The Buzz

The rumored Hulu Plus subscription service may make its beta test more public as soon as the end of the month. Other details are similar to what were discussed here earlier: $9.95 a month, with access to a larger library of shows than the free version. It would potentially open up access to shows not available free elsewhere as well. Availability would be on computers, the iPad, and the latest possibility: access on consoles like Xbox 360. Details, of course, are still being hammered out, so some aspects are still subject to change.

SOURCE: All Things Digital 1 and 2

As mentioned previously, the case between Viacom and YouTube over copyright infringement (with the awe-inspiring $1 billion amount sought by the media giant) was getting ugly, with both sides revealing some potentially damning information. So I’m a bit surprised that a judge declared summary judgment in YouTube’s favor, ending a potentially protracted legal battle for now, although appeals will likely follow. Still, for a site that potentially had as much as 80 percent illegal content in its early days, being deemed as protected under the DMCA is a big victory for Google.

SOURCE: Deadline: Hollywood

iPad image courtesy of Apple. Kindle image courtesy of Amazon. Tortured Mortal Kombat Photoshop illustration by Joshua O'Connell.

Now that the iPad has been on the market for a few months (and so I can dust off that awful Photoshop I made once more), has Apple supplanted Amazon as the best choice for books? Perhaps, perhaps not.

Peter Kafka at All Things Digital took a look at some current trends in the two companies’ e-book stores, and determined that Amazon has both a larger selection and lower average price point than Apple’s iBooks store.

About 80 percent of the books they have in common are the same price, but 20 percent are an average of 10 percent less expensive in Amazon’s store. So clearly, Amazon still is pushing the price point to its advantage, even after its earlier struggles with publishers.

Kafka concludes,

Do you want to read e-books on a multipurpose device (the iPad) or one that costs a whole lot less and does much less (the Kindle)? My guess is that even after Apple eats into Kindle’s share, Amazon (AMZN) is going to find plenty of people who just want an e-reader. We’ll see.

I think Kafka partially misses the point, however. He fails to note Amazon’s success in being the multi-platform company for book reading. They now have apps for Blackberry, iPad, the PC and Mac, and of course the actual Kindle itself, with Android support on the way. Amazon’s hedging its bets by allowing the Kindle books to be read on competitive devices, including the iPad itself. Amazon may lose the device war to a multi-purpose device (although I still feel the Kindle will survive as a successful niche product, thanks to the screen and battery life advantages it has for that particular experience), but they’ll still be able to successfully sell books since you can read them on practically any major device out there.

SOURCE: All Things Digital

A private company like Facebook is not required to divulge numbers, but it doesn’t stop people from making educated guesses nonetheless. Previously, it was estimated that Facebook brought in about $700 million in 2009, but now, thanks to sources “in the know,” it’s possible the company brought in $800 million. Of course, it’s possible the company brought in any number; we won’t know for sure.

Does anyone else think that seems low? Based on an estimated userbase of 500 million, that’s only $1 and change per person. That seems really, really low, given how many advertisements can now be seen on the platform. Granted, some are third party ads in applications, but they still have those three ads on the right side of most pages, after all. However, Mark Zuckerberg spent so much time focusing on the user experience at the expense of revenue (again, “The Facebook Effect” is a great book), they may be playing catch-up still.

SOURCE: CNet news.com

If you’re an avid reader like I am, you sometimes find that locating your next book can be a little challenging if you don’t have a clear direction. The Kindle’s new social media options might help, especially if other products, like the iPad, pick up on the idea. Amazon’s recommendation engine has been useful to me in the past as well. However, other sites are cropping up offering some help as well.

YourNextRead lets you register and enter books you’ve read recently, to get recommendations of other books you may like. It crowdsources data, just as Amazon does, but unlike Amazon it factors in a user’s rankings, not just purchase patterns. This makes it easier to know if another book in a similar vain will be as enjoyable as the one you’ve just read. You can also thumb up or down a recommendation to help improve the service for the next reader.

After playing with the tool for a bit, I’ve found a number of things that I like: the ability to see 8-10 recommendations is great, as it offers enough variety that at least one or two options seem enticing. The thumbs up/down feature helps get rid of options you don’t like, and keep track of ones you do, which of course just makes the recommendations better. It’s also very in-the-now with the “like/dislike” style that’s becoming all the rage, and of course it has the practically-required Amazon link-up so you can get the books right away.

Overall, it’s a nice, simple service. The only trouble I had was the site was occasionally unresponsive; I suspect some recent press is taxing them a bit, so expect an occasional hiccup if you’re trying out the service in the near future.

SOURCE: Your Next Read via Lifehacker

Twitter’s management, in an effort to make outages more transparent, is now including a link to their status blog on the infamous “fail whale” page to help people understand what’s going on. I still maintain that Twitter’s doing a great job communicating, but a horrible job maintaining their uptime.

Their downtime problems hasn’t hit their growth rate just yet, however, as comScore is reporting healthy growth for the service.

SOURCE: TechCrunch 1 and 2

As mentioned in a previous post on the subject, the MTA is accepting proposals to install Wi-Fi at stations and trains in the Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road system. Another company, NYFI, has publicly released its proposal, and it tops the Cablevision one by offering a free service outright – no requirement to be a subscriber.

Their plan? To help the MTA finance it by improving areas that build revenue, such as advertising, to fund the installation and maintenance of the system. The press release says NYFI’s team has experience installing similar systems in trains in other places.

SOURCE: Engadget

Good morning!

Stop-motion animation + candles = Coolness.