...more recent posts
Finally from Sony, a Video Walkman
US Consumers Confused by HDTV
WSJ via AZCentral
Anyone who thinks consumers understand high-definition television should consider a recent survey by Leichtman Research Group.
It concluded that close to one-half of the 24 million households with HDTVs don't actually watch high-definition programs because they haven't obtained the necessary hardware from their cable, phone or satellite operators.
And about one half of those viewers - about six million - don't even realize they're not watching HDTV. Bruce Leichtman, the market research firm's president, figures the confusion is partly because the consumers spend so much money on the set they can't believe they're not getting what they paid for. "This is cognitive dissonance," he says.
Cingular, Verizon Go With The FLO
can you hear me now?
Sony's Internet Video Link Anchors BRAVIA Line
From the article:
The linchpin to Sony's video strategy is the Bravia Internet Video Link. When connected to the back of a compatible Sony TV, the device will allow it to receive video programming from a number of online services, including AOL, Yahoo! and Grouper, as well as Sony Pictures Entertainment and Sony BMG Music, for free. RSS feeds are also supported. Video sharing services, such as YouTube, Revver, or Soapbox, were not mentioned, although a Sony spokesman said the company was in discussions with sites "like" YouTube.
"Stay tuned," he said.
The Internet Video Link will begin selling in July for about $300, Sony said.
I'm not sure that crappy, low res internet video will be compelling on an HD television set. Also, there's no mention of a hard disk. In the US market HD content is going to need caching on disk. We're not like S. Korea with their 100 Mbps internet. Akimbo and Apple TV seem more like the right kind of "internet TV" devices for the average U.S. consumer.
Sony Plans Cheaper Blu-ray Disc Player
Smaller, better, cheaper -- and undermines reason to buy PS3.
Apple TV launch delayed until March I just realized the Apple TV gizmo has a 40 Gbyte disk. That's less than two Blue-ray Discs. And half the capacity of the biggest iPod. I guess they're assuming that a PC computer on the network will serve as the bulk storage.
How Sony Killed the PlayStation3, and NOT Just in Europe
Sony is dropping backward compatability with the PS2 to save costs -- first in the PAL version and soon in the NTSC version. They'll have "software emulation" to support "some" PS2 games. With a lack of ethusiasm for this platform among the game developers, the PS3 will be not much more than a cost-effective Blu-Ray Disc player. (By the way, Blu-Ray HD movies rock!)
This latest strategic error by Sony is the self-inflicted coup de grace for PS3. Microsoft will own the living room within 5 years.
I say that with the same certainty and resignation with which I said "Microsoft owns the office" in 1992.
Is PS3 on the verge of a death spiral?
That was part II, here's part I.
a win for Joost ...
Viacom to Offer Online Video, but Not on YouTube
HD-DVD AACS cracked ...
What Copy Protection? Get AnyDVD
Movie Downloads Coming Soon to the PS3
Any thoughts on this?
Matt's mentioned Tim Wu's most excellent paper on the American wireless scene twice now, but I don't think this horse is dead yet. Wu paints a nice -- and by "nice," I mean kinda horrifying -- picture of what an Internet missing the fundamental principle of neutrality might look like. Take, for example, the state of innovation in the cellular market. Here in the U.S., wireless carriers rule the roost. They control what phones hook up to their networks. Since equipment developers have to design for particular networks, carriers pretty much control their entry into the market. Carriers lock phones to their networks and cripple on them neat technologies like Bluetooth, wi-fi, and even call timers (so as not to have you compare your records to theirs). Couple that with no real standards for software development, and few people bother building exciting new cell phone apps. To get a snazzy new iPhone you have enter into a contract with AT&T/Cingular, which is roughly analogous to Apple telling you that your new MacBook won't go online unless you switch to Comcast. The way wireless works today, innovation is only tolerated if it benefits the carrier, not the consumer.
Wireline (you know, when phones have wires) is of course pretty different. Yeah, the landline phone companies once argued that it was technically necessary for theirs to be "totally unified" systems. But today we can hook up just about any device to a phone line -- like, say, a modem -- because we were smart enough to enshrine the idea of open networks into law.
Over at the Agonist, Ian Welsh has more on the American wireless landscape, written in sort of fairy tale prose. Whatever it takes. In convincing people of the dangers of a carrier-controlled Internet, I think we could do worse than to get them to reflect on their own personal experiences as cell phone consumers.
FTC urged to step up its oversight of telecommunications companies offering Internet access
(for tom) history of mp3 players.
Long Tail My Ass
When I gave away all my vinyl, I gave up the 1981 League of Gentlemen album (Robert Fripp, et al), which I've never found on CD. Well, it's not on CD. I haven't seen any legit MP3 outlets, including dgmlive.com. It's a really good album by an artist who is still very active. But my only legitimate route is to find a 26 year-old vinyl disk. I'd buy a friggin flac ... right now. But nooooooooooo!
Verizon Said No to Apple's iPhone Two Years Ago
AACS Attack: a Clear and Present Danger to DRM