Luke Timmerman wrote:
Pharmaceutical giant Novartis has exercised its right to buy 55,223 more shares of Cambridge, MA-based Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ALNY), Alnylam said today in a statement. The purchases, for almost $1 million, allow Novartis to maintain a 13.4 percent ownership stake in the company, Alnylam said. The two companies began collaborating on RNA interference technology in 2005, and the collaboration has been extended to last through October 2010.
UNDERWRITERS AND PARTNERS
Last week Constantin Films got YouTube to pull almost all the Angry Hitler parody clips by using the website’s Content ID tracking system. The process is automatic, and YouTube immediately takes down a video once it’s been tagged. However, that also means you can use this system in reverse to get your clips back up, at least for as long as you’re in dispute with the copyright holder. Whether you do this or not will depend on how willing you are to risk a potential lawsuit later on.
Here’s how Content ID works. A content partner–Constantin Films in this case–uploads its content to YouTube to create a video and audio “fingerprint,” and then YouTube automatically scans user videos for matches. The copyright holder also sets up whatever rules it wants to use for taking clips offline.
After that, everything about the process is automatic. Unlike a DMCA takedown notice, which requires some human and legal involvement, the Content ID system works more or less like filters in your email account.
The good news is you can dispute any Content ID claim. If you have a clip that’s been targeted, you’ll see a notice about it on your YouTube account page. From there you can access a dispute page where you can affirm that you believe your clip falls under fair use, and the clip will immediately become public again. The copyright holder will receive notice that you’ve disputed the clip, and must then decide to leave you alone, send a DMCA takedown notice, or sue.
Brad Templeton, who created a legitimate fair use parody of Constantin Films last year using the Downfall footage, says it’s not easy to find the dispute page but that it works immediately:
YouTube does allow uploaders to file a dispute over a Content ID takedown, and I did file a dispute. Upon filing the dispute, it appears the video became immediately playable (though embedding was disabled until I turned it back on.) The uploader is not told this, however, as the YouTube status page still reports that the “dispute is still awaiting a response from Constantin Films” and that the video is “blocked worldwide.” We will see how long it takes for Constantin to respond. They don’t make the dispute form easy to find, and in fact I got no notice via e-mail that I can see to tell me of the takedown. When I visited the page logged in to YouTube, it still showed me the video even though nobody else could see it, and uploaders have to work to learn that their vids are gone.
AND NOW A WARNING. There are legal ramifications to this, which YouTube hints at and the EFF explains very clearly. If you decide to fight copyright abuse by a large company, you should make sure that you’re on the right side of the fight, that you have a sensible chance of winning a possible lawsuit, and that you’re willing to assume the financial risk. All three of those determinations probably require some serious meetings with a lawyer.
On the other hand, if you’re one of those dumb naive Internet types who make inane copyright/free speech arguments, you can check YouTube’s own “General Copyright Inquiries” page for a somewhat exasperated-sounding explanation of what types of excuses won’t work in front of a judge.
“Studio does content-ID takedown of my Hitler video about takedowns” [4Brad.com]
“Content ID and Fair Use” [YouTube Blog]
“A Guide to YouTube Removals” [Electronic Frontier Foundation]
While it may seem that every major media outlet has had an iPhone app available for some time, there are a few holdouts. Fox News Channel has been one, but the News Corp (NYSE: NWS). cable net will announce the launch of the iPhone app later today. In a conversation with paidContent, Jeremy Steinberg, FNC’s VP for digital sales & business development, says the network didn’t feel there was a need to rush into the app space until advertisers were ready for more serious placements. In the meantime, FNC doesn’t plan to rely solely on ad revenues for its mobile offerings, as Steinberg says that the network is developing some paid apps for release later this year.
While FNC has tended to trounce CNN in many of the most important TV ratings categories, the CNN iPhone app has held the number one slot in paid news apps since it first went on sale last September for $1.99. Since the FNC app is free, the two won’t be directly competing. But FNC’s entry into the app market may allow it to build up some interest before unveiling a paid app later on.
In looking at the mobile ad landscape, Steinberg sees it as still between experimental and meaningful. “A lot of advertisers in the space are looking at expanding their footprint, and over the past year, with the growing adoption of the iPhone and now the iPad, eyeballs are really turning to mobile apps,” Steinberg says. “In all the conversations we have with advertisers today, mobile always comes up.
“That said, we feel strongly that it’s necessary to create a significant dual revenue stream to match what we have at the cable network,” he adds. “So there will be paid mobile apps down the road and we will offer unique, premium content.”
The FNC iPhone app does have a noteworthy sponsor in Sprint (NYSE: S), which will be the exclusive advertiser for the next month and could try to capitalize on users’ frustration with the AT&T-powered connection for the Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) device. For now, there are no plans to release an app for Google’s Android, though Steinberg said one is likely.
As for the iPhone app itself, it will offer live streaming video as well as clips and news updates. The app will also promote listening to Fox News Talk Radio with live streams.
Related
With a cloture vote to open formal debate on Sen. Chris Dodd’s (D-Conn.) financial regulatory reform bill scheduled for 5 p.m. this evening, Senate Democrats spent the weekend negotiating with Republicans likely to support the bill, including Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe.
It seems that Democrats do not yet have the crossover support.
Sen. Mitch McConnell (Ky.), the minority leader, told FOX News Sunday, “It’s my expectation that we will not go forward with this partisan bill tomorrow,” and that “it’s not ready yet.” On NBC’s Meet the Press, Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) and Sen. Dodd said much the same. “I think that nothing happens between now and tomorrow,” Shelby said. “The Democrats will not get cloture.”
But Republican opposition to the bill seemed to be softening, with issues for debate winnowing down to: the $50 billion “resolution authority” fund, which some Republicans wrongly insist would mean taxpayer funded bailouts for big firms; the role of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency; and a provision backed by Republicans to guarantee no taxpayer funds will be used for bailouts.
Nam said the Red Cross is as obsessive as Edward Cullen when it comes to making sure he keeps up his donation schedule. He says the organization is bordering on harassment as it urges him to come in and open up his veins.
I just wanted to share my recent experiences with the American Red Cross. Let’s preface this by saying I respect the mission and goals of the organization and I don’t have any problem with the organization’s purpose.
That said, I have been getting calls from the American Red Cross everyday at least twice (sometimes 3 times!) a day for the past month and a half. Every time they ask me to come in and donate blood. I have been sick on and off and missed my last scheduled donation session. However, I am constantly getting calls from their volunteers to come in and donate blood. It almost feels like I am being harassed because I have a something that belongs to them.
I believe I was more than nice simply telling their volunteers that I have been sick and I will have to decline to donate each time they call. Around 3 days ago I received yet another call and I told the volunteer I have been really ill from a stomach virus and I finally asked to be taken off the call list and I would call when I was ready to come in for my next donation. She kindly agreed and I thought that was going to be the end of the incessant calls. The next day I received yet another call from another volunteer of the Red Cross. I told her I was called the previous day and asked to be taken off the list and I would make an appointment to donate when I felt up for it. She kindly apologized and said they had been making a lot of repeat calls because of a problem with the system. I said, “no problem, honest problem” and that was the end of that conversation and what I thought would be the end of the calls. The next morning (8:30 AM on a SATURDAY) I get yet another call from another volunteer of the American Red Cross.
I was a bit annoyed, but still tried to be polite since I figure it’s not her fault their system is telling her to call me. I again asked to be taken off the list because I was getting incessant calls multiple times a day. She continues to “encourage” me that I need to donate because there is a severe shortage of blood in the area. Valid problem, but will a pint of my blood really be missed until I get better? I firmly declined to make an appointment and stated I would really like it if they “stopped calling me at all waking hours of the day”. I admit there was a significant amount of annoyance behind that statement and this is where the conversation goes south.
The volunteer snaps back, ” [the Red Cross] doesn’t call at all hours”. My response, “yes you may not call every hour, but 2-3 times is a bit excessive”. She follows with a statement dripping with sarcasm. At this point I am so appalled that all I can muster is a, “just please stop calling”, and hang up on her. Today is Sunday and I am 99% positive I received another call from the Red Cross today because their calls always show up as “unknown number” on my cell.
While I appreciate the Red Cross trying to get much needed blood donations I find it a bit ridiculous that I am practically harassed to donate blood and the attitude I got from a volunteer makes me NEVER want to go back to the Red Cross. My fiance has already been pissed off by a few of the Red Cross volunteers and vowed to only donate blood at the blood bank run by the local hospital. I am probably going to do the same at this point. At what point is it considered excessive and is their any recourse for me if I am constantly called by them even after asking many times to be taken off their call list? I realize they are not telemarketers and are not subject to the “Do not call” list regulations, but how do I make it stop? I understand they are trying to do a good thing, but is it really wise to annoy their current pool or regular blood donors?
Any ideas on how to get Red Cross off Nam’s tail? Maybe a garlic necklace?
Over the course of BBGeeks’ almost-three years, we’ve done plenty of quick tips. So many, I suppose, that I sometimes think we’ve covered something, but have not. That sometimes works out well. Today, for instance, I had planned a tip about removing phone information from your BlackBerry inbox. I thought we had done a tip on separating SMS from your inbox, but after a few searches I found that not to be the case. So it’s a two-for-one. How to remove SMS, and then how to remove call information from your BlackBerry inbox.
Bruce V. Bigelow wrote:
—Xconomy’s list of San Diego’s top 10 VC deals during the first quarter of 2010 included funding for three high-tech startups, although investments in life sciences and medical devices accounted for most of the money and deals. EMN8, which is developing automated kiosks for fast-service restaurants, raised almost $14.5 million; Avaak, which developed a wireless webcam system, got $10 million; and AwarePoint, which developed a wireless tag and tracking system for medical equipment and supplies, also got $10 million.
—Confident Technologies, a new startup with network security technology salvaged from Portland, OR-based Vidoop, announced its debut as a San Diego-based startup. The company says its image-based security technology is intuitive and easier for customers to remember.
—Connect inducted software industry pioneer Peter Preuss into its Entrepreneurial Hall of Fame, a pantheon that includes Qualcomm founder Irwin Jacobs, Idec Pharmaceuticals founder William Rastetter, and SAIC founder J. Robert Beyster. Preuss, the eighth inductee, founded ISSCO, one of the first software companies to specialize in computer graphics. He sold the company to Computer Associates in 1986.
—San Diego’s Imagine Communications, a five-year-old digital video startup, raised $10 million in a Series C round of venture funding from its existing venture investors. The company, which has now secured more than $34 million, specializes in digital video technology for cable TV operators.
—Google Ventures led a $5 million Series B round of venture funding for San Diego’s OpenCandy, a web-based venture that operates a kind of online marketplace for open-source software. The company, started by …Next Page »
For the most part, Flash has always been the standard for showing video on the web (think of YouTube and Vimeo), supported in all browsers with the only exception being the iPhone and most recently, the iPad. But now, with HTML5, the new video tag is creeping into our lives and opening up many new, exciting and standardized media possibilities for web developers.
Some quick resources to get started…
Alright gang, it’s official – RIM this morning announced the BlackBerry Bold 9650 and the Pearl 9100 series. I’ll be getting some hands-on time with the two in the coming hour and will report back, but in the meantime, some quick specs for you:
BlackBerry Bold 9650 – Website
BlackBerry Pearl 9100 Series – Website
More to come!
2011 Nissan LEAF
It was reported just last week that pre-orders of the Nissan Leaf have reached 3,754 units in three weeks in its domestic market after launching the pre-order process in Japan on April 1. That exceeds half of the company’s sales target for FY2010, which is 6,000 units.
As of Friday morning, more than 6,600 people in the U.S. have reserved the Leaf, just a few days after Nissan started taking reservation for its new electric-vehicle. The reservations for the Leaf come from potential buyers in the United States who paid a $99 refundable deposit.
Prices for the 2011 Nissan Leaf will start at $32,780 or $25,280 with a federal tax-credit. That works out to a lease payment of $349 a month.
Click here to read news on the Nissan Leaf.
Refresher: Power for the Nissan Leaf comes from a 107-hp electric-motor that runs on power supplied by lithium-ion cells. On a full-charge, the Nissan Leaf allows for a driving range of 100 miles with a top speed of 87 mph. A full charge takes up to 8 hours on a standard 200V outlet. Buyers can opt for the DC 50kW quick-charger, which recharges the battery up to 80 percent in under 30 minutes.
– By: Kap Shah
Source: Free Press
Electronics are best found in Best Buy, America’s electronic store chain. Well, Best Buy is setting up in the UK too and will offer a whole range of green technology. The Best Buy stores in UK will have GreenTech areas showcasing everything that’s green and uses electricity, including electric vehicles.
The first store will be situated in Thurrock, Essex and will open up next Friday. Planning an expensive electric car? Step inside UK’s first Best Buy with the £86,950 Tesla Roadster on display! That’s not all. The store also offers less expensive electric vehicles too. You can also grab solar chargers for your electric gadgets, energy monitors, energy saving plugs and gadgets and a whole lot of other cool stuff from the stores GreenTech section. Hopefully stores like these open up around the world making green technology easily accessible and buyable.
This is the latest motherboard of the latest PS3 Slim. And thanks to those two silver squares in the middle, it’s less power-hungry and more profitable (err, potentially profitable) than ever before. More »
Oh well. Even though The Street announced RIM’s two upcoming phones a bit early this morning, it still doesn’t take away from their appeal. Suits, corporate types and anyone that takes mobile email seriously should take notice. These two are nice.
The Bold 9650 seems to be a trackpad-equipped Tour loaded with 802.11b/g, GPS, a 3.2 MP camera, and EV-DO or UMTS/HSPDA. Expect this boy next month from Sprint.
The Pearl 3G rocks the same specs as its full keyboard brothern, but instead goes at it with a SureType pad instead. Inside is the same hardware for WiFi, GPS, and network capabilities. However, it doesn’t seem that the phone will leave the Canadan boarder and instead be limited to Bell, Telus, and Rogers.
RIM will no doubt fill in the rest of the details later today at its WES show.
Update: RIM just made these phones official by launching their product pages — Bold 9650 and Pearl 3G. Thankfully The Street got most of it right the first time around except it seem Verizon will get the Bold 9650 along with Sprint in May.
[JURIST] Liberian Justice Minister Christiana Tah has said that a report issued by the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) will be reviewed by Liberian officials in order to determine if prosecutions for possible war crimes should proceed. The TRC report, issued last December, detailed crimes committed during Liberia’s civil war, including the recruitment of child soldiers, the rape of women, as well as the death of more than 250,000 citizens. According to Tah, the committee reviewing the TRC report will be trying to determine who committed the most serious atrocities so that prosecutions can proceed as quickly as possible. Some in Liberia are skeptical that the government will proceed with prosecutions based on the TRC report. One of the report’s most controversial recommendations is a proposed 30-year ban from holding office for those who supported the civil conflict, which could affect prominent leaders such as current President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Skeptics contend it is unlikely that Sirleaf would support some of the recommendations while ignoring those that would have a direct impact on her political future. Supporters of the TRC report contend that prosecutions are necessary to achieving justice but warn that the process would be drawn out and that it could take up to 10 years before the trials could be held.
The TRC report also contained a list of “Most Notorious Predators” and a list of perpetrators of economic crimes, which includes the head of the legal association for the defense of former president Charles Taylor. Taylor is currently on trial before the Special Court for Sierra Leone sitting at The Hague. Taylor faces 11 counts of crimes against humanity, violations of the Geneva Conventions, and other violations of international humanitarian law stemming from a “campaign to terrorize the civilian population” of Sierra Leone.
The Earth Day test flight of the bio-fuel powered F/A-18 Green Hornet was just one of the efforts the Navy has taken up to switch to alternative fuels. According to Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, the Navy saw a change in its energy provider in the 1850s when sails were done away to make way for coal. In the early 20th century, coal was pushed away and oil poured into fuel tanks instead. Perhaps its time now to switch to a cleaner, greener and more energy efficient fuel!
If all goes as planned by Ray Mabus, the Navy will have an aircraft carrier and its support vessels fossil-fueled by 2016. National security is yet another stronger reason, besides environment friendliness, that is having the Navy make these efforts. Maybe we could do away with wars altogether and save the world of a whole lot of energy too!
Taylor Swift, the lovely Grammy Award-winning country pop singer, songwriter and actress is the latest addition to Sony’s never ending cast of celebrity endorsers. We figured it wouldn’t be much longer before Swift popped up on the radar again after CEO and President Sir Howard Stringer introduced her at the beginning of Sony’s CES 2010 press conference. Swift’s work with Sony will appear on national broadcast TV, online, mobile as well as print mediums and focus on the sleek and powerful Cyber-shot DSC-TX7 digital still camera and its intelligent iSweep Panorama feature that captures ultra-wide panoramic shots in one easy “press and sweep” motion; a technology innovation currently only available by Sony. In the commercial, Taylor discovers just how easy it is to take a panoramic shot with the touch of a button – it’s positioned as Taylor gets all of her fans in the picture during a concert.
“My fans are on the cutting edge, and I’m very interested in the newest and best technologies out there,” said Swift. “I’m super excited to be working with Sony and using the TX7 camera. The iSweep panorama mode is amazing.”
The commercial will air tonight on Fox (“House”), CW (“Gilmore Girls”), and on NBC (“Chuck.”) and continue on those networks throughout the summer. Expect the print and radio ads in June.
Taylor Swift fans can also take advantage of an exclusive series of TX7 cameras that have been engraved with Taylor Swift’s signature and will be on sale at SonyStyle.
“This campaign with Swift and the TX7 camera is the start of a year-long campaign designed to demonstrate the quality, innovation, style and design that only Sony-branded products stand for,” said Stuart Redsun, Sony Electronics’ senior vice president, corporate marketing. “Sony is the only electronics company that creates entertainment and the only entertainment company that makes electronics. The ‘wow’ factor in our newest ad is clearly illustrated when Taylor puts the TX7 in action.”
This marketing push is merely the beginning of a larger campaign about innovation. Swift and other celebrity guests will stop by the Sony Innovation Center where all of Sony’s electronics and entertainment assets unite. All aspects of this year-long advertising campaign with interactive content and Sony’s latest innovations will be highlighted at Sony’s Innovations website.
We gave the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX7 several good words in a recent review – it’s pretty great with HD movie recording, MS Duo/SD card compatibility, 3.5 inch touchscreen, TransferJet capability, and much more.
We’ll know just how much CO2 power plants in Canada spew, thanks to the new mobile carbon dioxide capture and compressor unit unveiled on Monday by Canada’s natural resources ministry that will measure and analyze power plants’ emissions. Known as the CanCO2, this unit removes pollutants from plant emissions, purifies and compresses CO2 to be stored, transported and used.
Data recorded by the unit will help in further carbon capture and storage procedures. Up scaling this technology would help Ottawa reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, according to Natural Resources Minister Christian Paradis, which is why the Zero-Emission Technologies Group Is currently negotiating with two other companies for a technology boost.
[Yahoo]
PS3 firmware updates have been in the headlines recently thanks to the OtherOS uninstall, but there was also that attractive 3D gaming business too. It’s not all bad at Sony—unless you don’t own a VAIO laptop, anyway. More »
Research In Motion today introduced two new BlackBerry handsets, the Bold 9650 and Pearl 3G, in advance of the company’s Wireless Electronics Symposium, which officially begins tomorrow in Orlando, Fla. Both handsets are slightly redesigned, updated models of currently available BlackBerry devices, but neither runs on the new BlackBerry operating system, screenshots of which surfaced last week.
The Bold 9650 supports both GSM / CDMA networks for voice and HSPA / EVDO for wireless data, allowing for potential support on all major U.S. carriers and use by international travelers. Such network flexibility comes at a price however — talk and standby times for the Bold 9650 are 5 hours and 13 days, which is less than the 6 hours and 17 days of battery life on currently available Bold 9700. Nearly all other features and known specifications of the 9650 are comparable to the 9700, including the 3.2 megapixel camera, integrated GPS radio and optical trackpad.
The new Pearl 3G — HSPA only, no EVDO — is also comparable to current BlackBerry models, but gains 802.11n Wi-Fi support for faster wireless transfers over a greater range. Gone is the trackball from the new Pearl 3G, which is replaced by the same optical trackpad found on the new Bold model. The Pearl’s camera sensor is bumped to 3.2 megapixels and supports auto-focus, a 2.5x digital zoom and video recording. Based on the supported frequencies, the Pearl 3G will work on both the T-Mobile and AT&T networks for voice and high-speed data in the U.S.
Upgraded handsets are usually welcomed by consumers, but these two devices are only prolonging the inevitable for Research In Motion. To continue growing market share against the likes of Android and iPhone, the new BlackBerry operating system needs to arrive sooner, rather than later. And it must include that WebKit-based browser that Research In Motion has in the works too. BlackBerry devices may be king of email activities, but consumers are already using the web for social networking more than they’re emailing. It’s time for Research In Motion to get in motion on the new OS.
Related research on GigaOM Pro (sub req’d):
Three Things RIM Must Do to Remain a Player in Superphones
