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Rumors emerged earlier this week that Sony would begin offering a video download service for the Playstation 3 (PS3). The company is also reportedly in talks with the major studios and television networks, providing the third incarnation of the ... service after the abysmal failures of Movielink (sold to Blockbuster) and Sony Connect (recently discontinued). Has Sony already squandered its chances? Its main competitor, Microsoft's Xbox 360, already delivers movie and television shows with its Xbox Live service. Then there are the other set-top boxes such as Apple TV and Tivo. (Source: slashdot. ... (view more)

Google is launching an ambitious project to become the Internet's leading source of information on just about every subject. Their plans appear to be a direct attack on Wikipedia's popularity. According to a blog by Google's Vice President of ... engineering, the company wants to make it easier for experts to share knowledge. They plan to do this through a project titled 'knol' (a term they are also using to refer to each entry). The idea is for Google to take care of the hosting and formatting, leaving the experts to concentrate on the information. The goal is for the 'knol' to be "the first ... (view more)

The movie download site CinemaNow.com is partnering with Sonic, makers of the Roxio CD and DVD burning software, to allow consumers to legally burn movies bought online for playback in DVD and HD-DVD players. Curt Mavis, president and CEO of ... CinemaNow, said that his company is, "pleased to unlock a vast collection of previously unavailable content for consumers to instantly access in the home and burn to DVD." (Source: I4U News ) The deal would seem to solve the problem of transferring downloaded content from computer to television. Several products are already on the market to accomplish ... (view more)

Google has vehemently denied allegations that the company has entered into secret deals with UK news companies for the rights to use the companies' material on Google News. The allegations were sparked from an article published in Scotland's Sunday ... Herald newspaper. The article claimed that Google had made arrangements with several large news groups in the UK over how Google would carry their content on Google News. The article further asserted that "the deals are reputedly being kept strictly secret for fear that Google will end up having to pay for similar licenses with all of the 4500 news ... (view more)

After countless threats of legal action and allegations of a carefree approach to copyrighted material, two of the most powerful media companies are embarking on a joint venture that will showcase their own material on some of the Internet's biggest ... websites. The move puts the two media giants in direct competition with YouTube and the other online video-sharing sites that hold no copyright for the material they provide. The News Corporation and NBC Universal will distribute their latest content, like television episodes and movies, on AOL, Yahoo, MSN and MySpace. It is estimated that 96 ... (view more)

Last Thursday, Yahoo announced a new beta version of its personalized My Yahoo start page. The launch will be gradual and will begin over the next few months. Although only a limited number of Yahoo members will be able to try out the beta version, ... these users will have access to create their personalized space by simply dragging and dropping the content they would like to include on their My Yahoo start pages. Beta testers will also have access to a pre-created My Yahoo page based on the other Yahoo services that they use. For example, members who often use Yahoo's shopping service will see ... (view more)

Sony BMG Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group have agreed to provide music downloads from America and distribute other western content directly onto mobile phones for sale in the Asian market. The two will operate out of China in association ... with the already established ACCESS China Media Solutions. ACCESS China Media Solutions is its own international joint venture, combining ACCESS Ltd. of China and Melodeo of the United States. ACCESS China Media Solutions was formed in early 2006 as a means for Melodeo to distribute its technology to wireless carriers and handset makers in China. ( ... (view more)

While traditionally known for beer and chocolate, Belgium is now making a name for itself as a strict enforcer of copyright laws. Copiepresse, Belgium's copyright enforcement group, has recently taken a stand against Yahoo. "We sent a formal letter ... to Yahoo [last week], requesting it to remove all links to our newspapers' content," said Margaret Boribon, secretary-general of Copiepresse. She adds that failure to comply will leave Copiepresse no choice but to take Yahoo to court. (Source: latimes.com ) Yahoo, like many other search engines, provides snippets of information and links to news ... (view more)

Are you sick of watching media clips and movies on your 17 inch monitor? If so, you're in luck: Steve Jobs has unveiled Apple's newest product: Apple TV. At Macworld Expo, Jobs explained the new product that allows users to watch content from iTunes ... on their television. The device, which was introduced in September under the code name "iTV," bridges a gap that computer companies have been itching to fill: a variance between the computer and home entertainment system. (Source: pcworld.com ) Specifically, Apple TV brings the company head to head against Microsoft for the living room battle. ... (view more)

The major television networks must be sick and tired of seeing their content streaming for free on YouTube. Viacom, Fox, CBS, and NBC have been in talks to jointly develop a YouTube competitor that would let the networks keep the advertising ... proceeds. But is such an arrangement possible? Perhaps. On one hand, the major networks have shown an interest in online content streaming. Many have their own portals that show the network's content with commercials. Developing a joint service would enable the networks to combine their expertise and create a central location for television network media ... (view more)