Technology360

Written in the Stars

... The face-off between XM and Sirius might well be unprecedented in modern business history. In most industries, the competitive landscape is populated by many rivals. But satellite radio is truly a rarity -- a duopoly of combatants slugging it out for potentially huge gains. Eight years ago, when the Federal Communications Commission awarded two licenses for satellite spectrum at a price tag of $90 million each to American Mobile Radio (now XM) and CD Radio (now Sirius), it created a perfect laboratory setting in which to observe raw, one-on-one competition. ... Link: Fast Company | Written in the Stars.

To Win Subscribers, Satellite Radio Sells Surprises

Why pay a monthly fee for satellite radio when you can get terrestrial AM/FM radio free? Why cope with another console and add to the tangle of wires and cables in your house when you can listen to radio stations around the world on the Internet - not to mention download almost any kind of music you want? Sure, satellite radio is superfluous. You can live without it, but you may not want to, particularly if you get a kick out of hearing a soul-strumming song you have never heard before or may have forgotten you love. ... Link: The New York Times.

What broadcasters can learn from Kodak

I always find good stuff when someone points me at a Terry Heaton article (now that I know he has RSS I won't have to wait for that). The latest in his TV News in a Postmodern World, Part XXXVIII series is again well worth reading. He follows this, "... Television is desperate for revenue, but revenue isn't the problem. The problem is audience. Solve that problem and the revenue will follow, but we'll never solve that problem as long as our attention is focused on revenue. It's the business model itself that's flawed and under attack. We're not just in a business downturn. ..." with a review of Kodak's success in adapting to disruptive changes in the photography world. Thanks to Lost Remote. --Dennis

Educational Resources for Digital Asset Management

A new web site serving as a DAM tutorial with a spin toward selecting systems is up at digitalassetmanagement.com. I can't vouch for its objectivity, but a quick perusal leads me to believe it's worth a visit. --Dennis

Cato Releases Report on P2P and DRM

On Friday, I published an item pointing to the Cato paper on this subject by Einhorn and Rosenblatt. Derek Slater has a commentary on this in his A Copyfighter's Musings weblog. This was followed by commentary from Edward W. Felten in his Freedom to Tinker weblog on Feb. 16 and Feb. 17. Slater added more on Feb. 21.  -Dennis

Storage solutions of the future

... Spencer Kelly takes a look at what projects experts are currently looking at. ... Link: BBC.

Podcasting 101

Tod Maffin's "Podcasting 101" presentation of 2/19/05 to the Northern Voice conference (Canada) is available online (slides, audio). Link: i love radio.org. --Dennis

University launches semantic web interface

The University of Southampton has launched a new semantic web interface, called mSpace, that it says will make searching for information online, and learning about a subject, much easier. ¶ mSPace is a framework that gathers information sources and presents them to the user in a single window. It can potentially be applied to any subject, provided the basic information is available. The researchers say this means users will no longer have to wade through lists of undifferentiated data when researching a subject.The University of Southampton has launched a new semantic web interface, called mSpace, that it says will make searching for information online, and learning about a subject, much easier. ¶ Dr monica schraefel (sic) headed the research project, and put together a demonstration based on a search for information about classical music. ... Link: The Register via Slashdot.

Is Video-Casting The Next Big Thing? Move Over Podcasting

Robin Good:  "As surely as day follows night, video follows audio. The increasing popularity of podcasting, both as a distribution channel for audio broadcasters and as a 'radio-show' delivery manager for subscribers, inevitably means that insatiable techies will turn to video as the next medium to 'podcast'.  ¶  Video-podcasting’ isn’t the right name for this newly emerging phenomenon. Video files can’t be viewed on iPods. Not yet.  ¶  ‘Video-casting’ (for want of a name) is all about creating a video production, inserting the resulting digital video-file (via enclosures) into an RSS feed, then making the RSS feed discoverable, by submitting it to a feed directory. ..." Link: Robin Good weblog.

Tired of TiVo? Beyond Blogs? Podcasts Are Here

Here's another general interest article on podcasting.  Link: New York Times. --Dennis