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Wikipedia to go dark tomorrow

It’s lights out for Wikipedia tomorrow as the site launches a public protest against American anti-piracy measures. The ubiquitous online encyclopaedia has officially announced that it has chosen to blackout the English version of Wikipedia on Wednesday in protest against proposed anti-piracy laws in the United States. The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the U.S. House of Representatives and its companion bill PROTECTIP (PIPA) in the U.S. Senate are designed to block access to sites containing unauthorised copyright material. Ultimately, content owners and the U.S. government would be given the power to request court orders to shut down sites associated with piracy

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Wikipedia to go dark tomorrow

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Netflix launches British invasion

It’s a full on streaming invasion as Netflix launches its services in the UK and Ireland. American film-streaming giant Netflix launched its services today in the United Kingdom and Ireland with a strong offensive in the streaming turf war against Amazon’s Lovefilm. “We are starting 2012 in the best possible way: by giving consumers in the UK and Ireland an amazing entertainment experience,” said Reed Hastings, co-founder and chief executive officer of Netflix. “Now, you can enjoy as many great films and TV programmes as you want, when you want, where you want, for one low monthly price with no contracts or commitments.” The world’s largest streaming service has 20 million members in the US, Canada and Latin America, and was so popular in the US it accounted for a third of all internet use in one quarter last year. Despite this, however, Netflix suffered several difficult setbacks in the past year, shedding 800,000 customers after changes to subscription prices, and prematurely launching breakaway Quickster before nixing the scheme almost immediately. The company has said it expects to lose money this year because of the UK expansion, as it competes with broadcasters who have their own web services, streaming companies like Lovefilm, and free services such as Channel 4′s 4oD and the BBC’s iPlayer.

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Netflix launches British invasion

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HMV to offer online film rentals

Entertainment retail chain HMV has announced the launch of its online rental service to prop up dwindling sales from its retail stores. The retailer is teaming up with FilmFlex to offer film rentals of new releases at hmvon-demand – the new site devoted to the rentals initiative. Despite expanding its in-store offerings – HMV now offers everything from music and film to books, electronics and merchandise – stiff competition from online retailers has caused sales to plummet. Last year, the retailer’s pre-tax profits tumbled from

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Dolby drops patent lawsuit against Blackberry makers

Dolby has withdrawn its lawsuit against BlackBerry makers Research in Motion (RIM), after the two companies reached an agreement on the use of patent protected technologies in the phones and in PlayBook tablets. The lawsuit was launched earlier this year when Dolby decided to sue RIM for use of its audio compression technology without having it licensed first. “Litigation was regrettably our last resort after RIM declined to pay for the use of Dolby’s technology,” said executive VP and general counsel, Andy Sherman, back in June. Dolby audio compression software, which greatly reduces file size, is used in a range of smartphones, tablets and music players, to allow for MP3 and AAC digital playback in such devices. During the ongoing patent infringement case, Dolby took steps to ensure that the Blackberry models and tablets that used their software were not sold in Germany and the United States. But now the suit has been dropped after the feuding companies managed to reach an undisclosed financial agreement, and RIM have sought licensing for the technology through Dolby subsidiary, Via Licensing Corporation

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Dolby drops patent lawsuit against Blackberry makers

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Bing Replaces Yahoo! as Number Two Search Engine

Microsoft Bing reached a major milestone for usage in August, the same month it officially became the technology which powers the Yahoo! search engine. According to PC Magazine, the latest statistics from The Nielsen Company show that Bing surpassed Yahoo! for the first time in August to become the second most-used search engine in the United States.

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Bing Replaces Yahoo! as Number Two Search Engine

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Google Instant Becomes Default Search Choice

The New York Times reported that Google Instant feature out of beta on Wednesday, bringing predictive searching to the masses. The new instant search feature predicts what a person’s Internet search queries will be as soon as they start typing and immediately brings back results which are updated as new characters are inputted into the search field.

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Google Instant Becomes Default Search Choice

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Yahoo! Japan to Use Google Search Technology

Just how popular is the Google search engine? Not only does it have a commanding market share inside the United States but it’s also the search engine of choice in many other parts of the world. This includes Japan and much of Asia. So while it’s not surprising that Google has announced a deal to expand its presence in Japan, the shocking news is that it has done so through a partnership with Yahoo! Japan.

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Yahoo! Japan to Use Google Search Technology

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On Tuesday, Google launched the latest version of its Google Image Search.

In a press conference at the company’s headquarters in San Francisco, Google vice president of search products Marissa Mayer said that the new version of Google Image Search would be even more powerful and leverage more tools to help users find the images they want.

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On Tuesday, Google launched the latest version of its Google Image Search.

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Yahoo! Launches Testing with Bing

As part of the Yahoo! and Microsoft Search Alliance, Yahoo! announced yesterday that they have started testing organic and paid search listings from Microsoft Bing for up to 25 percent of Yahoo! search traffic in the U.S.

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Yahoo! Launches Testing with Bing

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Google Unveils App Inventor

Who says apps are just for developers? Google on Monday announced the launch of App Inventor, a new tool in Google Labs that allows both programmers and non-programmers to create mobile applications for Android-powered devices. With the new tool, users — including professionals, students and the general public — can create just about any app they desire without having any prior programming experience.

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Google Unveils App Inventor

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