Google TV - Official and headed for your A/V rack!

Well the rumours were true and the recently mooted Google TV concept has been unveiled to the public. The device is in essence and intermediary set-top box that merges tv and online feeds in to one device. Complete with a full web browser and likely to have a keyboard built in to the remote, the device hopes to spur Google's entry in to the massive (and I mean huge!) tv advertising market.



The device will run on Android (naturally) and utilise Google's powerful search algorithm work to enhance programme look-ups etc. It will also offer hd video calling and other marketplace features. It will have Chrome as its browser and will offer Flash 10.1 support as well as WiFi and hdmi integration with your home theatre set-up.

The first devices have been unveiled by Sony and Logitech with the Logitech device looking suitably small, sleek and speedy. It can even use your iPhone or Android mobile as a remote.

Many may argue that it is essentially a stripped out media centre device and does not offer anything which a reasonable htpc doesn't right now but one cannot overlook the power of Google and their commitment to Android has shown no signs of abating, making this device a likely necessity for future viewing nirvana thanks to no doubt regular software and feature updates and hopefully a blossoming marketplace of apps that will enhance viewer/user pleasure.

Merging web and tv has been tried before but hopefully this is the one to make it happen....

Augmented Reality...simply awesome...

This commercial for the Motorola Droid nicely sums up how cool the AR apps on Android such as Layar really are...

YouTube IPL coverage a rousing success…

As if word of Google’s entry in to online television coverage of live events wasn’t enough, especilly when coupled with the development of Google TV set-top boxes, the Big G has announced that their coverage of the Indian Premier League cricket tournament was a resounding success attracting bigger revenues and sponsorship than anticipated.

Despite troubles off the wicket within the IPL, the online pact seems to have been a winner as 50 million people ‘surfed in’ to watch the matches (25% above target) and seven major sponsors got on board too. Revenues were not announced but either way this appears to have been a big success for Google and the IPL.

No doubt traditional broadcasters will have noticed this announcement and many may naively also see little to fear from this development. However, the increasing number of networked devices that are linked to or even integrated in televisions that are capable of carrying YouTube feeds shows that this is not a passing fad limited to those who watch television on their laptops – this is the coming mainstream where a tv subscribers choice is global and non-linear…

Android overtakes iPhone

In a notable development Android has overtaken the iPhone for 2nd place in the US smartphone market...trailing only the Blackberry.

An amazing performance for such relatively new software.

Don't underestimate the power of 'free'!

HP buys Palm...and hints at future direction

The recent purchase of Palm by HP was an unforeseen move by the world's biggest pc maker and one that clearly illustrates that even HP recognises that the future of computing will be conducted on mobile devices - either handhelds, slates or tablets.

Despite a minuscule market share, HP saw fit to grab Palm to help establish itself in the mobile marketplace. With the ongoing surge of Android, the ever-present clout of the iPhone and the coming (and much needed) revision of Windows Phone 7, there will be lots of choice for consumers. The Ninja is a Windows mobile user but has been very impressed with Android and the competition is forcing innovation. Long may it continue...

Either way, it will be fascinating to see what HP do with the WebOS of the Palm devices. WebOS looks awesome and is a solid platform so hopefully HP can build on it. Secretly, I am hoping HP do a VoodooPC edition mobile - now that would be worth buying!

Digital Economy Bill Debate

In light of the currently Election, the Ninja thought it worthwhile highlighting the leaders' responses to the Digital Economy Bill which has been widely derided...and an excellent piece from Mark Thomas...

Digital Economy Bill – A Parliamentary Whitewash

The contentious Digital Economy Bill has been hurried through the UK Parliament to the dismay of many members of the pubic and of Parliament. The DEBill as it is known aims to deliver greater copyright protection to the digital creative arts in the UK by imposing, amongst other laws, policing requirements on internet service providers to cut off persistent offenders.

The Government saw this as an essential tool in saving ‘hundreds of millions lost from the digital creative arts industry’. Anger has followed the superquick passing of the bill as it was heard during the wash-up period that comes in to play following an announcement of a general election and politicians on all sides said they were concerned that a bill of such importance was not heard and debated properly within Westminster.

However, I take issue with the amounts being bounced around – I would suggest that these are based on a simple ‘number of downloads x DVD/CD cost’. This is surely not emblematic of a ‘true cost of piracy’ as there was no guarantee that a downloader chose to download a file rather than pay for it. The person in question might never have bought the item if the option to acquire the file through a torrent or other method was unavailable so therefore you cannot say that the revenue was ‘lost’ – it was never likely to be there in the first place. Many argued that the sales of media actually rose for the first time since 2002, poking holes in the argument of lost income even further.

I still think of this along the lines of the famous copyleft t-shirt seen above – the digital industry failed to embrace the technological changes that have come in recent years yet continues to hold on to the notion of controlling the retail channels in the old-fashioned way – supply and demand. Everything is reversed now and the quicker the creative industries realise that and adapt, the better.

Google TV

Word has recently emerged of a collaboration between Google and several of the big consumer electronics firms in Sony, Logitech and Intel.

It seems they are co-developing the next weapon in Google’s war on established media business models in Google TV – which is in essence an open source set-top box operating system that will unify a number of existing services (web, media centre-esque, Android etc.) in to a lounge-friendly box.

By making the system open source, they are bound to attract developers who would see this as a way of combining web-based services with the traditional delivery of tv-based content. YouTube would be a certainty to feature on the device, further boosting revenues from this now profitable arm of the Google empire.

However, Google’s interest lies not only in the sale of the no-doubt Google branded boxes but also in the advertising that would surely follow. Giving away the O.S. is only the foot in the door. Indeed, Google have already said that they are keen to see the Google TV’s O.S. in as may blu-ray, cable box, games console, tv or other devices as possible and the company sees this as a way of further establishing itself in the tv advertising market which it has fairly recently moved in to.

The existing media and cable companies, especially in the USA, must be quaking in their shoes as this appears to be another powerful attempt to draw people away from their walled-in, high cost, low value channels to Google’s completely open, internet-delivered services. Another wmd launched from the Googleplex arsenal…

(Photo courtesy of www.HiDefDigest.com)

Unbundled TV = Internet TV

The FCC, the US government communications regulator is likely to step in soon to sort out an on-going row between tv networks and cable operators in America over pricing, especially as the hikes demanded by the networks will more than likely be passed on directly to the consumer. The FCC is much more pro-consumer than regulatory bodies are in the UK and has a great deal of clout.

The likelihood of any FCC intervention is the forced unbundling of channels which would be like an atomic bomb on the existing business model of paid-for television. The further international impact would be that as the USA leads, the rest of the world would follow….and I think that this would be a good thing!

In the UK, gone would be the minority channels such as Discovery Shed, Men and Motors, GOLD, the ‘+1’s’ repeat channels, limited broadcast schedule channels etc. and in would come probably fewer channels but higher quality content and less repeats. The reason for this would be the need for a unique draw as competitiveness would increase. The big winners would likely be the sports channels as these always sell well and the relative cost for these would drop as they were previously only available as part of a bigger bundle. However, there can be little doubt that there would be a large number of casualties.

The cost of broadcasting would also go up as the route-to-market providers (satellite transmission providers, cable companies etc.) would seek to recoup the lost income from the missing channels by driving up prices. However, advertising re-sale would be more valuable as fewer channels would control more eyeballs. The wider impact of this is likely to be that a number of channels will move to internet based television options – either directly through their own websites or via networks such as YouTube (see my Indian Premier League cricket post).

Internet tv is cheaper to produce, broadcast and maintain and 100% of revenues generated would go to the content creator – an incredibly appealing business model. With more and more devices networked to receive internet broadcasts including mobile phones, blu-ray players, ipads, ipods and network streamers, the accessibility of internet tv has moved beyond home theatre pc’s and gone mainstream. Even games consoles are in the mix with Sky’s channels now available on the Xbox 360.

Is seems inevitable that this will happen and the impact will be massive – a fundamental shift in broadcasting and if it comes to the point where television is delivered over your internet connection, necessitating a need for hat is in essence an always-on pc in your living room, then people will have no problem moving everything over this network too. Therefore telephone companies, radio networks, even gaming providers (see the impact of OnLive) should be fearful as well. The pc will be the even bigger doorway to the digital future and its primary weapon will be the internet.

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…