If you’re living across the pond and hankering for ABC’s content, it’s en route. In what could be considered a response to Netflix’s expansion to the UK market, Lovefilm has joined forces with Disney UK to offer members on-demand streaming access to ABC Studios’ content. Available titles include Castle, Lost, Desperate Housewives, Happy Endings, Grey’s Anatomy and the Ghost Whisperer, with all episodes available after their first run in the UK market. Compatible streamers include the PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, iPad, smart TV’s and Blu-ray players and the service itself starts at £4.99 (.65) per month. Still no news as to when the Camo Snuggie will make its European debut.

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Lovefilm, Disney UK deal brings ABC content across the pond originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Jan 2012 19:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yes, it has come to this — cops and Occupy protestors at one of the last major encampments in the United States are fighting over a kitchen sink.

Boston police moved in with heavy force on Thursday’s General Assembly meeting in Boston’s Dewey Square to remove a DIY grey-water sink intended to help Occupy Boston members …

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In this article I will be writing about the benefit of having an IT support service on hand should anything go amiss with your companies IT. I am the owner of a rather small business – we have eight employees, including myself. Over the recent years our business has become ever more reliant on e-mail, the fax, the internet – including broadband – as well as our ability to connect each employee within an in-house computer nework.

I would have to admit that each of our members of staff are hardly what I would call experts in IT and therefore when something used to go wrong we were very much stuck! Around two years ago I decided to enrol the help of an IT support London company. This has probably been one of the best decisions that I have ever made, as I will explain in the next paragraph.

Ever since signing the contract with the IT company we have seemingly had more problems than ever. But when something goes amiss they are very good as they come round to see us at a drop of a hat. They even came to look at, and fix, our photocopier a couple of weeks ago – very impressive. It really is a huge piece of mind thing – knowing that they are they whenever we need them – and as I say, we certainly have needed them! As an example about six months ago we were unable to send and receive e-mails. Now on average each employee will receive around twenty e-mails per day therefore you can see the issue with this. But within a few hours our London IT support had fixed the problem.

If you have a small business and if you do not already have an IT support service in place then I certainly would recommend one to you.

Google Magnifier curates Music Beta tracks, has nothing to do with burning ants originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Aug 2011 22:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Facebook confirmed it’s working on a Groupon-inspired discount service that will help bring together merchants and its 600 million current users. The social network told Bloomberg the service will be part of its current Deals feature and will roll out initially in San Diego, San Francisco, Dallas, Atlanta and Austin, Texas.

“Local businesses will be able to sign up to use this feature soon, and people will be able to find Deals in the coming weeks,” Facebook said in a statement.

Facebook could be a huge competitor in the daily deals social shopping space. It’s the most popular website in the U.S. and could tap its fast-growing community to compete. As my colleague Mathew pointed out, (subscription required) Groupon really didn’t take off until it combined shopping with social. Unlike Groupon, which leveraged Facebook, the social network already has an established relationship with its users. Facebook recently said it was testing a new feature called “Buy with Friends,” that allowed users in social games to share their virtual purchases with friends, who could unlock the same discount. At some point, if Facebook puts it all together — location, deals and social sharing of discounts — it could be a powerful way to build relationships and loyalty between merchants and customers.

But having said that, this new effort by Facebook doesn’t appear to be a true competitor to Groupon or Living Social at this point. It’s building off the current Deals program, a free service that allows merchants to offer discounts to people who check in to locations. The program appears modest so far, and judging by the discounts offered in New York on my side of town, it doesn’t seem like many retailers and businesses are taking advantage of it just yet. With the new service, Facebook said its staff will work with businesses to highlight deals and try to get members to share discounts with each other.

That sounds like an incremental step in improving Deals but not the kind of coordinated effort necessary to build a true large-scale system. As we’ve talked about before, to create a successful local shopping service, you need scale and big sales teams. That’s one of the reasons Google still struggles in this area, because it still doesn’t have much of a local sales force. Facebook doesn’t appear to be making that investment either, so it’s hard to see how it will really evangelize this to businesses. Merchants can come to Facebook, but it’s unclear if the current Deals system is even paying off that well for them. Maybe that’s why Facebook hasn’t charged anything for the service yet.

Facebook, for its part, recently improved the metrics for Places and Deals for businesses, allowing them better insight into how many people are checking-in at locations and claiming deals. Again, however, this seems more like a self-service system. That may work if merchants know to turn to Facebook and do so without prompting. But many are used to building relationships with sales reps. So until Facebook makes a bigger investment there, it’s unlikely it can challenge the current leaders. Merchants aren’t all happy about the big cut daily deal services take on sales, but many also are willing to come back because the system is organized and can produce big results. Facebook needs to show it can produce the same or better upside.

Facebook is also offering deals from lower-tier competitors such as ReachLocal, Gilt City, Tippr, HomeRun.com, PopSugar City, KGB Deals, Plum District and Zozi. In this way, it’s acting more like a deal aggregator. But again, it’s hard to see how this will stand out with users. There are a number of discount aggregation sites and none have built up the following Groupon or Living Social have. Microsoft has also gotten into the daily deals aggregation game by integrating discounts from the The Dealmap into its Bing mobile and desktop sites. Microsoft’s partnership with The Dealmap may be a precursor to a purchase at some point, similar to the way Google unsuccessfully pursued Groupon.

Can any of these big Internet giants build a daily deals program from scratch or do they need to buy someone to make it happen? My sense is an acquisition is more necessary at this point and so far Facebook hasn’t shown me yet that it can break out and build a winner on its own. It’s a super-smart company, so I’m sure we’ll hear more news on this front. Mobile and location are big priorities for Facebook in 2011. And as I said earlier, it has some great assets to make this happen. But we’re seeing more and more that it’s not an easy task to create a Groupon killer overnight.

Related content from GigaOM Pro (subscription req’d):

• What Groupon Can Teach Us About Shopping and the Web
• The Near-Term Evolution of Social Commerce
• A 2011 NewNet Forecast

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Conference calling is a rising communication trend specially in the business realm. Conference call is for any person; it’s so effortless that you don’t have to be mastermind to set it up. You can even arrange a conference from anyplace in this day and age with just a little support from a conference calling provider. It’s about time you arrange your own conference calls. Setting it up is so trouble-free. Recognize the 3 steps of conference calling and you’ll become a conference specialist in no time.

To make your conference calls a success, you have to prepare every step of it. All the members need to agree to a certain time to be around for the call. Agreeinging on the time will pose a trial for all the members who don’t come from one locality. After you’ve arranged the point in time, then you have to make sure that each person appreciates the plan and the materials to be conversed in the meeting. Each person should be geared up and presented a subject ahead.

Next is to realize the medium of the conference call. Does your phone company cover conference calls? If not, then you have to consult a conference calling provider. It will aid you with your conference calling needs. When all the things are all set before the meeting, all that needs to be done is to achieve them in the conference call. All the members just have to dial a number to join the conference. You’ll get a hold of this from the conference calling provider.

By this moment, the conference call is already taking place. All the participants have to know how the conference will ensue. The host of the call will ensure of this. Make each and every one distinguish who’s participating in the call. Don’t interpose when other persons are talking . There is a mute function in the phone; use it when you’re not chatting . Keep the conference running smoothly; clarify who is speaking and be a time keeper. As you are billed each minute, time management is very vital. A big digital clock will assist everybody be informed of the time.

What will come to pass after the conference call? The compere is accountable for handing out copies of the notes and the minutes to the members. It would also aid upgrade your next conference calls if you demand opinions from the members about their experience. Is every person satisfied with the conference? Attend to what the members have to say.