Dozens of old television shows, including Welcome Back Kotter, will be available online and free of charge under a deal between America Online and Warner Bros., the companies said.
In the latest alternative to traditional TV viewing, a new broadband network, called In2TV, will be launched in early 2006 by AOL and Warner Bros. Domestic Cable Distribution.
*Welcome Back Kotter, Sisters * and Growing Pains are among the 30 series to be offered initially. They will be grouped on channels by genre, including comedy, drama, animation, sci-fi and horror, action-adventure and "vintage TV."
In2TV plans to offer more than 100 TV series and at least 300 episodes per month in the first year, the companies said.
The shows will be delivered through AOL Video on Demand, AOL Video Search and AOL Television. At the time of launch, the programs will be available exclusively on AOL and will not be in syndication on TV.
About 35 million homes now have broadband access, compared to 110 million homes with TV. About half of those internet users say they have watched video online, according to industry analysts.
Sun good for planet: Looking to leapfrog its rivals, computer maker Sun Microsystems announced a server chip that it claims will deliver more performance while requiring less electricity than competing microprocessors.
The UltraSparc T1 processor, code-named Niagara, has eight computing engines on a single chip, with each core capable of handling up to four tasks at once. It expects to ship systems based on the processor by the end of the year.
The new chip uses about 70 watts of power on average, significantly less than the 150 watts to 200 watts required by server chips from Intel or IBM.
Sun also is touting its new chip as "eco-friendly." It said removing the world's web servers and replacing them with half the number of UltraSparc T1-based systems would have the same effect on carbon dioxide emissions as planting 1 million trees.
The UltraSparc T1 chips will be used first in a line of Sun Fire servers that are expected to be available before the end of 2005. Sun did not disclose pricing details.
If you love money, give it away: Google plans to give away a set of analytic tools allowing web developers, administrators and advertisers to fine-tune their sites including advertising.
The tools are intended to address a key aspect of successful websites, which is the ability to track user behavior to determine which features keep visitors on the site and which ones make them click away.
Google Analytics can be used by website builders to figure out what keywords attract visitors, which promotions hold on to customers and how to design webpages that draw attention.
Google Analytics are already used by many top websites, including dozens of Fortune 500 companies. By making the service free, Google is seeking to draw a wider range of users to web analytics, including individuals looking to more actively promote their topical blogs.
Play music in the Sno: Snocap, a U.S. digital media company founded by Napster creator Shawn Fanning, said it reached a deal with Warner Music Group (WMG) authorizing distribution of Warner's music across Snocap-enabled retail services.
The deal means Snocap has now allied itself with all four of the world's largest record companies. The company had already established relationships with Sony BMG, Universal Music and EMI. In September, the company also signed deals with various independent labels.
By using fingerprinting technology to identify and track music, Snocap said it hopes to give consumers authorized options on par with file-sharing services, and turn the threat of still popular peer-to-peer services into an opportunity for music companies and artists.
After registering music and copyright information in Snocap's database, labels and artists can manage online distribution through Snocap's copyright management system, which lets them set rules for each track on a global basis.
Fanning started Napster, which turned the music industry upside down by letting users copy music from each other's hard drives for free. He serves as Snocap's chief strategy officer.
Compiled by Keith Axline. AP and Reuters contributed to this report.
