Daily Disruptions

Today's Daily Disruptions

Cognitive Vision From The Pondering Primate

 The overall theme I saw this week. Major disruption ahead for the wireless provider industry.


Facebook users can chat through Skype link
Does this make Microsoft a player again?

The possibilities for this partnership are huge. How does this impact mobile phone providers?

Google in talks to buy Hulu. link
I am wondering if Google's ownership of YouTube will prevent this from happening. A video monopoly? Largest media could get a lot bigger.

WiFi hotspots represent the new cell network link
Mobile carriers should be concerned. Technology that let cell calls seamlessly switch from cell to hotspot should be huge.

A rare earth discovery in Japan could ease supply issues link


Justin Timberlake spends $35m to buy MySpace. link. Imagine what he could do with a membership of 135 million members. Change the name of the site and target a certain demographic or industry.

Something to ponder. Who really owns your data once you upload it to the cloud? link

Skype owns 50% of the VOIP market link

Digital currency the next go? link

Your privacy on Google will be gone on July 31 link
Does this allow them to share it now too?

Mobile payments and digital goods will dominate. link
Your mobile phone is slowly morphing into a wallet.

The end of unlimited data plans for mobile? link
The tipping point for VOIP services?What happens when video takes off?

A new high speed network link

Should wireless carriers be concerned?





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Pondering Primate Weekly Highlights

Government passes bill preventing online intellectual property theft link

Google's Schmidt talks about the next trillion dollar industry link

Google shuts down Google Heath and Power Meter link

The end of cheap labor in China link

3D Industry..dead on arrival? link

12 Brands expected to go bust in 2012 link

Microsoft tests Wi-Fi over TV spectrum link

"All you can watch" model coming to movie theaters link

Google now activates 500,000 Android devices a day link

Amazon starts ad network link

Microsoft acknowledges Google's cloud is big threat to their business link

Companies are creating their own in house social networks link

Wi-Fi technology could connect power grid link

Facebook's Project Spartan offers web based platform for apps link

Colleges turn to outsourcing instructors link

Groupon IPO valued at $30B and now Living Social IPO valued at $15B, if this isn't a bubble in this space, I dont know what is. These companies are commodities with NO barrier to entry. In fact Google and FaceBook are already starting.

California taxes online shoppers and Amazon bails. link (Huge rupt)





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Weekly Highlights

Highlights for the week. Things that will make you ponder.


Apple, Intel and others bid for Nortel's patents link

The trove of 6,000 patents cover key swaths of the high-tech world, including Wi-Fi, social networking and a fourth-generation wireless technology now being deployed called LTE.


Largest Internet real estate agent (GoDaddy) getting bought out KKR to buy Godaddy Incidentally IPv6 launches ad ICANN introduce new suffix for domain names. A busy week for the Net.

Black babies outnumber white babies for first time Whites lose majority among babies
fast-growing younger ethnic populations that could reshape government policies

Google uses behavioral targeting for ads link

IPv6 launches. An IP address for every physical object link

Genetic breast cancer test launched Brevagen launches breast cancer test

FDA approves first autologous filler for wrinkles link

A "reverse Groupon" site launches link Does group buying change?

BestBuy enters cloud space for music. Can this turn around dying retailer? link

Amazon enters tablet space. How will they incorporate their "one click" buy technology? link

Digital camera industry gets disrupted link

Mobile apps replacing mobile websites. What does this do to hosting business? link

DARPA funds cyber attack technology link

ICANN to introduce new domain suffix. What does this do to cybersquatters and the search engine optimization biz? link





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Things That Make You Go Hmmm...

Headlines for this week.


Weight Watcher's labels McDonald's Chicken McNuggets healthy. Burger King is in talks with Jenny Craig for Whopper labeling.

Microsoft's Ballmer bets it all on this .

The mobile space must be starting to boom because the patents are starting fly. See who is suing who for what.

Apple sues for their "touchy feely" intellectual property.

Sony, a new player in the handheld device space? Will the WalkMan get another life?

Throw away your PC in 3 years.

YouTube launches auto-captions for videos. Expect new words to be added to Webster's.

Palm will be left to die, Microsoft not interested. Pioneer of the smart phone seeks bleak picture.

New service lets you invest in FaceBook, Twitter, before they go public.

For those too lazy to type a phone number, Google extends click to call for all advertisers.

Y2K bug knocks out PlayStation.

FaceBook is secretly planning an Internet wide payment platform. Should PayPal start to worry?

Airport scanners spreading across U.S..

Google unveils disaster recovery feature and replicates data in multiple servers and data centers. Can you say exponential memory?




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YouTube Is Now The 2nd Largest Search Engine

It's official, video is the new content.


YouTube Now 25 Percent Of All Google Searches

Video search on YouTube accounts for a quarter of all Google search queries in the U.S., according to the latest search engine numbers from comScore.

If it were a standalone site, YouTube would be the second largest search engine after Google. More searches are done through YouTube than through Yahoo.

Just recently YouTube launches a high definition version.

Things to ponder.

How long before video mail replaces emailing?

Your PC and mobile have an "email address", how long before your digital camera and video camera have one too?

How long before your video camera has its own IP address, or is Internet enabled (while power is on)

When will we see the ability to click on a hyperlink within a video? think interactive product placement within a video..the holy grail of Internet advertising

All of these upcoming features will increase Internet traffic exponentially.

"Oil Is Finite But Information Is Infinite".. Google's CEO Eric Schmidt

Bits, bytes, megawatts and kilowatts...it's all just data to me, but Google sees it as content. We saw how they revolutionized content traveling over the Internet.

U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said “the cheapest and most available source of new energy is the energy we waste”.

Is an antiquated power grid the biggest form of waste?

Here comes the “next generation” Internet. Think of all of the computing devices that are connected (plugged in) to the

"EnerNet" (Energy+Internet=EnerNet)

Eric Schmidt gave a speech at the New America Foundation that outlined what the "next generation" Internet will allow.

How will Google use the power of information for the energy industry?

Energy is really just another form of bits and bytes (data) that travels across a network.

When an air conditioner is turned on, data (or content) is being created.

Millions of ACs, refrigerators, Ipods etc. There are probably fifty times the number of other "computing devices" in your house generating data (content) compared to PCs/laptops.

When Google joined the Demand Response and Smart Grid Coalition they signaled their intent to dominate handling "information" traveling over the "EnerNet"

Schmidt's first suggestion is to use some of the bailout funds to upgrade the electric grid, and make it smart. Broadband was required before people could really utilize the Net, a smart grid is necessary for the CleanTech boom.

Every structure that relies on heating or air conditioning will require a "new PC".

Are smart meters the next generation PCs? The grid is similar to the Internet.

How will Google utilize (and monetize) the data created by the grid?

Here's how I see the next generation Internet and the analogy of previous Net winners.

Smart meters (Dell), chips that make devices more energy efficient (Intel), software that connects these devices to the EnerNet (Microsoft) and managing the data (content) that is generated when these devices are connected (Google)....and Google again.

Thoughts?

Google, iPhone and Speech Recognition...Will QWERTY Keyboards Lose Their Significance?

The iPhone represents two major transformations, one is speech recognition. (know the other?)

One of the selling points to smartphones is the QWERTY keyboard. Will speech recognition technology eliminate the need for them?

When word processing was introduced, it was the beginning of the end of handwriting.

Can you think of the last time you wrote anything of length on sheet of paper?

Google is blending the PC with the mobile phone, and will be creating another revenue stream for keywords

NY Times has a story about Google, iPhone and Machines That Listen

Google’s new speech recognition service for the iPhone, understands you most accurately when you speak to it just the way you enter queries into the Google search box. It may even signify an inflection point — speech recognition that is more useful than typing.

Not only will Apple (using Google's technology) transform search on a mobile, but imagine the other applications that will change with this speech recognition technology (text messaging, email, location based services).

(second transformation)
In addition to transforming the way we use a mobile phone, Apple also disrupted the entire remote device space, when they incorporated sensing technology (accelerometer).

What other industries will benefit from this?

The First Type Of Ecommerce Using TV Remote Control?

What other order menus do you see cable companies inserting in shows?

Dominos and TiVo Hook Up For Remote Control Ordering

Users can also access the Dominos site through any number of entry points -- Gold Star sponsorship, program placements, interactive tags in live TV spots, and through Music, Photos, Products & More by clicking on "Order Your Pizza" -- and manually enter an address and pizza order. Users will also be able to track their pizzas, according to Domino's.

White Space Provides The Future Of Wireless Revolution

It should come as no surprise to Pondering Primate readers how big the FCC's decision to approve Google Backed White Space Use will be.

It's been called "WiFi on steroids" and offers "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to provide ubiquitous wireless broadband access to all Americans."

From M.I.T. Technology Review The Coming Wireless Revolution.

"The announcement that the FCC will allow white-space devices has a lot of people feeling like this is a beginning of a wireless revolution," says Anant Sahai, a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of California, Berkeley.

radios that are smart enough to hop from one frequency to another, leaving occupied channels undisturbed--an approach known as cognitive radio

Dell may want to build broadband wireless Internet cards that are faster and have more range than existing ones do (already announced this initiative)

Google may simply want to push Internet coverage to increase the number of people who see Google ads (Google has estimated it will increase revenues by 20-30%)

Jake Ward from Wireless Innovation Alliance describes one white-space application as "mind blowing": sending high-definition television signals from one room to another within a house. "You have a TiVo, a DVD player, a cable box, and three high-definition TVs," he says. "Using a white-space device, you could beam those signals anywhere, to any TV."

More about the White Space potential

Google Says White Space Will Boost Their Online Ad Revenue By 20-30%

"Wi-Fi on steroids" is said to be worth billions to Google.
How much will it be worth to other white space players?

Could President Obama, Congress and and Google team up to deliver Wi-Fi on steroids?
The FCC just gave it a thumbs up.

From Investor's Business Daily U.S. Broadband Push Seen Gaining Steam

President-elect Obama writes on his website, "America should lead the world in broadband penetration and internet access". He calls for "providing true broadband to every community in America".

How can this be accomplished?

Microsoft said access to white spaces offers "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to provide ubiquitous wireless broadband access to all Americans."

On Nov. 5, the FCC voted to open vacant broadcast spectrum for unlicensed use. The availability of these white spaces was applauded by Google co-founder Larry Page, who said in a statement: "In terms of how people use the Internet, how they communicate with each other, how rural areas will be able to have connectivity, this will be a tremendously important thing."

Page predicted the free use of white space will boost Internet use so much, his firm's online ad revenue will rise 20% to 30% a year..
(My rough estimates put that figure at roughly $4-7B in additional revenues)

Last week Google Chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt went to Chicago to serve as part of Obama's 17-person economic transition economic advisory board.(Schmidt said no to Obama's CTO position though).

Google's Larry Page defines White Space as "Wi-Fi on steroids"

Utilizing the unused TV "white spaces" for broadband access would be a tremendous opportunity to bring the Internet to more Americans -- including those in rural areas and first responders.

Because of the much longer range of these spectrum signals, wireless broadband access utilizing the TV white spaces could be brought to more consumers using fewer base stations -- in effect, "wi-fi on steriods".

Largest PC manufacturer is already betting on its adoption.


More ponderings on White Spaces

A Boom Coming For TV Advertising?

Dynamic ad insertion for both linear and non-linear TV viewing.

The ability to place targeted ads before, after and during on demand content playback will disrupt the television advertising.

A new advertising solution will enable advertisers and content providers to exert exacting control over ad placement and generate revenue through additional advertising opportunities.

Advertisers can now reach both prime time and "my time" viewers. This has enormous implications for advertising.

Dell Incorporates White Space Radios Into Laptops

Dell adopts "WiFi on steroids".

In short, access to white spaces offers "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to provide ubiquitous wireless broadband access to all Americans."

I have pondered at great length about the enormous opportunity White Space represents

After the FCC approved the Google Backed White Space Use, the largest PC maker announces they will incorporate this technology.

From PC World Dell To Offer White Space Connectivity In Laptops

Dell will add a new wireless option to future laptops by installing radio chips that provide connectivity over the unused television spectrum known as white spaces. Proponents say the TV spectrum can carry broadband signals significantly farther than Wi-Fi, and that opening up the spectrum will help expand the market for new smartphone-like devices.

Today some 1 billion WiFi chips are shipped each year.

"We intend to integrate white-space radios into future Dell products," said Neeraj Srivastava, director of technology policy at Dell. The products could include laptops, netbooks, and any other devices that provide wireless network access. White spaces could solve a lot of the problems of the 2.4GHz spectrum and allow for higher-bandwidth applications such as streaming audio and video.

4 Reasons why you should care about White Space.
(Hint: one of them is the fastest WiFi ever)

How will this new spectrum affect WiFI players, telcos and cable cos?

Also this week Intel announced they were scrapping their ultrawideband efforts.

More white space ponderings

FCC Approves Google Backed White Space Use

The "Internet of Things", or "Physical World Connection" is becoming a reality.

When everyone and everything has access to broadband, the Internet will deliver numerous applications, companies and revenue opportunities.

Everything from thermostats, smart meters, digital cameras, sprinkler systems, airplanes to mobile phones and laptops will soon have broadband access capabilities.

Internet For Everyone and soon everything. Cheap broadband wireless services will soon be available to all.

Google calls it "Wi-Fi on steroids". Today some 1 billion Wi-Fi chips are shipped each year. "

Now that the FCC has set the rules, I'm sure that we'll see similar growth in products to take advantage of this spectrum," Google's Larry Page wrote.

Microsoft calls "white spaces" the greatest improvement in Internet access since the advent of Wi-Fi."

White Spaces offers a "ton of bandwidth"

From Yahoo FCC Approves Google-Backed Plan For Airwaves Use

The five-member FCC voted to open unlicensed pockets of the spectrum known as white space that will become available when U.S. broadcasters are required to move to digital television next year.

Companies like Google and Microsoft, as well as consumer groups, said access to the white space airwaves would encourage innovation in cellular telephones and wireless devices, much as WiFi did.

"Let's hope it's not just Wi-Fi on steroids but Wi-Fi on amphetamines," FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein said.

While a lot of companies make white space radios (modems), the white space rules mandate that unlicensed users of this spectrum also be able to sense licensed users and not interfere with them (that was a key argument for opposition). That means companies that make white space radios will need more than just radio expertise: they will need sensing expertise.

According to Josh Silver, (Free Press) white spaces adoption would champion four core principles:

-- Access (fat pipes in every home),
-- choice (real competition between providers),
-- openness (this appears to be a code word for some flavor of 'Net neutrality),
-- innovation (job creation and economic growth).


More white space ponderings.



Our company uncovered a small company with modulation techniques (and over $200m in VC funding from Cisco, SBC Communications, US Venture Partners, ComVentures along with $100m from US Govt) that is positioning themselves to be the "Qualcomm of 700MHz and White Space" (modulating standard).

This Silicon Valley player is already receiving white space radio orders.

The report is titled "White Space Represents A White Hot Opportunity"

FCC Commissioner Says White Space Will Win Approval

White spaces, or as Google's Larry Page calls it,"Wi-Fi on steroids" is close to reality.

A top federal regulator said on Wednesday he is optimistic communications officials will approve a plan, backed by Microsoft (MSFT) and Google, (GOOG) to open soon-to-be vacant television airwaves.

From Investor's Business Daily FCC Commissioner Says White Space Use Will Win Approval

The FCC, made up of three Republicans and two Democrats, is due to vote (Nov 4) on the white spaces proposal drawn up by Republican commission Chairman Kevin Martin.

there is great potential for a new wave of innovative and faster devices to be developed by the private sector with the new spectrum.

I have pondered at great length about the enormous opportunity White Space represents.

One Silicon Valley player is already receiving white space radio orders.

More White Space ponderings.

Visionary Innovations uncovered a small company with modulation techniques (and over $200m in VC funding from Cisco, SBC Communications, US Venture Partners, ComVentures along with $100m from US Govt) that is positioning themselves to be the "Qualcomm of 700MHz and White Space" (modulating standard).

The report is titled "White Space Represents A White Hot Opportunity"

Verizon Sees Physical World Connection With 700 Megahertz Spectrum

Physical World Connection can be static or dynamic.

From Technology Review
Verizon Sees All Kinds Of Devices Connect

"It's about connecting any- and everything that could be connected," Verizon VP Tony Lewis said at the Mobile Internet World Conference.

In addition to cell phones, Lewis expects to see an explosion of devices that connect to cellular networks, such as industrial machinery and home appliances.

He talked about home health monitors that might track, for example, whether an elderly person is taking medicine at prescribed intervals and then notify family members via the wireless network if a dose is missed.

He also talked about home appliances that would automatically send for a repair person if a key part fails, or order new supplies, such as groceries, when they run out.

Internet Of Things..Physical World Connection Right Around The Corner

"In five years it will be hard to find an electronic device that is not connected to the Internet," ZeroG Chief Executive John Cummins predicted.

More than 9 billion micro-control devices are shipped every year, he said, suggesting a huge market opportunity.

The Associated Press....Dying On The Net And Now In Print

Through pricing issues and the inability to adapt to the Internet, the world's largest and oldest news gathering organization is becoming extinct.

Tribune Company has given a two-year notice to the Associated Press that its daily newspapers plan to drop the news service, becoming the first major newspaper chain to do so since the recent controversy over new rates began

Tribune, which owns nine daily papers including the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune, joins a growing list of newspapers that have sought to end AP contracts, or given notice of that, following plans to introduce a new controversial rate structure in 2009.

In addition, the Associate Press pretty much eliminated any Internet traffic with this move

Google Taps Harris Corporation For TV Ad Penetration....What Market Is Next?

Google is embedding their TV advertising software operating system/platform into the communications equipment Harris sells to business and government clients.

What other markets does Harris provides communication equipment for?

----------------------------------------------
Harris offers a complete portfolio of cost-effective digital technology solutions that enable broadcasters to easily and affordably transition from standard definition (SD) to high definition (HD) and all the way to 1080p broadcasting.

From Google's Traditional Media Site Google Announces Partnerhip With Harris Corporation

Today, Google has partnered with Harris Corporation to enable media companies to more easily make their inventory available to Google TV Ads advertisers through Harris' current traffic systems' inventory tools.

Harris Corporation is a worldwide leader in TV advertising traffic, scheduling and billing systems. This partnership will make it easier for our television inventory providers to manage their media sales through the Google TV Ads platform within the existing Harris system.

As advertisers upload their ads and bid the clearing price for your inventory, the spots are delivered from Google's system to the Harris traffic system where they follow the spot placement rules you've already set up. As spots are approved and aired the Harris service returns verification details to Google's system.

Each week, Google processes data from millions of anonymized set-top boxes (STBs), including which channels each STB was tuned to, second-by-second.

This data is provided by our partner, EchoStar. We're then able to provide advertisers with next-day reports of how many impressions were delivered to each ad airing, as well as tuning metrics, such as what percentage of the audience stayed tuned to their ad from beginning to end.

I can see this relationship expanding to the radio industry as well as the aviation broadband space.

What does this mean for Google and their IPTV penetration?

Google proposes TV monitoring

Google could partner with telcos and cable companies in their respective efforts to deliver next-generation interactive television using Internet-style networking. The only problem is that IPTV, as the marriage of television and broadband networking is called, belongs to Microsoft. Microsoft is the major vendor of software for IPTV network operators and it has plans to be the Google of IPTV.

Could this partnership change that?

White Spaces, Or Wi-Fi On Steroids Almost Here?

From Washington Post:

FCC Chair Wants To Go Forward With Use OF White Spaces

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin said he wants to allow portable devices to use the airwaves between TV channels for wireless broadband service (White Spaces)

After months of testing and over a year of lobbying by tech firms Google, Microsoft, HP, Dell and others, the FCC's engineering office is releasing a report today that spells out the standards devices must meet in order to use the empty airwaves.

Martin said he is circulating the report with other commissioners and hopes to vote on the item at the FCC's Nov. 4 meeting.

He said the portable devices must have sensing technologies as well as a geo-location database. This would make sure the devices would be able to detect nearby broadcasts in order to avoid those frequencies.

Google's Larry Page said:

Utilizing the unused TV "white spaces" for broadband access would be a tremendous opportunity to bring the Internet to more Americans -- including those in rural areas and first responders.

Because of the much longer range of these spectrum signals, wireless broadband access utilizing the TV white spaces could be brought to more consumers using fewer base stations -- in effect, "wi-fi on steriods"

For more pondering about white spaces