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Skype-me in eBay Auctions?
Word is spreading that the long-antcipated integration of Skype into eBay’s auction site is close at hand.
eBay are holding their annual developers conference, eBay Live, this week in Las Vegas. There are an amazing 10,000 people going along to the sell-out event.
John Donahoe, president of eBay’s Marketplace unit told the assembled eBay-fans and software developers that there would be a significant announcement about it on Tuesday during Bill Cobb’s keynote speech.
The inclusion of a SkpyeMe, click-to-call button is a no-brainer. Anything that makes the potential purchaser more relaxed about spending their money is good for all concerned – the seller, purchaser and of course, eBay.
Beyond actually physically meeting the seller (you know, like people used to do in shops), voice gets closer to the norm, and the video conference feature currently in Beta with Skype gets as close as you can. The added advantages of video is the ability of the purchaser to ask the seller to turn around the object for sale and ask what the ding in the back of it is.
Skype recently introduced Skypecasting, the ability to broadcast to up to 100 Skype users. While it’s being used for a wide variety of innovative application such as learning of languages and small music concerts, we see the eBay-centric usage being live auctions.
Other things that have come up at eBay Live include eBay Blogs and Wiki’s.
Wall Street hasn’t been that keen on eBay of late with their stock dropping over 20% since they bought Skype.
12 June, 2006
Wikia: Wikipedia In Disguise?
What’s the difference between a Wikia and a Wikipedia? Trivia, mostly – but also, Gil Penchina (pictured below). Penchina has spent eight years running eBay as a general manager and told me it was “like a whole career with any ordinary company, and I want to stop.”
So Gil has started his own gang. He’s the new CEO of Wikia, which is (at first sight, anyway) exactly like Wikipedia, right down to being founded by the same guy – Jimmy Wales – but it’s designed to relieve the pressure on the main site to cover trivia like soap TV shows.
The company announced itself in a Wiki entry on its own site saying: “Wikia enables groups to share information, news, stories, media and opinions that fall outside the scope of an encyclopedia.”
But it’s not all Star Trek, as you might deduce from that. Try “Archaeology” for example: “The archaeology Wikia is for any archaeology related content, and for the archaeological community to share ideas on this topic.” Why isn’t that on Wikipedia? or “Astronomy”? – “The astronomy Wikia is for all astronomy topics.”
But a little roaming around exposes the difference: it’s a “community thing.” According to the Astronomy Wikia, “The wiki was started with a focus specifically on topics related to the Mid Atlantic Star Party and will include reports from MASP attendees.”
Is there a real need for this? Gil thinks yes, definitely – but the way he talks, it’s not altogether clear who exactly is needing it. For example, try the “Buffyverse” Wikia which was founded on 15 October last year.
That’s got to be a goodie, right? Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the spinoff, Angel, are two of the most cult-like of cult-media TV shows. It’s not only got meaningless violence by cute, tight-busted teens, but also supernatural demons and Powers That Be – and any true Buffy fan will also assure you, a line in wry comedy that rivals anything the best of British TV comedy could offer.
And despite all that, there’s nothing there. Hit the button “article” for and all you get is: “You have followed a link to a page that does not exist yet. If you are here by mistake, just click your browser’s back button.” And off you go, kid; you’re effectively going to found the Buffy Wikia.
Why would you do that? In Gil’s view of the future, of course, it would be to prevent the more serious Wikipedia from being cluttered with Buffy trivia. Too late, surely? – but even if it isn’t, is “good for Wikipedia” the same as “good for Wikia?”
Out in the real world, of course, people run fan sites without feeling any need to use a Wikipedia entry. If they think a Wiki is a good way to do a fan site, the software for running a Wiki is available – many are free. All you need is a nice URL like (say) BuffyGuide or BuffyWorld and in that case, the “community” can create advertising and subscription and screensaver revenue – and you get to keep the money, not give it all to Gill and Jimmy.
Gil accepts that the financial success of Wikia isn’t yet assured. He’s not pouring cash into it. It’s not flooded with expensive staff; it’s going to grow as it grows, he says.
On the other hand, lots of people have made lots of money out of supporting groups and communities. And a lot of people have been pouring scorn on the trivial content of the Wikipedia – and saying “it’s not a Real Encyclopaedia, is it?” in mocking tones – a criticism that deeply offends Jimmy Wales.
If the Wikia concept does catch on, it looks like it may be slow. As one disappointed visitor to the “Doom” Wikia complained: “wow, I just came to the main page of this wiki and got excited to read about Doom, it’s got coverage of the games, the mods, everything I’d want to know. Then I got to the end of the paragraph on the main page, and had no idea how to access any of this cool content. how about a link or two on the main page to get people started? a table of contents or something perhaps? there’s just nothing there.”
Doom isn’t the only empty cupboard. There are some obviously promising Wikias, but far more that are not yet.
Gil just nodded and smiled. “I’m not looking for instant frenzy,” he conceded. “I was really thinking of retiring, but Jimmy said this needed doing, and it may suit me after the stress of eBay for the last eight years…”
9 June, 2006
Google, The Next Dark Empire?
Google, a name synonymous with Internet searching, is now permeating the desktop. Currently it’s the PC (i.e. Windows environment) they’re moving into, but Apple Macs and even Linux are the likely next moves.
Microsoft (MS) has traditionally owned the operating system (OS) and many of the applications, but Google’s new tools allow searching in that space without having to directly access any of the aging empire’s software directly.
Google Desktop Search
The newest version (2) has the option of a sidebar or deskbar and searches can be entered directly into these. It also installs a search bar into Outlook. It’s possible to directly search items using these without ever going through the Windows “Start” menu. Whereas MS has had tools such as Lookout (actually produced by another company, which MS bought) which allowed searching in Outlook, it’s no longer needed as Google does a better job and searches more file types.
There are potential privacy concerns as Google will search Email, Chats, Web history, Media files, Text, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, Notes, Journal and other files and send relevant info back to Google, however that can be turned off.
Once Desktop is started it sits there a while locally indexing the info and then searches are very fast, new files are indexed as they are created or arrive etc. Google Talk
Though Google Desktop (ableit in an more limited form) has been around for a while, Google Talk is new and is their take on the Instant Messaging world.
The client is quite basic, it currently supports simple chat and voice. You need a Google Mail login to use the service (GMail accounts now support 2.5GB as standard) and it can check your GMail inbox. Chats can now be logged into the Google Mail system.
The voice quality is superb, Google have licensed some pretty good codecs (the software that translates analogue voice into digital form or vice versa) and it’s as good as Skype if not better.
Google Talk actually uses the XMPP open protocol (better known as Jabber) so any Jabber client can be used with Google’s server (including Gaim for various platforms and Apple’s iChat for Macs), though voice functionality is currently only available with their own client. However, that’s about to change as Google have released ‘libjingle’ a programming library which implements their voice services so others can incorporate them into their IM clients.
Jabber allows server connectivity to other networks and sure enough Google have just enabled this feature, so Google users can chat with Jabber users on other Jabber networks (if the other network connects).
Since the client is only v1, new functionality will be added as time passes, one can only wonder what but it’s likely they’ll be some form of search capabilities, maybe even adwords based on the conversations that are taking place.
Jabber itself has a lot more to offer itself, like conference rooms, which Google are sure to implement.
Google Mail
Another service that’s been around for a while (and again sparked heated privacy debates) Google Mail or GMail now offers 2.5GB of mail storage. The premise is you never delete mail, but just keep everything. All mail arrives in your INBOX, but then it can be sorted using various criteria and moved to various folders.
This concept isn’t new, DEC (Digital Equipment Corporation, now long gone) had this idea with their Altavista mail service, whereby all mail arrived in your INBOX and the client just put everything in the right place. Google just got it right and made it a Web service.
Some people will use all their space, but many struggle to use even a small percentage of it. An enterprising developer has made an application that allows Windows XP users to utilise it as a remote file store with drag and drop capabilities. There’s no guarantee it will keep working as Google can alter their systems at anytime. There’s a link at the end of the article.
Part two of this article will be out tomorrow.
GoogleMail
GoogleTalk
1 June, 2006
PayPal Exclusive Wallet On Yahoo: Wide-ranging Deal
PayPal is to be the exclusive online wallet across Yahoo’s product and services. In a wide-ranging, four component, business arrangement announced today, eBay and Yahoo will be stroking each other commercial departments.
In their words, PayPal will be “deeply integrated on the Yahoo! site and will receive prominent positioning when users purchase Yahoo! services.” Beyond this PayPal will also be offered to Yahoo’s merchants and publishers, including the Yahoo Publisher Network, Yahoo Search Marketing, Yahoo Merchant Solutions and other small business services.
Yahoo exclusive graphics ad provider to eBay
Additional details of the “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours” big dollar deal include Yahoo being the exclusive provider of graphical advertising on eBay.
Interestingly Yahoo will also be offering sponsored search for complementary products on some eBay.com search results pages in the U.S.
Click-to-Call Advertising “being explored”
As we’re sure you know, Click-to-Call will let the user click on an icon on an advert and speak directly to the advertiser, without touching the phone.
For us, this part of the announcement is a bit of a strange one. Yahoo has Yahoo Messenger with Voice and eBay has Skype, so who would provide the voice services in which circumstances is pretty unclear, and we would have though, an area for friction.
What they’re saying about it is, “Yahoo and eBay do not expect this relationship to have a material impact on their financial results in 2006. Both companies will incorporate any financial impact for 2007 and beyond when they deliver their business outlook for those periods.” Make of that what you will.
25 May, 2006
Skype Security Hole Patched
Skype users are advised to upgrade their software in double quick time after a security bug was reported late last week by a security researcher in New Zealand.
Rating the vulnerability as ‘medium risk’, Skype says that the bug affects several versions of the Skype client for Windows and could allow an evil attacker to download a file from an affected PC without permission.
It has to be said that it’s a little bit obscure – to get stung by this fella you’d have be first tricked into visiting a nefarious Web page set up by the attacker who would need to have already added the victim to his contact list.
Danish bug tracking firm Secunia said that the “moderately critical” flaw was in Skype’s parsing of URLs, so a malformed link – sent in a Skype message, for example – could begin the transfer of a file without the victim’s consent,
The bug affects all releases of Skype for Windows up to and including version 2.0.x.104, as well as version 2.5.x.0 up to and including 2.5.x.78. Skype advised users to upgrade to Skype 2.5, release 2.5.x.79 or later, or Skype 2.0, release 2.0.x.105 or later.
A free upgrade is available online now (select ‘help’ and ‘check for update’ from the drop-down menu).
This is the first security bulletin issued by Skype in around seven months – good news for us as we use the program every day.
Skype security bulletin
22 May, 2006
The Wireless Event Recapped
The Wireless Event took place on Wednesday and Thursday at Olympia in London, it’s an industry show that stands out for exhibitors trying to sell to other exhibitors – who probably outnumber visitors (well maybe a slight exaggeration).
The theme of the exhibition is WiFi, WiMAX, 3G and VoIP and it comes with all the hype that surrounds them. There was little of anything new at the show, and wandering around upstairs, showed half the floorspace hadn’t been sold.
Unfortunately for a wireless show, getting a working connection to a WiFi network was almost impossible, mainly due to the number of networks available all interfering with each other. Maybe it should have been called the Wire Event or the Wireless Less Event. If metro WiFi is going to succeed then all the access points better be smart enough to not ‘tread on each others toes’ or it just isn’t going to work.
There were a lot of infrastructure companies trying to sell WiFi or WiMAX systems, some in the consumer space, but mainly for service providers. Of the mobile networks, only T-Mobile had a big stand, Orange had a small “business” services stand and O2 had a section of the Cloud’s stand.
There were some interesting products, but only a few. Here’s the cream of the crop.
Our pick of the show
Ruckus sell a WiFi access point, however the guts of the Ruckus system is what Netgear use for their RangeMAX range, which uses multiple antennae to steer the radio signals. Ruckus’s own version is more advanced and they are supporting things like streaming video. As an example of use, you can connect a media converter to a Sky TV box and then get decent quality through the WiFi connection to a TV several hundred feet away. Here the stream is converted back to a TV signal with another media converter. The access point looks quite pretty too – good for home use.
USR aka (US Robotics) have announced a USB handset that works with Skype. It’s really just a USB sound-device, but looks like a phone and has Skype integration (i.e. you can pull your contacts etc from Skype and they show in the phone’s display). They’ve also got a USB Skype conferencing device so several people sitting around a table can listen and speak on the call. Their ADSL/ADSL2+/Wireless routers are all now very simple to configure with wireless security turned on by default and basic ISP settings pre-configured.
Nokia had their new E series phone, with the E61 standing out from the pack. It runs Symbian and has support for several push Email systems included (Nokia Business Centre, Blackberry, Visto, Seven, and others). It’s about the same size as the Blackberry, but thinner with a metal casing and very bright colour display. It’s also a nice 3G phone.
The Cloud were there with a HUGE O2 Exec (aka i-mate JASJAR), anyone using the Exec can log-in to the Cloud’s homepage through WiFi, hit the O2 logo, enter their mobile number and the user will be phoned back. If they enter the digit 1 they’ll be granted access (and billed to that number).
BT Openzone had just announced their Wireless Cities initiative whereby Birmingham, Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool, Cardiff and Westminster are being made into hotzones. BT Openzone have a roaming agreement with the Cloud, but this puts them in direct competition (The Cloud are also offering wireless zones in various cities). Let’s hope the zones don’t overlap or connectivity issues will be as big a mess as the exhibition coverage was.
Zyxel had a their normal range of wired/wireless and security products. The star of their stand was their keyfob wireless hotspot locator. It works with all modes of WiFi (i.e. 802.11a/b/g) and supports unsecured and secure networks (WEP, WPA etc) showing what networks are available (at least 9 were available around the Zyxel stand).
The best bit of the show by far was the massages provided by Urban Chill. After a day wandering around Olympia it was just what was needed (thanks Lucy). To be honest had the massage come first, the rest of the show would have been a write-off.
19 May, 2006
Google Web Toolkit: Analysis Of Its Impact
Back on Tuesday Google released their latest offering, the Google Web Toolkit (GWT). For those who didn’t catch the news at the time, it’s a downloadable application that lets developers write Java code that is translated into Javascript.
At first glance this appears a pretty strange concept, outputting JavaScript from Java, but code is the near-mythical AJAX code, heavily assisting the production of Web 2.0 applications.
You’ll know we think AJAX applications are special, not for the buckets of hype that’s surrounding Web 2.0, but because the taking up of AJAX marked the death Microsoft’s dominance of the interface. It’s the point where using an application through a Web browser became less tiresome because information is updated without the Web page having to be refreshed.
Google slowly remove the gloves
Google’s attacks on Microsoft have been consistently more intense. Early moves like the extended beta of Gmail chipping away at Microsoft’s Hotmail service.
The moves on to the Windows desktop via Google Desktop Search (GDS) stepped it up a gear. When we saw the release of GDS, we advised our friends to buy Google stock. This was the point where users no longer needed to use Windows Explorer to locate the documents that they had created on their machine. A Google application became the route to documents on ‘their’ platform. The vice-like grip in place for so many years was starting to weaken.
The interface – Now they’re ready to box
We see the release of the Web Toolkit as Google’s most direct pop at Microsoft yet.
There is still a mystique around creating AJAX applications, primarily because most of the people who are trying to make them are not programmers, but are enthusiastic amateurs, designers, or people who have never learnt the basics of programming logic.
While GWT still requires programming skills in Java, there are more programmers around that know the inaccuracies that each version of browser requires, to have the interface working consistently.
It’s not just Microsoft that is getting a bloody nose from this, it’s also quite an aggressive move against Java, effectively removing its usefulness as a Web interface language. If this tool gets wide usage – and given the buzz (real or otherwise) around Web 2.0, it’s likely – it’s going to be pushing Java to the server, although many would argue that it doesn’t have much benefit there either.
Summary I’ll leave you with the key point – Google Web Toolkit gives people the tools (literally) to write applications that work in any Web browser, circumvent Microsoft’s crown jewels, the Windows interface.
We know an AJAX toolkit won’t be a surprise to Microsoft, but it will be a big blow.
Google Web Toolkit
19 May, 2006
Nokia 770 Adds VoIP and IM
Nordic mobile goliaths Nokia have unveiled an upgrade for their Nokia 770 Internet Tablet which gives the chunky device VoIP and instant messaging capabilities through Google Talk.
The announcement, made at the VON Europe conference in Stockholm, marks Nokia’s first foray into Voice over Internet Protocol, with Ari Virtanen, vice president of Nokia’s Convergence Products commenting, “VoIP has really been the No.1 request for us.”
Despite the enthusiasm from Ari at the launch for the upgraded Nokia 770, he insisted that the technology wasn’t expected to cut into the market of traditional mobile telephones.
“I would not say this kind of technology competes with traditional mobile telephony. There will always be stand-alone devices where telephony is the main function,” he said.
Originally unveiled in May 2005, the Linux-powered Nokia 770 was the company’s first non-phone mobile device, designed for users to access the Internet around the home over a wireless broadband connection.
Sales weren’t too hot though, but Nokia reckon that by bolting on VoIP phone capabilities they can turbo charge unit-shifting, with Virtanen insisting that internet telephony is “the key for us to reach higher sales volumes.”
Customers who already have bought the 770 can upgrade their device to use the new Google Talk features for free over the Internet.
Updated OS
The newly introduced OS 2006 edition with Google Talk pre-installed gives users access to Google’s free instant messaging service so they can chat and make calls through the Internet on the 770.
The updated OS also boasts enhanced text typing with full-screen finger keyboard, improved memory performance and a ‘refreshed’ look (did they throw a bucket of water at it, or something?).
The upgraded device is expected to knock out for about €370 (US$470), Nokia said.
Nokia 770
16 May, 2006
Palm OS Treo 700p US Launch
Palm have announced the successor to their hugely successful Palm OS-powered Treo 650 smartphone, the Treo 700p.
Although more of a refinement that a full-on product upgrade, the 700p retains the same winning form factor that convinced many people that the Treo 650 was the best smartphone around.
After Palm released its Windows Mobile-powered Treo 700w in January this year, some Palm OS aficionados feared it might mark the end of their favourite operating system, but the 700p sees the company sticking with the highly capable – if rather elderly – Palm OS 5.4.9 OS.
With a feature set marrying up with the Windows version, the 700p comes with EV-DO, a 312MHz Xscale CPU processor, beefed-up 128MB flash memory (60MB usable), streaming audio/video, an upgraded 1.3 megapixel camera, Bluetooth and a SDIO slot.
Unlike the smaller-screened Windows version, the 700p serves up a bright, crisp 320 x 320 pixel, 65,536-colour display, with the chunky antennae (much loved by Americans, apparently) remaining in situ.
Bundled with the phone is DataViz’ Documents To Go for reading and editing Microsoft Office files, a PDF viewer and an email client that works with Exchange Server 2003 via ActiveSync, plus POP and IMAP accounts.
Yahoo!, AOL and Gmail accounts are also supported.
Wherefore art thou Wi-Fi?
Way back in the midst of time, a Palm executive faithfully promised us that the Treo 650 would support SDIO wi-fi cards, but the long, long wait for the (non-existent) Palm Wi Fi card to materialise saw us shift over to the Windows mobile platform.
Our experience with the i-mate JAM phone wasn’t entirely pleasurable, and after getting fed up with its ‘undocumented features’ we recently took the unheard of step of buying technology over a year old(!), in the shape of a Treo 650 scooped off eBay for £185.
After a year fumbling about with fiddly Windows interface and the stylus-reliant functionality of the JAM, we soon found the ease-of-use, one-handed ergonomics and all-round design features of the Treo to be an absolute revelation.
So much so that we’re even prepared to forgive the omission of Wi-Fi in the latest Treo (Palm in the US insist that EV-DO should be enough.)
Many will disagree, but since we moved over to T-Mobile’s unlimited data usage miserable time battling with Skype for Pocket PC.
The Treo 650 still floats our boat
With the new Palm 700p offering few real benefits over the 650 – and the very real possibility that the phone may not appear in the UK for some considerable time – we’d still recommend picking up a Treo 650, especially if the prices start to drop.
In fact, it’s still our number one all-round smartphone choice – an opinion shared by PC World, who recently put the Treo 650 at the top of the pile in a comparison against smartphone big hitters like the T-Mobile MDA, Nokia 9200 and Blackberry 8700c.
Specifications:
Operating System: Palm OS® 5.4.9
Memory: 128MB (60MB user accessible) non-volatile
Processor: Intel® XScale™ 312MHz processor
Screen: 320 x 320 color TFT touchscreen display 16-bit color displays displays up to 65,536 colors
Wireless:
CDMA 800/1900MHz digital dual-band
CDMA2000 EvDO network-backwards compatible with 1xRTT and IS95 networks
Bluetooth® 1.2 wireless support
Phone Features:
Personal speakerphone
Hands-free headset jack
Microphone mute option
TTY/TDD compatibility
3-way calling
Digital Camera:
1.3 megapixels with 1280×1024 resolution
Automatic light balance
2x digital zoom
Integrated self-portrait mirror
Video capture with 352 x 288 resolution
Audio:
2.5mm headset jack is stereo headset compatible-requires a stereo headset adapter
Speaker
Polyphonic MIDI, MP3, WAV & video ringtones
External ringer on/off switch w/ vibrate mode
Keyboard:
Full QWERTY key layout with backlighting
Integrated number dial pad
Keyguard feature
Other:
Support for MultiMediaCard, SD & SDIO cards
Expansion Slot
Removable, rechargeable lithium-ion battery
Talk time: up to 4.5 hours
Standby time: up to 300 hours
Battery
Multi-connector on device
USB sync cable
AC adapter (108-132 VAC/60Hz)
Power/Sync
Size
2.28″ W x 5.08″ H (excluding antenna) x 0.89″ D
58mm W x 129mm H x 58mm D
6.4 ounces / 180 grams
Palm Treo 700p
Treo 700p/700w/650 comparison
16 May, 2006
News Corp To Sell 24 Episodes on MySpace
It comes as no surprise to the more cynical amongst us, but MySpace is set to offer downloadable digital content for sale from its sister company, Fox.
This move is very significant clearly showing the direction that Murdoch is taking MySpace in. It’s going to become a great shop window to its 75 million users, of all of his other diverse types on content.
Episodes from series one to five of the hugely popular ’24’ series by Fox will be made available for download for $1.99 a programme, courtesy of a Burger King-sponsored deal which comes branded with the fast food giant’s tagline “Have it Your Way.”
(We know which way we’d like a Murdoch/Burger King deal, but it’s unprintable here).
MySpace, which is owned by media ubermensch Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, has more than 75m registered users worldwide, and according to Nielsen/NetRatings recorded 19.4 billion page views in March – dwarfing the 13.7 billion page impressions at Google for the same month.
To entice users to fork out for the full service, Burger King will be offering free downloads of each of the first episodes from series one and five of ’24’
Building up a formidable synergetic head of steam, Gillian Smith, senior director of media at Burger King, effused: “We know our customers spend a lot of time [on MySpace]. The important thing for us as an advertiser was to make sure we were providing content that resembles entertainment more than advertising.”
The Burger King/Fox/MySpace love-in reflects the growing power of MySpace as a new distribution platform and advertising magnet, leading Bambi Francisco of MarketWatch to wonder what might happen if MySpace developed a search engine of its own
MySpace
15 May, 2006