release

Filmmaker Michael Moore plans to premiere his latest documentary exclusively on the Internet for free, forgoing the traditional theatrical release.

Slacker Uprising , which documents Moore's 62-city tour through swing states during the 2004 U.S. presidential election to rally young voters, will be available for download for three weeks, beginning September 23. A DVD of the 97-minute film will be released on October 7 through Amazon.com and Netflix.

"This is being done entirely as a gift to my fans," Moore said in a statement Thursday. "The only return any of us are hoping for is … Read more

This week we have another Oliver Stone film, Nixon, starring Anthony Hopkins as our former president. The first season of the highly acclaimed TV series, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, is available on Blu-ray but unfortunately without the Governator making an appearance. And for the young girls, rabid fans as they may be, Walt Disney has rushed out a Blu-ray compilation, filled with their favorite Hannah Montana moments from her world concert tour. But this time you won't have to throw down three grand on eBay for tickets. The disc includes a behind-the-scenes documentary and a 3D viewing mode. &… Read more

This week we have Oliver's Stone's The Doors, with Val Kilmer's riveting portrayal of a volatile 60s icon, another Jean-Claude Van Damme film to add to the many other films in his cinematic canon, and Smart People, starring Ellen Page; you know, that actress who starred in that unknown, Oscar-winning indie film (sarcasm) called Juno.

With the Beijing Olympics opening ceremonies happening this Friday, we're betting most of you will be stuck on the couch all weekend, rooting for your home country (probably the good ol' USA, right?) as they compete in baseball, basketball, football, maybe even synchronized swimming for those select few.

You should, since NBC, CNBC, Universal HD, and most of NBC's channels will be broadcasting the games around the world in gorgeous 1080i. If not, consider picking one of following new Blu-ray releases. Yes, the selection is slim for this week, but one of them did win an Oscar for … Read more

For those of you waiting with bated breath for Firefox 3, Mozilla has just published Release Candidate 2 for Windows, Mac, Linux and Windows Portable. There are no new features to celebrate or examine: what we're looking at is pure, unadulterated bug fixing. Users can expect a somewhat more stable browser, with the regular mix of security tweaks and otherwise minor changes.

Full release notes can be read here.

It's unfortunate that Ubuntu's Mark Shuttleworth doesn't blog more often, because when he does, it's invariably insightful. As a case in point, Mark's post about the superiority of open source at hitting release dates is wonderful. He writes:

Most people would assume that precise release management would depend on having total control of all the moving parts - and hence only be possible in a proprietary setting. Microsoft writes (almost) every line of code in Windows, so you would think they would be able to set, and hit, a precise target date for delivery.

But in fact the reverse is true - free software distributions or OSV's can provide much better assurances with regard to delivery dates than proprietary OSV's, because we can focus on the critical role of component selection, integration, testing, patch management and distribution rather than the pieces which upstream projects are better able to handle - core component feature development.

Unfortunately, it may not be true. At least, not the extent that I'd wish it. … Read more

If you're still wondering why the media world is getting turned on its head, consider the following anecdote.

A few years back, representatives from the Industry Standard, Wired, and Upside were invited to a public-relations gathering to talk about how they decide what to cover. After they finished their prepared remarks, a young woman in the audience stood up to ask a question.

"You talk a lot about tricks and tips on what we should do," she said. "But I've done all that and I still can't get you to cover my clients." … Read more

You've got to hand it to Madonna. As she turns 50 this year--50!--she's still remaking and evolving herself to stave off irrelevance. And that applies to technology as well, especially where marketing is concerned.

Her latest idea is to make seven tracks from her upcoming album, Hard Candy, available to Vodafone customers before its April 28 release. But don't expect the tunes to be free, GeekSugar says--just early, for bragging rights.

By the way, in case you were wondering, the uber-star's publicist says reports that her marriage is on the rocks are patently false.

Back in the old days (like 2007), the marketing strategy for new albums included a prerelease "rolling thunder" PR campaign. First came a single, followed shortly by the video.

Then a few chosen reviewers would get early copies with "NOT FOR RESALE" imprinted across the front, allowing them to have their reviews ready slightly before or on the release date. Retail outlets would receive promotional matter, like cardboard cutouts of the band standing in front of the album cover. A few warm-up shows would feature songs from the record. Meanwhile, somebody--a reviewer, a disgruntled record … Read more