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Score one for Mel Karmazin, the chief executive of Sirius XM Radio Inc.

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission on Friday dismissed Liberty Media Corp.'s request for the operating licenses that would have given the company control over SiriusXM.

Liberty's request, made in March, argued that because it had 40% of SiriusXM's shares, along with five out of 13 seats on the company's board, Liberty effectively controlled SiriusXM, a New York-based satellite radio service with 22.3 million paying subscribers. Sirius strenuously protested with the FCC, and Karmazin in a recent call with investors mocked Liberty's argument as "40 is the new 50."

The FCC, in a letter to Liberty's lawyers, rejected the application. Here's the relevant rationale:

We find Liberty Medias applications to be unacceptable for filing because they are defective with respect to execution and other matters of a formal character. Specifically, Liberty Media was unable to obtain the passwords, signatures, and other necessary information from Sirius to properly file an electronic transfer of control application. Furthermore, we concludethat a waiver of basic filing requirements is not warranted, as the facts disclosed in the referenced applications are not sufficient to establish that Liberty Media intends to take actions, such as conversion of preferred to common stock and installation of a board majority, that would constitute exercise of de facto or de jure control.

Translation: In order to get its hands on SiriusXM's operating licenses, Liberty Media would have to get the passwords and approval of executives and board members who run SiriusXM.Eddy Hartenstein, publisher of the Los Angeles Times, is a non-executive chairman of the SiriusXM board.

Calls to SiriusXM and Liberty Media were not immediately returned.

John Malone, the chairman of Liberty Media, isn't one to give up easily, however. The FCC option was simplythe least expensive path to gaining control of SiriusXM.

Liberty now has other, albeit costlier, options including accumulating enough shares of SiriusXM to boost its stake above 50%and staging a boardroom coup bycalling a meeting of Sirius stockholders and putting the matter to a vote. But doing so could trigger a big tax bill for Liberty Media if the transaction is deemed to be an acquisition.

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FCC dismisses Liberty Media request for control of SiriusXM

The convergence Review has suggested that ownership laws be replaced. Photo: Steve Christo

MEDIA cross-ownership laws in Australia would be scrapped and replaced with ''minimum number of owners'' and ''national public interest'' tests, under proposals put to the federal government yesterday.

The long-awaited Convergence Review, chaired by former local IBM boss Glen Boreham, recommended the abolition of laws that carved up the media landscape into the categories of television, radio stations and print.

The old structure should no longer apply as traditional media players move online and content is delivered in new ways, the review argues. Instead, it says: ''Ownership of local media should continue to be regulated through a 'a minimum number of owners' rule.''

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The review said a new government-funded cross-media regulator should decide the minimum number of owners and use as a starting point the current ''4/5 rule'', which calls for the existence of at least five separate media groups in a metropolitan radio licence area, and four in regional areas. The new watchdog should apply a general diversity test to prevent ''a concentration of services in the hands of a small number of operators''. But the changes would not require any forced sales by existing players, applying only to future changes, it says.

In addition to diversity tests, a ''public interest test'' should also apply to any changes in control. Such a test should consider whether the merger, sale or takeover of a media company would reduce either the number of owners in Australia or the range of content.

And the public interest should consider ''whether the person taking control would represent a significant risk that the content service enterprise would not comply with its obligations''.

But the review failed to provide enough detail on how the test would apply, critics warned, and would open the way for government interference. ''News Limited opposes the recommended so-called 'public interest' test in relation to media ownership,'' said chief executive Kim Williams said. ''This test is unnecessary, given the extensive pro-competition powers of the ACCC. It is exceedingly vague and imprecise, will increase business uncertainty and will be subject to political interference.''

Opposition communications spokesman Malcolm Turnbull agreed, saying the test ''would in effect mean the politicisation of decisions involving changes of control''.

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Overhaul old media laws: review

LONDON Over 60 years, Rupert Murdoch built a media empire using his properties and their profits not just to break down the doors to the British establishment, but also to control it.

So Tuesday's scathing declaration by a British parliamentary committee that Murdoch is "not a fit person to exercise the stewardship of a major international company" may mark the moment when the once-tamed establishment lost its fear of the country's most powerful media titan.

The report was Parliament's response to the illegal phone-hacking scandal that began at the Murdoch-owned tabloid News of the World and led to the arrests of several senior lieutenants across the global sprawl of his News Corp.

The committee said Murdoch "turned a blind eye and exhibited willful blindness" to the phone hacking that was rampant at his newspapers, shredding the defense mounted by the company that its senior executives were unaware of the possibly criminal shenanigans of reporters.

It alleged that Murdoch's son James showed poor leadership in failing to get to the bottom of the hacking. And it accused three senior executives at News Corp. and the now-defunct News of the World, including Les Hinton, one of Murdoch's closest associates, of misleading Parliament about the pervasiveness of snooping into cellphones.

The damning assessment of corporate character was a blow to Murdoch, who is seeing his closest lieutenants discredited and his family control of News Corp assailed.

"Just think of it as part of a tide, an ever-increasing, unstoppable, inevitable tidal wave," said Murdoch biographer Michael Wolff. "It just accrues. Every piece of news is worse than the last piece of news. It's something that they can't get out from under. They can't stop it. And it has their name on it."

In addition to tarnishing Murdoch's reputation, the committee's findings may have implications for his business interests.

Questioning his fitness to lead a company could have bearing on his almost 40% controlling stake in British Sky Broadcasting. British regulatory authorities are charged with determining whether major stakeholders such as Murdoch are "fit and proper" owners of mass media in Britain, and the agency overseeing BSkyB said it would take the parliamentary committee's findings into consideration in its review of Murdoch's ownership.

And the report swiftly added to pressure on Murdoch's U.S. properties. A Washington-based ethics group called on the Federal Communications Commission to revoke 27 Murdoch-owned television licenses, citing the British parliamentary report as evidence the Murdochs fall short of the necessary good character standards to be entrusted with a broadcast license.

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Report questions Rupert Murdoch's fitness to lead News Corp.

26-04-2012 02:19 Learn Android 1.40- MediaControllers controls MediaPlayers Video, Video, and more Videos is what this tutorial is all about. Well in this tutorial we will add a mediacontroller to our video, so we will be able to have some control on that crazy beast of a video. MediaController can also control MediaPlayer objects as well as VideoView (as such in this tutorial) Also here is the link to the android dev page: If you are stuck or have any questions, please check out the forum at Also follow us on twitter, and like us on facebook.

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Learn Android 1.40- MediaControllers controls MediaPlayers - Video

NASHUA,N.H.and WASHINGTON, April 26, 2012 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- VGo Communications, the leader in robotic telepresence, and United Cerebral Palsy (UCP)an international advocate, educating and providing support services for children and adults with a spectrum of disabilitiestoday announced a partnership to collaborate and work together to define and deliver accessibility enhancements to VGo's robotic telepresence solution. A demonstration of prototype voice activated remote robotic telepresence driving controls will be seen by attendees of the 2012 UCP Annual Conference, Transitioning to Tomorrow, in Washington, DC.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120426/CG96128)

"We saw what VGo was doing for homebound students and realized that with some usability enhancements, VGo could be a dramatic life altering tool for many people with disabilities," said Stephen Bennett, UCP President and CEO. "Imagine the opportunities and quality of life improvements for people who currently cannot go places because their disability prevents access or makes it too expensive. UCP is excited to be working with VGo to make this technology available to people with disabilities so they can live life without limits."

"We're very excited about jointly developing specific usability enhancements for people served by United Cerebral Palsy," said Peter N. Vicars, CEO of VGo. "Our users today find controlling a VGo with their computer mouse or keyboard keys very easy, but indeed not everyone can use a computer in a traditional way. We know how impactful VGo has been for students that are homebound and can't go to school. Soon VGo can be available to other disabled people so they can move around in a distant place without first having to get themselves there."

For more information about UCP, visit http://www.ucp.org.

For more information about VGo, visit http://www.vgocom.com.

About United Cerebral Palsy

United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) educates, advocates and provides support services to ensure a life without limits for people with a spectrum of disabilities. Together with nearly 100 affiliates, UCP has a mission to advance the independence, productivity and full citizenship of people with a spectrum of disabilities by providing services and support to more than 176,000 children and adults every dayone person at a time, one family at a time. UCP works to enact real changeto revolutionize care, raise standards of living and create opportunitiesimpacting the lives of millions living with disabilities. For more than 60 years, UCP has worked to ensure the inclusion of individuals with disabilities in every facet of society. Together, with parents and caregivers, UCP will continue to push for the social, legal and technological changes that increase accessibility and independence, allowing people with disabilities to dream their own dreams, for the next 60 years, and beyond. For more information, visit http://www.ucp.org.

About VGo

VGo Communications, Inc. develops and markets visual communications solutions for the workplace. The company was founded in 2007 by experienced successful veterans of the visual communications and robotics industries. VGo has leveraged the recent trends of widespread wireless high speed networks, lower specialized component costs and the universal acceptance of video as a communications medium to become the Robotic Telepresence market leader.

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VGo and United Cerebral Palsy Demo Advanced Assistive Control Solutions for Robotic Telepresence