News Archive for 06/01/27

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Google video pitfalls

01/27, 12:25pm

Google stumbles out of the gate

Google has admitted making mistakes during the launch of its Google Video store, one of the major competitors to Apple's iTunes. Vice President Marissa Mayer said that television shows available for sale were not promoted well enough, making it difficult for customers to purchase shows like "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," and "Survivor," according to a Seattle Post-Intelligencer report, which also stated that the high bar set by iTunes' video download service is making it rather difficult for other companies like Google to follow suit. David Pogue of the New York Times said that the Google video store is "appallingly half-baked," according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Other problems yet to be ironed out of Google video are the copy-protected shows which block users from viewing them from any device not connected to the internet. Google has recently changed its website design to facilitate easier searching and downloading of video content, according to the report.

Amazon download service

01/27, 11:55am

Amazon may distribute films digitally

Amazon is set to develop a digital download service for the DVDs available on its site. Amazon is considering a few options for its streaming video service which would differentiate its service from that of iTunes, such as allowing a customer to stream a movie and credit the purchase against the price of a DVD. iTunes does not currently link video sales to non-digital content and only offers outright download purchases of content. Amazon does not want to divert sales from its DVDs, according to Variety; however, it wants to use streaming video to help drive DVD sales.

iTunes Norway complaint

01/27, 11:20am

Norway files complaint over iTunes TOS

The Consumer Council of Norway has filed a complaint against Apple for its iTunes' terms of service, which it says violates basic contract law. The Consumer Council maintains that iTunes' terms of use allow it to change the consumer's rights to their music after it has been purchased, undermining the basic principles of consumer contract law. iTunes Europe operates from Luxemborg and its terms of service stipulate that it is governed by English law, but iTunes' Norwegian site is a Norwegian domain, is displayed in Norwegian, and uses Norwegian currency. For these reasons, the Consumer Council of Norway argues that iTunes' Norwegian site is subject to Norwegian law.