Is text-to-speech on Kindle 2 a threat to audiobooks?
Yesterday, the Author's Guild aired complaints about the Kindle 2's new onboard text-to-speech function from predictive text specialists Nuance Communications, warning that the function could eventually cut into the audiobook market.
The group said, "This presents a significant challenge to the publishing industry. Audiobooks surpassed $1 billion in sales in 2007; e-book sales are just a small fraction of that. While the audio quality of the Kindle 2, judging from Amazon's promotional materials, is best described as serviceable, it's far better than the text-to-speech audio of just a few years ago. We expect this software to improve rapidly."
Computing in India, or the disappearance of the $10 laptop
How many Web sites have to repeat a story before it finally, at long last, becomes the truth? Not enough, as Tim Conneally has learned, in this story about how far the omission of a zero can take a news story.
I wanted to wait until the hype of the "$10 laptop" died down before I dove into the subject, because it was such an appalling mixture of doe-eyed optimism and sloppy reporting, that I simply could not touch it without turning it into an indictment of journalism as a whole. Instead, we look at what $10 really will get you.
Hey hey, ho ho, where's Obama's CTO?
As Senate hearings for the new Administration's cabinet members continue, tech folk are eagerly awaiting word on the status of the brand-new CTO position. So who's it going to be?
Speculation at this point seems to alight on candidates who already hold the job in other organizations. In the public service sector, the name that seems to come up most frequently is that of Vivek Kundra, currently serving as CTO of Washington, DC and a recent veteran of Obama's transition team.
Analysis: After yesterday, it's time to reset
Among the comments we received yesterday after our all-day, wall-to-wall coverage of the deluge that struck the technology industry, was a complaint asking, why we didn't pick some happier news?
One of the many things I've always appreciated about the movie Apollo 13 is that penchant for its historical accuracy enabled it to introduce the world, by way of actor Ed Harris, to one of the 20th century's greater heroes, former NASA flight director Gene Kranz. Sure, after the movie, folks everywhere had adopted one of Kranz' true-to-life catch phrases, and what had been emblazoned on my wall as a teenager: Failure Is Not An Option. But there was another Kranz phrase used in the movie that is applicable to yesterday, a day which revealed for us the wide extent of the damage incurred during this ongoing, global economic failure.
Openly BOSSing around the Internet
It's too soon to know what will remain standing as new CEO Carol Bartz makes her way through the the halls of Yahoo, but here's a modest proposal from one admirer: Show some love to the BOSS.
I don't mean Bartz, yahoos (though could it hurt if you're employed there?). I mean Yahoo Search BOSS (Build your Own Search Service), the company's open search Web services platform. Amidst the thicket of advertising-based this and widgetastic that, here's a Yahoo project that thrives on mashing up searches. Remember search? Yahoo used to do search...
Live from the FCC Chairman's one-on-one
So has the nation's transition to digital television gone completely off track, and is it time for the incoming Obama administration to call time out? Kevin Martin, Chairman of the FCC, speaks directly to CES 2009.
2:35pm PT: Going Forward: "We have to continue investing in the underlying infrastructure. We need to not inadvertently upset balance; you don't want to disturb anyone's infrastructure investment."
Palm's past is Pre-logue for a buzzworthy phone
Click to view images of the Palm Pre
It's a phone. It's a phone that didn't even arrive on Earth shooting out of Steve Jobs'... shirt pocket. So what about the reveal of the Palm Pre proved so intoxicating on Thursday to CES attendees and press?
Live from Sony's Thursday keynote
There's so much going on with Sony this year that yesterday's massive press conference couldn't hold it all. This morning, CEO Sir Howard Stringer is scheduled to take Sony's rebound strategy one step further.
10:43am PT: Stringer concludes with a sad story re kids losing their sense of wonder and adventure as they get older.
Ballmer: Windows Live to integrate with Facebook, new Win7 beta
Its enterprise brands have all been succeeding quite nicely -- Windows Server, SQL Server, Visual Studio, Office, SharePoint. But in the consumers' mind, Microsoft took a beating last year. How will Ballmer recover?
7:50pm PT: They have moved over to a surface controller that will integrate with the tablet as well as a smartphone. They're showing off an e-ink style mockup as well, this is followed by typical Ballmer comment about how excited he is about everything. Gary Shapiro: "Bill left you a big sweater to fill, Steve, but I think you've pulled it off!" And with that, Tripod comes back on, to play out the quickly vaporizing crowd.
Live from Sony's (first) CES 2009 press event
It's Sony's answer to the netbook: its latest very slim P-series Vaio. But even that is taking a backseat to none other than Jeopardy!, another Sony property, complete with Alex Trebek live and in person.
Jacqueline Emigh, 4:39 pm PST: The show begins with Sony Senior Vice President for Communications Rick Clancy speaking, after having been introduced by none other than Alex Trebek. They're filming Jeopardy! at the booth next door.
Why free Wi-Fi could (help) save Starbucks
Starbucks' wretched earnings report this week may unnerve fans of coffee and out-of-office Wi-Fi, but now there's evidence that keeping customers hooked for free is smart business practice that could get them over this little depression.
Take Seattle. Seattle knows coffee. Seattle knows Starbucks -- they've got hundreds, not to mention corporate HQ sitting just south of downtown. And Seattle knows no limits on its Wi-Fi craving.
Mac users flaming over FireWire; Jobs shrugs
Some Mac veterans are in an ecstasy of grief over the absence of Apple's own FireWire port from the new low-end MacBook. But what does it mean?
Mac support and discussion forums have been blazing away since Tuesday's announcements, with users of FireWire video gear, musical equipment, and peripherals bewailing the absence of FireWire from the lower-end MacBook. The port is still present in FireWire 800 form on the MacBook Pro; FireWire 400 is no longer offered.
Those who can't hack (much), write
Since there have been computer intrusions, it seems, there have been crackers (that is, black-hat "hackers") wanting to write books detailing What They Did. But often, the better the hack, the less the urge to write a book about it.
David Kernell, the college student currently accused of "hacking" into VP candidate Sarah Palin's e-mail account, may yet end up taking his lumps from the legal system -- even if he didn't do much more than take an educated guess at Palin's "secret" security question. If Kernell does end up with a conviction, I would humbly ask that repayment of his debt to society consist of haranguing Yahoo about their pitiful secret-question security system. Or maybe he should have to field-dress a Palin-shot moose as punishment. Please, though, kid -- would you spare us the book telling us how clever you were?
iPod Shuffle: Apple Understated
On Thursday, as I headed back to Washington from Washington (to D.C. from state), I spotted an iPod Shuffle; the guy seated directly in front of me had one, which noticeably hung around his neck.
I got to thinking about the brilliance of Apple's simple approach to music, which is so much about cool. Already, those white headphones, which contrast against just about every head or outfit, are now a pseudo status symbol. Next, looks like music cool just might be the white rope around the neck with iPod Shuffle attached.
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