Category: Software

MUMBAI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has proposed that cable TV service providers in conditional access system (CAS) areas to offer digital set-top boxes (STBs) on a monthly rental scheme of Rs 30 and a refundable security deposit of Rs 999.
 
 Subscribers will also have the other option to take the permanent rental scheme with no security deposit. But the monthly rent in this case would be higher. They also have the choice of subscribing to analogue boxes.

Under the first scheme, the regulator has said that subscribers would own the box after five years and no monthly rentals would have to be paid after that.
 
In case of a period before five years, the multi system operator (MSO) or cable operator shall be entitled to make deductions from the refundable security deposit at the rate of Rs 12.50 for every month or part of the month for which the subscriber has used a STB taken on rent or lease. The deductions will be made upon the submission of the STB in working condition.

Under the standard tariff package (STP), subscribers will have the second option of not paying any security deposit but the monthly rental will be higher at Rs 45 per STB. For analogue boxes, the rent will be Rs 23 per month per STB.

“In both options, there will be no payment for installation, activation charges, smart card/viewing card, repair and maintenance cost. Stakeholders are also free to suggest any other option as a STP,” Trai said today in a release.

“Since the Indian standards do permit analogue STBs, an option for these boxes has also been provided under the second category,” the regulator added.

Trai‘s draft of the tariff proposals for STBs has invited comments of the stakeholders. Stakeholders may comment on these alternatives as well as suggest any other options for Trai to consider.

“It has been proposed that each service provider should at least offer one STP in addition to any other alternate tariff package. The rationale behind this proposal is that every consumer should have the choice of choosing from amongst various alternatives of which at least one should be a package that is approved by Trai,” today‘s release said.

Trai‘s proposed draft tariff order for STB schemes in CAS areas follows the government‘s notification on 31 July that CAS would be implemented in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. Earlier, the division bench of the Delhi High Court had passed an order directing implementation of CAS with effect from 31 December in these three metros.

MUMBAI: Apple has announced that music fans have purchased and downloaded more than 200 million songs from its European iTunes music stores in just over two years.

The iTunes music catalog now includes more than three million songs from major music companies and over 1,000 independent record labels.
 
Launched in the UK, France and Germany in June 2004, the iTunes Music Store now operates in 17 European countries. All iTunes Music Stores offer features, breakthrough pricing and integration with iPod.

Apple VP iTunes Eddy Cue says, “The number of songs downloaded and purchased from the iTunes Music Stores in Europe have tripled in the past year from 50 million to 200 million. We are thrilled that music fans in Europe have shown such enthusiasm for the artists and exclusive music content found only on iTunes and would like to thank them for making iTunes such a success.”

With Apple saying that it has pioneered features such as integrated video and podcasting support, iMix playlist sharing, seamless integration with iPod and groundbreaking personal use rights, the iTunes Music Store is the best way for Mac and PC users to legally discover, purchase and download music and videos online. The iTunes Music Store features a selection of over 2,500 music videos, Pixar short films, and more than three million songs from the major music companies and over 1,000 independent labels.

MUMBAI: Discovery Networks Asia -a division of real -world entertainment company Discovery Communications- coupled with the leading mobile communications company Nokia‘s initiative giving consumers the opportunity to try their hand at mobile filmmaking for the Mobile FilmMakers 2006 Awards sees ten Indians in the list of short-listed applicants as semi finalists.

The 10 semi-finalists -J. Philip, Jeevan Konkar, Kayoom Mohd. Hanif Mistry, Koushik Choudhury, Kshitij Shankhdhar, Prasad Indap, Sajal Maiti, Samrat Sengupta, Sunil Babbar, and Tushar Joshi – have attended a special workshop on 5 August in New Delhi to learn the finer points of filmmaking and vie for a place in the finals.
 
Organized by Discovery Networks Asia and Nokia, local filmmaker Saumya Sen was present at the workshop to offer insights and invaluable tips on mobile filmmaking. Similar workshops will also be conducted in other countries for semi-finalists from across the region.

The workshops, conducted by experts in the industry, provide the semi-finalists with an opportunity to further hone their filmmaking skills. The semi-finalists will also learn about the many filmmaking functions and features of the Nokia N90, which they will be using to shoot a 30-second clip.

A panel of judges comprising representatives from Discovery and Nokia will select the best two clips, and the two finalists will represent India at the regional workshop in Singapore. Finalists from all participating countries will be announced at a later date. The grand prize winner will take home USD$10,000 cash and will also win a three-month stint at Discovery‘s regional headquarters in Singapore.
 
The Mobile FilmMakers 2006 Awards is the second collaboration between Discovery Networks Asia and Nokia, following the success of last year‘s initiative. This initiative empowers mobile phone users everywhere with the knowledge and technology of mobile filmmaking at their fingertips, and provides them with the opportunity to showcase their talent.

Discovery Networks Asia senior VP of programming and creative services James Gibbons said, “We were very impressed by the quality of entries this year. We hope to uncover more new talent from India and other countries throughout the region. The number of entries received also shows that interest in the genre of mobile filmmaking is growing, and an increasing number of people are taking an interest not only in snapping photos with their mobile phones, but also in shooting their own mobifilms and expressing their creativity in a different medium. The Mobile FilmMakers initiative has clearly helped change the traditional concept of mobile phones, and has taken filmmaking in an exciting new direction.”

Nokia business manager, imaging solutions, Shyam Sundar said, “The training that the semi-finalists and finalists of the Mobile FilmMakers 2006 Awards will receive during the workshops are invaluable. We hope the workshop participants will not only put their new-found skills to good use, but also teach others in their community to build the mobile filmmaking genre. With devices like the Nokia 90, and the soon to be released Nokia N93, both armed with Carl Zeiss optics, we hope to make mobile filmmaking a common and enjoyable activity amongst camera phone users.”

To enter the contest, applicants were required to submit a brief written description of not more than 300 words with the theme:”My Discovery”. This was a chance for participants to explore the documentary filmmaker within themselves – share unique, insights, knowledge and experiences and bring to life a ‘discovery moment‘ as it is imagined on screen. The semi-finalists were selected based on the strength of their idea relating to the theme.

Re-inventing the way people view filmmaking, the contest had kicked off on May 8 and more information is available at www.mobifilms.net, according to an official release.

MUMBAI: In a bid to connect better with youth US media firms are looking to buy social networking sites. Last year, News Corp plonked down $580 million for MySpace.

Now media reports indicate that Viacom is looking to acquire Bebo, a social networking site. In the UK, reports indicate that it has overtaken MySpace. In the US, though it has fewer users. It has 25 million users globally compared to around 90 million for MySpace.
 
On Bebo, members can stay in touch with their college friends, connect with friends, share photos, discover new interests and just hang out. Reports indicate that it also provides video sharing (via VideoEgg widgets) and built-in Skype presence. While the designs may be more controlled than MySpace pages, most of Bebo’s success seems to arise from network effects – users join Bebo because everyone else is using the site.
 
The founders of Bebo are said to be looking at upwards of a billion dollars. British Telecom‘s offer of around $400 million was reportedly turned down. For the week ending 5 August, Bebo was the most visited social network in the UK, and its market share of visits has grown 17 per cent in the past two weeks. 1 in every 135 UK visits goes to Bebo, which is now the 11th most visited site on the Internet. Viacom was also said to have been looking at one stage to acquire Facebook the second largest social networking site in the US.

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MUMBAI: Apple has teamed up with Ford, General Motors and Mazda in the US to deliver seamless iPod integration across the majority of their brands and models.

This makes it easy for iPod users to enjoy and control their iPod’s high-quality sound through their car’s stereo system. With the addition of these models, more than 70 per cent of 2007-model US automobiles will offer iPod integration.

Apple VP worldwide iPod product marketing Greg Joswiak says, “We are delighted that Ford, General Motors and Mazda will support iPod connectivity in nearly all of their new models. Now more than 70 percent of 2007-model US automobiles will offer iPod integration, with General Motors alone making it available on all 56 of its models, representing millions of cars and trucks.”

Ford and General Motors will feature iPod integration in the majority of their 2007 models in the US beginning later this year, while Mazda’s entire global 2007 lineup of cars and SUVs will offer iPod connectivity. iPod offerings for Ford, General Motors and Mazda provide drivers with outstanding sound quality while charging the iPod, while conveniently storing the iPod in the glove compartment. Seamless iPod integration also allows drivers to use their car’s multifunction controls to select their music using artist, album, playlist or shuffle songs, as well as to easily skip between tracks and playlists.
 
 
Apple says that the iPod and iTunes are leading the digital music revolution, providing the best way to listen to music on the go, at home and in the car.

NEW DELHI: With a second player in the DTH arena round the corner in the form of Tata Sky, Dish TV is finalizing creation of new channels for its subscribers.

According to Dish TV CEO Sunil Khanna, work has started on new niche channels to be introduced on the DTH platform over the next 12-24 months.

Pointing out that the target is to have a between 190-200 channels on Dish TV, Khanna said, “Some of the new channels would be created within the Zee group, while few may be brought in as part of third party distribution.”
 
The reason behind creating niche channels instead of importing products from outside India is that not all niche channels available are suited for Indian viewers.

For example, Khanna said, if Dish wants to introduce a premium gardening channel, there was no use getting one from outside as the weather conditions and local environment is different in India.
 
“To give an instance, if we have a gardening channel, then it’s best to create it in India and in-house. This way we would also be able to study the feasibility of such niche channels, which may have limited, but loyal viewership that would be ready to pay even a premium,” Khanna said.

Dish TV, country’s first pay TV platform, is managed by the Subhash Chandra-controlled ASC Enterprises that is the DTH licence holder. Another Chandra company, Zee Network, has a programme supply agreement with ASC.

Dish TV, which is pumping up the noise around the usefulness of subscribing to a DTH service, is also increasing its investment in the project.

“We have spent around Rs 3.5 billion in the DTH project till now, out of which a major part has been spent on customer acquisition,” Khanna said.

He added that investment would be upped “as needed from time to time to expand operations and offerings.”

NEW DELHI: Dish TV’s media campaign revolving round freedom-from-cable-problems theme has incensed a section of cable community, which feels it’s “unethical.”

In a letter e-mailed to Dish TV, All India Aavishkar Dish Antenna Sangh (AIADAS), one of the many bodies representing the cable fraternity, has exhorted the DTH company to withdraw the “misguiding advertisement.”
 
“The whole cable TV community is shocked on seeing the business-damaging and misguiding advertisement campaign launched by Dish TV through various news papers, hoarding, and bus shelters. This type of advertisement campaign has hurt the cable TV fraternity in India as a whole,” the AIADAS letter states.
 
The letter further highlights that the latest Dish campaign would severely hurt the business of cable operators; almost to the extent of crushing them out.

“In case the (cable) consumer shifts (to DTH), who is going to pay compensation to the cable TV operator?” Dr. AK Rastogi, head of AIADAS, has asked in the letter.

Though Rastogi claimed that Dish has agreed to withdraw the damaging ad campaign in deference to the cable industry’s anguish, Dish TV CEO Sunil Khanna denied any such move.

“We are not withdrawing any campaign, nor altering it,” Khanna told Indiantelevision.com today afternoon.

He added that instead of being cry babies, cable operators should seize this opportunity to digitize their networks and offer consumers better services than before.

“With competition around in DTH sphere, there is bound to be consumer awareness campaigns highlighting the advantages of a DTH service. The cable operators should brace themselves for reality,” Khanna said.

MUMBAI: Media company Google has inked a deal with US media conglomerate Viacom.

The online search behemoth will distribute clips of MTV‘s shows that contain advertising to other web sites.
 
Media reports state that sites that are part of Google‘s AdSense Network will get MTV‘s content. Google, Viacom and the AdSense partners will split revenues derived from the tie-in of advertising and content.

The content will include SpongeBob SquarePants and Laguna Beach. The move will give Viacom a much broader reach than traffic to its own Web Sites. Google now uses the AdSense network to place paid-search ads for advertisers.

BANGALORE: The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) under the aegis of the Indian ministry of communications and IT will be holding a summit on the internationalisation of the web.

The main objective of the summit is to discuss requirements for representing Indian languages correctly in various web standards developed by W3C under the internationalisation activity and come up with feedback to incorporate the recommendations.

This summit is being organised to take the W3C initiatives further along with the Manufacturers’ Association for Information Technology (MAIT) – the body representing the interest of IT manufacturing in India from 24 – 25 August in Bangalore.

W3C International‘s Richard Ishida will deliver the keynote address. Several computing experts, academicians and developers are expected to participate in the event. Invitations to participate have also been extended to all State IT Secretaries.

Cisco Systems India will be the Platinum Sponsor for the event targeted at key influencers such as CIOs, CTOs, business decision makers, researchers, technologists and developers from the institutions and technology-driven businesses.

The W3C is a vendor-neutral, non-profit international organisation, where its members, staff and invited experts work together to design technologies to ensure that the web will continue to thrive in the face of a growing diversity of people, hardware and software. The mission of W3C is to help the web reach its maximum potential