Comcast announces a 250GB/mo cap on bandwidth, and the World Ends
Yes, the long-awaited cap from Comcast finally was announced. It’s been rumored for many months, and the cap is 250GB/month. Not that bad really, and it should keep away the genuises who decide to download 8GB BitTorrent videos 24/7 with 20 hard drives to store it all (yes, I know people who do this), without affecting the bandwidth of normal users who just surf the net and check their e-mail.
Yes, I think it’s a good thing.
Based on a majority of responses on SlashDot and various other sites, you’d think they suddenly cut off service to everyone and posted a big middle finger to every user’s home page. There’s anger, call for lawsuits, and pronouncements of doom. The fact is, it needed to happen, for many reasons. Network congestion and abuse being the two main reasons, and people who embrace these two policies of malice are the ones who’ll get hurt by this change.
The company said, via Slashdot: “Under its new system, traffic will be analyzed every fifteen minutes. Users who are found to be occupying large amounts of bandwidth will be placed at a lower priority for network access behind users with less bandwidth-intensive traffic.” Makes sense to me.
Of course, my only concern is that Comcast may try limiting bandwidth even more over time, or severely limiting access to streaming video or other similar types of sites, which is NOT a good thing. Hopefully, they won’t try and milk the cow too much (but knowing Comcast’s history, I fear this is what they may do).
I know my internet connection has sped up a good 10% or so the last month (who knows if that’s why), so i’m a happy camper.
True Internet/TV convergence - It’s almost here
As an avid TV viewer and internet junkie, I’ve always had that dream, the dream of a television-viewing experience where the Internet was not only always accessible but integrated right into the experience. There was no switching back and forth between environments. I viewed what I wanted when I wanted online or via broadcast and tapped into information about what I was viewing through a small bar or window that could either sit on the screen or be safely minimized. If I saw something that I wanted to buy, I didn’t have to grab my laptop or switch out to Windows. I simply accessed the information about the product right on the TV screen, and bought it right then and there.
Now, a group of events appear poised to make this dream a (partial) reality. Last week, Intel and Yahoo! announced a somewhat unlikely partnership that would result in Internet-enabled HDTVs that play and use on-screen Yahoo! widgets to give viewers direct access to Web-based content, applications, and contextual advertising. It could be the germ of what might become my idea, brought to life. In fact, execs at Intel and Yahoo! did note that viewers might be able to, say, buy the shoes Lauren is wearing on an episode of The Hills, or anything similar to that sort of thing.
The digital TV part is pretty much going to be taken care of soon. The FCC’s decision to strong-arm the nation and broadcasters into the digital spectrum is probably the best thing to happen to television since color, IMHO. Sorry, all you people still fiddling around with your rabbit ears, but it’s an idea that really needed to happen at one time or another, for a lot of reasons. Those complaining about next year’s switchover on February 17, 2009 might end up feeling quite differently once they see everything the programmers and partners can do with a digital screen.
The Intel/Yahoo! tool and the Sidebar feature look like a really good start. I love that these toolbars can slide on and off the HDTV screen, providing you with instant access to content you’ve stored online. What’s missing, of course, is the deeper integration that would offer direct interaction between your live TV show and the Internet as I mentioned earlier, but I know that’s coming. So, for example, on Deal or No Deal, you could play along with the contestant, select your cases, and even see what’s in them (via an overlay). You could also select a winning case and, perhaps, be entered into a live drawing—maybe you’d compete directly against the on-air opponent for a million dollars! This is the type of digital world I always envisioned.
So do these exciting developments represent true integration and convergence? Not quite yet. In fact, significant hurdles remain. Few of the glowing reports about the Internet TV revolution and the surprise Intel-Yahoo! partnership mention that not enough people have broadband access anywhere near where their TV is located (or have broadband period in some areas of the country). So consumers either need to wire their homes (not gonna happen) or add access points near their TVs. An obvious alternative would be for these Internet-ready TVs to come wireless-ready, too. But these hurdles will be overcome. Eventually.
Adobe Flex
Adobe Flex is gaining more traction as a development platform. The framework produces a flash based output which can be consumed universally by clients agnostically to browser, OS or type. Flex is much easier to edit and create then native flash formats, using an easy to learn scriptable language.
As a web developer, you may always find yourself looking for possible web development applications that would suit your needs, providing a balance of rapid development, easy maintenance and wide cross-compatibility.
Most make use of JavaScript, Active-X and/or AJAX in order to make your sites dynamic and interactive. These traditional frameworks allow for rapid deployment - but necessitate heavy graphical work to make the app user friendly.
To answer the need for better application, the Adobe flex was released which is an open framework for creating significant web applications that that can be installed on major browsers, desktops, and operating systems.
Adobe Flex paves the way to make advanced application that can be used by traditional programmers. Before its release, traditional flash programmers spent hours with actionscript creating customer friendly but difficult to maintain flash-based apps and sites. The Flash platform was innovative and gained critical traction as a default standard over years.
Taking the next step Adobe’s Flex seeks to reduce the problem through the means of providing a workflow and programming model that is familiar to developers. It is programmed with MXML which is an XML-based markup language offers a way to rapidly build and lay out graphic user interfaces. Furthermore, one can also take benefit of interactivity by using ActionScript which is essentially the core language of Flash Player which was made using ECMA Script standard.
Like any other applications, the Adobe Flex has also its limitations. It is still a Flash application and therefore it is limited to what a Flash player can do. True interaction with the desktop is difficult - the Flex platform is not a browser, but is usually a web-based delivery (ie. drag and drop from Desktop to a Player is not feasible). This should be made possible through the release of Apollo.
The Flex popup window is limited to being shown within the dimensions of the player that created it. Incomparable to the popup window in a browser in where you can relocates them to your desktop, the Adobe Flex popup windows can’t go outside the area occupied by the player. Also, the Flash SWF format is a published specification meaning, it is doable for other vendors to create tools that produce Flash files.
Because the introduction of Adobe Flex was favored by the public, the Flex 2 which is an improved version of the first was made which is programmed with command-line compilers and a comprehensive class library of user interface components and utilities.
This program can be downloaded for free and it has no limitations or restrictions compared to the first. There is also the Flex 3 which was launched on April 26, 2007 and is equipped with Flex Builder IDE and the LiveCycle Data Services.
Adobe proclaims that in the near future they will launch the Flex 4 with Gumbo as a code name. The product plan has yet to be completed and although no one really knows what feature this one has, it is surely better than the other 3.
Flex is worth a look as a development and delivery platform if you are willing to work with a Flash based system. Take a look if you were turned off by Flash years ago and haven’t kept up with it.
An Overview of Social Platforms and the OpenSocial Initiative
It seems that everyone today webpage that ends up being their own persona to the world. Be it a superstar athlete, a musician, an actress, or just some guy down the block, everyone seems to be connected and blogging on-line.
And anyone who is anyone has a Myspace or Facebook page these days to connect with their fans, their friends, or even nobody in particular. (60 Million active facebook users vs. 110 Million for myspace)
For the purposes of this article we’ll keep it simple and leave the discussion with the two giants in the industry.
Facebook made waves last year by opening their API to allow for user created 
facebook apps. This created a surge in popularity for Facebook, as well as a mini virtual market for small casual applications that run the gamut from trivia games to trivial time-wasters.
Myspace is rumored to announce their own custom application system in the very near future.
These changes have transitioned both myspace an facebook into more of a platform then just websites. The user base already existed in large (large) numbers, but now the content is much more engaging, customizable and dynamic. The social platform tempts advertisers as the holy grail of marketing, and users were hooked before they even knew it.
Of course Google couldn’t stand on the sidelines very long. Google’s OpenSocial is just the latest attempt to join in the fray of the white-hot social platform development trend. Launched in November 2007, Google released a collection of API’s built to work together and to standard the core and method which websites and services work and speak together.
You can think of Open Social as a similar initiative for social platforms as Open ID is for User IDS. While Facebook and MySpace got an initial headstart in launching the Social Networking revolution, Google has actually made large strides into the medium in just a few short months.
Since the launch, OpenSocial has gathered support from the likes of LinkedIn, hi5, XING, Friendster, Plaxo and Ning, among others to create a huge conglomerate of social networking sites and applications that are all now linking together to form one community that uses one standard for all the software applications used across it.
Facebook, with a reported 60 million users, doesn’t seem to be that worried yet since they believe their users are satisfied with the service and the applications and netware that run over it. Sooner or later, however, as OpenSocial and the network it is creating across the internet continues to build and gain size, the two will almost inevitably be forced to join together or clash over user bases that will be huge.
Google has already extended an olive branch according to some reports, and Microsoft, which owns Facebook, rebuffed their offer at a partnership.
As the recent Open ID initiative demonstrated last year, there is strong movement in the internet community to bring barriers down and let users bring a distinct digital identity with them wherever they go electronically. It remains to be seen if while users are beginning to enjoy seamlessly moving about the internet with one sole digital identity, if they will have any enthusiasm for a protracted trade war between two conglomerates determined to rule the internet social networking community.
Technology: How has it affected the 2008 Election
For the first time ever, all of the major candidates have teams in their respective camps who’s sole job is to reach voters through the internet and other emerging technologies.
The vital key for any major is name and face recognition. That’s why whenever election time rolled around you ended up driving or walking by countless signs that said “Vote for [Insert Name Here}!!!” in big bright letters, often accompanied by a picture of the candidate.
The theory being even if you know nothing about that candidate or where he stands on the issues, if you recognize his name and his face, but his opponent is a stranger to you, you are more likely to give your vote to the recognized candidate.
Politics is the ultimate people person job. To get the job you have to make a large amount of people in the county, state, or country think favorably of you. That means making personal contact with them. Or at least looking like you’re trying to.
During the past century developments in mass communication technology had a direct impact on the American political process in many ways. The advent of radio and television meant that public figures could suddenly have audiences in the millions, not just the thousands. This drastically changed the manner in which candidates ran for office. Instead of variety of ‘whistle stops’ along a campaign trail where people had to be interested enough to travel to where the candidate was speaking, now they could hear and see the candidate talking about his views right in the comfort of their own home.
Political handlers and power brokers immediately seized on the advantage that TV and Radio could give them in presenting their candidates to the public. Especially live television, seeing and hearing the person in real-time, giving statements and answering questions, was far better than meeting with mass crowds and attempting to shake a few hands and pat a few backs. Meeting a candidate in person was often a chore, involving travel, and even then most people could only directly see the candidate for a few moments. With TV and Radio, now they could see the candidate up close, and hear him or her talk at length. This exponitially increased both name and face recognition with potential voters.
As the new century has dawned, technological innovation has continued at a rapid rate. In just the last 8 years the internet has come to play a key role in elections in this country. Just in the area of political discourse, the internet has made great contributions; organizations such as MoveOn.org and RealClearPolitics.com have provided a forum for people to discuss their ideas and strategies. Political sites such as The Daily Kos and Free Republic can get over a million visits from readers in a day, many of whom engage in debate and the sharing of ideas.
It used to be that town hall style meetings would have to be held to get together like-minded citizens to organize a political effort. Today all you need is a website and an e-mail address and you can organize an internet ‘town hall’ meeting that spans the country in the thousands, if not the millions.
In this year’s Presidential Elections, each candidate is well aware of the impact successfully conveying their ideas and personality across mass media is going to affect their chances of getting elected. Now they not only have to craft messages for the TV and the Radio; they also must construct ads and make appearances for interviews on websites that appear only on-line.
The speed of information plays such a dramatic factor in the present day elections that each and every statement made by a candidate must be carefully weighed. Within a matter of minutes a picture or soundbite from even the smallest town, college or remote location can be picked up and seen by millions online. Every debate and conversation analyzed by thousands of bloggers, and every nuanced guesture critiqued by the masses.
Many would say that this truly does bring the elections towards a truer form of democracy - where the ’every-man’ gets a chance to weigh in and make a fact based decision on each candidate (if they desire to do so).
Others believe that the parity seen in recent elections (2000-2004) is a result of the mass of information which is readily available and will continue to be the trend. Perhaps in past years whistle-stops, name recognition and/or a debate or two were enough to insure a landslide. Now millions of Americans watch every move and listen to every word. No matter the policitcal stances taken the pure amount of communicatino and information available may be bound to create a close election result.
Whoever wins in the elections this year, you can be sure they will give lots of credit for their victory to those campaign workers who dealt with internet media presentations and advertisements, their PR management team who handled the constant barrage of critisicm from the bloggers and their writers for keeping each and every campaing stump clear from danger.
Open ID: the basics explained
Yahoo Moves To Support The Open ID Initiative - What Does It Mean For Internet Users?
With more people accessing the internet now while away from home and their PC’s via laptops, cell phones, and other emerging technologies, someone has figured out a way to streamline and speed up the sharing of information even further.
With the new ‘Open ID Initiative’, consumers can now log onto all their favorite websites without having to use a bunch of different user names and a bunch of different passwords.
This speeds up the transfer of information even for those users who use the same screen name and password for all their websites and still have to pause to type in the information and wait for it to be acknowledged.
What Is Open ID?
Open ID is the creation of a single digital identity for a user on line that is used across all websites and across all platforms. Be it a tabletop PC, a laptop, a phone or wireless device, anything it can access it can access without having to officially log in with the user having to type out a name and a password. All the websites and services will recognize the Open ID user instantly without requiring any more information.
You simply type in a single universal user name and password through an Open ID Initiative Provider such as Yahoo, and the feature will automatically log you into any website that you have visited in the past that required a screen name, a password, or both. You don’t have to pause and type in different or the same information over and over again.
Still in the process of being adopted across the internet, the Open ID Initiative got a huge boost when Yahoo announced it is adding Open ID to it’s service.
The best thing about Open ID is that it never goes out of date and it never expires. Many websites and services will allow you to be logged in automatically for a week or more, but then the term expires and you have to enter the information again.
Not with Open ID. The moment the website comes up it recognizes you instantly and you’ll never be confronted with another ‘Please Log In’ page.
Who Needs Open ID?
Someone who hardly ever goes on-line or only visits a handful of websites probably doesn’t. But anybody who is frequently on-line and visits many different sites and shares or retrieves information often could certainly use it.
Without Open ID, if you wanted to send an e-mail of a picture to a friend’s cell phone from your own cell phone, you would have to:
Log on to your phone service’s internet access feature
Log on to the photo-sharing site where you stored the picture;
Log on to your e-mail service’s website
Send the picture.
That’s 3 times you had to pause and type in a user name and a password.
With the Open ID feature, you open up your phone service’s internet access feature and it instantly recognizes your identity, so there’s no pause to enter any information. You click to go to the photo-sharing site and it also instantly allows you access. Finally you click onto your e-mail service and it too instantly allows you in. You didn’t have to pause and type anything, and the entire process is speeded up dramatically.
Who Owns Or Profits From Open ID?
Nobody and no one. To quote the founder of the Open ID Initiative, Brad Fitzpatrick:
“Nobody should own this. Nobody’s planning on making any money from this. The goal is to release every part of this under the most liberal licenses possible, so there’s no money or licensing or registering required to play. It benefits the community as a whole if something like this exists, and we’re all a part of the community.”
Open ID was created to meet a need that was seen in the internet community, and as such it’s creators want that community to have full access to it. To allow any particular service to charge for the feature or for one entity to claim ownership of it would by nature raise restrictions, which is what the founders of the Open ID Initiative are working diligently to avoid.
Who Supports Open ID?
At present there are over 10,000 websites that respond to this feature.
You can quickly see which internet sites are presently Open ID enabled by checking out the directories found here:
https://www.myopenid.com/directory
The list of websites that are Open ID enabled is growing by the day, so check the directories often.
How Can I Get An Open ID?
Getting an Open ID is fast and easy. Simply log on at the following link to find a list of Open ID providers:
Get an Open ID today and enjoy the benefits of never having to stop and type another password to get into your favorite sites!
Are Big Changes Coming To EBay?
January 23rd was a big day at EBay; Whitman publicly announced her coming departure, and the EBay Board of Directors voted unanimously to appoint John Donahoe to replace her.
Donahoe has been in charge of EBay’s Marketplace Business Unit since March 2005. In the 3 years since he arrived the revenue and profit of the unit, which accounts for more than 60% of the service’s total earnings, has more than doubled.
No stranger to management, he sits on the Board of Trustees for both the Stanford Graduate School of Business and Dartmouth College.
He’ll need to hit the ground running, as Whitman doesn’t leave small shoes to fill. How effective has she been at what she does? Time Magazine called her one of the world’s most influential people, which isn’t surprising when you take into account Forbes Magazine listing her estimated worth at $1.4 billion last year.
Since becoming CEO of EBay in March of 1998, Whitman guided a small company headquartered in San Jose California with less than 50 employees into an international phenomenon that today runs a global business consisting of over 11,000 employees and earned net revenues of $7.67 billion in 2007.
Talk about having a full plate. Not only has Whitman been managing EBay into an international corporate giant the past decade, she’s also on the Board of Directors for Proctor & Gamble as well as DreamWorks Animation, the movie studio responsible for such hits as Shrek and it’s sequels, Over The Hedge, Madagascar, The Prince of Egypt, and Chicken Run. In fact, before she ever worked at EBay she made her way up to management through both Proctor & Gamble and the Walt Disney Company.
Whitman will remain as a member of EBay’s Board of Directors.
Seeking to allay concerns over the change of management, Whitman released a statement to the press, in which she commented: “During
the last three years, John and I have worked very closely together to arrive at this day, and we’ll continue to work together through the transition. I’m extremely confident in John’s skills and the abilities of John’s veteran management team. eBay and its millions of users are in great hands as they head into the future.”
Why would the highly successful CEO of a company that earned gross revenues of over $7,000,000,000 in the last year suddenly decide to step down?
Such a move makes sense now because it’s hard to see how EBay could go anywhere but down from the plateau to where Whitman has guided it. Several sources mention rumors that the reason Whitman is stepping down now instead of later is because she intends to run for Governor of California in 2010. Two years would give her plenty of time to build up her political machine and prepare to run as a candidate.
What does all this mean for people who depend on EBay’s services? Can EBay buyers and sellers expect any changes to the on-line auction house giant now that there has been a change of CEO’s?
The only changes Donahoe has discussed publicly thus far were experimenting with new pricing frameworks that would cause more of the items listed on EBay to be purchased for a fixed price rather than from bidding on auctions. He also mentioned dropping the rates charged to to the sellers for listing their items on EBay’s website.
These changes may not be welcomed by Ebay investors as warmly as sellers. But in the eyes of the users they should be welcome. In recent years ebay consumers (both buyers and sellers) have bridled over cost increases and fees. The user base has degraded a bit due to these increases. Combine these losses with the missteps made by management in buying Skpye (which Ebay is rumored to be shopping to buyers) and it becomes clear that some change is needed.
Both moves seem geared to increase consumer use of the service, as buyers can be confident in obtaining an item being offered for a fixed price since no one can log in at the last minute and outbid them as the auction is expiring, and lowering the rates for listing items for sale will encourage regular sellers to post even more items with the service.
Several market watchers noted that EBay didn’t show the same robust growth after the aqquisition of Skype, an internet telephone service for which there were high expectations.
Looking at the growth the company has enjoyed the past 10 years, other market observers think after such long, dramatic growth such a dip in profit is nothing to be concerned about.
Taken as a whole, Whitman has handed off a company to her successor that has been outstandingly successful, and based on what he’s done in the short time he’s been there, there’s no reason to expect any major changes or negative impact from this development.
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