Current Events Presentation Comm. 335

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Current Events PresentationComm. 335

• Group 5
• Meredith Giantsos
• Megan Berner
• Stephanie Shope
• Ryan Mullen

Monday, February 26, 2007
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Overview

• Sirius and XM Merger
• BitTorrent Online Store
• Facebook To sell or not to sell
• Survelliance Cameras get Smarter
• Watch Out for Online Ads that Watch You
• Feds Want Your E-mails, IMs, and Everything
  Else, Forever
  

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Sirius and XM Merger
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Merger Details

• February 19 XM and Sirius announce definitive
  agreement
  
• Combined value of approx. 13 billion
• Combines almost 14 million subscribers
• Transaction expected to be done by end of 2007

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Advantages for Subscribers

• Best audio content available
• More content choices
• Program diversity addresses underserved groups
• Best content from both companies
• Accelerated technological innovation

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Courtesy of www.engadget.com
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BitTorrent Online Store
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What is BitTorrent?

• Peer-to-peer file sharing program
• Used by tens of millions of people worldwide
• Mostly used for piracy

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BitTorrent Digital Content Store

• Launched February 25
• Featuring content such as movies, TV shows, and
  videogames
  
• Partners include Fox, Lionsgate, Paramount, MGM,
  and MTV Networks
  
• Competing against Apple, Microsoft, and
  Amazon.com
  
• Users will be able to purchase and rent digital
  content

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• Facebook To sell or not to sell

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To build or sell

• Created in 2004
• Social network
• Mark Zuckerberg believes facebook can progress
• Others feel he may miss out

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Survelliance Cameras get Smarter

• Security cameras are being developed to watch the
  world and interpret what they see
  
• The way you walk could be a threat
• Intelligent Video
• London, July 2005.
• Military Use
• Still room for improvement

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Watch Out for Online Ads that Watch You

• Online ads are not just scrolling, spinning, and
  shaking, but they are also watching you even as
  you are viewing them.
  
• Catching your click patterns
• Networks such as BlueLithium, Revenue Science and
  Tacoda display ads based on your browsing
  habits.
  
• These ads are considered behavioral ads, and the
  spending on these ads will grow from 1.5
  billion in 2007 to more than 2 billion next
  year.
• The Center for Digital Democracy and the U.S
  Public Interest Research group that these
  behavioral ad networks are being unfair and using
  deceptive marketing tactics.
• Sites such as Tacoda are now telling the people
  that when they visit the site there are tracking
  cookies being used.

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Feds Want Your E-mails, IMs, and Everything Else,
Forever

• Lamar Smith of Texas has introduced a bill that
  is called the SAFTEY Act (Stopping Adults
  Facilitating the Exploitation of Today's Youth)
  
• This act will record all users' web surfing
  history, instant messaging conversations and
  e-mail indefinitely.
  
• This is to be used to prevent terrorism and child
  pornography through keeping the records.
  
• People feel that "Big Brother" is going way to
  far.
  
• The SAFTEY Act is in the House Judiciary
  Committee.
  
• This is an invasion of privacy and it will effect
  everyone in the work force and in the comfort of
  your very own home.

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Questions?