A new feature wherein All Things Digital looks at up-and-coming and innovative start-ups you should know about.
This week: A video visit with, some questions for and a few pertinent stats about Chris Wetherell and his creation, Brizzly, a Web-based social media reader.
by Miguel Bustillo and Bobby White, Reporters, The Wall Street Journal
Some of the biggest companies backing the Blu-ray format for high-definition movies are hedging their bets by introducing players that can also show Internet video, which is making surprising inroads in the home-entertainment market.
by Vanessa O'Connell and Elva Ramirez, Reporters, The Wall Street Journal
A self-described iPhone freak, designer Norma Kamali spends each morning reading the day’s headlines on her gadget’s current-events application. To unwind, she plays Scrabble on a game app. When her miniature dachshund Zeke acts up, Ms. Kamali looks up her iPhone’s encyclopedia on canine ailments.
by Marisa Taylor, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
The Electronic Frontier Foundation’s latest effort to call out what it considers violations of copyright and trademark law comes in the form of a mock-awards page, complete with “honorees,” called the Takedown Hall of Shame.
The tech-advocacy group highlights a handful of cases it calls “the most egregious examples of takedown abuse,” usually involving businesses or organizations that cry foul–or issue takedown notices–even when their copyrighted materials are used in accordance with fair-use laws.
by Andrew LaVallee, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
The creators of “iDon’t Care,” a video spoofing Motorola and Verizon Wireless’s “iDon’t” ad, said some of their detractors are missing the point.
Three Boston-area ad-agency staffers developed “iDon’t Care.” They said they aren’t affiliated with Apple or any of the other companies involved in the original campaigns–they are, however, iPhone and Mac loyalists, said Jon, one of the video’s editors.
Hollywood stars are going virtual, in the latest effort to jazz up the printed word–and wake up consumers who have become inured to traditional ads.
Hearst Corp.’s Esquire magazine will pepper its December issue with markers that trigger interactive video segments featuring cover subject Robert Downey Jr. and other actors, as well as an ad for Lexus.
by Loretta Chao, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
The number of Facebook users in China is dwindling. Or to be more exact: falling off a cliff. And not by choice, as anyone who has tried to access Facebook in China recently knows.
It’s no secret among people in the Internet business in China that Facebook was interested in the world’s largest Internet user population.
by Andrew LaVallee, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
A month ahead of its release, Susan Boyle’s album has more advance orders on Amazon.com than any CD in the retailer’s history, it said.
The Sony album, titled “I Dreamed a Dream,” goes on sale on Nov. 23. Ms. Boyle sang the song by the same name on “Britain’s Got Talent,” and the video of her unexpectedly strong performance made her a world-wide phenomenon after it landed on video-sharing sites like YouTube.
Walt Disney Co. is close to unveiling technology that it says will enable entertainment companies to adapt their business models to a new reality in which consumers increasingly rely on computers and cell phones in place of DVD players and TVs.
by Christopher Rhoads and Niraj Sheth, Reporters, The Wall Street Journal
In the early years of the Internet, the more time people spent online, the more they paid a provider like AOL for their connection. But as customers have shifted to always-on broadband services, many Web surfers have enjoyed all-you-can-eat Internet for a flat rate.
Computer graphics usually comes with a tradeoff: Users get to see extremely realistic images, or pictures that can be viewed interactively, but not both. Nvidia believes those days are ending.
The Silicon Valley chip company on Tuesday announced plans to offer a combination of hardware and software that can generate three-dimensional images that are almost indistinguishable from photographs–and do so in a matter of seconds, not the hours that such chores typically require.
Samsung Electronics Co. said it will set up a joint venture to build a 7.5-generation liquid crystal display panel plant in Suzhou, China, that will cost about 2.6 trillion won ($2.25 billion).
A new executive team at MySpace is trying to reignite the brand by focusing on areas like music, videos and games as users abandon the social-networking site for cooler destinations.
MySpace, which is holding a conference this week for its global ad-sales staff, needs to lure visitors back and kick-start advertising revenue, ad executives say.
In an interview with John Byrne, BusinessWeek.com’s executive editor/editor-in-chief, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings conceded that his business faces similar troubles to what magazines are up against, as the use of broadband video is set to rise.
Qualcomm Inc., which is known more for cellphone chips than products sold to consumers, is betting that a new pocket-sized device will spur more interest in mobile TV.
The San Diego-based company late Tuesday announced that a subsidiary will begin offering what it calls FLO TV Personal Television. Qualcomm said U.S. retailers are expected to offer the device over this holiday season at a suggested price of $249.99.
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