* AOL to cut one-fifth of global workforce
By Brian Santo
Time Warner’s AOL unit will eliminate 2,000 jobs as part of an ongoing restructuring, according to Reuters, which said it got its information from an internal AOL document.
AOL has been leaking subscribers, and has been accused of being a drag on Time Warner financial results.
The cuts, scheduled to begin tomorrow (Tuesday), amount to about one-fifth of AOL’s global workforce and are spread across operations in the United States and in Europe, where the company has sold off its Internet access businesses.
AOL plans to boost investment in higher growth areas such as advertising, AOL CEO Randy Falco said in the memo to staff.
* SMPTE, VSF extend deadline for conference papers
By Mike Robuck
The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) and the Video Services Forum (VSF) have extended the call for papers deadline for the SMPTE and VSF 2008 Joint Conference, which is scheduled for Feb. 10-13 in Houston.
The two organizations announced that the new deadline will be Friday, Nov. 9 at 5 p.m. ET. The original due date was Oct. 12.
Those interested in submitting a paper should visit www.smpte.org for further information on procedures, topics, requirements and contacts. Authors will be notified regarding the acceptance or rejection of their proposals no later than Nov. 30.
* Verizon adds 2 FiOS TV Premier channels
By Traci Patterson
Verizon now offers A&E HD and the new Fox Business Network in all of the company’s FiOS TV markets. The channels are the latest additions to FiOS TV Premier, a package of more than 200 all-digital channels that starts at $42.99 per month.
FiOS TV is available in parts of 12 states: California, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas and Virginia.
* Spirit upgrades voice/video PC software
By Brian Santo
Spirit DSP announced the availability of the latest version of its embedded voice and video software. TeamSpirit Voice & Video Engine PC Version 3.0 is an IMS-ready solution that encapsulates wideband voice and video processing. The Engine seamlessly bundles standard and proprietary wideband voice and video codecs, echo cancellation, noise suppression, PLC, jitter buffer and more, allowing fast and easy integration into complex products designed to deliver low-latency voice and video over IP. The software’s proprietary technology solves most voice/video-over-IP (V2oIP) issues, the company claims, including voice and video lips sync.
