Jolibook is up in the Cloud

Cloudcomputing; “Web-based processing, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices (such as smartphones) on demand over the Internet”, (Source Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_computing) has, up until now, largely been employed by companies seeking to reduce infrastructure and software costs.  Jolicloud would like to change that and may be successful.  They have just announced that the launch of their first netbook; the Jolibook, powered by their proprietary OS, will be in the UK.    The Jolibook is the first of its kind and marks the beginning of a revolution in Cloudcomputing.  No longer reserved for Small and Medium businesses, Cloudcomputing is revolutionizing the Netbook industry and if Jolicloud has its way their OS may appear on corporate workstations in the very near future.

Most large companies already use Software as a Service in order to fulfill their business practices and spend large amounts of money on the maintenance of the workstations.  The Windows OS can be complicated to navigate for a novice user, who unfortunately, is usually the end user in these firms and thus, switching to the Jolicloud OS could enhance productivity and reduce maintenance costs.  These are just the obvious benefits.  I expect that we will see further benefits surface as this becomes more popular and its use becomes more widespread.  The main disadvantage surrounding the use of Cloudcomputing on a large scale is the ability to maintain data confidentiality and integrity.  Since the data is being stored by a third party, control is limited.  Hopefully privacy laws will catch up in light of the recent Facebook fiasco.

Streaming sites killing TV?

   "Dish Network Vice-President of Online Content Development and Strategy, Bruce Eisen" stated at a conference Nov. 3rd that streaming sites such as Hulu will "destroy the television industry as we know it".  At first glance I do understand his point of view, but is that really a bad thing?  What is not mentioned are the details about the target audience for these sites.  Generally speaking, people who do use streaming sites do not have cable television or have a basic version that does not give them access to premium sites such as HBO.  They can not afford or are not willing to pay for this service.  In essence, if a suitable substitute is available at a lower price then people will opt for that alternative.  HBO has stated that they have not seen any evidence of switching and thus this is not the issue.  It seems to be the cable companies that stand to lose the most, or will they?  It is up to them to adopt their business model to adjust their revenue streams to factor in these new alternatives.  Instead of paying for cable television, consumers will pay for broadband internet.  This emerging trend is not something they will be able to stop and in order to survive they must adapt. 
   As a consumer I would gladly pay a small fee to have access to content, even if it was delayed a certain period of time to avoid cannibalization.  Case in point, Netflix launched on XBOX Live and as soon as the new dashboard was downloaded I installed Netflix and have been enjoying it since.   

Net Neutrality may divide the Internet

   Net Neutrality was as foreign a concept to me as it is to the 99.999% of Google users according to CEO of KDPaines & Partners; Katie Delahaye Paine.  I understood the concept implicitly and knew that one day, a very dark day, free internet will cease to exist.  Free from legislation and red tape.  The debate has been going on for quite some time now however no consensus has been reached.  Everyone agrees that copyrighted material is being stolen and distributed however no one agrees on what to do about it or even who should.
   Google and Verizon have partnered and made a brash proposal to segment the internet as we know it and remove the concept of Net Neutrality for wireless services, which would mean that Net Neutrality would no longer extend to the Internet services you enjoy on your cell phone and mobile devices.  Although I do understand that no one uses peer to peer clients on their mobile devices, what practical advantages are there in doing so and for whom?  Notwithstanding that in the very near future with the advent of the LTE networks, HD television will be streamed wirelessly to your living room.  That being said, wireless service providers may edge out existing ISPs to become the only providers of media.  If Google has their way Net Neutrality could effectively be over for everyone.  Maybe they had not thought that far ahead or, maybe they have and this is part one in the changes that end the Internet as we know it.

Privacy Breach Plagues Facebook yet again

Social Networking giant Facebook is under fire for allowing third party app developers to collect and share users’ personal data.  The news comes from a Wall Street Journal report that discovered the unique Facebook ID which serves to identify each user was being collected and shared with 25 advertising and marketing firms.  Even more alarming is the fact that the offenders are major money makers for Facebook and are amongst the top downloaded and played apps; Zynga being one of them.  Facebook has since shut down the offending content developers, with the exception of Zynga.  Although they are the largest firm found to be in violation of Facebook's privacy policy they have not been shutdown.  It would seem that privacy issues are secondary to revenue stream.  The world may just grind to a halt if people couldn't feed their virtual animals. 

The unique ID that is being collected and shared allows marketing firms to connect this ID with the users name and contact information regardless of their privacy settings.  The value of this information far outweighs the consequences of violating the privacy policies.  Firms will use this information to track habits and behaviours, enabling more accurate marketing of products and services.  While this may seem fairly inoffensive, it raises some very serious concerns about the control we have over our personal information.  Hopefully this will serve to raise awareness of privacy issues and force the government to create tougher laws to deal with non-compliant companies.

Cybercrime on the Social Networking Bandwagon

   After releasing version 9 of its Security Intelligence Report, Microsoft revealed the number and prominent geographical locations of the botnet-infected computers it detected.  Most notable among the results is the fact that 2.2 million, or one third of all detected infected computers were found to be in the United States.  Even more interesting is the shift in the medium that the infection uses to spread.  In the same report, Microsoft reports that there is a decline in the spread of popular botnet malwares Rimecud, Alureon, and Hamweq in favor of a malware  called Pushbot that uses MSN, AIM and Yahoo Messenger to spread.  With the decline of the use of email and the rise of instant messaging it only makes sense that this trend would arise.  It would seem as though even cyber-crime is hoping onto the social networking bandwagon but in reality they have been there all along.
   Speaking of social networking, it was only a matter of time before they found a way to spread botnet malware via Facebook,  thankfully it was a group of researchers.  (see enclosure link) In 2008 they successfully created an app for Facebook that once installed, loaded the users computer with malware that would make it part of the botnet army and allow the bot herder to use it initiate denial of service attacks.  If it was possible then, someone is doing it now.  Therefore it would be prudent to not accept friend requests from people you do not know and only install apps from established companies.  What if Facebook was created for just this purpose all along?  Nahhhh that can't be...
  

Things just got very interesting

   Mozilla is being very elusive about the development of a new open-web based mobile phone called "Seabird".  It is still only a concept at this point so it does make sense for them to keep it under wraps for the time being.  The key features that have been unveiled and that make it outstanding are the dual pico projectors, which will allow the user to project his mobile screen onto any flat surface while the opposite projector displays a virtual keyboard, hence essentially rendering the phone into a netbook.  If successful Mozilla will have managed to consolidate yet another device into a mobile phone.  Now one can enjoy the use of a camera, mp3 player, internet with full keyboard and bluetooth mouse, and well yes a phone too.
  In doing so, Mozilla has broke the mold and have extended their value chain to include the very competitive mobile phone and Operating System markets.  This is a good example of a truly internet only company using solid strategy to expand it's business and leverage its core competencies to enter a market that at first glance would not seem to be a good fit.  Mr. Porter would be proud.  If the "Seabird" delivers on its promises there may be an upset in the mobile OS industry, putting Mozilla in an advantageous position.  But how would they reap the benefits of this situation?  In order to maximize their revenue potential, Mozilla would have to find new revenue streams to complement the sales of their new OS and phone and what better way than to implement a portal into your world right on your phone's browser.  Dare I say it could even be a new social networking portal that links your Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites and possibly with time could become a standalone site.  Users would launch Firefox and log into their email just like gmail and have access to email, updates from their social networking sites, and personalized RSS feeds along with the ability to search in the new propietary Firefox search engine.  This last feature would have to be developed of course.  The site could also incorporate online games as a way to increase revenue potential.  The possibilities are endless.  The "Seabird" is really just the tip of the iceberg.

XBOX Live dashboard prepped for Kinect

   Microsoft XBOX Live are preparing the XBOX Live dashboard in anticipation of the launch of the new Kinect motion control system as well as their new Windows Mobile 7 OS.  The later is destined to bring XBOX Live gamer tags to your mobile phone, which they hope, will help them take away market share from Apple, Android, and Blackberry. While the improvements to the search engine for Netflix should increase its adoption, it is doubtful that users of rival OS creators will switch to gain access to their gamer profiles.  It is unclear how this is going to enhance the users experience and although they plan on developing apps that gamers will enjoy, so do their rivals and very well at that.  The first game they thought to bring to the Windows Mobile 7 platform is Zynga's popular online game Farmville.  It may be popular online but not with the XBOX gaming community.
   As a gamer, iPhone user and Netflix enthusiast, I feel Microsoft have missed the mark and would have more success if they continued to develop the Zune and turned it into a phone with Windows Mobile 7; Microsofts' very own iPhone.  This would allow XBOX users to browse and purchase music directly from their XBOX dashboard, download it to their Zune and enjoy it on the go.  If and when this is a possibility, the idea of having my gamer tag linked to my phone would be a nice to have but not a deal breaker.  

Streaming HD media kills Blu-Ray

   Netflix has partnered with Microsoft and Xbox Live to provide streamed content via Xbox Live and while discussing this with a gaming site, UK Xbox chief; Stepehen McGill, took a bash at the Blu-Ray format and said that "it will be passed by as a format", citing the increasing popularity of streaming content.  For now, streamed content does not enjoy the benefit of full HD that Blu-Ray does however the possibility of doing so is in the very near future and this could spell the end for physical media once and for all.  Netflix should be able to provide high quality HD content within the next couple of years making it possible to access your account and stream your favorite shows and movies from anywhere in the world, all in HD, assuming you have an HD television of course. 
   Many would argue that it will be a long time before consumers switch to this method of delivery, however I for one, have not rented a DVD since 2008 and had reduced my consumption drastically in the few years preceeding 2008 in favor of streaming.  Although the quality suffers dramatically, it seems others are doing the same as Blockbuster has just announced that they haved filed for bankruptcy protection.  It may take some time for the Blu-Ray format to meet it's inevitable demise but the king of the court will not wait very long to take its rightful place on the throne, or in this situation, your television.
   I am very excited by this change in the industry.  Gone will be the days of web-surfing, searching for a website offering decent quality videos until it gets shutdown, only to have my bandwidth truncated by my ISP when trying to watch them.  I would gladly pay to stream full HD movies and television shows directly to my living room.  Now if you will exscuse me I am going to get a full HD 1080p HD television so I will be ready to hibernate this winter.

iSwifter introduces Flash based streaming to Apple

   iSwifter has launched an iPad app today; Sept. 16th 2010, that will allow users to stream Flash games.  First impressions cite it to be laggy and most thinks it's days are numbered, however this is great news as it opens up new possibilities for the Flash shy super devices in Apple's portfolio; the most obvious being Flash videos.  A free downloadable app that enables Flash based video and game streaming is an attractive option for newfound partners Netflix.  This would allow them to stream directly to consumer's devices giving them the ability to watch their favorite shows immediately rather than wait for it to download. 
   iSwifter are not the first to introduce the notion however if they are able to make it profitable for the stakeholders they will be successful where others have not. 
    Television broadcast companies and movie studios may opt to create their own apps in order to provide a direct portal to their content that reaches millions of viewers without an intermediary player.  A fee could be charged for access to premium content such as highly rated television shows or Pay-Per-View events. 
   iSwifter must move quickly in order to solidify their place in this market and capitalize on the small window of opportunity that the first mover advantage will grant them.  As the saying goes, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery but in e-business, flattery has a double edged blade.

Apple to include Netflix in next Apple TV

Apple has announced that they will be including access to Netflix in their upcoming release of the new generation of Apple TV.  Although this may help them sell units to Netflix clients, some may argue that it will cannabalize their existing service available via iTunes.  Apple offers popular tv series and movies via their media portal but their rental model was given the cold shoulder by many large Studios, citing it would destroy the industry like they did to the music industry.  This move is an attempt to broaden their customer base by gaining access to media they did not previously have and it may just work.
Although I do believe that this type of service is changing the face of all the media types we enjoy, it is not destroying it, rather making it more accesible.  Studios will be forced to produce fewer, better quality movies and television programs which, will benefit the viewers and maybe increase interest. 
Apple is adjusting to the times and securing their digital footprint by aligning themselves with the most popular and profitable online streaming company.  Oddly, for once they are not the innovator but merely a facilitator...but then again they always have been trying to make things easier.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6810OE20100902?loomia_ow=t0:s0:a49:g43:r3:c0.071429:b37036440:z0
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6815M120100902