SANTA MONICA, Calif.--The first annual awards ceremony for the Digital Hollywood conference kicked off here, but excitement was muted for some media giants.
Apple Computer on Thursday night won the "OnDemandie" award, as it's called, for industry innovation and best broadband music for its iTunes music download service. A representative was not present to accept the computer maker's award at the Santa Monica Loews Beach Hotel, where the three-day conference was held.
TiVo also won several awards for best personal video recorder and technology innovation, but did not accept its awards.
Others were gleeful about their honors. AtomShockwave CEO Mika Salmi accepted three OnDemandies--first prize for best on-demand games service for Shockwave.com Gameblast, and runner-up for best download video site and innovation in broadband movies. "Wooohooo" were his words, over cocktails poolside at the Loews.
America Online accepted an award with an emphatic "thanks" for on-demand innovation in music. And Digeo's Moxi Media Center won as a runner-up for best cable PVR (personal video recorder) technology.
"Our product rocks!" a Digeo representative said while accepting the award.
Internet awards like the Webby Awards gathered some steam during the dot-com heyday but have withered in recent years.
The OnDemandies aren't quite the Academy Awards, but were started as a "fun award show without pretense," according to Victor Harwood, Digital Hollywood's conference organizer.
"The OnDemandies relate to all the technology that's transforming the nature of the entertainment industry--wireless, cable, broadband, games, music, video," Harwood said.
Web giant is spending $120 million to beef up its Mountain View, Calif., headquarters, according to filings with the city reviewed by the San Jose Mercury News.
The Samsung Galaxy Mini 2 S6500 could make its debut at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona later this month, according to a leaked promotional image.
MIT creates a simulation to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Spacewar. A relic of the early days of minicomputers, it was one of the first computer video games and set the stage for many others, including Asteroids.
the SDMI ?
Orrin Hatch ?