Gawker
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servicey
How Valleywag Got MySpace to Drop Its Sony Ban
Sony Pictures employees can now waste their time on MySpace again, thanks to Valleywag. (You're welcome.) Here's the tale, from inside Sony's Internet operations, of how our story got the ban lifted. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by ellagood: again, who goes on myspace? 3 Responses | Other threads
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breakdowns
Sony Moviemakers Banned from MySpace
A tipster tells us that when Sony employees in L.A. try to log onto MySpace, "it directs you to google.com." Bizarrely, Sony's IT staff is saying it's MySpace's fault. More » -
predictions
The Next Gadget Gods
This past year, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs began to focus on priorities other than tech. Who will fill their winged sandals and become the new Gadget Gods? [Gizmodo] -
hollywood
Could This Be the Worst Tech Movie Ever?
In our list of behind-the-times tech in Hollywood movies, we missed a classic: Little Black Book, a Brittany Murphy vehicle which centered around a girlfriend discovering her boyfriend's PDA.
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By Owen ThomasComment by Sebastian Junior: Far be it from me to play devils advocate, but LBB was actually a good film. Granted, the dumb... 2 Responses | Other threads
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earnings
Apple now in position to put Sony out of its misery
Pundits like to blab that Apple should buy Sony. With quarterly profits down 72 percent, SNE's market value is now a stupefyingly low 58 percent of its book value. Steve must be tempted. Buy Sony. Shut it down. More »
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By Paul BoutinComment by FiveStarEggRoll: Apple buying Sony makes about as much sense as Tesla, with a newly discovered coffer full of mad cash, buying... 3 Responses | Other threads
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videogames
Afrika, a game where you can't shoot the animals
Executives at Sony are forecasting 100,000 sales for this week's release of Afrika, a game where you play photojournalist and shoot photos instead of bad guys. It's a major departure from exploratory games of the Myst genre, or the build-your-own landscape of Second Life. Afrika's premise is that the high-definition animals will be so much fun to watch that you won't be bored out of your mind. What I want to know: How long until the furries hack their way into the scenery?
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By Paul BoutinComment by Valleygrrl: They completely ripped off an idea released by another company. I hope this game dies the death it deserves. Stealing... 2 Responses | Other threads
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hardware
Former PC World chief: Macs no more expensive than PCs
"A MacBook is in the same ballpark as a roughly similar Dell or HP, and less than a Sony." That's the conclusion of Technologizer editor Harry McCracken, after running the numbers several different ways on competing notebooks. The MacBook didn't win most hardware categories, but it came out well-rounded, with superior warranty service and media software. McCracken, until recently the editor in chief of PC World, was infamous among local tech journalists for toting Apple laptops to work.
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By Paul BoutinComment by garbanzo314: Manage a few hundred Macs and get back to me on the total cost argument. For individual home users, the... more » | Other threads
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format wars
Earth to Blu-ray: Come back next decade
A new survey found that more than half of 1,000 consumers polled have no plans to buy a Blu-ray player. About one in four claimed they'll probably buy one in 2009, but you know how that goes. It's not hard to spot what stops them: $300 or more for a player and more than $20 per disc for most popular movies. Manufacturers and studios that backed the cheaper HD-DVD format can say it now: We told you so.
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By Paul BoutinComment by BluFan: I'm sorry, but there's no use in still making the HD-DVD v Blu-ray comparisons... HD-DVD while cheaper, had no real... more » | Other threads
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intervention
Sony hopes L.A. geographic will cure Crackle.com's addiction to losing money
Michael Lynton, can we talk? You may hope that you can manage your online-video issues by relocating the staff of Crackle.com, the money-losing startup you acquired for Sony in 2006, from Sausalito to Culver City. I'm sure with your experience at AOL and at Hollywood, you're confident enough to believe it's a business you can handle. But the real first step is admitting that you have a problem. We know all the cool kids were doing it when you purchased the site, then known as Grouper, for $65 million, but the $100 million you are rumored to have spent on satisfying your bandwidth cravings and making new employee and content-producer "friends" just shows how far you've sunk toward rock bottom. I can't imagine mainlining another 10-gigabit connection at a new San Diego datacenter will help. The good news, Michael, is that you're not alone. Eric Schmidt's YouTube habit has proven unmanageable as well. The note from a laid-off employee after the jump may feel like tough love, Michael, but think of it as an intervention from someone who cares. More »
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By Jackson WestComment by britneyspearstears: The above is an Internet joke, please don't ban me. more » | Other threads
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confirmed
Rocketboom, which still exists, signs distribution deal with Sony
Rocketboom founder Andrew Baron, who didn't invent the Internet, video, or Internet video, but did prove back in 2006 that its possible to become Internet famous with quick, quirky edits and a pretty girl's face, has announced a "seven-figure" distribution deal with Sony, TechCrunch reports, confirming a rumor we floated earlier this summer. Sony will distribute Baron's show over its PS3 videogame consoles, PlayStation Portables, and Bravia I-Link TVs.
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Comment by giania: Great, another craptacular addition to the useless PS3 online store. more » | Other threads
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earnings
Sony, Toshiba not so hot — slack sales lead to weak Q2 results
Sony missed expectations for the second quarter of 2008, posting a 47 percent fall in net profit to $326 million. Sony execs blamed weak phone sales. Toshiba reported a loss of $108 million, blaming a downturn in semiconductor sales.
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By Paul BoutinComment by jackparsons: They blame a downturn in semiconductor sales. I blame the woefully inadequate faux reflections. more » | Other threads
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format wars
Mankind's destiny fulfilled: Wireless home HDTV in 2009
Sony, Samsung, Motorola and Hitachi have banded together to adopt Amimon's ready-and-shipping wireless HDTV chips for next year's products. Because the products will have no cable jacks, the new gear will sport a conspicuous logo that indicates it will connect to other devices with the same logo. If you want to play pundit, predict a format war between Amimon's WHDI and SiBeam's WirelessHD, which other manufacturers are tinkering with. But if you want to know who will win, Amimon's technology is already shipping and SiBeam's isn't.
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By Paul BoutinComment by Paul Boutin: I have Wi-Fi at home, of course, but the Valleywag iMac still runs a cable all the way back to... more » | Other threads
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feature
Dell and Sony discover gold in the old
A relentless neophilia is Silicon Valley's signature characteristic. One must have a new iPhone, a new Twitter, a new electric car. You're either in beta or in the grave. That's why I'm intrigued by two decisions by Dell and Sony. Dell has figured out a way to wriggle around Microsoft's licensing rules and still sell its discontinued Windows XP operating system. Sony, meanwhile, is profitably selling its nine-year-old PlayStation 2 videogame console in markets like India. This just isn't done. More » -
online video
Veronica Belmont hosting new Sony PlayStation advertorial
The other gig Veronica Belmont alluded to after leaving Mahalo and signing up as a cohost on Revision3's Tekzilla? It's Qore, a new show for Sony's PlayStation Network that PlayStation 3 owners can purchase and download for $2.99 each or $24.99 for a baker's dozen of episodes over the season. More »
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By Jackson WestComment by Carlos: woahhhh, if she keeps this up she's gonna have a weekly reach of 100 viewers before long more » | Other threads
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online advertising
Like your PlayStation 3? You're going to love the ads
Sony will open its PlayStation 3 console to to in-game ads from outside agencies, starting with IGA Worldwide. If you want to play on the Xbox, though, you'll still have to go through Microsoft subsidiary Massive. As for Google's in-games ad unit, it's doing really well — at least when you compare it to, say, Google's television and radio advertising projects. [Forbes]
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Comment by Shadowlayer: I can't believe that after some many studies showing how useless in-game advertising is (gamers hate it and won't pay... more » | Other threads
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copyfight
Revision3 CEO: Antipiracy group attacked our network
Jim Louderback, the CEO of Revision3, is jumpin' mad. A denial-of-service attack brought down the online-video network over the weekend, and it wasn't the work of a freelance hacker with a distributed network of compromised machines, he writes in the company blog. It was, he says, the deliberate act of MediaDefender, an antipiracy consulting group which works to shut down file-sharing networks. Revision3 uses BitTorrent, a file-sharing protocol, to distribute its own content, and runs a "tracker" server to coordinate those downloads. All of this is quite legal. MediaDefender, it turns out, found a security hole in Revision3's server, and planted unknown files, possibly illegal copies on Revision3's servers, for their own purposes. It's not clear why, but whatever the motive, MediaDefender may have broken several laws in doing so. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by raincoaster: @pdave: Does neither side have a competent lawyer? Contracts to commit/assist in illegal acts are void. Like, duh. more » | Other threads
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earnings
Sony delivers predictably mixed results
Sony reported quarterly revenues of $19.5 billion, down 6.5 percent in dollar terms from the same quarter last year, but flat if counted in yen. Profits rose to $290 million. Sony's videogames business sank 6.4 percent to $2.6 billion, but is expected to become more profitable as sales shift from money-losing consoles to videogame titles. [PaidContent] -
marketing
Neil Young versus the bloggers at JavaOne
As part of Neil Young's appearance at Sun's JavaOne conference, groups of hacks were herded into a conference room to ask questions of the aging rock legend, presumably about how awesome Java is, but I think the plan is that Java is just awesome because Young says so, and he trotted out an expansive interactive discography powered by the Java functionality built into Sony's Blu-ray hardware and a clean car project with telemetrics powered by Sun-sponsored software. Because I doubt there's anything baby boomer executives and the formerly flannel-shirted Gen-X set they spawned like more than getting the most out of their cars and home theater systems. Except maybe hearing Young pontificate on the virtues of an all-analog recording process. More »
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By Jackson WestComment by Randolf: The only Xers with Boomer parents are on the very cusps. My parents are squarely Silent/Eisenhower generation, and think... more » | Other threads
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online video
Obscene iTunes profit margins finally win Hollywood's heart
Steve Jobs has finally wooed all the major studios, including Fox, Warner Bros., Sony, Paramount and Universal, to sell movie downloads on the day DVDs are released. On Friday, you'll be able to wait a while as American Gangster downloads over your crappy American broadband connection for $14.99. And it will be delivered in lower quality than standard DVDs, without any of those annoying extra features. But it will have Apple's DRM installed with every copy! What finally brought Hollywood to the table? More »
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By Jackson WestComment by BartKela: Hasn't Steve-o admitted that the profits from the iTunes Store are nominal and that its primary function is to drive... more » | Other threads
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defamer
Why Don't We Feel Better About All These New Movies on ITunes?
The inevitable grouping of the major studios under the iTunes roof finally occurred today, when Apple officially announced it had reached agreements with Universal, Paramount, Fox, Warner Bros., Sony and Lionsgate (along with previous bedfellow Disney) on day-and-date downloads of their new DVD titles. The studios had made most releases available for rental since earlier this year (with catalog titles for sale before that), but this marks the first time users can buy and download new releases on their DVD street dates. More »
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By STVComment by johnnypotatoes: I don't get it. If they want to charge that much, and people are willing to pay for it, how... more » | Other threads
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acqusitions
Sony shells out $260 million for Gracenote
Sony has acquired Gracenote, the company whose software tells digital music listeners what song they're annoying fellow BART riders with. Sony paid $260 million for Emeryville-based digital media identification company Gracenote, and is likely to integrate its services with its digital audio players. [AP]
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Comment by Grimmtooth: Oh, great. I wonder how long it will be before they find a way to blow up WinAMP or other... more » | Other threads
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fresh start
Sony loses $50 per laptop thanks to those meddling bloggers
Tech bloggers are all worked up again. They're pissed that favorite whipping-boy Sony is charging $50 to not include "bundles" of trial software with new PC's. Engadget's Paul Miller writes:Or here's an idea, Sony: stop trying to milk profits and start giving consumers laptops that actually work out of the box.
Sony is just trying to take care of their shareholders by keeping margins up — just like any other manufacturer. The company thought it could get away with charging $50 to replace lost revenue from paid placement of trial software without anyone noticing the absurdity of the situation. After the uproar, Sony changed its tune and will now offer its "Fresh Start" option for free. We suspect the other computer makers will follow suit shortly. Sony, next time just keep your mouth shut and we'll all get rich, ok?
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Comment by digimint: dell does the same thing. a year ago i sent back 2 computers to them because it had trial ware... more » | Other threads
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layoffs
Sony video site Crackle lays off 8 out of 60 employees
Sony laid off eight people from its video site Crackle.com today, one former employee tells us. Crackle was called Grouper when Sony bought it for $50 million in August 2006. And though Grouper was founded a year before YouTube, the headstart didn't help much. Check out the chart below. More »
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Comment by nobuggin: Those greedy founders could have made 10,000X profit if they were truly going to be the world's first youtube. Obviously,... more » | Other threads
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hardware
Sony turns to Sharp for LCD supply
Do most flat-screen TVs strike you as numbingly similar? That's because under the hood, they are. LCD production is consolidating into an ever smaller number of suppliers. Sony and Samsung compete on store shelves, but they buy their LCDs from the same company — S-LCD, a joint venture. Now Sony is forming a new joint venture with Sharp, another fierce rival. Why? Moore's Law, the overlord of chips, is moving into the TV world. Making an LCD screen requires skill in handling silicon, and billion-dollar investments: Sharp's latest plant costs $3.5 billion, an expense Sony will now subsidize. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by Jhonka: Don't forget the other major LCD panel producers if for computer screens. Most of your LCD panels are from Samsung... more » | Other threads
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format wars
The value of Blu-ray to Sony? At least $400 million. That's the amount Sony supposedly paid Warner Bros. to drop rival HD-DVD and go Blu-ray only for its high-definition movie releases. [The Globe and Mail] -
hardware
Smaller chip mean a cheaper PS3 — and a comeback for Sony
Gadget battles are won and lost on the price of components. In that regard, Sony has had poor luck with its latest PlayStation console. Its hulking size, exorbitant price, and dearth of interesting titles left it vulnerable to the Wii's unexpected rise. Gamers were more interested in the Wii's casual fun than the PS3's sophisticated Cell processor, especially since the available games hardly made much use of the expensive piece of gear. But the Cell is about to get cheaper. Manufacturer IBM has reduced the size of the chip to 45 nanometers, a technological leap which will at once make the processor cheaper and easier to cool, requiring a smaller case. Good news, at long last, for Sony.
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Comment by x40sw0n: One difference is that traditionally Sony (unlike Microsoft and Nintendo) actually does lower the prices of the hardware; they did... more » | Other threads
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videogames
On Wii and PS3's home turf, Microsoft cuts Xbox price 20 percent
In Japan, Microsoft has dropped the price of its entry-level Xbox 360 to around $260 — less than it costs in America. The software giant hopes to gain some traction in the tough Japanese market. Microsoft has had tremendous difficulties selling the Xbox in Japan, moving only 257,800 consoles last year, compared to Sony's 1.2 million PlayStation 3s and 3.6 million Nintendo Wiis. Somehow, we suspect just dropping the price won't get the job done.
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Comment by gildorn: ... in Japan even Twilight Princess was not very popular compared with Wind Waker--in the US, Twilight Princess was significantly... more » | Other threads
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amazon.com
Amazon.com's search results promote Kindle
For years, retailers have given preferential shelf space to certain products — sometimes because they are higher margin, or because the manufacturer has paid for that placement. Should Amazon.com be any different? During the holiday season, the online retailer listed its Kindle e-reader at the very top in search results for "sony reader." Clever! Even better, a search for "kindle" doesn't mention its Sony competitor at all. My personal favorite? A number of customers have tagged the Kindle with "sony reader." That's what loser-generated content gives you, I guess. -
confirmed
Apple lands all six major studios for movie rentals
Just confirmed at Macworld: all six major studios are onboard for iTunes movie rentals. That's Walt Disney, Warner Brothers, Paramount, Sony, 20th Century Fox and Universal.Variety thought Sony, Universal and Warner Bros. were unlikely to sign on for "various competitive reasons." Maybe there's hope for the flailing Apple TV yet. Why? It's all you need to access the films. No computer required. (Photo by Boereck)
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Comment by macbeach: Actually I think it was better at first. I had downloaded a couple years worth of a favorite TV... more » | Other threads
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format wars
Sony wins Blu-ray, loses online-video war
I'm as ready as anyone to declare Sony the victor in the epic high-definition disc battle. Its Blu-ray, now supported by Warner Bros., looks set to best Toshiba's HD-DVD. In Hollywood, where they still care about the industrial process of shipping plastic discs by the millions to retail stores, this matters. In the Valley, we've long since moved on. Sony executives still dream of formats, hardware, and an empire of lock-in. To them, "software" means the creative content screened in theaters, dropped into CD players, or played on a videogame console. That's why they're doomed to lose the real war. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by gkanapathy: Really, WMA and Fairplay aren't a "format"? They don't constitute a way to create an "empire of lock-in"? From what it... more » | Other threads
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digital music
Sony tells listeners how to copy its music
Sony may be prepared to throw away copy-protection software on some of its music in early 2008, but that doesn't mean it's freed all its tunes. That's why, in the meantime, it has supplied a helpful guide for any iPod owners who'd like to circumvent the restrictions on Sony's protected Windows Media song files. It's the age-old trick of burning a CD and ripping it. This has more to do with the ubiquitousness of Apple's iPod and Sony's complete lack of MP3 player market share than any actual regrets about using copy protection, we suspect. -
digital music
Sony strips Justin Timberlake bare for Amazon's MP3 store
Justin Timberlake, released by Sony's Jive label, will soon be available in MP3. This big news we found buried in a report that Sony BMG, the last of the four major record labels to hold onto copy-protection software, is finally going to embrace the MP3 format. The inevitable decision has generated a lot of drivel from mainstream publications about how industry titans are dropping DRM, whatever that is, and banding together to overthrow Apple's stringent 99-cents pricing regime. Amazon.com, the copy-protection-free alternative they're embracing, is more flexible on the cost of individual tracks. More » -
online advertising
Why big brands are getting Facebook wrong
Facebook applications were supposed to provide advertisers with compelling new ways to mine for customers on the Web, but the results have not panned out. Sony attempted to capitalize on the Facebook buzz and the holiday season with a branded snowglobe application. Just the sort of useless eye candy popular on the social network, but the application garnered less than 500 installations and only 35 active users. Why? More »
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By Tim FaulknerComment by esk11211: I don't disagree with Dave McClure, but I wrote my own opinion on our site. videoegg.com/blog more » | Other threads
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apple
Disney signs up for iTunes digital movie rentals
As expected, Disney has signed a deal with Apple to provide digital movie rentals over iTunes. The terms are similar to last week's deal with Fox. While this isn't particularly surprising — Steve Jobs owns a huge chunk of Disney from when the company bought his Pixar animation studio — it is good news for Apple. Can you name any Fox movies off the top of your head? Neither can I. But I know a ton of Disney flicks that are worth watching. Among them, Pixar's small but universally brilliant library of family movies, which will help iTunes appeal to moms and dads. OK, so that's two studios down. What about the rest? Variety reports that Sony, Universal and Warner Bros. are unlikely to sign on for "various competitive reasons." More »
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Comment by kfury: Sure Fox doesn't have as much brand recognition in any given film as Disney does, but think about how often... more » | Other threads
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apple
Apple and 20th Century Fox strike digital movie rental deal
The Financial Times reports that Apple and News Corp.'s 20th Century Fox film studio have signed a deal for digital movie rentals. Consumers will be able to rent the latest Fox DVD releases from iTunes for a limited time. The deal, which will likely be announced at Macworld in January, would likely be matched with an upgrade for the woebegotten Apple TV which has been de facto dead on arrival since it was released. It is suspected that Disney, which has extremely close ties with Apple — Steve Jobs is its largest shareholder after Mickey bought his Pixar animation studio — will be on board at launch as well. More » -
deals
Dubai buys stake in Sony
Last week, AMD announced that the Abu Dhabi government was buying 8 percent of the company for $622 million. Now, Dubai International Capital, an investment vehicle for Sheikh Al Maktoum, ruler of the Persian Gulf emirate, has bought a "substantial" stake in Sony. The firm said it invested because of Sony's "ongoing strategy of focusing on capital efficiency and cash generation." Shares in Sony rose 4.6 percent on the news. No word on who Fox Business Network's silver-tongued anchors named as the buyer, but we're sure it was amusing.
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Comment by sample032: Strange to see them investing in Japan. Lately, I've seen Sony as a company that's slowly dying. PS3 was an... more » | Other threads
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online video
ITunes to offer movie rentals?
Apple fanatics have uncovered some code in an iTunes software update hinting at a video rental service. Now every blogger on the planet is running around like decapitated chickens. Why the fuss? We all know iTunes video sales aren't rocking. This is an inevitable move on Apple's part as rivals move in. Rental is the business model of choice for Vudu, Microsoft's Xbox 360, and most likely Sony's PlayStation 3. For some reason, content producers feel it's more piracy-proof than direct sales. Don't cancel your Netflix memebership just yet, though. Building the code into iTunes is one thing. Striking agreements with balky Hollywood studios is quite another. -
videogames
Sony's game division suffered a massive $847 million loss during its second quarter thanks to the turgid sales of its Playstation 3 console, which retails at a loss. The fiscal year end global sales goal is 11 million units. So far, the company has "delivered" (not necessarily sold) a scant 1.91 million PS3s. [CNN Money]
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Comment by nirreskeya: I'll buy one as soon as Nico (or whatever they call it) is released. more » | Other threads
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north america
Read The 40GB PS3 Press Release
For those who enjoy reading press releases, we've got *gasp* a press release! Make that the full release about the non-BC 40GB PLAYSTATION 3 that is slated for North America. It's out November 2nd. Alright, who's buying? [Kotaku]
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Comment by EnigmaNemesis: @Bakachan: "He was spouting idiotic console fanboy gibberish" should honestly be an acceptable legal defense for SETTING SOMEONE ON FIRE. You almost... more » | Other threads
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breaking
40GB PS3 Bound for America, BC Is "Secondary"
And just in time for Christmas! Bet you didn't see that coming. The 40GB PLAYSTATION 3 will go on sale November 2nd, which is before the console drops in Japan (November 11th), but after Europe (October 10th). No word whether America will be getting the Ceramic White version that will go on sale in both Japan and Korea. The 40GB version will retail for US $400, while the 80GB version will get a hundred price cut from $600 to $500. The 40GB PLAYSTATION 3 will not be able to play PS2 games — unlike previous versions of the consoles, which either featured BC or gimped BC. Addressing this issue, Sony Computer Entertainment of American honcho Jack Tretton remarked: [Kotaku]
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Comment by hagridore: ENTRY [kotaku.com] Because I like cheaper stuff.. more » | Other threads
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