04.14.06
Posted in General at 4:01 pm by Administrator
TV networks and affiliates challenge FCC on “indecency”
Four television networks — ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox — and their respective affiliates are challenging an FCC ruling that several programs were indecent because of language. Snip:
The move represents a protest against the aggressive enforcement of federal indecency rules that broadcasters have complained are vague and inconsistently applied. Millions of dollars in fines have been levied based on those rules.
The appeals challenge the FCC’s finding that profane language was used on the CBS program “The Early Show” in 2004, two incidents on the “Billboard Music Awards” shows broadcast by News Corp.’s Fox in 2002 and 2003 and various episodes of the ABC show “NYPD Blue” that aired in 2003.
Link to AP item.
TV Indecency / FCC fight story found via Boing Boing
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04.13.06
Posted in Internet Business at 9:39 pm by Administrator
IRS Wins Court Order to Search PayPal Records
By Gretchen Gallen
from Xbiz (additional info from cnn)
SAN JOSE, Calif. – More than two years after PayPal dropped the adult industry from its client list, the online payment processor is now under pressure from the Internal Revenue Service to help hunt for tax evaders.
Similar to the Justice Department’s recent demand from the four biggest Internet search outfits to hand over information on surfer habits, the IRS recently won a court order to have San Jose, Calif.-based PayPal hand over information on its more than 100 million clients who have allegedly used debit/credit cards to stash away unreported income in offshore tax havens such as the Cayman Islands, Curacao, Belize, the Bahamas, Western Samoa and about 20 more countries.
At issue with the IRS is that PayPal’s business model facilitates online money transfers to accounts outside of U.S. jurisdiction. Last year, the company reported an estimated $27 million was wire transferred out of the U.S.
The IRS first asked the court in October for access to PayPal records in its effort to crack open the offshore banking racket – on the heels of getting help from major credit card companies.
The IRS probe includes obtaining offshore bank account numbers, credit card numbers and PayPal account numbers in order to execute its search for alleged tax evaders. At present the order from the IRS is on an ask-only basis, but according to a report from the Associated Press, a firmer IRS demand for information on tax evaders is imminent.
The records probe extends from 1999-2004.
A PayPal spokesperson said that her company is considering the terms of the order and is reviewing the potential privacy threat to PayPal clients.
In a recent report on offshore banking, the IRS described it as a growing epidemic that is used by millions of American citizens to avoid paying income tax, or at least the majority of taxes owed. Offshore banking also is widely used by U.S. corporations to lower estimated taxes and remain competitive with other companies.
A typical transaction via an offshore account would include depositing a sum of money in an offshore account through a payment processor like PayPal and then withdrawing it using a credit card such as American Express, MasterCard or Visa.
After disallowing payment processing for adult companies several years ago, PayPal recently cracked down on processing for gambling sites and began imposing fines against both industries when its services are used for those types of transactions.
from CNN / Associated press:
Tax dodgers may lose friend in PayPal
Court: IRS can ask company about clients with offshore accounts
(excerpt)
PayPal enables individuals and businesses around the globe to send and receive money online. In 2005, users moved $27.5 billion through the money transmitter. The company, owned by eBay Inc., has 100 million account holders globally.
The request for information is an outgrowth of an IRS effort, begun several years ago, to trace money that American taxpayers hold offshore to avoid paying taxes. The IRS said many of those taxpayers access their money through credit and debit cards. The tax collectors have already obtained information from some credit card companies, merchants and payment processors.
“PayPal is another one of the mechanisms by which money stashed overseas might be spent,” Eileen O’Connor, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department Tax Division, told reporters.
In some cases, the IRS obtained credit card numbers but could not identify the cardholder. The IRS said PayPal might be able to lead the tax agency to those individuals.
The IRS also hopes PayPal can help them identify currently unknown taxpayers’ and their payment cards, as well as offshore bank accounts, that might be evidence of tax evasion.
The request covers transactions occurring from 1999 through 2004.
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Posted in Podcasting / Podcasts, Software and Web Apps at 9:36 pm by Administrator
Software Converts DVD or Internet Video Content to iPod
By Matt O’Conner
From Xbiz
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Software developer Roxio has released a program that enables the conversion of DVD and Internet video content for use on iPods and other portable devices using a PowerPC or Intel Mac.
Numerous adult studios have scrambled to make content available for iPod users since the release earlier this year of Apple’s Video iPod. Roxio intends to make it easier for users to convert content on their own with its Popcorn 2 program, thereby eliminating the need to pay for iPod-formatted content.
Popcorn 2 compresses and transfers DVD videos, disc images, menus and languages through a burn engine.
The software supports QuickTime’s MOV and AVI formats, DivX, MPEG2, MPEG-1, MPEG-4, DV and H.264. It can export videos to iPods, Sony’s PlayStation Portable, 3GP mobile phones, DivX handhelds and other video-enabled devices.
Users can also create “director’s cuts†by selecting certain scenes and screen shots as well as the order in which they play.
There are Open Source applications that will produce similar results, but Popcorn is more user friendly and has predefined settings, according to Tim Deal, an analyst with Technology Business Research.
Popcorn 2 requires a G4 or faster computer, Mac OS X 10.4 or later, QuickTime 7 or later, iTunes 6 or later and up to 15 GB of temporary hard disk space for video compression and translation.
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Posted in Marketing at 9:32 pm by Administrator
Internet Advertising Set to Overtake Outdoor, Radio
April 12, 2006
Spending on Internet advertising will overtake worldwide outdoor ad spending next year, and will catch up with radio in 2008, according to Zenith Optimedia Group.
“We have revised our internet forecasts upwards once again, as it has continued to exceed expectations,” they note. “We now predict it will attract 6.5% of all advertising in 2008, up from 4.5% in 2005 (and up from the 6.0% we predicted for 2008 back in December).”
They suggest that radio advertising will continue to decline, as advertisers shift spending from radio to online media.
“The internet is now firmly established as a mainstream advertising medium in developed markets, and in many developing markets too. We predict it will overtake outdoor in volume in 2007, even though outdoor is gaining share itself, and that by 2008 it will be catching up with radio too (which will have a 7.9% share, down from 8.5% in 2005).”
ZenithOptimedia revised its 2006 outlook up slightly, calling for a 6% increase in global ad spend–up from 5.9% in its December 2005 forecast. US ad spend is now projected to grow 5.2% this year, vs. 5.1% in December.
via Radio Business Report
Story found via Podcasting News
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Posted in Internet Business, Marketing, Podcasting / Podcasts at 9:29 pm by Administrator
Podcasting, MP3 Players Stealing Radio’s Audience
April 11, 2006
ipod_nano.jpgPodcasting and MP3 players are stealing radio’s audience, according to the latest figures from Bridge Ratings. According to Dave Van Dyke, President of Bridge Ratings, “By 2010, today’s 94% penetration for terrestrial radio will have sunk to 85%.”
27% of people 12-24 attribute their reduced use of radio to MP3 use; 22% attributed it to tired radio programming; 3% attributed it to podcast listening.
“The days of top market - top station margins in the 40% range are numbered. Expect those hot stations to fall into the 30% range and the entire industry on average to fall lower,” adds Van Dyke. “Wall Street and corner offices will be readjusting their expectations on performance and having to swallow that pill happily knowing it is the only real operational option left.”
According to the firm’s latest research:
* Terrestrial audience erosion to alternative audio entertainment continues to occur in young demographics.
* Podcasting is beginning to siphon listening.
* MP3 device usage can consume as much as 80% of a radio user’s audio entertainment during initial ownership weeks and months. This number tends to be generally lower among 30+ women and 35+ men.
* MP3 player fatigue is slowing overall as the market continues to expand due to consumer interest in these devices. Fatigue with MP3 players remains high among those consumers who have owned the devices longer than 6-8 months.
* Competition for traditional radio time-spent-listening is more severe. Time spent listening to terrestrial radio is fighting for its share of time with a multitude of digital devices. Even television has regained viewership based on this quarter’s data. The most often given reason for this by our sample: better programming and new shows. Meanwhile, music-specific radio stations are vying for the attention of their constituencies as MP3 players continue to be more pervasive than ever (75 million sold). Podcasting is beginning to show evidence of cannibalizing radio’s time-spent-listening.
* Satellite radio also suffers from attrition! For the first time, we are seeing satelite radio consumers who have been subscribers for longer than 6 months are actually spending less time than they were six months ago with their satellite service of choice. According to our panel, during the second quarter of 2005 average time spent listening to satellite radio was 16 hours per week. During this most recent study during the period of January 1 through March 31, 2006, weekly TSL for satellite radio among subscribers of 6 months or longer was down to 12.6 weekly hours.
Source: Bridge Ratings
Story found via Podcasting News
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04.05.06
Posted in General at 10:19 pm by Administrator
In an excellent article about Google map mashups, Richard Mamanus explains the basics of creating custom google maps around other info and working witht the google maps api for mashups.
How to develop a Google Maps mashup
Posted by Richard MacManus
In my previous post I noted that Google Maps has released Version 2 of its API. In this post I thought I’d talk more about how you can start developing with Google Maps. Mashups are all the rage, so if you’re a developer or just like to remix things - now’s a good time to jump in and build one!
The easiest way to get content for your mashup is to use APIs (Application Programming Interface) from companies such as Google, Amazon or eBay. That is, big companies that offer a reliable and large data set via documented API hooks into their systems. You can also use RSS from companies like craigslist.
read more about the google mashups at ZDnet
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