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How to Plan a Server-Style Rack for Home Multimedia August 30, 2012 Wiring your home for multimedia? Dreaming about it? Even if you're using an electrician to pull the CAT 5e cable, it's worth getting involved in the design of the termination -- the rack. The rack is the centralized point within the home where the wiring meets switches, router and so on. The rack will be around a lot longer than the electrician, and you need it to last.

Don't Count on Apple to Slice Through TV's Gordian Knot August 30, 2012 I've been an Apple product enthusiast and watcher for years, and if there's one product that I lusted after two years ago, it was a real Apple TV -- a cool HDTV with a big screen and a kickass Apple navigation system with live content and content on demand. Since then my ardor has cooled considerably.

New York Times Co. Cashes Out on About.com August 27, 2012 There was rather an exact price offered and accepted for About.com. On Sunday The New York Times Company announced that it had sold the question and answer website to Barry Diller's InterActiveCorp for $300 million in cash. About.com, which was founded in 1996 as The Mining Company and launched in 1997, originally maintained about 1,800 topic areas.

Court Upholds Colossal Song-Sharing Penalty August 27, 2012 It is the end of an era. One of the last cases in which the Recording Industry Association of America sued an individual for illegal song sharing has reached the end of its road in a federal court in Massachusetts. There, the jury upheld a $675,000 damages award against Joel Tenenbaum following the directed guilty verdict in his 2009 trial and numerous appeals.

Study: Web Content Getting Cozier With TV Screens August 24, 2012 Consumers are becoming increasingly accustomed to being able to consume online content at the time they want and on the device they want -- and that device now includes the television set, according to a new study by NPD. It found that while desktop PCs and laptops are still the primary source for viewing online content, mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones are gaining ground.

Memo Outlines Hulu's Ad-Addled, Content-Crossed Future August 21, 2012 Major changes may be in store for Hulu that will loosen up the exclusivity of content on the online video site and pour more ads into the mix, according to a confidential internal memo obtained by Variety. The document discusses the possibility that in September, Hulu owners Comcast, News Corp. and Disney may buy out Providence Equity Partners, the fourth Hulu owner.

Apple's Television Vision August 18, 2012 Apple has been sizing up the world of television for a long time now with very hungry eyes. The company almost never reveals its plans out loud, of course, but if you test the PH level of the rumor pool, it's starting to look a lot like it did about six years ago, just before the first iPhone came along.

Cupertino Invites Cable Cos. Into Apple TV August 17, 2012 The introduction of a revolutionary new TV set from Apple may not happen next quarter, but it may be getting closer. Apple is in hush-hush negotiations with some of the largest cable providers in the U.S. to allow their subscribers to replace their set-top boxes with Apple's, according to a report.

Anonymous Makes Mischief With Manufactured Hack Claim August 16, 2012 The fixes Sony made to its PlayStation Network last year after its system was hacked may not have made it impenetrable: Reports are circulating that the hacktivist group Anonymous has breached the network again. The rumors started with a tweet posted to the group's account that has since been taken down.

MetroPCS' Galaxy S Comes With a Built-In Boob Tube August 06, 2012 MetroPCS on Friday launched what's claimed to be the first smartphone in the U.S. offering mobile digital TV access. The Samsung Galaxy S Lightray 4G is available at US$460 at MetroPCS stores and at the company's website. It will be the first MetroPCS smartphone to offer a mobile hotspot capability.

Google Fiber: Internet, TV Will Never Be the Same August 02, 2012 Last week, Google started selling a very high-speed Internet and television service in Kansas City. This service stands a good chance of blowing customers' minds and changing expectations. The question is, will Google get into this business and compete with cable television and phone companies? Or is it doing this just to make a point? Only time will tell. Even Google doesn't know yet.

Google Puts Its Nexus Q Dream on Hold August 01, 2012 Google has opted to delay the launch of its Nexus Q streaming media player. The company originally announced the orb-shaped entertainment device at its Google I/O conference in San Francisco in June. The Nexus Q runs the Android system and can only be controlled by users with Android smartphones or tablets.

Apple Does the Hulu Tango With 2 Left Feet July 31, 2012 Hulu Plus content is now available on Apple TV. Subscribers to Hulu Plus will find the service on the Apple TV home screen, Hulu said. The company listed instructions on signing up for Apple TV owners who aren't currently subscribers. However, some Hulu Plus content is still not available on Apple TV due to content licensing restrictions.

The Smart TV Transformation Is Under Way July 28, 2012 For years, pay-TV services were the dominant means of delivering premium content to consumers. Today almost 900 million homes worldwide subscribe to pay-TV services, but new delivery technologies, with smart TVs at the forefront, have created new opportunities and new potential competition.

Netflix Takes More Punishment July 26, 2012 Wall Street took Netflix at its word, and then some, when the company said in its earnings report that it probably would sign up fewer new subscribers this year than it had expected. That, coupled with a 91 percent year-over-year drop in net income, caused shares of the company to promptly drop by 25 percent on Wednesday.

Viacom, DirecTV Mend Fences - but at What Cost? July 20, 2012 DirecTV subscribers will soon be able to get their MTV, as well as their daily fix of "The Daily Show" on Comedy Central, plus Nickelodeon and the 14 channels owned by Viacom, under a new agreement the two companies announced on Friday. While terms of the deal were not disclosed, it appears that Viacom will receive more than $600 million a year in programming fees from satellite operator DirecTV.

AMC Taunts Dish With 'Breaking Bad' Freebie July 13, 2012 AMC will stream the first episode in the upcoming fifth season of "Breaking Bad" for Dish customers at a site that greets visitors with the welcoming words, "Dish dropped AMC, so we're offering a special live stream of the premiere for Dish customers, right here." Viewers are invited to begin registering at the site on Friday afternoon in order to watch the episode on Sunday.

Court Lets Startup Rebroadcast Live TV to Web-Connected Devices July 12, 2012 On Thursday a federal judge in New York denied a request by several broadcasters including ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC to shut down startup Aereo's streaming video platform, which utilizes arrays of dime-sized antennas to receive free, over-the-air programming and then streams the content online and even to mobile devices.

DirecTV, Viacom Cross Swords, Customers Get Hurt July 12, 2012 A months-long disagreement over the fees DirecTV should pay to Viacom for some of its most popular programming has turned into steely-eyed brinkmanship between the two companies -- and DirecTV's customers caught in the middle. Viacom proposed increasing the fees DirecTV pays for programming offered on Nickelodeon, MTV, and Comedy Central by 30 percent. DirecTV refused, and Viacom pulled the plug.

Google TV Gets Do-Over With Vizio Co-Star June 26, 2012 Vizio has announced the release of its Co-Star Stream Player set-top box, which includes Google TV and the OnLive gaming service. The company known for affordable televisions first revealed the device at this year's CES in January. While this is Vizio's first foray into set-top box territory, it could also prove to be a reboot of sorts for the Google TV service.