The big UK tv houses (BBC, ITV and Channel 4) will collaborate early next year to provide the viewer with an online on demand video service. Each of these houses currently has their own online service.
No doubt this content won't be available for everyone. The current BBC iplayer features DRM and doesn't work outside of the UK. Which is a shame for all us lovers of Brittish comedy who don't live there.
Sources: BBC News, Through Mashable
Tuesday, November 27
Sunday, November 25
Digital Property
A 17 year-old Dutch teen has been arrested after stealing about 4000 euros worth of digital property on the popular chatting service Habbo Hotel. After luring their victims in revealing their passwords the virtual burglars stole the furniture and moved them to their own places.
The crime is considered to be theft due to the fact that the furniture was paid for with real money.
It reminds me of the time that I played World of Warcraft on a regular basis. Occasionally people would sell their characters for multiple reasons. This was something that was not allowed by Blizzard .. saying that the characters were still their property. Those selling the characters would say that they were not selling the characters, but their time.
Additonally there are also the 'goldfarmers' who are farming money to sell later to players who won't want to take the time to collect it themselves.
A BBC report about this on YouTube: World of Warcraft - BBC News Coverage, Chinese Gold Farming
Sources: BBC News
The crime is considered to be theft due to the fact that the furniture was paid for with real money.
It reminds me of the time that I played World of Warcraft on a regular basis. Occasionally people would sell their characters for multiple reasons. This was something that was not allowed by Blizzard .. saying that the characters were still their property. Those selling the characters would say that they were not selling the characters, but their time.
Additonally there are also the 'goldfarmers' who are farming money to sell later to players who won't want to take the time to collect it themselves.
A BBC report about this on YouTube: World of Warcraft - BBC News Coverage, Chinese Gold Farming
Sources: BBC News
Virtual Worlds
If we would have to believe 'Mondo 2000: A User's Guide to the New Edge' we would run around virtual worlds already using headmounted displays to navigate through those worlds. AS we all know, that hasn't quite happened just yet. These heads up displays, or projected environments are still very much like science fiction for those of us who are not working in the military. For example the latest fighter pilot helmets that display all the information inside the helmet, allowing the pilot to look around while at the same time having those important numbers right in front of their nose. And at the same time effectively reducing the necessity of the tradition HUD (Heads Up Display).
While virtual worlds are steadily increasing in popularity, from the early MUDS to the now booming MMORPG's (massive multiplayer online role playing games) or any game feature a multiplayer part. Whether it's offline or online, ... there are plenty of possible worlds to choose from. We can be knights, thieves, elves, orcs (Ultima Online, Everquest, Dark Age of Camelot, LotR online, Warhammer, Lineage, World of Warcraft), space pilots (EVE Online) .. or just explore the familiarity of a place that resembles our own reality (Second Life).
There are limits in how far we can be submerged in those worlds. Allthough there are a lot of stories about addiction to Online gaming we're not yet 'in' there. We are still limited by the 2d screen in front of our eyes.
Navigating online worlds is still very unefficient. We could be considered to be spoiled by the very basics of hyperlinks, clicks leading us directly to where we want to go. Having to walk around a virtual library to look for a book would seem rather pointless and a waste of time. Why else would the internet slowly be replacing libraries now? There are vast amounts of information available with a single mouseclick. Having to navigate a 3d world would be too cumbersome to be efficient, to be 'time-saving'. Having a totally immersive experience might not always be what we are looking for.
Sources: CNet
While virtual worlds are steadily increasing in popularity, from the early MUDS to the now booming MMORPG's (massive multiplayer online role playing games) or any game feature a multiplayer part. Whether it's offline or online, ... there are plenty of possible worlds to choose from. We can be knights, thieves, elves, orcs (Ultima Online, Everquest, Dark Age of Camelot, LotR online, Warhammer, Lineage, World of Warcraft), space pilots (EVE Online) .. or just explore the familiarity of a place that resembles our own reality (Second Life).
There are limits in how far we can be submerged in those worlds. Allthough there are a lot of stories about addiction to Online gaming we're not yet 'in' there. We are still limited by the 2d screen in front of our eyes.
Navigating online worlds is still very unefficient. We could be considered to be spoiled by the very basics of hyperlinks, clicks leading us directly to where we want to go. Having to walk around a virtual library to look for a book would seem rather pointless and a waste of time. Why else would the internet slowly be replacing libraries now? There are vast amounts of information available with a single mouseclick. Having to navigate a 3d world would be too cumbersome to be efficient, to be 'time-saving'. Having a totally immersive experience might not always be what we are looking for.
Sources: CNet
Attitude poll about the internet (and cyborgs?)
463.com and Zogby internation released the results of a poll about the attitudes of about 20.000 people concerning the internet. The questions concerned a wide range of subjects ranging from implants to God and significant others.
Two interesting answers were:
So while we're hesistant about subjecting our own brains to implants it is ok for our kids so we can keep an eye on them?
Sources: 463, (Through Read/WriteWeb)
Two interesting answers were:
- Implant the Internet in Your Brain. Americans may love the Internet, but most
are not prepared to implant it into their brain, even if it was safe. Only 11% of respondents said they be willing to safely implant a device that enabled them to use their mind to access the Internet. Interestingly, men were much more willing than women. Seventeen percent of men said they were up for it while only 7% of women wanted to access the Internet using their mind.
- Kids Chips.
While most Americans don’t want the Internet implanted in their brain, they are more willing to insert a chip into a child 13 or younger to help track them if they are lost, abducted, or just tend not to be where they are supposed to be. Nearly one in five Americans said they would do so to track a child’s whereabouts. Interestingly, there was no difference in opinion among parents who had younger children and those who did not.
So while we're hesistant about subjecting our own brains to implants it is ok for our kids so we can keep an eye on them?
Sources: 463, (Through Read/WriteWeb)
The Citizen Journalist Toolkit
According to Reuthers this kit contains everything a Citizen Journalist would need to survive in the world of newsmaking: a phone (the N95) that's able to go online and has a built-in GPS, a tripod for video interviews, a microphone and a charger working on solar power. How much good that will do in our cloud-covered part of the world is beyond me. But for the citizen journalist operating in the sunnier regions of the world it might be more appropriate.
Sources: Reuters, Nokia
Sources: Reuters, Nokia
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