Weekly wrapup, 15 – 19 October 2007

by Steve O'Hear

October 20th, 2007 | 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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Lots of mobile news this week, the biggest of which was probably Apple’s decision to finally open the iPhone to third-party developers. At the Symbian Show in London, Nokia also showed off the new version of the mobile OS S60, which offers an optional iPhone-like touch interface — watch the mobile Internet space heat up.

In Internet TV-related news, the BBC has partnered with Adobe to add an iPlayer streaming option with Mac and Linux support; and Sony — which just launched a cheaper PS3 — talked up its forthcoming online video network for the PS3 / PSP.

Additionally, speculation surrounding a Netflix set-top box has resurfaced. Continue reading »

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Copyright Protection Pact is a show of solidarity, not much else

by Daniel Langendorf

October 19th, 2007 | Posted in Other | CommentsNo Comments

ugcThere’s one thing to this whole video identification business I don’t understand. If it’s so important that we stop people from uploading copyrighted content to video sharing sites like YouTube and Veoh, then why haven’t the best brains in multiple industries figured out a solution?

Is video fingerprinting not possible? Is it too complicated? Is it barking up the wrong tree? Trying to stop people before they upload copyrighted video seems nearly impossible to me — and many of us think it’s a complete waste of time and resources.

But we’re not Big Media.

Big Media is hellbent to stop people from uploading copyrighted video to the Web. So instead of getting together and working on a viable solution, what do Big Media and their Internet buddies do? They announce the formation of a copyright protection blood pact that promises to “foster online innovation while protecting copyrights.” Continue reading »

Sony launches cheaper PS3 in U.S.; sights still set on making it into entertainment hub

by Daniel Langendorf

October 18th, 2007 | Posted in Net TV, Other | Comments1 Comment

ps3 smallSlowly but surely, methodically, Sony is lining up its Playstation 3 as an affordable gaming console and establishing it as the center of a home entertainment network.

Sony today announced it will launch a cheaper model of the Playstation 3 in the United States, hoping to attract more buyers and getting the console into more American homes. The newest version of the PS3 features a 40 GB hard drive and will cost $400, a heck of a deal considering it has a built-in Blu-ray drive for playing high-definition DVDs. The 40 GB PS3 will go on sale Nov. 2 in time for the Christmas buying frenzy.

To achieve its lower price point, Sony made a few hardware compromises. USB ports are down from 4 to 2, and there are no slots for different memory card types. In perhaps its most controversial decision, Sony has removed backward capability from the cheaper PS3, meaning it cannot play PS2 games.

“We’re choosing to focus on the Playstation 2 consumer with the Playstation 2, which remains incredibly relevant, and focus on the Playstation 3 consumer with the new 40-gigabyte model and the great software coming out,” said Jack Tretton, president of Sony Computer Entertainment America, who notes that 200 titles for the PS3 will be available by Christmas. (Reuters.)

“Backward compatibility is a nice secondary consideration, but it’s far from the number one priority,” he said. Continue reading »

Netflix to steal Vudu's set-top magic?

by Steve O'Hear

October 18th, 2007 | Posted in Net TV | Comments6 Comments

Could Netflix be about to launch a set-top box?

Netflix to steal Vudu’s set-top magic?Dave Zatz over at Zatz Not Funny thinks so, after the movie rental company that’s best known for putting DVDs in the post, updated its trademark filling to explicitly reference a set-top box that can download and deliver video content from the Internet directly to a television.

Zatz notes that this isn’t first time that talk of a Netflix set-top box has surfaced, which begin last April with the recruitment of Anthony Wood to the newly created position of VP of Internet TV. According to the press release issued at the time, Wood would be “responsible for all aspects of product development related to the company’s strategic intent to deliver movies directly to subscribers’ televisions via the Internet.” Prior to joining Neflix, Wood was CEO of Roku, the company behind the SoundBridge line of audio streaming devices, and before that he was founder of ReplayTV — no less — credited with being the creator of the digital video recorder (DVR). In other words, Wood has some serious hardware pedigree. Continue reading »

Apple to open iPhone to third-party developers. Why did it take so long?

by Daniel Langendorf

October 17th, 2007 | Posted in Mobile | Comments3 Comments

engadet iphone apps smallerI had to rub my eyes when I saw this: Apple is opening up the iPhone to third party developers.

“Let me just say it: We want native third party applications on the iPhone, and we plan to have an SDK (software developers kit) in developers’ hands in February,” Apple CEO Steve Jobs wrote in a noted (signed “Steve”) on the Hot News page.

Really? Huh. Just two weeks ago, Apple announced the opening of an iPhone Web Apps Directory on its site. The directory move was seen as Apple reinforcing its commitment to the Web-based apps approach.

Those who hoped for third-party applications on the iPhone sighed, shook their collective heads, and wondered why. Why is it taking Apple so long to deliver third-party apps?

Jobs explained, “It will take until February to release an SDK because we’re trying to do two things diametrically opposed things at once — provide an advanced and open platform to developers while at the same time protect iPhone users from viruses, malware, privacy attacks, etc.

“This is no easy task. Some claim that viruses and malware are not a problem on mobile phones—this is simply not true. There have been serious viruses on other mobile phones already, including some that silently spread from phone to phone over the cell network. As our phones become more powerful, these malicious programs will become more dangerous. And since the iPhone is the most advanced phone ever, it will be a highly visible target.” Continue reading »

Apple cuts price of iTunes DRM-free tracks

by Steve O'Hear

October 17th, 2007 | Posted in Audio | Comments1 Comment

Apple cuts price of iTunes DRM-free tracksWhen Apple launched iTunes Plus, the company’s DRM-free music download service, last April, I was critical of the price increase from 99c to $1.29 per track, compared to their copy-protected equivalents. CEO Steve Jobs attempted to justify the premium pricing, based on the fact that music on iTunes Plus was encoded at a higher bit-rate of 256kbps (up from 128kbps). Yet I still felt that Apple in conjunction with EMI, the only major label to sign on, were in effect penalizing those who wanted to purchase music DRM-free, with all of their fair use rights intact. Continue reading »

Napster reinvents itself — again

by Daniel Langendorf

October 16th, 2007 | Posted in Audio | CommentsNo Comments

napster logoNapster, Napster, Napster. First you set the music world on fire (along with the legal system). Now you’re sort of an also-ran.

In yet another attempt to return to glory, Napster will rely less on its desktop client in favor of a Web-based approach as it hopes to attract more paying subscribers.

Napster seeks to make its platform more flexible and compatible with any Internet-enabled device with the release of Version 4.0. The move will allow Napster’s 770,000 subscribers to play their music from any computer without having to download additional software. Before today, Napster subscribers could only listen to their music after downloading the desktop client to their personal computers, although the Napster software is still required to transfer music from the service to compatible devices.

Napster sells music subscriptions for $10 to $15 a month, where customers can stream or download an unlimited number of songs from the company’s 5-million-song library.

“With this new platform Napster can easily be integrated into consumer electronics devices or integrated into other Web sites such as social networking sites,” said Christopher Allen, Napster’s chief operating officer. Continue reading »

iPhone-envy: Nokia unveils S60 touch interface

by Steve O'Hear

October 16th, 2007 | Posted in Comms, Mobile | Comments6 Comments

iPhone-envy: Nokia unviels S60 touch interfaceA recent report on U.S. sales of Apple’s iPhone claimed that the biggest losers have been Palm, T-Mobile and Motorola.

According to the NPD Group’s research, initial iPhone buyers were ten times more likely to have previously owned a Palm Treo, three times more likely to have owned a T-Mobile Sidekick, with many iPhone purchases also replacing a Motorola Q. In contrast, RIM’s Blackberry appears to have dodged Apple’s bullet, with the iPhone’s lack of corporate email support being cited as one possible reason.

Nokia also went largely unscathed, perhaps because the Scandinavian company doesn’t have the same presence in the U.S. as in other parts of the world.

However, not one to rest on its laurels, and with the iPhone set to launch in Europe next month, Nokia today unveiled the next version of the Symbian-based mobile operating system, S60, which will offer the option of an iPhone-like touch-screen user interface, and includes support for Flash video. S60 currently powers mobile devices from LG Electronics, Lenovo, Samsung, and Nokia themselves — including the company’s showcase N95.

Despite paying homage to the iPhone, the new enhanced S60 sports a few innovations of its own. Continue reading »

YouTube's new video identification system places burden on copyright holders

by Daniel Langendorf

October 15th, 2007 | Posted in Other | Comments4 Comments

youtubeToday’s announcement that YouTube’s video identification technology is now in beta was mostly met with jeers, not cheers.

As Read/Write Web’s Marshall Kirkpatrick wrote, “[It] will not come close to satisfying angry rights holders.”

Bob Tur, the first to file a copyright lawsuit against YouTube, is one of those angry rights holders. He told Webware.com, “It’s a slap in the face of copyright holders.”

The loudest complaint about YouTube Video Identification is that it puts the burden on rights holders to upload versions of their copyrighted movies, TV shows, and other video content to a database. The content is then broken down into data points and analyzed so that any pirated versions posted will be automatically identified and taken off YouTube within minutes. Continue reading »

BBC partners with Adobe to add iPlayer streaming option; Mac and Linux will be supported

by Steve O'Hear

October 15th, 2007 | Posted in Net TV | Comments14 Comments

BBC partners with Adobe to add iPlayer streaming option-- Mac and Linux to be supportedThe BBC’s iPlayer (see our earlier review) will roll out a streaming option later this year, in a move that will finally make the UK-only TV catchup service available to Mac and Linux users, in addition to those using a Windows-based PC.

Described as a “strategic partnership”, by Erik Huggers, BBC future media and technology group controller, the new version of iPlayer will use Flash video technology from Adobe, and is said to compliment the existing Windows-only download version of the service, which utilizes Microsoft’s Windows Media software. Continue reading »

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