sxsw

On today's show, Time Warner's new live TV iPad app is too cool to last very long, iOS is slower than Android (but Apple's nit-picking the results, predictably), and Sony is continuing to try to turn George Hotz into a smoking crater for daring to jailbreak the PS3. --Molly

We're back in the bunker, everyone, talking the Japan crisis and its effect on tech supply chains. Plus, bid on the SXSW iPad 2, or if you don't have that kind of cheddar, buy Street Fightr and Sonic for iPhone and the proceeds go to charity. Obama's IP czar wants to make unauthorized streaming a felony, and Netflix throws down in a big way for original content. Plus, Microsoft hits it out of the park with IE9. I know, right? Who'da thunk? --Molly

AUSTIN, Texas--The first time Steve Jang came to the South by Southwest Interactive Festival (historically known as SXSWi), it was 2006. He had come to the then-tiny geek-culture fest to help launch a music social-networking service called Imeem. Though SXSWi was known as a wacky gathering of party-friendly dot-commers and digital futurists, making a splash as a start-up was a pretty routine procedure.

"Back then, it was a very concerted thing," Jang told CNET. "You got a booth, you put together a team, and everyone wore the t-shirts, and you hired a PR firm, and you really … Read more

AUSTIN, Texas--At the South by Southwest Interactive conference (SXSW) over the last few days, the bulk of the conversation, in hallways, at parties, and in panels, has been about social media. But what about the fascinating ways that people are using technology to take storytelling to the next level?

The team behind the new Jake Gyllenhaal film "Source Code" was in town and talked a bit about the interactive game associated with that film, and a few panels here also touched on the subject. One of those was about the film "Tron: Legacy," and was moderated … Read more

AUSTIN, Texas--After three days jammed into buses headed here from cities across the country and four days perfecting their pitches, the winners of the second-annual Startup Bus competition claimed victory tonight.

If you haven't been following the happenings of the Startup Bus, 38 teams of so-called "buspreneurs" departed on six buses from San Francisco, Chicago, Cleveland, Miami, and New York last Tuesday, headed for the South by Southwest conference (SXSW) here. Each team, formed mainly from strangers aboard their bus, faced this challenge: conceive of an idea, and take the time from departure to arrival in Austin … Read more

AUSTIN, Texas--The horrifying consequences of the recent earthquake in Japan have been yet another proving point for the promises of "citizen" journalism, K.C. Estenson, general manager at CNN Digital, said at an event that the news network held at the South by Southwest Interactive Festival (SXSW) this evening.

"We now have over 50 people on the ground from CNN, the men and women of CNN who report on these things, there in Japan," Estenson said. "(But) in the 36 hours that led up from Friday through the weekend, we just couldn't get people … Read more

AUSTIN, Texas--U.S. Sen. Al Franken wants tech savvy entrepreneurs to keep pushing Congress to protect Net neutrality.

Franken (D-Minn.), a comedy writer, author, and radio talk show host turned senator, spoke to attendees at the South by Southwest Interactive Festival (SXSW) conference here today where he urged them contact their representatives in Congress and let them know that protecting a free and open Internet is important. He also wants this community of creative business people to attend rallies and do all they can to raise awareness of the issue.

In his speech, he railed against big broadband service providers, … Read more

AUSTIN, Texas--Digital futurists have been saying for years now that they believe the promises of mobile technology are ushering in an era of technology that goes beyond the PC and even the laptop. At this week's South by Southwest Interactive Festival (SXSW), we may have gotten a look into the future: With the enormous festival sprawled out all over the city, toting around a laptop can hold anyone back. More importantly, the immediacy of it all--where to go, where not to go, which party has a longer or a shorter line, where a surprise musical guest has shown … Read more

AUSTIN, Texas--There was a time, just a couple of years ago, when you could figure out almost everything going on at the South by Southwest Interactive conference (SXSW) just by keeping an eye on the #SXSW hash tag.

Whether it was an impromptu wine party hosted by Gary Vaynerchuck or a Laughing Squid meet-up or word about a great panel going on, that hash tag was many people's essential organizing principle.

But with the explosive growth of SXSW and Twitter, the thousands who are prowling around day and night here this week looking for the next great thing to … Read more