Mediaboss Marketing

You might not be used to barking orders at your television set, except to bellow dissatisfaction at a minister's responses in a Jeremy Paxman interview on Newsnight. Nor might you be used to gesturing at the screen, unless it's to wave your fist at the sight of Piers Morgan or Simon Cowell.

But perhaps you should get used to voice and gesture recognition behaviour. Microsoft's Xbox known to many as a video-games console for indulging in shoot-'em-up pastimes such as Call of Duty or Battlefield is about to make its big play to be the control system for all your home entertainment.

Not only that but the introduction of its SmartGlass technology, unveiled by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and his team this month, will allow users to continue watching, playing and interacting with Xbox content via their phones and tablets too.

The arrival of the SmartGlass app in the final quarter of this year will coincide with the critical launch of Microsoft's new Windows 8 technology, including new smartphones and tablets all based on the distinctive "smart tiles" interface already present on Xbox. But it is SmartGlass's compatibility with Apple's iOS and Google's Android, which gives Xbox the chance to dominate the living room.

SmartGlass is recognition of the now common practice of dual screening watching a TV show or film while using a laptop, phone or tablet simultaneously, often to comment to friends on social-media sites about what you are watching.

What will make it a game changer is if Xbox's content partners broadcasters, film studios, etc are able to provide SmartGlass with sufficient additional features that your viewing experience is transformed.

Explaining the new system at Microsoft's giant campus in Reading, senior company executive Neil Thompson compares the potential to the bonus DVDs sold with feature films.

The battle to control the home entertainment market is at a critical juncture and Microsoft faces serious competition. BSkyB, Virgin Media and the BBC-supported YouView project are among those developing fresh living-room products designed to realise the potential of internet-based television.

But Thompson claims that with the new Xbox features there's no need to go out and buy a fancy state-of-the-art television set at all. "We can give people the ability to make whatever TV they have got now into a smart TV," he says.

Launched in 2002, the Xbox experience has changed dramatically. It carries the BBC iPlayer and, for a 30-49 Xbox Live annual subscription on top of the console outlay of 149, a wide range of on-demand television and film services from partners such as Channel 4, Lovefilm, Netflix and Blinkbox. It has a vast library of music and video from Microsoft's own Zune service and users can access the Internet on their television screen via Microsoft's Bing search engine.

Link:
Ian Burrell: Microsoft unveils secret weapon in war for the future of entertainment

One of the men charged with doing burnouts at an Upper Hutt funeral has lost control with media outside court.

After the group appeared in Upper Hutt District Court this morning, one of the men chased a Dominion Post photographer and then lunged at a 3 News camera.

The men, aged between 18 and 27, face charges of dangerous driving and loss of traction after burnouts were done at the end of a funeral in March.

At the time Hutt Valley area commander Insp Mike Hill said the men placed the public at risk, and the police will not tolerate illegal street racers in the community.

Holding a driver's license does not make anyone an expert driver able to defy the laws of physics, Mr Hill said. We do not want any needless deaths or injuries on our roads.

The men had their vehicles impounded for 28 days after the incident.

All four menwere remanded on bail to reappear next month.

3 News

Continued here:
Burnout accused confronts media at court

By Victoria Thieberger

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Australia's Fairfax Media (FXJ.AX), publisher of some of the country's leading newspapers, will overhaul its top mastheads and slash almost one-fifth of its staff, the beginning of a widespread shakeup of Australia's media sector.

The media industry's old guard is struggling with a massive shift online, declining advertising revenues for newspaper and TV, and shrinking market share for free-to-air TV as consumers' choices multiply for news and entertainment.

Fairfax - which publishes the 181-year-old Sydney Morning Herald, Australia's oldest newspaper, as well as the Australian Financial Review and Melbourne's The Age - said it will cut 1,900 jobs over three years from its staff of 10,000.

It will also shut two printing plants and reduce broadsheet newspapers to tabloid formats as it refocuses towards online distribution.

"All the world's newspaper companies are experimenting with what sustainability looks like," said Margaret Simons, the head of the University of Melbourne's Centre for Advanced Journalism.

"There is no business model that can support the hundreds of journalists that are employed by companies such as Fairfax," she said.

In the United States, the Times-Picayune in New Orleans made headlines last week when it cut its print editions to three days a week, and in a conference call with analysts Fairfax said its options include a digital-only future if revenues continue to slide.

Trends in the United States point to even tougher times ahead, as the newspaper industry's efforts to boost digital revenue and cut costs fail to keep pace with declines in the print business, a Moody's report said this month, while online advertising sales growth is stalling.

Fairfax is considered vulnerable to a break-up or takeover, possibly by private equity, after its shares this month hit a record low below A$0.60 for a market capitalization of A$1.4 billion ($1.4 billion), down from A$7 billion five years ago.

Excerpt from:
Australia's Fairfax to slash newspaper jobs as media landscape shifts

SINGAPORE--(Marketwire -06/17/12)- Signiant, the market leader in intelligent file movement software for the media and entertainment industry, announced today at BroadcastAsia2012 that Future Reality, a leading supplier of creative technology and services, will resell Signiant solutions to film, broadcast and post-production customers in Australia.

Under the new partnership agreement, Future Reality will add Signiant's secure media file transfer solutions to its extensive portfolio of software and service offerings. Experts in production systems for editing, content creation, digital intermediate workflow and film-resolution shared storage solutions, Future Reality also provides a range of system design, installation and integration services; hardware and peripherals; and high-speed international network connectivity. Future Reality's customers include Animal Logic, Deluxe, Digital Pictures, Nine Network and XYZ Networks.

"Increasingly digital production environments require more efficient ways for content owners and creators to ingest, move and distribute media," said David Edgar, Managing Director at Future Reality. "Signiant gives these organizations the level of security, acceleration, automation and enterprise control they need -- together with flexibility and ease of use -- in a suite of compatible software solutions. We are delighted to add this powerful file transfer software to our technology offerings."

Used today by many of the world's top broadcasters, studios, media service providers, sports networks and game developers, Signiant's products include Managers+Agents, optimized for automated batch file transfers, advanced resource management and workflow integration; Media Exchange, featuring desktop, Web and mobile interfaces for moving file-based media between internal and external users; and Media Shuttle, offering enterprises of any size the convenience and ease of use of cloud-based file-sharing services without the file size limits or security risks associated with storing media assets in the cloud.

"With years of success serving the needs of broadcast and post-production customers in Australia and New Zealand, Future Reality truly understands the requirements of media enterprises," said Michael Burnie, Managing Director for Signiant Asia-Pacific and Japan. "The partnership between our companies allows Future Reality to address growing market demand in the region for more cost-efficient and reliable file-based media transfer solutions, and also enables Signiant to further increase its ability to secure media exchanges within and between organizations worldwide."

For a complete list of Signiant resellers, visit http://www.signiant.com/partners/channel-partners.

Editor's Note: Visit Signiant in stand 4U2-04 at BroadcastAsia2012, June 19-22, Suntec Singapore. For more information on this event, go to http://www.broadcast-asia.com.

About Future RealityFounded in 1993, Future Reality provides technology and services for broadcast television, video post-production and film special effects companies in Australia and New Zealand. The Future Reality brand is well-known and trusted by customers for quality and professionalism. With extensive industry knowledge and nearly two decades of experience selling and supporting software-based systems across a broad range of platform and operating systems, Future Reality has a proven track record of strong technical pre-sales and post-sales support for the products they carry, which include Apple, Assimilate, Avid, Bright Technology, Codex Digital, Da Vinci, EMC Isilon, HDS and Sohonet. For more information, visit http://www.future.com.au.

About SigniantUsed by the world's top content creators and distributors, Signiant is the market leader in intelligent file movement software for the media and entertainment industry. The company's powerful software suite optimizes existing enterprise network infrastructure and media technologies to ensure secure digital media exchanges, workflow efficiency and superior user experiences. Headquartered in Burlington, MA, with offices around the world, today Signiant connects tens of thousands of media professionals in more than 50 countries. For more information, visit http://www.signiant.com.

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Future Reality to Resell Market-Leading Signiant Media File Movement Solutions in Australia

Date: Saturday Jun. 16, 2012 7:23 PM PT

While mega social networks are ideal for connecting with the masses, social media experts say users are beginning to look for a more personal online experience.

Changes to Facebook and Google+ give social networkers complete control over who can see each photo, video, status update and anything else that's shared online.

"Part of the shift is people are discovering they would like to have a Facebook for people who are closer to them," said Mitch Joel, a social media heavyweight and president of Montreal-based digital marketing firm Twist Images.

Joel said mega social networks are ideal for connecting with acquaintances, but not necessarily your inner circle.

Vancouver-based blogger Kris Krug agrees.

"Compared with hanging out, talking on the phone and Skyping, Facebook is less personal, less intimate, more wrought with misunderstanding and miscommunication," he said.

Krug points to social networking site Path, which markets itself as a personal environment designed for close friends and families and limits each of its two million users to 150 connections, as an example of a more tight-knit community.

However he said recent changes to Facebook, the introduction of "close friends" and "family" lists for example, are giving users a new level of privacy, control and comfort online.

Krug added that as social networks continue to grow at a rapid pace, there's plenty of room for new players.

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What does the future hold for mega social networks?