Computer security company McAfee announced that searches for Jessica Biel led to more cases of spyware, malware and viruses being added to hard drives than searches for any other celebrity. The company noted that 20% of users searching for Jessica Biel will end up with a piece of malware on their machine. McAfee has dubbed Ms. Biel the "most dangerous celebrity."
Facebook is reportedly in talks to partner with Spotify. A deal between the social network and the popular music service, which recently opened an office in the US, could make Facebook a leading destination for online music. While Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's status recently read "Spotify is so good," recent reports note that in Sweden the music service is generating more money for Universal Music Group than iTunes.
YouTube is set to open up its Partnership Program to include all videos uploaded to the site. The move means that any video that becomes wildly popular on YouTube is eligible to receive a share of the associated ad revenue. Using "factores like the number of views, the videos virality and compliance with YouTube's Terms of Service," all content creators producing popular material will be eligible to generate revenue from their productions.
Sony unveiled its wireless eReader yesterday. The device, which Sony hopes will take part of the market away from Amazon's Kindle offering, will cost $399. The Sony Reader Daily Edition, which features a touch screen, as well as access to libraries, will cost more than the Kindle, but will also give users access to a more diverse collection of reading material.
LG announced plans to open a $3 billion LCD panel factory in China. The liquid crystal display manufacturing plant will be the first of its kind in China. Almost immediately after LG revealed their plans, competitor Samsung announced that it is looking into building an LCD factory in China.
Shelly Palmer is a consultant and the host of MediaBytes with Shelly Palmer a daily show featuring news you can use about technology, media & entertainment. He is Managing Director of Advanced Media Ventures Group LLC and the author of Television Disrupted: The Transition from Network to Networked TV. Shelly is also President of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. You can join the MediaBytes mailing list here. Shelly can be reached at shelly@palmer.net For information about Get Digital Classes, visit www.shellypalmer.com/seminars