News written by Rich Fiscus (October, 2009)

In an interview with GigaOM's Om Malik, Lee Williams of the Symbian Foundation accused Google of using Android to collect user data for questionable purposes.

Symbian is the mobile phone OS used in Nokia, Sony Ericsson, and Samsung smartphones. Despite having a relatively small presence in the US market, it is found on more smartphones worldwide than any other OS.

Some industry analysts believe Android could be Symbian's biggest competitor over the next few years.

"First and foremost the goal of a Google system would be to create a situation where you have information about the user and the use of those apps," said Williams.

"Secondarily," he added, "it would be to cookie them, so that you get that unique identifier association with the data you've collected on the individual's habits, routines, and so on and so forth so that you can target apps toward them. So you can build more intelligent cloud-based apps for them."

Williams also complained that Android is fragmenting the market because of differences between the UI of various phone manufacturers.

Microsoft has walked away from sponsorship of the upcoming "Family Guy Presents: Seth & Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show". After seeing the show's live taping Microsoft executives decided they didn't want the Windows brand associated with it.

A Microsoft spokeswoman said "We initially chose to participate in the Seth and Alex variety show based on the audience composition and creative humor of 'Family Guy,' but after reviewing an early version of the variety show it became clear that the content was not a fit with the Windows brand."

It sounds like no one at Microsoft actually bothered to watch "Family Guy" before jumping at the chance to market to its audience.

Microsoft was paying to sponsor the show in full, making it ad free. In exchange Windows 7 promotions were written into the show itself.

Fox plans to find another sponsor, but they'll have to work fast in order to get replacement footage shot promoting a different product. The show is scheduled to air on November 8.

Comments by a New York Times executive are helping stir up a new round of rumors about Apple introducing a tablet computer. Rumors of an Apple tablet have circulated regularly since the introduction of the original iPhone.

The latest talk is about comments Bill Keller, Executive Editor of the New York Times, made to his company's digital staff.

He said, "I’m hoping we can get the newsroom more actively involved in the challenge of delivering our best journalism in the form of Times Reader, iPhone apps, WAP, or the impending Apple slate, or whatever comes after that."

It's unknown right now whether he was speaking about a product he has some inside information on or just working from the assumption that Apple will eventually start making tablets.

The New York Times already sells subscriptions for viewing on Amazon's Kindle eBook reader.

During last week's earnings conference call CFO Peter Oppenheimer and COO Tim Cook indicated there would be abnormally high air freight costs in Apple's next fiscal quarter which goes through December.

Last week Reed Hastings announced that Netflix had a new consumer electronics partner who would be providing a client for their Watch Instantly streaming video service. Today they made a joint announcement with Sony saying the PS3 will be getting the Netflix service.

What's more interesting is the way Sony will be adding this feature to their game consoles initially. They will use Blu-ray's BD-Live capabilities and require a special Blu-ray disc available for free to any Netflix member.

You can register to be notified when the discs are available by going to the Netflix website. PS3 Netflix support should become available some time next month.

This is arguably the most ambitious use of BD-Live to date. BD-Live is a feature of Profile 2.0 Blu-ray players. It allows additional content to be provided via a player's built in networking and a broadband internet connection.

In this case BD-Live will be used to provide all the content instead of just extras.

A provision which would require a judicial order before the government could have someone's internet account shut off has been removed from the Telecoms Package being negotiated between European Parliament and the European Council.

The amendment, approved overwhelmingly earlier this year by MEPs, said "No restriction may be imposed on the fundamental rights and freedoms of end users, without a prior ruling by the judicial authorities … save when public security is threatened."

It would have called into question the legality of laws promoted by the recording industry as the solution to illegal file sharing. Record labels favor laws which allow them to punish alleged copyright infringement without being required to prove their charges in court first.

So far France has followed the industry's blueprint very closely. Their 3 strikes law, which has been approved by both legislators, and in a revised version by the country's top court, does now require judicial approval of internet disconnection.

On Wednesday News Corp Deputy Chairman, Chase Carey, told an audience of broadcast and cable executives he hopes Hulu will move to a subscription model.

He said "I think what we nee to do is deliver that content to consumers in a way where they will appreciate the value."

But is he right about the intrinsic value of the content? His vision seems to be at odds with that of Hulu CEO Jason Kilar.

Kilar's vision for Hulu connecting to as many users in as many ways as possible. It is largely this approach which has made Hulu one of the most popular video sites in the US.

That success hasn't insulated them from the whims of content providers. Earlier this year Hulu cut off access to their content from rival video site (CBS owned) TV.com.

At the same time they began blocking Boxee media center users and later PS3 users as well. Hulu's Kilar expressed regret for cutting off Boxee users, but indicated content owners (who also happen to own Hulu) gave him no choice.

Netflix will be expanding their Watch Instantly streaming video service beyond US borders for the first time next year.

During the company's Q3 conference call, CEO Reed Hastings said "with global studios and with global CE companies we are planning our first international effort in the second half of 2010."

He also indicated Netflix will be adding another US consumer electronics partner later this year, but couldn't name the company yet.

He talked about some ideas for future deals with both movie studios and ISPs. With DVD sales dropping the studios are concerned that cheap rentals are eating into early sales.

Hastings spoke about the idea of a sales-only window for DVDs. Under such a plan they would wait to rent DVDs until a certain number of days or weeks after it goes on sale.

He believes the DVDs released this way would sell better initially and Netflix could benefit from buying discs at a lower price when they do start renting them.

Addressing the concerns ISPs have voiced about the bandwidth used by streaming video like Netlix makes available to every subscriber, Hastings suggested they might be able to work out promotions which would make high end broadband plans more attractive to customers.

Problems with the configuration of a modem provided by Time Warner Cable to more than 60,000 broadband internet customers make it easy for a hacker to gain control of the unit remotely.

The problems were spelled out by blogger David Chen after he tried to help a friend change some settings on his Time Warner provided SMC8014WG-SI cable modem/router. To anyone with a modest understanding of security his findings will likely be a little surprising.

As with many ISP-provided routers, the Time Warner units disable customer access to a number of advanced features. Shockingly, however, Chen found some important administrative features were still there, and simply masked by Javascript.

By simply disabling Javascript support in his browser he was able to access these additional options, including one which allowed him to print out the device's configuration. That printout included the admin login and password in clear text.

He also came to the realization that this information could be used to hack into any of these routers provided by Time Warner because the web administration interface is enabled.

A Time Warner representative contacted by Wired Magazine's Kim Zetter indicated they "have been working on it."

The MPAA appears to be gearing up for a change in the way they fight file sharing. Two leaders of the movie industry trade group's antipiracy division have reportedly been let go.

Antipiracy has been renamed Content Protection and Senior Executive Vice President Daniel Mandil has been put in charge. He is also assuming the role of General Council for the MPAA.

This seems to signal a shift in legal strategy, most likely meaning Mandil will be expected to mount some kind of legal campaign against unauthorized file sharing.

Could a RIAA-style legal jihad against file sharers be in the MPAA's plans? It's too early to say right now, but if the studios want to see some action the high profile of this approach may make it inevitable.

Or maybe they are hoping to push the newly appointed Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IP Czar) to get the government more directly involved in the fight. The IP Czar position was created by last year's Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Act, better known as the ProIP Act.

According to a report from network management vendor Arbor Networks, P2P is largely being replaced by streaming video. The report, prepared in cooperation with the University of Michigan, will be presented at an October 19 meeting of the North American Network Operators' Group.

According to Craig Labovitz of Arbor Networks, “Globally P2P is declining and it is declining quickly.”

The report is based on data collected from ISPs aorund the world over a two year period.

Arbor says P2P traffic currently accounts for 18% of internet traffic now, which isn't insignificant. But according to Labovitz it's still a lot less than in 2007 when 40% of traffic was from P2P.

On Tuesday Apple unveiled their latest iMac,featuring up to 2TB of hard drive space, screens from 21.5 to 27 inches, and a unique mouse which incorporates the Multi-touch technology used in the iPhone and iPod Touch.

The entire top of the Magic Mouse is a Multi-touch surface, allowing you to scroll in any direction or zoom in or out. It can be purchased separately for use with any computer running Mac OS X Leopard version 10.5.8 or later. There is no Windows support.

The new iMac LCD displays are LED backlit. The 21.5 inch model has a resolution of 1920x1080 (1080P) while the 27 inch version is 2560x1440.

Available CPU options range from Intel's 3.06GHz Core 2 Duo to their 2.8GHz Quad-Core Core i7. Prices start at $1199 for a 21.5 inch model or $1699 for a 27 inch screen.

Quad-Core processors are available only in 27 inch models, and prices start at $1999.

The All Party Communications Group (apComms), an independent group of Members of Parliament and Lords in the UK, has released a report blaming record labels for their own losses from illegal file sharing.

In their report, the group wrote "We conclude that much of the problem with illegal sharing of copyrighted material has been caused by the rightsholders, and the music industry in particular, being far too slow in getting their act together and making popular legal alternatives available."

The report specifically addressed Business Secretary Peter Mandelson's proposal to kick accused file sharers off the internet.

Lord Mandelson's 3 strikes approach would make ISPs responsible for tracking their customers' communications to identify people who may be engaged in copyright infringement.

"We do not believe that disconnecting end users is in the slightest bit consistent with policies that attempt to promote eGovernment, and we recommend that this approach to dealing with illegal file-sharing should not be further considered," reads the apComms report titled "Can we keep our hands off the net?."

A bill which would require terrestrial radio broadcasters to pay additional royalties to performers for the music they play. Currently US broadcasters are only required to pay the songwriter.

Both satellite and internet radio services already pay performance royalties.

In addition to music industry groups, the bill is getting support from Pandora Internet Radio. The new royalty would be equivalent to Pandora's payments to SoundExchange, which were recently agreed to after almost two and a half years of negotiations..

Before last week's committee vote Pandora sent out emails with a message from founder Tim Westergren. They askied Pandora users to call their Senators and encourage them to support the bill.

On Wednesday a Federal judge granted Verizon's request for summary judgement, shooting down all of ASCAP's claims that mobile phone providers should pay public performance royalties for ringtones they sell.

The sale of ringtones already requires the seller to pay mechanical royalties to the publisher (songwriter) and recording artist, just like MP3s or CDs.

ASCAP claimed that when the ringtone is downloaded by a customer or plays when a mobile phone rings it's a public performance. Because of that they were asking for additional royalties.

The short version of Judge Denise Cote's ruling is that there is no public performance under US copyright law so there can be no infringement of that right.

The first claim Judge Cote addressed was the transmission of a digital file from mobile provider to the customer's phone. She pointed out "ASCAP does not contend... that a Verizon customer can actually listen to a ringtone while she is downloading it; it acknowledges that the ringtone cannot be played before the transmission is concluded"

In other words a data download isn't a performance. She also concluded that because the transmission is sent to a single individual it's not public by definition.

The Wi-Fi Alliance has announced that work on a new way for connecting wireless devices directly to each other is nearing completion. Devices could start being certified for Wi-Fi Direct, as the new standard is called, some time next year.

Based on the announcement it looks like they are hoping to make Wi-Fi competitive with Bluetooth for computer and phone peripherals. It suggests Wi-Fi Direct could be used in devices ranging "from mobile phones, cameras, printers, and notebook computers, to human interface devices such as keyboards and headphones."

Wi-Fi Direct improves on the Ad-Hoc Wi-Fi communications mode used for peer to peer connections now by making them work more like router-based connections. Individual devices will be able to advertise services like routers do now

The possible combinations of wireless devices, like HDTVs, set-top boxes, game consoles, Blu-ray players, remote controls, portable media players, and smartphones makes this new standard an intriguing development.

But as we've seen in the past with technologies like Firewire, there's more to success than just creating a good product. In the end it's hardware manufacturers and consumers who will determine whether Wi-Fi Direct lives up to its promise.

Funai and Sonic Solutions have announced a deal which will bring online video to more consumer electronics devices. A client for Sonic's CinemaNow service will be built into an as of yet unspecified selection of HDTVs and Blu-ray players built by Funai.

Funai manufactured brands include Phillips, Sylvania, Magnavox, and Emerson.

Like many online video services CinemaNow video on demand can already be used on a number of devices ranging from PCs and portable media players to blu-ray players

What makes them somewhat unique is their use of Sonic Solution's Qflix, which allows them to sell you DVDs which can burn at home, complete with standard CSS encryption, and don't depend on the continued operation of DRM servers. Unfortunately they do require you to buy a Qflix DVD burner and media.

Hideaki Funakoshi, General Manager of DVD Division, AV Management HQ of Funai, said "We view the inclusion of Roxio CinemaNow technology powering convenient access to high-quality entertainment as an important driver for consumer adoption of our next-generation devices."

With the simultaneous release on Tuesday of Apple's iMovie 8.0.5 update and two new Sanyo HD camcorders came the introduction of a new video standard called iFrame. According to both companies iFrame is a revolutionary new format designed for computer editing.

But the specs for iFrame don't appear to be a new format so much as a new standard for existing formats. It uses 30fps H.264 (MPEG-4 AVC) video and AAC audio. What makes it unique is the video resolution, which is 960x540.

According to Apple, "iFrame produces small file sizes and simplifies the process of working with Video recorded with your camera."

There's no doubt the resolution, which is a mere quarter of the 1920x1080 offered in the highest resolution camcorders, should result in much smaller file sizes. Of course those small files will have lower resolution than even a 720p video by almost 50%.

In fact it's only 50% higher resolution than a standard definition digital camcorder.

The real question seems to come down to whether the decrease in file size is worth the loss of quality and a resolution that doesn't match either a DTV or optical disc format.

Looking at Sanyo's online information for one of the new camcorders, the VPC-HD2000ABK you won't find the bitrate of iFrame video. But based on the specs listed for 1080p video it looks like it should be somewhere between 1GB and 1.5GB per hour.

AT&T Senior Vice President Robert Quinn Jr. has sent a second letter to the FCC accusing Google of violating that agency's telephone provider and net neutrality rules. It follows a letter he sent last month in which he complained about certain rural numbers being blocked in Google Voice.

AT&T's letter writing campaign is a response to FCC interest in their role in the iPhone App Store approval process.

In his latest letter Quinn writes "Indeed, Google’s power to block calls – as well as its ability to abuse its market power in search and other services – dramatically underscores why the Commission cannot rationally exempt Google or any provider of Internet-based information services from any rules designed to preserve a “free and open Internet.""

While his characterization of Google's call blocking may be accurate, it still ignores the fact that it doesn't actually violate any FCC policy. That's because it doesn't prevent competitors from offering Google customers an alternative service.

AT&T, on the other hand, has been used their influence with Apple to block any iPhone app from streaming video across mobile broadband while offering their own video service over the very same connection.

Apple appears to have finally patched a bootrom vulnerability in the iPhone 3GS which has been used for jailbreaking via the 24Kpwn exploit. Apple replaced the bootrom in units shipped recently with an updated version.

Apple modifying the bootrom eventually was inevitable given the amount of work continue to put into attempting to stop jailbreakers.

This won't affect jailbreaking of older iPhones. But if you were planning to buy a new iPhone with the intention of jailbreaking it you might want to buy a refurbished unit or look for a retailer with older stock.

As of today owners of TiVo Series 2, TiVo Series 3, TiVo HD, and TiVo HD XL DVRs connected to the internet can rent Blockbuster On Demand movies. Blockbuster will also begin selling TiVo DVRs at their brick and mortar rental outlets.

"By bringing Blockbuster's content direct to TiVo subscribers, we show once again that TiVo offers much more choice and convenience for our customers compared to other DVR offerings," said Joe Miller, senior vice president of sales and marketing at TiVo Inc.

TiVo DVRs already have clients for Amazon Video On Demand and the Watch Instantly service offered to all Netflix subscribers.

A Federal judge reviewing the RIAA complaint against New York defense attorney Ray Beckerman is recommending the request for sanctions be denied. RIAA lawyers accused Beckerman of "vexatious conduct," claiming he was hindering the discovery process in order to conceal evidence.

The complaint, filed in the case of UMG v Lindor, claimed "Defendant, her family, and her counsel intentionally provided false information, attempted to misdirect Plaintiffs as to relevant facts and events, and concealed critical information and evidence regarding the infringement at issue, all of which severely prejudiced Plaintiffs."

US Magistrate Judge Robert Levy noted in his recommendation that RIAA claims primarily revolved around the actions and testimony of third parties, and that the defendant (Marie Lindor) couldn't be held responsible for them.

He said of the defendant, "this court is loath to sanction a person who, by all accounts, has never used a computer and is not accused of downloading or distributing plaintiffs’ copyrighted recordings herself."

Record labels appear ready to defend their ownership of recordings dating back to the 1970s against termination claims from artists. The claims could transfer ownership of a recording to the performer as soon as 35 years after its creation.

The labels' position appears to be that the termination right, established in the Copyright Act of 1976, doesn't apply to their releases. Based on a RIAA lobbying effort a decade ago, they don't seem convinced that's a winning argument.

In 1999 that organization successfully lobbied for an official declaration that recordings made while under contract to a label weren't subject to termination. That provision of the Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act was later repealed after a poor reaction from artists including Don Henley and Sheryl Crow.

If the artists are successful in taking ownership of their recordings the transfer could begin as soon as 2013.

It's easy to see why the labels would be worried about losing ownership of their back catalog. Artists whose older work is still popular would have a lot of leverage to negotiate new distribution deals.

A potential royalty battle is brewing between terrestrial radio stations and performance rights collection agencies ASCAP and BMI. The nearly five year old license agreements which set royalties paid to songwriters will expire at the end of this year.

There have been many changes over the last five years, including the sharp economic downturn, a dramatic increase in internet radio listenership, and the possible addition of new royalties for performers.

Payments to the two collection organizations have risen around $80 million since 2001. If the government mandates the additional expense of artist royalties broadcasters may be asking for a reduction in performance royalties to defray some of the cost.

If the Radio Music Licensing Committee, representing broadcasters, can't reach an agreement with ASCAP and BMI the rates could be set by a District Court Judge.

Mojo Nixon has joined the growing list of artists giving away music. Last week when he released his new album, "Whiskey Rebellion," on Amazon MP3 he began a three week promotion offering both the new album and most of his back catalog for free.

The promotion will last 3 weeks (starting Wednesday, October 7). It includes solo albums and albums Skid Roper, but not his 1994 collaboration with former Dead Kennedys frontman Jello Biafra.

Nixon's albums span more than 20 years, from the mid-1980s when he attracted a cult following with songs like "Elvis Is Everywhere" and "Jesus At McDonalds."

You can find Mojo Nixon's free downloads at the Amazon MP3 store.