AOL to offer free downloads of new film
A still from the movie Lonely Hearts.
(Credit: Millennium Films)Don't want to pay $10 to see the new John Travolta, Salma Hayek film Lonely Hearts? Just go to AOL's video portal beginning Friday and download a copy for free. The movie opened in theaters two weeks ago in New York and Los Angeles, and is distributed by Roadside Attractions and Samuel Goldwyn Films. A "limited supply" of downloads of the full-length feature will be available at AOL Video and a high-definition version will be for sale on ClickStar, a broadband entertainment venture founded by Revelations Entertainment, the production company co-headed by Morgan Freeman.
ClickStar and Intel are in essence buying the downloads for AOL customers, a ClickStar spokesman said. Users of Intel Viiv-based PCs will be able to access and download the movie for viewing on their home television if they choose. The companies would not say how many downloads would be permitted or how long the offer would last.
Elinor Mills covers Internet security and privacy. She joined CNET News in 2005 after working as a foreign correspondent for Reuters in Portugal and writing for The Industry Standard, the IDG News Service, and the Associated Press. E-mail Elinor.
Take out a grant, publish openly. Pay-by-the-copy doesn't work. It may look like it now, but that simple fact is going to drive us into either open society or fascism within the next 20 years. I'll do everything I can to oppose the latter. Even if it means the death of an entire industry.
Simple tips, folks: If you can't play your media with open source software, you don't own it. Someone needs to sue these people for false advertising or something.