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Archives for May 2007

Google acquires photo-sharing site Panoramio

Google Acquires PanoramioGoogle is acquiring Panoramio, a photo-sharing site where users can “map their photos” by linking them to the exact location on the Google Earth maps where the photos were taken.

Based in Spain, Panoramio has been using the Google Earth technology for months to provide digital photographers a unique photo-sharing experience by linking photos with places. Each user can store up to 2GB worth of images (about 2000 photos with a 4MP camera) and “pin” them anywhere in the map.

“Those of you already using Google Earth have no doubt noticed Panoramio’s striking images documenting settings from all over the world, like moonscapes in Croatia; dramatic sunsets in Australia, and innovative architecture in the United Arab Emirates,” Google Earth director John Hanke said. “Panoramio has been working with Google to incorporate Panoramio photos into Google Earth for some time. We believed a deeper relationship would add value to the Panoramio experience for our users.”

Panoramio’s site announcement says the acquisition is to be closed sometime mid-June. Financial terms and conditions of the deal were not disclosed.

eHarmony sued for discriminating gays

eHarmonyPopular online dating site eHarmony was sued for alleged discrimination based on sexual orientation in Los Angeles Superior Court, Thursday. This came about when a certain Linda Carlson was denied access to the social network because she is gay.

The first lawsuit of its kind against eHarmony, Carlson’s lawyers accuse them for refusing to provide “men seeking men” or women seeking women” options since it was founded in 2000.

“The research that eHarmony has developed, through years of research, to match couples has been based on traits and personality patterns of successful heterosexual marriages,” eHarmony said, denying the allegations of discriminations against gays, lesbians and bisexuals. “Nothing precludes us from providing same-sex matching in the future. It’s just not a service we offer now based upon the research we have conducted,” they added.

Established by an evangelical Christian, Dr. Neil Clark Warren, who’s involved with religious conservative groups, eHarmony has currently about 12 million registered users. With its share of the market and television ads, eHarmony is among the biggest Internet dating sites in the country.

RealNetworks introduces new RealPlayer

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RealNetworks unveiled the new RealPlayer, the first media player to make it one-click simple to download online videos from thousands of web sites. The new RealPlayer makes it easy for consumers to watch videos whenever and wherever they want, burn them to DVD and CD, and share video links with friends. Most major formats are supported, including Real, Windows Media, Flash, and Quicktime. The new RealPlayer will be available for free beginning next month at RealPlayer.com.

“The new RealPlayer gives consumers more control of Internet video than was ever possible before,” said Rob Glaser, chairman and CEO of Real. “By floating a “download this video” button next to video seen on thousands of web sites, RealPlayer makes it one-click simple. The new RealPlayer is a major step towards realizing our vision of bringing great digital entertainment to more people on more screens around the world.”

YouTube, EMI signs deal

emi.jpgYouTube has agreed to a deal with major music label EMI Group to give users of the video-sharing site broad access to music videos by EMI artists.

YouTube users would be allowed not only to watch and play authorized videos and recordings from EMI artists including Coldplay, Norah Jones and David Bowie, but also to incorporate elements of the videos in YouTube users’ own “user generated content.”

“With this deal, all four of the world’s major music companies are now official YouTube partners,” said Chad Hurley, CEO and Co-founder of YouTube. “EMI is a proven leader in the emerging digital music landscape and one of the world’s largest and most respected music companies. We’re excited to add EMI Music’s stellar roster of artists’ content to our site and make it available to our community.”

Eric Nicoli, CEO of EMI Group, said: “Working with YouTube under this agreement meets EMI’s objectives to offer consumers the best possible entertainment experiences, to create new ways to connect our artists to fans and to enter into innovative business models that will generate revenues for our business and our creators. Through this agreement EMI Music and its artists will be fairly compensated for their work.”

Last year, Warner Music Group Corp., Universal Music Group and Sony BMG Entertainment each signed a content deal with YouTube. As part of the agreements each music company took a small stake in YouTube, prior to it being bought by Google, according to sources familiar with the talks.

BBC to broadcast in Second Life

secondlife.jpgThe BBC is set to broadcast its first ever full program in a virtual world this Friday. Virtual World, Real Millions will be shown simultaneously on BBC2 and at the Rivers Run Red Cinema in Second Life on June 1 at 7pm GMT.

The program looks at the growth of virtual worlds, wth Philip Rosedale, creator of Second Life providing commentary. It also features interviews with marketing company Rivers Run Red, which has amassed a multi-million pound turnover by trading inside virtual worlds, and the team behind Reebok’s virtual stores.