Tag: BBC

We were surprised to find an interesting time waster on the BBC's website, of all places. Microlife doesn't fall neatly into a game category. Essentially you play God, and control the lives of tiny microlife, which are single-cell organisms that move around slowly. You feed them, and can train them to become warriors to defend their nest, but you have to be careful to keep an eye on your funds. ...

digg_url = "http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/02/bbcs-iplayer-adds-support-for-firefox/"; Rumors have been swirling for months that the BBC was going to allow users of their iPlayer service to access the popular player on a computer or platform other than Internet Explorer for Windows. Well today British citizens are part way there as the BBC has announced their support for the Firefox ...

Sure the BBC's iPlayer service is great if you want to catch up on TV shows you've missed, live in the UK, don't mind DRM, and like watching TV on your PC. But what if you want to watch TV on, you know, your TV? BBC Future Media and Technology Director Ashley Highfield writes on his blog that the BBC is looking into ways to bring iPlayer content to set top boxes. He says he's particularly ...

This summer the BBC launched its innovative iPlayer software. The service lets you watch selected shows that've aired on the BBC over the last seven days you: Are running Windows XP Are using Internet Explorer Use Windows Media Player Live in the UK The service drew protests from folks complaining that the BBC was including DRM in the videos and that Mac and Linux users were left out ...

Nevermind all that DRM stuff that we talked to the FSF about, the iPlayer is causing all sorts of other trouble for ISPs. The player, built for viewing and downloading popular television shows onto computers through the special application is taking a toll on the ISPs bandwidth. So much so that they are looking for compensation from the BBC, threatening to initiate traffic shaping that would slow ...

digg_url = 'http://digg.com/tech_news/Download_Squad_Interview_Free_Software_Foundation_s_Peter_Brown'; As we mentioned on Monday, the Free Software Foundation's Defective by Design campaign against DRM paid the U.K. a visit yesterday with protests outside the BBC's London and Manchester locations against the use of Microsoft DRM technology in their highly debated iPlayer software. The ...

British readers be warned: the Free Software Foundation's Defective by Design campaign is coming to our side of the pond tomorrow in protest at the BBC's decision to make extensive use of DRM (and in particular MIcrosoft's DRM) in their beta iPlayer software. For those who are unaware of the iPlayer, the BBC is making its programmes available for 'catch-up' via the iPlayer - albeit only for 7 days ...

The BBC made waves when it put forth plans to make thousands of hours of content available via the web to UK residents, who already pay a hefty tax to support the aging monolith. Those feelings of goodwill were dashed however, when it became apparent that access for all really meant access for all who run Windows XP, as the BBC's DRM solution isn't available for Linux or Mac users. Small signs ...

iPhone day is upon us. Much has already been written about the iPhone despite the fact that only a handful of journalists have used it. One thing that is common among all reviews is the AT&T's EDGE network is slow. Perhaps it is faster now but EDGE is still no 3G. Earlier this month at WWDC, Jobs told Apple's developers to develop web applications for the iPhone instead of releasing a SDK. ...

The BBC Trust has approved a proposed video-on-demand service for BBC viewers. The announcement follows a public test of the BBC's new iPlayer service. So what the heck is an iPlayer? Basically it's a service that offers BBC viewers online access to every television episode that has run on the state-regulated network over the past week, commercial-free. 10,500 viewers and organizations offered ...

The BBC plans to set up three YouTube channels featuring short clips of BBC content. There will be one news channel and two entertainment channels. One of the entertainment channels will feature trailers and short videos related to BBC programming. There will be no advertising on this channel. It's main purpose will be to drive traffic to the BBC's website, which in the future may include full ...

Look out for some BBC shows like Doctor Who to be available for download through BBC on demand. This new program will also users to watch or download popular television shows on their computers through a special application. The shows will be available up to a week after their initial airing. After this initial launch, the BBC will be releasing a desktop application called iPlayer which allows ...

The BBC has launched what it's calling "the world's largest ever climate experiment," a distributed computing project that will use thousands of volunteered home computers, a la SETI@Home, to predict climate change. The climate experiment, which apparently lacks a snappy name (or any name at all), utilizes a fancy screensaver that, like other distributed computing projects, uses your ...

It's two-for-one day on videos about Google. First is a Vlog from ABC's Bob Woodruff in which he tours the Google campus with a sort of breathless bewilderment. It's seven minutes of fluff, but a fun peep inside the company. Second is a half-hour feature from BBC News full of interviews with Google execs and staff plus industry insiders. It gives a high-level view of Google's history and future, ...