video Craig Ferguson of CBS' Late Late Show isn't shy about experimenting with the late-night format, with his pre-monologue monologues (which often include puppets), and lack of a band. The show he did last night, however, was a radical departure even for him. Inspired by Tom Snyder, the first Late Late Show host, Ferguson did a show with no audience, instead talking to Stephen Fry for the full hour. (more...)

Who: Malcolm Gladwell and Adam Gopnik
What: "Adam Gopnik and Malcolm Gladwell: 'Surveying Mankind from China to Peru'"
Where: 92nd St. Y
When: February 16, 2010
Thumbs: Up

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I saw the Sport Illustrated demo video long before the iPad was  released. It was everything the iPad should have been on Day One. A mind blowing demonstration of what the future of the magazine could be.

The problem is, the iPad cannot currently do what the demo presents, and it should, right now. Flash is the only current technology that would make that possible. (more...)

As dialogue continues to swirl about the iTampon's big iLetdown, David Carr's recent article in the New York Times touches on a point that has often gone unsaid: this is a media consumption device, not a gadget, and its larger size is precisely what makes it special.

Think about it: when you read a book or a magazine on the computer, the screen is not the primary annoyance. It's the chair, having to sit, hunch and strain, unable to curl up with your book on the couch or to read the paper without configuring your laptop next to your O.J.

“Critics who suggested that Apple unveiled little more than an iPhone that won’t fit in your pocket don’t seem to understand that by scaling the iPhone experience, the iPad becomes a different species," Carr writes. "Media companies now have a new platform that presents content in an intimate way."

Whether or not media companies are ready is another topic for debate. The device has no Flash, which has left Hulu and Conde Nast (which just finished up a Flash prototype of a digital magazine) in tears. Apple has "limited agreement with movie studios," magazines were practically nonexistent in the Apple demo and though five of the top six book publishers have signed on, it may be a while before they're able to take full advantage of the iPad's features, such as video within text.

Nevertheless, the iPad has already made media waves. As recently as Friday, Amazon had refused to sell books for Macmillan on Kindle with a similar pricing schedule as the iPad. By Sunday, they had surrendered.

Personally, I don't think it's going to take long for media companies to catch up to the iPad's capabilities, nor do I think Apple will waste much time installing Flash on the device. As soon as they come out with scented varieties...er, I mean colors...I'll be on board.

Sometime Friday, Amazon stopped directly selling all books put out by the publisher Macmillan, due to a disagreement over future pricing of e-books.  Let's be clear, it's not just that Amazon wasn't selling Macmillan books on the Kindle.  Amazon was no longer directly selling any books from this publisher, though one can still buy them new and used on the website through third-party vendors.  While Amazon has just announced that they will eventually "have to capitulate and accept Macmillan's terms," Macmillan titles remain unavailable on Amazon at the time of this posting.

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video Since introducing its iPad e-reader on Wednesday, Apple has been absorbing heavy criticism for muffing the naming of the new product. You don't have to be a Mensa member to have seen that this was just a bad idea, period. Even more damning, though, is that Mad TV actually ran a parody of the iPod called the "iPad"... in 2006! Zennie Abraham and Rachel Sklar mentioned the sketch in their columns, and AdFreak shines a spotlight on it today. (more...)

The Wall Street Journal reported that HarperCollins is in talks with Apple to bring e-books to its much-hyped Tablet, set to be revealed (fingers crossed) on January 27th.

Since HarperCollins will set the price point for Tablet ebooks, whereas Amazon's Kindle currently sets the price at just $9.99, the monetary implications, clearly, are huge.

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review

A big day for Brooklyn's own Boxee: in addition to revealing more details about the previously announced Boxee Box, the company's existing software transitioned into a public beta. Therefore, we should probably answer this question: the f*ck is Boxee? (more...)

The "Hulu for magazines" joint venture spearheaded by John Squires officially has a name: Next Issue Media. According to Folio, the partnership has some real heavyweights behind it: Time Inc., Meredith, Hearst, Condé Nast and News Corporation. All of which represent some serious old media muscle, but will they be able to compete in the digital marketplace? (more...)

developing

That was quick: in mid-September, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey told the St. Louis Riverfront Times that he was launching a new startup. (h/t Mashable)

Flash forward to two-and-a-half months later: Square, a service that allows users to make credit card payments using their iPhones, was rolled out today. And its creators plan to develop it for more phones in the future. (more...)

As a white male, aged 18 to 35, I watch Adult Swim on the Cartoon Network. For the past week or so, my obligatory Judge/McFarlane quotient has been interrupted with ads like this, about Zap News App. (Sorry, embedding is turned off.)

For those too busy or important to click the link, the ad purports to be from two guys (pictured here) from Muncie, Indiana, whose iPhone app idea, Zap News, was stolen by CNN. These ads don't show any features of their or CNN's app but then, why should they? Everyone knows what news apps do; i.e., nothing special. Elsewhere on the web, the wronged duo demand that CNN "remove the app from the iTunes App Store and issue a public apology to us, then give us $100,000 and massages. And call our parents and tell them the truth."

Right about now, you should be thinking to yourself, "Well, this is obviously a viral marketing campaign. The gentleman writing this column, in addition to reinforcing various stereotypes, must be some sort of dimwit." You are correct to think that, at least the first sentence - that was my reaction, too. The question, though, becomes: viral marketing for what?

The obvious answer is: CNN's iPhone app.  (more...)

If you've ever get the feeling that you should be helping society out more, but were waiting for a mobile device to come along and help you, then here's good news. The Extraordinaries is an interesting new concept in the growing field of iPhone applications -- it allows people to use the every part of their spare time cow (waiting for a movie to start, riding a bus, waiting in line) to do small bits of volunteering using the Extraordinaries iPhone app. (more...)

Pretty much everyone - from Politics Daily to BusinessWeek to the LA Times to textbook companies and every techie publication known to man - is anticipating the release of a Kindle-esque Apple tablet, or at least an announcement of it. Perhaps Steve Jobs spoke too soon last year when he told the New York Times that the Kindle would inevitably fail because Americans just don't read anymore. (more...)

Is this a sign that Apple is getting closer to giving Google a run for its money? Mashable is reporting that Google CEO Eric Schmidt resigned today from Apple’s Board of Directors. They also not that there has been increasing talk of late regarding whether Schmidt's position on the board was at risk of creating certain conflicts of interest now that Apple and Google are more frequently competing in similar markets; a concern highlighted again last week when FCC announced it would investigate Apple’s rejection of the Google Voice app from the App Store. In the press release announcing Schmidt's departure Apple CEO Steve Jobs confirms the speculation: (more...)

News reporters like to catch readers’ attention with a few zingy lines at the start of an article. Sometimes, these so-called “ledes” go horribly wrong. But sometimes, they're great! In Today’s Best News Ledes, we highlight the cream of the crop: (more...)