rogers

TiVo CEO: Popular TV doesn't mean watched ads

CARLSBAD, Calif.--The idea that just because a TV show is popular that lots of people are watching the accompanying ads is a myth, says Tom Rogers.

And Rogers would know. As TiVo's CEO, Rogers has access to data that shows just how many people watch how many seconds of which commercial. Now, obviously that correlation is greater among non-TiVo customers, who don't have the luxury of skipping over the ads. Rogers was interviewed by Kara Swisher at the D6 conference here Thursday.

Still, Rogers said that television needs to fundamentally transition its ad model to one in … Read more

Fake codec found in AOL forum

Visitors to AOL's main portal page may have seen a headline "Disgraced 'Oprah' Author Is Back" circulating, but those who clicked may have infected their computers, says Roger Thompson, Chief Research Officer of AVG Technologies.

Thompson said anyone clicking on the headline link would be taken to a legitimate forum page discussing James Frey's latest book, Morning. However, some of the blog posts on that page contained a link to a video site. In order to view the video associated with that post, the user would have to accept the installation of the video codec.

Upon … Read more

This VC forecast scares the pants off of me

After the list of losers they pawned off in the lead-up to the Internet bust, I nearly always distrust the pronouncements of venture capitalists about the future. Of course, why hold a grudge? Isn't that the price you pay in a hit-and-miss business? For every few Webvans, there's always a Google to convince the world that these guys really know how to read the tea leaves better than most folks. I suppose so.

So it was that I was especially curious when the Churchill Club earlier this week invited some of the A-List venture capitalists in Silicon Valley … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 724: YOU are!

It's episode 724, wherein we argue, but in a happy way. MySpace wins a $234 million antispam judgment they'll probably never collect, and Google blurs faces in Street view, maybe just to be nice. Also, it turns out seniors are more acutely aware of the passing of time (or they hate commercials more than the youngsters do) and Qtrax makes four improbable deals. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 724

Note: We are making a change to our podcast feed system on Monday, May 19. However, you do not need to subscribe to a new feed. One … Read more

iPhone coming to Canada

Apple's iPhone is expected to cross the Canadian border later this year, the country's largest wireless provider said Tuesday.

Rogers Communications, which is also Canada's only GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) provider, will serve as the region's iPhone carrier.

"We're thrilled to announce that we have a deal with Apple to bring the iPhone to Canada later this year. We can't tell you any more about it right now, but stay tuned," Chief executive Ted Rogers said in a statement.

The announcement comes 10 months after the Canadian company let it slip out of the bag that it would be the exclusive iPhone provider in Canada. … Read more

Duke Energy CEO: Coal not going away

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--The chief executive of Duke Energy, James Rogers, is an unlikely advocate for policies to restrict greenhouse gas emissions. But the man who is building two new coal power plants is just that.

Rogers delivered a keynote speech at the MIT Energy Conference here on Saturday where he called for policies and technologies to bridge the fossil fuel-based energy industry of today with low-carbon alternatives.

Rogers heads a company that generates 90 percent of its electricity from burning coal or nuclear power to serve its 4 million customers. So it's not surprising that he says that "… Read more

Execs move from Web to music companies

Maybe it's just coincidence, but this week two executives have left major Web companies for roles in the music industry.

Earlier this week, Google VP of Engineering Douglas Merrill left to lead EMI's digital music initiative. According to his Google bio, his core background is in finance--not music and not really technology, although apparently he has done a lot of work in information security. Apparently, singing the Sex Pistols' anti-label song "EMI" to EMI head Guy Hands helped him get the job. Too bad MCA's gone--maybe I could have gotten a job by singing … Read more

Yahoo Music exec leaves for start-up

Note: This post has been changed to correctly reflect Ian Rogers' title at Yahoo.

Ian Rogers, vice president of video and media applications at Yahoo, is leaving the company to launch a start-up, Rogers said on his blog.

During his time at Yahoo, the company released the Yahoo Media Player, purchased FoxyTunes, and launched a new version of Yahoo Video.

His new company, Topspin Media, is a venture-funded start-up that aims to "help independent artists make a living." The company, which Rogers founded with Peter Gotcher and Shamal Ranasinghe, is developing Web applications that enable distribution and marketing … Read more

The word on Wales' Wikipedia woes

Sex. Money. Incriminating instant messages. From the news that's been pouring in recently, you'd think Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales were the tech industry's own Client No. 9.

In a series of embarrassing peccadilloes that were originally relegated to gossip blogs like Valleywag, Wales' failed relationship with former Fox News commentator Rachel Marsden took center stage when Marsden "leaked" some of their online chats to the Web and made quite the public display of auctioning some of his clothes on eBay. The usual blog storm followed: photos of other women with whom Wales had reportedly been … Read more