FOX, NBC UNIVERSAL AND SONY EMPLOYEES CAUGHT DOWNLOADING ILLEGAL TORRENTS

Considering all of the concerns major music and movie studios have over piracy and file sharing, one would think the studios could at least manage to keep their own employees from stealing content. That is apparently not the case, however. TorrentFreak has a new tool that reveals what a specific IP address has downloaded from BitTorrent, and used it to snoop around a few popular studios. The site found that employees at Fox, Sony and NBC Universal were downloading illegal content from BitTorrent. A Sony employee, for example, downloaded Conan the Barbarian, an album from The Black Keys, and a Beavis and Butthead video. An NBC Universal Employee downloaded HBO’s hit series Game of Thrones, Cowboys and Aliens and a trance album. Fox typically contacts the FBI when a movie has been leaked, but TorrentFreak found an employee downloading a 1080p HD version of the movie Super 8. “By highlighting the above our intention is not to get anyone into trouble, and for that reason we masked out the end of the IP addresses to avoid a witch hunt,” TorrentFreak said. “An IP address is not a person, IP addresses can be shared among many people, and anyone can be behind a keyboard at any given time.” A Google employee was also caught downloading Windows 7, and the Church of God was busted for downloading two popular TV shows.

RUMOR: SONY PREPARING INTERNET TV ALTERNATIVE

The Wall Street Journal reports Sony has approached "several big media companies" about distributing their channels over the internet. This comes on the heels of its report on comments by CEO Howard Stringer about significant R&D efforts going into a "different kind of TV", and the four screen strategy Sony would like to implement. According to the report, Sony's idea is to offer small bundles of channels over the internet to its TVs, Blu-ray players, and the PS3.

Cutting deals with companies like CBS, that doesn't want to jeopardize its cable and satellite TV-based revenue, could be difficult. As for the competition, similar rumors about Microsoft turned into an effort that mostly works with partners like Comcast, U-verse, and FiOS, while Google is also pursuing a route of adding to, but not necessarily replacing, cable TV.

Sony has positioned itself well, adding IPTV services including sports to the PS3 and live TV tuning capability, and its tested the waters of going over the top before, but so far whether it will actually pursue this new plan is unknown.

SONY, TOSHIBA, HITACHI TEAM UP FOR NEW DISPLAY COMPANY

Sony, Toshiba and Hitachi officially joined forces today, cementing a government-backed joint venture that's been in the works for a few months, now. Together with the government-funded firm Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ), the three manufacturers will now form an entity known as Japan Display Inc., slated to launch during the Spring of 2012. INCJ is providing the lion's share of the funding (approximately $2.6 billion), giving it a 70 percent stake in the newly formed venture. The other three, meanwhile, will each control ten percent of the company, which will encompass their respective small-display subsidiaries. The stakeholders are hoping that today's announcement will help revive their sagging display sales, with some extra help from Panasonic, which also announced that it's selling one of its biggest domestic factories to the freshly minted Japan Display, for an unnamed sum.

SONY BUILDING A DIFFERENT KIND OF TV, JUST LIKE APPLE SAYS SONY CEO

All eyes have been on Apple to reinvent the television set, but Sony CEO Howard Stringer recently confirmed that Sony, too, is working on re-imagining the TV. “There’s a tremendous amount of R&D going into a different kind of TV set,” Stringer said during a breakfast hosted recently by The Wall Street Journal. “We can’t continue selling TV sets [as we currently do]. Every TV set we all make loses money.” Stringer said that he has “no doubt” that Steve Jobs had intentions of designing a brand-new kind of television but said that “it will take a long time to transition to a new form of television.”

It has been widely reported that Apple will use its Siri voice control engine on its TV, but Stringer wasn’t specific on exactly how Sony would change the entertainment staple in living rooms around the world. Stringer explained to The Wall Street Journal that he’s ready to take on whatever Apple will offer with a “four screen” approach that includes mobile devices such as tablets and phones, as well as computers and televisions, but connected TVs are hardly unique. ”I spent the last five years building a platform so I can compete with Steve Jobs,” Stringer boasted. “It’s finished, and it’s launching now.”

SONY TO SPLIT TV BUSINESS TO HELP DRIVE PROFITABILITY

Sony announced on Monday that it will split its television business into three different branches in an effort to reverse a course that has the arm headed to its eighth consecutive annual loss. The three new branches include LCD TVs, next generation TVs and outsourced televisions, Reuters said on Monday, and the changes will go into effect on Tuesday, November 1st. “By dividing into three divisions, we will make clearer the misson and responsibilities of these,” a Sony spokesperson said

SONY BUYS OUT ERICSSON TO TAKE CONTROL OF COMPANY

We reported earlier on a rumor that Sony was buying Ericsson's half of Sony-Ericsson. That rumor is now confirmed and we have learned how much Sony is paying to acquire full control of the failed partnership, $1.45 billion! By acquiring full control Sony believes that it will be able to be more competitive, produce new hardware faster, and allow phones to “seamlessly connect” with other product categories e.g. laptops, tablets, and TVs.

The buyout not only sees Sony take control of Sony Ericsson, but also includes a broad IP cross-licensing agreement with Ericsson including taking ownership of “five essential patent families.”

Although this could be viewed as a split between the two companies, it seems anything but. Ericsson will now focus on the global wireless market, but has also setup a wireless connectivity initiative with Sony. The aim is to make it simple to connect different devices across multiple platforms.

ULTRA-VIOLET MOVIE STREAMING SERVICE FROM MOVIE STUDIOS TO LAUNCH THIS WEEK

Warner Bros, Sony, Paramount and 20th Century Fox’s UltraViolet service, which will allow consumers to stream purchased movies to internet connected devices, will make its debut this week. The movie studios hope UltraViolet will attract consumers back to purchasing movies instead of simply renting them. Here’s how it will work: when you purchase a DVD or Blu-ray disc with an UltraViolet label, you will have the option to also stream the movie to portable devices such as smartphones and tablets, or to connected TVs.

The idea is that users will be able to permanently purchase a movie and keep a copy of it in the cloud. “We want to emphasize the concept of ‘buy once, play anywhere,’” Warner Bros president of digital distribution Thomas Gewecke said. For now, it remains unclear how successful the service will be, as many consumers have instead opted for products that provide streaming access to large libraries of movies, such as cable set-top boxes, Boxee or Roku.

“Green Lantern” and “Horrible Bosses” are the first two movies to offer an UltraViolet option, and both films will be available for purchase on Friday.

93,000 PSN ACCOUNTS LOCKED BY SONY DUE TO HACKING ATTEMPT

In addition to having to recall 1.6 million Bravia TVs, it's also been forced to temporarily lock 93,000 customers out of their PSN and Sony Online Entertainment accounts. You won't be surprised by the reason: an attempt by hackers to "test a massive set of sign-in IDs and passwords" against Sony's network database. Some of the affected accounts showed "additional activity prior to being locked" and are being investigated. On the flip-side, Sony's Chief Information Security Officer, Philip Reitinger, stressed that most of the hackers' details resulted in failed logins and in any case credit card details are not at risk. Users are being told to expect an email if they've been affected, which will contain further instructions.

RUMOR: SONY BUYING ERICSSON HALF OF SONY ERICSSON

Rumors of Sony’s plan to purchase Ericsson’s stake in the companies’ joint Sony Ericsson venture have come and gone over the years, but a new report claims the deed is nearly done. Sony is nearing a deal to take complete control of the cell phone vendor according to The Wall Street Journal, and analysts estimate that Ericsson’s 50% share of the JV could be worth between $1.3 billion and $1.7 billion. The report states that Sony intends to integrate the Sony Ericsson smartphone business with its tablet, gaming and computer operations in order to save on costs and create more complementary devices. Sony Ericsson reported a net loss of €50 million ($60.3 million US) in the second quarter of 2011.

SONY PS VITA TO CAP 3G DOWNLOADS AT 20MB

According to a report from ASCII, game downloads over 3G connections will be limited to a max of 20MB. What does that mean for you, prospective buyer? Well, kiss that 500 - 600 strong library of PSP titles goodbye, and say hello to a catalog of minis. Sure, you could always hook up to some decent WiFi to purchase and play those old favorites uninterrupted, but that kind of defeats this portable's on-the-go design. Rest assured, this download cap could still change before the handheld launches in the US and UK.

LEAK: SONY TABLETS

We've got more info for you on the pair of Android tablets Sony plans to launch next year month, as our source indicates the dual 5.5-inch screened clamshell, thus far codenamed the S2, will launch as the Sony Tablet P. Hardware specs include a weight of 370 grams -- less than the iPad 2's 601 grams, but more than say, a Kyocera Echo at 193g -- 512Mb of RAM, 4GB of storage and a 2GB SD card, with connectivity over 4G or WiFi. Both the Tablet P and the Tablet S will share NVIDIA Tegra 2 processors and 0.3MP (not 3.0MP as we'd previously reported) front cameras, but the more conventional, WiFi-only Tablet S weighs in at 600g, has 1GB of RAM and will be available in 16GB or 32GB versions. There's still no word on price or exact shipping dates (though rumor is it will launch in September) but retailers have reportedly been told to expect more information soon, so stay tuned for further updates.

SONY CUTS PRICE OF PS3 TO $249

Sony announced on Tuesday that it is lowering the price of its 160GB PlayStation 3 console to $249, down from the console’s original $299 price tag. In addition, Sony will now sell the 320GB version of the PlayStation 3 for $299 instead of $349. The Japanese consumer electronics firm also dropped the price of the system in Japan and in Europe. The move is likely an effort to tackle Microsoft’s Xbox 360 console, which has been the best-selling console in the United States for past seven months according to the latest data from The NPD Group. Recent rumors have suggested Sony is already working on the PlayStation 4, which could launch as soon as next year to compete with Nintendo’s Wii U and Microsoft’s next-generation Xbox.

PLAYSTATION VITA MISSING CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY IN US AND UK

Sony's next-generation portable video game console will not launch in the U.S. until early 2012, Sony Executive Vice President Kazuo Hirai told The Associated Press on Thursday. Sony’s PlayStation Vita will become available later this year in Japan, but it will miss the all-important holiday shopping season here in the U.S. and in Europe as well. Some, such as Daiwa Securities Capital Markets analyst Koki Shiraishi, believe Sony’s sales will take a huge hit as a result. “That’s when you do half your year’s sales,” Shiraishi told the AP. “This is going to prove painful for Sony.” When it finally does launch next year, the PlayStation Vita will start at $249 for a Wi-Fi-only model and a 3G-equipped version will be available for $299.

ANGRY BIRDS COMING TO NINTENDO DS, PSP AND PS3

In an interview with The Sun, Chillingo's Joe Wee announced the company's intentions to bring the feathery dive-bombers to the Nintendo DS, as well as Sony's PSP and PS3. Wee was otherwise tight-lipped about the development, leaving us to wonder when we can expect the winged swine slaughterers to make their dedicated gaming debut. And here we thought it was just a passing fad.

LEAK: PLAYSTATION VITA RELEASING OCTOBER 28TH IN UK

An “upcoming releases” flyer for the UK arm of retailer Blockbuster has seemingly confirmed the release date of the PlayStation Vita, Sony’s upcoming replacement to the PSP. The document, forwarded to IGN by an anonymous UK gamer, suggests that the Vita will drop on October 28 2011, in the UK at least, in both WiFi-only and 3G + WiFi forms.

All Sony will say is that the Vita is on course for a “phased global release” this holiday season, though has declined to be any more specific than that. It’s also unclear whether that means all regions will see the PS Vita on shelves in time for Christmas 2011, or if some will have to wait until early in the new year.

FBI RAIDS SUSPECTED 'ANONYMOUS' HACKERS HOMES

The FBI raided the homes of three hackers from the infamous hacking group ‘Anonymous’ in New York, Fox News reported on Tuesday. Reportedly, more than 10 FBI agents stormed the house of Giordani Jordan in Baldwin New York and took “at least one laptop from the premises.” Jordan is suspected to have been behind denial of service (DoS) attacks against a number of firms, including Mastercard and Visa. In addition, agents are also searching homes in Long Island and Brooklyn. The hackers are said to be in their late teens and early 20s. It’s unclear if the hackers were also part of the group LulzSec, which claimed responsibility for hacks against Sony, the U.S. Senate and the CIA.

RUMOR: XBOX 720 TO HAVE GRAPHICS ON PAR WITH AVATAR

Of the three major console manufacturers we only know when Nintendo is set to release its next generation console. The Wii U again looks to be going for something a bit different rather than pushing the enevelope in terms of processing power and graphical capabilities. However, the PS4 and Xbox 720 are expected to follow the same path as they always have: offering more processing power, better visuals, and more scope for involved gameplay and realistic experiences.

Although we don’t know when the next consoles from Sony and Microsoft will arive, AMD is starting to drop hints about the capabilities of the next Xbox.

AMD is thought to be providing the GPU(s) that will sit inside the Xbox 720, so it should be an authority on what it is capable of graphically at least. A comment made in the August issue of OXM by Neal Robison, director of ISV relationships for AMD, states that we should expect to be seeing visuals like Avatar. So that’s real-time renders of the quality seen in James Cameroon‘s movie as standard on the next Xbox.

Such a graphical jump is realistic when you consider the hardware the PS3 and Xbox 360 use today. We now see crisp HD graphics running on a 6-year-old processor and GPU combination. In the case of the 360, it runs a tri-core 3.2GHz PowerPC chip, where as today we commonly see 4, 6, 8, and even 12 cores processors in use running at similar speeds. GPU-wise, it only has a 500MHz ATI chip, and the system only carries 512MB RAM. Graphics cards today typically run above 800MHz and have 1-2GB of dedicated memory alongside 2-4GB of system memory.

RUMOR: PLAYSTATION 4 COMING IN 2012

Sony’s manufacturing partners will begin building the consumer electronics giant’s next-generation video game console toward the end of this year, with a launch scheduled for 2012, DigiTimes reports. Details surrounding Sony’s PlayStation 4 are very limited for the time being, but the report states that the new console will feature integrated movement-based controls similar to the Microsoft Kinect controller.

Foxconn and Pegatron, the two manufacturing firms charged with assembling Sony’s PlayStation 3, will build the new console according to DigiTimes’ sources. 2012 shipment volume for the PS4 is said to be at least 20 million units.

Sony’s PlayStation 4 was not expected to launch until 2013 or 2014, but with Nintendo’s Wii U launching next year and Microsoft’s next-generation Xbox due to be unveiled in 2012 as well, it is possible that Sony accelerated the new console’s development in order to remain competitive. Sony’s current PlayStation 3 console has sold more than 51 million units globally since its launch in November 2006.

SONY'S WELCOME BACK PROMOTION ENDS TODAY!

Sony’s “Welcome Back” promotion, billed as an attempt by the company to win back disaffected gamers after the PlayStation Network hack and subsequent month-long outage, is ending this weekend. If you haven’t downloaded your free games and content, now is the time to do it.

The PlayStation Network returned at he beginning of June to fanfare and free games from Sony for all of the gamers who had been knocked offline. Players returning to the PlayStation Network are eligible for two free games from a list that includes Dead Nation, inFAMOUS, LittleBigPlanet, Super Stardust HD, and Wipeout HD + Fury. PSP owners can select any two free games from LittleBigPlanet, ModNation Racers, Pursuit Force, and Killzone Liberation.

Additionally, PSN members have access to 30 free days of PlayStation Plus which will expire automatically, unless they sign up for a subscription account and monthly paid membership.PlayStation Plus members got 60 additional free days added to their memberships, and subscribers to the Sony Music Unlimited Service got an extra 30 days added to that service for free as well – but for both groups to get the benefit, they had to sign up through the Welcome Back program.

To be eligible for the program, PSN members have to have accounts older than the April 20th PSN hack. Gamers who have been wary of turning their PlayStation 3 consoles back on because the pace of game company hacks hasn’t slowed over the past month may want to get back online this weekend if only to grab their free games. The promotion ends on July 3rd, and gamers who haven’t redeemed their free titles by then will no longer be eligible for the promotion.

NORTEL PATENTS WON BY GROUP INCLUDING APPLE, MICROSOFT AND RIM

A group of companies including Apple, Microsoft, Research In Motion, Sony, EMC and Ericsson offered the winning bid in an auction that will net them Nortel’s extensive portfolio of patents. The bankrupt telecommunications company held roughly 6,000 patents, and the six-company consortium’s winning bid came in at $4.5 billion. Among the big losers were Google, which opened the bidding at $900 million, and Intel. Patents within the massive cache cover a wide range of technologies including wireless, voice, networking, optical data transmission and 4G LTE. RIM said it would be responsible for $770 million of the winning bid, and Ericsson separately stated it would pay $340 million. The rest of the companies in the consortium did not disclose their contributions.