Category: Web

Hollyoaks on the Pull

Hollyoaks, an soap opera inexplicably set in Chester and much loved by students, is branching out into mobile applications and content.

First up, Mersey TV are inviting would-be television actors to send in their photographs via mobile media messaging. This new “On The Pull” initiative is an update to a 2000 initiative that resulted in four members of the public landing major roles in the show.

Hopefuls can register via SMS or on the On the Pull Website – and there is already a gallery of submitted photographs to be laughed at, so get over there.

Secondly, Mersey TV and Opera Telecom are expanding the Hollyoaks story line into new media, hoping to capitalise on the tendency for the show’s 16 – 24 year old audience to have the latest mobile phones. Hollyoaks will see a MMS spin-off later this year, followed by a full mobile video version.

On the Pull is a revenue stream for Mersey TV, as sending a photo from a mobile phone costs an additional UK£0.50 (€0.75) on top of network charges. The MMS Hollyoaks spin-off will undoubtedly be premium content too – showing that production houses have grasped the financial incentives for taking content to new platforms.

The Official Hollyoaks on the Pull Website

Bluewin to Trial Microsoft Broadband TV

Bluewin, a subsidiary of Swisscom, will be the first operator in Europe to trial a pay-TV service with Microsoft over broadband internet connections. Using set-top boxes, the 600 home trial will feature up to 25 television channels, a pay-per-view service and PVR functions. Beginning in September, he trial will run for four months, before the the true launch of the service in Switzerland.

Tim Fritzley of Microsoft TV said: “As the first operator in Europe to trial pay-TV services powered by the Microsoft TV IPTV platform, Bluewin is now able to offer its DSL customers competitive, next-generation TV services, both broadcast and on-demand, combined with innovative communications and information services. The huge advantage of this technology is that it is interactive and has made delivery of television programmes possible on-demand”.

Testers will have to pay for the service: €15.50 (UK£10.41) for the 25 channels, with pay-per-view films costing between €1.95 and €6.50 (UK£1.31 to UK£4.37).

The bandwidth required for the service will be around 1.2 and 1.4 megabits. Switzerland has around 700,000 broadband customers, Bluewin serving the majority of them with 390,000 subscribers.

Bluewin

SpyWare That Actually Spies On You

Amid groans of “I wonder why it took so long?” a new worm has been discovered that can access a webcam and microphone attached to an infected PC.

Rbot-GR installs itself in the usual spyware fashion, and also includes the traditional payload of key logger and hard drive spy, plus it can launch denial of service attacks against websites. This one is a veritable Swiss Army knife of an infection. It’s yet another variant of the W32/Rbot worm, though this is the first to be able to access a camera to take grabs and capture video.

A Trojan of this sophistication could have any number of uses – from industrial espionage to voyeurism.

Sophos, the anti-virus company, say it’s not spreading very successfully yet, but users should be aware of the possibility of infection.

“More and more hackers are interested in spying on the people they manage to infect with their worms and Trojan horses. In the workplace, this worm opens up the possibilities of industrial espionage. At home it is equivalent to a Peeping Tom who invades your privacy by peering through your curtains,” said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. “If your computer is infected and you have a webcam plugged in, then everything you do in front of the computer can be seen, and everything you say can be recorded.”

If your webcam has an activity light, keep an eye on it – and get a spyware removal tool.

Sophos

Microsoft Music Store and Window Media 10 This Week?

The new MSN Online Music Store is rumoured to appear this week, along with a new version of Windows Media Player.

Since Windows Media Player’s 100 million or so users will need to update their player shortly, what better opportunity to introduce them to a new music service?

The Microsoft online store is expected to carry the industry standard one million tracks when it launches, having signed deals with the big four labels. Early screen grabs of the service, now out of date, pay homage to iTunes in look and feel. Pricing is also expected to be similar to iTunes and Napster. So expect the European and UK stores to cost more.

Microsoft claim that the service will be compatible with about 60 music players, with even better functionality promised for Janus-compatible players when they start to appear.

Needless to say, we’ll be signed up and testing as soon at the store hits the web.

It’ll be linked off MSN when it launches

Napster Jumps on Chart Bandwagon

Napster will be launching its own downloaded music chart on Virgin Radio at 7pm on August 29th. The chart will be compiled from the top 20 most popular tracks bought each week from Napster UK service. The chart will also include tracks that have been streamed as well as downloaded.

Napster has come a long way from illegal music download service to radio chart music store, but the Official Chart Company may take some of the heat out of this new move when they launch the official download chart on BBC Radio 1 on 1st September. However, the Official Chart will not include streamed music, just downloaded tracks and will be compiled from Napster’s data, but will include sales from MyCokeMusic, iTunes and others.

Comparing the differences between the Official Chart and Napster’s will certainly be interesting, as some tracks are simply not available on both services, but will probably be as insightful as comparing bananas with roof tiles. No doubt the Pixies will feature in there somehow. There will also interesting contrasts between what listeners are buying in shops and what they are buying off internet services.

About Napster

Digitally Tracking Adverts with Ad ID

Ad ID is a 12 digit code to be attached to all advertising so that it can be tracked effectively. The system has been developed by the Association of National Advertisers and the American Association of Advertising Agencies, and has just been endorsed by the top four broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC) in the US, along with over 100 other large advertisers and trade groups.

Each piece of advertising will have a unique 12 digit ID and combined with RFID technology, will enable advertisers to track precisely how individual households have responded to advertising messages through their purchases. Is it just me, or is that really frightening? The introduction of Ad ID is being compared with the introduction of the UPC bar code 30 years ago – though coupling Ad ID with active technologies such as the internet and RFID chips make this a considerably more powerful tool.

Ad ID is not entirely new – it’s been in development since 2002. Tagging each advert with a unique identifier also allows metadata to be stored about the ad – such as geographic relevance and scheduling. The system is backed by a web portal so that advertisers can update campaign information and consult billing and scheduling details.

Ad ID

51% of US Domestic Internet Access Now Broadband

Dial-up internet connections are now in the minority in the US, as 51% of connections are now made through broadband links. The progress has been fast – last month it was 49%, and this time last year only 38% of domestic users had broadband.

63 million home users now connect to the internet through broadband using cable modems, ADSL or other variants, contrasted with 61.3 million on dial-up.

The figures come from a new Neilsen//NetRatings charting the growth of broadband against the decline of dial-up internet access. Broadband access has risen 47% year on year against dial-up’s 13% decline.

Marc Ryan, senior director of analysis at Nielsen//NetRatings said “What this is really pointing to is the fact that consumers are taking advantage of broadband, that there are lots of incentives for them to sign up for broadband. The opportunity here for marketers is to present customers with a richer environment to interact with advertising and with brands. In order to truly experience the Internet at its best these days, a broadband connection is almost a must.”

New demand is slowing for the time being, though we thing that won’t be for long. The total number of American’ accessing the internet grew only 10% from 113 million in July 2003 to 124 million July 2004, out of a population of 281 million, though a fall in the cost of broadband services coupled with the subsequent increase in rich content may well spur a second growth phase for the internet.

The Neilsen report

Internet-only Pharmacies Approved in England

The UK government has approved internet-only pharmacies in England under changes to the laws governing pharmacies in general, as a result of an Office of Fair Trading report. Whilst some pharmacies already sell medicines online, they must have a physical store to trade legally – the changes to the law mean that internet-only chemists will soon be available for the first time.

The Department of Health is assuring the public that there will be strict rules enforced to ensure quality of service and safety.

Health Minister Rosie Winterton said “These reforms continue to support the Government’s aim to put the needs of patients first, ensuring that local health services reflect the changing lifestyles and needs of patients.”

Whilst it’s a great idea in principle, some internet users may mistake spam and some less reputable online services offering medicines as legitimate organisations. It will take public education and strict policing to ensure that members of the public do not put themselves at risk.

Office of Fair Trading

EU Delays Microsoft DRM Decision

EU anti-trust regulators have decided to postpone their decision on whether or not to review Microsoft and Time Warner’s joint acquisition of ContentGuard, a digital rights management company.

Microsoft has invested in ContentGuard for some time now, and along with Time Warner have sought to strengthen their position in the DRM market. Time Warner, as one of the world’s leading content houses, also has a lot to gain from the acquisition.

The EU commission usually has a month to decide if it wants to investigate a deal like this further, and though in this case it has opted for a two week extension to 25th August. The extension has come about because the two companies have submitted remedies to some concerns raised by the commission.

ContentGuard, who developed the Extensible Rights Markup Language, holds a number of patents which are licensed to Sony, Microsoft and others. The patents were in turn developed at Xerox PARC and some of these patents have been adopted as standards by the Motion Picture Experts Group.

ContentGuard

Computer Associates Picks Up PestPatrol

Computer Associates have acquired PestPatrol, in a bid to expand their portfolio of software to cover anti-spyware tools.

CA will be including PestPatrol’s application in their eTrust Threat Management suite, whilst renaming the tool eTrust PestPatrol.

Russell Artzt, executive vice president of eTrust security management at CA, said: “This acquisition enhances CA’s position as the world’s leading provider of security management solutions for the safety of Internet connectivity and the integrity of computing environments in the office and home alike.”

Anti-virus software houses are keen to expand their range of products to tackle the main problems that internet users face: spam, adware, viruses and hacking attempts. Companies like Symantec and McAfee have acquired and developed their products to meet consumer demand for solutions and also to create single control centres dealing with these problems, rather than relying on three or four separate applications.

Anti-spyware applications are not as mainstream as anti-virus packages, though with increasing consumer awareness could well be the next big thing for security software publishers.

eTrust