Episode 0031, 01/11/2008
Title: Hi-Def Disk Battle Update, Getting Close to Ubiquitous Computing, Amazon Signs Sony BMG
Welcome to Course Technology's CourseCast of the week, Episode 31, recorded January 11th, 2008.
This is Ken Baldauf bringing you this week's technology news and information.
This CourseCast is brought to you by Course Technology. Check out www.course.com for innovative textbooks and creative electronic learning solutions.
Story 1 - The Hi-Def Disk Battle May Be Drawing to a Close
You may not know much about Blu-ray, and HD-DVD, perhaps you've never even heard of them. These next-gen storage technologies haven't made their way into the mainstream consciousness yet, but one or the other will soon become part of our everyday vernacular like the CD and DVD.
Blu-ray and HD-DVD optical disks use blue-violet lasers to read and write data as much smaller pits on a disk surface. In fact disks using this technology can hold five times as much data as a DVD. They provide a prefect media for distributing high-definition movies, which are to large to fit on a standard DVD.
It's hard to call these technologies new, Blue laser storage technologies were unveiled by Sony in 2000. Two years later two different schools of thought on how blue laser technology should be implemented emerged: one backed by Sony, named Blu-ray, and the other by Toshiba which eventually was named HD-DVD. And thus the high-definition DVD war began. Over the past few years different hardware manufacturers, retailers, and motion picture studios have endorsed one or the other of these competing standards. Among those backing Blu-ray are Apple, Dell, and Panasonic, Sony, MGM, Disney20th Century Fox, and Wal-Mart. While HD-DVD is backed by Toshiba, Microsoft, RCA, Intel, Universal Studios, Paramont, Dreamworks, and Target.
Meanwhile, the first HD-DVD and Blu-Ray players and disks have entered the market this past year to less than enthusiastic consumer response. Consumers know that sooner or later one format will preside over the other, and they don't want to risk picking the loser. Most industry analysts have called the match a stalemate and predicted that the format war would last for years to come. But this week, one news announcement has changed all that. Warner Brothers has announced that it has chosen Blu-ray as its format of choice for hi-def movie distribution. Like the ref at a prize fight, the media is counting down as the effects of the Warner knock-out blow is causing supporters of HD-DVD to abandon the platform like rats from a sinking ship. Most feel that it will take nothing short of a miracle for HD-DVD to recover.
Source: Warner tries to curtail format war by ending HD DVD support ARS Technica, Universal, Paramount deny move to Blu-ray imminent ARS Technica
Story 2 - Getting Close to Ubiquitous Computing
As the Consumer Electronics Show wraps up in Las Vegas, the news is pouring out about new products, what's hot and what's not, and compelling speeches from industry giants. Two such speeches combine to provide an intriguing look at the future. Bill Gates' keynote address was historic as it is the last of many keynotes he has provided at the conference over the years. This year Bill will leave his current position at Microsoft to become more involved with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He used the occasion to predict where he thought technology is headed over the next 10 years. One new advance that he predicts will arrive soon is what he calls a natural user interface. A natural user interface allows the user to communicate with computing devices directly through speech, movement, and touch. Users will increasingly manipulate objects on the display directly. Computers will become more in tune with our needs often times providing what is needed without the need for any command, watching our expressions through a camera, reacting to voice commands, ad responding to our touch.
Paul Otellini, President of Intel provided a similar speech filled with predictions. He believes that the industry is on the verge of creating a ""new level of capability and usefulness to the internet". An Internet that is "proactive, predictive and context-aware." Paul believes that soon the Internet will be with us wherever we go. Providing information to us with little or no prompting. The net will know where we are, what we are doing, And will provide any relevant information it thinks we need.
The common thread between these two speeches is that technology is going to become much more convenient - in fact nearly invisible. We are moving into the era of ubiquitous computing when technology recedes into the background and the services provided are conveniently accessible from anywhere any time. The idea of ubiquitous computing has been tossed around for many years. It is only this year that industry leaders are naming the specific technologies that will take us there. Read the cited articles to find out more.
Source: Intel predicts the personal net (BBC News), Gates hails age of digital senses (BBC)
Story 3 - Amazon Signs Sony BMG for DRM-free Music
The Amazon MP3 store, has signed the last of the big labels to its service. Sony BMG announced this week that it would be adding its catalogue of music to Amazon's MP3 offerings later this month. Amazon's MP3 store sells MP3 downloads that are not copy-protected with digital rights management technologies. Sony BMG joins EMI, Universal, and Warner who have one by one given up DRM and joined Amazon in hopes of higher digital music sales. The move by the record labels onto the Amazon bandwagon acts as a slap in the face to Apple iTunes which has only been able to sign EMI on to its DRM-free music service. Clearly the big labels are making an effort to wrest control of the digital music distribution industry away from Apple. With CD sales spiraling downward, and online digital music sales up 50 percent over the past year, those in the music industry are jockeying for a dominant position.
Source: Amazon rounds out DRM-free music offering with Sony BMG (ARS Technica), Amazon to sell Sony BMG songs free of copy curbs (Computerworld), Digital sales surge 50 percent in 2007 as CDs tank (ARE Technica)
New Briefs
That's it for this week's CourseCast. Links to this week's stories and many more news and information resources are provided at the CourseCast Web site at www.course.com/coursecasts. Email us with your suggestions for the show at course.coursecasts@cengage.com. Until next time have a great week and be sure to take advantage of the Power -- of Technology!