Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Google's (GOOG) YouTube Gains Share, MySpace Loses

from Silicon Alley Insider by Dan Frommer

Skate YouTube continues its impressive growth in the online video market...while No. 2 MySpaceTV shrinks.

Nielsen//Netratings' August traffic report says YouTube's traffic grew 66% year-over-year from 34 million unique visitors last August to 56.5 million uniques this year. News. Corp's (NWS) MySpaceTV, meanwhile, fell 6% from 17.9 million uniques last August to 16.8 million last month. While Nielsen doesn't break down the numbers, it would be interesting to see how YouTube's distribution on Apple's iPhone and Apple TV products has juiced its traffic.

Of note, Yahoo! Video doubled year-over-year and Veoh's August uniques grew 346% from 663,000 to 3 million. We wonder: where will News Corp.'s next project -- its two-years-too-late Hulu venture with NBC -- show up on this list next year? Nielsen's chart after the jump.

See Also: CBS's Quincy Smith: Hulu Strategy a Waste of Time, Money, Economics of Online Video 3: $5 CPM = Keep Day Job

+------------------+---------------+--------------+----------+
| Site             |     Aug-06 UA |    Aug-07 UA | % Change |
|                  |         (000) |        (000) |          |
+------------------+---------------+--------------+----------+
| YouTube          |        34,039 |       56,453 |      66% |
| vids.myspace.com |        17,923 |       16,759 |      -6% |
| Google Video     |        13,483 |       14,450 |       7% |
| AOL Video^       |            NA |       13,632 |       NA |
| MSN Video        |        11,984 |       12,486 |       4% |
| Yahoo! Video     |         5,958 |       11,987 |     101% |
| Metacafe         |         2,822 |        4,151 |      47% |
| Break.com        |         2,926 |        3,954 |      35% |
| Veoh             |          663* |        2,958 |     346% |
| Atom Films       |         1,102 |        1,422 |      29% |
+------------------+---------------+--------------+----------+
Source: Nielsen//NetRatings

Samsung's F700

from Gizmodo by Addy Dugdale

We went a bit moist and gooey earlier this year when we saw Samsung's F700 in Barcelona. Now the touch-screen smartphone with 3-megapixel camera and QWERTY keyboard has got a release date in Europe and a carrier: November; and Vodafone. I'd take a punt on it hitting our shores in early 2008, though. Full specs, another pic and the press release after the jump.

Samsung F700 Specifications
HSDPA 3.6 Mbps, EDGE
900/1800/1900 MHz + 2.1GHz
3 Megapixel camera with Auto-Focus
Display: 265,536 TFT (3.2", 240x432)
Full Touch Screen
MPEG4/H.263/H.264/ MP3/AAC(+)/eAAC+
QWERTY Keypad
MMS / E-mail / JAVA / WAP 2.0
Bluetooth® 2.0 / USB
Flash UI / Document Viewer
Full HTML Browsing
Offline Mode, BGM
Memory
microSD™
112 x 56 x 16.mm

Virgin America launches in-flight, air-to-ground broadband

from Boing Boing by Xeni Jardin

Virgin inaugural flight

[ Boing Boing Gadgets ]: Virgin America shared more details today on its partnership with in-flight wireless broadband provider AirCell -- air-to-ground wireless internet will be available on all VA flights "sometime in 2008," and will be offered two ways: BYOD (bring your own device, laptops or pdas or whatever), and also through VA's inflight entertainment system called Red.

AirCell also has a deal in the works with American Airlines for air-to-ground wireless, but from what I can suss out in the press release, two things make the VA deal different...

Fair use industries returned $4.5 trillion to the US in 2006

from Boing Boing by Cory Doctorow

The Computer and Communications Industry Association has just released a study it commission to calculate the value returned to the US economy by fair use and other exceptions to copyright. We often hear stories about how much money the US economy generates by giving certain sectors and companies exclusive access knowledge and information, but it's rare to see such a quantitative approach to the value created by not creating regulatory monopolies in certain cases. Even more interesting is the sum that the study comes up with -- according to the economists (who worked "in accordance with a World Intellectual Property Organization methodology"), "$4.5 trillion in revenue [was] generated by fair use dependent industries in 2006, a 31% increase since 2002, fair use industries are directly responsible for more than 18% of U.S. economic growth and nearly 11 million American jobs. In fact, nearly one out of every eight American jobs is in an industry that benefits from current limitations on copyright."

"As the United States economy becomes increasingly knowledge-based, the concept of fair use can no longer be discussed and legislated in the abstract. It is the very foundation of the digital age and a cornerstone of our economy," said Ed Black, President and CEO of CCIA. "Much of the unprecedented economic growth of the past ten years can actually be credited to the doctrine of fair use, as the Internet itself depends on the ability to use content in a limited and nonlicensed manner. To stay on the edge of innovation and productivity, we must keep fair use as one of the cornerstones for creativity, innovation and, as today's study indicates, an engine for growth for our country"

Link (Thanks, Trey!)

Texas: Giant web woven by a variety of spider families

from Boing Boing by David Pescovitz

Scientists report that the massive 200-yard spider web recently discovered in Texas's Lake Tawakoni State Park was woven by spiders from many different species working collaboratively. Thousands of spiders have rebuilt the web three times after it's been torn up by rain and wind. Texas A&M University entomologist Allen Dean has identified spiders from such families as funnel web weavers, sac spiders, orb weavers, mesh web weavers, wolf spiders, pirate spiders, and others working on the Web. From the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (photo from Tx. Parks & Wildlife Dept.):

The motive may well be food, researchers say. The larger the web, the more flies and bugs get stuck, providing an abundant food supply for the spiders. "Spiders generally are cannibalistic and keep their webs distinct," Dean said. "We're not sure what started the initial webbing ... but there probably have been thousands of spiders working on the web. "With the amount of rain that has occurred this year and the huge food supply available, it just created the right condition for all of this."

Link to Star-Telegram, Link to Texas Entomology site about the web

Create Flowcharts and Other Diagrams Online with Draw Anywhere

from Digital Inspiration by Amit Agarwal

If Google every wanted to add a Microsoft Visio like flowcharting application to their Google Office suite, they'll have plenty of good options to choose from.

Draw Anywhere is a new web based tool for creating flow charts, org charts and other drawings online. Like the Picnick image editing, DrawAnywhere is done in Flash and sports an extremely responsive interface.

You can either save your Flowcharts online or export them as images and PDF files. drawanywhere.com

online google visio

visio online

© 2007 Digital Inspiration by Amit Agarwal

Samsung's SGH-P520 is the Armani Phone

from Engadget by Thomas Ricker

Filed under: Cellphones

It's been awhile since we've heard from Samsung's SGH-P520. Now we know why. The pretty little touchscreen was undergoing a couture refitting in preparation for launch as the Armani Phone -- take that LG Prada. Priced at €400 (about $557), this FCC-approved tri-band GSM / EDGE candybar is listed with a 2.6-inch 240 x 320 pixel display, stereo Bluetooth, and microSD expansion to augment the 50MB on-board. Funny, we heard it also has WiFi though there's no mention of it by the folks at GSMHelpDesk who tracked this pup down. Expected before the end of the year in Europe. [Via Unwired View]

Archos's Generation 5 players are now available worldwide

from Engadget by Paul Miller

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Yeah, we already knew the 605 and 405 had been loosed Stateside, but Archos is finally ready to unleash the whole family on the world -- pictured above, with convenient comparisons to other players you-may-have-seen-around courtesy of Archos. Unfortunately, the Archos 705 WiFi and Archos TV+ won't actually be available until early next month, but the Archos 105, 405 and 605 WiFi are all out today. The players aren't terribly expensive either, with the 2GB 105 at $89; 2GB 405 at $149; the 4GB, 30GB, 80GB and 160GB 605 WiFi at $199, $299 and $349, $399, respectively; 80GB 705 WiFi at $399, 160GB at $499; 80GB Archos TV+ at $249, and finally the 250GB TV+ at $349. As for those curious about content partnerships, the WiFi models connect wirelessly to the "Archos Content Portal" for PC-free purchasing of premium content, and there are currently over 15 partners worldwide -- with CinemaNow doing the honors in the US.

Leaked Samsung G800 Reveal 5 Megapixel camera with 3x Zoom

from Gizmodo by Addy Dugdale

Following its appearance at a Samsung dealer event in the Netherlands, the ultra-slim G800 slider is getting a bit of attention &mdash mainly because of its 5 megapixel camera with 3 x zoom and Xenon flash. And then there's the small matter of the HSDPA and the micro SDHC card slot, making me think that the G800 will be Samsung's mobile TV phone. More pics and specs below.

See what it says there? Now, onto storage. We already know that 8GB memory cards are in the offing, but microSDHC can support cards with up to 32GB of storage &mdash so I'm going to pull my Earl Hickey Thinking face and nod my head sagely. Meanwhile, more info. Tri-band GSM/EDGE 3.6Mbps HSDPA 5 megapixel camera 103 x 51 x 16.8 mm 2.4-inch QVGA display Bluetooth 2.0/USB 2.0 connectivity MicroSD and microSDHC flash memory support I know everyone's all "Touchscreen, touchscreen, I must have a touchscreen" at the moment, but that's not a bad alternative if you want something a little more discreet.

[GSM Helpdesk and Let's Go Mobile via Unwired View]

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Survival: Life Saver Portable Water Filter Cleans the Crap Out of Your Water...Literally

from Gizmodo by Adrian Covert

The Life Saver water bottle is a military grade water sanitizer that can make the dirtiest of water drinkable in seconds. The bottle not only filters out bacteria, but also takes care viruses and water that has been contaminated by fecal matter. The creator, Michael Pritchard, initially came up with the idea after watching victims of Hurricane Katrina and the 2004 Tsunami in Asia go for days without receiving clean water. There are others, however, that are interested in Pritchard's invention.

After showing the bottle off at a defense conference in the UK, Pritchard sold all 1000 of his $385 bottles in under four hours. Defense experts were impressed with the fact that it could filter 4,000-6,000 liters before the filter had to be replaced. An innovation such as this could have a significant impact if it ever reached the consumer market, not only being used as emergency gear, but for camping and travel as well. [The Register]

NYT: The Picture Worth a Thousand Words

from Silicon Alley Insider by Henry Blodget

Performance of New York Times Company (NYT) stock during the 5-year bull market:

Cellphones: Samsung WEP500 Quarter-Sized Bluetooth Headset Available Now

from Gizmodo by Jason Chen

Samsung's just announced the availability of their tiny quarter-sized WEP500 Bluetooth headset for the US. It's definitely small—weighs less than 9 grams and is the size of about a quarter—but suffers in low battery life because of it. 3.5 hours talk time and 80 hours standby time isn't fantastic, but it does have 2 microphones and noise reduction, which still isn't standard in Bluetooth headsets for some reason. All this can be yours for $119, and an extra $119 when you lose the first one because it's so miniscule. [Samsung]

Water: IBM to Monitor the Hudson River with Solar-Powered Underwater Vehicles

from Gizmodo by Ben Longo

IBM is gathering some goodwill points by partnering up with a nonprofit to help monitor a 315-mile stretch of the Hudson River. They're going to be using a combination of sensor-laden buoys and solar-powered robotic underwater vehicles numbering in the hundreds. The vehicle, which sort of looks like a yellow sting ray covered in solar panels, will monitor things like the rivers temperature, pressure and pH levels. With this info they hope to be able to analyze the amount of pollutants in the river and better asses the risk to marine life. First things first, change the solar vehicles' color from yellow to murky brown. That way it will blend in with the Hudson a little better. [TreeHugger]

AT&T Brings Back Cingular Orange to "Mobilize" Brand

Augustine: TRULY, TRULY unbelievable waste of money. Do they (or their agency) really think orange will help drive sales, get new customers, increase customer satisfaction? Why not simply bring call centers back from India, better train support staff, end anti-customer policies like "you lose all your roll-over minutes when you make any change to your plan, including adding a line" and let your customers tell others how super-great you are.

from Gizmodo by Matt Buchanan

After spending an ungodly amount of money to kill Jack and mutate the Cingular brand into the "new AT&T," they've decided that Cingular's orange palette offered a "younger, edgier and more contemporary style—all attributes closely associated with wireless." But clearly not AT&T. So, they're rebranding. Again. Look for Death Stars set against the new "primary corporate color," orange, and a series of commercials directed by Wes Anderson coming your way as of—yesterday. Wow, I feel AT&T tickling my cutting edge sensibilities already. [AT&T via Broadband Reports]

NYT: August Ads Drop -3.2%

from Silicon Alley Insider by Henry Blodget

The New York Times (NYT) ad business is still dwindling away, but the rate of decline actually moderated slightly in August. And thanks to a circulation price hike, overall revenue increased 0.6%.

Overall, the story remains the same. The Times' impressive web business is partially offsetting continued declines in the print business, but only partially (because it's only about 10% of the company). Revenue per web user is still far below revenue per print reader--so, over the long term, unless revenue per web reader increases significantly, the company is screwed. On the positive side, the New York Times itself is hanging in there, and the web business showed a nice acceleration. Our detailed monthly trending spreadsheet here. Release here. Details after jump.

NYT: August Key Points

Revenue at the online newspaper properties rose 28%, a nice acceleration from July's 19%
Offline ad revenue decline accelerated to -10% from -8% in July
About.com rev increased slowed to 27%, but newspaper online revs accelerated significantly.
National advertising rose again, up a strong 9%!
So did circulation revenue! Up 4%!
New England (read: Boston Globe) ad revenue dropped 9%, vs. 5% in July
Regional ads dropped 12% (vs. 11% in July)
Classified ads dropped a dismal 20%, a major deterioration
TimesSelect paying subs who don't get the print paper crawled up to 226,800 from 225,000.
Web uniques to all the company's properties hit a nice 44.2 million, up 11% from 39 million last year (a slower y/y gain).
Revenue per web user appears to have increased modestly to about $0.60 a month ($8 a year).

Don't Miss: Running the Numbers: Why Newspapers are Screwed NYT Debt Outlook Cut to "Negative" By Moody's Death By Month: Tracking the Newspaper Industry's Decline Great Ad Share Shift: Google Sucks Life out of Old Media

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