The Buzz

This one’s a doozy. Awhile back, Viacom sued YouTube, seeking $1 billion in damages for knowingly allowing copyright infringement to take place. The lawsuit was filed after talks between the video streaming service and the content giant fell apart.

Both sides have begun making their cases, and both sides have some pretty damning evidence, as ArsTechnica reports.

Viacom has offered up examples of YouTube and Google executives being notified or discussing the amount of pirated content on the site, with the 80 percent illegal content number popping up regularly. If executives were relying on infringing uses to power the site’s popularity, it could cause them serious legal issues.

On the other hand, YouTube points out that at the same time Viacom was preparing the lawsuit, they were also uploading content in a variety of covert ways, and even issuing takedown notices on content they themselves had uploaded (and then asking for that content to be restored). YouTube claims that they had up to 18 third-party marketing firms uploading content for them and even making the video look less official to make it seem like some random person was uploading it instead. It got so confusing, YouTube notes, that at one point Viacom’s official channel was suspended over copyright infringement claims. With that much confusion, YouTube concludes, how were they supposed to know which were valid clips and which weren’t?

It’s a big case, at the same level as the Napster and Grokster music cases, but it’s also quite revealing… it’ll be fun to see how this one turns out.

SOURCE: Ars Technica

The full view of the Windows Phone 7 Music & Video screen mock showcased last month. On the phone, only a slice of it would be visible at a time, and would scroll left and right.

Engadget’s been all over the Windows Phone 7 series coverage this week, and there’s a lot of new details to share, most of it positive:

• The phone software appears to be getting a nice polish, with a number of nice interface details being put into place.
• The Marketplace rights management has the right to revoke licenses, something that other DRM-based systems have had and are rarely used. There is precedent though: Amazon revoked Kindle licenses for George Orwell’s books, and gave refunds, because the people selling the book didn’t have the rights to do so.
• Engadget got them to demonstrate a phone call! So the Windows Phone 7 name is indeed accurate. It fascinates me how people forget that phone calls are still an important feature on a smartphone. It’s great there’s an app for that, but can I reach grandma?
• No copy and paste. The Palm Pre launched with a very limited implementation of copy/paste. Either it’s really hard to implement (I find that somewhat hard to believe given the fact that Windows smartphones have had it forever), or Apple has opened a convenient shortcut for phone developers to skip a step.
• The phone will also have some limited color customization options, a nicety for those who want a bit more control over how their phone looks.

Overall, it really seems like Microsoft is on to something, and really it’s good for all of us – another strong competitor means everyone should step up their game.

SOURCE: Engadget

CardKing keeps track of your loyalty cards, so you're sure to get any savings available.

My wallet overfloweth with membership cards and discount deals for dozens of stores. It seems these loyalty cards, something supermarkets have had for years, have exploded. Bookstores, drug stores, even music retailers like F.Y.E. use them. They offer discounts in exchange for letting them track what you’re purchasing.

But all those cards are taking up all sorts of space. So here’s a nice solution for those of you with an iPhone: CardKing’s app allows you to scan your loyalty cards in, so you don’t have to carry the stack of them around anymore. It’s a nice way to lighten the load in your pocket, and making sure you get the sale price on items that require your card – a nice win/win.

SOURCE: CardKing via Gizmodo

Apple is working on ways to bring the price of video down, including advertising in the download in exchange for a lower price point. Image courtesy of Apple.

Apple has long avoided battery doors to streamline their designs, and some have long complained about the inability to replace the battery without voiding a warranty.

Anyone who thought that would change with the iPad… give your friend the $10 you bet him.

Apple has announced that a $99 service fee will be charged for those who need a replacement unit as a result of their batteries not charging.

So no, they won’t replace the battery either… they’ll just replace the unit for a fee.

Why does this matter? Most batteries survive 500-1000 charges before the battery life starts to diminish more noticably (thereby necessitating more frequent charges, which in turn kills the battery faster … a vicious circle if one was ever found). The iPad is said to have a 10 hour battery life for things like videos. In other words, with heavy use, you’ll have to charge it daily.

At that rate, 500-1000 charges means by the third year, you’ll likely notice diminishing returns on your battery, and a $99 fee.

Now, with many portable devices, including Apple’s, people tend to upgrade these things often, whether for space reasons, breakage or just plum wanting a fresh one.

Is three years a reasonable amount of time for a device to last, or is Apple just grabbing for more of your money?

SOURCE: Information Week via Consumerist

Have you ever wondered whether food in your fridge is safe to eat or not?

It’s not always an exact science, but sometimes telltale signs can provide a determination. If you’re unsure, you can ask the Internet.

A LiveJournal group called “Food Safety for the Cheap and Adventurous” (“Can I Eat This” for short) shares links to information about food safety, and allows people to ask questions and get answers about whether food is safe or not. It’s a good way to determine if that turkey you froze before the expiration date is good (it’s probably fine) or if that chicken with a slight smell is OK to eat (don’t do it).

SOURCE: Consumerist

Those of us who have smartphones have long been acclimated to having unlimited data and text plans to fuel our addiction to surfing the Web, streaming video/audio and using or buying applications, music and more. The phone companies don’t seem to be pleased with this development, and are looking to monetize this shift in use.

Gizmodo is already preparing the funeral for unlimited data plans, citing recent statements by Verizon and AT&T executives who have basically promised to begin adjusting the tiers of data plans for cell phone service.

Tiered data isn’t completely new; AOL used to charge by the minute when it first debuted, a model Sprint followed initially when they introduced their first cellular data plans with a tethering feature (and was equally pokey in speeds as by-the-minute-era AOL, I might add). But we’ve become accustomed to paying more based on speed.

We’re approaching an unusual split in the road. All the carriers have a 5 GB cap on Aircards over their current networks, probably because they’re fearful about how much data a laptop can slurp vs. a cell phone. But as iPhone users can attest, enough of a device can slow a network down, and it appears AT&T’s solution is to charge more, not just build out more capacity. Ironically, Clear, Sprint and the cable companies’ joint venture for a next-gen wireless data network, is offering unlimited data plans at the moment, so we could see a tightening of the belt on legacy networks just as new networks promise faster speeds and more generous data caps. This could get interesting, but it’ll likely just get more confusing. But given how easy to understand wireless service plans are now, a little confusion shouldn’t be much of a problem, should it?

SOURCE: Gizmodo

Here's an overview of how many people are on in our area the evening I posted this.

One of the big news stories of late has been Chatroulette (NSFW), a service that pairs web cam users with another random user. Sometimes, it can lead to interesting conversation. Sometimes, it can lead to nudity. It’s really that random, and you don’t know who they are or where they are unless they tell you.

Except… that’s not necessarily true, as a new service, Chatroulette Map, plots the users on a Google Map. Dwight Silverman, who is a blogger at Hearst sister paper the Houston Chronicle, ran his information through the same way Chatroulette Map does, and it push-pinned the map about a mile from his house, which is accurate enough to give you a good enough picture of where people are located, and in less populated areas might even help you identify the person.

Even more importantly, unlike the original service, which shows you only people at random, Chatroulette Map lets you zoom in on a particular area and look at the users there. I pulled up a random person’s camera in our readership area (probably a bad idea in the newsroom) and got a funny screen shot of how many naughty things the person saw. But there’s other stuff, of course. But obviously this can make it easier to identify who’s using the service locally.

It was fun while it lasted, I guess, although the Daily Show segment on it was awesome (watch it below). Anyone have any experiences, good, bad or ugly, on Chatroulette?

SOURCE: Chatroulette Map via TechBlog

We’ve watched Cablevision go two rounds now with media companies over the fees they have to pay per subscriber for channels. Have you ever wondered what they are?

Well, while each cable company may pay slightly different rates based on negotiations, this list reveals the general fees paid by a cable system. Remember how Cablevision said they were paying Disney over $200 million per year? A lot of that is ESPN, which commands over $4.00 per subscriber. Those sports rights are expensive. I guess reruns of Brett Somers and Richard Dawson aren’t, however, because GSN is only 12 cents a subscriber… and you could win prizes!

SOURCE: AllThingsD via Consumerist