Today
Sections
More
Features
Displaying 1 - 10 of 35 |
Next »Chronicle Podcasts
An interview with Napster's Shawn Fanning
Photo Courtesy of Electronic Arts
Shawn Fanning
Ten years ago, Shawn Fanning made his MP3-sharing program Napster widely available on the Internet.
"It was something that came to me as a result of seeing an sort of an unmet need and the passion people had for being able to find all this music, particularly a lot of the obscure stuff which wouldn't be something you go to a record store and purchase,'' Fanning said in a recent interview with The Chronicle. "So if felt like a problem worth solving."
"It is really remarkable to think about how quickly it grew,'' he said. "It created a level of connectedness and access that really didn't exist at the time."
But the program, which quickly spread to millions of users around the world, caused more problems for the recording industry, which saw sales of CDs drop as people started downloading more free MP3 songs.
Although court rulings eventually found the file-sharing program violated copyright laws and Napster was forced to shut down, Napster started a digital revolution that would reshape not only the music industry, but hasten the Internet's role in becoming a primary source of digital entertainment.
The following is an audio interview with Fanning, who talks about the early days of Napster and it's legacy. He also talks about his latest company, Rupture, a cross-platform social network for video game players that Electronic Arts plans to unveil later this summer.
"It really is about letting people connect and stay connected across boundaries.''
The full audio interview is available in the following podcast:
To read a story on Napster's legacy, go to SFGate.com.
| May 31 2009 at 08:00 PM
CES: Podcast with Microsoft's Robbie Bach
Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division, sat down for a podcast interview with tech reporter Ellen Lee before Sunday's keynote by Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates.
In the podcast, Bach outlined the future of the XBox and Microsoft's digital entertainment strategies. Bach also detailed some of the announcements Microsoft has made at the show, including new deals to bring downloads of high-definition movies, TV shows and games to the Xbox 360. And he talked about the company's "whole-home DVR'' technology.
| January 07 2008 at 06:00 PM
Interviews with Alibaba executives
Technology reporter Ellen Lee podcasts interviews she did in Hangzhou, China, in September when she visited the home of Alibaba, the popular e-commerce company. Alibaba.com, one of the units of the Alibaba Group, is going public on Tuesday in Hong Kong and it's expected to be one of the hottest tech IPOs since Google, raising $1.5 billion.
In this podcast, she interviews Alibaba founder Jack Ma during AliFest, Alibaba's annual conference for its customers, along with Alibaba.com president David Wei and Chen Qiutian, a former factory worker who founded Repow, one of about 2.4 million suppliers with a web page on Alibaba.com.
| November 05 2007 at 12:01 AM
On the Record - Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime
Reggie Fils-Aime, President and COO of Nintendo of America, one of the most celebrated names in the gaming industry, sat down recently with Chronicle tech reporters and editors for an On The Record interview.
In this podcast -- an extended excerpt from the interview with reporters Ryan Kim, Ellen Lee and Peter Hartlaub -- Fils-Aime talked about the success of Nintendo's Wii, the future of gaming and what video games need to do to become mass entertainment.
| October 28 2007 at 12:01 AM
Preparing for the digital television conversion
The National Association of Broadcasters on Monday unveiled a $697 million public service campaign aimed at educating viewers that in February 2009, all televison stations in the U.S. will stop broadcasting analog signals, meaning older analog TV sets won't work without special converter boxes or being hooked into cable or satellite services.
So in this podcast interview, The Chronicle's Ellen Lee and Benny Evangelista ask Jim Barry - known as the Consumer Electronics Association's "Digital Answer Man'' - to explain what this impending digital TV switch means for most viewers.
He also talks about the options viewers with old analog TVs will have, including obtaining a government-subsidized coupon to buy a digital converter box.
| October 15 2007 at 03:05 PM
Widget helps fans, artists sell digital music
A San Francisco company named GoodStorm has unveiled a digital music widget called MixTape that is part of an Amnesty International campaign to raise funds to help victims of human rights abuses in Darfur.
MixTape is being used to help promote online sales of "Instant Karma,'' a two-CD album with artists such as U2, Green Day and REM performing songs by the late John Lennon. The campaign has been featured on Apple's iTunes Store.
As GoodStorm CEO Yobie Benjamin explains in this week's Tech Talk podcast, MixTape is designed to help musicians and music fans alike promote, share and sell their favorite digital songs. Like a YouTube video, the customizable MixTape widgets can be embedded on blogs and Web sites, making them digital music stories. (For an example of MixTape, including a previous podcast with Benjamin, click "Read more'' below.)
However, Benjamin also tells The Chronicle's Benny Evangelista about how his support for the Amnesty International project is personal -- 30 years ago, he was a political prisoner helped by the nonprofit advocacy group.
Also, Chronicle Computing Q&A; columnist David Einstein talks about software that tracks a stolen or missing laptop.
Read More 'Widget helps fans, artists sell digital music' »
| July 02 2007 at 12:01 AM
Apple's iPhone: Real deal or hype?
The most anticipated consumer electronics product of the year, Apple's iPhone, goes on sale this week. But is it the real deal or is it being overhyped? Cnet senior editor Kent German joins Chronicle tech reporters Ryan Kim and Ellen Lee for a Tech Talk podcast about the iPhone.
Also, Cnet's Lori Grunin reviews budget camcorders, and Chronicle Computing Q&A; columnist David Einstein says you don't need to pay computer experts to install a home wireless network.
| June 25 2007 at 12:01 AM
Leopard, iPhone set to shine at Apple Worldwide Developers Conference
Apple Inc. hosts its annual Worldwide Developers Conference this week in San Francisco, so veteran technology analyst Tim Bajarin of Creative Strategies Inc. talks in this podcast about what he expects will generate the biggest buzz -- Mac OSX Leopard operating system upgrade and the much-anticipated iPhone. And he speculates about whether Apple will allow third-party development of applications for the iPhone
Also, CNET's Nicole Lee reviews two top slider phones and Chronicle Computing Q&A; columnist David Einstein suggests a perfect travel companion -- an electronic language translator.
| June 10 2007 at 12:06 AM
Q&A; with Microsoft's Robbie Bach on the Xbox, the Zune and more
In this podcast, Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division, talks about the future of the Xbox game console, the Zune music player, software that runs on mobile devices and new television initiatives. Chronicle staff writers Dan Fost and Ryan Kim.
Also, Chronicle Q&A; Columnist David Einstein shares his thoughts on next generation high-definition DVD players.
| May 28 2007 at 05:00 AM
New technology to navigate flood of content on TV
On this week's Tech Talk podcast, tech writer Ryan Kim reports on a donut-shaped TV remote control that's part of new technology designed to help consumers better handle the flood of content flowing through their TVs.
Also, CNET reviews a laser-projected keyboard and two "freaky'' mobile phones. And Computing Q&A; columnist David Einstein has tips for preserving laptop batteries and securing WiFi networks.
| May 14 2007 at 05:00 AM
News and views from the digital frontier.
By Marcus Chan (moderator), Benny Evangelista, Casey Newton, James Temple, Read Bios
advertisement
|
your ad here
more