Monday, March 31, 2008
$300 Million to Convince Global Warming Skeptics?
Could this $300 million be spent more intelligently elsewhere? Say something often enough and it must be true...
Gore Crusade Gets a Second Wind
New Ad Campaign Enlists Celebrities to Urge Action on Climate Change
By Ira Teinowitz Published: March 28, 2008
WASHINGTON (AdAge.com) -- Can a $100 million-a-year marketing effort prod Americans into getting more involved in solving the climate crisis?
Vice President Al Gore and his Alliance for Climate Protection are about to find out as they roll out a three-year campaign partially bankrolled through Mr. Gore's Nobel Peace Prize winnings and proceeds from Mr. Gore's Oscar-winning documentary "An Inconvenient Truth."
Big names on board
The ad campaign from Interpublic Group of Cos.' Martin Agency, Richmond, Va., due to break April 2, doesn't suggest specific behavior Americans should change, but instead uses celebrities from the Dixie Chicks to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich to urge business and government leaders to focus on developing environmental policies and solutions that will bring change.
"From the very beginning, we felt there was a gap in the marketplace in that there wasn't a massive national effort to communicate about the urgency and solvability of the climate crisis," said Brian Hardwick, communications director for the Alliance.
"We want to inspire people to help, hoping that if enough of us raise our voices we can come together to demand more from our leaders." Besides Mr. Gingrich and the Dixie Chicks, the ads feature the Rev. Al Sharpton and the Rev. Pat Robertson, Toby Keith and current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The Alliance was holding off announcing most details of the ads until this week, but did say they would urge "solutions."
No avoiding it
The Alliance is touting the campaign as an "unprecedented effort," and said that the messages will run in TV, print, the internet and a wide variety of venues. The initial TV buy is broad, including the broadcast networks, cable including MTV and news networks. How much of the effort will to toward advertising remains to be seen. The Alliance is hoping marketers will help spread the message by tying in through their own packaging ads and websites.
Mr. Gore, in an interview with CBS's "60 Minutes" to be broadcast March 30, suggests that few thinking people still believe that global warming isn't a reality. "You're talking about Dick Cheney.
I think that those people are in such a tiny, tiny minority now with their point of view, they're almost like the ones who still believe that the moon landing was staged in a movie lot in Arizona and those who believe the world is flat," Mr. Gore told the network. "That demeans them a little bit, but it's not that far off."
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Diller Wins IAC Battle
He's going to split it up! Diller's plan would make separate entities of HSN, online mortgage business LendingTree, box office service Ticketmaster and time-share exchange Interval.
http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/080328/iac_liberty.html?.v=6
http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/080328/iac_liberty.html?.v=6
Friday, March 28, 2008
World's Oldest Audio Recording?
Predates Edison by 17 Years
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- At first listen, the grainy high-pitched warble doesn't sound like much, but scientists say the French recording from 1860 is the oldest known recorded human voice.
The 10-second clip of a woman singing "Au Clair de la Lune," taken from a so-called phonautogram, was recently discovered by audio historian David Giovannoni. The recording predates Thomas Edison's "Mary Had a Little Lamb" -- previously credited as the oldest recorded voice -- by 17 years.
Listen: http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/03/27/france.recording.ap/index.html#cnnSTCOther1
Article:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/03/27/france.recording.ap/index.html
The 10-second clip of a woman singing "Au Clair de la Lune," taken from a so-called phonautogram, was recently discovered by audio historian David Giovannoni. The recording predates Thomas Edison's "Mary Had a Little Lamb" -- previously credited as the oldest recorded voice -- by 17 years.
Listen: http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/03/27/france.recording.ap/index.html#cnnSTCOther1
Article:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/03/27/france.recording.ap/index.html
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Small Stations Sue Over Digital TV Plan
The Digital Transition - Digital Transition: Are You Ready?
WASHINGTON (AP) - The low-power television industry is facing a "death sentence" because of a flaw in the government's plan to force broadcasters to shift to digital broadcasting and has asked a federal judge for a reprieve.
The Community Broadcasters Association, which represents owners of small television stations, wants the Federal Communications Commission to ban all digital set top converter boxes that are not equipped to receive an analog signal, a request that has the potential to derail the biggest broadcasting transition since color television.
As of Feb. 18, 2009, all full-power television stations in the U.S. are required to stop broadcasting an analog signal. Anyone who gets programming through an antenna and does not have a newer-model digital TV set will need to buy a box that converts the digital signal to analog. The government is providing two $40 coupons per household that can be used to buy these boxes.
The problem facing the 2,600 low-power television stations represented by the association is that they are not subject to the deadline. Most of the converter boxes now on sale will actually block the low-power analog signal from those stations, while the full-power digital signal will display normally.
The association, in a petition filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Wednesday, asked the FCC to "prevent the marketing and distribution" of the boxes.
The association cited a 1962 law called the All Channel Receiver Act which was adopted during the early years of UHF broadcasting. The law requires that devices that receive television signals be capable of picking up "all frequencies allocated by the commission to television broadcasting."
It is not certain how many viewers may be affected. The association characterizes its viewers as rural, underserved urban, elderly and non-English speaking.
In addition to low-power stations, about 4,300 translator stations, which boost signals from full-power stations and relay them to rural areas, also are exempt from the 2009 deadline.
Nothing in the law prevents low-power stations from converting to digital, but for most stations, the cost is prohibitive, according to the association.
Ronald Bruno, president of the association, said converter boxes currently for sale will decrease viewership for low-power stations.
"Every time a person gets a coupon, buys a converter box and plugs it in, we lose that viewer," he said.
The petition asks the court to order the FCC to act immediately to ban the boxes and says a delay would be disastrous.
"The dire consequences for such stations - effectively a death sentence - will be irreparable through any available administrative or judicial remedy," it reads.
The FCC had no comment on the court action.
The converter box program is overseen by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. Agency spokesman Bart Forbes said the law ordering the transition says boxes can "only receive digital signals" and the NTIA specifications on box design are consistent with the law.
Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association, accused the broadcast association of "trying an 11th-hour litigation strategy to freeze the entire nation in analog."
As of March 25, the NTIA reported it has received requests for 8.5 million coupons from 4.5 million households.
Six of the converter boxes that have been approved for sale by the NTIA allow for an analog "pass-through" feature. According to the NTIA, they are the Philco TB150HH9, the Philco TB100HH9, the ECHOSTAR TR-40, the Magnavox TB-100MG9, the Digital Stream DX8700 and the Digital Stream DSP7700T.
Such a feature would allow televisions to receive an analog signal, but Bruno says such boxes "do not create an acceptable solution for the over-the-air viewer." To watch analog channels, viewers would have to turn off the digital converter box and use a separate remote control.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The low-power television industry is facing a "death sentence" because of a flaw in the government's plan to force broadcasters to shift to digital broadcasting and has asked a federal judge for a reprieve.
The Community Broadcasters Association, which represents owners of small television stations, wants the Federal Communications Commission to ban all digital set top converter boxes that are not equipped to receive an analog signal, a request that has the potential to derail the biggest broadcasting transition since color television.
As of Feb. 18, 2009, all full-power television stations in the U.S. are required to stop broadcasting an analog signal. Anyone who gets programming through an antenna and does not have a newer-model digital TV set will need to buy a box that converts the digital signal to analog. The government is providing two $40 coupons per household that can be used to buy these boxes.
The problem facing the 2,600 low-power television stations represented by the association is that they are not subject to the deadline. Most of the converter boxes now on sale will actually block the low-power analog signal from those stations, while the full-power digital signal will display normally.
The association, in a petition filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Wednesday, asked the FCC to "prevent the marketing and distribution" of the boxes.
The association cited a 1962 law called the All Channel Receiver Act which was adopted during the early years of UHF broadcasting. The law requires that devices that receive television signals be capable of picking up "all frequencies allocated by the commission to television broadcasting."
It is not certain how many viewers may be affected. The association characterizes its viewers as rural, underserved urban, elderly and non-English speaking.
In addition to low-power stations, about 4,300 translator stations, which boost signals from full-power stations and relay them to rural areas, also are exempt from the 2009 deadline.
Nothing in the law prevents low-power stations from converting to digital, but for most stations, the cost is prohibitive, according to the association.
Ronald Bruno, president of the association, said converter boxes currently for sale will decrease viewership for low-power stations.
"Every time a person gets a coupon, buys a converter box and plugs it in, we lose that viewer," he said.
The petition asks the court to order the FCC to act immediately to ban the boxes and says a delay would be disastrous.
"The dire consequences for such stations - effectively a death sentence - will be irreparable through any available administrative or judicial remedy," it reads.
The FCC had no comment on the court action.
The converter box program is overseen by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. Agency spokesman Bart Forbes said the law ordering the transition says boxes can "only receive digital signals" and the NTIA specifications on box design are consistent with the law.
Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association, accused the broadcast association of "trying an 11th-hour litigation strategy to freeze the entire nation in analog."
As of March 25, the NTIA reported it has received requests for 8.5 million coupons from 4.5 million households.
Six of the converter boxes that have been approved for sale by the NTIA allow for an analog "pass-through" feature. According to the NTIA, they are the Philco TB150HH9, the Philco TB100HH9, the ECHOSTAR TR-40, the Magnavox TB-100MG9, the Digital Stream DX8700 and the Digital Stream DSP7700T.
Such a feature would allow televisions to receive an analog signal, but Bruno says such boxes "do not create an acceptable solution for the over-the-air viewer." To watch analog channels, viewers would have to turn off the digital converter box and use a separate remote control.
Adobe Launching Free Version of Photoshop Online
Rafat Alipaid
Content.org Thursday, March 27, 2008; 1:52 AM
Adobe (NSDQ: ADBE) is taking a note from startups nipping at the edges of its core products, and has now launched a free version of its Photoshop picture editing software. Called Photoshop Express, the service is available directly through any browser though it will only work on Flash 9, so you may have to upgrade. Users have to register for the account, and get 2GB of free storage. Also, it also has ties to social networking sites like Facebook and other image-sharing sites, reports News.com (I am still waiting for the verification e-mail from the service to try it out).
Adobe intends to offer more premium features down the line, which include a printing service, more storage, support for audio and other media, and the ability to read additional image file types (the service works with .JPGs now.). It also plans to build an offline client, which will surely cut into its Photoshop revenues, but better to undercut itself than let others do. Some pics of the software are here.
This of course will be bad news for the likes of Picnik (a service we have used regularly here before) and others in the startup space.
Content.org Thursday, March 27, 2008; 1:52 AM
Adobe (NSDQ: ADBE) is taking a note from startups nipping at the edges of its core products, and has now launched a free version of its Photoshop picture editing software. Called Photoshop Express, the service is available directly through any browser though it will only work on Flash 9, so you may have to upgrade. Users have to register for the account, and get 2GB of free storage. Also, it also has ties to social networking sites like Facebook and other image-sharing sites, reports News.com (I am still waiting for the verification e-mail from the service to try it out).
Adobe intends to offer more premium features down the line, which include a printing service, more storage, support for audio and other media, and the ability to read additional image file types (the service works with .JPGs now.). It also plans to build an offline client, which will surely cut into its Photoshop revenues, but better to undercut itself than let others do. Some pics of the software are here.
This of course will be bad news for the likes of Picnik (a service we have used regularly here before) and others in the startup space.
Motorola Broken in Two
Icahn Bottom Feeding Again
Carl Icahn's looking for another quick buck; thousands will undoubted get canned as a result of this action so he can strip off company assets.
To review, Icahn was once characterized during the TWA disembowelment as one of two businessmen who "intentionally bankrupted successful companies for their own personal gain".
Carl Icahn's looking for another quick buck; thousands will undoubted get canned as a result of this action so he can strip off company assets.
To review, Icahn was once characterized during the TWA disembowelment as one of two businessmen who "intentionally bankrupted successful companies for their own personal gain".
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