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The Cost of Free

2010 Technology

In the third programme of the series, Aleks gives the lowdown on how, for better and for worse, commerce has colonized the web - and reveals how web users are paying for what appear to be 'free' sites and services in hidden ways. Joined by some of the most influential business leaders of today's web, including Eric Schmidt (CEO of Google), Ch ...ad Hurley (CEO of YouTube), Bill Gates, Martha Lane Fox and Reed Hastings (CEO of Netflix), Aleks traces how business, with varying degrees of success, has attempted to make money on the web. She tells the inside story of the gold rush years of the dotcom bubble and reveals how retailers such as Amazon learned the lessons. She also charts how, out of the ashes, Google forged the business model that has come to dominate today's web, offering a plethora of highly attractive, overtly free web services, including search, maps and video, that are in fact funded through a sophisticated and highly lucrative advertising system which trades on what we users look for. Aleks explores how web advertising is evolving further to become more targeted and relevant to individual consumers. Recommendation engines, pioneered by retailers such as Amazon, are also breaking down the barriers between commerce and consumer by marketing future purchases to us based on our previous choices. On the surface, the web appears to have brought about a revolution in convenience. But, as companies start to build up databases on our online habits and preferences, Aleks questions what this may mean for our notions of privacy and personal space in the 21st century Show More

Series: The Virtual Revolution

The Great Levelling

2010 Technology

Twenty years on from the invention of the world wide web, this major new series takes stock of its profound impact – how, for better and for worse, the digital revolution is reshaping our lives. Dr Aleks Krotoski explores the meaning of a phenomenon that is transforming everything, from how we learn to how we shop, vote and make friends. With ... a quarter of the planet connected so far, this series examines what is in store for the remaining 75 per cent of the world's population as they come online." In the first part series, Aleks charts the extraordinary rise of blogs, Wikipedia and YouTube, and traces an ongoing clash between the freedom the technology offers us, and our innate human desire to control and profit. Dr Aleks Krotoski looks at how it is reshaping almost every aspect of our lives. Joined by some of the web's biggest names - including the founders of Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft, and the web's inventor - she explores how far the web has lived up to its early promise. Show More

Series: The Virtual Revolution

The Rise and Rise of Bitcoin

2014 Technology

Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer monetary system in which all transaction records are public. Participants can use its open-source software to transfer virtual currency to one another as easily as they might send an email. Bitcoin opens an uncharted world of new possibilities to explore. We'll follow the stories of entrepreneurs and startups that ar ...e helping shape the new financial frontier. We'll look at the competitive mining market and the various subcultures within the Bitcoin community." You'll encounter a variety of characters and opinions as we examine the social and political impact of an open-source digital currency. Will the rise of Bitcoin bring a monetary paradigm shift that will forever change the world? Supposedly invented by a mysterious Japanese man named Satoshi Nakamoto (whose current whereabouts are unknown). Because it is designed to have an absolute ceiling of 21 million Bitcoins in circulation (not anticipated until 2040), and the system has no central depository or administrative authority, it has great appeal to libertarians and others who seek alternatives to a perceived corrupt, manipulative banking infrastructure and excessive government regulations. Its low processing fees compared with those of mainstream credit-card companies also hold considerable allure for merchants. Show More

The Web

2017 Culture

Edgar Davidson agrees to talk to investigators but tells a different story. Cathy’s sister Marilyn indicates her interest in solving the case. Tom Nugent casts doubt on Gerry Koob’s story about the night of Cathy’s disappearance. The search for the other man at Cathy’s apartment Pete McKeon may have information about Koob’s relationship. ...
What Cathy’s roommate Sister Russell knew about the abuse and Cathy’s relationship comes into question. 'Jane Doe' and 'Jane Roe' meet for the first time and talk about the Keough. Abbie investigates Baltimore’s investigation into the abuse reports they received. Marilyn Cesnik Radakovic recalls receiving a mysterious letter from her sister after her death. Show More

Series: The Keepers

U2 Live at the Rose Bowl 3of3

2010 Art

The 25 October 2009 concert in Pasadena, California was streamed live on U2's YouTube channel, the first time a concert was streamed live on YouTube. Over 10 million viewers streamed the concert, making it the largest streaming event in the website's history. The shoot was directed by Tom Krueger, who had previously worked with the band on th ...e film U2 3D. Show More

Series: U2 Live at the Rose Bowl

We Are Legion The Story of the Hacktivists

2012 Culture

The film takes us inside the complex culture and history of Anonymous. The film explores early hacktivist groups like Cult of the Dead Cow and Electronic Disturbance Theater, and then moves to Anonymous’ own raucous and unruly beginnings on the website 4Chan. Through interviews with current members – some recently returned from prison, others ... still awaiting trial – as well as writers, academics and major players in various “raids,” WE ARE LEGION traces the collective’s breathtaking evolution from merry pranksters to a full-blown, global movement, one armed with new weapons of civil disobedience for an online world. Show More

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