Sweet. I don't need it. I like it tho. Berg unveils 'Little Printer' and BergCloud (via Wired UK)

When you press the button on top, the printer will gather up all the information that it has received and print it out into a miniature newspaper. You can do it as often a you like, but Berg suggests once or twice a day is probably best. You can see the little thing in action in the following video, and the concept appears to have been in the works for nearly six years, at least.

The Little Printer is the first in a family of products that'll be known as Berg Cloud. Each will wirelessly connect to a box which plugs into your router, and they'll be able to communicate with other web-enabled services. All you'll need to configure them will be a phone.

Must Read Article: YouTube revamp foreshadows Google's vision of media (Wired UK)

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Excerpt from a must read article on wired.co.uk by Mjke Isaac:

"...Importantly, the new look isn't just tailored to the consumer crowd. The launch is also an appeal to content creators, both small and large. Especially the large. Partner content providers can customize their individual channels to display media in whatever order makes sense. So for instance, HBO may choose to offer clips of Boardwalk Empire organized by season, while Comedy Central's Daily Show might opt for a feed of shows in reverse chronological order.

Appealing to the major industry players is in line with YouTube's recent activity, beefing up the site's premium, professionally produced content. Aiming to move beyond just LOLcat videos and double rainbow enthusiasts, YouTube announced in November that it would begin building out a network of content providers who -- like a network -- would produce original videos across multiple categories like comedy, sports, music and the like. Further, YouTube inked a major content deal with Disney in November, bringing co-branded original content to Google's streaming media service..."

Illeana Douglas puts herself together in 'Easy to Assemble' - Robert Lloyd Article in latimes.com

The first two seasons largely concern the rivalry between Illeana and Justine, hired by IKEA, says Manager Erik (the wonderful Eric Lange), “to bring some show-biz sparkle to the store.” Illeana is a good-hearted person for whom everything is hard; Justine -- who hosts an in-store talk show called “40 and Bitter” -- the one to whom power comes easy.

“My character  -- as I am in real life -- is in this bizarro, IKEA-like world," said Douglas. "She's terrified but keeps going somehow. And that is juxtaposed with Justine, who is doing the classic showbiz thing and knows how to handle fame.”

Justine to Illeana, who had hoped being named Co-Worker of the Year would make her popular: “I hope you're not basing your whole self-esteem on one stupid prize.”

Illeana: “Not all of it.”

Douglas, who began in stand-up comedy and dreamed of writing for "Saturday Night Live" before movies became her living, built “Easy to Assemble” as a kind of sequel to her 2007 web series “Supermarket of the Stars.” There, too, she played herself working a straight job.

“I think that as an actor you have to have an innate ability, like a caribou looking for moss on a tundra, to be thinking where your next job is coming from,” Douglas told me. “Supermarket” came out of the idea that “actors will always find a place to act, and maybe we'll be acting in supermarkets next. And when I met with IKEA, it was like a revelation because I was, like, 'Oooh, they have their own sets!' Eureka! I found my studio!"

read the full post here:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2011/11/illeana-douglas-puts-hers...

Mike Masnick on Yet Another Study Shows That Hollywood's Own Bad Decisions Are Increasing The Amount Of Infringement | Techdirt

Yet Another Study Shows That Hollywood's Own Bad Decisions Are Increasing The Amount Of Infringement

from the and-again-and-again dept

We've pointed out over and over again that the real way to stop infringement is to offer compelling legitimate services that are reasonably priced. Time and time again, throughout history, it's been shown that the real reason there's widespread piracy is because the content isn't available legally at all, or is available in a limited or inconvenient way. Make things easy, not locked down, convenient and reasonably priced, and tons of people pay. Books have been written about this. Studies have been done on this. And just the success of things like Netflix and Spotify show how this works wonders.

Now there's a new study, once again, showing the same thing. Professors Michael D. Smith and Rahul Telang (from Carnegie Mellon and Heinz College) have added some more evidence -- and it again suggests the "problem" isn't that the law isn't strong enough or that enforcement isn't draconian enough. It's that the industry still refuses to give customers what they want:

Our research suggests that Hollywood is leaving money on the table — and is in turn failing to address a root cause of piracy — by preserving its separate release windows. Based on our analysis of seven large nations, we find that in most countries, every week customers have to wait before they can buy a DVD translates into, on average, 1.8 percent lower DVD sales. Given that good-quality pirated versions are available close to 14 weeks before the legal versions, the losses can be in the millions of dollars. Not surprisingly, a 14-week delay also translates to a 70 percent increase in pirated movie downloads in those countries.

read the full article:

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20111201/03191216939/yet-another-study-shows...

zeebox - the new way to watch television - Grazie Mark Goodchild! #convcat11

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From the site:

"zeebox is social

Because zeebox knows what you and your friends are watching, you can all share. Think they'll enjoy what you're watching? Invite them to join you. Wonder what they're gawking at? Switch over and sneak a look. And you can all chat together, while you watch. Splutter over what Pat just said on EastEnders. Do your own commentary during the match. Share your disbelief about the score Craig just gave on Strictly. zeebox is even integrated with twitter, so you can tweet about what's going on..."

Stats Stats Stats! More Than Half of UK Consumers Have Watched TV or Movies on Mobile Devices

Excerpt from original article here:

http://www.cellular-news.com/story/51910.php

"...The survey, which questioned respondents across the UK on their mobile TV usage and viewing experience, indicates that the increase in mobile TV consumption is driving a change in viewing habits including:

  • The majority of respondents (51%) reported having watched a TV show or film on a mobile device such as a smartphone or a tablet.
  • Mobile TV watchers preferred to view on demand TV (44%) compared to 28% who preferred to use mobile devices to watch live programming.
  • Most consumers watch mobile TV at home, but 39% watch TV on mobile devices while commuting.
  • Tablet device users watch mobile TV for far longer time periods than on smartphones - 20% of tablet device users reported having spent more than an hour of uninterrupted time watching a TV programme or a movie.
  • Mobile TV users are regular viewers with 33% of respondents reporting they watch at least once per week and 12% viewing almost every day.
  • As more consumers watch mobile TV, the demand for higher quality and a wider range of services is on the rise with over 75% of respondents stating they would like their service provider to invest more in their mobile TV services...."