Google TV: More Details Emerge

One of the key selling points of Google TV compared to other Internet-TV systems such as Roku and the new Apple TV is the fact that it’s designed to tap into all the video on the Web, not just the stuff that’s available via services designed to work on a Google TV box. But that doesn’t eliminate the need for Google to work with content companies to ensure that their services work really well with Google TV. And today Google is announcing a passel of partnerships with outfits involved in video, music, and other more: CNBC, HBO, Turner, the NBA, Pandora, Napster, Twitter, and more. It’s also revealing that it has deals in place with both Amazon and Netflix, replicating the two core services on Roku.

More details here:

We still don’t know exactly when Logitech plans to ship its Revue, the first stand-alone Google TV box, or how much it’ll charge for it. That information will presumably be announced at an event Logitech is holding on Wednesday of this week–I’ll be there, and will report back with that news and more thoughts on Google TV then.

TechCrunch Disrupt Winner Qwiki Creates Video Profiles on the Fly

David Spark is a veteran tech journalist that’s been covering the TechCrunch Disrupt conference for Yammer. Check out more of Spark’s coverage on Yammer’s blog.

Remember the search engine AltaVista? Ever wonder whatever happened to it? Nothing. It’s actually still a search engine. You’ve just completely forgotten about it and haven’t bothered to actually go to the site and check it out. But it’s still there and it still searches the Web. Why not take a look now?

The reason I mention AltaVista is because its cofounder, Louis  Monier, is also the cofounder of Qwiki, a very cool search application that creates video stories on the fly based on your searches. The technology incorporates open resources such as photos on Flickr and descriptions on Wikipedia to create its instant video slideshows. But this is just the tip of the iceberg, says Monier, explaining that this is just a first demo of a technology with lots more to come. Unfortunately I couldn’t coax that “more to come” out of him when I stopped by Qwiki’s booth before the service won the “best of show” award at TechCrunch Disrupt to get a demo of his application.

Operating Systems: Irrelevant!

Jean-Louis Gassée says that operating systems don’t matter anymore. It’s a little more complicated than that, but his piece is a must-read.

SpeakerText: Search and Share Your Favorite Video Snippets

David Spark is a veteran tech journalist who’s been covering the TechCrunch Disrupt conference for Yammer. Check out more of Spark’s coverage on Yammer’s blog.

I’ve always felt that the failure of video online has been its lack of visibility. Over the past few years there have been a variety of techniques deployed to search and discover video. But generally, all the content that’s available to search is the title, tags, and description of the video. Some sites have tried to crowdsource the problem with visitors tagging videos. And others have tried to solve this problem through transcription of videos, such as Fora.tv. It’s a good solution for spoken word videos, but it fell short because the solution is isolated to one specific site and service. Everyzing (now Ramp) did an excellent job of transcribing audio and video content but it didn’t make it easy to share.

At TechCrunch Disrupt I saw SpeakerText, a far more useful “anybody can use” tool for video transcription and search that’s well integrated with social media. SpeakerText is a paid plugin that will currently transcribe your YouTube, Blip.tv, WordPress, Ooyala, and Brightcove videos and sync them with the content in the video, making it searchable via the text. Again, it’s only really good for spoken-word videos, but what I found most valuable is the ability to highlight a piece of text and share it via Twitter. When you do, it creates a shortened URL that goes directly to that portion in the video where the highlighted text is spoken. Watch the demo with SpeakerText’s founder, Matt Mireles.

Shameless plug: Enter Yammer’s “Workplace Communications Horror Story!” Sweepstakes for a chance to win a free iPad. Deadline is October 15th, 2010.

TV Ads May Get Quieter; Thank You, Government!

Glad to see lawmakers putting partisan politics aside for the issues that really matter: A bill that forces television broadcasters and cable companies to ratchet down the volume on commercials passed in the U.S. Senate, and will be taken up by Congress after the November 2 elections. The House of Representatives has already signed similar bills, leaving only minor details to iron out. Once approved, it’ll require FCC regulations within a year, and enforcement a year after that. Nonpartisan, sure, but still slow as ever.

NPD: iPad Satisfaction Drops Among Later Adopters

When we conducted the State of iPad Satisfaction survey last June, the results were overwhelmingly positive. Maybe we should’ve waited a little longer.

The NPD Group surveyed iPad owners in August, and separated them by date of purchase. Of the people who bought iPads within the first two months of launch, almost 80 percent said they were very satisfied. High satisfaction was at 65 percent for folks who bought the iPad after the two-month mark.

This is not damning evidence by any stretch; it merely confirms Harry’s earlier conclusion that early adopters love their new gadgets. Our early Windows 7 satisfaction survey revealed similar levels of enthusiasm. NPD’s methods are more scientific, but the conclusion isn’t much different.

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BitTorrent’s Founder on Creating a P2P Live Video Distribution Model

David Spark is a veteran tech journalist that’s been covering the TechCrunch Disrupt conference for Yammer. Check out more of Spark’s coverage on Yammer’s blog.

I got the opportunity to chat with Bram Cohen, the creator of BitTorrent about his new project to create a model for BitTorrent that works for live streaming video. When you go live there are lots of new complications, said Cohen. Live video is erratic. Packets can shift from good to bad within an instant and you constantly need to monitor and shift away and back from the bad packets to the good ones and back again. This requires constant monitoring and distribution.

How can you do it all while maintaining an acceptable level of latency is Cohen’s main concern. Five to ten seconds is really the delay for broadcast TV so most people will accept that, but once you go over a minute it’s no longer considered a live stream. But if you can bring it under five seconds then you can create some really intriguing live engagement.

Shameless promotion:Enter Yammer’s “Workplace Communications Horror Story!” Sweepstakes for a chance to win a free iPad. Deadline is October 15th, 2010.

Great, Now Microsoft is Suing Motorola

Microsoft has announced that it’s suing Motorola for making Android phones that violate Microsoft patents. I’ve lost track of all the phone-related suits out there, but off the top of my head: Apple is suing Nokia, Nokia is suing Apple. Apple is suing HTC, HTC is suing Apple. and Oracle is suing Google. Oh, and Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen is suing…well, pretty much everyone except Microsoft, but I’m not sure if any of the patents in question relate to phones.

Microsoft VP Horacio Gutierrez has a blog post up in which he says:

Our action today merely seeks to ensure respect for our intellectual property rights infringed by Android devices; and judging by the recent actions by Apple and Oracle, we are not alone in this respect.

I dunno–I’m in favor of intellectual property, but I’d like someone (ideally someone who isn’t in the process of suing anyone else) to explain how the current patent system and its impact on the technology industry helps the industry, consumers, or the country. Is it possible to root against everyone involved?

Also, can someone explain to me how this suit will help Microsoft become relevant again in the phone business, or why it’s a better investment of time and money than pouring as much effort as possible into Windows Phone 7?

A Few Questions About Touch-Screen iMacs

A couple of years ago, I took advantage of the Q&A session at an Apple press event to ask Steve Jobs if Apple might release touch-screen Macs. (I did so on behalf of a Technologizer community member.) Jobs told me that the company had experimented with the idea and didn’t think it made sense just yet. At the time, I noted that this answer didn’t preclude the possibility of touch-screen Macs–it was pretty much the stock response that he always gives about potential Apple products, right up until the moment that the company releases the item in question.

Now DigiTimes is reporting apparent concrete evidence of a touch Mac that might not be all that far from release: Apple is supposedly testing touch-screen panels for new iMacs.

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Taliban Scrubbed From Medal of Honor Multiplayer

The cops and robbers gunplay in Medal of Honor’s multiplayer mode will no longer include the Taliban.

Instead, enemy players will be known as the “Opposing Force.” Taliban will still be part of the single-player campaign in Electronic Arts’ modern war shooter, which will be released on October 12.

Greg Goodrich, Medal of Honor’s executive producer, said Taliban were removed from the game’s multiplayer mode out respect to friends and family of fallen soldiers, some of whom showed concern. “This is a very important voice to the Medal of Honor team,” Goodrich wrote in a blog post. “This is a voice that has earned the right to be listened to. It is a voice that we care deeply about.”

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