Wow. Major Bonus! GameSalad unleashes HTML5 game creator — no coding required | via VentureBeat

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Excerpt:

"Game development tool-maker GameSalad announced it is releasing a suite of applications that will let game developers create a game for HTML5-powered browsers.

The company sells a suite of tools that let game developers create games with a drag-and-drop user interface. It makes it easy for users to develop their own games even if they don’t know any programming languages. It removes the barrier to entry for developing games for the iPhone, Android-powered mobile devices and now web browsers. HTML5 also works on most mobile browsers, eliminating the need to create a specific app for each mobile operating system.

The web development tools will be optimized for the latest fleet of browsers like Firefox 5 and Chrome. But they will also support Canvas, which means that web surfers on older browsers will still be able to play the games as long as the browsers support HTML5. After a developer creates a game, they can embed the game in any web site with an embed code similar to the way YouTube has embed options...."

Are You Ready For Minority Report Live? g-speak platform from oblong industries, inc. makes it real

Oblong Industries is remaking the world of computers.

Our technology transforms the way you work, create, and collaborate. The era of one human, one mouse, one screen, one machine is giving way to what's next: multiple participants, working in proximity and remotely, using a groundbreaking spatial interface to control applications and data spread across every display. This is what Oblong builds. It's why we're here.

The g‑speak™ platform

The g‑speak SOE (spatial operating environment) is Oblong's radically new platform. The SOE made its public debut in the film Minority Report, whose bellwether interface one of Oblong's founders designed. But its full history extends backward to three decades of research at the MIT Media Lab. The g‑speak SOE implements the biggest advance in human-machine interface in twenty-five years. It also introduces

  • a new model for multi-process cooperation
  • a real-world geometry engine for gestural input and multi-display output
  • an athletic new network layer for data translation, encapsulation, and transport

... and a host of other crucial innovations.

It's the platform for what's next.

Well Well Well- Clause Kicks In: Netflix users see Starz over disappearance of Sony movies - #infdist

Excerpt:

"...Customers upset that their Netflix Instant queue unexpectedly lost some of its highest-profile titles, like “The Social Network,” “Salt” and “Grown Ups,” might be frustrated with Netflix and Sony. In reality, the catalyst is a pay cable network whose fate is tied to Netflix: Starz.

As part of its agreements to carry films from Sony and Walt Disney Studios on television, Starz, which is owned by Liberty Media Corp., also acquired the online rights to their movies. In 2008, Starz struck a four-year deal to distribute that content to Netflix that analysts estimate is worth $20 million to $30 million annually. According to IHS Screen Digest, the arrangement covers more than 1,000 movies a year.

The disappearance of Sony’s movies resulted from a clause in the Starz agreement. According to people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because contract terms are confidential, it includes an undisclosed cap, which has recently been exceeded, on the number of people who can watch Sony movies online.

To return Sony’s movies to Netflix, Starz needs to renegotiate the terms with the studio and is likely to seek higher payments from Netflix...."

via latimes.com

J.K. Rowling's Next Chapter: A Transfiguration Spell on the Publishing Industry #infdist

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via readwriteweb.com:

excerpt:

"...Self-Publishing's Defining Moment

The books will be available exclusively through the Pottermore site, meaning that Rowling is self-e-publishing the novels. While self-publishing is, of course, nothing new, digital publishing and digital readership has helped self-publishing become more popular and, for authors, more lucrative. As we reported earlier this week, Amazon recently announced that self-published author John Locke had joined its "Kindle Million Club" after selling over one million copies of his e-books on the Kindle platform.

But Rowling's decision here isn't just another mark of legitimacy for self-publishing, nor is it simply yet another blow to the traditional publishing industry - although no doubt, both of those are true. Rowling's announcement has several other ramifications here for the publishing industry.

DRM-Free Content

Digital rights management (DRM) technology is often placed on digital content, so the argument goes, to help prevent piracy. And indeed, the Harry Potter series may already be among the most pirated books in history, no doubt because of fans' desire to read the books in a digital format. But rather than viewing that desire with suspicion about sharing, Rowling is trusting they'll do the right thing. The Harry Potter e-books will reportedly be DRM-free, although they will be digitally watermarked with purchasers' information.

Wired calls this the publishing industry's "Radiohead moment" and likens this to the band's release of its albums on its own site. "The crucial parallel between Radiohead and Rowling is the fact that they both put their faith in the fans rather than any intermediary. For Radiohead, this meant self-releasing their album In Rainbows after the end of their contract with EMI with an honesty-box pricing strategy."....

Wow- JK Rowling's 'Pottermore' details revealed: Harry Potter e-books and more (Excerpt via Wired UK)

by Olivia Solon

"...Developed by digital creative agency TH_NK (in close partnership with Rowling) and sponsored by Sony, Pottermore sets out to entertain and inform readers as they follow the books' story lines. It is hoped that Pottermore inspires a new generation of readers to engage with the Harry Potter books. The platform features a host of newly commissioned illustrations and interactive gaming elements. When you register, you get to choose a magic username and then travel through different parts of the book, joining Hogwarts in the virtual world just as Harry does in the books. 

In each chapter there are interactive "moments". In the first book there are 44 of these moments. One such example includes Diagon Alley where you can enter Gringots (the wizard bank) and pick up 175 galleons -- the in-game currency. You can then use this to buy items on your shopping list from shops such as Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment.

On the journey to Hogwarts you can explore a virtual train carriage, finding digital trinkets such as magic beans and a different spell cards that you can add to your personalised trunk for use later. The trunk can be accessed on your profile page which shows all of your friends, digital wallet, all of your digital items, details about the wand you have and the house you are in.....