Look out Netflix. While you're worried about HBO, Amazon's building up its streaming library.

Amazon announced today it has signed a licensing agreement with Viacom that will bring the entertainment conglomerate's shows to Amazon's Prime video service. Over the next several months, Amazon will receive access to episodes from Viacom's Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon and BET outlets, the company said in a statement.

"This deal will bring the total number of Prime Instant Videos to more than 15,000," Amazon wrote.

This hits Netflix where it hurts. Amazon continues to build up the … Read more

Semi-automatic shotguns, body armor, and accusations of police brutality and acts of terrorism are common in stories about Mexico's drug wars or the fighting in Afghanistan.

So what are those terms doing in technology stories about copyright and online file sharing? A recent arrest of MegaUpload's founder by 70 armed police officers as well as cyber attacks on media executives and government officials by Anonymous indicates that the gloves have come off in the copyright conflict.

Against this backdrop, BTJunkie, one of the top BitTorrent index sites, has decided to shut down. BTJunkie posted a note on its … Read more

With a frown on his face and holding his head in his hand, LimeWire founder Mark Gorton appeared depressed last May as he sat in a New York courtroom.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) had already won its copyright case against Gorton and LimeWire, the once-popular file-sharing service, and the parties were back before the judge to determine how much in damages he owed the four top major record companies. On May 12, he agreed to pay the RIAA $105 million.

But Gorton's pain didn't end there. Ever since, he's been under siege by different … Read more

While the LP revival is still in full swing you rarely hear about the other 12-inch, grooved vinyl record format, the RCA VideoDisc.

It was a grooved, carbon-loaded PVC disc. The grooves were 48 times smaller than an LP groove, but they were still tracked with a diamond "needle"! That was possible because unlike an LP's zigzag grooves the CED's grooves were hills and dales. That difference also minimized groove wear, so the discs could be played hundreds of times. VHS and Beta tapes would wear out faster than that. The VideoDisc also had stereo soundtracks.… Read more

Times have been good for aficionados of Jim Henson.

Not only did we see a new Muppets feature film over the holidays, last week we also saw the posting of a "lost" Henson short: "Robot," made for an AT&T data-communications seminar in 1963. And now a kind of "sequel" to "Robot" has made its way online.… Read more

Kim DotCom, the colorful and controversial founder of cyberlocker service MegaUpload, must remain in police custody for at least three more weeks, a New Zealand court decided today.

DotCom, 38, and a half dozen of MegaUpload's managers are accused in the United States of criminal copyright violations, money laundering, and racketeering. According to the indictment filed against them in Virginia, the government alleges that MegaUpload was a criminal enterprise that banked more than $175 million by helping the masses pirate films, music, software, and videogames.

At the request of the FBI, DotCom and three other MegaUpload employees were arrested … Read more

You'll have to keep dusting off those stacks and shelves of DVDs for the foreseeable future--and maybe forever.

Kaleidescape, a company that has long sought to help consumers create copies of their DVDs and store the digital files to a media server, has lost another legal battle.

In 2004, the DVD Copy Control Association (DVD CCA) sued Kaleidescape. That group, which includes all the major Hollywood studios and some consumer electronics companies, licenses the anticopying protections on DVDs and Blu-ray discs.

The DVD CCA accused Kaleidescape of violating the terms of the CCA license when it began releasing servers … Read more

Contrary to recent media reports, the FBI did not arrest MegaUpload founder Kim DotCom after being pressured by managers at the four major record companies, who supposedly feared DotCom would launch an unlicensed music service, sources close to the investigation told CNET.

Numerous film and music industry sources have discussed some of the events that preceded the January 19 raid in New Zealand on DotCom's home. What becomes clear is that two years ago, when the FBI began investigating the cyberlocker service, the film studios were far more intent on taking down MegaUpload than their counterparts at the music … Read more

The 56-day rental window Warner Bros. has reportedly tried to impose on its partners didn't go over too well with Redbox.

The kiosk-rental company announced yesterday that its contract with Warner Bros. had expired and that it had no intention of entering into a new agreement with the film studio. The company did assure customers that it has other ways of getting access to Warner Bros. movies and TV shows, and that they'll still be available in its kiosks.

"Redbox will continue to provide our consumers with affordable access to new release movies from all major studios … Read more