By Want to hear Cameron Crowe’s thoughts on winning an Oscar or see how king-sized movie posters are assembled? How about a sneak peek at some of the exclusive exhibitions held at the film academy’s Beverly Hills headquarters?
It’s all at Oscars.org, the newly revamped Web site of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, officially launching Tuesday. Film fans of all kinds are welcome, said AMPAS Executive Administrator Ric Robertson.
“It’s for almost anyone with an interest in movies,” he said. “Depending on the level of interest, there’s something there for just about everybody.”
The site is more than an extensive homage to the Academy Awards. Visitors can learn about the academy’s vast film and script archives (both open to the public), discover educational programs for young filmmakers, glimpse artwork from upcoming academy exhibitions (Fellini’s sketches are on view now) and meet the people who vote on the Oscars via video.
There’s also a link to Oscars’ YouTube page and a chance to receive automated Oscar trivia questions each day from now until the Academy Awards are presented Feb. 22.
“The Academy Awards is this wonderful, huge phenomenon, and you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who doesn’t know what that is,” Robertson said. “In a way, that makes it difficult for us to let the world know all the other stuff the academy does.”
That’s one of the reasons the organization embarked on an eight-month effort to overhaul its site. The group aims to spread the word about its year-round events that encourage appreciation of movies and the folks who make them in a way that appeals to film fans and filmmakers alike.
“We really serve very distinct constituencies: the research community, journalists and the industry,” Robertson said. “But the academy is also an incredibly dynamic organization dedicated to movies, and it has an incredible amount to offer to those who j ust love movies.”
Apple and Google Face UK Investigation Into Mobile Browser Dominance
Apple and Google aren't giving consumers a genuine choice of mobile web browsers, a British watchdog said Friday in a report that recommends they face an investigation under new U.K. digital rules taking effect next year.
The Competition and Markets Authority took aim at Apple, saying the iPhone maker's tactics hold back innovation by stopping rivals from giving users new features like faster webpage loading. Apple does this by restricting progressive web apps, which don't need to be downloaded from an app store and aren't subject to app store commissions, the report said.
"This technology is not able to fully take off on iOS devices," the watchdog said in a provisional report on its investigation into mobile browsers that it opened after an initial study concluded that Apple and Google effectively have a chokehold on "mobile ecosystems."
The CMA's report also found that Apple and Google manipulate the choices given to mobile phone users to make their own browsers "the clearest or easiest option."
And it said that the a revenue-sharing deal between the two U.S. Big Tech companies "significantly reduces their financial incentives" to compete in mobile browsers on Apple's iOS operating system for iPhones.
Both companies said they will "engage constructively" with the CMA.
Apple said it disagreed with the findings and said it was concerned that the recommendations would undermine user privacy and security.
Google said the openness of its Android mobile operating system "has helped to expand choice, reduce prices and democratize access to smartphones and apps" and that it's "committed to open platforms that empower consumers."
It's the latest move by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to crack down on the... Read More