 countries was, perhaps unsurprisingly, Google, most often followed by Microsoft.

Included in the survey was Russia, which was the last of countries ranked for internet penetration, with only 11 percent. What ahttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifre described by the company as "massive" databases are maintained by comScore to monitor the different ways that the internet is used.

For more information on broadband and other digital products and services visit www.broadbandnational.com or www.dsldance.com

Google Includes Security Software In Pack

Google Includes Security Software In Pack

Now the search engine giant Google has included the Norton Security Scan in its free pack of useful software, called Google Pack.

The Norton Security Scan is a user-friendly security tool that allows users to scan their PCs for viruses and spyware. In addition, the security software is able to remove all the viruses, trojans and malware, which it detects on a PC.

Rowan Trollope, vice president of the engineering consumer business unit at Symantec, said: "Offering Norton Security Scan through the Google Pack is the perfect way to reach the everyday Internet home user. "Our goal is to provide Internet users everywhere with a powerful and easy-to-use tool to help them evaluate, and understand threats that may reside on their PCs."

Meanwhile, weblogs on Google's Blogger.com page are being used in phishing attacks and to spread malware, according to a recent report. The site may have been chosen by cyber-criminals due to its popularity in search-engines, the research from Internet security firm Fortinet stated.

"Security continues to be at the forefront of Internet users concerns," states Mark Weibel, EVP of Marketing for Broadband National Inc. who operates the Internets leading comparative shopping website for digital products. "Norton has long been one of the leaders in security and is a terrific compliment to Googles suite of offerings."

For more information on digital products and services visit www.dsldance.com

eEye beefs up with antivirus defenses

Internet security software company eEye is now offering free antivirus defense with its Blink Personal Internet Security suite.

The suite is mainly targeted towards individual consumers and those that use the Internet in a home office environment.

Included in the suite are multiple antivirus scanning engines, personal firewall, antispyware, antiphishing defenses, intrusion-protection and patch detection functions.

Marc Maiffret, eEye's founder and chief technical officer, said: "The sheer number and diversity of security threats is overwhelming for most consumers. "Blink Personal with anti-virus is the first Internet security offering to include all the protection a consumer needs while allowing for new features to be added incrementally."

Consumers do not want to buy new security software for every threat, they only want one product, which is capable of protecting their personal information, added Mr. Maiffret. The California-based eEye also offers a corporate product, called the Blink Professional Edition with Antivirus. Meanwhile, a new email attack is being used by hackers which pretends to be a message from Microsoft offering the recipient a trial of Internet Explorer 7, software security company Sophos has warned.

"As governments and the private sector face a growing threat of cyber attacks and network security vulnerabilities, organizations must focus not only on protection, but minimizing downtime," states Mark Weibel, EVP of Marketing for Broadband National Inc. who operates the Internets leading comparative shopping website for digital products and services. "Today’s business environment necessitates 24x7 availability of critical applications, forcing IT administrators to perform maintenance and security updates in an ever-shrinking window of time."

For more information on digital products and services visit www.dsldance.com