Content – Page 49 – Digital-Lifestyles

YouTube Traffic Surges

It may have suffered more law suits than slippery Jeffrey Archer, but new figures reveal continuing growth for the video sharing site, with many visitors seeking out user-generated content.

YouTube Traffic Surges Research firm Hitwise reported that online traffic to YouTube soared past rival US TV websites, with the site recording more visits than all the television network Web sites combined during the week of Feb. 3rd.

Whipping out their big calculators and pulling out a few pencils from their white coat top pockets, Hitwise calculated that YouTube’s share of internet visits leapt to 0.6031% during the week of February 3.

By comparison, traffic to the whole bloomin’ lot of US TV network websites could only muster a measly 0.4865% share.

Remarkably, YouTube’s US market share actually jumped 13.9% in the two weeks after MTV and Comedy Central parent Viacom had made the company remove 100,000 of its clips.

YouTube Traffic Surges Hitwise researcher LeAnn Prescott, commented, “This is a landmark event in the changing face of web traffic and entertainment consumption, now that entertainment seekers are now more likely to go to YouTube than any other television network or gaming website.”

The Hitwise research looked at the words and phrases used in Internet search engine queries that led surfers to YouTube videos.

Although amateur videos remain popular, the number one online video search in the four weeks up to February 17 was for television commercials shown during the recent US Superbowl game – something that will, no doubt, warm the cold steely hearts of their marketing dept.

According to Hitwise’s figures, the second most common video search was for “white and nerdy” while “Charlie the unicorn” came in at third.

We didn’t have a clue who the chuffin’ Nora Charlie the unicorn was so we looked it up. And boy, was it rubbish.

BitTorrent Launches Legal Download Service

BitTorrent Launches Legal Download Service Once the biggest, baddest, mean mo’fo name in the world of web piracy, BitTorrent is going legit today with the launch of a digital store backed by a string of big name content partners.

The deal sees BitTorrent able to offer films, TV shows and videogames from heavyweights such as Fox, Lionsgate, Paramount, MGM, and MTV Networks, as well as content from indie distributors like First Look, Palm Pictures and Kadokawa and several video game distributors

After announcing its intention to give up a life of crime and go straight over a year ago, BitTorrent has been in prolonged negotiations with a string of studio big boys but failed to secure enough partners for their proposed autumn 2006 launch.

Although the company were keen to get all the big studios ticked off the list, they took a look around an increasingly crowded marketplace and realised that they’d better get their arses in gear before they became associated with the words, “ship” and “sailed”.

“We have been ready to go for a while,” insisted company CEO Ashwin Navin.

“There comes a point in time where you say we’ve got 10,000 titles ready to go and we shouldn’t wait anymore. We’re confident that we’ll be adding more studios soon,” he added.

BitTorrent technology

The peer-to-peer protocol developed by BitTorrent has proved massively popular on the internet, although mainly with people sporting an eye patch, a parrot on their shoulder and a propensity for saying, “oooo arrrr!”

BitTorrent Launches Legal Download Service
Despite its dodgy background, BitTorrent enjoys a high ‘brand’ profile which it’s going to need when going head to head with rivals like Apple, Microsoft, Amazon.com and Wal-Mart.

With its Premium TV and movie content looking much the same as everyone else’s and pricing pegged in a similar ballpark, we’re looking hard to find an exciting USP here for BitTorrent.

All of the movies offered will only be available for digital rental, with the content going kaput 30 days after being downloaded (or a day after you start watching it), with DRM being taken care of by Microsoft’s Windows Media Player.

We can’t see punters getting too excited by having to fork out for a time-limited, use-limited movie that offers a far worse deal than owning a DVD. Can you?

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European PS3: No Emotion Engine: PS2 Compatibility ‘Limited’

Sony has just let it be know that it will be redesigning the internals for the EuropeanPS3, removing the Emotion Engine, which gives compatibility with PS2 games.

European PS3: No Emotion Engine: PS2 Compatibility Limited The Emotion Engine will instead be handled in what they call, “a new combination of hardware and software emulation which will enable PS3 to be compatible with a broad range of original PlayStation (PS) titles and a limited range of PlayStation2 (PS2) titles.”

Much fuss was made by Sony of the Emotion Engine when they were building up to the initial release of the first PlayStation. CNN even went as far as asking if the PS2 will replace the PC, with claims like, it was “two times faster than a 733-MHz Pentium III and 15 times faster than a 400-MHz Celeron at handling tasks like full-motion video.”

Now we know that Sony are keen to ~~make the maximum amount of money~~ reduce the amount of money that they are losing from selling PS3s. According to iSupply’s estimate on the Bill Of Material of the PS3, they’ll save $27 on this.

Many UK gamers were angered when they felt that they were paying over the odds for the UK PS3 when the price of £425 was made official. This news will do nothing to make them feel better.

The real danger is that if people think they’re going to get less of a machine that their-cousins in the US and Japan have, that may well be the last straw in deciding which ‘Next-Gen’ console they’ll buy – even if they never end up playing any of their old PS2 games.

Sony is on a knife-edge with this one. We’ve already postulated that the PS3 might not be bought in the way that was once thought, before the Wii caught peoples imaginations.

What is strange is that in an interview at the start of February, SCE UK managing director, Ray Maguire, said that the machines were being built at that point, but omitted to mention that they would be fundamentally different.

Full release follows …

23/02/2007 10:00
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Announces Hardware Specification of PLAYSTATION®3 for Europe

London, 23 February 2007 – Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) today announced that PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) to be launched in Europe, Middle East, Africa and Australasia on 23rd March 2007 would utilise a new hardware specification.

The European PS3 will feature the Cell Broadband Engine™, 60 GB hard disc drive, Blu-ray Disc player, built-in Wi-Fi connectivity, SIXAXIS™ wireless controller. It also embodies a new combination of hardware and software emulation which will enable PS3 to be compatible with a broad range of original PlayStation® (PS) titles and a limited range of PlayStation®2 (PS2) titles.

“PS3 is first and foremost a system that excels in playing games specifically designed to exploit the power and potential of the PS3 system,” said David Reeves, President of SCEE. “Games designed for PS3 offer incredible graphics quality, stunning gameplay and massively improved audio and video fidelity that is simply not achievable with PS and PS2 games. Rather than concentrate on PS2 backwards compatibility, in the future, company resources will be increasingly focused on developing new games and entertainment features exclusively for PS3, truly taking advantage of this exciting technology.”

Some additional PS2 titles will become compatible on the PS3 system through regular downloadable firmware updates, which will be made available through the PLAYSTATION®Network, from http://www.playstation.com or via PS3 game discs, with the first update planned for the launch date of the 23rd March 2007.

Users will be able to check whether their titles are compatible with PS3 at http://faq.eu.playstation.com/bc. This site will be available on 23rd March to meet launch day.

1. A device compatible with Linear PCM 7.1 Ch is required to output 7.1 ch audio, supported by Dolby TrueHD or a similar format, from the HDMI OUT connector.

2. This system does not support output from the DTS-HD 7.1 Ch. DTS-HD 7.1 Ch audio is output from a 5.1 or lower channel.

3. Usability of all storage media types is not guaranteed.

4. Certain PlayStation 2 format software titles may not perform properly on this system. Visit faq.eu.playstation.com/bc for the latest information regarding compatible titles

DigiTV: The Progress So Far

Guy Giles gives us an update on how the DigiTV project is coming along. DigiTV assists Local Authorities to understand, launch and run citizen-focused services on digital TV and mobile phones.

2007 has started at quite a pace for DigiTV. We have seen unprecedented growth in usage traffic following the introduction of a new job search plugin from Job Centre Plus.

This can be used by any organisation signing up to using the Starter Kit and is proving to be a service which really does drive repeat traffic. Given the audience for an interactive television service (primarily C2, D & E) this is providing a service driven by genuine need from people who often do not have routine access to a PC at home.

In a recent piece of research, one of the users of the system sent in a request for a council form. When followed up she explained that she was awake in the middle of the night supporting her autistic son. She needed to contact the council but without a PC or PC skills to call on – she turned to the television for service.

Digital television is really proving to be a platform that is reaching an audience that has been left out of the digital loop for too long.

Another new development sees Wychavon’s choice-based lettings service go live via the DigiTV Starter Kit. Wychavon undertook some research to see where and when the traffic arrived on their Web-based service each week. It turned out that parents were having to ask their children to login at school to enable them to bid for the property of their choice. Parents did not have the benefit of having a PC at home so had to rely on their children. By making this service available on TV – it really does open up the service to all and start to address the very real social and economic disadvantages that come with digital exclusion.

This month we are pleased to bring two new London local authorities on board. Both Islington and Kensington & Chelsea have signed up for the service and will see their sites go live before the end of March.

They have both opted for the ‘bureau’ service which sees the DigiTV team build their sites for them based on a set of templated services/interactions that are available. Its great to see more of London engaging with this service given the high takeup of digital television in the capital.

Finally, its worth keeping in mind the pace of change in the UK television market. All platforms are going to being using broadband to deliver a wide range of additional interactive and on-demand services and people from all walks of life will increasingly expect to use any ‘screen’ in their home to access these. We encourage all Local Authorities that now is the time to engage with this to ensure that they meet expectations in the future whilst ensuring that they provide a service now to the digitally excluded and socially disadvantaged.

DigiTV

Viacom Joost Deal Struck

US media giant, Viacom, have struck a deal with Joost, the VOD TV to computer previously known as The Venice Project.

Viacom Joost Deal Struck Joost is currently in beta, and it’s understood that the Viacom material will be available for the yet-undefined launch date of Joost. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Joost users will have financially-free access to the content. Joost users will ‘pay’ by being shown brief adverts, that we call blip-verts. They only last a couple of seconds and aren’t _that_ offensive, if the video pieces that are being watched aren’t too short.

The Viacom channels covered by the deal are MTV, Comedy Central, VH1, Spike TV, Logo and BET.

Clearly Philippe Dauman, Viacom President and Chief Executive Officer, is showing his excitement at being involved, “We’re extremely pleased to be working with Joost, and couldn’t be prouder to be a key partner in the launch of the next generation in broadband video technology.” He’s not looking at the Joost deal as an exclusive though, “we’re determined to keep pushing and growing our digital presence and bring our programming to audiences on every platform and device that they want. In addition to strong partnerships we have with traditional distributors, we will continue to seek out partners like Joost, which has created an exciting breakthrough platform that represents not only a fantastic user experience, but one that is built on a compelling and sustainable business model that respects both content creators and consumers.”

All of this comes only a couple of week after Viacom threw their legal department at YouTube, insisting that they remove their content from the video sharing site and accused Google-owned YouTube of knowingly profiting from material stolen from them.

Viacom Joost Deal Struck Joost recently introduced a version of Joost to run on Apple’s Mac. Version 0.8.0.1 for Mac came out on Monday, following a brief period in Alpha test. They describe it as looking “very much like Joost for Windows, while behaving very much like a Mac application.” A growing number of Mac Beta testers are complaining that the software only works on Intel-based Macs.

Joost

Mac Users Need To De-Smugify About Security: Researcher

Mac Users Need To De-Smugify About Security: Researcher We’ve been bombarded by the smug, highly slapable face of the Mac bloke in Apple’s omnipresent advertising campaign telling us how incredibly secure Macs are, but an independent researcher begs to differ.

Researcher Kevin Finisterre feels that far from walking around with an air of superiority over their Windows counterparts, Mac users should also start taking security threats seriously.

After highlighting security holes in Mac applications on his Month of Apple Bugs (MOAB) website, Finisterre said he was initially shunned by some of the Mac community, but his concerns were vindicated when Apple recently issued a patch to plug holes outlined on his website.

The update fixed holes in iChat and Finder as well as a flaw in the user notification process that could potentially let malicious users gain system privileges.

Mac Users Need To De-Smugify About Security: Researcher Finisterre says he started the project in response to Apple owners’ blasé attitude to security, commenting, “Try calling any Apple store and ask any sales rep what you would do with regard to security, ask if there is anything you should have to worry about?

“They will happily reinforce the feeling of ‘Security on a Mac? What? Me worry?’.”

Finisterre said he hoped that his campaign has made people realise that there are, “most definitely some things under the OSX hood that need a closer look,” although Mac experts are quick to point out that none of the exploits on his site have been used to successfully hijack an Apple computer.

Things can only get better

Mac Users Need To De-Smugify About Security: Researcher Claiming that Apple hadn’t been too interested in opening a dialogue about security matters, Finisterre said that things were now changing for the better.

“They have certainly given some extra efforts on the backend to open up lines of communication, at least with me.”

“That sort of progress is what I am after rather than a particular set of bugs,” he commented.

Via

Beardy Big Cheese At Google Predicts Internet Growth Driven By Mobiles

One of the big cheeses at Google, vice president and chief ‘Internet evangelist’ (say wah’?!) Vinton G. Cerf has been shining up his crystal ball and coming up with his predictions for the future.

Beardy Big Cheese At Google Predicts Internet Growth Driven By Mobiles Looking deeper, deeper, deeper into his shiny orb (oo-er), the beardy Cerf revealed that it won’t be personal computers fuelling the growth of the internet. Instead he reckons that the expansion of the worldwide web will be powered by mobile phones, with countries like India snapping up zillions of the fellas and getting online en masse.

Talking to Yahoo, Cerf whipped out his Big Book of Internet Facts (BBOIF) and observed that the amount of people accessing the web has expanded quicker than Fatty Arbuckle’s waistband at a pie eating contest, with the numbers soaring from just 50 million in 1997 to nearly 1.1 billion today.

Despite this, the web still only reaches a miserly sixth of the world’s population, prompting Cerf to comment, “You will get those other 5.5 billion people only when affordability increases and the cost of communication goes down.”

Beardy Big Cheese At Google Predicts Internet Growth Driven By Mobiles “The mobile phone has become an important factor in the Internet revolution,” he added.

Flicking further through his BBOIF, Cerf said that there are 2.5 billion mobile-phone users worldwide with numbers rocketing in developing countries led by China and India.

India is already adding seven million mobile-phone users a month – enough to tempt British telecom giant Vodafone to shell out over $11 billion dollars for a controlling stake in local mobile outfit Hutch-Essar – with new Internet-enabled features and services likely to reel in more online users.

Naturally, Google wants a slab o’the action, and has been expanding its research and service offices in India, hoping to increase the current meagre total of just 40 million people online – just 3.5 percent of India’s enormous population.

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Nikon Coolpix P5000 Announced

Nikon Coolpix P5000 Announced Nikon has announced several additions to its new Coolpix lineup today, but the one that’s caught our eye is its high-end Coolpix P5000 prosumer model.

The specs look enticing: 10 megapixel sensor, stablised 3.5x zoom, high ISO range, 2.5-inch screen, add-on lenses and a neat, all-black compact design (3.9 x 2.5 x 1.6 in.).

Nikon Coolpix P5000 Announced We like proper image stabilisation (rather than the ISO-booting sleight-of-hand touted by some makers) and the P5000 comes with optical lens shift VR (Vibration Reduction) technology borrowed from Nikon’s upmarket SLR camera systems.

With clever-clogs angular velocity sensors (we could have used some of them last night in the pub) measuring camera movement, the camera automatically calculates the amount of compensation required, with the VR lens unit adjusting position to negate offset camera shake.

Nikon claim that their VR system provides sharp images up to three steps slower, which should give the camera an edge over some of its rivals in low light shooting.

Nikon Coolpix P5000 Announced In line with most of its rivals, the P500’s ISO range soars up into the grainy heights of ISO 3200 capability (at a reduced 5M capacity), with an Anti-Shake and High-Sensitivity mode automatically selecting the optimal rating.

Photographers who can’t stop themselves fiddling and tweaking about with any dial they can get their hands on will enjoy the camera’s Program, Shutter Priority,
Aperture Priority Auto and Manual modes, backed by 16 scene-optimised Scene modes and seven different movie modes.

Nikon Coolpix P5000 Announced They’ll also enjoy the optical viewfinder, even if it is a bit of a squinty affair, with the rechargeable Lithium-ion battery EN-EL5 promising around 250 shots on a single charge. There’s a vaguely useful 21meg of internal memory with a SD card slot offering SDHC card compatibility.

Nikon have also announced optional accessories including a 0.67x Wide-angle Converter and a 3.0x Telephoto Converter lenses, with the camera’s built in hotshoe ready and willing to accept flashguns from Nikon’s advanced Speedlight range.

DPreview

UK Punters Are Feeling The MP3 Music Love

A new survey by Q Research discovered that a third of UK consumers aged 11 to 25 were slapping down up to £5 a month on digital tunes, with three per cent shelling out £25 or more a month.

UK Punters Are Feeling The MP3 Music Love Not all the kids are feeling the digital love though, with 45 per cent of respondents spending but ne’er a bean on music.

A hefty 85 per cent of respondents were found to be owners of MP3 players with the ubiquitous Apple iPod being the most popular device by a long chalk.

The survey found that the young ‘uns were the biggest users of free download services – almost half – but 43 per cent of under 16s were still paying up to £10 a month, with a hardcore nine per cent splashing out as much as £10 to £25 a month.

UK Punters Are Feeling The MP3 Music Love When it comes to the real big spenders, the lucrative 20-24 year olds sector were flashing the most cash, with two thirds spending up to £10 a month on downloads, and 16 per cent spend from £10 to £20 a month.

Downloading tunes direct to mobile phones is still a niche interest though, with punters put off by the high cost.

Liz Nelson, chairman of Q Research, commented that the survey showed that, “while there is already a very buoyant market for paying for MP3 files from the internet among young people, they are very aware of the cost of downloading files to their phones.”

“This finding is underlined by other projects we have done, where we have discovered opposition among young people to watching video or receiving video ads to their mobiles because of the cost,” she added

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Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Released

Adobe Releases Photoshop Lightroom After a lengthy sojourn in beta, Adobe has finally released version one of its Photoshop Lightroom photographic software

Aimed at pro/enthusiast photographers, the software aims to “simplify photography from shoot to finish” by providing a simple interface for managing, adjusting, and presenting large volumes of digital photographs.

Boasting support for more than 150 camera raw formats, the program lets users edit, adjust and experiment with photographs while protecting the original data, whether it be in JPEG, TIFF, PNG or RAW formats.

Adobe Releases Photoshop Lightroom With more and more users shooting digitally and hard drives rapidly filling up with zillions of image files, there’s gold in them thar hills for software companies providing solid image management tools, and Adobe is hoping to nudge ahead of respected rivals like Portfolio, ACDSee and iVew MediaPro (now swallowed up by Microsoft).

Naturally, Lightroom comes with a super-slick interface and a veritable shedload of tools for viewing, organising and managing your precious snaps, including batch processing, file renaming, DVD back-up and keyword searching.

Adobe Releases Photoshop Lightroom The new Key Metadata Browser comes with an improved ranking and rating system, sporting colour labels and a pick/reject system.

Photos can be fine tuned using tools for globally correcting white balance, exposure, tone curves, lens distortion, and colour casts, with “task-oriented modules” helping users get through typical workflow jobs.

There’s also a new tool for tweaking hue, saturation and luminance, and Clone and Healing brushes for dealing with the pesky bits of dust that seem to head en masse for our Nikon’s sensor the second we change lenses.

Adobe Releases Photoshop Lightroom Photoshop Lightroom runs under Mac OS X 10.4 or Windows XP (and, presumably) Windows Vista, and will be knocking out for an upmarket £125 (excl VAT) before April 30 rising to a hefty £175 (excl VAT) after that date.

Photoshop Lightroom