Content and publishing

Google is once again offering a glimpse into ancient history with online images of rare scrolls dating back more than 2,000 years.

Courtesy of Google, in collaboration with the Israel Antiquities Authority, the new Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library is now home to detailed digitized photographs of thousands of biblical and non-biblical manuscripts. These ancient scrolls were discovered in remote caves near the Dead Sea between 1947 and 1956.

Among them, the scroll of the Ten Commandments may be one of the most fascinating. Dating back to sometime between 30 B.C. and 1 B.C., the … Read more

The flat-panel TV you buy in 2016 will almost certainly be a smart TV embedded with access to the Internet, says Gartner.

Production of flat-panel smart TVs will shoot up from 69 million this year to 108 million next year and 198 million in 2016.

So, what exactly is a smart TV?

Gartner defines it as one that lets you access and search the Internet for videos and other items. Such a TV may or may not come with its own dedicated Web browser, but it does provide an app store that lets you install a range of different apps. … Read more

Amazon's new Chinese Kindle store is reportedly being investigated by Chinese authorities over charges that the store does not have a license to sell e-books in the country.

China's GAAP (General Administration of Press and Publication) agency requires that digital publishers operating in China must receive at least one of four licenses to publish, copy, distribute, or import ebooks, according to blog site MIC Gadget.

But Amazon allegedly did not obtain any of the required licenses. Instead, the company reportedly borrowed a license from one of its partners, which is against the law in China. Amazon did apply … Read more

Amazon has stepped its e-book toes into China by launching a Kindle store for Chinese consumers.

The new store mimics the look and feel of the typical Kindle store but offers a wide range of Chinese-language books.

Since Amazon doesn't sell Kindle tablets and e-readers in China, buyers are directed to download the Kindle app for iOS and Android devices.

The store's opening could also be a move toward launching Kindle devices in China.

In June, four Kindle devices, including the Kindle Touch and Kindle Fire, received regulatory approval from the State Radio Regulation of China, according to … Read more

iTunes users in a wider range of countries can now buy or rent movies, though some will bump into certain limitations.

Citing reports from some of its readers, AppleInsider says that iTunes movies are now up for sale or rental in more countries, such as South Africa. However, the movies available vary from country to country.

Some countries provide only films from Disney, Sony, and their subsidiaries, AppleInsider noted. Others don't offer movie rentals or high-definition films.

Last week, Apple expanded its iTunes Store into Russia, Turkey, India, South Africa, and 52 other countries. At that time, movies were … Read more

This is exciting!

Starting today, you'll be able to watch full-length CNET shows on your Xbox 360. Later this month, you'll be able to do the same on your Samsung Smart TV.

CNET is proud to create shows and videos that you'll want to watch everywhere, including your living room with a bowl of snacks nearby and your feet on the coffee table. Longer shows like Always On with Molly Wood and Brian Cooley's On Cars have already taken off on Roku and YouTube; now we're putting them on even more screens.

Our goal is … Read more

The turf battle between Instagram and Twitter shows the sites have the wrong priorities, said Matt Mullenweg, founder of Automattic and its WordPress.com blogging service.

There's a danger when a company focuses too much on its own properties and pleasing its own advertisers at the expense of giving its users what they need, Mullenweg said here at the LeWeb 2012 show. Those problems are what's afflicted microblogging site Twitter and photo-sharing service Instagram, which Facebook recently acquired.

Twitter has been restricting access to third-party tweeting software and limiting access that third-party companies such as Instagram get to … Read more

The U.S. and Canada's attempt to limit the International Telecommunication Union's (ITU) regulations to telecom operators has been stalled.

The countries, along with much of Europe, had hoped to stop the United Nations arm from attempting to regulate online companies as talks got under way. However, other countries, led by Russia and some countries in the Middle East, have balked, arguing that regulating the Internet should encompass Web companies.

Reuters was first to report on the talks.

ITU discussions kicked off earlier this week as countries around the world determine the extent to which the Internet should … Read more

PARIS -- Silicon Valley is famed for its role in nurturing startups, but companies there often suffer problems from not looking beyond the insular region to the rest of the world.

So warned Brad Garlinghouse, chief executive of YouSendIt -- one of those companies in Silicon Valley "echo chamber" -- speaking here at the LeWeb conference.

"The hype factor that has impacted Silicon Valley is an unhealthy thing," Garlinghouse said. "Companies focus more on the hype than building a great experience."

Garlinghouse is a high-profile voice in the echo chamber. Perhaps his greatest claim … Read more