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Yahoo plans software push for Net-enabled TVs

Stephen Shankland — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 19:00:00 GMT

Yahoo's Widget Channel software lets TVs run network-enabled applications such as this one for Yahoo's Flickr photo-sharing service.

(Credit: Yahoo)

Yahoo on Wednesday announced an effort to provide the software underpinnings of network-enabled TV, a move that could transform not only what it means to watch TV but also what it means to advertise on it.

Though the TV experience has been spiced up by voting for American Idol contestants, it generally has retained its famously passive character. Yahoo wants to change this by bringing a version of its Yahoo Widget Engine, a software foundation that can run small applications called widgets, to network-enabled TVs.

This new version, called the Widget Channel, will resemble the version that's available for PCs, but will come with a different user interface to let programmers build widgets that can be controlled from a distance with a remote control, said Patrick Barry, Yahoo's vice president of connected TV at Yahoo.

Yahoo's hope is the move will bring its clout on the Internet to a new domain.

"Our goal is to aggregate a very large, multimillion-person audience across a number of devices with our standard platforms so we can start to address the audience in a unified consistent way, and ultimately create a liquid advertising market," Barry said.

Yahoo is working on partnerships with TV makers to have the software built in and integrated with TV functions. "I'm quite sure there are going to be products on this," Barry said. "I expect to see some things next year."

A first example of the technology emerged at the Intel Developer Forum on Wednesday during a speech by Eric Kim, general manager of Intel's Digital Home Group. A demonstration of the technology showed widgets for monitoring eBay auctions, using the Twitter microblogging service, and viewing Flickr photographs.

Natural allies
Intel and Yahoo are natural allies in the technology effort. Both companies are powerful in their current markets, but as much in the giant consumer electronics market. Intel wants to sell processors--in this case the newly named Media Processor CE 3100 that had been code-named Canmore, and Yahoo wants to expand the reach of its content and ads.

But history shows the effort won't be easy; the consumer electronics industry has withstood years of attempted incursions by computing companies employing various "convergence" strategies.

One of Intel's chief advantages is that so much existing software and programming tools already are compatible with the widely available x86 processor family used in all of today's PCs. "We see the PC architecture coming to consumer electronics over the next few years and that driving a ton of value," Barry said.

Though the Intel-Yahoo demonstration used a system based on Intel's processors, the Yahoo technology will run on other hardware, Barry said. And because it uses platform-independent standards such as HTML and Flash, programmers won't have to worry about having to adapt their widgets for the underlying hardware, he added.

The software can work in different modes, including a sidebar that overlays part of the TV image and a full-screen mode that takes over completely.

A new ad market
Naturally, Yahoo is eyeing the ad business that it expects will come with the Widget Channel, though it won't be the sole conduit for advertisers. Yahoo believes the Widget Channel will come with the best features of both TV and Web advertising, Barry said.

"We're not getting into this game for our health," he said, pointing out that television ad spending is still five times that of online spending. "Yahoo will provide advertising services to this platform, but we're not going to be the only ones. And we're not going to be a gatekeeper or tollkeeper," Barry said.

Users will be able to select TV widgets from a gallery, but the Widget Channel software will be built into the TV, Barry said.

Among those developing TV widgets are Blockbuster, CBS Interactive, CinemaNow, Cinequest, Disney-ABC Television Group, eBay, GE, Group M, Joost, MTV, Samsung Electronics, Schematic, Showtime, Toshiba, and Twitter, Yahoo said. (CNET is a division of CBS Interactive.)

Bran Ferren at IDF: Storytelling beyond cartoons

Rafe Needleman — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 18:34:00 GMT

Bran Ferren tells a good story.

(Credit: Rafe Needleman / CNET)

At the Intel Developer Forum yesterday, I skipped out of the sessions on CPU thermal management and USB sideband optimization and headed into a session where Bran Ferren, co-founder of Applied Minds and former president of Disney Imagineering, was giving an interesting talk at a somewhat more metaphysical level.

His thesis: "Story telling is how ideas become permanent." He believes that the Internet is taking off (present tense, not past), because the technology is getting good enough now for story telling. Since we process so much information visually, Ferren believes that new technologies for visualization are what makes the stories stick.

To illustrate his points, because just talking about visualization would be lame, Ferren headed over to a large flat-screen monitor with multi-touch capabilities, and showed, first, how watching a display of aircraft flights in the U.S. clearly shows interesting items when you manipulate the display. First, by turning on trails and letting them fill in the map as the planes fly, you can clearly see where the no-fly zones are. Second, simply by watching the traffic in an accelerated playback, you can spot where the bad data is -- the planes jump around.

Ferren and a colleague demo on a large flat-screen monitor. The image was also projected overhead.

(Credit: Rafe Needleman / CNET)

More interestingly, he showed different ways to visualize what is likely a nuclear processing plant in Iran. Overlaying images taken at different times, it was clear to see not just the construction of a large underground facility near a previously-built but smaller research complex, but also how the new facility had been camouflaged over time and even made resistant to cruise missile attack. And by overlaying larger scale data -- such as access to rail lines (good), nearby population density (low), and seismic activity (lowest in the country), it became very clear that these remote facilities were not accidentally situated. The story was far more compelling than looking at single frames of satellite imagery.

As Ferren says, there are "endless problems out there just waiting for advanced visualization." In other words, seeing is believing.

Speaking of which, there's a a very cool new visualization and image processing product coming out later tonight. We'll have the story here on Webware.

Click here for full coverage of the Intel Developer Forum.

Microsoft planning IE privacy mode

Stephen Shankland — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 17:31:00 GMT

For many, privacy on the Web is a concern. And for Microsoft's Internet Explorer team, privacy is a feature.

In a meeting with reporters this week, Satya Nadella, senior vice president of Microsoft's search, portal and advertising platform group, said the company's browser will come with a private browsing mode. And Long Zheng of the istartedsomething blog surfaced two telling Microsoft trademarks that appear related: Cleartracks and Inprivate.

Satya Nadella, senior vice president of Microsoft's search, portal and advertising platform group

(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET News)

Both trademarks are involved with Web browsers, according to the applications with a July 30 filing date. The Cleartracks trademark involves "computer programs for deleting search history after accessing Web sites," according to the Microsoft filing. And the Inprivate trademark involves "computer programs for disabling the history and file caching features of a Web browser; and computer software for notifying a user of a Web browser when others are tracking Web use and for controlling the information others can access about such use."

One obvious use case for privacy browsing modes is surfing the Net for pornographic materials without leaving traces, but other, less unseemly use cases also exist. "Users may wish to begin a private browsing session to research a medical condition, or plan a surprise vacation or birthday party for a loved one," according to Mozilla's discussion of a private browsing feature.

Microsoft didn't comment on the applications beyond a brief statement, "We are investing in privacy in IE8."

And in a June blog posting, Microsoft said privacy is one of the major components of the "trustworthy browsing" element of Internet Explorer 8. "The larger challenge here is notifying users clearly about what sites they're disclosing information to and enabling them to control that disclosure if they choose," the company said. Microsoft said privacy means "the user is in control of what information the browser makes available to Web sites."

Internet Explorer is the dominant Web browser, and version 8 is in beta testing now and due in final form later this year.

Programmers have envisioned a private browsing mode for Mozilla's Firefox browser but so far haven't put the privacy feature into the open-source browser. Apple's Safari has a private browsing mode.

Developer creates copy-paste tech for iPhone

Caroline McCarthy — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 15:20:00 GMT

One of the common complaints about Apple's iPhone--and one that did not get solved with the launch of the iPhone 3G--is the lack of a copy-paste function. An independent developer, Zac White, recently unveiled his open-source solution: OpenClip, a standard for other iPhone application developers.

He's not the first one to have that idea: another developer, Preston Monroe, has created a hack called iCopy that lets iPhone owners copy and paste between the e-mail and Web browser applications.

OpenClip is not a standalone app but rather a technology that developers can incorporate into their iPhone applications, should they choose to participate. No applications yet support OpenClip, but it's coming soon for the American Heritage Dictionary and Roget's Thesaurus applications, Twitter client Twittelator, notepad application MagicPad, finance lexicon Wall Street Worlds, and a number of others.

iPhone users will be able to copy and paste from one OpenClip application to the next, but not to developer applications that aren't participating or to Apple's own iPhone apps, such as its e-mail client or the Safari browser.

Apple has acknowledged that copy-paste functionality will be officially coming to the iPhone, eventually, and OpenClip's creator has recognized Apple's plan.

"Instead of just waiting on the sidelines, we wanted to help iPhone users and Apple by being proactive and trying to help with a solution," the site's FAQ reads. "While just an interim fix until Apple adopts a systemwide version, OpenClip hopes to add to the iPhone user experience and provide a working case study for Apple, hopefully allowing (company engineers) to roll out their version more quickly."

AOL revs Web-based AIM to version 7

Stephen Shankland — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:00:00 GMT

AOL has upgraded its AIM Express software, an online Flash-based application that replicates many of the features of the regular downloadable software.

Among the new AIM Express 7.0 features are tabbed conversations, status messages, text-message support to communicate with buddies' mobile phones, and compatibility with Microsoft's Internet Explorer 6 and 7, Mozilla's Firefox 2 and 3, and Apple's Safari 2 and 3.

The software is an example of the growing utility and sophistication of Web-based applications. Instant messaging, though, is somewhat more amenable to the task: it doesn't require the heavy processing burden of a spreadsheet, and not being able to work while offline isn't a big deal given that the whole point of IM is to chat with contacts on the network. Moving applications online poses some compatibility issues with various browsers or with software foundations such as Flash, but it can sidestep myriad other compatibility issues such as operating-system compatibility.

AOL also announced a new version of AIM for phones using the Windows Mobile operating system, including the Motorola Q, Samsung BlackJack, and some Palm Treo models. CNET Download.com editor Jessica Dolcourt reviewed the AIM for Windows Mobile phones beta in June.

Quicken Beam: Your finances made cute

Rafe Needleman — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:54:00 GMT

Beam's SMS report can be useful to keep on top of your accounts and to spot fraud.

Intuit has just launched a useful but limited little financial tracking utility for your mobile phone: Quicken Beam. You tell it about your financial accounts, like your bank and your credit card, and then it will alert you when balances reach a certain point. You can also send it a text message and it will message you back current balances or recent transactions. There's a mobile Web version for iPhones.

Beam has the benefit of being simple, but it is not deep. It will tell you about only your last five transactions in an account, and it doesn't offer personal financial trend data, like Mint does.

Mint, for its part, can send you SMS alerts, but you can't request information from it via SMS, and there's still no mobile Web site for the service.

Another useful way to get information about your accounts when you're on the go: the PageOnce iPhone app.

Beam is free, though, which is unusual for an Intuit app; even Quicken Online (which competes with the free Mint), costs $2.99 a month.

Oh yay! I'm broke!

Related: Why Mint works.

Clarion shows in-car GPS/Internet device

Wayne Cunningham — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:30:00 GMT

ClarionMind integrates the Internet and GPS.

(Credit: Clarion)

At the Intel Developer Forum, Clarion launched the production version of ClarionMind, a portable GPS device with full Internet connectivity that runs on Linux. Clarion showed off a concept of the device at last January's CES. The full product launch reveals a device that looks similar to current GPS devices, featuring a 4.8-inch 800x480-pixel touch screen. And, like some current GPS devices, the ClarionMind offers media playback and Bluetooth for hands-free calling.

What sets it apart is Wi-Fi and software for various Internet applications, including a Web browser and e-mail. It includes viewers for YouTube, Google Maps, MySpace, and weather. According to the news release, Clarion integrated Internet search and GPS functions, so that you can search for local businesses and feed the addresses into the destination entry. Along with in-vehicle navigation and Internet use, the device is also designed to work as a portable Internet appliance in the home or anywhere else.

The ClarionMind runs on an Intel Atom processor and includes 512 MB of DRAM along with 4 gigabytes of flash memory. There are two USB ports and an SD card slot. According to Clarion, a vehicle dock will also be available, and that the device has an "Automobile Mode for safe access behind the wheels." We hope this last feature isn't too restrictive, although from the devices description, it can easily be defeated.

ClarionMind will ship in the fourth quarter.

Click here for full coverage of the Intel Developer Forum.

How to measure your new site's success

Rafe Needleman — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 21:45:00 GMT

One of the things that impressed me most during my interview with Mint CEO Aaron Patzer was his focus on iterative development and rigorously testing new features before they are rolled out. As I've said, most of the Web 2.0 companies I see focus on building new features more than they do on analyzing what their users are actually doing with them. It's crazy. It's like they all work at Microsoft in 1996.

There's a conference coming up that focuses on measuring and improving the user experience: Startonomics, October 2 in San Francisco. The conference will be run by Dave McClure, an entrepreneur, investor, and familiar face to Web 2.0 conference goers.

McClure's main point is that when you're building a new service, you want to think about "conversion events," in other words, moving users from one state to the next (from browsing to exploring, exploring to buying, etc.). That has nothing to do with releasing features.

However, you can't overthink things or dawdle. Release early, watch the right metrics, and revise. McClure points to Slideshare and Teachstreet as companies that are working this way. (He's invested in both companies.) Who's doing it wrong? "Anyone who takes longer than a year to ship," he says. Examples of this include Chandler and Trillian's Astra. By being late, they are missing their market windows. The world's moved past them.

I've worked a little with Dave at various conferences, as well as with the Startonomics conference producer, Debbie Landa. (Her company runs the Under the Radar conferences where I often moderate start-up pitch presentations.) I like what these people are doing with this conference, and I think more entrepreneurs should pay attention to the message.

Here's McClure's five-minute start-up pirate talk. He says this is the pitch that has morphed into the day-long conference.

Microsoft experimenting with a pause button for incoming e-mail

Josh Lowensohn — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 21:43:00 GMT

Microsoft Office Labs has launched a new product called E-mail Prioritizer that will not only sort through your in-box to figure out what's important, but also give you an honest-to-goodness pause button in case you want to escape an Exchange server e-mail avalanche.

Users must be running the latest version of Outlook (2007), and for now the tool is PC-only. After installing it, you'll get a new toolbar menu option that lets you toggle on the "do not disturb" mode for a certain period of time or based on your meeting schedule. Once you return, or the timer runs out, it'll sync back up and grab new messages.

Unfortunately this is a client-side stop-gap on the way to having such an option on the Exchange server itself. Sure your server admin can put a pause on your account, but you can't. This option simply turns off Outlook's software-based e-mail antenna, so messages will still dutifully arrive on your mobile phone if you've got it set up to receive push mail.

To toggle the 'away' mode you can just use the drop down menu. This menu also lets you sort through prioritized e-mails.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

The far more interesting half of this tool is the prioritizer itself. This will rate messages in your in box from zero to three stars. The ratings come from a system used by many folks, including several Microsoft employees I talked to back in March. For instance, e-mails sent to you and nobody else, or those from your bosses gets three stars, whereas mail you're carbon-copied on, or where you're part of a large list, scores far lower.

In my case, my in-box had about 450 messages on it, and it was prioritized in about a minute's time. To make use of it, you must learn from and train Microsoft's system, which could become second nature after a week or two of honing your in-box skills.

Microsoft's priority system is not easy to understand at first, but based on a system of rules you can simply go in and edit.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Southwest Airlines CEO crowdsources his Halloween costume

Caroline McCarthy — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 20:23:00 GMT

Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly in his 2004 Halloween costume.

(Credit: Blog Southwest)

A few years ago, it was trendy and "transparent" for CEOs to have their own blogs. But typically it didn't go this far--then again, Southwest Airlines chief Gary Kelly isn't your average CEO.

Kelly posted an entry on the Southwest blog on Tuesday asking readers to contribute to an annual poll he hosts: What should he dress up as for Halloween? Kelly has been known to go all-out, and provided photo evidence of past costumes that included Hairspray drag queen Edna Turnblad, Pirates of the Caribbean's Captain Jack Sparrow, and painted-up Kiss bassist Gene Simmons.

"It would be really nice if your suggestion doesn't involve short-term (and especially long-term!) body modifications like shaving my legs," Kelly wrote in the post, "although I will sacrifice for art--within reason."

It's certainly a quirky and humanizing move for the airline, which is one of only a few U.S. carriers that's not mired in economic woes.

So what have readers suggested so far? They seem to be looking toward the silver screen. There have been a couple of requests for the Joker from The Dark Knight, a few for Indiana Jones, and one for Harry Potter. Then there's one reader's bright idea that Kelly don a Speedo and go as Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps. I wouldn't put my money on that one.