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Comcast Acquires thePlatform
Comcast has acquired thePlatform, a provider of digital media publishing solutions. thePlatform's management team will stay intact, and Comcast will run it as a distinct business. No details of the deal have been disclosed. The acquisition provides Comcast with an expanded infrastructure for broadband video services. Comcast's The Fan, powered by thePlatform, delivers nearly 2 million video streams per day to Comcast's customers. thePlatform will continue to service all of its existing customers. thePlatform management team and employee base will remain intact in Seattle. (www.comcast.com; mm.theplatform.com)
Thomson Scientific, ScholarOne, and Blackwell Publishing Collaborate for Manuscript Review
Thomson Scientific, ScholarOne, and Blackwell Publishing have announced a collaboration to provide authors, editors, and reviewers with tools designed to enhance each stage of the manuscript review process. These tools will integrate elements of ScholarOne Manuscript Central with Web of Science and EndNote (both from Thomson Scientific), making it possible for authors to create their manuscripts in EndNote and then submit them for review using Manuscript Central. Additionally, reviewers and editors using Manuscript Central will have one-click access to times cited, related records, and links to the full record in Web of Science from manuscripts.
New task-focused tools developed for Manuscript Central will interact in real-time with the Web of Science so editors can find reviewers and check references for completeness. Reviewers can place an author's new work in its entire research context with a single click. Blackwell Publishing will collaborate in the application of these tools before they are made available to the publishing community at a later date. (www.blackwellpublishing.com; www.schorone.com; mm.scientific.thomson.com)
FeedBurner Acquires BlogBeat
FeedBurner, an internet feed management provider, has acquired BlogBeat, a provider of blog analytics. The combined services will give FeedBurner's customers tools for the comparison of feed subscribers and blog visitors. The BlogBeat functionality will be fully integrated into FeedBurner's existing suite of free internet feed management services. The integration will be completed during Q4 2006. During the transition, current BlogBeat customers will continue to be supported with uninterrupted service and will receive full refunds from FeedBurner. BlogBeat will not be adding new users until the integration is complete. Additional and optional fee- based enhancements are slated to launch in 2007. BlogBeat founder Jeff Turner has joined the FeedBurner team as lead engineer, web analytics.
(www.feedburner.com; www.blogbeat.net)
Sony and Guba Partner for Online Movie Distribution Deal
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and GUBA, an online multimedia entertainment site, have announced the immediate availability of more than 100 feature-length movies from Sony Pictures on the GUBA Premium online video service.
The launch makes GUBA the first video sharing community to distribute Sony Pictures movies online. Among the slate of more than 100 titles available for digital downloading at GUBA.com are Spider- Man 2, Underworld: Evolution, Memoirs of a Geisha, Hitch, and Bridge on the River Kwai. SPHE will steadily increase the number of films available for internet sales over the coming months, with an expected 500 films, including day and date releases, being offered to consumers within a year. GUBA users can purchase films on a download-to-own basis. New releases are priced at $19.99, and catalog titles will retail from $9.99. All video content can be downloaded and played on compatible home computers. Some titles will also be available for rental on a Video-on-Demand basis.
(www.guha.com; www.sonypictrures.com)
IBM Introduces Search and Content Integration Software
IBM has introduced two entry-level versions of search and content integration software. IBM webSphere Information Integrator OmniFind Starter Edition and webSphere Information Integrator Content Starter Edition can help customers access information throughout the enterprise.
IBM webSphere Information Integrator OmniFind Starter Edition provides business-focused search capabilities. It analyzes and indexes information stored throughout an organization and allows users to search intranet portals, databases, public websites, and file systems to obtain results. webSphere Information Integrator Content Starter Edition provides access to content sources and workflow systems. This allows users to access content and metadata stored in multiple systems. It is designed to enable customer service agents to work with customer and product-related information.
These items are top stories featured in our twice-weekly enewsletter, EContent Xtra. To receive news like this-and much more- as it breaks, subscribe at: www.econtentmag.com/ecxtra
Copyright Information Today, Inc. Sep 2006
(c) 2006 EContent. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.
