It would appear that Apple Inc. is losing its grip on the digital download industry, after NBC Universal decided not to renew its contract to sell its programming via iTunes, Apple's media store. NBC made the decision because the companies were unable to agree on packaging and pricing terms. The media giant's contract with Apple expires at the end of December.   NBC, whose programming accounts for 40% of the video downloads sold on iTunes, is the second major media company to walk out on Apple because of the way it sells content through its media store. …

Americans invented the Internet, but the Japanese are running away with it. Broadband service in the Land of the Rising Sun is anywhere from eight to 30 times faster than the U.S. (depending on where you live)--not to mention cheaper. Studies show that it has the world's fastest connections, too, which will likely make Japan the vanguard of Internet innovation for years to come. Indeed, the U.S. lags behind Japan, South Korea and much of Europe in terms of broadband speed, and lack of regulation by the U.S. government is partly to blame. Intense lobbying by telecommunications firms has …

In an AP report, Veoh founder Dmitry Shapiro confirms what the aforementioned Washington Post article alludes to: "the experience of online video is still very poor," which is precisely what's driving companies like Shapiro's Veoh and Web TV rivals like Joost and Babelgum forward. Each is looking to provide a viewing experience that's as good as TV; each uses peer-to-peer technology to circumvent the bandwidth limitations that plague the quality of the video experience in the U.S.The business models of these P2P services are what set them apart. Joost, still in beta, is looking to play …

A research team has created a new peer-to-peer file-sharing system that penalizes those who take while rewarding those "selfless" sharers who contribute content to the network. A manners-enforcing file-sharing network addresses the issue of clogged networks; networks become sluggish when more users are downloading content rather than sharing it. The new system, dubbed Tribler, effectively turns bandwidth into a currency, promoting P2P stewardship. Tribler is already being used by Sony to turn its Web-enabled PlayStation 3 video game console into a file-sharing device. It's also being reviewed by the European Broadcasting Union, which wants to pump TV across …

Google's rise to the top of the Internet pile may be unprecedented, but it also evokes fear and paranoia. Some of the concerns are justified. Media and technology companies around the globe are angered by the fact that Google profits enormously from the distribution of their content. And it's not just copyrighted videos on YouTube: There's also Google News, which culls news stories and brings them to a centralized, personalized hub, and Google Search, which compels goods sellers and content providers alike to make their content more visible to Web users by bidding against one another for …

Yahoo will undergo another management reorganization, as president Sue Decker announced that Global Sales executive vice presidenet Gregory Coleman would vacate his post by February 2008. Coleman's resignation follows the departures of CEO Terry Semel and Chief Sales Officer Wenda Harris Millard; Executive Vice President Hilary Schneider will assume his responsibilities. Decker, in a staff memo, said the reorganization would include the creation of a new Global Partner Solutions division under Schneider, who will oversee relationships with all Yahoo partners, including advertisers, Web publishers and developers. Yahoo's Network Division executive vice president Jeff Weiner would also assume some of …

A new study of newspapers' Web offerings shows that online video has become a nearly ubiquitous feature offered by major U.S. publications. The Bivings Group study, which analyzed the Web offerings of the top 100 newspapers according to Fas-Fax data from the Audit Bureau of Circulations, found that 92 of the largest newspaper sites now offer video, a 31 percent jump from a year ago. Their video sources are varied: 39 papers offer original video content, 26 use video from the Associated Press, 13 use video from local news outlets and 10 papers use at least two types of video …

Like their American cousins, British newspapers are seeing revenue declines from their print editions, but steady increases from the Web. A number of Americans now visit The Guardian, The Times of London and The Daily Telegraph sites. Guardian Unlimited, in fact, generated more U.S. visitors (6 million) in May than Brits (4.4 million), according to London's Audit Bureau of Circulations. In all, the popular British portal generated 16 million unique users for the month. This is no accident: The Guardian recognized the opportunity to reach out to a non-UK audience after the breakout of the second Iraq war, …

Chicago's municipal Wi-Fi project is the latest to hit the skids, yet another worrying sign that citywide WI-Fi as a business may not work. ISPs EarthLink and AT&T, which operate muni Wi-Fi networks for several cities, both opted out of the Chicago project after the city told them it was unwilling to pay to install the network. In trade, the city had offered to provide the infrastructure, but that wasn't enough; Chicago has since pulled the plug. The bad news from Chicago was compounded by the revelation that network operator EarthLink may be pulling out of the city Wi-Fi …

Google's mobile phone operating system is getting ready for a formal unveiling, possibly next month, according to their sources. The tech blog has christened the Linux-based system the "Gphone OS," which it says is a long time in coming. Google in 2005 acquired the mobile software company Android, whose former president and CEO Andy Rubin has been spearheading big G's OS project. Apparently, Rubin's team is currently shopping the program around to handset makers and carriers, whose various agreements Google needs to establish distribution. Engadget expects an OS announcement with distribution partners to come sometime after Labor Day. …