TV and video deals, a literally swinging musical, and Microsoft’s Kinect sales look good!
Economics/Geekonomics:
A roundup of the European bailout. Remember when people discussed the bailout in terms of one country or another . . . just a few weeks ago?
Geek Law:
Apple Lawyers up for it’s various patent showdowns. At this rate I’m having trouble keeping track of it all. This is pretty much business as usual it seems (notice how often Apple has gotten sued), but as this is in the very hot mobile space, it’s a bit more important. I expect things to be settled amicably . . . but if I’m wrong, then watch out.
US Government siezes websites over copyright violations. A rather aggressive approach and it may herald future, harsher approaches. It also further lowers the opinion of the Obama Administration among the geek crowd.
Comics:
Spider Man Musical? A roundup of reviews here, which aren’t exactly positive. io9 feels it’s an imperfect but compellingly surreal and over the top experience. I’m not sure what to say about this, as the musical sounds like some surreal meta-fictional endeavor, but it is certainly ambitious. Sadly no matter what is done I smell bomb.
Publishing:
Virgin’s iPad Magazine launches tonight. Time to see how it goes over . . .
Now that’s using backlog: Playboy releases every issue on a hard drive. All for $300. This is a recent trend that seems to have been building.
Video:
Disney in talks with Google over content on Google.tv. That’s two big powerhouses teaming up – possibly. Let’s see what happens . . . though certainly Google is charging ahead with it’s plans.
Meanwhile down Microsoft way, Microsoft is working on TV deals. So is the XBox going to become more a cable box? An interesting hint on their future agenda – media consolidation? That’s pretty much taking on Sony. Now I wonder how their motion control combines with an increased focus on multimedia – audio/visual TV viewing? Game/TV fusion?
Video Games:
Microsoft says they sold 2.5 million Kinects in the first 25 days. I actually have no reason to doubt them, and can buy the future sales projections.
QUESTION OF THE DAY:What superhero would make a good musical?