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Netflix Launches Its Movies And TV Shows Service In Latin America

Thomas Oppong — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 17:57:08 +0000

Netflix has launched its Movies and TV shows service in Latin America. In a blog post to announce the service, Netflix stated:

Starting today, people throughout Latin America and the Caribbean who love watching movies and TV shows can enjoy a service that has revolutionized the viewing habits of more than 25 million North Americans by letting them watch what they want, when and where they want.

Netflix launches in Brazil and over the next week, Netflix will launch throughout Latin America and the Caribbean – some 43 countries and territories in all.

By September 12, people throughout the Americas will be able to instantly watch a broad selection of movies and TV shows streaming from Netflix on computers, game consoles like the WII and PS3, and Smart TVs. A Netflix membership provides unlimited movies and TV shows for a low monthly subscription. Brazilians can now sign up for one month free at www.netflix.com.

You Will Soon Be Streaming(Spotify, MOG And Rdio) Music On Facebook

Thomas Oppong — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 22:21:36 +0000

Facebook will launch its music platform at next month’s f8 developers’conference. Facebook’s f8 conference will take place in San Francisco on September 22. Facebook will be partnering with the likes of Spotify, Rdio and MOG to allow you to stream music on facebook.

Facebook has told media executives in recent days that it will begin letting online music services such as Spotify AB and Rdio Inc. publish user activity on Facebook pages, much like actions such as adding friends or “liking” websites.

Facebook says that’s nothing new. A spokesman for the site told Mashable.com that “many of the most popular music services around the world are integrated with Facebook — and we’re constantly talking to our partners about ways to improve these integrations.”

Mashable has also stated that they’ve heard whispers that Facebook intends for this platform to go beyond music — for example, it’s possible that Netflix could stream movies through Facebook.

Amazon Acquires Pushbutton(TV App Maker)

Thomas Oppong — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 12:29:09 +0000

Pushbutton have announced today that Amazon.com have acquired Push Button Holdings Ltd, a UK company that develops interactive apps for connected TVs. “Pushbutton has a strong reputation for delivering amazing user experiences on connected devices,” said Greg Greeley, Amazon’s Vice President of European Retail. “They were instrumental in helping launch the LOVEFiLM player through a variety of devices, and we look forward to helping them continue to innovate on behalf of customers.”

“With Amazon and LOVEFiLM’s support, we look forward to offering our clients, as well as their customers, even more ways to access digital services in the future,” said Paula Byrne, Pushbutton Managing Director.

Pushbutton is an interactive digital design and build company operating within the media sector. With a long history of creating digital TV products and services it specialises in the design and development of next generation user interfaces across a range of traditional and emerging TV platforms and the companion devices that support them.

Pushbutton works with TV Platform owners, consumer electronics companies, technology vendors, gaming organizations and content owners.

LinkedIn Launches Job Application Tool ( Apply with LinkedIn )

Thomas Oppong — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 20:41:08 +0000

LinkedIn has launched its “Apply with LinkedIn” plugin allow job candidates to apply for available positions using their LinkedIn profiles as resumes.

LinkedIn wants to make it easy for you to submit your profile for any job application on the web with one simple click. Some of the first companies to debut “Apply with LinkedIn” button on their company websites (besides our own) include Netflix, TripIt, Photobucket and over a thousand other companies.

LinkedIn has now made it simple enough to implement so both companies and developers can easily include it on their corporate websites.

How it works
Once you click on the “Apply with LinkedIn” button, you’ll get a user experience that’s been optimized for the web. In addition to updating your profile real time, LinkedIn will also show you your professional connections that work at the company to increase your chances of getting hired through a referral.

If you don’t know anybody at the company, LinkedIn will show you people who can introduce you to someone there.

Finally, LinkedIn records all “Apply with LinkedIn” submissions in the “Saved Jobs” tab (under the Jobs category on LinkedIn) so you have a record of all the jobs you’ve applied to around the web, throughout your career.

MoviePass To Offer You Unlimited Movie Tickets For A Flat Monthly Rate

Thomas Oppong — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 18:49:22 +0000

Would you pay $50 a month to watch unlimited movies in theaters? MoviePass thinks so. MoviePass is a new service which will allow subscribers to watch an unlimited number of theatrical releases for just $50 a month. MoviePass is hoping to bring the subscription model that Netflix pioneered for movie rentals to physical movie tickets.

MoviePass wants to revolutionize the theatergoing experience in much the same way Netflix did for home viewing.MoviePass promises to let subscribers watch unlimited movies in theaters, using their smartphones as tickets. The fee is $50 for all-you-can-watch; 3D and IMAX films will incur an additional $3 surcharge. The founder is Stacy Spikes, a former Miramax marketing exec who also founded the Urbanworld Film Festival in 1997.

MoviePass will let users search for a film, find a local showtime, check in to the theater and go straight to the box office.

To prevent abuse, there are a few rules and regulations regarding the service.

-Users are limited to seeing one movie per day. We understand this limitation, but it’s a bummer for those of us who like to see multiple movies on a rainy Saturday.
-Users can only see a movie one time. If you want to re-watch Transformers 3 or another summer blockbuster, you’ll need to pay for your ticket.
-Tickets are non-transferrable.
-Tickets must be purchased the day of the show.
-3D and IMAX tickets will cost an additional $3. The user will just pay the difference in ticket price between -2D and 3D but can still purchase and pick up tickets the same way as with a regular 2D film.

500 Startups Selects 20 Startups For Its Accelerator Program

Thomas Oppong — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 18:05:38 +0000

500 Startups has released the list of the second group of companies in its incubator program, the 500 Startups Accelerator. As part of the announcement, 500 Startups said three of the companies would receive funding from its specially targeted programs.

500 Startups provides early-stage companies with funding ranging from $10K to $250K via seed investments,

The selected startups include:

AppGrooves — An iOS app that recommends other apps, promises to “fill the gap between Apple’s App Store and modern advanced EC sites such as Amazon and Netflix.”
BugHerd — ”The world’s simplest bug tracker for web designers and developers.”
Cardinal Blue — “Building a better way for people to work together in real-time using photos and chat.”
Culture Kitchen — “Connects lower-income immigrant women skilled in cooking authentic, ethnic cuisines with food lovers who want to learn this craft and the story behind food.”
Daily Aisle — A site where brides can find and book wedding vendors.
Hello World — “Simple profiles for developers.”
Kibin — “Kibin users will give you unbiased feedback on essays, resumes, or breakup notes.”
LaunchBit — “Builds tools to help new web entrepreneurs do customer development.”
LaunchRock — Helps companies launch themselves and their products.
OVIA — A video interview application “to provide a more human approach to finding the best talent.”
Scoopola — “Scoopola is the HotelTonight for live music and theater.”
Snapette — Finding and sharing fashion on your phone.
StoryTree — “Brings families and loved ones closer together by capturing and sharing the stories that matter.”
Tout — “Canned responses on steroids with analytics.”
Vayable — “A marketplace for things to do on vacation.”
VidCaster — An easy way to create a video site on your own domain.
Volta — A tool to track and test the effectiveness of outbound phone calls.
Vvall — “Helps you complete your memories by collecting moments captured by friends.”
Welcu — “Complete control of your event planning.”
Zerply — “A non-corporate LinkedIn, built for the generation who has grown up with the web.”

500 Startups has released the list of the second group of companies in its incubator program, the 500 Startups Accelerator.As part of the announcement, 500 Startups said three of the companies would receive funding from its specially targeted programs.

Rent the Runway Scores $15 Million From Kleiner Perkins

Thomas Oppong — Tue, 24 May 2011 01:20:12 +0000

Rent the Runway, an online destination for dress, accessory and bridesmaid dress rentals, has raised $15 million in venture capital from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB). At only eighteen months into business, the investment from KPCB signals the extremely fast growth of the online designer dress and accessory rental business.

Prior to KPCB’s $15 million investment, Rent the Runway received more than $16 million from Bain Capital Ventures and Highland Capital, including seed funding pre-launch from Bain Capital Ventures in early 2009.

Jennifer Hyman, Rent the Runway CEO and co-founder stated, “The success of KPCB’s past and existing portfolio companies is a sign of the incredible strength of their team who we are thrilled to work with.”

With the $15 million investment, Rent the Runway will scale from a transactional online business into an operational powerhouse. The company has begun to develop a sophisticated inventory and reservation management system with embedded predictive capabilities that to date has only existed for commodity goods such as cars and hotels.

Rent the Runway will also open the first of multiple warehouse hubs outside of New York City in January 2012. Additionally, the company will personalize the shopping experience using proprietary algorithms rivaling that of Netflix.

YouTube Unveils 3,000 New Movie Titles for Rent Available to Users in the U.S

Thomas Oppong — Mon, 09 May 2011 19:58:05 +0000

Today, Youtube started adding around 3,000 new movie titles for rent available to users in the U.S that will be accompanied by reviews and behind-the-scenes movie extras. Whether it’s short movie trailers, funny movie parodies or full-length blockbuster films, we encourage you to sit back and settle in to the YouTube movies experience.

In addition to expanding our movie offerings, Youtube is also bolstering its investment in the content that’s already being viewed by hundred of millions of people on YouTube. Our 20,000+ partners—including Machinima, Annoying Orange and Ryan Higa—are producing original content for the web and commanding TV-size audiences for their own brand of programming.

Through YouTube Next, the company is helping fuel the creation of this type of content with initiatives like the YouTube Creator Institute and YouTube NextUp, following past initiatives like Partner Grants (which brought us Key of Awesome, creators of one of 2010’s most-watched videos) and $1,000 B&H Photo credits.

Zediva Is The New Netflix With A Controversial Twist

Thomas Oppong — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 14:56:33 +0000

Through Zediva, you can pick the DVD you want to rent when you want and watch it on any device you want, anywhere you are. Zediva lets you watch top just-released DVDs over the Internet for as little as $1 each.

The company, Zediva Inc., buys DVDs when they are first released to the home movie market, pops them into a bank of rack-mounted, Web-connected DVD players in Santa Clara and streams the video on demand online.

And unlike other streaming services from Netflix Inc. and others, Zediva lets viewers access special DVD features like the director’s commentary and a variety of subtitles.

“Our goal is to have the top 100 movies of the last 12 months at any time,” said Venky Srinivasan, co-founder and CEO.

It costs $1.99 per movie, or 10 rentals for $10, which includes unlimited playback for up to 14 days. Essentially, members get a long remote control for up to four hours at a time to a DVD player stocked with selected film.

Although copyright experts say Hollywood studios may have grounds to haul the 3-year-old startup into court, Zediva executives say a federal court ruling gives the company a legal green light.

“We believe there is precedent for what we are doing and that we are fully compliant with the law,” Vivek Gupta, co-founder and chief technical officer, said in an interview before Zediva’s official launch last week.

Ditto Aims To Be The Foursquare of Your Future

Thomas Oppong — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 11:41:09 +0000

Foursquare as of now can tell everyone what you’re currently doing, but there’s no mechanism yet for planning something to do or for getting a recommendation for something to do. Ditto aims to fill that space.

Ditto is an iPhone app in the location space that goes beyond the check-in.
Looking to hang out? Find out what your friends are up to, have a conversation or get a group together. Ditto makes it easy to get recommendations about restaurants, movies and things to do. See what your friends are doing, when they’re looking for a friend to join them for coffee, what movie they’re going to see, and what their evening plans are.

Ditto was founded by Google’s Ex-Head of Social and the former founder of Jaiku, Jyri Engestrom.

In explaining how it works, Engestrom said “The same basic use case applies equally to a broad range of social objects, including Netflix movies, books, music, etc. — all now consumable on the device! We’ll be adding new activities dynamically to the app over the next months,”

Engestrom says. ”Discovery is going social, social is going mobile, and nailing it is a huge, Google-sized opportunity that could replace traditional search on the phone. Ditto’s beauty is in that it naturally captures you at the moment when you make a decision, and combines algorithmic results with real time recs from your social graph,” he continues.