As MP3s became ubiquitous, the music industry failed to “distinguish between average fans and professional pirates, and embittering a whole generation of users,” reports paidContent.
Now with increased popularity of photo-sharing sites, the copyright problem has surfaced in the photo world and one image owner is taking a new tactic to enforce copyrights.
Major image owners like Getty have mimicked the music industry, attacking violators with lawsuits that have become a significant source of revenue.
“The problem is that, in most cases, there’s little connection between the harm and the damages,” the article notes. “When a blog or a small business or a Tumblr user posts a picture, they don’t deprive the owner of thousands of dollars but are simply using an image that could, in most cases, be replaced with many others.”
The Getty argues that simply using the DCMA copyright takedown process does not adequately compensate photographers for the use of their images, but the article suggests it is likely “most of the money Getty collects goes to the company and lawyers, not to the photographers.”
Micro-stock agency Dreamstime has come up with a different approach to dealing with copyright infringements, which is “much more sensible,” the article notes.
“Unlike other image owners, Dreamstime does not sic lawyers on people who like its photos. Instead the company, which claims to have more than 5 million users, responds by sending them a notice to take the image down or else to buy a license at the going rate which can be as low as $8.”
“We want to respond to copyrighted images but we want to do it in a different, non-heavy-handed way,” says CEO Serban Enache. “This is very successful way of turning unauthorized users into customers. Once they learn of the license, they often obtain larger licenses.”
Cloud-gaming services are poised to create a new segment of gaming by allowing gamers to play high-tech games using a simple computer or tablet connected to broadband Internet, writes the Wall Street Journal.
OnLive.com runs the most successful streaming service for gaming. The site has more than 200 titles, some of which are available for free.
People can also buy games that they can have access to for life, or they can rent games for three or five days. Users can also pay $10 a month for unlimited access to select titles.
Other companies are set to break into the industry, including Playcast Media Systems, which hopes to bring games to satellite and cable companies.
Sony bought cloud-gaming company Gaikai to help bolster Sony’s cloud-gaming strategy. Even GamesStop, a video-game retailer, plans to launch a service by the summer, according to WSJ.
The article offers interesting overviews of four titles for cloud gaming: “Sleeping Dogs,” “Civilization V,” “L.A. Noire” and “Limbo.”
“Call of Duty: Black Ops 2” allows players to live-stream their gameplay to YouTube, a feature that could spark a rise in spectator gaming, reports paidContent.
The market for consumer viewed gaming has not been filled since the television show “GamesMaster” went off the air in 1998. But YouTube live streaming could help fill this void.
It is true that “YouTube is chock-full of gamer commentaries,” but “there has long been a technical hurdle — while PC gaming can more easily be screencast, console gamers have needed to route their video output to a PC,” explains the article.
Ustream, Own3d.tv, and eSports Live have supplied some avenues for better live video game viewing, but YouTube has distinct advantages over the other entities.
While hardcore gamers have found ways to make live viewing work, the direct integration into the new “Call of Duty” opens up the opportunity to millions more.
The feature even allows players to play the role of director, “changing camera angles and mic levels and presenting pieces to camera via webcam,” according to paidContent.
Also, by tying video game content directly into YouTube, “Call of Duty” establishes itself on the largest video service on the Internet. There is a good chance YouTube will be on many televisions soon, meaning video game viewing could migrate from computers to televisions as well.
Often overshadowed by Samsung and Apple, HTC is teaming up with Verizon Wireless to offer the Droid DNA, which will be sold for $199 this holiday season.
“The 5-inch phone, which will run Android 4.1, stands out because of its 1080p Super LCD 3 display, which shows 440 pixels per inch, more than any other smartphone in the U.S. market,” writes GigaOM.
“The display also features a wide 80-degree viewing area, can handle blurry action better and is reportedly 50 percent brighter than the Samsung Galaxy S III.”
The Droid DNA will undoubtedly draw attention with its impressive display and quad-core 1.5 GHz Snapdragon processor. However, there is some question regarding whether consumers will notice the added clarity and whether the screen will drain the battery.
The Droid DNA will provide 2GB RAM and 16GB of storage, but it will be difficult “to explain why every day consumers will need all that power,” suggests the post.
Other features include wireless charging, an ultra-wide lens for the front-facing 720p camera, Beats Audio profile, two amplifiers for headphones and speakers.
Whether this powerful phone can signal a shift for HTC remains to be seen, but “the phone is beautiful, very sleek and elegant,” GigaOM writes. “It’s a phone that looks good coming out of your pocket and feels good in your hand.”
Samsung has been developing flexible plastic displays for mobile devices, and according to a person familiar with the project, the technology will be released in the first half of next year, although it may be sometime before they are commercially available.
“The key reason for Samsung to use plastic rather than conventional glass is to produce displays that aren’t breakable,” says Shinyoung Securities analyst Lee Seung-chul.
“The technology could also help lower manufacturing costs and help differentiate its products from other rivals,” he adds.
It is uncertain how much Samsung has invested in the venture, but the company can afford investment, the Wall Street Journal suggests. Samsung’s display business profits have soared, rising 91 percent from a year ago.
The new displays incorporate OLED technology; using plastic instead of glass will make displays more durable and light.
Many companies have developed flexible OLED prototypes, but “manufacturers haven’t been able to commercialize them or use them in devices due to technological barriers in mass production,” notes the article. “Samsung hopes it will be first to bring the product to the market.”
According to analyst Julius Kim at Woori Investment & Securities, “Samsung is still busy making the original glass-type displays for its latest Galaxy S III smartphones and Galaxy Note II devices, so profit-wise the new displays don’t seem to be that attractive.”
As a precursor to Vimeo’s launch of a pay-per-view platform early next year, the site is offering six paid-streaming titles, some of which will be available for up to two months.
“The movies, which include ‘We Are Legion: The Story of Hacktivists’ as well as the LCD Soundsystem concert movie ‘Shut Up and Play the Hits’ are meant to preview different features that will be available to all content producers once Vimeo rolls out pay-per-view in earnest early next year,” GigaOM writes.
Some of the titles include access to exclusive extra content. Vimeo allows content producers to set regional restrictions and pricing.
Viewers can access the titles on PCs, iPads, mobile phones and select over-the-top devices such as Apple TV, Boxee and Roku, notes the post.
“Vimeo first announced pay-per-view as an additional monetization option in September, when it also rolled out tip jars for content producers,” explains GigaOM. “It’s not the only video site offering pay-per-view: YouTube has been offering select partners the option to charge for their streams for some time.”
The $70/month gigabit home Internet service Google Fiber has been highly anticipated, and after the service finally went live in Kansas City Tuesday, the verdict is in: “It’s unbelievable,” one user remarked.
Mike Demarais is the founder of Threedee and has been staying in Kansas City’s Startup Village, “an informal group of entrepreneurs who have clustered around homes immediately eligible for Google Fiber,” Ars Technica explains.
“We just got it today and I’ve been stuck in front of my laptop for the last few hours,” Demarais said. “I’m probably not going to leave the house.”
“Demarais said that on an Ethernet connection, he’s seen consistent Google Fiber speeds of 600 to 700Mbps, with Wi-Fi topping out around 200Mbps,” the article states. “Even at the slower wireless speeds, that’s more than an order of magnitude faster than what most Americans have at home.”
The entrepreneur, whose company aims to add to the growing 3D printing industry, said he was partly driven to Kansas City by Google Fiber’s offering. “Wherever I go after this, my Internet speed is going to be ruined.”
Demarais’ other draw was being able to live for free in the “Homes For Hackers” in the Startup Village. Web developer Ben Barreth bought the house to nourish Kansas City’s tech community, offering free housing for three months to entrepreneurs.
“People are too quick to discredit the value of a free-rent environment with like-minded people. KC needs to separate itself from the other scenes,” Demarais said. “Why here? Fiber is not enough. I think you need to have a dense startup community, and if young people are not moving here and trying to start startups, you need to artificially create that flow.”
Artificial intelligence startup Toy Talk, which is targeted toward kids and entertainment, has raised a total of $16 million in funding after recently collecting $12 million in a Series A funding round.
Former Pixar CTO Oren Jacob is leading the venture. “Jacob worked for Pixar on ‘Toy Story,’ ‘A Bug’s Life,’ ‘Toy Story 2’ and ‘Finding Nemo,’ and fellow co-founder Martin Reddy, who worked on artificial intelligence at SRI International, also worked at Pixar on films including ‘Finding Nemo,’ ‘The Incredibles,’ ‘Cars,’ ‘Ratatouille,’ and ‘WALL-E,'” GigaOM reports.
As of now, Toy Talk remains in “stealth mode,” the post states. The company released a teaser video to demonstrate the concept, which has been described as “Teddy Ruxpin meets Siri.”
“Toy Talk is the name of the company — I think it should be pretty obvious what we’re trying to do,” Jacob said at GigaOM‘s RoadMap conference.
Investors include Charles River Ventures, Greylock Partners, First Round Capital, True Ventures and multiple angel investors. Toy Talk will launch in 2013.
Three innovative thinkers from Palo Alto, California want to block all Internet ads — meaning no more website banners, no commercials in video streams, and no pop-ups in mobile apps.
To do so, the team created AdTrap, a $120 box that sits between a cable modem and wireless router.
“AdTrap is basically a small computer running the Linux operating system, programmed to recognize and block every sort of ad its creators could identify,” Quartz explains. “Many people already have ad blockers on our web browsers, but AdTrap’s combination of simplicity and comprehensiveness are reasons it could take off.”
Right now, the project has collected $20,000 in funding on Kickstarter, but the device won’t ship unless it gains $150,000 worth of pledges by December 8th.
There are Internet purists who would be very attracted to AdTrap, but Quartz suggests the average consumer might not be willing to pay $120 to remove what has simply become background noise.
If the project is successful, however, it could spell trouble for some websites.
“AdTrap is ‘open and very hackable,’ which means that it could be updated to block new kinds of advertisements,” notes the article. “It also promises to block the user tracking that many Internet advertisements engage in. Advertisers will hate that, of course, and so will the websites that depend on them.”
“A lot of people are falsely calling for the demise of the DVD business,” says Bob Emmer, co-founder of content distributor Shout! Factory. In fact, DVDs are still a vital source of revenue, he adds.
“Emmer explained that while overall DVD sales have declined, there is still enough demand for niche products, such as classic TV shows and movies, to serve a loyal constituency,” reports MarketWatch. “Some of this content hasn’t been released, or was issued in a perfunctory manner early in the life of the DVD format.”
“I don’t have to sell 3 million units,” Emmer says. “We’re okay with far fewer unit sales because we don’t have a lot of overhead, and the numbers bear that out. We’ve been on the incline with this type of product over the last seven or eight years.”
His company Shout has released complete-series DVD sets of “All In The Family,” “Leave It To Beaver,” “Route 66,” “Barney Miller,” “Freaks and Geeks,” “The Larry Sanders Show” and “My So-Called Life.”
Some of the series were previously released but were abandoned following weak sales. A few studios and other distributors have also started re-releasing DVD sets of TV shows.
“There’s a market out there for almost anything,” Emmer says. “People don’t always consider how many consumers are out there who don’t have a high-speed Internet connection.”
Procter & Gamble is looking to launch its Duracell Powermat wireless charging technology in Madison Square Garden, giving away 5,000 iPhone smartphone cases to New York Knicks season-ticket holders. The arena will be outfitted with 550 charging spots and the venture will cost P&G millions.
“Although the consumer demand is potentially huge,” Businessweek writes, “wireless charging has been slow to take off. There are currently fewer than 10 million devices in circulation in the U.S. able to charge wirelessly, mostly phones and accessories, according to researcher IHS.”
The firm projects the global shipments of wirelessly charged devices will jump to almost 100 million in 2015 compared to the mere 5 million units this year.
“Without one accepted standard, though, companies run the risk of investing in products that may be obsolete in a couple of years,” the article states.
Currently, there are three main competing platforms. The Duracell Powermat supports the PMA standard as part of the Power Matters Alliance. LG Electronics, Energizer and Nokia are all members of the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) that offers a different technology called Qi. The Alliance for Wireless Power has yet another standard, backed by Samsung and 19 other companies.
WPC is PMA’s greatest threat; the consortium has agreements with car manufacturers to install Qi charging stations in North American cars.
“To hedge their bets, some automakers and other companies are testing multiple standards. Others are embedding several technologies into their gear,” Businessweek writes. “The ultimate winning standard of wireless charging may not emerge until at least 2014, says Jason dePreaux, principal analyst at IHS. What could tip the scales is the maker of the world’s most popular smartphone, Apple, which has yet to back a standard.”
MasterCard has developed an advanced payment card with LCD technology and keypad intended to increase security and help protect bank and credit accounts.
“The credit card company has partnered with Standard Chartered Bank Singapore in order to release an interactive payment card that looks similar to a pocket calculator,” reports Digital Trends. “Located at the top right corner of the card, a member of Standard Chartered Bank Singapore will find a liquid-crystal display that shows up to six digits. Along the bottom front of the card, the user will find a a ten-digit keypad.”
The next-generation, interactive display card features additional functionality with its touch-sensitive “clear,” “okay” and “on/off” buttons.
“This card has been designed for transactions that require a higher level of authorization,” explains the post. “When a new cardholder first acquires the card, they will be able to generate a one-time password as an authentication security measure for the future.”
“With the continued growth in online and now mobile initiated remote payments, consumers are naturally demanding increased security,” notes Matthew Driver, division president of MasterCard Worldwide in South East Asia. “The innovative features of the Display Card serve to address this need, whilst empowering consumers to do so much more with their payment cards.”
MasterCard is looking into additional uses for the LCD related to personal finances, such as displaying current balance, remaining available credit and recent transactions.
Visa launched a similar card in Europe late last year. The Visa CodeSure Matrix Display Card features an LCD, keypad and battery that can last up to three years.
The lawsuit against Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom not only has the chance to impact his life — but the lives, privacy and property rights of anyone in the world that uses cloud storage, suggests Wired.
Even if the legal system rules that the government should return the seized data, it would first have to be screened to determine if it violated copyright law, according to Electronic Frontier Foundation attorney Julie Samuels.
Samuels advocates for user rights in relation to cloud storage. “There has to be something to allow third parties to get their data,” she notes. “These are important property rights. If we don’t treat them as such, we’re doing third parties a disservice. These are new issues. More and more people are using cloud technology every day.”
The process that federal prosecutors have proposed “would make it essentially impossible for former Megaupload users to recover any of their legitimate data,” writes Wired.
The prosecutors proposed the method because they maintain that the site was used almost exclusively for the illegal sharing of files. Others argue that while the site may have been used primarily for this purpose, some people stored legitimate data on the site.
“A hearing on the data-retrieval issue is pending,” notes the article.
At an October presentation in Tianjin, China, Microsoft’s chief research officer Rick Rashid demonstrated a software “that translates spoken English into spoken Chinese almost instantly, while preserving the unique cadence of the speaker’s voice — a trick that could make conversation more effective and personal,” reports Technology Review.
Already, the technology has attracted significant interest, and Rashid’s presentation has spread across Chinese social media sites.
“The system works by recognizing a person’s words, quickly converting the text into properly ordered Chinese sentences, and then handing those over to speech synthesis software that has been trained to replicate the speaker’s voice,” the article explains.
“The software requires about an hour of training to be able to synthesize speech in a person’s voice, which it does by tweaking a stock text-to-speech model so it makes certain sounds in the same way the speaker does.”
AT&T and Google have also made translation prototypes. However, neither can match a speaker’s voice.
Microsoft’s system is based on neural network technology that mimics the processing pathways of brain cells. Rashid says the technique vastly improves recognition accuracy.
“Rather than having one word in four or five incorrect, now the error rate is one word in seven or eight,” he wrote in a blog post about the demonstration.
“We don’t yet know the limits on accuracy of this technology — it is really too new,” Rashid says. “As we continue to ’train’ the system with more data, it appears to do better and better.”
“User-generated content — the feel and the actual images — is very intimate, and that visual language is very familiar to people,” says David Gelb, a documentary director. Advertisers are starting to take advantage of this by incorporating simple smartphone pictures into their top-brand ads.
Already, there has been notable traction. Two pictures of the same mirrored chrome nail lacquer were posted on the e-commerce site theFancy.com. The traditional product shot by Barneys was liked or “fancied” about 1,400 times. The second photo taken on an iPhone was fancied 9,000 times, even though Stacey Bendet, who posted it, has around 9,000 fewer Fancy followers than Barneys.
“Our customer doesn’t want to be sold to all the time,” says Bendet, who designs her own clothing label. “She is moved by the real thing.”
Taco Bell made an ad for its Doritos Locos Tacos using customers’ Instagram pictures. The online dress-rental company Rent the Runway features real women wearing its clothes on the home page, rather than showing traditional images with professional models.
“The point is to manufacture glamour that doesn’t seem manufactured. Consumers ‘like’ your ad, share it with friends, and soon it has a life of its own, bouncing around social media sites at no extra cost,” reports the Wall Street Journal.
While companies still work up professional glossies for magazines, the use of smartphone cameras and street-style photography is becoming increasingly popular, even among haute couture companies.
“The photos that are resonating online are the ones that come from our phones,” says Stacy Mackler, Lancome USA spokeswoman.
