According to many reports, Apple is currently working on a subscription television service for iTunes. Apple is currently shopping the deal, which would cost consumers an estimated $30 a month, with all major networks. While details are slim, a subscription offer could be similar to "TV Everywhere," while also being the first major TV subscription service available on the web.
Paramount is getting into the memory card game and will release Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen on a USB drive. While studios and record companies have flirted with the medium over the years, usually in limited quantities, a deal between Paramount and Kingstone, a USB drive manufacturer, could make the format more popular, with additional titles coming in the future. The real question is will consumers pay $30 for a jump drive they cannot directly hook up to their television?
eBay is increasing PayPal's functionality through the new PayPal X software. The new feature will allow users to make purchases with PayPal inside of applications and games without having to sign in separately. The company hopes to integrate the software with video games, social networks, mobile applications and other services, to make PayPal "easier for you to use."
Apple is thwarting hackers and netbook afficiandos by upgrading its Snow Leopard operating system. Netbook users often hack the Snow Leopard operating system in order to run it on netbooks, making the small machines run like Mac's rather than factory mini-computers. While the upgrade will render Snow Leopard useless on netbooks, older versions of the operating system will still run on netbooks.
Marvell, the chip maker not the entertainment company, announced that it is set to enter the eReader world. the company will market new digital content platforms that work with E-Ink, the electronic paper company who helped develop Amazon's Kindle. Three offerings, including the enTourage Edge, which blends the features of an eReader with a netbook, will hit retail stores in early 2010.
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