901am

New Media News Every Morning

LimeWire to go against iTunes

By Leave a Comment

limewire-store.gif
Apple’s iTunes has another reason to worry this year. Popular peer-to-peer site LimeWire has launched its own online music store, following the move of other sites such as Napster and BitTorrent to go legit.

Currently in beta phase, LimeWire Store’s pricing structure is similar to iTunes – 99 cents per track. But there are also different payment plans like $10 for 25 downloads per month, $15 for 50 downloads, and $75 for 75.

However, it cannot yet compete against the massive collection of other online music stores. Initially, it holds more than 500,000 tracks mostly from indie artists but as Download Squad pointed out, it carries big names like Dolly Parton, Gloria Gaynor, Bell X1 and Josh Rouse.

LimeWires promises to update its collection and boasts it will add thousands of tracks daily from across all genres.

via AppScout

Originally posted on March 18, 2008 @ 6:25 am

China blocks YouTube and Google News access

By 2 Comments

free-tibet.gifChina is doing what it does best in times of crisis – block Internet access to control the flow of information. News and blogs report China has blocked Google News and YouTube to curb the distribution of video footages covering the violence happening in Tibet these days.

This trick is patterned after Myanmar’s signature move of cutting off Internet access to control information gathered during the last protest against military activities staged by Burmese monks.

Several videos were uploaded at YouTube showing peaceful demonstrations and marching. But there is also a restricted video showing the actual riots and injured bodies during the demonstration in Tibet. Even though this brutal clip is restricted to 18 years old and above, it is the most viewed video with more than 80,000 hits to date.

Originally posted on March 17, 2008 @ 1:33 pm

Should Internet addiction be treated as mental illness?

By 1 Comment

internet-addiction.gifAdmittedly, there is a growing number of people who are hooked on the Internet because of social networking sites, chats and emails, illegal downloading, online games and of course the never-ending saga of pornographic video clips and images.

I can only imagine the frustration, withdrawal symptoms and incessant craving of many people to connect online when that mysterious cut of 5 undersea cables in the Middle East took place.

That’s why it comes as no surprise that some medical experts are pushing to make Internet addiction as an official mental disorder. The Ottawa Citizen reports that Dr. Jerald Block, a psychiatrist at the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, pushes to include this in the upcoming Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. [Read more…]

Originally posted on March 17, 2008 @ 10:31 am

WWW inventors says “NO” to Internet tracking

By Leave a Comment

phorm.gifSir Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of Web, is protesting against the plan of many ISPs in the UK to install Phorm, an ad serving technology which tracks our online activities to deliver the most relevant ads at the right time and frequency.

In fact, BBC reports he’s very much willing to change ISP once this is implemented. This Semantic Web advocate compares Internet service to other utilities like water for it must supply “connectivity with no strings attached.”

Even though Phorm claims it protects personal privacy and provides protection against phishing sites, the company is compelled to offer a universal opt-out option due to negative publicity and complaints from privacy groups. Now, some ISPs are thinking about offering both opt-in and opt-out to avoid privacy issues with their client base.

Knowing the clout of Berners-Lee in the world he created and his theory about Semantic Web, it will be a tough challenge for the people behind Phorm to fine-tune its already tarnished image.

Originally posted on March 17, 2008 @ 12:35 pm

China now the world’s largest Internet market

By Leave a Comment

china-internet.gifIt’s inevitable. Reuters reported that Beijing-based research firm BDA claims China has outpaced US as the world’s biggest Internet market in terms of its users.

However, these are all based on projections and not on actual count. Based on data from China Internet Network Information Center, Internet users in the Great Firewall of China reached 210 million in 2007. Nielsen/NetRatings, on the other hand, records that US Internet population totaled 216 million in the same period.

Analyst Bin Liu said that if you simply assume the growth rates of both markets will remain the same as in 2007, you can easily conclude China is now ahead of US. Though China will certainly outpace US, this projection fails to factor in market trends shaping this industry in both countries and simply assumes all things to be equal.

Originally posted on March 13, 2008 @ 11:14 am