Hasta La Gadget!

We love riffing on TV shows like a latter-day MST3k, which means that companies are desperate to harness our homespun satire to their own ends. Second-screen start-up Zeebox has inked a deal with MTV and Comedy Central owner Viacom, offering exclusive content in exchange for on-screen advertising. That said, we’re not sure if the promise of behind-the-scenes clips would be enough to draw us away from just cattily judging the Project Runway contestants on Twitter, where we’re less likely to be moderated into oblivion.

Continue reading Zeebox adds Viacom to its list of second-screen partners

Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, Tablets, HD

Zeebox adds Viacom to its list of second-screen partners originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Oct 2012 16:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Twitter has ruffled a few feathers recently, so when CEO Dick Costolo took the stage at the Online News Association conference in San Francisco, he took the opportunity to put some minds at rest. First he dismissed the idea that the service would become a media company by forcing users to the site or official app for content, before reasserting his belief in syndication. Costolo then went on to imply that the reason behind the tighter (and unpopular) API controls was ensuring quality — stating that Twitter would reach its full potential now there’s more control over how tweets are delivered. With boots strapped, we can look forward to some new features, such as the option to curate messages that are published (such as during live events) plus tweets with interactive features like polls during live sports games. The famous 140 character limit is to remain, but will also serve as a “caption for additional functionality.” Perhaps of most interest to disenfranchised developers, however, was the mention of application functionality in tweets, where short messages could contain small interactive apps. Something for devs to get potentially get back on board with? We hope so. But until further details unfold, we’re still left considering our options.

Filed under: Internet

Twitter CEO reveals plans for interactive tweets, content curation, reinforces belief in syndication originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 22 Sep 2012 14:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Until now, the only way for folks to see someone’s tweets on the web was to grab screenshots or head directly to their Twitter page. No more. The microblogging platform just launched a new tool that lets folks embed Twitter timelines into any website, meaning you can have your 140-character musings right alongside your long-winded blog posts. Plus, you can interact with those tweets as you would at twitter.com, following and replying directly from the module. Interested? Head on down to the Twitter Developers source link below to learn how the embedding works.

Filed under: Internet

Twitter offers embeddable timeline tool, gives web designers new toy to play with originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Sep 2012 13:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Alt-week peels back the covers on some of the more curious sci-tech stories from the last seven days.

We see a lot of crazy stories here at Engadget, especially when we spend our week poking around in dark and scary corners of the internet specifically in search of them, just so you don’t have to. We consider it a service almost. One that we’re delighted to provide, we must add. When else would we be able to share such delights as an astronaut triathlete, soft, color-changing robots and a recent response to a thirty-year-old alien broadcast? Exactly. This is alt-week.

Continue reading Alt-week 8.18.12: Graphene sponges, zero-g athletics and tweets in space

Filed under: Science

Alt-week 8.18.12: Graphene sponges, zero-g athletics and tweets in space originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 18 Aug 2012 17:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Twitter has been making a giant push for expanded tweets from content providers. It’s only a short logical leap from that to Twitter providing the content itself, and that’s exactly what AdWeek claims may well happen. Its unconfirmed tipsters have the microblog taking a page from YouTube by pitching Hollywood movie and TV studios on “several” original shows that would live in followers’ feeds, including the seemingly inescapable reality show. While Twitter wouldn’t have someone in the director’s chair, it might still play a role by letting viewers affect the show as it’s happening — and of course, running ads. Silence is the only official response to the rumor from Twitter so far; don’t plan your viewing schedule just yet, but do brace yourself in case Twitter breaks out a Horse ebooks cameo to boost ratings in mid-season.

Filed under: Internet

Twitter rumored to be pitching in-feed video shows to studios originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jul 2012 14:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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