ITunes is learning to share.

Apple reported at MacWorld this week that iTunes will drop its anti-piracy protection on its music downloads, so any song you buy will be able to be transferred to unlimited number of machines. Good news for fans who like to spread out their music listening.

Those who have already spent a small fortunate filling up iPods with DRM-protected iTunes downloads will be able to pay an extra 30¢ for each of those songs to unlock the protection.

Of course, the question the industry is waiting to be answered is whether sales will drop because consumers are buying once and passing around copies to their friends. But to me the answer has already been given, otherwise, Apple would not have made this move. Record labels...Read More

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Looks like Diablo Cody's new show about multiple personality disorder will be available in more than one place.

United States of Tara, which stars Toni Collette as the title character and John Corbett as her husband and was created by the Juno writer, will debut on Showtime Sunday, Jan. 18.

Those who want to see the show sooner, though, will be able to video-stream it off of Netflix starting Jan. 8.

Netflix first started having advance showings of shows from CBS's Showtime two years ago wh...Read More

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Is the Internet starting to take over the TV? The third season of Kyle XY won't premiere on TV. Instead, the first episode will be available on Fancast.com before it airs on ABC Family, according to VB sister publication Multichannel News.

Fancast will offer the Kyle XY third-season premiere starting Jan. 7 and through Jan. 11, then the episode will air on ABC Family Jan. 12 at 9 p.m.

Multichannel News also reports that Fancast will have other exclusives, such as ...Read More

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Happy almost New Year's!

There are plenty of ways to celebrate the new year, but Amazon is hoping to entice consumers with an early screening of Bruce Campbell's new movie, My Name is Bruce.

On Dec. 31, Amazon's Video On Demand service will offer a digital screening of the movie for $5.99. My Name is Bruce comes out on DVD and Blu-ray on Feb. 10.

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Yes, Doogie, it's official: Neil Patrick Harris is everywhere.

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, the cult Web series starring Harris in the title role, last week began being distributed on both DVD and CD exclusively by Amazon.com's CreateSpace CD-on-demand service.

The series, written and produced by Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon with help from his brothers Jed and Zack during the Writers Guild of America strike, began being sold on ...Read More

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Won't be near a TV when midnight strikes tonight? Don't worry. If you have your computer close by -- who doesn't? -- you can watch the ball drop in Times Square live through Hulu.

VB sister publication Broadcasting & Cable reports that Hulu will be running a feed of the festivities, including ambient crowd noise, musical performances and special guests -- all without the traffic and cold.

The festivities will be available at Hulu.com/newyearseve, but the feed is also available for free to other sites that want to run it.

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Netflix's streaming service is smooth and speedy through Xbox Live, but a good Internet service is necessary.

The video and audio quality of Netflix's video streams transfer well to the TV. They're comparable to DVD if you've got a good Internet speed. If your Internet service provider lowers your bandwith mid-movie, however, prepare for a drop in quality. (Netflix pauses to reconfigure, then continues your selection but with a little more blur.)

At 720p, the high-def content isn't Blu-ray quality (which is 1080p), but it's still good. We watched Before the Devil Knows You're Dead in high-def through a projector on a 118-inch screen, and Marisa Tomei looked as gorgeous as ever.

The browse feature is easy to use, and movies are easy to find. The only drawback is no option to search by genre. If there is one, we couldn't find it.

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SlingMedia, the company that makes that box that magically let's you watch and control your TV through the Internet, is the latest to get into offering TV shows and movies online.

Now owned by Dish, Sling has launched a beta version of Sling.com with full-length TV episodes and clips of such TV shows as The Office, Heroes and Family Guy and movies including 28 Days Later, Behind Enemy Lines and Basic Instinct streaming for free.

Video can even be embedded. Here's The Office's "Crime Aid" episode:

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Proving once again that you don't pay rent for more cyberspace, Amazon.com is trying to boost music sales heading into the holiday season by launching what it says are 100,000 music "stores" dedicated to particular musical artists.

The Internet giant yesterday started promoting the new section by trumpeting (sorry) features such as pre-sales of a new EP in the Coldplay store, a photo gallery/retrospective in the Bob Dylan store and -- brace yourselves -- a drawing to win tickets t...Read More

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Viz Media will debut the newest Naruto Shippuden episode online on Jan. 15, days after it airs in Japan.

The episode from the hot anime series will be available for free on Naruto.com, and it will be available on Crunchyroll.com members through subscription or ad-supported.

Crunchyroll says the title is one of many anime titles the site plans to bring online quickly following the Japanese broadcast.

Viz also plans to debut on Naruto.com eight uncut, English-subtitled episodes of Naruto Shippuden online for free starting Jan. 2, with another eight bowing every Friday thereafter. A new episode will bow every Thursday after the Japanese premiere.

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