Internet & Media- Page 811

Schmidt: TV makers to adopt Google TV within 5 years

Not surprisingly, Google Chairman Eric Schmidt sees a brighter future for the poorly received Google TV at this point than almost anyone else does.

Schmidt was in Great Britain the past few days once again showing off his virtuosic skills at generating headlines for the search company. He spoke about Google+ and privacy. He allegedly criticized the Brits' education system. He also made this comment, according to the Globe and Mail:

"Virtually all the television manufacturers on their very high end will eventually adopt Google TV...or perhaps one of the competitors that will emerge. We know this space … Read more

Zynga delaying IPO?

Social-gaming site Zynga may delay its initial public offering until November as a result of the current turmoil in the stock market, according to the New York Post.

Zynga was looking to raise up to $1 billion by going public as early as September. But citing sources "with knowledge of Zynga's plans," the Post said the company has been concerned by the stock market's recent up-and-down ride, prompting it to back off on its IPO for now.

Launched in 2007, Zynga has turned into a force for online social gaming with such popular titles as FarmVille, … Read more

Facebook enhances its Photos feature

Facebook has made a few small but helpful improvements to its Photos feature.

Noting in a blog Friday that more than 250 million photos are uploaded every day, Facebook said it's always looking for ways to enhance the feature.

One improvement rolled out last week displays your uploaded photos at a higher resolution. Images will now appear at 960 pixels, compared with the prior size of 720 pixels, which means photos will be sharper and more detailed. Any photos you've already uploaded to the site will automatically appear at the higher resolution.

People viewing your photos will now … Read more

HP TouchPad users may see Android on their tablets

Anyone who picked up a $100 HP TouchPad at the recent fire sale may eventually be able to run Android on their new tablet.

The crew at CyanogenMod, which creates customized builds of Android for mobile devices, has succeeded in porting over a version of Android that can run on HP's now discontinued tablet.

An open letter and video from CyanogenMod posted on the RootzWiki Web site yesterday show that developers have so far been able to run a Cyanogenmod version of Android 2.3 Gingerbread on an HP TouchPad.

The video reveals the Android OS booting up and launching into a home screen and then displaying icons for a few apps. Though the developers seem to be making progress, one major feature still missing in action is touch-screen support. In the video, CyanogenMod is controlling the tablet through a remote console.

But the narrator of the CyanogenMod video acknowledges that "these are just the very first steps and there will be more progress soon, I hope."… Read more

Samsung unveiling its own instant messaging tool

Samsung is jumping into the instant messaging market with a new IM tool destined for a variety of feature phones and smartphones.

The Korean mobile phone maker's new and free ChatOn IM client is designed to be cross-platform, allowing users of a wide range of phones to be able to chat with family, friends, and colleagues. The service will be preinstalled on Samsung's feature phones as well as smartphones running both Android and the company's own Bada mobile OS, according to Reuters.

But it will also be available as a free download for other mobile platforms, including … Read more

Samsung delays Galaxy Tab in Australia

In the latest developments in the ongoing patent saga between Samsung and Apple, Samsung today revealed a plan to countersue Apple for patent infringement within its flagship iPad tablet while pledging to push back the official launch date the Australian version of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 to the end of next month.

Legal representatives from both parties met for a directions hearing in the NSW Federal Court today, where barrister David Catterns, acting for Samsung, revealed to the court a plan to countersue Apple once the case made it to trial.

In a statement, Catterns added that Samsung's counter-claim would also encompass the Apple iPhone.

Read more of "Samsung fires back in Apple Oz Galaxy suit" at ZDNet Australia.

Tower Records to iTunes, NARM seeks revival

Oh please, don't try to take Jim Donio down memory lane again.

During an interview with Donio, president of the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM), I wanted to reminisce about buying the Clash's "London Calling" at the Tower Records store on Sunset Boulevard or discovering Caetano Veloso at the Virgin Megastore on San Francisco's Market Street. Donio smiled politely.

He well knows that in addition to owning property in some of America's most fashionable neighborhoods, traditional record stores once commanded prime real estate in the hearts of the country's most-devoted music fans. … Read more

Irene downgraded to tropical storm

A weakening Hurricane Irene was downgraded this morning as it inched through New York City and headed into New England.

Irene was packing sustained winds of about 60 mph this morning as it moved up the Eastern seaboard at a speed of 25 mph, prompting the National Hurricane Center to downgrade it from a Category 1 hurricane to a tropical storm. The storm has been blamed for at least 11 deaths in six states, due mostly to car crashes and failing trees, and more than 4 million people have lost power due to the storm.

Despite the downgrade, the Federal … Read more

Schmidt says Google TV heading to Europe

Google TV will be launched in Europe early next year, despite its rocky start in the U.S., company Chairman Eric Schmidt told an audience in Edinburgh, Scotland, last night.

Delivering the keynote MacTaggart Lecture at the MediaGuardian Edinburgh International TV Festival, one of Britain's premier television industry events, Schmidt sought to reassure broadcasters, according to a Reuters report on the speech.

"We seek to support the content industry by providing an open platform for the next generation of TV to evolve, the same way Android is an open platform for the next generation of mobile," Schmidt … Read more

East Coast battens down as Hurricane Irene hits

New York City's subway system shut down at midday today, as the city prepared for the arrival of Hurricane Irene, which made landfall in North Carolina early this morning and began its expected journey up the East Coast of the United States.

Despite it's having been downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane--the least threatening on the Saffir-Simpson scale--Irene remained hazardous, with wind gusts in some places as high as 115 mph. North Carolina's Raleigh News & Observer reported that one man had been killed by a falling tree limb.

"Watching the TV folks on the beach … Read more