Geographic

Who Will Pay The Price For Google’s Stock Drop?
?The tumbrels are resounding for enemies of Google European head, and former T-Mobile boss, Nikesh Arora, following the “disappointing” financial results. In fact, the results were trivially down, but that was enough, and his head will be anxiously sought by Google in the US, say our stray packet interception team.
Your Network Sniffer has discovered that Google insiders are blaming the flop of Web’n’Walk (T-Mobile) and the low-key, reluctant Vodafone contract for making Google the default search engine for phone users. Both contracts, had they been successful, “would have earned the $40m that Arora promised the City he would have,” said one insider.
And what is $40m in the context of Google earnings? “Enough!” is the answer. As a pundit in the Telegraph remarked today: the reason for owning google shares is “it goes up every day” and this is the first time Google has been obliged to report figures below prediction.
And the City doesn’t like people it can’t cut down to size. Give them an excuse, and they will jump on you, which is what happened. That $40m is the excuse they’ve been waiting for. “Misled us with the forecast!”
Why has Nikesh been nominated as scapegoat? Well, apart from the fact that nobody inside Google Europe likes him, it seems that he committed the cardinal sin of not actually telling his US bosses that he was falling short.
“You’d think that a search company could find out what was happening inside its own offices in Europe!” was one quip which, apparently, bit deep. But that appears to be where it all went pear-shaped: instead of saying “I’m going to be $40m short, sack me if you aren’t happy!” to the financial world, Arora didn’t reveal the gap between prediction and reality until the quarterly results came out.
This story originally appeared on NewsWireless, a site read by those who really understand the value of quality journalism.
3 February, 2006
Big UK DAB Radio Sales in December
DAB radio (Digital Audio Broadcasting) is really taking off in the UK.
Sales figures for the all important christmas period are now in. How many do you think were sold? Get ready for it – a gnat’s whisker short of 500,000! That’s just in the UK in December. Close to a third of all DAB sets sold that years.
As at the end of December there’s over 2.7m DAB sets having been sold so far. It’s not hard to see that the hockey stick curve is really getting considerably steeper.
When DAB sets like the new Asono DAB1 are becoming available, it’s hardly surprising that people are getting encouraged to make the switch. What a lovely bit of kit
We thing that the sheer quality of BBC radio, 4 in particular, is a major reason why the UK is being seduced by DAB.
Referring to the competition from the increasing popular digital music players, in particular the iPod, DRDB (Digital Radio Development Bureau) chief executive, Ian Dickens said: “Christmas on the High Street was a tough proposition this year. DAB digital radio was once again a shining light with independents, the multi-nationals and especially the mass-merchandisers enjoying strong sales right through the holidays and into January.”
The continued growth of DAB is hoped to receive a further boost as uber-regulator, OfCom, plans to release further, new DAB-able spectrum.
Digital Radio Development Bureau
Asono DAB1
3 February, 2006
iPod fittings on HMS Darling: Still Valid In 2009?
You may have heard about yesterdays launching of the latest UK warship – HMS Darling (its ninth incarnation), a Type 45 Destroyer.
Now this is a serious bit of kit, that not only costs about £605m, but is 150-metres long and is a hefty 7,350 tonnes
We happened to hear the launching ceremony on the radio, and the reporter was fairly stunned by its pace down the runway into the water. Luckily there was over 160-tonnes of chains on each side of the ship to make sure it didn’t bash into the other side.
The constructors are putting it about that the the Principal Anti-Air Missile System (PAAMS to those in the know) “can trace and destroy hostile objects as small a cricket ball travelling at three times the speed of sound. Its range is effective over a radius of several hundred miles.” Which I’m sure is reassuring when you’re floating around in the middle of an ocean on a bit of metal, and people are throwing things at you, you rather they didn’t. The summary – don’t mess.
As well as all of the killing parts, it’s also got a cuddly side, which frankly is the side that interests us more. The 230 crew will be treated quite unlike any other Navy.
Not only will the accommodation be individual cabins, in the “Hotel Facilities”, but each of them will have an I-pod charging point, CD player, internet access and a five channel recreational audio.
The potentially embarrassing thing about the audio tech on board is that, when this monster is fully commissioned in 2009, it’s highly likely that both the iPod and its charging point will have been superseded and that the CD payer will be of very little use too.
If you’re interested in buying one, do let BAE Systems know that you saw it on Digital-Lifestyles, and we’ll hopefully get a referral payment.
If you’re interested in the technology on board, there’s a fair bit of detail at Darling.org.uk, as well as the Royal Navy’s own site, and the dedicated site on the via)
2 February, 2006
Anyone Got A Job For Free Culture IP Lawyer?
Inga Chernyak, until recently, had a legal clerk job at an IP law firm in New York City. On the 26 January she was called in to the firms HR department and fired.
Why does that make news in Digital-Lifestyles?
Her claim is that she was told it was because she’d appeared in an article in the New York’s Village Voice, discussing the Lawrence Lessig-inspired Free Culture movement. The article came out in the Village Voice on 10 January. She was fired on the 26th.
She also assets that they told her that her “views about what the firm does were incompatible with…what the firm does.” Her views on the expansion of Copyright laws are that they place overt restrictions on the population as a whole.
There may be those who think that it’s pretty obvious that is you work in an IP firm; wanting to train as an IP lawyer; you hold views that IP law is over restrictive; then have your name and photo featured in an article that starts by describing how to circumvent CD DRM protection and are a founder of NYU chapter of the Free Culture movement – you’re going to end up in trouble said IP law firm. Others cry foul.
Given how the blogging world works, I’d imagine that this incident will far from harm her career, and as she says in her own words, “as a member of the Free Culture movement, and a young woman of 19 without children to support, I can afford to take this blow in the name of progress.”
Take a stand against DRM? Get fired from your day job
2 February, 2006
First UK Filesharers Sued By BPI
News has broken that two men in the UK have been found liable for file sharing their music. The first ruling of its kind in the UK.
Both men who were ruled against are, as yet, unnamed. The details that are know are – one is a postman, father of two and living in Brighton; the other living in King’s Lynn.
King’s Lynn, as we shall call him, has been instructed to pay £5,000 ‘down-payment’ on costs and damages, Brighton must pay £1,500. Both have been instructed to stop filesharing.
Having been found liable, the two are now exposed to the BPI’s legal fees. Given the City law firms the BPI use, where it’s not unusual to pay £200/hours for their services, it’s going to be an expensive business. BPI have stated that “Total costs are estimated at £13,500 and damages are expected to take the bill even higher.”
Each defense used a different argument. The first, that the BPI had no direct evidence of infringement; the second on the grounds that he was unaware that what he was doing was illegal and did not seek to gain financially.
The second case was dismissed by Judge Justice Lawrence Collins declaring, “Ignorance is not a defence,” which we thought was known by one and all. Given the weakness of this defence, we imagine that this person must have defended themselves. Details of argument against the first were no disclosed.
The names of the people who were sued haven’t been released by the BPI. When we asked for their names, we were told they weren’t to be made available as, “we don’t want to put them through anymore stress.” A bit strange when the stress they’re under, which we imagine to be pretty considerable, would have been caused by the BPI’s actions.
This route, taking legal action against members of the public, has been well trod in the US. Reaction there has been varied from Hurrah! from the majority of the US music business – to Boo! from a large number of citizens, who in reaction have threatened not to buy music from the major music companies.
The BPI is obviously taking this opportunity to pressure the 51 file-sharers that they have in their sights, urging them settle. We suspect that many will take the hint.
27 January, 2006
Seattle Plans Library WiFi Network – Conflict Ahead?
Seven branches of the already-wireless central Seattle library are going WiFi. The announcement focuses on warnings that “no technical help is available” – but further South, in the San Francisco Bay area, the Joint Venture Silicon Valley organisation is planning to cover 1,500 square miles with 802.11 signals. What happens when such projects collide?
According to Glenn Fleishman the Joint Venture group has yet to reveal any details – it hasn’t even officially announced anything on its own web site – but is organising a lobbying effort to local communities.
The group, headed by Intel, seems to be focusing on mobile, according to a local paper report, says Fleishman. That raises the real question of what the technical platform will be, because while Intel has done some work on mobile WiFi, it is spending a lot of effort planning for mobile WiMax – a confusingly similar technology, which has yet to be defined by the IEEE.
Neither report, it seems, is talking of the inevitable spectrum conflict looming as domestic WiFi proliferates, and City WiFi spreads through the same areas.
The issue is discussed by ABI Research’s senior analyst of wireless connectivity research, Philip Solis, who points out that the Qualcomm-Flarion merger has gone through, providing WiMAX with a possible competitor in 802.20.
Solis has contributed to a recent paper from the company on the status of WiMAX, now that the WiMAX Forum has announced that some suppliers have put equipment for WiMAX certification for 802.16-2004, and passed.
“There is a long queue of companies waiting to undergo the same certification process. Then, they can proceed to ‘wave 2’, covering security and quality-of-service, and when they too are certified, we can expect to see larger numbers of products actually reaching the market,” was one comment. But Solis added:
“The picture is complicated, however, by a resurgence of rival wireless broadband access technology 802.20, based on frequency-division duplex technology developed by Flarion. With the closing last week of Qualcomm’s acquisition of Flarion, 802.20 may get a new lease on life. Qualcomm will almost certainly attempt to rally support from other industry participants, but many companies had abandoned 802.20 to support 802.16e.”
–The photos illustrating this article are fantastic shots taken by Timothy Swope at pixelmap – clearly a man with a strong eye, and it’s well worth looking at the rest of the shots. The building? The stunning new Seattle library, designed by Rem Koolhaas.
Guy Kewney write extensively, and quite brilliantly, in lots of places, including NewsWireless.net
26 January, 2006
ZipTV: UK iTV Pioneer Falters
A great shame to hear that ZipTV has had to enter receivership.
ZipTV launched in July 2004 with high ideals. Their original aim was to take on the mighty power of Sky and create an interactive advertising channel running in parallel to Sky TV’s programming.
They way it worked was, as the punters were watching ‘normal’ TV and an advert from one of ZipTV’s clients was shown, a press of the Red button on the remote control (the UK standard for interaction), would take the punter away from the ‘normal’ TV show, to a dedicated TV channel. This gave the advertiser the opportunity to show an 8 minute video advert, but just pay for a 30-second spot-ad to get them there.
A very neat idea, I’m sure you’ll agree.
Taking on Sky, especially their income-generating advertising is … well, brave to say the least. If you were contemplating it, it’s the sort of thing you check with your lawyer, bank manager and then frankly, your psychiatrist before doing. We’re not sure if ZipTV did any of these.
You see Sky, and it’s very competent employees and owner, Rupert Murdoch don’t muck around. If they see some bright young things coming along with a super wheeze they will drain their income – it will get their attention – and not in a good, cuddly way.
In advance of launching, ZipTV gathered some of the biggest advertisers around, including Honda, BT and Unilever, but some were lots prior to their launch.
Not surprisingly Andrew Howells, founder and joint managing partner at Zip TV, said, “Having a genuine alternative to Sky is a necessity. There is only room for one alternative and it needs to be an independent one.”
26 January, 2006
Google.cn Censorship. Don’t Be Greedy
It was with great disappointment and a heavy heart that we heard that Google had compromised their search results in China, excluding results the Chinese government didn’t find acceptable. In effect becoming the government’s censor.
Why would a company whose strap-line was Don’t be Evil do this? The draw of the potential of huge amounts of income in the future has to figure large. The business logic being, if you’re not in China (they’ve been blocked by the Chinese for years), your global future looks less assured.
We suspect that the public reaction around the world, won’t be quite as accepting, as was signaled in the Radio 4’s business interview this morning with Google‘s Senior Policy Counsel, Andrew McLaughlin.
McLaughlin’s attempt to draw parallels between the censorships that they’re required to carry out in Germany for terms around the Nazi’s and their actions in China were slapped down by Greg Wood, the interviewer.
“The situation is different in those countries, because the users of your Web services in countries like Germany, also have some influence in drafting the laws that ban access to Nazi-realted sites, and that’s not the case in China – is It?
McLaughlin’s tell us that they’ve taken a year to develop the idea. We suspect a good deal of that time has been spent trying to figure out how to sell this terrible compromise to their current customers/believers.
We feel this single action has marked the start of the end of the Google-fanatics relationship with the company.
It’s not that we think that people will stop searching on Google, it’s just that they won’t trust Google implicitly any more
Importantly, we feel that if another company came along offering a similar service – which isn’t beyond the bounds of possibility – current Google users will feel a lot less concerned about making the switch.
It’s not like people haven’t change search engines before – remember when nothing but AltaVista existed for search?
It appears that Google now feel that they are so vital to the world that they can act against the wishes of the vast majority of their users. We can’t help but to draw strong parallels to many Western governments of late.
We hate to burst your bubble Google, but the reality is that the World could live with a similar service, and not notice the loss of Google.
Those who don’t like what Google has done, and really want to change their mind have an easy means at their disposal – take away their income.
Where Google would really start to suffer is by Web sites removing their Google TextAds from their sites – and bloggers seem like an ideal start for this.
After all, from their China/censorship actions, it’s clear that Google’s really driven by income. Added to this, we also know that Google isn’t primarily a search engine company, it’s an advertising company. Removing their adverts means to removing their income.
25 January, 2006
Tesco VoIP: Further Pressure on BT
BT’s dominance of the UK home telephone is coming under fresh pressure as the phone call market becomes the most liberal in Europe. Previously, their pricing levels have had to be agreed in advance with the UK regulator Ofcom, but with it understood that this is going to be lifted soon, price cuts are expected.
In a sign that the gloves are well and truly off, Tesco has unleashed a price-busting Voice over IP (VoIP) package designed to lure customers from the incumbent operator.
It’s further proof (if any were needed) that VoIP continues to shake things up in the voice phone market.
The Tesco package will be marketed at just under £20 and will include a ‘normal’ phone handset that plugs in to a broadband-enabled PC’s USB port, and the software need to drive it. Calls will be made at a fraction of the current cost.
Many other companies continue to pressure BT. Talk-Talk, the landline phone service by The Carphone Warehouse, has already consolidated two of the traditional landline competitors and it’s likely that Sky would also welcome call revenue via its recent Easynet acquisition.
Pressure is also coming from outside the UK. US giant AOL has BT in its sights with a programme to exploit the Local Loop Unbundling (LLU) agreement BT made with Ofcom, which permits AOL and others to house high tech Voice over IP equipment at exchanges throughout the country.
Technical-savvy Skype callers have for a long time taken advantage of VoIP calling to obtain free or cheap calls.
The danger for BT is that the trickle of the public away from its traditional services over recent years could become a torrent, as more content, including broadband TV starts to be delivered by IP, BT could lose their in-built advantage as the default delivery gateway to UK homes.
Is all of this price cutting good news for British consumers? Well, certainly lower call prices will benefit the majority of UK call makers, but there is a question mark in the long run. It could bring mixed blessings for the UK’s telecoms infrastructure as BT tries to cut costs and investment to ensure that its institutional shareholders remain happy as they operate on slimmer margins.
23 January, 2006
Philips VP-5500 VoIP Videophone
It’s been a long time coming, but Dutch enormo-corp Philips are looking set to finally roll out their innovative Wi-Fi-enabled VoIP telephone, the VP-5500.
Currently only scheduled for release in the land of the cannabis café, the attractively styled VP-5500 is powered by Linux and lets users enjoy live video calls or – if they’re suffering a bad hair day or caught in a compromising situation – make a conventional voice call instead.
Announced way back in Sept 2005, the VoIP phone comes with a VGA camera that rotates up to 240 degrees, letting users check out their look on the built-in, high-resolution LCD display before committing a potential videocall fashion catastrophe.
Users can zoom in and capture still images for storing on the phone’s internal memory, with roaming made possible thanks to a built-in speakerphone and hands-free headset compatibility.
Video calls are displayed on a large high-resolution colour LCD display, with a video out port letting others watch the video action on a TV set or see a slideshow of captured photos.
Built around established standards-based technologies like Wi-Fi and Linux, the VP5500 can be upgraded wirelessly, opening the door to future upgrades – giving operators the chance to add value-added services as the becmoe available.
Although no date has been set for a release outside of Holland, Philips has stated that it is looking to partner with third party operators in most European countries.
To be honest, we’re still a little unsure about video calling.
Sure, there’s a certain space-age charm in being able to see each other while you chat, but outside of the office environment we could see problems.
Would you really want your new date seeing you looking like a dishevelled prune when he/she rings early on a Sunday morning? Or your mum nagging you about your silly hairstyle when she rings up for a video-chat?
And work-shy shirkers ringing up the boss for a day off may have to now take on board acting lessons to accompany the well-trusted croaky voice routine…
Philips
23 January, 2006