mediageek

Author: Paul

  • It’s Confirmed — AT&T Planning To Gobble Up BellSouth, Public Interest Be Damned

    AT&T confirmed today that it plans to buy BellSouth and the remaining portion of Cingular wireless that it doesn’t already own, for $67 billion. If the deal goes through, AT&T will be both the biggest conventional telephone and the #1 wireless/cellular company in the US. Marketwatch is reporting that analysts it has talked to don’t…

  • Recreating a Monopoly

    Remember the old Ma Bell, AT&T? Before the 1980s we pretty much all had the same phone company and one long distance company with pretty high rates. You could only get your phone from the phone company, and this monopoly was protected by the federal government. That looks like the current dream of the new…

  • The Uneasy Road to Hi-Def

    The question regarding hi-definition video is not if?, but when? Most people don’t have HD TV sets, but HD can be streamed and shared over the internet using all major video codecs, bandwidth permitting. So, for the serious independent or amateur videographer now is a good time to consider going HD if it’s time to…

  • Podcasting & Vodcasting: Educational Solutions Looking for a Problem

    I’m at a technology and learning conference at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN today and tomorrow. It’s part of my day-job life as an educational media producer, but it’s also a good opportunity to get a glimpse at what educators are trying to do with technology, and there’s many lessons to be learned for…

  • News Headlines from the Feb. 24 Radioshow: Net Neutrality Setback in the House; Senate Comm Committee Considers Cable

    These are the news headlines as read on the Feb. 24 edition of the mediageek radioshow. Net Neutrality Setback in the House Energy & Commerce Committee The battle over the future of the internet is heating up on Capitol Hill. The House Energy and Commerce Committee is currently drafting telecommunications legislation that will address many…

  • DJ Johnny Silver Scheduled for Friday’s Radioshow

    After a few weeks of hard policy analysis on the radioshow, it’s time to get back to pirate radio. I’m scheduled tomorrow night to talk to DJ Johnny Silver from Nyack’s Iron Action Radio for broadcast on Friday. It looks like Johnny plans to broadcast the interview live on Iron Action, which also has a…

  • Don’t Forget the Shortwave Pirates

    Ragnar Daneskjol, producer of the Pirates’ Week podcast, has gone live with his Shortwave Pirate website. Like the more widely known FM pirates, shortwave pirates are unlicensed broadcasters who use the shortwave bands to reach a good portion of the continent, and sometimes the globe. Because the shortwave bands have variable propagation patterns, shortwave pirates…

  • Even more HD… Sony announced palm-sized HDV cam

    Yes, I do think this will be the year that hi-def video recording becomes mainstream for advanced amateurs and independent videomakers. Sony just announced a small palm-sized HDV camcorder with a retail price around $1700, the HDR-HC3E. It’s a single CMOS chip cam, like the HDR-HC1 I blogged about on Monday, only the new one…

  • Speaking of HD…

    Sony introduced a new HDV (High-Def on miniDV) camcorder this model year at a relatively low price of $1600. It only has one chip, but it’s a CMOS instead of a CCD, which means that it’s less susceptible to inter-pixel distortion. DV Guru has a short review of the HDR-HC1 and finds that the camera…

  • Come All Ye Independent Media Makers – AMC 2006 Is Set for June 23-25

    I haven’t yet set my plans for June, though I haven’t missed an Allied Media Conference since I started attending some four years ago. As I’ve said before, this is one of the most useful media conferences I’ve been to, and it always has a very cool, friendly and enthusiastic vibe. This year’s theme is…