Media

If you want to watch NBC programs before they air, get a Viiv PC.

NBC Universal has cut a deal with Intel in which individuals who own Viiv PCs will be able to download and view certain programs before they air on the network, according to Merlin Kister, director of consumer client marketing for Intel.

Some television networks have offered first-run shows simultaneously with broadcast, but offering shows to PC owners before they broadcast is quite unusual. Some of the shows could be available up to a week in advance. In other cases, viewers may only get previews in advance. … Read more

SAN DIEGO--Since we here at CNET News.com have spent much of the last year covering the ever-evolving world of the metaverse, "Second Life," and in particular some of the companies that have set up shop there, it seems only fitting that we note the opening of our own presence there.

On Tuesday night, with a minimum of fanfare, CNET launched its "Second Life" space.

And we're particularly proud about this launch, as it means we are one of the very first mainstream media organizations to have a functional and permanent space in "Second … Read more

If youths are a driving force behind the social-networking phenomenon, then it's only logical to reach them at their earliest ages.

Imbee, a network for children aged 8 to 14 that launched a few months ago, is attempting to do just that while amassing as broad a membership as possible before the competition gets too hot. Today it announced a "strategic safety partnership" with Web Wise Kids, an organization that teaches online safety to children through the use of computer games based on true criminal cases.

Although Web Wise Kids is a .org non-profit, it claims to … Read more

Exhorting young voters to get to the polls has traditionally been a tough task for grassroots efforts like Rock the Vote. Now, just in time for this fall's U.S. midterm elections--with the entire House of Representatives, many senators and a handful of governors up for re-election--social-networking hub MySpace.com has launched its own pro-voting effort.

The site has partnered with nonpartisan organization "Declare Yourself" to launch a MySpace group that members can join to track down resources and register to vote in either standard or absentee form. This move might raise a few eyebrows: The News … Read more

Yesterday we noted that the Fox interview of Bill Clinton rolled across the vlogosphere and led the traffic race on YouTube.

Numerous posted clips from that Fox interview are still on YouTube. Apparently Foxy lawyers have abandoned all hope of protecting their copyright. Or maybe the marketers realize free publicity can be priceless.

Today the ripples widen from the original Clinton v. Wallace bout. Three of the eight most popular videos on YouTube Wednesday morning are reactions to the original interview. Now videos from MSNBC and C-Span have been pulled into the fray. The newer videos range from the senatorial … Read more

Microsoft has signed an exclusive multi-year agreement to distribute live music concerts on its MSN Web site for acts like Rod Stewart.

The 36 concerts under the deal will be produced by Control Room, formerly Network Live, the company that worked on the Live 8 concerts in 2005.

MSN will stream the concerts live and provide on-demand access to the programming afterward, says Rob Bennett, general manager of entertainment and video at MSN. Viewers will not have to pay to watch the concerts, which will have ads.

The first show will be singer John Legend performing at Royal Albert Hall … Read more

Microsoft is considering ways to get people to use its new Soapbox user-generated video Web site, including paying them or offering them points that can be redeemed on other Microsoft services, according to a Microsoft executive.

"We are looking at variety of ways to reward people who participate" said Rob Bennett, general manage of entertainment and video at MSN. Anybody can upload video, share videos on the site with others, embed the video player in their blogs and tag and rate videos they see.

"We've looked at a range of possible options," he said. "… Read more

A censored summary of the controversial National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) is now available online. Expect to have trouble getting to the file due to heavy traffic.

President Bush announced Tuesday he was having portions of the document declassified and put online. The full report was completed last spring.

When leaked portions of the NIE were published over the weekend, there was even more roiling and ranting political argument over the Iraq War and terrorism. Now you can see at least some of the NIE for yourself.

Social-networking phenom Facebook keeps getting bigger. Not long ago, it was the online-directory project of a few Harvard University students. Then founder Mark Zuckerberg let it spread to other Ivy League schools. It wasn't long before seemingly all college students were using it every day. And then, last fall, Zuckerberg let high schoolers join the fray.

Not all students could have predicted that when Facebook opened its .edu domain membership doors to a few well-known .com and .org groups, it would soon be open to the general public. But as the site considers a hefty buyout by Yahoo and … Read more