Intel aims to speed Linux gadget development

From The New York Times - The iPhone doesn't run Linux, but Intel has begun work to help improve the operating system for future devices of its ilk.

The chipmaker on Monday is launching its Mobile and Internet Linux Project Web site, which consolidates a number of new and existing Intel projects to improve the Linux kernel and other open-source components. In addition, the company employs "quite a bit more than a dozen" programmers for coding work, said Dirk Hohndel, Intel's chief Linux and open-source technologist. | Read full article

Internet Phone Company Halts Operations

From The New York Times - SunRocket, one of the largest start-up companies offering Internet phone service, has ceased operation and is moving its customers to one or more other companies, a person briefed on its status said yesterday.

A message on SunRocket’s customer service line said the company was “no longer taking customer service or sales calls.” Executives of SunRocket, which is based in Vienna, Va., and had 200,000 subscribers as of April, could not be reached for comment.

The development underlined the struggles of start-ups trying to make a business out of providing Internet-based phone service, telecommunications industry analysts said. | Read full article

New Gaming Trends Widen Market

From The Washington Post - Parents and politicians will be impressed at two new themes the game industry is embracing. The first is the rise of the exercise game.

Konami launched this revolution in Japan years ago with Dance Dance Revolution and had two new games on display at its bungalow outside of the Fairmont Hotel during this year's E3 Media Summit. Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party includes both the dance mat for leg exercises and introduces new a Wii controller for arm movement that lets players get a full body workout. Dance Dance Revolution Supernova 2 for PlayStation 2 adds 70 new songs to the hit franchise. | Read full article (registration required)

London Gets Free Wi-Fi

From The New York Times - A free metropolitan Wi-Fi network has been launched in London, continuing the gradual trend towards free public wireless access in Europe and the U.S. The free-hotspot.com group, which serves as a resource for those looking for Wi-Fi hot spots, and the Wi-Fi network-infrastructure firm MeshHopper have joined forces to offer free Wi-Fi access to businesses and the public along a 13.6-mile stretch of the River Thames. | Read full article

Reaching More Customers With a Simple Text Message

From The New York Times - ... Mr. Wolfe said the campaign is helping sales, although he declined to say how much. In future versions of the texting campaign, he said, the company would take a page from past marketing initiatives and include coupon codes for those who reply. The logic of that approach, he said, may be lost on more mainstream e-commerce executives.

“We sent out a mailer once that said text us back for a coupon code to get a free Moosejaw T-shirt with any order,” Mr. Wolfe said. “A real Internet business person would say it’s a mistake to do that, because the customer has to receive the e-mail, get on the phone and text us, then wait for the reply to get the code, then go back to the computer to put in their order.

“We could’ve just sent out a coupon code in an e-mail,” Mr. Wolfe continued. “But texting is cool enough that we were willing to risk some friction, knowing the upside was that people would talk about it in their dorm rooms.” | Read full article

A Sony Web Site to Offer Videos by Aspiring Filmmakers

From New York Times - Sony is trying to edge into Internet videos with a Web site to be introduced today called Crackle that will feature short segments by aspiring filmmakers, many of whom Sony paid for their productions.

Crackle is the latest incarnation of Grouper, a Web site that began as a way for people to share music, photos and videos with friends. It transformed itself into a YouTube clone and was bought last August by Sony Pictures Entertainment for $65 million. At the time, Sony said Grouper would be focused mainly on user-created video, which it hoped would spur the use of its home video equipment. Read full article

Teens prefer media to dating

From Media Post - Online Testing eXchange recently released results of its teen study today revealing that 58% of teens sacrifice watching TV for going on dates. Internet surfing, playing video games, and listening to music take losses as well. But when teens go on those dates, they sacrifice free social options like cruising or school events for the marketing-laden options of movie theaters (87%), malls (64%) and restaurants (58%).

Bruce Friend, President of Media and Entertainment Insights for OTX, said "It's this kind of information marketers are looking for... how and why teens are swapping one activity for another, and where they're spending their dollars... " | Read full article

Internet Radio Lives On, But Yahoo and AOL Must Pay Up

From Media Post - INTERNET RADIO HAS SURVIVED...FOR NOW, at least. Smaller radio Webcasters, which were most threatened by the greatly increased royalty fees officially due yesterday, were expected to continue streaming. The SoundExchange collection organization apparently agreed on Friday to at least hold off on suing them for non-payment while negotiations continue.

Larger radio Webcasters were another story, however, as SoundExchange Executive Director John Simson stated: "We do expect commercial Webcasters like Yahoo and AOL to pay the new royalty rates set by the CRB [Copyright Royalty Board]." | Read full article

China second to the U.S. in number of Internet users

From Pew Internet - There are now an estimated 137 million internet users in China, second in number only to the United States, where estimates of the current internet population range from 165 million to 210 million. The growth rate of China's internet user population has been outpacing that of the U.S., and China is projected to overtake the U.S. in the total number of users within a few years.

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U.S. Home Broadband Adoption 2007

Pew Internet has updated broadband penetration statistics based on a recent survey of American adults

47% of all adult Americans have a broadband connection at home as of early
2007, a five percentage point increase from early 2006.
- Among individuals who use the internet at home, 70% have a broadband
connection while 23% use dialup.
- Home broadband adoption in rural areas, now 31%, continues to lag high speed
adoption in urban centers and suburbs.
- Internet usage in rural areas also trails the national average; 60% of rural
adults use the internet from any location, compared with the national
average of 71%.
- 40% of African Americans now have a broadband connection at home, a nine
percentage point increase from early 2006.
- Since 2005, the percentage of African American adults with a home
broadband connection has nearly tripled, from 14% in early 2005 to
40% in early 2007.

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