T&A: Reuters has released a report saying that the Malaysian authorities are looking into the possibility of establishing an Internet filter, similar to China’s abandoned “Green Dam” project.

While there is speculation that this proposal could be linked to how a vibrant Internet culture may have contributed to recent political challenges the government faces, tender submissions to implement the filter are already in place, with a second unidentified source saying that there are also plans to secure control over the content and monitoring division of Malaysia’s Internet regulator.

UPDATE 07 August 2009: Malaysian authorities have responded to the report and clarified that the filter is aimed at curbing pornography, this according to a follow-up report from Reuters. However, the report also warned of the impact a filter might have on investor confidence, citing whether this would affect Google’s consideration to set up the world’s largest server farm in Malaysia’s version of the Silicon Valley — the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC).

UPDATE 12 August 2009: Reuters has followed on earlier reports with an update where Malaysian authorities clarified that the Web filter will not be carried out. Instead, the country will now study alternative measures to police sedition, fraud and child pornography on the Internet.

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The Samsung 40-inch LED TV claims to save more than 40% more energy.

T&A: Nikkei Electronics has released a feature on what the LCD TV manufacturers are focusing on these days: lowering power consumption even as TV screen sizes increase.

Based on a report, backlight technologies such as compact hot cathode fluorescent lamps (HCFL) and light-emitting diode (LED) area control have improved over cold-cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFL) with energy-saving features like presence sensors and auto-brightness adjusters.

The article gave examples such as Sony’s VE5 Series (shown at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES)), where it offered 40% reduction in power consumption. (more…)

With 35% of US cable TV subscribers surveyed saying they would terminate subs in the next 5 years for online TV viewing, cable companies in the US are planning to evolve out of their set-top boxes.

T&A: Knowledge@Wharton released an article here describing how the cable television industry in the US is facing an increasing threat from Internet video sites like YouTube and Hulu.

To counter this, the cable TV industry is working on a plan to make cable subscriptions portable to any Internet-enabled device, be it a notebook or a mobile phone, at no extra charge.

One example mentioned was an announcement in June by Time Warner and Comcast to launch TV Everywhere, a service that allows cable subscribers to use their PC/Macs to watch on-demand programs from Time Warner’s TNT and TBS networks. Since then, CBS, HBO, Cinemax and Starz have made known their wish to be involved.

Of course, with 35% of respondents from a consumer survey done by Bernstein Research saying they would consider cutting a cable subscription in favor of online video in the next five years, this is definitely something the cable TV companies should be worried about (and do something about before it’s too late).

T&A: In a blog post at Harvard Business.org, a study into the behavioral patterns of Twitter users based on gender has unveiled some very interesting results.

Based on data collected from a sampling pool of 300,542 users in May 2009, the study reveals that there are more female Twitter users than males (55 versus 45%).

According to a study on Twitter by Harvard Business, an average man is twice more likely to follow another man while a woman is only 25% more likely to follow a man than a woman. However, an average man is 40% more likely to be followed by another man than by a woman.

According to the study, this is interesting, considering that on typical online social networks, most of the activity is focused around women (ie. men follow content produced by women they do and do not know, but women generally follow content produced by only women they know). (more…)

As countries like the US transition its TV signals from analog to digital, consumers will be forced to buy digital tuners and get on the digital TV bandwagon.

T&A: Known as the great analog switch-off, US has joined a group of nations to be some of the first to transition its national TV broadcasts from analog to digital signals nationwide.

According to reports from several major news sources, including this one by the New York Times, many stations were anticipating calls from unsuspecting viewers when they shut down their analog broadcasts. The report quotes research firm Nielsen as saying that about 2.8 million homes in the US are completely unprepared for the switch.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) of the US, which monitors and regulates communications channels across the country, has released an official report on its site, including launching a site to help consumers ease their analog-to-digital transitions smoothly. 

The switch would have no impact on cable and satellite users of course, as they receive their signals via other sources. Homes relying on over-the-air signals will need to buy a digital converter box or purchase a TV with an internal digital tuner. (more…)