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July 2007
July 31, 2007
July 30, 2007
Youdeparted.com: leave your last testament online
Need a place to leave your last e-wishes before you die? Well there is a website called youdeparted.com that does just that!
In a nutshell the website does this:
Enables users to leave their last testament online to family and friends after they pass away, as well as letting them
know where to find important documents like passports and insurance
policies.
Features on the site enables members to store photos and videos online as well as documents and other files.
Here is what they charge for storage:
Basic account - 1GB - $9.95/yr
Enhanced Account - 2GB $19.95/yr
Ultimate Account - 5GB - $39.95/yr
..and of interest YouDeparted.com have recently announced this service to entice people:
YouDeparted announces a free* account and 14-day trials for premium plans!
Do I really need this?
If you are wondering if this is for you..visit their blog and you might change your mind after reading stories like:
Earthquake in northwestern Japan 160 miles from Tokyo
or
The Angora Fire Reminds us to Prepare for the Unexpected
With the online revolution in full swing would you sign up to this service?
July 27, 2007
July 24, 2007
Google to bid on analog broadcasting exodus
Background
The US government has set a hard deadline to move from analog television transmissions to digital by April 7, 2009. Many television stations have already made the switch and other smaller broadcasting stations such as community/college stations are still working on the move. The technology mechanisms are very different which have certain cost implications for broadcasters.
The carrot on the stick to the television stations is that they can broadcast up to eight standard channels or one high definition (digital) signal opposed to just one.
The FCC will auction supposedly around January 2008 space on the 700Mhz spectrum.
Google wants to bid
Google has said they are interested and they state that they will put a bond of 4.6 billion only if they can resell the 700Mhz spectrum on a wholesale basis which breaks the classic monopoly model.
Google also wants to see no restrictions on what you download and use, that you can choose the wireless carrier that you prefer, and that third parties should be able to connect at any feasible point in the wireless network
Why is this interesting?
If Google was to be the owner of the 700 Mhz and apply it's famous monetization model we would see massive access to the internet for free in the US which would create a surge in the utlisation of hand held devices to access the web...something which is costly today.
Photo copyright: Coolcaeser
July 19, 2007
A steady rise in online video consumption 2002-2007
I have recently live streamed an important event which had a reach of close to 100 countries. The US was not at the top of the list for various reasons. Extrapolating I got a serious itch to see where lately the general public in the US was going to see their video clips which led me to compare the consumption to 5 years ago targeting broadband users (Dial up was still a player in those days..This is what I found thanks to Comscore and Pew.
In May 2007 nearly 75 percent of U.S. Internet users watched an average of 158 minutes of online video per user during the month. Google Sites topped the monthly rankings with both the most unique video streamers and most videos streamed. Download stats.jpg
Of interest
- The average video stream duration was 2.5 minutes.
- Nearly three out of four (74.3 percent) U.S. Internet users streamed video online.
- More than one out of three (35 percent) U.S. Internet users streamed video on YouTube.com.
- The average online video viewer consumed 63 video streams, or more than two per day
The market has lots of room to grow
Having read over a 2002 US study from Pew Internet called "The Broadband difference" which reports approx 20% of broadband users watched video online in those days compared to 75% today. Do not consider me a rocket scientist if I state that the main reason for the rise is that content producers are favoring video as a medium.
With all of this said I think it is safe to say that in the next 5 years the number of online viewers will rise compare to the number of traditional TV viewers (in the US) and the consumption time swiftly will surpass existing figures as technology will make it easier to deliver content via alternate devices such as Smart phones and Blackberries either utilising live or podcasting like features.
July 17, 2007
Top 8 Geek vacation spots
Wired magazine has a great article on the best vacation spots for geeks. Here is their short list.
1 Tokyo
Akihabara — the ultimate red-light district for gadget fetishists.
2 Chernobyl, Ukraine
The highlight of the Chernobyl bus tour: Prypyat, a town whose 47,000 inhabitants had to split within 36 hours of the meltdown.
3 Palo Alto, California
Silicon Valley's ground zero
4 CERN
Jet to Switzerland and watch artisanal physicists actually make their own antimatter
5 Mauna Kea Observatory
Hawaii doesn't have to be
about boring activities like lying on the beach sipping mai tais.
Instead, rent a 4x4 and trek to Mauna Kea, one of the most striking
observatories on Earth.
6 Sidi Driss Hotel
Welcome to the underground dwellings that were Luke Skywalker's Tatooine home in Star Wars.
7 New Zealand
A tour of The Lord of the Rings' shot locations is as close as you're ever going to come to meeting Gandalf.
8 The South Pole
It costs around $5,000 and can be damn cold (minus 76 degrees Fahrenheit in winter)
Photo copyright: powerbooktrance
July 15, 2007
Virtual Marketers having second thoughts?
I stumbled on this very interesting article from the LA times on the much hyped Virtual World of Second Life. Many Brands have been wanting to enter this virtual arena but it seems now that many are wanting to leave or at least having some second thoughts about it. Here are some interesting points about 2nd life.
About
Linden Lab, the San Francisco firm that created Second Life, sells
companies and people pieces of the landscape where they can build
stores, conference halls and gardens.
Users create avatars of themselves and interact in this space through these fictional characters.
On its website, Second Life says the number of total residents is more than 8 million. But that counts people who signed in once and never returned, as well as multiple avatars for individual residents. Even at peak times, only about 30,000 to 40,000 users are logged on.
What is happening?
- During a recent in-world visit, Best Buy Co.'s Geek Squad Island was devoid of visitors and the virtual staff that was supposed to be online.
- The schedule of events on Sun Microsystems Inc.'s site was blank,
and the green landscape of Dell Island was deserted. Signs posted on
the window of the empty American Apparel store said it had closed up
shop.
- Angry avatars have taken virtual action. Reebok weathered a nuclear bomb attack and customers were shot outside the American Apparel store. Avatars are creating fantasy knockoffs of brand-name products too.
- Consulting firms that were set up to bring brands into Second Life are busy helping clients explore other worlds.
There was not so long ago a frenzy of companies, politicians, and personalities swooping into Second life. It is quite probable that we are experiencing the first exodus of brands from Second life as the monetary returns are just not there. Nonetheless Secondlife has made internet millionaires out of some avatars who are chasing Linden dollars...but this rings true more for entrepreneurial individuals than large companies trying to showcase their products.
