Summary: It took two years of negotiation for the BBC's Fiona Bruce to get some face time with Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates. In this rare interview, Bruce gains insights into both the man and the icon-genius, business magnate, philanthropist, and one of the wealthiest people on the planet. In addition, Bruce probes what may be the key question facing Microsoft in the post-Gates era: with its hands...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: E-tailers routinely collect information from visitors to their Web sites to better target their ads. Is this surrender of privacy the price of a personalized online shopping experience? In this program, NewsHour correspondent Jeffrey Kaye seeks to understand the dynamics of, and the ethical issues surrounding, strategic online marketing with top management from Buy.com, Lycos, and DoubleClick...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: From blogs, to e-books, to online reviews, this program introduces viewers to what it's like to be a writer in a technological age. Brief stories of blogs such as Washingtonienne and Belle de Jour that became books (and one book, Jim Munroe's An Opening Act of Unspeakable Evil, that masqueraded as a blog) and a quick interview with a successful e-book publisher are balanced by two short panel...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: An industry once dominated by four giant companies-Sony BMG, Warner Music, Universal, and EMI-has undergone a radical transformation. This program examines the explosion of legal music downloading and viral marketing, which have enabled enterprising bands and singers to distribute their own work rather than signing with major labels. Focusing on the success of Nizlopi, Arctic Monkeys, Internet...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: Meet Kyle MacDonald, an unemployed young Canadian with a crazy-wonderful dream: to trade his way up from one red paperclip to a house in just one year using only his blog as his bartering tool. This program-an intriguing example of online entrepreneurship, a case study of an ingenious marketing stunt, and a testament to the transformative power of doing well by doing good-sums up a genuinely...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
View online at AVOD
Summary: From Internet search, to Android, to cloud computing: how has Google come so far, so fast, and what are the broad implications of Google's success? This program scrutinizes the Google phenomenon as it explores the company's history, corporate culture, business practices, innovations, and altruistic ambitions. Google's controversial experience in China is examined as well, along with its move to...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: Internet auction house eBay and virtual music community Napster are redefining established paradigms of online interactivity. In segment one of this program, NewsHour correspondent Spencer Michels explores eBay's phenomenal success with President and CEO Margaret Whitman and others, while addressing concerns related to fraudulent merchandise and shill bidding. In segment two, Mr. Michels...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: As online gaming companies position themselves to tap an entertainment market that is projected to explode, researchers question the safety of deeply immersive virtual worlds. In this program, MIT psychologist and sociologist Sherry Turkle; David Greenfield, author of Virtual Addiction; Richard Garriott, creator of Ultima Online; Brad McQuaid, co-creator of EverQuest; representatives of Sony...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: No email, no Facebook, no blogging. No Google for researching term papers, even. From here on out it's pencils, spiral notebooks, typewriters, and good old-fashioned library books. What twenty-something in his or her right mind would partake of such insanity? Answer: three college students who have volunteered to spend 30 days without touching or using a computer. Documenting their "digital...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: Tens of thousands of people "live" there, and tens of millions of U.S. dollars are exchanged there. Welcome to SecondLife.com! After introducing viewers to this compelling virtual world, You Only Live Twice grapples with overlapping in-world/real-world issues ranging from cybersex and the psychological repercussions of virtual sex crimes, to intellectual property rights fraud, to taxation on...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: Like it or not, humans are adept at the art of lying. Drawing upon the fields of psychology, sociology, technology, philosophy, and criminology, this program sheds light on the complex realities of untruthfulness through the work of researchers who have made lying a subject of profound study: Professor Bella DePaulo, an expert on the communication of deception; Professor Maureen O'Sullivan, an...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: Although many men have prostate cancer-a disease that occurs in two thirds of all men by the age of 80-there is a culture of silence among patients that stifles conversation about it. The complexities of the illness, the disease's location, and potential post-treatment side effects such as incontinence and erectile dysfunction have left them at a loss for words. But the Internet is changing...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: The more digital technology becomes inseparable from our daily lives, the more chances corporate and political media have to manipulate young people-unless students are taught how to dissect and defend against that manipulation. This program helps educators instill media literacy through an exploration of its basic concepts as well as examples drawn from film and television. Defining media...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: Award-winning director Lance Tracy balances serious science with tongue-in-cheek humor to create a documentary scrutinizing the scope and effects of pornography that is informative, compelling, and unsettling. Constructing an experiment to identify attitudinal and behavioral changes that manifest as a result of viewing porn—a study in the manner of the Annenberg School of Communications and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: The town of Sunnyville is thrilled with the jobs and development promised by a new factory, which will make efficient, inexpensive solar cells. However, nanomaterials used in the manufacturing process pose an unknown level of risk to city residents and the environment. In this Fred Friendly Seminar, Peabody award-winning correspondent John Hockenberry leads expert panelists through a series of...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: Ergonomics is concerned with designing objects and spaces for maximum utility by the people who use them. This program provides a thorough overview as it explores the history of ergonomics; discusses the key ergonomic principles of safety, comfort, ease of use, productivity and performance, and aesthetics; and presents a variety of specific examples of ergonomics in everyday life, including a...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: Beginning with a concise overview of the benefits of cloud computing, this video introduces Google's integrated suite of Internet-based applications while explaining how these tools-powerful, universally available, and free!-can be used to improve learning. Educators and students alike will benefit from a look at the following Google products: Google Search and Google Accessibility; Google...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2011
View online at AVOD
Summary: In today's information-starved and fear-driven society, surveillance technology seems to be deployed almost everywhere-and a surveillance mind-set is just as ubiquitous. This program introduces students to the concept of a "surveillance society" and shows how cutting-edge tools are being developed to identify, monitor, and track both people and objects. Viewers are empowered to explore the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: An economy in which the office is a thing of the past. a sensor system that tracks and identifies goods in transit. a camera that records every life experience in minute detail. If these sound like dreams of a distant future, think again. This program examines the boundless opportunities and staggering challenges of the digital era, presenting concise case studies of 21st-century companies,...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
View online at AVOD
Summary: The accelerating rate of technological innovation is rapidly changing the workplace. This program offers several interpretations of work environments by leading contemporary designers, such as the "virtual" office by Gaetano Pesce, the modular office by Ross Lovegrove, the "Less" office by Jean Nouvel, the mobile office by Antonio Citterio, and the office of the future by Michele de Lucchi....
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: By day, Jane is an unassuming single mother. At night she's a high-stakes poker player-thanks to the Internet. So far Jane has won thousands of dollars, as have many online gamblers, while others have lost huge sums. This program looks at the explosive cyber-gambling industry, examining some leading sites and profiling men and women whose lifestyles now revolve around card-playing by computer....
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: The development of authentic self-esteem and a healthy sense of self has always been a vitally important part of growing up. But this process is a challenge that has gotten even trickier to negotiate due to the widespread integration of digital technology into everyday living. Drawing on the insights of a clinical psychologist/family therapist, an adolescent psychologist, and a number of...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: With nano-enabled drugs that destroy diseased cells and enable tissue repair, doctors may one day extend life expectancy far beyond our current capabilities—at least in countries wealthy enough to afford the technology. But the medicine that so radically redefines our standards of health and mortality will also profoundly challenge our social support systems and cultural values. In this Fred...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
View online at AVOD
Summary: When the Crisps confiscated their teenage son Brandon's Xbox, they never expected him to run away from home.or to die from injuries sustained while in hiding. Using Brandon's story as a case study, this program delves into the growing psychological problems of video game obsession and addiction. Interviews with Brandon's parents and best friend, a family therapist whose patient list includes...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010