Doc Searls highlights excerpts from a post by Jason Calacanis entitled “CES analysis: Why I know Google will do an office suite and a desktop OS in 2006.”
I don’t think Google will make a PC. I think Google will: a. launch calendar and office suite in the next six months. b. by the end of the year they will come out with a Linux-based OS and offer it for free to PC makers. Those PC makers will love Google for giving them a free OS and Google will love extending the reach of their money maker: google Adsense.
The big win: Google can offer PC makers something they have never had: reoccurring revenue. Not only can Google give a free OS and office suite, they could offer them 10% of the Google Adsense revenue of that computer/user—FOR LIFE!
Can you imagine if Dell or Compaq could not only sell a computer for $500 with $50 in profit, but also make another $25-50 a year in Adsense revenue? The person keeps the computer for another two years and Dell makes more from the Adsense than the computer.Posted by Mitch Shapiro at 4:13 PM | Print | Comments (0)
Michael Parekh cites a key section of a Washington Monthly essay I discussed Thursday night and cited in a follow-up post triggered in part by Michael’s thoughts on “Big Bypass Battles” and video download services.
The essay and Michael’s posts underscore the wisdom of a “wholistic” public policy that takes into account the interrelationships between network neutrality issues, market competition, municipal broadband and spectrum policy…especially so with a big chunk of high-grade spectrum to be soon returned by broadcasters.
Congress could boost the speed and reliability of community wireless networks by making available more “unlicensed spectrum”-those portions of the public airwaves not exclusively reserved for government or commercial use. Existing “Wi-Fi” networks operate in “junk bands” cluttered with signals from cordless phones, microwave ovens, baby monitors and other consumer devices. At lower frequencies - like in the television band - signals travel farther and can go through walls, trees and mountains.
Opening up some of this spectrum would make Community Internet systems much faster and cheaper to deploy, allowing a new generation of broadband entrepreneurs to enter the market. The broadcasters are about to return a sizable chunk of spectrum as part of the digital television transition, a portion of which could be reserved for Community Internet if Congress doesn’t auction it all off to the cell phone companies.
Another option would be to reallocate vast, unused “white spaces” between TV channels for wireless broadband. Either way, more “unlicensed spectrum” is the key to making universal, super-fast broadband for $10 a month a reality.”
“A lot of issues tend to get over-hyped as being ‘critical’ for the global competitiveness and economic good of the country,” Michael say, [but] “this one, I think, does stand above them all.” He says that while “[s]pectrum regulation made sense when spectrum was truly scarce due to the limitations of our technology” spectrum “increasingly is abundant as those limitations are overcome.”
Given the impressive value that unlicensed Wi-Fi has squeezed out of tiny slices of “junk” spectrum bands, one would hope that the fate of large bands of high-grade broadcast spectrum are decided on grounds more strategic (from economic, social and geo-political perspectives) than the political expedience of paying down a small chunk of the federal government’s vast and irresponsibly-created deficit. To do less would only compound that irresponsibility…kinda like giving your last paycheck to that drunk, pushy, debt-ridden uncle always bugging you for a loan, instead of spending it to fix the car you’ll need to drive to your new job, a job that provides good benefits and prospects for promotion, plus a salary that’ll support your expenses and debt payments, while still leaving plenty extra to put in the bank.
As the date for the return of broadcast spectrum nears, it’ll be interesting to see whether companies like Intel (a strong Wi-Fi and WiMAX proponent) and the GYMAAAE Internet giants (or anyone else, for that matter) come up with proposals for unlicensed or licensed uses that create new broadband access pipes and spur competition and innovation. It will also be interesting to see how such proposals fare when (I assume) they are challenged by wired and wireless incumbent pipe owners and cries, both sincere and self-serving, for short-term deficit reduction.
Posted by Mitch Shapiro at 3:19 PM | Print | Comments (0)
Bruce Mohl at the Boston Globe has penned this piece which asks: Will you pay to play?
Mohl looks at the prices and offerings of XM and Sirius, and notes that the satellite radio companies were slated to unveil new portable devices (the article was obviously in the can before CES. Pioneer and Samsung released their portable satellite radio players to much ado last week.).
Even with the $12.95 monthly subscription fees and upfront equipment costs, I’d say that satellite radio, despite the financial woes of XM and Sirius, is a booming business. Why? The sorry state of old-fashioned radio.
Scan the typical FM dial in any city and the stations available are either tedious, repetitive talk radio, “classic rock,” hispanic stations or “today’s” rock formats, with practically nothing interesting or new to hear. Particularly where music is concerned, radio today is the audio equivalent of Wonder Bread — safe, boring and with little artistic substance.
Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 2:40 PM | Print | Comments (0)
If this development has received wide coverage, I somehow missed it. But the New York Times has a rich and robust video channel that features dozens of timely videos on top topics from theater to fashion to national news.
What’s really interesting about these video newcasts is that they showcase Times reporters weighing in on the latest developments. For example, Richard Siklos and Damon Darlin and David Pogue issued noteworthy reports from the CES show floor.
This is a fascinating site to visit, with great videos on all topics covered by the New York Times.
Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 2:12 PM | Print | Comments (0)
Muni-broadband is cropping up all over the nation, with cities across the country tending to opt for free or low-cost Wi-Fi services. The latest example: Miami Beach, which will start pilot-testing on January 20 a free Wi-Fi option.
City officials have granted IBM and Wireless Facilities Inc. the go-ahead to test two pilot locations — North Beach and South Beach. This trial is paving the way toward a multi-million dollar contract that will go to either one of the firms. The city council will make its final decision on Feb. 8.
Both companies must confirm that their systems deliver 95% coverage. Once the final contract is issued, free Wi-Fi will be available throughout Miami Beach within three to six months, according to the city.
Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 12:46 PM | Print | Comments (0)
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