ZillionTV takes a new approach to the set-top box

ZillionTV takes a new approach to the set-top box

ZillionTV, yet another company serving on-demand internet video to television sets, has unveiled its set-top box to a largely unenthused audience. With Apple TV, Roku, Vudu, 2Wire, Boxee and more already battling it out, it seems doubtful that a player so late to the game… Continue Reading

Roundup: Intel pours cash into factories, N.J. goes solar, Obama taps cybersecurity chief, and more

Roundup: Intel pours cash into factories, N.J. goes solar, Obama taps cybersecurity chief, and more

Microsoft to tighten ties with Facebook chat? — Steve Ballmer implies (oh so subtly) full interoperability between Facebook chat and Windows Live Messenger.

Intel to sink funds into factories — Despite the downturn, the giant earmarks $7 billion for its chip manufacturing plants over the next two years.

Obama… Continue Reading

Boxee raises funding as it goes after content, your living room

Boxee raises funding as it goes after content, your living room

I need to install Boxee. I’ve been putting it off, but it needs to happen — like tomorrow. You see, the media center solution startup has a fairly straightforward way of getting content from providers like Hulu (the NBC and Fox-backed online video streaming site)… Continue Reading

Roku nabs funds for video and digital media delivery

Roku nabs funds for video and digital media delivery

Digital media device maker Roku announced today that it scored an undisclosed but substantial amount in third round funding. Famous for the Netflix Player — the set-top box that lets you watch any of Netflix’s “play instantly” movies or TV shows in your living room… Continue Reading

Roundup: Amazon takes over reader social networking, IE8 to subtract ads, bad signs from China and more

Roundup: Amazon takes over reader social networking, IE8 to subtract ads, bad signs from China and more

Amazon buys social network for book lovers — Shelfari, a small social network for bibliophiles, has been acquired by Amazon.com, according to John Cook at the Seattle PI. Amazon also has a stake in Shelfari’s main competitor, LibraryThing.

Internet Explorer to subtract some ads — A feature called… Continue Reading

Roundup: Icahn’s board selections, YouTube live streaming plan nixed and more

Roundup: Icahn’s board selections, YouTube live streaming plan nixed and more

Here’s the latest action:

Icahn haz board members? – Billionaire investor Carl Icahn is already on Yahoo’s board, but now he needs to fill the two complimentary seats given to him by Yahoo. Edward Meyer and Frank Biondi are the two front runners in AllThingsD’s Kara… Continue Reading

Can hi-def porn save Vudu?

Can hi-def porn save Vudu?

Vudu was sitting pretty 16 months ago. The set top box that streams premium content over the Internet to your television had over 5,000 movies from all the major studios except Sony and a bunch of smaller ones. This was impressive compared to its rivals,… Continue Reading

Digital distribution red hot: LG Blu-ray player to stream Netflix movies

Digital distribution red hot: LG Blu-ray player to stream Netflix movies

Ever since Apple beefed up its Apple TV offering by announcing support for movie rentals from all the major movie studios back in January, the battle for digital distribution supremacy in the living room has been heating up. Recently, there’s been a string of big… Continue Reading

Rumor: Has Vudu just raised more than $40M?

Rumor: Has Vudu just raised more than $40M?

We’ve heard a rumor that Vudu, a startup seeking to bring internet video to your television, has raised more than $40 million of funding. Our source says hedge funds are the likely backers.

I emailed the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company a few minutes ago, and I’ll… Continue Reading

Roundup: Singularity hype, Xobni, Rapleaf selling your data, Vudu, Seedcamp and more

Roundup: Singularity hype, Xobni, Rapleaf selling your data, Vudu, Seedcamp and more

Here’s the latest action:

Singularity Institute, the quirky group that thinks machines will take over – Peter Thiel, the former CEO of PayPal, and leader of the Founders Fund, graces the pages of the Mercury News and the SF Chron today with his views about how… Continue Reading