Look mum, no DRM: BBC launches iPlayer on iPhone and iPod touch

by Steve O'Hear

March 7th, 2008 | Posted in Net TV | Comments1 Comment

Who needs an SDK? BBC launches iPlayer on iPhone (and iPod Touch)As promised, the BBC has launched a version of iPlayer for use on Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch mobile devices.

Currently in Beta, the specially designed version of the BBC’s UK-only TV catch-up service utilizes H.264 video streaming (optimized for use over WiFi not the iPhone’s slower EDGE connection) and, as we first speculated, doesn’t appear to employ DRM. The lack of copy-protection technology means that, in theory at least, video streams could be captured to a user’s hard drive and stored indefinitely, bypassing the iPlayer’s current 30 day-only limitation. Continue reading »

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Apple checks off biggest items on iPhone wish list: SDK, enterprise support, and more

by Daniel Langendorf

March 6th, 2008 | Posted in Mobile | Comments2 Comments

iphone software roadmapLet’s run down the Wish List from Apple’s iPhone Software Roadmap shindig today at the Cupertino HQ.

The availability of an iPhone Software Developer Kit (SDK). Check.

This SDK will allow for development of third-party applications for the iPhone. Check.

Apple announces corporate, enterprise support for the iPhone. Check.

This means push email. Check.

And use of corporate calendars and contacts.

Check and check.

And IT security features for the corporate Nervous Nellies. Check.

And there’s a way of distributing applications that doesn’t rely solely on tethering the iPhone to a computer to access the iTunes Store, where apps can be purchased and downloaded. Check.

And there’s an instant message client. Check.

And games that take advantage of the iPhone’s unique physical features, including a touch screen and accelerometer. Check.

About the only thing that hasn’t been checked off the wish list is immediate availability. We’ll have to wait until late June for the final iPhone SDK and the resulting third-party applications and enterprise support.

“I am happy to admit I was completely off-base with my concerns,” Rob Griffiths wrote for Macworld after today’s iPhone Fest. “I think Apple has hit the proverbial home run here.”

The man standing at the plate and swinging the bat, Apple CEO Steve Jobs, couldn’t help but smile. “[The iPhone] is the most advanced platform out there for mobile devices,” he said. “We are years ahead of any other platform for mobile devices.”

We’ll see about that come late June, the first anniversary of the iPhone. But on paper at least, Apple is satisfying nearly every major wish expressed by developers, consumers, corporate users, and IT folks with the imminent release of the iPhone 2.0 software platform.

Now that the noise has died down, we take a look (in no particular order) at what happened today in the iPhoneosphere and its significance.

Continue reading »

Jobs says Flash isn't good enough for iPhone. Why announce that now?

by Daniel Langendorf

March 5th, 2008 | Posted in Mobile | Comments1 Comment

iphone flashInteresting timing from ol’ Steve-o on the whole Flash-on-the-iPhone thing.

At Tuesday’s Apple shareholder meeting — and widely reported today (Dow Jones) — Apple deity Steve Jobs dropped the bomb that the scaled-down, cellphone-friendly version of Flash, dubbed Flash Lite, isn’t good enough for the iPhone.

To use Flash Lite, according to Steve-o, would spoil the phone’s much-ballyhooed “full web experience” brought to you by Safari Mobile. Using the desktop version of Flash isn’t an option, either, as it would run too slowly on the iPhone.

Steve-o suggested that there’s a “missing product in the middle”, a version that’s positioned between Flash Desktop and Flash Lite, but it’s a product that doesn’t exist and is unlikely to be developed by Adobe anytime soon.

What all this means is that the iPhone still cannot play Flash video or casual games, both of which are produced mostly in Flash for Web-based consumption. YouTube is the only Web-based service formatting video to a file type that Apple endorses, which explains why you can play YouTube videos on the iPhone and iPod touch.

So why didn’t Steve-o tell us this a while ago?

Continue reading »

Following successful experiments, audiobook publishers to ditch DRM

by Steve O'Hear

March 4th, 2008 | Posted in Audio | Comments3 Comments

Following succesful experiments, Audiobook publishers to ditch DRMAfter dipping one toe into the DRM-free waters, two leading audio book publishers are set to ditch copy-protection technology altogether.

Following a successful trial with digital music store eMusic, Random House has told partners that it will begin offering all of its audiobooks as unprotected MP3s, reports the New York Times, unless retailers or authors specify otherwise.

In a memo [.pdf] sent out last month, Random House Audio told partners:

Beginning March 1st, we will no longer require that our retail partners use DRM when selling audiobooks via digital download. We believe that this move will allow for healthy competition among retailers targeting the iPod consumer, without posing any substantive increase in risk of piracy.

Continue reading »

Nokia to support Microsoft's "Flash-killer" Silverlight

by Steve O'Hear

March 4th, 2008 | Posted in Mobile, Net TV | Comments4 Comments

Every cloud to have a Silverlight lining?

Nokia to support Microsoft's Nokia today announced plans to put Silverlight – Microsoft’s so-called “Flash-killer” – onto its S60 Symbian OS-powered smartphones, as well as Series 40 devices and its range of Linux-based Internet tablets.

Securing Nokia’s support marks a major coup for Microsoft. Having already committed to developing a version of Silverlight for all three major desktop Operating Systems (Windows, Mac OS and Linux), gaining access to Nokia’s millions of mobile users brings Microsoft one step closer to fulfilling the promise of a Rich Internet Application (RIA) framework with genuine ‘write once, run anywhere’ capabilities — the holy grail of software development. Continue reading »

NIN releases new CD on Internet, experiments with alternative distribution and its music

by Daniel Langendorf

March 3rd, 2008 | Posted in Audio | Comments2 Comments

NIN ghostMaking good on his promise from last year, Trent Reznor, the iconoclast leader of Nine Inch Nails, has released the band’s latest CD on the Internet. Reznor is clearly experimenting not only with alternative distribution forms but with the music itself.

“Ghosts I-IV” is a 36-track instrumental collection that Reznor describes as “music for daydreams.” It extends what Radiohead began last year with its groundbreaking (for a major act) pay-what-you-want scheme, only Reznor has added his own twist.

“Ghosts I-IV” is available for casual fans — free, $5, and $10 — and for hard core NIN lovers — $75 to $300. Reznor’s experiment, like many artists in the music industry today, relies on the theory that fans will pay for the music (and not download it illegally) if there’s extra value included, and Reznor certainly has that covered.

Continue reading »

7digital trumps iTunes to offer DRM-free music from Warner

by Steve O'Hear

March 3rd, 2008 | Posted in Audio | Comments1 Comment

7digital trumps iTunes to offer DRM-free music from WarnerMore evidence of an iTunes backlash from the major record labels, 7digital announced that it has trumped Apple to become the first European download store to offer the Warner Music catalog DRM-free.

Starting today, 7digital customers in the UK, Ireland, Spain, France and Germany can purchase tracks from Warner in the MP3 format, playable on virtually any digital audio player including iPods. To promote the Warner coup, 7digital is making select albums from Warner Music’s catalog available for a limited period at the price of £5/€6.99.

In contrast, the only Warner tracks available on iTunes – in Europe or the U.S. – employ Apple’s FairPlay copyprotection technology, meaning that they are limited to playback on Apple-sanctioned devices such as the iPod, iPhone and AppleTV. And although Amazon’s download store sells music from Warner DRM-free, it’s currently only open to U.S. residents. Continue reading »

Weekly wrapup, 25-29 Feb 2008

by Steve O'Hear

March 2nd, 2008 | Posted in last100 weekly wrapup | CommentsNo Comments

Here’s a summary of the week’s digital lifestyle action on last100. Note that you can subscribe to the weekly wrapups, either via the special weekly wrapup RSS feed or by email.

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We kicked off the week on last100 with a hands-on review of Nokia’s latest Internet Tablet, the N810. Last100 editor Steve O’Hear wrote: “The first thing to notice about the N810 – beyond its good looks and very solid feeling build – is how Nokia is pitching the device. Despite its relatively high price and Linux foundations, the N810 is being pitched as a consumer-friendly device for those who want to stay connected to the social Web.”

Next up, in a post titled From “Alfred Hitchcock” to the “A-Team”, where to find classic TV on the Web’, Daniel Langendorf examined recent efforts by the U.S. television networks to offer up their classic content online.

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That’s a wrap. Thanks for stopping by.

From "Alfred Hitchcock" to the "A-Team", where to find classic TV on the Web

by Daniel Langendorf

February 29th, 2008 | Posted in Net TV | Comments4 Comments

alfred hitchcockToday you can surf the Web to find, and watch, shows you’ve recently missed on television. You can also surf, find, and watch shows you didn’t know you miss.

Shows from the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s. Shows like “Alfred Hitchcock Presents”, “Emergency!”, “The A-Team”, “MacGyver”, “The Twilight Zone”, “Hawaii Five-O”, “Good Times”, “Munsters”, “F Troop”, “I Spy”, “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.”, “My Favorite Martian”, and so many, many more.

Classic TV has made the jump from cable and satellite TV to the Web, where you can find full episodes and entire seasons of shows you’ve probably forgotten about — but watched when you were a kid. These programs are free and play in the same ad-supported media players the networks use for their current offerings.

The Classic TV trend really became apparent in February when two leading networks, NBC and CBS, put some of their old shows on the Web, joining other retro programs we didn’t know were even there.

nbc way back wednesdaysWe haven’t paid much attention to classic TV on the Web because these programs are already available on TV, somewhere in the dead-of-night cable-sphere, or on DVD re-issue boxed sets. Even so, NBC and CBS are creating branded retro channels — NBC’s is “Way Back Wednesdays” — and putting considerable resources into their efforts, giving new life to Mr. T and Danno.

last100 took a look at what classics are available — there’s a bunch — and what the networks are doing with their old content on the Web. Continue reading »

iPhone's future coming into focus: SDK = iPhone 1.5, 3G networks = iPhone 2.0

by Daniel Langendorf

February 28th, 2008 | Posted in Mobile | Comments3 Comments

iphoneThe future of the iPhone is coming into focus, even if it is a bit abstract at the moment.

Reports are beginning to surface that Infineon, a German chipmaker, will provide Apple with a new chip set for the next-generation iPhone — let’s call it iPhone 2.0.

According to analysts from the investment bank UBS, iPhone 2.0 is set to launch mid-year, which means we may actually see it sometime in late summer or early Fall. The new chip set is expected to bring faster 3G network capabilities to the iPhone, a much-anticipated upgrade.

In the meantime, Apple announced the other day it will release “the iPhone software roadmap” on March 6. Many around the Web believe this will be the much-anticipated software developer kit (SDK), although there is speculation that it might be just a roadmap and that the actual SDK won’t be released until later in the Spring.

No matter when it’s released, the SDK is important because it will allow third-party developers to write specific applications for the phone, essentially giving it a “new” feeling — let’s call this one iPhone 1.5. Continue reading »

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