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Are We Closer to a Marketplace for Used Digital Content?

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March 11, 2013

Amazon and Apple, today’s biggest forces in electronic goods, are separately pursuing a digital marketplace, where items such as e-books, music, movies and software can be bought, sold and exchanged. The Apple system would enable this to happen through file transfers. However, the system would limit the digital copy to one user at any given time. Will content producers eventually see their work devalued in such a marketplace? Continue reading Are We Closer to a Marketplace for Used Digital Content?

Samsung Looks To a Future of Both Hardware and Software

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February 15, 2013

David Eun, executive vice president of Samsung’s Open Innovation Center, took the stage at the D:Dive Into Media conference this week. “Given the media/content focus of the event, the conversation between Eun and host Kara Swisher revolved almost entirely around Samsung’s role in the world of content, production, connectedness and distribution,” writes Engadget. Eun also confirmed that Samsung is opening two new Innovation Centers. Continue reading Samsung Looks To a Future of Both Hardware and Software

CES 2013: Panel Looks at Hardware, Software and Innovation

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January 9, 2013

Notable guests convened for a panel discussion on the state of innovation, called “Argue the Future 2: Return of the Future.” Moderated by Joshua Topolsky, editor-in-chief of The Verge, panelists included Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal, Hulu’s Andy Forssell, Lytro founder Eric Cheng and Nilay Patel, managing editor of The Verge. The discussion addressed the role of hardware and software, and which plays a larger role in today’s tech landscape. Continue reading CES 2013: Panel Looks at Hardware, Software and Innovation

CES 2013: Technicolor Launches Qeo for Interoperability

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January 7, 2013

Technicolor is releasing Qeo, a software system aimed at interoperability between devices and applications of different brands and ecosystems. Michel Rahier, president of Technicolor’s connected home division, describes it as “a technology that enables devices to speak the same language, be interconnected with each other, and create totally new use cases for the connected life and the ‘Internet of Things.’” Continue reading CES 2013: Technicolor Launches Qeo for Interoperability

Carrier IQ Responds with Claim its Software Only Monitors Service Messages

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December 2, 2011
  • Earlier this week, ETCentric featured a PC World article that claimed “an app called Carrier IQ is logging literally everything you are doing on your smartphone including keystrokes, SMS messages and HTTPS sessions.”
  • The network diagnostic tool maker has since told AllThingsD it does not log or understand keystrokes but only monitors them looking for a specific code that support technicians use to cue appropriate diagnostic information.
  • CIQ also noted that it does not read SMS messages or content associated with website URLs even though it can see messages come in or capture URLs.
  • “Okay. Then what information is being captured and passed along to the carriers who use Carrier IQ?” asks AllThingsD. “Data related to call quality, battery life, device crashes — everything you’d expect, really.”
  • Andrew Coward of Carrier IQ explains, “If there’s a dropped call, the carriers want to know about it. So we record where you were when the call dropped and the location of the tower being used… Similarly, if you send an SMS to me and it doesn’t go through, the carriers want to know that, too. And they want to know why — if it’s a problem with your handset or the network.”
  • According to a related Ars Technica article, Apple has issued a statement hoping to curb fears about tracking via the iPhone and iPad: “We stopped supporting Carrier IQ [a piece of software that tracks user activity] with iOS 5 in most of our products, and we’re going to remove it completely in a future software update.”

Adobe Announces Acquisition of IRIDAS Film and Video Technology

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September 13, 2011
  • Adobe announced at IBC in Amsterdam that it has acquired certain assets of IRIDAS, “a leader in high-performance tools for digital color grading and enhancement of professional film and video content, including stereoscopic technology.”
  • The deal is part of Adobe’s efforts to invest in its own video software solutions, Premiere Pro and After Effects, at a time when videography is democratizing (especially with the arrival of video SLRs) and some consumers are frustrated by changes to Final Cut Pro.
  • “The IRIDAS Speedgrade software offers the ability to refine video in a number of ways, notably what’s called color grading, which can shift a video’s color tones to give a particular look,” reports CNET.
  • According to Adobe’s press release: “With the addition of IRIDAS technology, Adobe Creative Suite Production Premium and Adobe Creative Suite Master Collection, the world’s leading video tools for professionals, are expected to gain a comprehensive set of tools so video editors can manipulate color and light for any type of content, including professional film and television. The addition of premier color grading tools exemplifies Adobe’s commitment and leadership in the digital film and video space.”
  • Adobe also explained that the deal will help the company move forward in regards to the growing trend in 3D video.

Microsoft Launches New Cloud Version of Office

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June 28, 2011
  • Steve Ballmer will launch Office 365 this week: “a combination of communication, collaboration and productivity software delivered via the Internet” that Microsoft refers to as the “next generation cloud service.”
  • The company is hosting a launch event in New York to celebrate the suite’s debut.
  • Office 365 joins a crowded field including Google Docs and VMware’s Zimbra email, but WSJ suggests its biggest competitor might be itself: “The company now needs to convince those computer users, estimated at about one billion, to switch to Office in the cloud without disrupting the legacy version that is financing the transition.”
  • Businesses will be able to buy only the cloud services they need such as email for $2/month or Office for $27/month.
  • Large corporate clients will be allowed to use the service for free until license agreements are renewed.

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