WWWorld.ru · Темы дня · Разделы дня · Интересы дня · 2012 · Свежие новости

YouTube and Paramount Pictures have reached a deal to make nearly 500 films available to rent online, even while their parent companies continue to feud over a $1 billion lawsuit. The agreement announced Wednesday makes Paramount the fifth major Hollywood studio to join YouTube's online video store, a growing rental library that typically charges $2 to $4 per viewing. 20th Century Fox is now the only major studio holdout. But Paramount seemed less likely to join given that its parent company, Viacom Inc., is still pursuing a 2006 lawsuit that seeks damages for alleged piracy by YouTube, which is owned by Google Inc. A federal judge in New York ruled in 2010 that YouTube hadn't broken U.S. laws governing digital piracy, but Viacom is appealing the decision. The Paramount films will be available on YouTube Rentals and Google Play. Online movies and pay-per-view options have spurred heated competition between Google, Apple Inc.'s iTunes store, Amazon.com Inc.'s Web site and the subscription video service from Netflix Inc. "Paramount Pictures is one of the biggest movies studios on the planet," said Malik Ducard, director of content partnerships at YouTube. "We're thrilled to bring nearly 500 of their films to movie fans in the U.S. and Canada on YouTube and Google Play." The deal brings YouTube's collection to nearly 9,000 titles. For most movies, renters have up to 30 days to begin watching a video but must complete the viewing within 24 hours after starting. Some Paramount films have already been added, while others will be made available in the next few months. Among the films are Martin Scorsese's "Hugo," Michael Bay's "Transformers" and Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather" trilogy. NBC Universal, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros., the Walt Disney Co. and many independent studios have made deals to rent their latest releases through YouTube. newsfactor.com »

Хабы: Open source, Microsoft Корпорация Microsoft многих удивила, объявив о формировании дочерней компании Microsoft Open Technologies Inc., которая будет заниматься проектами Open Source, общением с группами по разработке открытых стандартов и инициативами в области кроссплатформенности. Новая компания будет сформирована на базе подразделения Interoperability Strategy, которое в последнее время работало над такими проектами как HTML5, HTTP 2.0, облачные стандарты в DMTF и OASIS, Node.js, MongoDB, Phonegap/Cordova и др. Президентом Microsoft Open Technologies Inc. назначен Жан Паоли (Jean Paoli), один из авторов стандарта XML. Штат компании для начала составит от 50 до 75 сотрудников. Читать дальше → habrahabr.ru »

A published report says Apple Inc. uses subsidiaries in Ireland, the Netherlands and other low-tax nations as part of a strategy that enables the technology giant to cut its global tax bill by billions of dollars every year. The New York Times on Sunday outlined legal methods used by Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple to avoid paying billions of dollars in federal and state taxes. One approach highlighted in the report: Even though the company is based in California, Apple has set up a small office in Reno, Nev. to collect and invest its profits. The corporate tax rate in Nevada is zero. In California, it's 8.84 percent. While many major corporations try to reduce their tax bills, technology companies like Apple, Google Inc., Microsoft Corp. and others have more options to do so. That's because some of their revenue comes from digital products or royalties on patents, which makes it easier for them to move profits to tax-friendly states or countries, the Times said. In contrast, it's tougher to shift the collection of profits from the sale of a physical product -- like groceries or a car -- to a tax-friendly haven. The 71 technology companies in the S&P 500, including Apple, Google, Yahoo Inc. and Dell Inc., reported paying global cash taxes over the past two years at a rate that's, on average, one-third less than other S&P 500 companies, the Times said. Apple has legally allocated about 70 percent of its profits overseas, where tax rates are often much lower than in the U.S., according to company filings. The Times cites a study by former Treasury Department economist Martin A. Sullivan that estimates Apple's federal tax bill would have been $2.4 billion higher last year without such tactics. The newspaper says Apple paid $3.3 billion in cash taxes globally on $34.2 billion in profits last year. That's a... newsfactor.com »

Racing to branch out from traditional personal computers where most of its chips are used, Intel Corp. is making a huge bet on Ultrabooks, a laptop-tablet hybrid that runs exclusively on its microprocessors. Although it doesn't make the devices itself, the Santa Clara Goliath has announced a $300 million fund to invest in Ultrabook technologies and just launched an Ultrabook ad campaign costing an additional "hundreds of millions of dollars," its biggest marketing push since 2003. Some industry observers have high expectations for the gadgets, including research firm IHS, which predicts the machines will grab 40 percent of notebook sales worldwide by 2016. But if Ultrabooks flop, some experts say, it will raise major doubts about Intel's ability to promote its chips for other mobile products, especially smartphones, where it's been locked out of the market. "They have to hit this," said tech analyst Rob Enderle. "If they don't, they are out of mobile--at least out of the mainstream of mobile products. This is probably the biggest risk they've faced since they were formed." Intel isn't the only company with a big stake in its bet. Because Ultrabooks are widely viewed as a notebook form that can compete with tablets, many companies that make notebooks and related personal-computer components hope the hybrid resuscitates their businesses, too. "This is kind of 'do or die' for the PC industry," said Patrick Moorhead of Moor Insights & Strategy. So far, 21 Ultrabook models have been offered by such manufacturers as Hewlett-Packard Co., Dell Inc., Acer Inc., AsusTek Computer Inc., Lenovo Group Ltd., LG Electronics Inc., Samsung Electronics Co. and Toshiba Corp. Lightweight and less than an inch thick, the first ones to hit stores late last year were promoted as quick to start with batteries lasting at least eight hours, data protection features and screens of up to 15... newsfactor.com »