BitTorrent, is opening up a media store tomorrow, Monday. The download site will distribute more than 5,000 titles from digital movies, TV shows, games and other media. After long having been the bad kid on the block, BitTorrent has finally managed to sooth Hollywood. 

When opening the store on Monday it will offer: Superman Returns, Mission: Impossible III and An Inconvenient Truth. Among the available TV shows are 24 and Chappelle’s Show.

The good thing about it is that people will finally be able to download movies without the fear of viruses and bad copies. The question is, will the crowd that has long relied upon BiTorrent for free goodies stay or turn elsewere?

We just launched a new service called Maxthon Access with our new partner Avvenu. Maxthon Access is a FREE service that allows you to remotely access your home or office computer from another internet-connected computer – all through your Maxthon Browser.

Need to edit a contract? Look at the latest sales report? Share a family photo? If it’s on your PC, and your PC is connected to the Internet, simply log on to Maxthon Access from your Maxthon Browser, select the computer you want to browse, and navigate to the file you need. Then you can choose whether to share it with a colleague or download it for viewing or editing.

Here are some of the key features:

• Browser based
• Secure Access
• Remote Search through Google Desktop Search
• Simple Sharing
• Multiple Computer Support
• Mobile Device Support

This is just the first of a series of services we are planning to roll out in the near future, and we need your input to make it better. Please let us know what you like, dislike with Maxthon Access, and what type of features etc you would like to see on it.

Download Maxthon Access here! User Manual here.

Full Press Release here.

Tags: Maxthon Tags: Maxthon Access Tags: Avvenu Tags: Remote PCÂ Tags: Sharing Tags: File Sharing Tags: Remote File Access

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Visa USA has entered into the world of video-game advertising with a PC game based on the CBS hit “CSI” that hits stores today. Although the Visa brand is also incorporated into signage and other background elements of the game, the really smart thing is the way Visa actually became a central part of the plot: In one of the five criminal cases that make up the game, “CSI: 3 Dimensions of Murder,” Visa’s fraud-monitoring capabilities take center stage when a suspicious charge on a victim’s credit card triggers an investigation by the forensic-sciences team.

I think that is really a smart way of incorporating a brand into the story. The idea came from game publisher Ubisoft who worked together with Visas media buying agecny OMD to build the script. Another interesting aspect of it is what Jon Raj, VP-advertising and emerging media platforms, Visa USA said, that Visa is actively seeking out the emerging media where consumers are spending an increasing amount of time. “Our consumers are shifting their habits,” he said. “Just throwing out a TV or radio spot doesn’t work anymore. We need to look at new ways,” citing platforms such as cellphones, interactive TV, digital-video recorders and in-game integrations.

Hey big media guys, did you hear “TV or radio spots dosen’t work anymore”…It is good to see that such a “serious” brand like Visa, dares to think outside the box and look for smarter advertising solutions.

Tags: Visa Tags: In-Game Advertising Tags: Games Tags: Advertising Tags: Ads Tags: CBS Tags: CSI Tags: OMD Tags: Ubisoft Tags: TV Tags: Emerging Media Tags: Media

New York Times has a good write up about how user generated content and how it is changing the media landscape. The article’s conclusion, is that most amateurs are just happy for having their clips posted on sites for everybody to see. However, more and more media companies are offering prices or even paying for user generated content. Even Yahoo is said to have signalized that it is moving away from creating its on content in favor of user generated material – and are willing to pay for it.

So what is so compelling about user-created material?

1. It is cheap
2. It taps into the social aspect of interactive media

But while user-generated materials can attract a lot of attention and drive a lot of traffic to sites like Myspace , the article points out that so far it has not been regarded as a winning format for major advertisers. Myspace is adding up to a million registered users a week, but has attracted little advertising reveune relative to its audience.

In response to this, Viacom’s chief executive, Tom Freston, is qouted saying, “It’s like inserting the advertising into a conversation between two people, and there are still a lot of questions about advertisers supporting user-created content.”

Still, I believe that there really is a good window of opportunity for user-generated content sites and networks over the coming two years, because at the end of the day, its one of the things that makes people tick’. We are all looking for a stage, for a little fame even if it is not on a American Idol format level, but rather amongs our own little circle of friends and peers.

Ad Age tells us that that according to a study done by Frank N. Magid Associates ,among those actually planning to purchase a video iPod, 72% said they would be more likely to download a TV program in exchange for watching an ad. The Magid study surveyed 798 iPod owners between the ages of 12 and 55.

“It appears that the option to download content of choice for free will dramatically increase interest in purchasing a video iPod, thus potentially increasing video iPod sales and penetration,” the study concluded.

Adrants, says that this shows that people are cheap. Don’ t know about that, it seems to me that they are just smart. Why pay for something is some advertiser can?

Twentieth Century Fox has created a viral marketing campaign targeting the youth audience ahead of the release of its animated film ‘Ice Age 2‘ on 7 April. On their campaign sie named blingmysid.com fans can dress the main charachter Sid the Sloth, in all kinds of outifts. Users can then nominate the best creation and send it to friends by email. Looks ok but a bit lame in my opinion, but as always its up to the fans to decide if this goes viral or not…Via New Media Age.

Related posts: The Future of Film-making?, Me in New Media Age

Here’s a great story from about mobile phones and film-making from South Africa:

South African director Ayran Kaganof, created the world’s first feature film shot entirely on cell phones. Equipped with eight cell phones, $160,000 Kaganof made SMS Sugar Man over 11 days! The movie tells the story of a pimp and two high-class prostitutes moving around Johannesburg on Christmas Eve.

The film will have its premiere in May will be screened on traditional cinema as well as in a truly innovative fashion – beamed to cell phones in three-minute episodes over a month.

Another amazing thing is that while a Hollywood picture usually cost around $40-$50 million (and easily exceeds $100 million) SMS Sugar Man only costed $160,000 to produce…

Could this be the future of film-making?

More on the story here

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It seems like Scoble have nothing better to do over at Microsoft today than inventing a new word (brrreeeport), then tag it and see what happens. BTW, the brrreeeport sounds extremely familiar to a certain bodily sound that Adam Curry happens to let loose in the Daily Source Code on a regular basis like a 30 second spot…sponsored by (oh you know by whoom..). The worst thing is that even I find myself writing a post on it..Is this the sad true state of the blogosphere today, or is it just what makes people tick’?

Looking at the more serious side of it (if there is any..) when I was running a blog campaign for Samsung Mobile’s Anyfilms.net some time ago, I noticed that Google Blog Search by far out numbered Technorati and the others in tracking the posts. Technorati turned out to be really disappointing as a reliable tracking tool (which was a pity since I really like their service). The big surprise however, was MSN Search tracking far more blogs with the tag “anyfilms” than the others (after Google of course).

Technorati Tags: Brrreeeport, Technorati, Google, MSN Search, Scoble, Microsoft, Tags, Search, Tracking, Blogs, Blogging, Adam Curry, Daily Source Code, Samsung Mobile, Samsung, Mobile, Anyfilms, Video, Film, Movies

Today I offically become the “Anyfilms blogger“, on behalf of Samsung Mobile for the Anyfilms.net project through my cooperation with Hyper Happen on Yahoo 360. On the Anyfilms blog on Yahoo 360, I will discuss the cross over between cell phones and movie technology, and the future of movie making in general. Check it out for yourself, come join me in the discussion and let me know what you think.

Technorati Tags: Anyfilms.net, Anyfilms, Samsung , Samsung Moblie, Movies, Films, Mobile, Cell phones, Gadgets, Blogs, Yahoo, Yahoo 360, Hyper Happen, Media, Blogging

My favorite Martial Art is Bujinkan Budo (Ninpo) Taijutsu , also known as Ninjutsu. I used to practice it for over ten years but stopped a few years ago (family & business took over). Anyway, here is a nice old little video I found.

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Technorati Tags: Martial Arts, Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu, Ninja, Ninjutsu, video, Budo