Linux News: Film

RealDVD Is Dead, Long Live Illegal Ripping?
March 04, 2010

RealNetworks has ended its legal battle with Hollywood over its RealDVD software. The Motion Picture Association of America and Viacom filed suit against RealNetworks in 2008, alleging that RealDVD infringed on content producers' copyrights. RealDVD allowed users to save copies of DVDs to their computers. The movie industry hated the concept, claiming it would lead to mass piracy.

Walmart Buys Vudu to Take Another Stab at Online Movie Distribution
February 23, 2010

With its purchase of Vudu, an online service that delivers video to Internet-ready TVs and Blu-ray disc players, Walmart is hoping its sequel turns out better than its previous attempts to enter the online movie distribution business. The deal will put Walmart back in competion with the likes of Netflix, Redbox, Best Buy, Blockbuster and Amazon.com.

YouTube Slowly Sundances Into New Rental Territory
January 22, 2010

The movie industry loves a gala premiere, with red carpets, paparazzi and Klieg lights sweeping a glittering marquee. YouTube's announcement this week of its new movie rental strategy is about as far away from that scenario as you can get. YouTube said this week that it would make available for streaming rental five movies from this year's and last year's Sundance Film Festivals.

Does 'Going Hollywood' Mean Going North?
January 11, 2010

In The Rise of the Creative Class, author Richard Florida describes his theories on how creative communities grow around two groups of people: 1) artists, media workers, and other classically bohemian sorts; and 2) university professors, service providers, and other highly educated professionals.

3-D TV Gets Ready for Prime Time
January 09, 2010

This is supposedly the year 3-D television becomes the hot new thing: Updated sets and disc players are coming out, and 3-D cable channels are in the works. However, it's not clear the idea will reach out and grab mainstream viewers. Besides having to spring for expensive new TVs, people would have to put on awkward special glasses to give the picture the illusion of depth.

Nexus One: You Can Look, You Can Buy, but You Can't Touch
January 08, 2010

The 2009 holiday spirit seems to have faded for Google and Apple, who didn't waste much time getting back to the business of giving each other the stinkeye. First up was Google, which gave its Nexus One smartphone its first official public appearance. It's a phone manufactured by HTC, and it runs on Android 2.1, which is .1 better than the version on the Verizon Droid.

Box Office More Boffo Than DVDs in '09
January 04, 2010

2009 may have been a year of recession, but don't tell that to the blue-skinned aliens of "Avatar," the hormonal teen wizards in the new "Harry Potter" film or the needy talking dogs of "Up." Their adventures in special 3-D theater screenings helped push U.S. box office receipts past home DVD sales for the first time in seven years, according to a new study.

'Avatar': The Best 3-D Movie Ever - Technically
December 18, 2009

"Avatar" could indeed light the way to fresh, uncharted territory for filmmaking and entertainment thanks to its groundbreaking special effects and 3-D technologies -- but that's not necessarily a good thing. The best way to explain that is to go see writer-director James Cameron's new blockbuster in a 3-D IMAX theater.

Apple's iConcierge: Do You Feel the Ground Shaking?
December 14, 2009

The proposed $30 billion Comcast-NBC Universal deal has entered the labyrinthine process of winning Congressional approval from the antitrust gurus and the Federal Communications Commission. Small cable operators, which apparently still exist, fear that they will be driven out of business by the sprawling new company.

PS3 Gets Power-Up From Netflix
October 26, 2009

Coming soon to a Sony PlayStation 3 near you: the ability to shoot aliens and bad guys in a video game, then watch your favorite action movie star shoot aliens and bad guys in a videogame-like blockbuster film streamed via Netflix. The movie rental service announced Monday that it had partnered with Sony to allow PS3 users the chance to rent movies online via their gaming console.

Cheapo 'Paranormal Activity' Horror Flick Gets Crowdsourcing Right
October 02, 2009

I should have known this wouldn't be your usual horror movie when I overheard the guy in line behind me say he'd already seen it. I turned around. "Is it really that scary?" I asked. "Oh yeah," he smiled. "Scarier than 'Blair Witch?'" "Oh yeah." Another smile, accompanied by a look that said, if you only knew ...

Rifling Through Twitter's Underwear Drawer
July 17, 2009

Getting your personal email hacked is generally a personal problem. There might be some minor career implications if it happens while you're running for vice president of the United States, but it tends to be more embarrassing than costly. But when you use the same password for personal email that you use for accessing work-related documents, then things might start to spin a little out of control.

Blockbuster Widens Online Movie Stream With Samsung Deal
July 14, 2009

Blockbuster and Samsung are partnering to bring the movie-rental chain's digital streaming library to the electronics giant's televisions, home theater systems and Blu-ray disc players. The owners of some existing 2009 model televisions, Blu-ray players and home theater systems will be able to access the service by way of a firmware upgrade or software download.

HP's Z Series Will Dazzle Your Eyes, Bob the Monster Will Steal Your Heart
March 30, 2009

I spent much of last week attending an event put on by HP, Intel and BMW, which launched HP's new professional workstation line on top of the new Nehalem processors from Intel. This took place at DreamWorks, where we were treated to an early screening of the "Monsters vs. Aliens" movie. This last was a showcase for DreamWorks huge 3-D bet and one that I haven't been a believer in.

Blockbuster, TiVo Join to Deliver the Video Goods
March 25, 2009

Blockbuster and TiVo have joined forces to deliver Blockbuster's vast library of digital video to owners of the TiVo television set-top box. "We are excited to be teaming with TiVo, the company that created the DVR, to make Blockbuster's entertainment content readily available to their millions of subscribers," said Jim Keyes, Blockbuster Chairman and CEO.

Merger Madness: Love Is in the Air
March 21, 2009

Cisco isn't content to just sell products for the deepest, darkest innards of the data center. It's also got its eye on consumer technology. It already has Linksys, which sells stuff like home network routers, and Scientific Atlanta, which does set-top boxes. Soon it will add Pure Digital Technologies, the company that makes the Web-friendly Flip Video camera.