Content and publishing

AOL eked out just a 4 percent gain in sales last quarter, but it was the first sign of revenue growth in the past eight years.

For the final quarter of 2012, the company took in revenue of $599 million, rising from $576 million in the year-ago quarter and beating analyst estimates of $573 million, according to Reuters.

AOL attributed the gain to a boost in sales from its global advertising, which grew by 13 percent from a year ago. Ad revenue from third-party networks jumped by 31 percent, while search revenue increased by 17 percent.

On the downside, subscription … Read more

Online consumers may one day be able to sell or trade their digital items to other users, at least if a new Amazon patent comes to fruition.

Granted to the retail giant on January 29, the patent dubbed "Secondary market for digital objects" describes an electronic marketplace for swapping digital items.

You'd start off by housing your purchased music, videos, apps, and e-books in your own online storage space, just as many of us do today. When you get tired of listening to the same songs or reading the same books, you can move those items to … Read more

Netflix users who want to tune int o the new "House of Cards" series can watch all 13 episodes as of today.

Based on a BBC miniseries, "House of Cards" is a drama that takes place in the political underbelly of Washington, D.C., with all the elements designed to lure viewers -- sex, greed, and corruption. The series stars Kevin Spacey as a Washington congressmen with Robin Wright as his wife. They will "stop at nothing to conquer everything," according to the show's description.

Co-produced by Spacey and Oscar-nominated director David Fincher, … Read more

You can now explore the Grand Canyon without even being there.

Thanks to Google Maps, panoramic images of the famed canyon went online today, displaying more than 75 miles worth of trails and surrounding roads.

Just by moving your mouse or swiping your finger, you can wend your way through any of the trails to marvel at some of the amazing images captured by the Google Maps team. One view guides you along the Blue Angel Trail, another takes you past the Colorado River, and a third pops you a couple of hours away to gaze at Meteor Crater.

The … Read more

RIM is trying to amp up interest in BB10 by beefing up its BlackBerry World store with new music, movies, and TV shows.

BlackBerry users will find a variety of individual songs ranging in price from 99 cents to $1.49. Full albums will cost anywhere from $7.99 to $11.99. You can preview any piece of music to help you decide whether you want to buy it.

People looking for their favorite movies or TV shows will find them available for rental or purchase. The prices are comparable to those at competing app stores, ranging from $2.99 … Read more

Would you pay to watch a YouTube channel?

The company is aiming to introduce paid channel subscriptions this year, according to a story out today from AdAge.

Citing "multiple people familiar with the plans," AdAge reports that YouTube has already talked to a small selection of producers about developing channels that would require a fee. The first such channels would reportedly cost users between $1 and $5 a month, according to two of the sources.

The paid channels would likely be created by large media outfits, such as Machinima, Maker Studios, and Fullscreen, whose current channels have already … Read more

Those of you who want to catch RIM's BlackBerry 10 action tomorrow can tune in to a live Webcast.

Scheduled to start at 7 a.m. PT/10 a.m. ET tomorrow, the event will run simultaneously in New York, Toronto, London, Paris, Dubai, Johannesburg, Jakarta, and Delhi. People who can't make the trip to any of those cities can watch online through RIM's Newsroom page.

CNET will be covering the event, of course. You can follow our live blog with blow-by-blow news, photos, and commentary.

The event will see RIM spotlight its new BlackBerry 10 operating system … Read more

Among the myriad modern ways to transfer files from one computer to another, you can now add BitTorrent Sync to the list. The company unveiled a very rough, pre-alpha version of the service today as part of its new initiative for developing new tech called BitTorrent Labs.

In a blog post announcing BitTorrent Sync, the company revealed few details. It's designed to "manage personal files across multiple computers," the company wrote. They also requested user feedback to help them "build something sick. If you're comfortable using early, incomplete software, and if you're committed to … Read more

Justin Bieber has wowed his way to the top of the Twitter ranks.

The teen singer now has the highest number of followers in the Twittersphere, according to data from Web site Twitter Counter. Wooing 33.38 million fans to follow his every tweet, Bieber has shot past fellow singer Lady Gaga with 33.36 million followers.

Gaga's reign as the queen of Twitter lasted two and a half years, a spokesman for Twitter Counter told Reuters yesterday.

Bieber is also high on the list for the sheer number of tweets posted at 20,545 so far, an average … Read more