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eBook Power Struggle

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Amazon has had its hands full since the announcement of Apple’s upcoming iPad tablet computer. The iPad is expected to compete strongly against Amazon’s Kindle eBook reader. Besides the many and varied applications that will run on the iPad, it will also offer a robust iBookstore that will feature titles from popular publishers that include Penguin, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, MacMillan, and Hachette. The deal that Apple has made with these publishers is significantly better than their deals with Amazon. Apple is allowing the publishers to set their own price for ebooks and will take 30 percent, while Amazon pays publishers a flat $15 per book and sells the ebooks at a subsidized rate of $9.99.

The publishers are using their new association with Apple’s iPad to leverage a better deal with Amazon. Last week, Amazon made the headlines for pulling all MacMillan books from its online shelves in retaliation of MacMillan’s demand for variable pricing on its ebooks. Amazon complained that MacMillan was imposing a pricing model that was bad for consumers and the ebook industry. MacMillan, which has considerable influence in the publishing world, began advertising its books as “Available at booksellers everywhere except Amazon.” The tiff didn’t last long as Amazon gave in to MacMillan’s demands within days. Shortly there after, two other publishers, Hachette and HarperCollins made the same pricing demands of Amazon. That leaves only Penguin and Simon & Schuster, who are expected to jump on board any day now.

So, it would appear the days of $9.99 ebooks are over. Best sellers are likely to sell for $14.99, while other, less popular titles will retain their $9.99 price tag. This is essentially what happened in the digital music industry in 2007 when Apple iTunes, under pressure from the music industry and Amazon’s new MP3 store, moved from a 99 cents per track model to variable pricing. Now its Amazon’s turn to buckle under pressure.

But Amazon isn’t taking its recent hardships lying down. This week Amazon acquired Touchco, a manufacturer of touchscreen displays. Meanwhile, PVI, the company that makes the Kindle’s e-ink display announced that it will soon be capable of producing color e-ink displays, and even flexible models. It’s feasible that Amazon could come back later this year with a new Super Kindel featuring a color e-ink touchscreen, and additional applications. As color e-ink displays enter the market, it will be interesting to see if consumers prefer them over the led displays of the iPad and the upcoming generation of tablets.

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Tracking Web Fingerprints

Sunday, January 31, 2010

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has discovered a new way for Web hosts to track user’s movements around the Internet without using cookies or IP addresses. Each web page request that arrives at a server contains detailed information about the user’s computer such as browser type and version, and the plugins that are installed. That information can be compiled to create a unique fingerprint for most computers. Computer fingerprints can be used to compile information about a user’s interests and habits which are valuable commodities for Internet advertisers.

Filed in Internet, Social Issues, eCommerce, privacy | Tagged | Comments (0)

Introducing the iPad

Sunday, January 31, 2010

After months of speculation and anticipation, Apple’s latest creation is finally unveiled. Last Wednesday, with a packed amphitheater of journalists poised on the edges of their seats, Steve Jobs and colleagues showed off Apple’s new tablet PC, the iPad. Since then bloggers and journalists have been filling pages with there impressions of the iPad ranging from ecstatic to skeptical. Here’s a short overview of the iPad and the world’s reaction to its arrival.

The iPad is a 9.5 by 7.5 inch, half-inch-thin tablet PC, with an aluminum case, and a 10-inch LED multi-touch display. It has a custom-designed 1 GHz processor for high performance and a long 10 hour battery life.

Not unlike a giant, thin and sleek iPhone, the iPad has the same button and port configuration as an iPhone, and runs all of the iPhone apps at a larger, higher resolution. It also runs software specifically designed for it including Apple’s iWork word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation applications. The iPhone OS and interface that runs on the iPad has been updated to take advantage of the large display.

The iPad has most of the features of an iPhone 3GS including an accelerometer, Assisted GPS, Bluetooth, portrait or landscape viewing modes, and a software keyboard. Users can purchase a regular external keyboard which connects to the iPad dock. The iPad can then act like a notebook, utilizing the touchscreen in place of a mouse. There is also an optional case that doubles as a stand for convenient movie viewing, and laptop computing.

The iPad connects to the Internet over Wi-fi networks or over AT&T’s 3G cellular network. Unlike the iPhone, there is no subscription plan required. Two prepay options are available. One provides 250 MB for $14.99/month. The other is unlimited data for $29.99/month. Users are free to use the iPad exclusively over Wi-fi to eliminate monthly fees altogether.

Wi-fi-only models of the iPad range in price from $499 to $699 depending on the size of the hard drive, while iPads that support both wi-fi and 3G start at $629 and run up to $829. Wi-fi only models will be available at the end of March with Wi-fi+3G models arriving a month later.

What distinguishes the iPad from previous Windows-based tablets is the user interface and software. The iPad comes instantly out of sleep displaying the home screen. Swiping across the display reveals pages of applications. Apples implementation of the multi-touch user interface looks very elegant, intuitive, and easy to use. While the iPad runs all iPhone software, it’s large hi-def display will serve some applications better than other. Movies, books, newspapers, magazines, and photos look beautiful on the iPad display even at extreme angles. This makes it easy for two or three people to view simultaneously. Maps and GIS applications are sure to be popular on the iPad. Games will take on a whole new aspect viewed on the iPads large display and controlled via the accelerometer. Apple’s iWork software supports more productive activities while the Web browser and social network applications provide user’s favorite online activities. Without doubt, software developers will be using the iPad’s software development kit to design many applications that take advantage of the iPad’s unique form factor. There should be many more enticing apps available by the time the iPad hits the market.

The reviews of the iPad are mostly favorable, with some well known silicon valley journalists practically gushing over it. However, there are points of dissatisfaction as well. The iPad has no camera, and is unable to function as a phone over AT&T’s network. The iPad does not support multitasking to the level where multiple applications can run in multiple windows. So when switching between applications, the user must always return to the home screen and relaunch the application. The iPad does not support Flash, so some Web content will not be viewable. The iPad is extremely limited on ports. Besides its headphone jack, it has only its one Dock connector for connecting to a PC. Perhaps the largest concern expressed over the iPad is it’s lack of open standards. It appears that all media content on the iPad will be locked down with digital rights management. Movies, television programs, books, magazines, and newspapers will have to be purchased from Apple partners. DRM is the norm for ebook readers like the Kindle, and video services like netflix. However, an iPad-like tablet based on Google’s open Android or Chrome OS platforms, could garner a fan base of users who feel Apple commands too much control over its users.

No matter what level of success the iPad achieves, its impact on the market will be considerable. While the iPad doesn’t have enough power or features to compete with regular notebook computers, it is likely to make life difficult for ebook readers like the Kindle, and netbooks. It’s lower-than-expected price, is already causing other tablet manufacturers to drop their prices in order to better compete when the iPad hits the market. Just as 2008 was the years of the smartphone, and 2009 was the year of the netbook, it is likely that the iPad will make 2010 the year of the tablet.

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Weak Passwords

Saturday, January 23, 2010

A recent hack of RockYou.com made 32 million user passwords available to the public. A security firm analyzed the passwords and found that for the most part, they are easy to guess. About a third of the passwords are less than 6 characters, and half use common words that could be easily hacked using a dictionary attack. The most common password on the system was 123456. The research has caused concern over people’s ability to use strong effective passwords to protect their own accounts and network infrastructures.

32 million passwords show most users careless about security [Ars Technica]

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Zombie Kids?

Saturday, January 23, 2010

A study by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that the average young american spends practically every waking moment, outside of school, on the computer, watching TV, playing video games, or tuned in to some other electronic device.

If Your Kids Are Awake, They’re Probably Online [NYTimes]
Kids consume media as a full-time job—many getting overtime [Ars Technica]

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Secretary Clinton Addresses Internet Freedom

Saturday, January 23, 2010

This week Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke on the importance of freedom of expression and the free flow of information on the Internet. The speech coincidentally follows last week’s announcement by Google that it and 30 other companies and organizations were hacked by what it claims must have been the Chinese government. Google threatened to close its China operations unless China abandons the censorship requirements it has placed on the company’s China division.

Secretary Clinton spoke about the tremendous advantages that the Internet has provided to countries around the world, reiterating President Obama’s statement that “the more freely information flows, the stronger societies become.” She said that “access to information allows citizens to hold their governments more accountable, generates new ideas, and encourages creativity and entrepreneurship.”

She voiced concern that the Internet is being exploited by some governments to undermine human progress and political rights. She named China, Tunisia, and Uzbekistan as countries that are censoring the Internet for their citizens. She also criticized Vietnam, Egypt, Iran, and North Korea, for censorship and in some cases for imprisoning bloggers.

Secretary Clinton stated that the U.S. stands for a single Internet where all of humanity has equal access to knowledge and ideas. She referred to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights citing that all people have the right to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media. She also compared Internet censorship in some countries to the iron curtain of the cold war era, referring to the practice as an “information curtain” where virtual walls are placed on the Internet. She asked the world’s population and governments to consider the kind of future we want. A world with one Internet, where cultures freely share information, or a fragmented globe where access to information is dependant on where you live. The Secretary pointed out that asymmetrical access to information leads to misunderstanding and international disputes.

The Secretary gave many examples of the benefits of a connected world, and the dangers of the Internet being abused to promote violence, and hate speech. She acknowledged the challenge of balancing anonymous Internet use with accountability for illegal online activities, but said that these issues must not become an excuse for governments to systematically violate the rights of citizens.

Secretary Clinton addressed the issue of state-sponsored Internet attacks saying that countries and states that engage in cyber attacks should face consequences and international condemnation. Regarding the recent Google attack, she called on Chinese authorities to conduct a thorough review of the cyber intrusion and to announce its findings in a transparent way. She acknowledged the difference of opinion between the US and China regarding Internet freedom, and said that the US will address those differences “in a candid and consistent manner in the context of our positive, cooperative, and comprehensive relationship.”

The Secretary declared that the US government is committed to helping promote Internet freedom. She said that the US government is helping to create new tools that can assist people in circumventing politically motivated censorship. She announced a new program to partner with non-governmental agencies to apply what she refers to as “connection technologies” to aid in meeting the countries diplomatic goals.

Also in her speech Secretary Clinton touched on the responsibility of Internet firms to respect their user’s privacy and exercise ethical behavior when working with foreign governments. She said that not only is it the right thing to do but its also the smart thing to do.

She called on the world powers to utilize Internet connections to pool resources to help the global economy, improve the environment, defeat terrorists, and help people realize their potential. We cannot stand by while people are separated from the rest of humanity by walls of censorship, she said. We cannot be silent about these issues simply because we cannot hear the cries.

China reacted to Secretary Clinton’s speech by lambasting the U.S. for “attacking other cultures by trying to impose its own values.” The Chinese government has warned that the US attitude of “information Imperialism” will damage US-China relations.

Google says that it is still in the process of investigating the impact of the cyber-attack. Its investigation includes members of its Chinese work force. Google has postponed its launch of two Android phones in China, and plans to hold talks with the Chinese government in coming weeks.

Meanwhile Europe’s primary security and human rights watchdog has accused Turkey of blocking some 3700 Web sites for what it claims are arbitrary and political reasons.

You can listen to or read the Secretary’s speech at blogs.state.gov.

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Google Takes On China

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Google shocked the world this week by announcing that it would rather shut down its China operations than comply with China’s censorship laws. The announcement was applauded by human rights organizations around the world, with bouquets of flowers being laid across Google’s sign at the entrance to its large Beijing headquarters. Meanwhile Google investors are stunned speechless by the prospect of Google snubbing the country with the 2nd largest, and most rapidly growing economy.

Google’s decision was prompted by a cyber attack on Google servers last month that originated in China. Google’s investigation of the attack shows that it was not the only target. Twenty other large businesses and government agencies were also hacked. In each case, the attackers were seeking information related to human rights activists with a history of attacking China and its practices. While it is not possible to prove the attack was government sponsored, investigators believe that the level of sophistication involved point to government sources.

China has responded to the allegation by downplaying the incident and reiterating that all businesses in Chine are bound to uphold China laws. As it appears China will not budge on its censorship requirements for Internet companies, everyone is waiting to see if Google will stay true to its word and close its China operations. Meanwhile the US government intends to make a formal demand of China to investigate the incident and report back its findings.

Yahoo!, who has previously found its own Chinese operations caught between China’s censorship and human rights groups, was also a target in the recent attack. Yahoo! released a statement supporting Google’s stance against China. The statement stirred up contempt from Yahoo’s China partner, Alibaba, who called Yahoo’s response reckless. Yahoo owns a 40 percent share of the giant Chinese online company that runs Yahoo! China. Meanwhile, Microsoft, who was also hacked, is downplaying the incident stating that it has no plans to change its business strategy in China. Microsoft has partnered with the Chinese government to crack down on software pirating in China. To criticize China might destroy the progress Microsoft has made in its efforts.

The hackers were able to infiltrate the corporate networks utilizing a security hole in Internet Explorer. The method of the attack was recently made public and is already being used by hackers in more recent attacks. Security experts are cautioning INternet users from using Internet Explorer, although Microsoft says that Vista and Windows 7 users should be safe if they run IE in Safe Mode. Microsoft is scrambling to create a patch for the vulnerability. Meanwhile Google announced that it is adding HTTPS encryption to all gmail services to help protect user’s privacy.

So, like a soap opera on a global scale, we will have to wait to see how this story plays out…

  • Will Google really pull out of China?
  • Will other companies follow Google’s lead?
  • How will China respond to U.S. demands for an investigation?
  • Will Yahoo and Alibaba kiss and make up?
  • Will Microsoft patch Internet Explorer before many others are hacked?

Tune in next week to find out!

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CES Review

Friday, January 15, 2010

The Consumer Electronics Show has concluded in Las Vegas, launching a number of new technologies and providing insight into important technologies of 2010. The three product categories garnering the most attention were 3D HD television, tablet and slate computers and ebook readers, and smartphones and superphones.

Last year’s CES saw the introduction of the 3-D TV, and this year saw its proliferation. Nearly every television manufacturer at CES was demoing what they claimed was the best 3-D Hi-def TV. 3-D TVs perform like regular hi-def televisions, but have additional 3-D capability. When in 3-D mode, viewers are required to don 3-D glasses to enjoy the immersive viewing experience. Cable TV companies are rushing to deliver 3-D channels and content to watch on this new generation of television. For example, both ESPN and Discovery are in the process of launching 3-D TV networks. Manufacturers are hoping that the introduction of 3-D technology will spur television sales, while analysts are wondering if the public is even interested. The Panasonic TC-PVT25 series 3-D TV won the best in show award in the TV category at CES.

Most everyone knew that ebook readers would be hot at this year’s CES, but I doubt anyone anticipated how hot. Dozens of ebook readers were launched last week at CES, including four from Samsung, two from Interead, six from DMC, 2 from Jinke, and others from Fujitsu, iRiver, Entourage, Spring Designs, Skiff, Plastic Logic, Hanvon, and others. Two ebook readers distinguish themselves from the crowd. Both the Que from Plastic Logic and the Skiff Reader from Skiff are marketed as ebook readers for business professionals. They feature large touch sensitive e-ink displays for viewing newspapers, periodicals, and business documents in both Microsoft Office and Adobe PDF formats. The Que will also connect to Microsoft Exchange servers for viewing email and calendars.

Slate PCs have emerged as the headline grabber in the personal computer category. While these devices were being referred to as Tablet PCs just a few weeks ago, the Apple rumors about a new iSlate device has everyone referring to their tablet as a slate – including Steve Balmer, who introduced Windows 7 running on a Dell “slate” computer. The slate design is much like an ebook reader, such as Amazon’s Kindle, but utilizes an LCD display rather than e-ink, and includes PC and Internet functionality. Lenovo took the Best in Show award in the Computer category for its IdeaPad U1 Hybrid. The U1 looks like a sleek Windows 7 notebook, until you remove the display, which functions as a slate computer running Linux.

Last year, Palm earned most of the attention at CES with the unveiling of the Palm Pre. This year, Palm once again wooed the audience with new versions of the Palm Pre and Pixie, a partnership with EA Games to develop mobile games for its devices, and a new software development kit for the Palm Web OS that should generate a lot more applications for its devices. Palm handsets are available to Verizon and Sprint subscribers, and AT&T announced that it will soon carry two handsets running Palm’s Web OS. AT&T also announced the adoption of five new smart phones based on Google’s Android operating system, including one from Dell. Many are seeing this as an indication that the iPhone may soon be expanding beyond AT&T’s network. Just Prior to CES, Google unveiled its own handset named the Nexus One. The Nexus one is a high-end Google Android phone, with the distinction of being sold and supported directly by Google at www.google.com/phone. The Nexus One is currently designed only for the Verizon network. Google refers to the Nexus One as a superphone, rather than a smartphone, due to its powerful processor and applications. Analysts and vendors are picking up on “superphone” and using the term to describe other powerful handsets on the market.

Other technologies getting attention at this year’s CES include:

  1. An in-dash touchsceen computer system from Ford named Mytouch
  2. Touch enabled computers and netbooks like the new HP Mini 5102
  3. Smartbooks, smaller than netbooks but larger than smartphones; these tiny Internet-connected notebooks typically run a Linux operating system on an ARM processor
  4. The first devices utilizing the new USB v3.0 – now external drives can be as fast as internal drives!
  5. And Samsung’s notebook with a transparent see-through 14 inch OLED display

While many new and exciting devices were unveiled last week at CES, tech companies and enthusiasts are waiting expectantly to see what Apple will unveil at its January 27 press gathering.

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Google Public DNS

Monday, December 14, 2009

When you type a URL into your browser, or click a link on a Web page, your request is sent to a Domain Name System server or DNS server where the IP address and server location of the resource is acquired. The DNS keeps track of where everything is on the Internet including Web pages, email, and all other Internet resources. Typically, users use a DNS server provided by their Internet service provider. This week, however, Google is encouraging users to switch to its own new service named Google Public DNS.

Google claims that its new DNS service provides faster and more secure processing than your Internet service providers’. To switch to Google Public DNS, users are required to change the DNS settings in their router to point to Google’s DNS server addresses: 8.8.8.8 as the primary address and 8.8.4.4 for the secondary.

Some in the industry are concerned that Google will gain too much power if it is allowed to grow as a DNS service provider. DNS service providers have access to every Internet request that users make. If not regulated, that power could result in invasion of privacy and other civil rights abuses. At the very least it would give Google valuable insight into public interests and allow it to monetize that insight through its advertising services.

So far, most reviews of the service are unable to find any benefit to switching to Google Public DNS, except for individuals using substandard Internet service providers. However, over time, Google could develop services, especially in the area of information security that could make its DNS service more attractive.

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QR Me

Monday, December 14, 2009

Google is mailing out 100,000 QR Code stickers to businesses around the world. QR Codes are the next generation bar codes that are made up of a grid of small squares. Businesses can place the stickers at their entrance for customers to scan wit htheir cell phone cameras. Utilizing special software, the cell phones can then access detailed information about the business, along with customer reviews, and discount coupons.

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