YouTube to Become a Television

YouTube Logo

The popular video site YouTube can become a full competitor to television.
Google is ready to spend over half a billion dollars to become more popular than TV.


Internet giant's plans for a TV broadcast through YouTube as a minimum include the creation of a complete alternative to standard TV.


According to two different sources, Google will spend between 500 and 600 million dollars, which is considerably more than the stated initial investment of $ 100 million to obtain professional video content.


Google not only negotiate with independent content providers who already work with YouTube, but operators of cable channels and even the companies for which the video is a secondary business.


It is argued that the Internet giant will spend tens of millions of dollars to conclude individual transactions. In this market, Google will compete with "veterans" in the industry at the conclusion of transactions.

Aaliyah Remembering - Ten Years Since She's Gone

Aaliyah

It's been ten years since a very talented and beautiful young lady has left us.
Ten years have been gone since the R&B singer, actress, model and dancer Aaliyah died in plane crash.


A decade after Aaliyah Dana Haughton's death her family, friends and fans still remeber, honor and respect the great person she was.


The princess of R&B was just 22 years old at the time of her death.
In August 2001 she was in the Bahamas, shooting the video for her song "Rock the boat". On her way back to the USA Aaliyah has been killed in a plane crash.


Watch "Rock the boat" video:



Aaliyah Dana Haughton was a successful singer and actress with a thriving career. In 2001, she'd just released her third, self-titled album and was preparing for a role in "The Matrix" sequels when everything came to a screeching halt.


After shooting a music video in the Bahamas for her single "Rock the Boat" Aaliyah got on a plane and tragedy struck. According to RollingStone, "...she boarded a ten-seat twin-engine Cessna 402B bound for Opa-Locka, Florida, with the pilot, Luis Morales III, and seven members of her crew." Less than a minute after take off, the plane crashed (due to 700 pounds of excess weight) a few hundred feet from the runway and Aaliyah along with several others, died on impact. It was then that she joined the sad group of young stars gone too soon.


By 22, Aaliyah had achieved more success in her career than most singers twice her age. She made her music debut in 1994 at 15 as the protege of hitmaker R. Kelly. Her first album "Age Aint Nothin' but a Number" sold three million copies and solidified her presence as an urban artist. But it was her 1997 follow up that put her and her vocal stylings on the map.


Aaliyah teamed up with producers Missy Elliot and Timbaland to create her chart topping classic "One in a Million". The album sold over eight million copies worldwide and produced hits such as "If Your Girl Only Knew" and "Hot like Fire". She used her new fame to parlay into acting with a lead role in "Romeo Must Die" opposite martial artist Jet-Li. The film was a cult success and featured a hit soundtrack led by the single "Try Again" which Aaliyah performed.


"Queen of the Damned", Aaliyah's final film was released February 22, 2002 - six months after her death. It marked the official end of her blossoming career. Unlike most twenty-somethings that populate the industry today, Aaliyah didn't depend on sex to sell. She had hypnotic beats, catchy lyrics and great dance moves that engaged audiences.


Parrish Johnson, an executive at her former record label Blackground, revealed, "She's the first artist I worked with who would not compromise her values to be famous. In this business, church girls become prostitutes because they want to be stars, but she would never let stardom interfere with who she was."


A month before her untimely death, Aaliyah granted MTV's show "Diary" behind-the-scenes access to her fast-paced life and said, "I am truly blessed to wake up every morning to do something that I love; there is nothing better than that."


She continued, "Everything is worth it -- the hard work, the times when you're tired, the times when you are a bit sad. In the end, it's all worth it because it really makes me happy. I wouldn't trade it for anything else in the world. I've got good friends, a beautiful family and I've got a career. I thank God for his blessings every single chance I get."


So, on August 25, blast Aaliyah's timeless music loud and remember her for being a trendsetting force in fashion and for helping to redefine and take R&B music to another level.


Watch a tribute video:

Facebook Launches Skype-Powered Video Calling

Facebook has just announced a major new feature - Video Call - that's launching in tandem with Skype!


It’s a feature that’s been rumored for quite a while, and it’s one that Facebook is putting a lot of weight behind. Now, whenever you browse to a friend’s profile, you’ll see a new button nestled between the "Message" and "Poke" buttons that says "Call". Click that, the other user will see a popup asking if they want to accept a call, and you’ll be immediately connected (you’ll need to install a small plugin the first time you use the service).

You’ll also see video calling integrated into Facebook’s Chat product. Really, you can’t miss it — Facebook is launching a new chat sidebar today that by default it takes the entire right side of the screen, and the first time you click on any user you’ll see a prompt asking if you’d like to make your first video call. If you try to initiate a video call and the other user doesn’t respond, you’ll be prompted to send them a video message.


So why is this a big deal? Facebook emphasized the fact that users will not have to create new Skype accounts to make calls, and that this will allow users to call their friends and family with a very minimal amount of setup (the flow for installing the applet only took a few seconds).

Of course, this comes just a week after the launch of Google+, which includes a video chat  feature called "Hangouts". Facebook’s video chat doesn’t support group chats yet, but when asked if Facebook will be rolling out group video calling, Zuckerberg said not to rule anything out. He added that one-to-one calling makes up the vast majority of video calling.

Skype CEO Tony Bates took the stage to make a few comments. One important thing he noted: Skype is talking with Facebook about having some paid products available through the web format.

And there's something very cool - Facebook users are usgin Skype's service anonymously.

We are very interested to try out this amazing new feature!

Google, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros and YouTube Get Together!

The internet giant Google gets together with Warner Bros, Universal and Sony because of YouTube movies!

It’s not a guarded secret that Google has been planning to turn YouTube into a viable online video streaming platform, evolving it past its original status as a digital haven for home movies. YouTube announced it is partnering with Sony, NBC Universal, and Warner Bros. to host “thousands of full-length feature films.” Users can now rent movies from the 3,000 available titles with nothing more than a YouTube account and $3 to $4. Customers will get 30 days to watch the movies and 24 hours after beginning them.

YouTube says it’s in the process of rolling out additional titles over the next few weeks at youtube.com/movies, and there will be a plethora of extras, like “free behind-the-scenes videos, cast interviews, parodies, clips, and remixes” to boot. Movies can be rented from any computer or Google TV, and will include Rotten Tomatoes reviews for your pre-selection purposes.

A few things make this an incredibly attractive offer, the first being the suddenly expanded content. In addition to the three major studios announced today, YouTube also partners with Lionsgate Films, Starz, The Weinstein Company, Magnolia Pictures, and more. There are now 6,000 titles available, and that number is only going to grow. YouTube also does not require a subscription, which is a bonus for many consumers who prefer to pay for digital rentals on a one-time basis.

Google has been grooming YouTube to become a competitive and professional digital media service and has generally been smoothly transitioning from amateur videos. YouTube will also feature celebrity-branded content as well as categorized channels. If the movie rental service is as lucrative as it sounds like it could be, it would also hugely benefit Google TV, which has had issues finding programming and which Google is trying to update and upgrade in the near future.

Here are some questions and answers :

Q. What are some of the new studios you’re partnering with?
A. NBC Universal, Sony Pictures and Warner Brothers.

Q. How many films have you added and how many total movies are now available on YouTube?
A. We have added a total of approximately 3,000 new titles including catalog and new releases from Sony Pictures, Warner Bros, NBCUniversal, Lionsgate Films and many great independent studios. This brings the total number of movie titles available to rent on YouTube to over 6,000.

Q. Where and when will the additional movie titles begin appearing on YouTube?
A. Movies for rent will be available at www.youtube.com/movies and new titles will begin appearing to users today and be added throughout the week.

Q. Where are the new movies located and when will they be available on the site?
A. The new movies are located at www.youtube.com/movies and will start appearing at that destination throughout the day.

Q. How many total studios are now represented at YouTube.com/movies and what are they?
A. Studio partners include Universal Pictures, Sony Pictures, Warner Brothers, Lionsgate Films, Starz,The Weinstein Company, and Magnolia Pictures, among others.

Q. How much will the movies for rent cost?
A. Movies are set at industry standard pricing (i.e. most new releases start at $3.99 and library start at $2.99).

Q. How long will a consumer have a movie once he or she has purchased it?
A. For most movies, viewers will have 30 days to begin watching their rental. Once they start watching the movie they will typically have 24 hours to finish.

Q. What transaction service are you using?
A. The service accepts all major credit cards.

Q. Will movies for rent be available at the same time as DVD releases?
A. It’s always up to the content owner, however, many movies will be available at the same time as DVD releases.

Q. Is this a subscription service?
A. No, this is a transaction offering.

Q. Are the movies downloaded, or streamed?
A. Streamed.

Q. Is this global?
A. No. This service is available to US YouTube users only.

Q. Do you need a YouTube account to purchase a movie for rent?
A. Yes.

Q. Will YouTube movies for rent be available on Google TV?
A. Yes, these will be available via the browser (www.youtube.com) on Google TV.

Q. Can rented movies be shared or embedded into other sites including blogs, Facebook and Twitter?
A. Users can embed movies on other sites. If a user who has not rented the movie views the embedded video, the embedded player will show the movie’s trailer along with an overlay that users can click on to rent the full movie.

Q. Is the content in HD?
A. YouTube supports video in up to 4k resolution, however, it is up to our partners to specify what video quality they provide. Most movies for rent will be available in standard definition.

Q. What is unique about the YouTube Movie experience?
A. Movies on YouTube are about providing a complete movie experience. With YouTube Movie Extras movie fans can get more into their favorite films through cast interviews, clips, alternate movie endings and other highly produced content from talented YouTube partners. YouTube reaches one of the largest and most engaged online audiences in the world, with hundreds of millions of views a day in the US alone.

Rihanna - S&M - Video

Rihanna released her "favourite ever" (as she said) video.


The video is for the "S&M" song and it's pretty colorful and dynamic. In it we can see lots of latex, red hair, sado-maso, candies, high heels and self-irony, painted in to the most incredibly fresh colors.


The "Rude Boy" hitmaker shot the video in Los Angeles, two weeks ago. Video director is the cuban with greek blood Melina Matsoukas, which also directed hits like "Rude Boy", "Rockstar 101" and "Hard".
The video was inspired by RiRi's "sadomasochist relationship with the press... it isn't just about a bunch of whips and chains", said Matsoukas. Although we see lots of "whips and chains" in this video, we still believe that they should be recognized with ironical meaning.


"S&M" is the third single from Rihanna's last album - "Loud". We think that this will be another chart-topper, following the success of "What's My Name" and "Only Girl (In The World)"


Enough talking about the video, let's see it :