Arab Spring Reshapes Market for TV News
The New York Times PARIS — As revolutions upend the political landscape across the Arab world, the news media landscape is shifting, too. The market for Arabic-language television news, dominated for years by two satellite channels with close links to Arab rulers, is poised for a shot of new competition with the pending introduction of … Read more
Cable Is Holding Web TV at Bay, Earnings Show
The New York Times This time a year ago, the television industry was rife with worry about so-called cord-cutting — people dropping cable subscriptions in favor of watching TV over the Internet. But for the most part, the cords remain intact, the latest crop of earnings reports indicate. Considering the fragile economy, cable and satellite … Read more
Transcoding for Mobile
TVTechnology by James Careless OTTAWA—As more wireless devices hit the market—Androids, iPads, iPhones, Blackberrys, and soon Amazon’s Kindle Fire—the more transcoded streams that broadcasters have to create, serve, and store. This explosion of mobile devices can induce headaches for broadcasters trying to keep up with the latest format du jour. Bruce Devlin, CTO, Amberfin … Read more
Behind the numbers: Samsung passes Apple in phones
By BARBARA ORTUTAY NEW YORK (AP) – For the first time, Samsung Electronics Co. shipped more smartphones in the latest quarter than tech industry darling Apple Inc. On the surface, this may look like a big upset in a world that affords the iPhone maker adulation and outsized expectations. The real reason, however, has more … Read more
UN panel sets target to connect poor to broadband
GENEVA (AP) – A United Nations panel has given governments a target of connecting half the world’s poor citizens to broadband Internet by 2015. The U.N.’s Broadband Commission for Digital Development also says at least 40 percent of households in developing countries should be hooked up to broadband within four years. The panel representing industry, … Read more
U.S. Debated Cyberwarfare in Attack Plan on Libya
The New York Times WASHINGTON — Just before the American-led strikes against Libya in March, the Obama administration intensely debated whether to open the mission with a new kind of warfare: a cyberoffensive to disrupt and even disable the Qaddafi government’s air-defense system, which threatened allied warplanes. While the exact techniques under consideration remain classified, … Read more
Review: iCloud ‘just works’ for songs, so far
By RYAN NAKASHIMA LOS ANGELES (AP) – Syncing music from your iPhone or iPad across computers has got to be one of the least enjoyable experiences in Apple’s computing ecosystem. The advent of iCloud was meant to lift the headaches of this cord-reliant process into the upper atmosphere and usher in what the late Apple … Read more
China rare earths supplier suspends production
By JOE McDONALD BEIJING (AP) – China’s biggest producer of rare earths is suspending production for one month in hopes of boosting slumping prices of the exotic minerals used in mobile phones and other high-tech products. This week’s move by Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Rare-Earth (Group) Hi-Tech might fuel tensions with the United States and … Read more
Apple loses round in Wall St.’s expectations game
By MICHAEL LIEDTKE SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Call it the curse of great expectations. Apple did just about everything right in its latest quarter. The company increased its profit by more than 50 percent and boosted revenue by nearly 40 percent over the same quarter last year. It was the second best three-month period ever … Read more
