Sky to offer truly limitless Broadband

sky-logo.jpg

Sky have confirmed on the Digital Spy message boards that they have dropped the Fair Usage Policy from their top-tier broadband package. Most ‘Unlimited’ broadband packages actually have a “fair use” limitation, which means that if you end up using extreme amounts of data, they reserve the right to cut you off. Sky have announced that with immediate effect, their ‘Unlimited’ package will have no limits. It sounds weird saying that. A spokesperson posted…

Sky and Universal Music partner to launch subscription music streaming and download service

sky_universal_logos.gif

Sky has partnered with Universal Music to launch a subscription-based music service offering both streaming music and “keep forever” download tracks.

The venture has just been announced, and the service doesn’t appear to have a name yet — at least, not a public one. Claiming the model is a world first (a claim I’m sceptical about), Universal Music will give it a flying start by making its entire catalogue of music (including U2, Kanye West, Amy Winehouse, Mika, the Killers, Snow Patrol, Luciano Pavarotti, ABBA, Rihanna, Eminem, Andrea Bocelli, Elton John, and Duffy) available, while Sky continues to negotiate with both major and independent music companies…

Sky launches online TV guide – how to claw another inch of the market

Thumbnail image for sky_logo.png

There’s no way in the world that the new Online Sky Guide is going to either a) win the satellite giants any more customers or b) stop anyone leaving them but it’s always good to be making people’s lives just that little bit easier.

The concept of Sky+ was a revelation for coach potatoes everywhere and then everyone started doing it, and each of these new incarnation hard disk recorders began to do it a little bit better.

Now, with the launch of this new electronic programming service…

Opinion: freesat confusion and secrecy is hurting the brand and stifling competition

andy-merrett.jpg

freesat, the free-to-air satellite service due to launch in a matter of weeks, is a great idea and one that many people are looking forward to, but the organisation is behaving as if the pre-launch phase is a covert military operation, and that’s hurting the brand.

Last week we wrote about the launch of Hauppauge’s USB2 tuner that should be able to receive the freesat signal via a compatible satellite connection. That’s not how freesat sees it

Opinion: BBC Internet 'guru' Ashley Highfield wasn't spectacular, all he did was give cyberspace a 'play' button

Jon_smal.gif

Jonathan Weinberg writes…

It’s amazing what you can do when you don’t have much money. The best innovators often produce the most fantastic efforts when they’re doing it on a shoe-string. Look at Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, he didn’t have millions of pounds when he started it, he simply had passion, drive and a simple idea for something he believed would work.

So the news today that the BBC’s New Media boss is to stand down and move to launch an on-demand video service for the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 strikes me as interesting. Ashley Highfield has been feted as one of the most important people on the Internet. But he controls a budget of £74m a year. Surely even a chimp in a tutu could do some decent work with that kind of cash to fund it.

The plan is that “Project Kangaroo” (dumb name for a start) will become the Freeview of the Internet offering more than 10,000 hours of programmes. Now I’ve nothing against that, I love TV. In fact, I’m an addict as my friends will tell you judging by my preference to stay in and watch rubbish on the box rather than going out with them.

Nine in ten UK homes now have digital TV

digital.jpg

According to last week’s Ofcom report, nearly 90% of British homes now have access to some form of multichannel, digital TV on their main set.

As the digital switchover continues region by region over the next four years, and thanks to the fact that it’s fairly difficult to buy a TV that’s not digital ready now, be it standard definition or HD ready, it seems that most of us have got the message that it’s good to go digital…