Category: General

Meet Milo: Microsoft’s virtual four-year-old boy who acts just like a real child http://bit.ly/dloL4V

Another “loose Artificial Intelligence” story, which catches my interest because this type of AI will eventually be intruding on production and post production by automating some editing away from people (who I still think will need to finish the project to give it heart).

The player’s voice commands and physical movements are picked up by an infra-red sensor which works with artificial intelligence to interpret the player’s intonation and meaning, and respond accordingly.

On demonstrations his conversation is utterly believable and he replies to questions just like a real four-year-old.

If you can analyze it, you can reproduce it.

$10 is the ‘magic’ digital-media figure http://bit.ly/ammnd0

Tell you what Hulu Plus, make it $15 and advertising free, and we can talk. While you charge me *and* place advertising, there’s no deal.

In fact that’s inspired me to another post you’ll see tomorrow.

Porn Industry Weighs In On Flash vs. HTML5 Video Debate http://bit.ly/aRIB1i

And of course, by mobile devices not playing Flash well, that would be all but the most recent release of Android. Since there’s a demand for adult content on portable devices (let’s just say iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad have some influence here) the producers have been following the market and:

While the whole Flash vs. HTML5 video debate started making headlines a few months ago, the porn industry had already been a long time HTML5 video user.  Why?  Because they wanted to push their content to mobile devices and Flash caused too many issues.  Or as Ali Joone, founder of Digital Playground (a porn giant) stated “HTML5 is the future”.

Yes, increasingly the future – and for simple video playback we’re good to go as soon as we get some agreement among browsers or browser share changes – but right now there are some areas where Flash shines (streaming and rights management in particular are of interest to video distributors).

The former is under control and real time HTML5 streaming is nearly a reality. The other should be dealt with by changing business models instead of trying to King Canute-like hold back the inevitable tide of change.

Publishers Need Popcorn, Not Paywalls http://bit.ly/cYCVkG

Until I read this article I had no idea that popcorn was so important to the cinema business. According to the article I had no idea that popcorn – along with improved movie technology and enhanced movie-going experience (air conditioning) – helped save the motion picture exhibition business.

Think of cinema, the great survivor of 20th century media. What did cinema owners do when the US economy tanked in the 1920s and 30s? As well as innovating the product (introducing sound, then colour), the packaging (offering double bills), and the user experience (introducing air-conditioning), they also found a new revenue stream that ultimately saved their business — popcorn.

We think of the movies as a content-based business but cinemas then as now make their profit from popcorn (which has an operating margin in excess of 90%). It also drives additional revenue streams by making you thirsty. And somehow it’s become an integral part of the content experience. What 21st century media businesses must do now, as they rebuild themselves, is find their popcorn.

The author wonders that, instead of erecting the paywalls around newspaper content online (which are proving spectacularly unsuccessful):

We may speculate as to whether 2%, or 5%, or 10% of Times readers will pay for the paper’s content online in the face of competition from free rivals. We will have to see. But we have plenty of evidence that consumers do spend money online on products and services. Indeed, online news fans are even more likely than the average online user to buy books, tickets, travel, or clothing online. The key is not to monetize the content but to monetize the audience.

Kachingle Hopes ‘Social Payments’ Can Help Fund Content http://to.pbs.org/dlzEq5 startups to share money you donate btwn sites.

More than just simple donations, social payment systems such as Kachingleand Flattr simplify giving money to sites you visit. Both services set up a monthly payment system, with a set amount each month, and the more sites you like, the more ways your payment is split.

The sites ultimately share about 80% of your donation after PayPal and company fees of about 7%

I’m dubious, but anything that can help fund production is a good thing.

Science enters iPhone 4 Aerial debate! Turns out Consumer Reports may not have had the most rigorous science in their testing.

On Reception – The iPhone 4 hysteria – The Real Life/Lab Test Conundrum

Yes, the iPhone 4 is broken / No, the iPhone 4 is not broken

Analyst says ‘Consumer Reports’ test of the iPhone 4 is flawed, ‘barely scientific’

But, of course, rational discourse doesn’t boost page views at websites, so we get the wildly irrational comments from those who just want to take Apple down a peg.

Ultimately I think Techcrunch has the last word after pointing out that the big fuss over Facebook Privacy that was going to cause everyone to leave Facebook just two months ago, and yet Facebook has had their best month ever:

The reality of the situations in these massively-hyped controversies is often quite boring. No one is quitting Facebook over privacy concerns because most people are oblivious or simply don’t give a shit (sometimes for good reason, sometimes not). In fact, Facebook is growing just as fast as before. Maybe faster. And millions of people are going to continue to buy the iPhone 4 because it’s the phone they want. If there’s a problem with the reception, they’ll deal with it by moving their hands a few inches or buying a bumper.

But no one wants to read those stories. Hell, I don’t want to write those stories. They’re boring. No service is dying, no users are getting maimed. But often, that’s the way it is.

BTW, I’m placing my iPhone 4 order today.