Hasta La Gadget!

The Wall Street Journal will soon launch a business-minded social network along the lines of LinkedIn, according to a report from The Times of London. The news comes amid reports of restructuring and new financial offerings from the media giant, including a personal messaging system for investors and a newswire service called Dow Jones X. Of course, this isn’t News Corp’s first social network rodeo, as it had a dubious fling with Myspace that ended rather badly. Though there’s no word on an exact date, The Times said it should be arriving in several months — but we’re not sure if corporate types will be high on trusting the Rupert Murdoch-helmed outfit with their personal info.

Filed under: Internet

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Via: Business Insider

Source: The Times of London

While viewers enjoy promotions like free Star Trek and Kurosawa, Hulu’s owners are once again considering selling the video streaming site. The last bit of news was that News Corp and Disney were considering buying one another out, but according to Reuters, anonymous sources confirm that the board is reaching out to several potential buyers while it considers its options. Another possibility from Variety suggests that the two would remain as part owners, and welcome another party to join, perhaps CBS. This wouldn’t be the first time Hulu’s owners tried to sell the site however, as it went through the whole process — without changing hands — back in 2011. Perhaps this time, with a new CEO in place, all the companies involved can figure out what they want Hulu to be going forward.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD

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Source: Reuters, Variety

The new owner of Hulu could turn out to be… one of the existing owners. After an aborted sale attempt in 2011, new rumors suggest current part owners Disney and News Corp are talking over the possibility of one buying the other’s stake out. The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg both tag people with knowledge of the situation as their sources, indicating a disagreement over the video streaming website’s business model — it announced $695 million in revenue last year — as a reason for the talks.

Reportedly News Corp. prefers a subscription based model, while Disney sees an advertising-focused approach as best. Both of them own about a third of the site, while Comcast / NBC Universal owns most of the remaining third but can’t vote, and according to the rumors would remain as a minority investor if a buyout took place. Also playing into this is CEO Jason Kilar’s announcement he will leave the company by the end of Q1, so hopefully any decision on its future are made by the time a new leader is in place.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD

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Source: Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal

In light of recent scandals, it’s hard not to see this as a bit of image rehabilitation, but we’ll do our best to take it at face value. News Corp is bringing its 18-month-old educational division to the fore by rebranding it Amplify and teaming up with AT&T to put tablets in the hands of students. The unit will focus on developing products and services tailored for classrooms, ranging from kindergarten through high school. And, at the center of that ecosystem, will be the Amplify Tablet (which, judging from the video below, appears to be a modified Galaxy Tab). Videos, encyclopedia entries, books and even remote tutoring apps will all be just a tap away. The tablets will get their first trial run in the US during the 2012-2013 school year. With the phone hacking scandal behind him, former New York City school chancellor Joel Klein (who headed up News Corp’s internal investigation), is free to focus on getting Amplify rolling and into classrooms across the nation. Before you head off, make sure to watch the clip from AT&T after the break.

Continue reading News Corp launches Amplify educational unit, with help from AT&T (video)

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Tablet PCs

News Corp launches Amplify educational unit, with help from AT&T (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Jul 2012 13:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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