Content and publishing

Fewer people are illegally downloading and sharing music, NPD Group said in a report today.

Among those surveyed for NPD's "Annual Music Study 2012," 40 percent who illegally downloaded music via peer-to-peer services in 2011 said they had stopped or decreased their illegal downloads in 2012.

Overall, the number of illegally downloaded songs from P2P services dropped by 26 percent in 2012 from 2011.

Part of that was due to an overall decline in the use of P2P services. At the 2005 peek of P2P file sharing networks, 33 million people used them. For 2012, that number … Read more

Those of you who missed the Oscars on TV last night can catch the entire show online.

As of 3 a.m. PT this morning, the full awards ceremony has been available for streaming through several outlets, including ABC.com, the ABC Player app for iOS, the free Hulu site, Hulu Plus, and ABC On Demand.

The streaming Oscars will be available only until this Wednesday at 9 p.m. PT. The online version will also offer its fair share of commercials. But the ads will be short and sweet -- 15 to 30 seconds in length.

"Tonight's … Read more

DailyDeal is now back in the hands of its original owners.

The German daily deals site broke the news on its home page today, announcing that founders Fabian and Ferry Heilemann repurchased the site from Google.

A Google translated version of the deal offered the full scoop:

We are pleased to inform you today that we bought back the company as founder and CEO of Daily Deal and Google will now continue on their own. Daily Deal will of course continue the usual services and exciting offers -- just as we have done in the past. In addition, we will … Read more

Apple users unable to access the App Store or iTunes yesterday should find those sites alive and well today.

The App Store, iTunes, iCloud, and the Mac App Store were inaccessible to many people throughout yesterday, according to 9to5Mac.

Following a series of user complaints via Twitter, Apple eventually acknowledged the problem on its system status page, which indicated outages at various times for its online stores, Mail and Contacts via iCloud, and the Calendar app across different devices.

The status showed the iCloud outage ending at 1:40 p.m. PT. But some people continued to bump into issues … Read more

The folks behind Pirate Bay are upset over a new Web site from antipiracy group CIAPC that looks just like their own site.

To kick off its latest antipiracy campaign, the Finland-based CIAPC (Copyright Information and Anti-Piracy Center) set up a new Web site urging people to find more legal means to download music, TV shows, and other digital content. To hammer home its point, the CIAPC site intentionally borrowed the exact design and style of the Pirate Bay site.

The group even duplicated the CSS stylesheet used by the Pirate Bay, ensuring that its site is a virtual duplicate, … Read more

Amazon is the most reputable company in the U.S, at least according to the results of a new Harris poll.

Released today, the 2013 Harris Poll Reputation Quotient measured the reputations of the most prominent companies in the United States based on the opinions of more than 14,000 people. The poll analyzed companies based on six criteria: social responsibility; emotional appeal; financial performance; products and services; vision and leadership; and workplace environment.

Amazon came out first in emotional appeal and products and services, and was among the top five companies in the other four categories. The retail giant … Read more

Adobe Systems has trimmed the cost of its Creative Cloud suite in Australia following complaints that it's been overcharging customers there.

In a statement seen by The Australian Financial Review, Adobe said it has slashed the monthly and annual subscription costs of Creative Cloud to match the prices paid by U.S. consumers. The company's Australian Web site shows the new prices already in effect.

New and current customers in Australia will pay 49.99 Australian dollars (U.S. $51.55) per month for an annual subscription, compared with 62.99 Australian dollars previously. Those who subscribe on … Read more

Still using Windows Live Mesh? You won't be much longer.

Come Wednesday, the online storage and syncing service will draw its final breath, leaving Mesh users without a home. So, where can you go if you're currently using Mesh to back up, store, and synchronize your files?

A variety of online storage sites are available. Microsoft's SkyDrive is one obvious choice since it already offers some, but not all, of the features of Live Mesh.

How do you switch from Live Mesh to SkyDrive? And what are the potential pitfalls? Let's go through the process.

First, … Read more

Amazon has scored the rights to stream a new CBS TV series called "Under the Dome."

Based on a Stephen King novel and produced by CBS and Steven Spielberg's Amblin Television, the new show will air on CBS TV starting June 24. And just four days after that, the series will be available for streaming to Amazon Prime members.

The deal between Amazon and CBS (which is also the parent company of CNET) means that Amazon Prime Instant Video will be the exclusive online home for "Under the Dome." Amazon Prime subscribers will be able … Read more