Federal judge: Montana blogger is not journalist (AP) : Technet

Federal judge: Montana blogger is not journalist (AP)
Netflix sharing on Facebook may be coming to US (AP)
Review: Gift guide to e-readers, tablets, $99-$500 (AP)
A PayPal roadblock temporarily halts one online charity, but here are three more great causes (Yahoo! News)
Flipboard Re-engineers Itself for the iPhone (Mashable)
ICANN names Chinese scholar as VP for Asia (AP)
Verizon Wireless has U.S. data service disruptions (Reuters)
Microsoft releases Xbox apps for Windows and iOS devices (Digital Trends)
Baldwin apologizes to passengers, not airline (AP)
Study: Twitter users tough on Republicans, Obama (AP)
Netflix updates Xbox 360 app with Kinect control, still lacks 1080p streaming (Digital Trends)
Best Android social networking apps of 2011 (Appolicious)
OnLive brings streaming console games to tablets and smartphones - our hands-on impressions (Digital Trends)
EU investigating e-book publishers for price-fixing on iTunes (Appolicious)
AT&T On Track To Break Smartphone Sales Record (NewsFactor)
Lockheed found Adobe vulnerability, no damage done (Reuters)
IBM Rolls Out Social Enterprise Mobile Apps (NewsFactor)

Federal judge: Montana blogger is not journalist (AP)

Posted: 07 Dec 2011 05:39 PM PST

By JEFF BARNARD, Associated Press Jeff Barnard, Associated Press – Wed Dec 7, 8:39 pm ET

A federal judge in Oregon has ruled that a Montana woman sued for defamation was not a journalist when she posted online that an Oregon lawyer acted criminally during a bankruptcy case, a decision with implications for bloggers around the country.

Crystal L. Cox, a blogger from Eureka, Mont., was sued for defamation by attorney Kevin Padrick when she posted online that he was a thug and a thief during the handling of bankruptcy proceedings by him and Obsidian Finance Group LLC.

U.S. District Judge Marco Hernandez found last week that as a blogger, Cox was not a journalist and cannot claim the protections afforded to mainstream reporters and news outlets.

Although media experts said Wednesday that the ruling would have little effect on the definition of journalism, it casts a shadow on those who work in nontraditional media since it highlights the lack of case law that could protect them and the fact that current state shield laws for journalists are not covering recent developments in online media.

"My advice to bloggers operating in the state of Oregon is lobby to get your shield law improved so bloggers are covered," said Lucy Dalglish, executive director of The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. "But do not expect the shield law to provide you a defense in a libel case where you want to rely on an anonymous source for that information."

The judge ruled that Cox was not protected by Oregon's shield law from having to produce sources, saying even though Cox defines herself as media, she was not affiliated with any mainstream outlet. He added that the shield law does not apply to civil actions for defamation.

Hernandez said Cox was not a journalist because she offered no professional qualifications as a journalist or legitimate news outlet. She had no journalism education, credentials or affiliation with a recognized news outlet, proof of adhering to journalistic standards such as editing or checking her facts, evidence she produced an independent product or evidence she ever tried to get both sides of the story.

Cox said she considered herself a journalist, producing more than 400 blogs over the past five years, with a proprietary technique to get her postings on the top of search engines where they get the most notice.

"What could be more mainstream than the Internet and the top of the search engine?" she said.

Padrick, of Bend, Ore., was a trustee in a bankruptcy case involving Summit Accommodators, a company that helped property owners conduct real estate transactions in a way to limit taxes. Three executives face federal fraud and money laundering indictments.

The lawyer sued Cox for defamation, a legal fight that is typically difficult for plaintiffs to win. Public figures, for example, must prove the defendant knew the statement in question was false, and the statement must be matters of public interest.

The judge found that Padrick was not a public figure, and that the bankruptcy case was not in the public interest. The ruling opened the way for a jury to award $2.5 million to Padrick and Obsidian.

Cox said she didn't have the money to pay the judgment, and that she intended to keep posting about the Summit bankruptcy case.

"My intensions are the highest and best," she said. "I know I am sometimes over the top or a little bit vulgar. But I encourage people not to listen to me or him but to look at the documents and make their own decision based on that."

Padrick said the case showed how vulnerable anyone was to someone with a computer. He said he has lost business from potential clients who search his name and firm through Google and find Cox's postings at the top of the list, adding that he has no way to remove them.

"If anyone can self-proclaim themselves to be media, the concept of media is rendered worthless," Padrick said. "When everyone is media, the concept of media is gone."

The judge ruled that Padrick and his company did not have to seek a retraction, as required by Oregon law, before claiming damages, because a blogger is not on the list of recognized media, which include newspapers, magazines, television and radio news, and motion pictures.

Padrick said he did not expect to collect much of the $2.5 million jury award, or to see his business fully rebound. He said his only consolation was that all eight jurors who heard the case believed he had been significantly harmed.

Ellyn Angelotti, who teaches about digital trends and social media at The Poynter Institute, said the ruling was significant because so little case law has built up on online media. But she believed it would have little impact on bloggers in general until the U.S. Supreme Court takes up a case, or more federal courts rule.

Kyu Ho Youm, a First Amendment expert and journalism professor at the University of Oregon, called the judge's strict definition of a journalist "outdated" since so-called citizen journalists currently outnumber traditional journalists.

"When we talk about the shield law, we should pay more attention to the function people are doing than whether people are connected to traditional and established news media," he said.

Netflix sharing on Facebook may be coming to US (AP)

Posted: 07 Dec 2011 02:51 PM PST

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Technology Writer Michael Liedtke, Ap Technology Writer – Wed Dec 7, 5:51 pm ET

SAN FRANCISCO – It may not be much longer before there's an easier way for Netflix's U.S. subscribers to share their tastes in movies on Facebook.

Netflix Inc. has developed a feature that would automatically connect what's being watched on its Internet video service with Facebook's social network. Subscribers would still be given control over whether they wanted their online social circles to see their viewing habits.

The sharing tool became available in September to Netflix's international subscribers, but the company has withheld it from its nearly 24 million U.S. subscribers for fear of breaking the law.

The reason: the Video Protection Privacy Act, which forbids the disclosure of video rental records. The law was passed in 1988, after a newspaper published a list of movies that U.S. Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork rented from a video store. The U.S. Senate wound up rejecting Bork's nomination.

Netflix says it's time to rewrite a law drawn up in an age of VHS tapes.

That thinking is gaining support in Congress. This week, the House passed legislation that would allow a merchant to share viewing records with a customer's consent. Most importantly to Netflix, the authorization can be made online.

The House approved the bill 303-116. It still needs the backing of the U.S. Senate to become law.

Empowering Netflix's U.S. subscribers to share their movie picks on Facebook could help make the service more useful and lure new customers. That's the kind of lift that Netflix needs after its subscribers revolted against price increases of as much as 60 percent. The service lost 800,000 U.S. subscribers during the summer months, and management has said the attrition extended into the autumn.

Review: Gift guide to e-readers, tablets, $99-$500 (AP)

Posted: 07 Dec 2011 01:31 PM PST

By PETER SVENSSON, AP Technology Writer Peter Svensson, Ap Technology Writer – Wed Dec 7, 4:31 pm ET

NEW YORK – Flat, hard packages will be welcome this year. Tablet computers are extremely popular, and electronic reading devices such as the Kindle have matured and come down in price.

Which one to get? That's mostly a matter of your budget. The iPad and other full-blown tablets are more expensive, but they do virtually everything better. Consider pooling money from friends or family for a better device.

___

If you have more than $300 to spend, go for one of these full-size tablets. They have color screens that are about 9 inches diagonally, and they have built-in cameras:

• Apple iPad 2 ($499)

The device that made tablet computing mainstream still reigns, outselling all others combined. It's thinner than competing tablets and has access to an unparalleled array of applications: half a million, of which 140,000 are adapted for the iPad's 9.7-inch screen.

That means more good games, more useful reference apps and more entertainment options. The range of third-party book apps also means the iPad beats dedicated e-readers at their own game by giving users the ability to read books purchased from any store. The large screen displays documents comfortably.

The basic model has 16 gigabytes of memory. More expensive versions have more memory and can also be bought with built-in access to AT&T's or Verizon's cellular network. Cellular service comes with a separate monthly fee of $15 and up, but there's no contract requirement, so your gift won't burden a loved-one with a big financial commitment.

• Sony Tablet S ($500)

There are a slew of tablets from Samsung, Sony, LG and other manufacturers built around Google Inc.'s Android software. From a hardware standpoint, they're not much different from the iPad, through most of them are thicker, and they're available in a range of sizes.

The Tablet S stands out by including an infrared emitter, which makes it usable as a large universal remote control. It also plays some PlayStation games.

It has a 9.4-inch screen, slightly smaller than the iPad's. It runs the latest version of Android, which is specially designed for tablets and is slick. But the selection of third-party applications doesn't match the iPad's in quantity or quality.

• Asus Eee Pad Transformer ($389)

The Transformer is a reasonably priced Android tablet that doubles as a "netbook," or small laptop, if you buy an accessory keyboard dock for $109. You can get an accessory keyboard for any tablet, but the Transformer's attaches securely, and the combination folds up like a laptop. The keyboard has a touchpad, extra ports and an additional power pack, which prolongs battery life.

The keyboard makes this tablet a good choice for those who want to write a lot or just want the familiar feel of a keyboard and touchpad. Other tablets are typically better for reading and viewing content, not creating it.

A new version is due out Dec. 15. It will start at $499 and will have a faster processor and a body that's as thin as the iPad's.

___

If you only want to spend $200 to $250, go for one of these e-reader/tablet hybrids. They add movies, games and other applications to the e-reader's capabilities, so they're not just for bookworms.

They have 7-inch screens, slightly less than half the size of the iPad's screen. (Don't be fooled by the 7-inch to 9.7-inch comparison, which makes it sound like the Kindle's screen is only slightly smaller than the iPad's. The difference in area is much larger than the difference in the diagonal measurement.)

• Amazon Kindle Fire ($199)

The Fire is Amazon's first color Kindle. It runs a highly modified, user-friendly version of Android. The selection of apps is smaller than for other Android tablets, however. Notable inclusions are Netflix, Hulu and Comixology, a comic-book reader.

The Fire also streams a selection of movies for free to Amazon Prime subscribers, and you can buy movies for download.

Amazon had to jettison some standard tablet features, such as a camera and a microphone, to keep the price low. The Fire has only 8 gigabytes of memory, which can't be expanded. Magazines don't translate well to the smaller screen.

• Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet ($249)

The bookstore's answer to the Kindle Fire is an updated version of last year's Nook Color, a solid and successful e-reader. The Tablet has more memory than the Color or the Kindle Fire, and you can add even more.

Barnes & Noble's app store has a smaller section than Amazon's, but it does have Netflix and Hulu. Barnes & Noble allows books from other bookstores to be read, while Amazon doesn't. However, there's no video store yet, so you can't download movies for offline viewing, as you can with the Fire or larger tablets such as the iPad.

The older Nook Color is still available for $50 less. It has less memory and a slower processor, but otherwise does the same job as the Tablet.

___

If your budget is limited to $150, you'll be tempted by some low-end color tablets. But giving one away is like giving away a lump of coal: The color touch screens that go into sub-$200 devices look bad and have problems responding to fingers.

Instead, get one of these lightweight, quality e-readers with black-and-white "electronic ink" screens for the bookworm in your life:

• Amazon Kindle Touch 3G ($149)

Amazon still has a variety of monochrome Kindles, including its first touch-screen model. The screen is more legible than color screens in bright daylight and uses very little power. But it's slow to respond, making navigation tedious. The lack of color takes the joy out of children's books, magazines and comics. The device's touch sensitivity does make navigation easier.

The 3G version comes with access to AT&T's cellular network, with no monthly fees. That makes it a good gift for someone who travels a lot or doesn't have Internet access at home.

For $149, this model comes with screensavers that display ads for cars, beauty products, Amazon gift cards and so forth. Pay another $40 to get rid of those. You can go the other way and save $50 by getting a non-3G version.

• Barnes & Noble Nook Simple Touch ($99)

This slim, light e-reader is very similar to the $99 non-3G Kindle Touch. Barnes & Noble's version has two advantages: It doesn't display advertising, and it can load books from other bookstores, including Google Books. It can't load Kindle books, though.

___

A postscript: None of these devices come with a case, and they all need one for protection. Consider including one if you want to be extra thoughtful. If you can't afford it, you can always say that the choice of a case is a matter of taste best left to the new owner.

___

Peter Svensson can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/petersvensson

A PayPal roadblock temporarily halts one online charity, but here are three more great causes (Yahoo! News)

Posted: 06 Dec 2011 02:45 PM PST

Flipboard Re-engineers Itself for the iPhone (Mashable)

Posted: 06 Dec 2011 04:07 PM PST

Lauren Indvik Lauren Indvik – Tue Dec 6, 7:07 pm ET

Flipboard, a popular social newsreading app for the iPad, is launching its long-awaited iPhone app Wednesday. The app, which displays feeds from both formal news sources and social networks in a magazine-like format, has been entirely reengineered to serve the unique habits of newsreaders on the iPhone: That is, users who want to access all of their newsfeeds in quick, short spans without sacrificing what Flipboard CEO Mike McCue describes as "the notion of bringing beauty to these posts."

[More from Mashable: Flipboard Upgrade Brings Tumblr and 500px Support]

Flipboard has streamlined its signature tile format into a single stack, which users can move through not by swiping right to left, but from top to bottom. McCue says this is a more natural movement for the iPhone and in our early tests, we have to agree. As they scroll, users can also mark interesting-looking headlines for later reading -- handy for quickly gathering must-read material.

One of the more welcome new features is Cover Stories, which pulls up stories Flipboard's algorithms determine are most relevant to you and the people you care most about. The feature, McCue says, will improve the more you use it.

Next, Flipboard plans to bring Cover Stories to its iPad app. After that, the company will focus on making both apps more relevant for users in various international markets. (Just yesterday, a Chinese version was launched.)

And what about Android?

"Very gradually we'll go to other platforms," McCue says. "The iPhone app was almost a completely new product. If we were to go to another platform you'd see a similar level of thinking go into the experience."

This story originally published on Mashable here.

ICANN names Chinese scholar as VP for Asia (AP)

Posted: 07 Dec 2011 08:06 PM PST

– 1 hr 36 mins ago

NEW YORK – The organization in charge of Internet domain names has selected a Chinese scholar as vice president for Asia.

The appointment of Xiaodong Lee was announced in Beijing on Thursday by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. Lee is a professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and has served as chief technology officer of the China Internet Network Information Center, which is in charge of registering names ending in ".cn" for China.

ICANN is preparing to begin taking bids next month for new domain name suffixes. They could include brand names, hobbies and just about anything else.

The Chinese government embraces the Internet as a way to promote commerce, but it also tries to block access to foreign websites deemed subversive. China has the world's biggest online population.

Verizon Wireless has U.S. data service disruptions (Reuters)

Posted: 07 Dec 2011 04:35 PM PST

By Jim Finkle Jim Finkle – Wed Dec 7, 7:35 pm ET

(Reuters) – Verizon Wireless suffered outages across the United States on its recently launched high-speed 4G network that have prevented some customers from accessing any Internet data.

"We are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible," Thomas Pica, a spokesman for Verizon Wireless, said late on Wednesday. He declined to comment on the reason for the service interruptions, which he said customers had been reporting for about 24 hours.

The outages are embarrassing for Verizon Wireless, a joint venture of Verizon Communications Inc and the UK's Vodafone Group Plc. It is widely recognized as having a network that is superior to those of rivals, including AT&T Inc, and it heavily advertises the quality of its network.

It also comes in the midst of the crucial holiday season as the company promotes 4G Android smartphones from Motorola Mobility, Samsung and HTC.

It is at least the third outage since Verizon launched its 4G data service. Trade publication FierceWireless said the company suffered major service disruptions in April and October of this year.

The company said that some high-speed data customers could not access the Internet at all, while others got intermittent service and some had no problems.

Verizon's voice, text-messaging and 3G data services were operating normally, Pica said.

The company introduced its 4G LTE network in 38 markets and more than 60 airports in December 2010. It has said it expects to have that technology covering more than 175 markets by the end of this year and its entire U.S. footprint by the end of 2013.

(Reporting by Jim Finkle in Boston; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)

Microsoft releases Xbox apps for Windows and iOS devices (Digital Trends)

Posted: 07 Dec 2011 08:44 PM PST

Jeff Hughes Jeff Hughes – 58 mins ago

Coinciding with the Xbox Live dashboard update, Microsoft has released two new apps for smartphone users. While we knew about the Windows Phone's Xbox Companion App, the iOS app was a bit of a surprise.

The official Xbox Live iOS app, dubbed My Xbox Live, is free and designed for both the iPhone and iPad. Not surprisingly, My Xbox Live is a slimmed down version of the Windows phone Companion app. Apple device owners will have a limited ability to modify your 3D avatar's appearance, read and send messages to friends, edit profile, add new friends to the list and view achievements.

Interestingly, the iOS app has an interface similar to the Windows Phone Xbox Companion app, replicating that horizontal bar populated wit

companion via major nelson

h circular icons at the bottom of the screen. Microsoft probably wouldn't feel bad if it lured defectors over to its OS.

PC World points out that one of the major features the official Xbox Live iOS app is missing is the ability to support notifications; no notifications for new messages or game invites and the app seems to be a ghost in the iOS settings.

Xbox Companion for Windows Phone connects to your console and functions as a sort of remote control. Most noteably, users can use the apps Bing-powered search to trawl through the Xbox catalog for TV shows, games, music, movies and apps, and can then use the Windows Phone to launch a selected search result on your console. Using the app on your phone to navigate the Xbox desktop, purchase content and even control the playback of media on your console. Your smartphone will also give you details about whatever you're playing, as well as showing you what your friends have recently played. Just like the iOS app, the Windows Phone app is free.

Via Major Nelson

This article was originally posted on Digital Trends

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Baldwin apologizes to passengers, not airline (AP)

Posted: 07 Dec 2011 06:21 PM PST

By SHAYA TAYEFE MOHAJER, Associated Press Shaya Tayefe Mohajer, Associated Press – Wed Dec 7, 9:21 pm ET

LOS ANGELES – Alec Baldwin issued an apology Wednesday to fellow passengers on an American Airlines flight that was delayed by his refusal to stop playing a cellphone game — but stopped short of apologizing to the airline or the flight attendant he later mocked on Twitter.

The "30 Rock" actor's note, posted to the Huffington Post ( http://huff.to/sENHR2), instead lamented the state of modern air travel. Baldwin noted the financial struggles of airlines, saying the result is that air travel has devolved into an inelegant experience, akin to riding a Greyhound bus.

Baldwin said the level of service on U.S. carriers has deteriorated.

"Filthy planes, barely edible meals, cuts in jet service to less-traveled locations," Baldwin said.

Baldwin writes that increased security on commercial airplanes post-9/11 has resulted in a "paramilitary" aura around air travel.

"September 11th was a horrific day in the airline industry, yet in the wake of that event, I believe carriers and airports have used that as an excuse to make the air travel experience as inelegant as possible," Baldwin writes.

Baldwin's letter is the latest volley in a dustup with American Airlines, with the airline taking to social media Wednesday to maintain it was following federal regulations when it booted an "extremely vocal customer" from a flight for refusing to shut off his cellphone.

The airline, which earlier cited passenger privacy in declining to discuss the matter, said on its Facebook page it decided "to provide the actual facts of the matter" after Baldwin stated publicly he had gotten kicked off the flight.

The company never cited the "30 Rock" TV star by name.

Baldwin took to Twitter after Tuesday's incident at Los Angeles International Airport, saying he was asked to leave a New York-bound plane after a "flight attendant on American reamed me out" for playing a game on his cellphone. Baldwin said he was playing "Words With Friends" while the plane sat at a gate.

American said on Facebook Wednesday that Federal Aviation Administration regulations require that cellphones and other electronic devices be turned off as soon as the airliner's door has been closed. The company said Baldwin refused to comply.

"The passenger ultimately stood up (with the seat belt light still on for departure) and took his phone into the plane's lavatory," American Airlines said. "He slammed the lavatory door so hard, the cockpit crew heard it and became alarmed, even with the cockpit door closed and locked. They immediately contacted the cabin crew to check on the situation."

The airline added that Baldwin was "extremely rude" to the flight crew, calling people "inappropriate names" and using offensive language.

Baldwin's spokesman, Matthew Hiltzik, said Wednesday it was the flight attendant who acted inappropriately. He said other people on the plane were violating the regulation and that Baldwin was singled out.

"The plane was already delayed half an hour at the gate when Alec was playing `Words with Friends,'" Hiltzik told The Associated Press. "Other passengers who tweeted flagrantly violated these rules without any repercussions — proving that they were obviously selectively enforced."

Airport police have said they did not respond to the incident.

Baldwin deactivated his Twitter account and all of his previous tweets were removed. Hiltzik said that was because the actor was setting aside his Twitter activity to concentrate on "30 Rock."

At least one other celebrity came to Baldwin's defense on Twitter.

Boxing great Oscar De La Hoya, who was on the same flight, tweeted that he thought the flight attendant overreacted.

"(at)AlecBaldwin was doing nothing wrong but playing `words' on his phone," De La Hoya said.

Baldwin boarded another American Airlines flight to New York after Tuesday's incident, but said he wouldn't fly with American again.

In the tweets that have since been removed, Baldwin mocked American Airlines as a company "where Catholic school gym teachers from the 1950's find jobs as flight attendants."

He also called "Words With Friends" an "addicting" game. Players compete online to score the most points by building words with tiles on a Scrabble-like game board.

Baldwin plays the role of the vain executive Jack Donaghy on the NBC sitcom "30 Rock" and played an amorous ex-husband to Meryl Streep in the 2009 romantic comedy "It's Complicated."

He also is featured in a series of comical TV ads for Capital One credit cards. In one spot Baldwin strolls through an airport and luxuriates on an airplane while surrounded by a coterie of assistants.

___

Associated Press Writer Christopher Weber and AP Entertainment Writer Derrik J. Lang contributed to this report.

Study: Twitter users tough on Republicans, Obama (AP)

Posted: 07 Dec 2011 09:11 PM PST

By BETH FOUHY, Associated Press Beth Fouhy, Associated Press – 31 mins ago

NEW YORK – The 2012 presidential contenders have had a rough go of it on Twitter, according to an analysis of the political conversation taking place on the popular social network.

The study released Thursday by the Project for Excellence in Journalism found Twitter to be a hotbed of opinionated discussion about the campaign. But a majority of the candidates, including President Barack Obama, have received more negative than positive coverage on Twitter than in regular news coverage or blogs.

Twitter has become the go-to hub for topical political dialogue, where opinions are shared in 140-character bursts known as tweets.

Researchers developed a computer algorithm to analyze more than 20 million tweets related specifically to the 2012 race between May 2 and Nov. 27 and determine whether a statement was positive, negative or neutral.

Mark Jurkowitz, the associate director of PEJ, said Twitter's growing importance as a communications tool led to the study.

"Twitter is a significant element of the political conversation and ecosystem in this campaign," Jurkowiitz said. "It's part of the broad democratization process in media, where people who have significant doubts about the mainstream press and are looking for ways to circumvent it."

Among the findings:

_Texas Rep. Ron Paul has been more popular on Twitter than any of the other candidates, even though he's received relatively limited press coverage. Fully 55 percent of tweets about Paul have been positive, the study found, compared with 15 percent that were negative.

_Negative tweets about the rest of the Republican field have outweighed positive tweets by at least a 2-1 margin. Obama has fared even worse, with negative assessments outweighing positive by a 3-1 margin.

_Tweets about three Republican candidates — Mitt Romney, Rick Perry and Herman Cain, who suspended his campaign last Saturday — grew increasingly negative since October, the study found. Newt Gingrich, who has surged to the top of many polls in recent weeks, became the subject of more positive than negative tweets the week of Oct. 24.

_Obama far outpaced the Republican field in the number of tweets about him. The Democratic president was the subject of about 15 million mentions, compared with Cain, who was the subject of 2.1 million tweets. Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, placed third with 1.5 million. Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann was fourth with 1.4 million mentions.

_The study found the language used on Twitter to be "very personal and pungent and even profane ... leveling allegations that would be off-limits in more traditional news coverage."

Netflix updates Xbox 360 app with Kinect control, still lacks 1080p streaming (Digital Trends)

Posted: 07 Dec 2011 06:16 PM PST

Mike Flacy Mike Flacy – Wed Dec 7, 9:16 pm ET

Mentioned within an official blog post earlier today, Netflix announced a redesigned version of the Xbox 360 interface that now includes more extensive gesture and voice control in conjunction with the Kinect accessory. Subscribers of Netflix can put down the controller and search for content with voice commands as well as scroll through the box art with gestures. According to Netflix, the redesigned interface allows users to browse up to three times the amount of titles on a high definition screen compared to the previous layout of the application. Other improvements to the application includes interaction with ratings, subtitle settings and related title suggestions. The Netflix application is also tied into the universal search function for the Xbox 360, assuming the Xbox 360 owner is also subscribed to Xbox Live.

Also announced in the upgrade, the Netflix application supports adaptive video streaming to constantly adjust the quality of the picture based on changes in bandwidth. Videos play up to 720p resolution and also include Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound support. However, the application does not support 1080p streaming yet. This leaves the Xbox 360 at a disadvantage to the PlayStation 3 as well as set-top box devices like the Roku 2 XS. Streaming in 1080p resolution has been available on the PlayStation 3 since October 2010. The new version of the application also doesn't support Dolby Digital Plus, a codec that's often touted by Dolby as being more efficient in delivering data.

The Netflix application can be downloaded for free within the Xbox Live dashboard, but requires the standard $7.99 a month fee for access to streaming movies and television shows. If the Netflix application was already installed previous to the dashboard update, the new version will be automatically installed with the main update to the user interface. Netflix also announced that the application is now available to Xbox 360 owners in Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico since Xbox Live memberships have been extended to those countries.

This article was originally posted on Digital Trends