iPad...iPah?!

The recent unveiling of Apple's new iPad device has left the tech world split on the need for a device that has been tried previously and deemed by many to have failed. A multi-purpose tablet that can double as a desktop pc when sync'ed with a keyboard and mouse via a dock sounds intriguing but I am really thrown as to whether this device is of any value.

The prevalence of high-powered mobile phones, cheaper yet capable (and probably more portable despite having a keyboard) netbooks and nettops surely diminishes the niche in the pc marketplace for this device. Steve Jobs unquestionably knows his stuff and the Apple brand is very, very strong but it remains to be seen if this product is a successful one.

One worth watching....

Google enters broadcasting...the revolution has begun and will be televised

Wow!...oft-mooted but never realised...until now. Google has entered the world of broadcasting by securing an agreement to broadcast live Indian Premier League cricket matches via YouTube.

Evidently Google sees this as an ideal 'proof of concept' with minimal risk. It won't step on any toes in Hollywood or the US networks but it will give them a voracious audience in the far east/sub-continent market, hungry to watch the region's most popular and lucrative sporting property by any means necessary. It is certain to be a success and will no doubt lead to Google looking to do more of the same and, more ominously, further afield...

With ESPN in negotiation to bring live streaming to the Xbox 360, this is clearly being seen as 'the future' approach to content distribution and no doubt leaves traditional broadcasters quaking in their shoes as they see their now 'middleware' networks being cut out of the loop. Attacking middleware has long been Google's strategy and tv appears to be next in their rifle sights.

The Ninja is very happy that he bought an excellent LG BD370 blu-ray player with built in YouTube streaming - it might be the only broadcast device under the HD panel soon!

Undercooked - P2P case throws light on this complex issue

The recent acquittal of Alan Ellis, administrator of one-time music sharing site OiNK will have shaken the anti-piracy lobby to the core. Several things have become clear as a result of this lengthy and oft-delayed trial:

 

1) Proof of conspiracy in file-sharing is very, very difficult, throwing the whole legal battle wide open despite the best efforts of the music industry's legal representatives.

2) People will pay for what they want if it is delivered well and in a usable manner (i.e. without DRM).

3) A considerable amount of money can still be made in music sales.

4) The next generation of file sharing is already coming to prominence (VPN).

 

With Ellis reported to have had over £200K in PayPal donation accounts (yet only spent it on server maintenance), this clearly shows that the model of P2P music 'sales' works. The music industry continues to put a 'per song' value on content, in the same vein as previous delivery methods like CD, but that model has long been torpedoed and still they fail to realise that. Surely some value is better than none at all and that it is time for the industry to embrace P2P. The OiNK case shows that there is still money to be made...if you utilise the technology and, more importantly, heed the needs of your customers...

 

The more things change, the more things stay the same...and the spirit of Napster lives on

 

 

 

 

Film of the Year

With the New Year having arrived, the Cyborg Ninja can now reflect on a fabulous year of movies in 2009 and come up with the selection of the coveted 'Ninja film of the year'! Despite the depth of movies on offer, there was one clear winner - the fabulous re-launching of the Star Trek franchise...a movie full of fun, honour, emotion, laughs, 'nudge and wink' tie-ins with previous Treks, space battles, sumptuous visuals and sound - simply perfect, capped by an awesome 3 disc blu-ray release.

 

Previous winners:

 

2009 - Star Trek

 

2008 - Vantage Point (runner up - Eagle Eye)

 

2007 - Shooter & Bourne Ultimatum

 

2006 - Deja Vu (runner up - V for Vendetta)

 

2005 - Transporter 2 (runner up - Stealth)

 

2004 - Bourne Supremacy (runner up - Man on Fire)

 

2003 - The Italian Job

 

2002 - Bourne Identity

 

2001 - Spy Game 

 

2000 - Mission Impossible 2 

 

And if I had to pick a film of the decade...it should probably go to either Supremacy or Ultimatum but the heart says that Vantage Point deserves it....an incredible telling of a gripping story, albeit a far fetched one, but so cleverly told it deserves the recognition!

Google's Gamechanger?

Today sees the launch and unveiling of Google's own phone - the Nexus One, which I previously blogged about and a number of rumours continue to fly about in what is now a hotly anticipated technology launch.

 

Many believe it will simple be an unlocked handset, offered without a contract for about £300+, albeit one with all the bells and whistles Google can pour in to its silicon innards. However, some have suggested it might be offered at an extremely low cost, offering a top-notch, much-craved device for discount prices in an effort to undercut Apple's iPhone and stamp all over Nokia and Windows' mobile variants. Google would then look to recoup the lost revenue via increased mobile advertising as the happy Nexus user merrily surfs through Google ads on their new device, drinking Google's juice.

 

This would mark a massive shift away from the 'subsidised handset cost/large contract or large handset cost/pricey pay-as-you-go' model long utilised by mobile phone operators. Google would change the game in a dramatic way if this rumour turns out to be true and Android would rocket to the top of the mobile charts as a result. It would be bold, telling and highly beneficial for the consumer - so here's hoping it is true!

"Unleash the Googlephone"

Well, not content with developing and then giving away a kick-ass mobile phone operating system in Android, Google seems set to ramp up its all-out assault on the mobile phone business model with its upcoming 'Nexus One' handset, the first true Google phone (sorry T1 owners!). This is an interesting development for the internet giant as it marks a first foray in to hardware, rather than their more traditional software-only focus and no doubt has set mobile operators nerves jangling in the process. Cyborg Ninja fave HTC will make the device for Google but it will only be Google branded.

 

At its very core, Google is driven by a desire to see people use it's services to generate revenue from advertising - eyeballs equals cash, pure and simple, and the pervasiveness and availability of their services to the modern consumer is part of their business models' critical path. Hence recent developments of offerings such as Google Mail and Google Docs - a free office software suite hosted online that just so happens to have small ads alongside the app. Give them what they want and people won't mind an ad - and so far Google have taken this approach to the bank in a big, BIG way.

 

As a result ,the Nexus One is another weapon in the Google advertising-driven arsenal although it is rumoured to possibly be a data and VoIP only (i.e. not GSM networked) device. However, this still is a very shrewd move that cuts across a number of fields. It takes advantage of the growing availability of wireless internet services (at home, coffee shops, airports etc.) and the increasing dominance of mobile devices in computing. It will put 'the internet' in more peoples' hands relatively cheaply - a very good thing as far as Google is concerned. However, the recent sell-off of Skype highlighted the difficulties in making money from VoIP but Google is not looking to make money from the voice side, only the click-based economy of internet traffic. So, VoIP could go the way of the aforementioned productivity applications - being given away in an effort to drive click-throughs from ads - very, very clever...and a nice partner to the so-far US-only Google Voice service.

 

Another key factor with the Nexus is it gets the Google brand out there even more and the media hype will only grow as it takes aim at Apple's iPhone market share. Google takes a dual approach to its growth by aiming to not only grow its own business but also undermine its competitors at the same time. Giving away Google Docs office suite drives more people to Google's services whilst simultaneously undercutting Microsoft's paid-for Office range, Android drives mobile users and manufacturers to the Google sphere of influence and away from Apples and Windows Mobile's clutches. Very shrewd business moves with but one question that needs to be asked is...once you give everything away to grow your business, what happens if you have nothing left to give and advertising revenues start to fall? This has yet to happen to Google but it would be interesting to see how they would respond to such a situation.

 

Either way, the crush of Google's benevolent might continues unabated and leaves us wanting more....stay connected!

One can but dream...

The Ninja's home is pretty well kitted out already with tech gear as you might expect but someday it would be nice to have an HD monitor set-up like the image shown here - goodbye 1080p, hello 4K2 resolutions!

 

Droid does...and the Ninja might do too...

The Cyborg Ninja has been a loyal and proud user of Windows Mobile, ever since my first monochrome Pocket PC and right through until now with my HTC Touch Diamond 2 mobile phone - a lovely device capable of pretty much every computing and communication task I need. However, this could well be set to change....



The recently launched Motorola Droid phone, currently only available in the USA, is an Android-based device and pretty much the pinnacle of open-app phone development. This device can do everything, without the intentional drawbacks or restrictions of an iPhone or the unintentional limitations of Windows Mobile. The concept of an open architecture mobile phone operating system appeals and the rapid adoption of Android (led by Google) is incredibly encouraging.

The commcercial appeals and so does the spec list of this tasty slab of technology...

Speed Racer...visual art?

I have blogged previously (years ago!) about the creativity of the Wachowski Brothers and their storytelling techniques. Their use of various media streams to relay and enhance the storyline has never been bettered, even now, some 6 years after the release of the last two Matrix movies. Of particular note is their visual style - everyone probably remembers the first time they saw 'bullet-time' in the first Matrix movie when Neo dove backwards to miss an approaching bullet - a split-second event slowed down to last about 20 seconds. It was an awesome effect that changed the game and ramped up the technology used in making films. Although I am not an out-and-out fanboy, I did enjoy the Matrix films. However, I consider V for Vendetta to be their best piece of work because it offered a well-rounded story as well as impressive film-making and I am a sucker for films about honour!

 

The Ninja recently watched Speed Racer - a movie by the W brothers and simply had to blog about the film's incredible visual style. The colour in this movie has to be seen to be believed. Everything is pumped right up to max and the energy on the screen is immense, offering almost 3D clarity to the images on show. The story is pretty simplistic but the footage will sear your eyeballs, it is that powerful. This is definitely a showcase for all that is good about current home theatre technology and would urge anyone who has not seen it in HD yet to do so. The 'car-fu' is brutal and achieves the aimed for 'comic book' feel but it is the depth of image and clarity of shots that will leave you gaping at the screen....it is that good!

 

It is not a stretch to say that this film might qualify as visual art rather than a movie...see it!

 

 

 

 

Justice?

Now the Ninja is not one to complain but....

 

In the technical and extreme yet unreal world of Formula 1, the rules of common sense rarely seem to apply and perhaps the sour grapes are due to an unwavering support for McLaren in all that they do, both on and off the track (more on that later) but surely the recent ruling on the Renault 'Crashgate' incident by the FIA is unfairly lenient.

 

Let's compare...

 

McLaren were fined $100 million and thrown out of the constructors' title in 2007 for receiving plans for competitor's cars from a disgruntled employee. They did not coerce the other team's employee to hand over the details nor did they conduct any spying of their own yet they were handed down a whopping fine and lost a chance at the title. They merely handled stolen goods.

 

Yet Renault, who contrived to have one car crash deliberately to change race strategy in favour of their other driver (who subsequently won the race) were recently given a paltry two year suspended ban from F1. All this despite putting the lives of their driver, other drivers, race officials and spectators at risk by deliberately causing a crash. No fine, nothing, and the ban only comes in to effect if they do something similar again in the next two years. Anyone would agree that this is highly unlikely...

 

Many Mac fans feel that the team is often treated unfairly and this recent incident seems only to confirm this feeling...

 

Anyway, racing resumes this weekend so the Ninja has little doubt it will all be quickly forgotten about....until the next time

 

The Impact of Latency

The Ninja recently has become fascinated by the powers of the modern connected world in addressing the issue of latency. Latency has traditionally been a term of concern limited to the IT professional’s world, in particular reference to the speed of a network and its capacity to provide a snappy service to the terminals connected to it.

 

Now, however, latency is increasingly used when talking of broader communication activities such as e-mail, text messaging, blogging etc…it's even creeping in to marketing-speak.

 

Take the delivery of news as an example – not too long ago, the main vehicle for the latest news was the letter and then the daily newspaper. This therefore saw news delivered when it was days old. The paper might have arrived every 24 hours but often the stories were older than that due to print deadlines etc. so there was always a delay.

 

The development of the Internet saw the speed of delivery of news increase rapidly to hours, if not minutes, negating the ‘first for news’ position of the newspapers. Information would be posted on the internet, the reader would then go find it at a website or blog and digest it that way.

 

This was taken further with the adoption of instant messaging such as sms, with networks of friends able to quickly pass on information through mobile devices, further shortening the delay in getting the word out.

 

Now with services such as Twitter and Facebook, news has been reduced to almost instantaneous levels of availability whereby the story (the vehicle used by the newspaper) has almost merged with the text messaging concept (sms). Latency here is milliseconds. However, the newsmakers and bloggers were often still controlling the story. They write, you read. Only recently have individuals begun to harness the capacity to contribute to the news. Old-style newsmakers were the first to see the potential but only now are we grabbing it ourselves.

 

However, the capacity of sites like Twitter allow us to go beyond this…with the recent example of the air collision over the Hudson River. With the search component of this service, the moment you heard about the crash, you could search for ‘Hudson’ on Twitter and undoubtedly find someone who had tweeted their seeing the crash, giving you immediate access to what interests you.

 

Indeed the recent flypast of the Airbus A380 over the UK allowed the Ninja to try this out first hand. A quick Twitter search for 'A380' pulled in hundreds of tweets from people posting information on what they had seen and heard of the big plane as it flew its tour of UK airspace. These links in turn led to TwitPics of groups of planespotters or shots of the plane in the sky etc. giving you immediate on-the-ground access to the 'news' as defined by your own search query. Very, very cool indeed...as long as you can find what you are looking for!

 

As a result, the minimisation of latency has empowered the reader with the capacity to craft their own news story, cutting the traditional media creators out of the loop entirely. Newspapers have known about the internet for about 15 years but most have been very slow to change their ways of working to adapt to this powerful technological threat.

 

Despite this, these developments will not suit everyone. People are used to having their entertainment served up to them with minimal hassle but the power of microblogging and its merger of traditional newsmaking, social interaction, internet immediacy and pure strength-in-numbers community grunt shows that it is undoubtedly the future of media and one that is still evolving for all concerned. Indeed many people talk of hyper micro blogging as the future as we link in to a variety of small very but 'personal to us' local networks.

 

There is no one clear path for this cutting edge concept but the user will certainly be the winner as it will undoubtedly provide a quicker, more immediate connected and pervasive service at a much lower price than existing media structures. The key for those on the other side is how to monetise it, if at all….no easy task.

 

Whatever happens, thanks to latency the future should be incredibly exciting…

 

A Real Big Brother...

It has come to light that Amazon, the leading online retailer, has overstepped the mark in protecting copyright laws and flagged up an issue of major concern for digital rights in the future.

 

The issue surrounds Amazon's excellent Kindle e-book reader, a device and service where users buy electronic versions of books and download them to the device wirelessly, allowing the content to be carried and read anywhere. The device, despite only being available in the USA, has proven to be very popular and built a strong base of users in its short lifetime.

 

However, controversy surrounded Amazon's recent discovery that two books it had been selling had been improperly licensed from the copyright holder, necessitating a recall. The scary development was that this was done without any warning to the customer and the refund was automatically credited back to user accounts. The main issue of digital concern was the fact that Amazon remotely deleted the content from every customer's Kindle device, again without warning.

 

One wag reckoned it was akin to a traditional paper bookshop sending someone to break in to your home to remove the offending book from your shelves but leaving the cash refund in full on the coffee table!!!!

 

Amazon has recognised that its approach had been 'stupid' and publicly apologised for what has been perceived as a breach of privacy laws and even their own terms and conditions of service as applied to the Kindle.

 

Yet the real classic moment in this whole affair were the books in question themselves - none other than George Orwell's '1984' and 'Animal Farm' - two books seen as the foremost writings on the dangers of censorship and a police state! How apt!

 

Questions have now surfaced once again about the whole concept of ownership in the digital age and the rights of consumers and copyright holders. Likely the only ones to profit in circumstances such as this in future will be the lawyers..

The Ultimate Technology Sport?

As a massive fan of cycling, probably due to the technology involved including those incredible carbon fibre bike frames, the Cyborg Ninja is delighted to see the Tour de France be all about the actual racing this year rather than any doping problems. Major respect to Lance Armstrong for being right up amongst the leaders again after several years away and increasing age and how good is Alberto Contador....outstanding stuff from outstanding athletes aided by outstanding technology...

 

 

Google OS - The future starts here?

Web-based giant Google announced last week that it was launching Chrome OS - it's web-based operating system designed to strike at the heart of the Microsoft empire. It will be Linux based and aim to be a robust and lightweight OS that will integrate a variety of online services (like GoogleApps, Docs, GMail etc.) to meet the services offered by Microsoft head-on.

 

The usp of this product - it will be free!

 

The funny thing is that free operating systems have been around for years (try Ubuntu for an excellent alternative to Windows). Yet Google's news has generated plenty of ink.

 

Chrome OS will, in essence be the first true cloud operating system, which is where the bulk of the processing, storage and oomph is provided remotely and our web-based world will be closely integrated directly with our pc, laptop, nettop and mobile phone. Google have long touted this as their ultimate objective with their web browser - in this case their recently launched Chrome browser after which the OS takes its name - at the heart of the whole system.

 

This product does make a lot of sense as we increasingly spend a lot our pc time on browser-based applications both at work and at play. Apps like GoogleDocs offer the ability to collaborate online on office documents whilst lifestreaming apps like Facebook and Twitter not only reside in the cloud online but integrate nicely with mobile phones and other devices as we send remote tweets and updates. An OS that can integrate all this effectively will have a significant impact, not just on us but on the way pc business works. Obviously Microsoft bases its business model on people paying for its software and services. Google operates differently as it primarily operates on an advertising-based model - Google merely wants to drive traffic to its various web-based services, ensuring maximal value in its ad space and therefore revenue.

 

Google therefore encourages people to use its services by offering them for free (or really cheap) as compared to Microsoft. Therefore Microsoft are the ones that stand to lose the most here. Obviously the impending launch of Windows 7 will be a massive cash cow for MS as it is highly anticipated and strong beta reviews have whipped up a storm of interest but it might be the last paid-for iteration of Windows.

 

Either way, it will be good for consumers - competition breeds innovation and in this rare instance it is also delivering massive price cuts...the key issue of concern is if Chrome OS will be any good...if it's not, they are in trouble.

The Ultimate Hack? Have a tinker with the global stock market..

Seems a disgruntled employee of Goldman Sachs, the massive global investment banking company that has dealings in oil, television (they own the CSI franchise), toll roads and many, many other areas, has been arrested for releasing code and details of the software that runs the company’s online investment process.

 

Apparently the software works at hyper-quick speeds, allowing the company to buy rising stock and sell it on quicker than other investment firms to other investors at a small premium. The difference is milliseconds but on such timespans and billions of small transactions and amounts, trillions of dollars are made. In essence the software allows Goldman to beat everyone else to the punch. Obviously the software is coupled with the fastest of hardware to make it work.

 

However, any potential hacker could skew the market by utilising even quicker hardware to get in ahead of Goldman Sachs to buy stocks and then sell them on to them, usurping their place in the pecking order, reducing Goldman’s revenue per trade and skimming a monumental profit out of the market.

 

And the size of this potentially devastating piece of code – about 32mb…yes global financial meltdown could be transported in the form of a cheap 2 cent memory stick. It actually is a fairly large piece of source code because it is ASCII but even so – 32mb can rule the world….very scary indeed…

 

To add further to this blackest of black hat stories, it seems there are rumours of a cover-up by the New York Stock Exchange, fearful of any interference with the liquidity of the trading process and potential customer confidence issues.

 

Reading like a very murky techno-thriller, complete with a shady Russian element, cutting edge technology, global crisis and oodles of money, this story has potentially massive implications, especially in these most delicate of global financial times…

Xbox 360 cleans up at E3

 

The Ninja is a big fan of the Xbox 360 and the recent E3 expo held in the US has seen an incredible number of impending arrivals for Microsoft’s console, both in terms of hardware and software, announced...

 

Top announcement and demonstration was surely the unveiling of ‘Project Natal’. Natal allows the gamer to control and interact with games using only their body – no Wii-like controller needs to be held or swung about, just your arms and legs! Not only does it pick up your body movements but it can recognise your face, facial expressions, your voice and can even recognise items like drawings. The possibilities are endless for game immersion – sports games would rock, first person shooters would take on a more visceral feel if you had to duck and cover when under fire. Imagine playing something like Far Cry, going feral, running up to a ledge and jumping to get across a ravine in to a group of enemies and then getting stuck in – fantastic! Apparently developer kits are already in the wild so it shouldn't be long before it lands. Imagine a version of Halo that could be controlled this way? WOW!

 

Beyond this incredible hardware development – a number of prominent game ips were unveiled including Metal Gear Solid Rising – the first MGS game for the 360 (featuring Raiden rather than Solid Snake), Crysis 2 and a new Halo game called Halo Reach. This marks a pretty incredible line-up featuring two of the biggest game franchises ever (Halo and MGS) and the first console version of probably the ultimate pc game (Crysis). The Cyborg Ninja is an obvious fan of the Metal Gear universe and to finally have the series coming to the 360 is mind-blowing!

 

All in all it was a pretty impressive unveil from the Microsoft stand!!!

The Hot List

Top ten tech that gets the Ninja’s current cloaked nod of approval…

 

1. Photosynth – software for analysing and interlinking photographs to create a virtual 3d space you can move around in.

 

2. Microsoft ICE – software for merging snapshots in to large scale panoramas and gigabyte sized images – just plain works and is awesome!

 

3. GPS-enabled photo tagging – Geo-tag images so you can plot them on a map. Well cool!

 

4. Xbox 360 Natal Project – control games using only your body. No controller, just your body movements! Gimme, gimme gimme!

 

5. HD Camcorders – simply awesome image quality in hand-held devices.

 

6. Touch screens – I never tire of these and Windows Touch looks sweet.

 

7. Netflix – we need this in the UK asap!

 

8. Windows 7 – lean, mean and just flat out works – roll on October 22^nd!

 

9. Nvidia Ion and Intel Atom – tiny but powerful pc architecture – one of these will be the basis for my next home theatre pc – just can’t decide which!

 

10. Windows Home Server – media streaming throughout the house, pc backups, remote desktop access and data security – job done!

 

 

The Pirate Bay - sold or sold out?

Wow, the Ninja never saw this one coming!

 

The Pirate Bay, home to many a torrent link and the hated enemy of Hollywood, has been sold to a media company - Global Gaming Factory and is attempting to follow the path of Napster and go legit.

 

The deal, worth almost £5 million seems to value the site below what many estimated it was actually likely to attract and leaves many unanswered questions. Apparently the money will be used for 'freedom of speech' related projects. The transfer of the newly announced YouTube competitor 'VideoBay' also proves interesting as this may have attracted a lot of interest alone.

 

Whilst the details (especially the 'why?') remain murky, the wheels were set in motion by the recent court case loss and fine delivered on TPB. No doubt the sale will help settle the outstanding bill…

 

However, whilst many will be saddened to see the loss of 'The Bay', akin to the closure of Napster, recent history has taught us that where one file-sharing website closes, an opportunity for another opens….just whom remains to be seen.

GPS on a mobile - awesome!

The Ninja recently decided to upgrade his mobile phone. As a fan of the Windows Mobile platform and HTC handhelds in particular, the obvious choice was one of the numerous new phones recently released by the innovative Taiwanese manufacturer. My existing phone was an E650, a solid phone with a slide out keyboard – it’s served me well for the last two years with pretty much no issues and was my third HTC Windows-based phone. I've never really liked the iPhone and the clunky iTunes interface has put me off using anything similar from Apple.

I did consider the Google Android phone and an obvious like-for-like upgrade would be the Touch Pro 2 from HTC which looks amazing. However I’ve settled on a Touch Diamond 2 , it is a more traditional looking phone with touch screen and a pda-esque stylus approach. However, the on-screen keyboards more than make up for the lack of a physical option like my venerable e650 or Pro 2 and the TouchFLO interface is very effective and a worthy skin on the WM6 base layer.

Having used the device for the last few days and already dabbled within the registry ;) I am simply blown away by the capabilities of this device. I thought the 650 was awesome because it had the keyboard, wi-fi, could link with my Live Mesh and at a push use Skype etc. How wrong I was!

The Diamond 2 has all this and so much more! I went with an unlimited data plan as part of the package to really capitalise on its features – the message handling, media playback, wi-fi/gprs integration, weather data and the opera browser are very slick but it really comes in to its own when you utilise the GPS. GPS?! In a phone? How mad is that!

Google Maps is jaw-droppingly good – even indoors. It’s pretty scary when it tells you that 7 satellites have a lock on you – very Enemy of the State! The gps integrates beautifully with this app and gives you accurate positioning and even Street View. I think the obvious next step will be turn-by-turn software to give me sat-nav for the car but Google Maps is good enough to get the ball rolling for now.

However, the absolute killer app for me was gps phototagging. It took a bit of tweaking in the registry to enable it but now gps data is embedded in the photos I take with the phone’s slick 5mp camera so that when I upload them to Flickr I can plot them on a map with the click of a button. It even records the height above sea-level! Sub-zero uber-cool!

The pace of technological development never ceases to amaze me and HTC seem to be right at the forefront of this. Good on them for stepping out from behind their OEM shadow to become a stand alone brand.

I can’t wait to see what else mobile phones will do in a couple of years time and will be watching the direction HTC takes in the future. Now, I'm off to take some gps tagged photos and upload them to Photosynth!

The moral ambiguity of downloading

There has been a multitude of discussions across the media in recent months pertaining to the ‘scourge’ of downloading, particularly in light of the recent Pirate Bay court ruling, which may actually still have life in it and may not mean the death knell of the popular file sharing site. The mooted capping of download levels in the US has also been derided by customers. Here in the UK, a proposed '3 strikes and your out' policy for serial 'offenders has also met severe resistance, not least from the major IPSs that would see their broadband business model threatened by any restrictions placed on their customers.

As I wrote in my earlier post, I believed that the court was wrong in targeting those that merely provided an indexing search engine despite the fact that it was used by the general public for file-sharing activities. The same could be said for Google – torrents are as easily found through the ‘big G’ as at the Bay – yet we don’t see the RIAA or MPAA going after them?

What the Ninja finds interesting is the moral debate about downloading and the paying for content. Hollywood in particular bangs on about the impact of downloading and people not paying for content and the billions of dollars they are supposedly losing by people choosing to acquire media from free and supposedly illicit outlets. The impact of this revenue loss is trumpeted as having a dramatic impact on all facets of the entertainment industry and killing future innovation. There are numerous ways to pay for content, some are optional (such as going out and buying a dvd or going to the cinema) and, uniquely here in the UK, one is almost mandatory (the TV licence) but irrespective of where you live in the world, there are a multitude of ways to acquire and consume media content.

I have an opinion on the legalities of media purchasing and consumption which I will attempt to spell out here. It is a British slant but I believe it could be applied elsewhere around the globe.

To illustrate my thoughts, here is a lengthy example.

As a British citizen who owns a number of televisions and display devices within my home, I am obligated to pay for a television licence and because they are all colour, I have to pay the full amount. This equates to an annual fee of £139.50 (which I pay monthly). This provides me with the necessary permissions to own these devices but is also, in essence, a subscription to the raft of services provided by the BBC via television and radio (some of which is pretty darn good – BBCHD, Radio FiveLive in particular) and access to the commercial broadcasters such as ITV, Channel 4 etc. I also choose to subscribe to Virgin Media’s cable services and have both Freeview and Freesat HD in the house. I therefore have a plethora of media content providers feeding my home on a daily basis.

My thought is this:
Say the BBC shows Mission Impossible 2 at 11.00pm at night on BBC1, but I choose not to watch it, instead preferring the news on The Situation Room on CNN. I rise the next morning and think ‘damn, I should have watched M:I2 last night’ – and elect to jump on a bit torrent site and download a dvd rip of the film, maybe as an mp4 file, via the web and watch it later that night via my media centre extender on my HDTV as a stream off my server.

According to Hollywood, I am a movie pirate to be despised, criminalised, hunted down and possibly shot. Suddenly, I am the lowest of the low...

My argument is this: have I not already paid for this content through my various media subscriptions and therefore fully entitled to acquire and possess this digital copy?

In fact have I not paid for it four times due to my t.v. licence, cable subscription and Freeview and Freesat hardware purchases – any one of which would have allowed me to watch the film had I elected to do so.

Irrespective of the fact that I elected not to watch M:I2 when it aired on television, I have still paid for it and am I therefore not entitled to watch it? Say I am right and that the content is fair game in this instance, it would render every piece of media as fair game to download once it has been broadcast on a service which you subscribe to. Am I wrong in feeling that this is okay? Surely there is no legal comeback because the content has been paid for? In some instances it has been paid for on a number of occasions!

In fact, I seem to recall having M:I2 on a shop bought video tape back in 2001 as well so am I not even more entitled to possess the download? I would love to hear the legalities of this argument but perhaps the issue is the possession of the material rather than access. I want to possess the film, not the vehicle for delivering it. Despite having bought and paid for the movie when it was released on VHS, Hollywood’s business model calls for a payment every time you consume the content be it physical media such as dvd, blu-ray or ethereal such as over-the-air broadcast, cable feed, satellite broadcast, Netflix streaming download via the Xbox360 (sadly not in the UK yet) etc.

With many more devices coming on to the market that help propagate consumption of media (Roku Media Player, Moxi box, Popcorn Hour, TiVo etc.) and with the distribution of media throughout the house becoming an increasingly killer app, this argument is not going to go away any time soon!

I believe that Hollywood does not have a leg to stand on as, even now, in this the digital age they still have not delivered a viable alternative to downloads. The rampant success of Netflix in the USA is evidence of the demand for some form of effective movie delivery service and their move in to online streaming via devices such as the 360 has been an even bigger boost (and probably one for another post).

Either way, The Ninja feels that this continual cycle of handing over of cash for already legally purchased content has to come to an end and sites like The Pirate Bay are merely at the vanguard of this growing sentiment.