Everyday News: August 2011

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Hulu Now Live In Japan With Subscription-Only Service

In what marks its first expansion abroad, Hulu is now available in Japan. As expected, the video streaming service will offer both TV shows and movies across various devices for a subscription of about $20 a month (1,480 Yen).

Unlike in the U.S., where there are both free and premium versions, in Japan the service will be subscription-only. And it will cost more than twice as much as Hulu Plus does in the U.S (which is only $8 a month). Is Hulu charging so much because it thinks it can get away with a higher subscription fee in Japan or did it have to pay through the nose for international licensing rights and has no other choice?

Hulu will stream American shows in both English and Japanese from CBS, NBC, and ABC, as well as movies such as Pirates of the Caribbean, Armageddon, Men in Black, and Troy. Hulu plans to add Japanese-produced shows and moveis as well. (It is rather surprising they are not launching with any Japanese content partners, but those are supposedly coming).

Along with the launch, Hulu is also announcing an exclusive mobile partnership with NTT Docomo, the largest mobile carrier in Japan. The subscription covers viewing on smartphones and tablets, as well as computers, connected TVs, and through videogame consoles.

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HULU

Company:

HULU

Website:

https://www.hulu.com/

Launch Date:

1/3/2007

Funding:

$100M

Founded in March 2007, Hulu is operated independently by a dedicated management team with offices in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Seattle and Beijing. NBC Universal, News Corporation, as...

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Hulu launches streaming in Japan for about $20 US monthly

Hulu may not have a new owner yet, but it does have an international presence now that it launched a subscription service in Japan today. Hulu.jp brings "hundreds of premium feature films and thousands of episodes of popular TV shows" to bear, for �1,480 per month ($19.19 US). The service is appears to be bringing an American flavor to the island, with film selections like Pirates of the Caribbean, Armageddon and Men in Black and TV shows including Criminal Minds, Desperate Housewives, Fringe and Grey's Anatomy. So far Japanese users can stream the content directly to Panasonic TVs, iOS devices and select Android devices, with Panasonic Blu-ray players, Sony blu-ray players and TVs, Xbox 360 and PS3 consoles and Android tablets all relegated to the "coming soon" list. Check the press release after the break for a full list of content providers signed or just hit the source link to try out a free month so you can decide whether or not it's worth your yen

Continue reading Hulu launches streaming in Japan for about $20 US monthly

Hulu launches streaming in Japan for about $20 US monthly originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Sep 2011 00:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rochester, Vermont Hit Hard By Irene

ROCHESTER, Vt. -- Coffins lie exposed at the village cemetery, having popped out of the ground. Homes are reduced to what look like piles of giant matchsticks. A weathered brown house hangs precariously out over a creek, an enormous chunk of soil underneath chewed away by floodwaters.

The roads are covered with brown dirt left behind when the muddy water receded, and every passing car or truck kicks up a dust cloud like a stagecoach in a Hollywood Western.

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Ohio Model Frosty is Determined to Achieve Modeling Success

Frosty (OMP Model 460562) started modeling the day after her 18th birthday. “Modeling was always a dream to me as a child, and to realize it was a possible career really inspired me to be as determined as I am. Although it’s difficult, competing with millions of beautiful women really gives you the chance to figure out how you are different from everyone else. And I realized no one else is exactly like me.” More of her story in OMP blog..

Impressive List Of U.S. Investors Drops $180 Million Into Chinese Startup Incubator

Kai-Fu Lee has a fairly unique perspective on the tech industry, having spent years in high roles at Apple, Microsoft, and Google. Lee spent six years as VP of Apple’s Interactive Media Group, before moving on to be chosen as the guy to forge first Microsoft’s and then Google’s inroads into China. Then, in mid-2009, Lee left Google (where the former professor and computer scientist had been involved with Google.cn and beyond for over four years) amidst the growing criticism in Western media of China’s Internet policy, specifically in regards to the Golden Shield, or the Great Firewall of China, as it is fondly known.

Lee bowed out of Google seemingly at just the right time to turn his focus from the behemoths to the little guys, founding Innovation Works, an early-stage incubator for Chinese startups. Since 2009 the incubator has been solely focused on investing in and coaching young entrepreneurs in the Chinese market, and today the incubator announced that it has raised $180 million to create the so-called “Innovation Works Development Fund” (IWDF). The fund is the first dollar-based fund raised by the company to be focused on Chinese Internet startups.

According to the Innovation Works’ announcement, corporations, family funds, and institutions participated in the fund, including investors like WI Harper, Silicon Valley Bank, Sequoia Capital, IDG-Accel, Foundation Capital, Foxconn, SAP, Bertelsmann, Motorola, Autodesk, and pension funds from the U.S. and Canada.

Ron Conway and Yuri Milner were also part of the list of investors, as well as executives and former executives from top Internet companies like Google, YouTube, Facebook, Amazon, and Yahoo. While American tech companies have largely struggled to expand into the Chinese market, it’s nice to at least see American money working its way into China to support startups and the local entrepreneurial ecosystem. Hopefully, it will encourage Chinese founders to build businesses unique to the region and not Facebook/Twitter ports.

The incubator had previously raised $115 million and, to date, Innovation Works has invested in approximately 34 startups, nine of which have successfully obtained sizable Series A financing from third-party VCs, according to Lee. Innovation Works, like its American brethren TechStars and Y Combinator looks to help early-stage startup teams grow quickly with the help of mentoring services and an infusion of cash. Lee manages the fund alongside WI Harper Group.

For more, check out Innovation Works at home here.

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KAI-FU LEE

Person:

KAI-FU LEE

Website:

http://www.kaifulee.com

Companies

Microsoft, Cosmo Software, Apple, SGI

Dr. Kai-Fu Lee is the Founder of Innovation Works. He served as Vice President, Engineering of Google Inc., and President of its Chinese Operations since July 2005.

He...

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Sony, Toshiba and Hitachi confirm plans for government-backed LCD joint venture

We had a pretty clear indication that some official word was coming soon, and Sony, Toshiba and Hitachi have now confirmed that they intend to pool their LCD manufacturing efforts and form a new joint venture (expected to be completed by the spring of 2012). That effort is getting a $2.6 billion shot in the arm courtesy of a Japanese government-backed investment fund, which itself will own 70 percent of the new company -- to be dubbed Japan Display -- while Sony, Toshiba and Hitachi will each get a 10 percent share.

Sony, Toshiba and Hitachi confirm plans for government-backed LCD joint venture originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Sep 2011 00:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bob Cesca: Tea Party Republican Governors Embrace Socialism

While federal government involvement in disaster relief is now and always a critical function of the federal government, I can't help but to ask Chris Christie and the others: If you're seriously opposed to government interference in state matters, can we have it back, please?
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Boogie Board Rip eWriting pad lets you jot down notes, save and export them too

It's been a few months since Improv Electronics updated its line of Boogie Board eWriters, and tomorrow at IFA the company's set to show off its latest variant, dubbed Rip ("Record. Image. Preserve."). The 9.5-inch pad is slightly improved from Improv's previous iterations, as it'll allow you to actually save any scribbles you've jotted down. Better yet, you'll be able to export your doodles to a computer via its onboard micro-USB port. On the device you'll find an erase lock to ensure your notes don't get deleted, along with a stylus holder in case you're prone to misplacing things. Similar to IE's other Boogies, the Rip's reflex LCD uses power only to erase what you've written, meaning you'll get about a week's worth of battery life per charge. There's no word on pricing yet, but we'd imagine it'll be a bit easier on the pockets than a Wacom Inkling -- we shall find out when it ships out on November 1st. Full PR past the break.

Continue reading Boogie Board Rip eWriting pad lets you jot down notes, save and export them too

Boogie Board Rip eWriting pad lets you jot down notes, save and export them too originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Aug 2011 23:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Impressive List Of U.S. Investors Drops $180 Million Into Chinese Startup Incubator

For more, check out Innovation Works at home here.

Crunchbase

KAI-FU LEE

Person:

KAI-FU LEE

Website:

http://www.kaifulee.com

Companies

Microsoft, Cosmo Software, Apple, SGI

Dr. Kai-Fu Lee is the Founder of Innovation Works. He served as Vice President, Engineering of Google Inc., and President of its Chinese Operations since July 2005.

He...

Learn more

target=_blank>http://chilp.it/0dfb9d

Best DVD to ICloud Converter

With this best DVD to iCloud Converter, you will be able to rip DVD and convert videos to iCloud compatible formats so that you can upload movies on it in order to sync movies to iPod, iPhone, iPad.