Internet connection

In a move to shake up the online gaming industry, OnLive has announced PC and Mac versions of its on-demand, instant-play games will roll out in June during the E3 2010 show. Here's the rub: Gamers don't have to buy a console, and they can get broadband speeds.

Everyone loves clouds these days in corporate computing, and the concept will be a big part of the buzz at the CeBIT information-technology trade fair in Germany March 2-6.

Tasks that we used to do with a desktop computer are often being shifted into the "cloud," meaning that some nameless computer, often on another continent, is helping do the job or save the data.

"It's not just big companies like Microsoft and IBM that are going in for this. Quite small companies will be showing cloud products at CeBIT," said trade fair spokesman, Hartwig von Sass.

The world's biggest retailer has long struggled to dominate the streaming video market against competitors like Netflix, Apple and Blockbuster. Now Wal-Mart is taking a new tack, The New York Times reports.

Sources told the Times that Wal-Mart has agreed to buy VUDU, a three-year-old company that embeds its streaming technology into high-definition TVs and Blu-Ray DVD players. Wal-Mart and VUDU began briefing movie studios and TV makers about the deal on Monday.

Control the User Experience

Webcams may be the most underutilized feature of computers today.

Even when they are used -- during teleconferences or in less formal one-one-one video sessions -- many people are confused about how to transmit high-quality video images, set up their microphones properly, or adjust their video transmission software. Read on to find out.

Q: Is there any way to improve the video transmission quality of webcams?

Google has expanded the availability of its free Google Maps Navigation service, which previously ran only on handsets equipped with the company's Android 2.0 operating system. Now handsets running Android 1.6 and higher -- such as the T-Mobile myTouch 3G and the G1 -- have access to the beta software, according to navigation manager Michael Siliski.

"If you have a phone running Android 1.6, you can download an updated version of Google Maps from Android Market," Siliski said. "So if you're traveling this Thanksgiving, you'll be able to enjoy the benefits."

The chief executive of Fox Filmed Entertainment said Monday the U.S. should join France in cutting off the Internet connection of users who repeatedly download copyright-protected films.

CEO Jim Gianopulos said Internet piracy is the single biggest threat to the film industry worldwide, and independent films are the hardest hit.

"The bad news is that the Internet is big, and it's anonymous," Gianopulos told a news conference in Athens.

In a personal-navigation market that's seeing increased competition, Google on Wednesday rolled out a free navigation system for Android-based smartphones. Google Maps Navigation is the next step in Google Maps for mobile.

With Google Maps Navigation, Google is competing with GPS navigation devices from the likes of TomTom and Garmin, as well as navigation platforms developed by wireless carriers like AT&T, Verizon and Sprint Nextel. The first smartphone with the new service will be the Motorola Droid from Verizon Wireless.

Lawrence Lessig in The New Republic:

By now it is certainly not news to note that YouTube is already the largest on-demand broadcast medium for anyone with an internet connection, boasting over 71 million unique users each month and the 6th largest audience on the Internet. 75% of all Americans have watched at least one video clip online in the last month. These staggering numbers coupled with the rise of broadband adoption in the US (over 80% of Internet users in the US have broadband as of March 2009) mean that online video is no longer a niche activity and has squarely hit the mainstream.

By now it is certainly not news to note that YouTube is already the largest on-demand broadcast medium for anyone with an internet connection, boasting over 71 million unique users each month and the 6th largest audience on the Internet. 75% of all Americans have watched at least one video clip online in the last month. These staggering numbers coupled with the rise of broadband adoption in the US (over 80% of Internet users in the US have broadband as of March 2009) mean that online video is no longer a niche activity and has squarely hit the mainstream.