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News Byte

Paid Newspaper Aggregator Ongo Shuts Down

in Media on May 8 at 1:12 pm PT

Ongo, a newspaper-backed startup that tried to sell digital subscriptions to a variety of publications, is shuttering after less than two years. The New York Times, the Washington Post and Gannett each put a reported $4 million into the company, but it never got traction with subscribers. Nieman Journalism Lab has a good exit interview with CEO Dan Haarmann, who blames Apple’s subscription policy, among other factors, for the company’s failure.

Cable Fee Fight Takes Another Turn as Dish Networks Uses iTunes, Netflix and Amazon as Weapons

in Media on May 7 at 12:07 pm PT

Wait long enough, or pay enough, and you can see repeats of last night’s “Mad Men” in lots of places. So why pay to see it on cable last night?
mad_men_fight_feature

Mission Impossibly Funny: Siri Will Self-Destruct in Five Seconds (Video)

in Media on April 29 at 12:38 am PT

Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to laugh.
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Apple’s $8 Billion Media Business

in Media on April 24 at 3:14 pm PT

A record $1.9 billion quarter for iTunes.
Steve_itunes

Adobe’s Latest Creative Suite Floats Into the Cloud

in News on April 23 at 11:07 am PT

Those expensive Adobe apps you love and need are now available in the cloud, for a reasonable subscription price.
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Sound Kick: Solid Sound, but a Shaky Speaker

in Reviews on April 16 at 6:00 am PT

How does a $99 Bluetooth speaker stack up next to the popular Jambox?
SFQ-04 Sound Kick ANGLE iPhone Black table

An E-Book Argument: Are Fixed Prices Needed to Preserve Publishing?

in Media on April 12 at 12:55 pm PT

Alleged collusion aside, the publishing industry’s agency pricing model may actually protect the long-term interests of everyone in the e-book value chain.
printingpress

Where Are the Family Plans for Web Apps?

in News on April 9 at 1:38 pm PT

The Internet treats us like we’re loners, but the fact is, we’re not. We have partners and families and kids. It’s very normal.
ozzie_and_harriet

Spotify Keeps the Free Music Party Going in the U.S.

in Media on March 29 at 6:24 am PT

Does that have anything to do with a $4 billion funding round? Feel free to guess.
spotify-logo380

What It Means Now That Zynga Has Bought Its Way Back to the Top of the Charts

in Commerce on March 22 at 6:00 am PT

By acquiring OMGPOP, Zynga may have set the expectation that if it doesn’t create the most popular game organically — it will acquire it.
drawsome_zynga

Walmart’s Disc-to-Digital Hard Sell Will Be a Hard Sell

in Media, March 13, 2012 at 8:19 pm PT

Turntable.fm Gets Its Label Deals Done

in Media, March 13, 2012 at 11:02 am PT

Here’s What a Netflix-Cable Deal Could Look Like: The One That Netflix Just Announced With Apple

in Media, March 7, 2012 at 12:43 pm PT

HBO Deals Keep Fox, Universal Out of New iCloud Movie Service

in Media, March 7, 2012 at 11:00 am PT

So Here’s Why You May Have Trouble Finding the Android Market Icon on Your Phone

in Mobile, March 6, 2012 at 10:00 am PT

Pay Up? Okay. Music Buyers’ Numbers Increased In 2011.

in Media, March 6, 2012 at 7:06 am PT

Apple Tops 25 Billion App Store Downloads as iPad Event Nears

App-Happy: Why App-Search Apps Are All the Rage

in Mobile, March 2, 2012 at 7:39 am PT

After Five Years, Draw Something Is an Overnight Hit for OMGPOP. Now What?

in Media, February 29, 2012 at 5:00 am PT

Stashing Movies

in Mossberg’s Mailbox, February 22, 2012 at 6:02 pm PT

Hello, Goodbye. That Will Be $1.29.

Steve Jobs Honored at Grammys

in News, February 12, 2012 at 6:39 pm PT

Why American Newspapers Gave Away the Future (Excerpt)

in Voices, February 8, 2012 at 9:27 am PT

Neil Young, the Donkey and Digital Music: The Full Dive Into Media Interview (Video)

in Dive Into Media, February 7, 2012 at 8:00 am PT

Apple Poaches Another Xbox Marketing Vet