In search of YouTube's copyrighted music muter
This morning, Mashable's Stan Schroeder discovered some examples of independently submitted videos to YouTube where the music track has been muted, and a notice given to that effect. Apparently, the system Google has long promised for identifying music tracks by their signatures, is working.
But is it working everywhere? Schroeder's examples include a track of mainly music, with just an accompanying slide, by blues great Albert King, apparently "ripped" off of one of those big, spinning, vinyl things folks used to use for music. People do like to post music to YouTube for some reason, even if it's only accompanying a slide telling you what the music is. We went looking for other examples of copyrighted tracks to test the depth of its detection ability.
It's Carol at Yahoo
It is a done deal: As widely reported yesterday, Carol Bartz, the former CEO and until yesterday Executive Chairperson of Autodesk, is the new CEO of Yahoo effective now.
The news from Yahoo looks very straight up, and even Jerry Yang's public statement includes some upper-case: "I believe Carol is the ideal person to take Yahoo forward and I will be honored to be a resource to assist her in any way she finds helpful. I believe Yahoo's best years are still ahead of it. For the past 14 years, I have poured all of my energies into this great company -- and I hope to keep contributing to its success for many years to come."
McNamee to 'elevate' Wikipedia
Fresh off what must feel like a bracing win for Elevation Partners (that would be the Palm Pre announcement), managing director and co-founder Roger McNamee is taking a seat on the advisory board of Wikimedia Foundation. It's not a new relationship, of course; in March it was announced that the company was considering a deeper relation with the Foundation after raising a helpful $1 million for it.
According to the Foundation, McNamee will act as a special advisor to the Executive Director on business and strategy issues. The advisory board meets once a year and pitches in as needed with advice on technology, policy, law, organizational development, and outreach efforts. No word on how McNamee's band, Moonalice, fits into the new deal, but I'd be a lesser sort of blogger if I didn't use the Foundation's good news to compliment them on garnering the support of "Chubby Wombat," not to mention the continued goodwill of his $1.9 billion day gig.
Mitigating the bad news that may emerge from Sony
Just last October, Sony gave guidance suggesting it could post a $1.5 billion profit for its entire fiscal year ending next March. But the Japanese business news service Nikkei said this morning that the company may actually now be preparing to post a $1.3 billion loss for the year.
Now, there's no official announcement, and no forms have been filed to that effect, although oftentimes news like this is "leaked" through business news services first to diffuse the effect of a bad shock. Sony had all day to refute the leak as rumor or innuendo, and hasn't done so.
Apple's App Store gets a mobile contacts management application
Apple's App Store has added an iPhone application for managing mobile-optimized contact information slated to be provided in conjunction with .tel domain names.
New to the App Store since last week, the iPhone client software is one of several similar applications from Telnic Limited, the registry operator for .tel, an emerging domain directory service for lightweight contact information that looks likely to see widespread use.
LG feeds wrist watch talk wish
Is it that at any other CES, we'd all be chirping about the advent of a working, non-hideous wrist phone? Or are we all just too jaded to believe? Either way, LG may have lost a perfectly reasonable wrist-mounted mobile phone in the stampede.
LG is a mighty big company, in the vicinity of which we are told Life's Good. What that means, practically speaking at a madhouse such as CES, is that there among the washers and dryers and huge flat-panel screens and touchscreen handsets and consumer diversions of every kind in their suburban-home-sized "booth," LG is apt to tuck in a few little flights of whimsy. A weary reporter appreciates the change of pace, LG appreciates the attention, and so it's all, as half the name suggests, Good.
More PCs in 2009 to sport Switchable Graphics, says Intel exec
In 2009, a lot more notebook PCs from Lenovo and other big manufacturers will implement Intel's game- and video-friendly Switchable Graphics, predicted Michael Trainor, chief technology evangelist at Intel.
In a demo, the technology evangelist showed how the Centrino 2-based technology lets users switch between Intel's own built-in graphics and a graphics card from ATI, a division of Intel competitor AMD.
HD in the long term: Sony's view on video creation
At the Studio Visionaries panel at CES on Friday, a cast of entertainment industry experts gathered to chat about the challenges that the high-definition era brings to the art of video and movie production, as well as re-production.
"A lot of the displays they're showing at CES this year, OLEDs and others, are in the 1,000,000:1 and some manufacturers are even advertising the 10,000,000:1 contrast ratios. The color reproduction on these screens is higher than anything we've seen in the past," said Chris Cookson, the President of Sony Pictures Technologies and former CTO of Warner Brothers.
Nikkei: Toshiba next in line as suitor for Fujitsu HDDs
The Nikkei business news service in Japan is reporting this afternoon that Toshiba is wrapping up talks to acquire the hard drive manufacturing division of Fujitsu, for what so far is an undisclosed sum.
It's no secret to anyone that Fujitsu wants to sell its hard drive operations; it made that much clear last October in its overtures to Western Digital, also carried out with the aid of Nikkei as its bullhorn. The crown jewel of Fujitsu's business there could be its 2.5-inch form factors for media players and small devices like netbooks. But a year ago, Fujitsu decided not to go forward with plans to manufacture even smaller form factors, which would help it break through to the MP3 player market.
Upper-case and straight lace: What Carol Bartz might bring to Yahoo
There is nothing the least bit low-key about Carol Bartz, the longtime Autodesk executive and former Sun Microsystems key executive who is widely considered to replace Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang as CEO.
Carol Bartz presided over Autodesk as its president/CEO/chairwoman for 14 years since 1994, before stepping down in 2006. Prior to that time, Bartz served in the executive ranks of Sun Microsystems, DEC, and 3M. Not only might she be a dramatic change from the character of the laid back, often timid Yang, Bartz could be the polar opposite of Yang's predecessor, former Warner Bros. executive Terry Semel.
Experts: GPS alone just won't cut it for location-based cell phone services
Location-based services (LBS) -- delivered to people on cell phones depending on where they're situated at the moment -- are now on the way to becoming more commonplace.
Yet GPS -- a technology sometimes viewed as just about synonymous with LBS -- just won't be enough, by itself, to make LBS work, according to some of the movers and shakers in the nascent industry.
Intel's convertible Classmate is only the second in a netbook PC series
Intel's second Classmate netbook for kids, introduced at CES, will be followed by more Classmate PCs, not necessarily devised in a "lunchbox" style, said Mark Parker, global launch manager for Intel's Classmates.
In an interview with Betanews, Parker noted that Intel produces the reference design for the Classmate netbooks, which can then be implemented by OEM partners in a variety of ways for use among students in developing nations.
Google Quick Search gets dev release, may replace Quicksilver
In Google's Mac blog last night, the team announced the developer preview of Google Quick Search for Mac (OS X 10.5+), what they call a much more experimental version of the app for iPhone.
The application acts as a quick launcher, a browser location bar, and a search field which allows the user to search for files or text on his own computer or on the Web. It even has one boxes for word definitions, mathematical equations, and weather conditions.
Early reaction to Genachowski for FCC Chairman
The man who was hired to help President-Elect Obama choose the next chairman of the Federal Communications Commission apparently saw this as an introspective affair. The former counsel to FCC Chairman Reed Hundt, former right-hand man to IAC chief Barry Diller, and present managing director of venture capital firm Rock Creek Ventures, will evidently be the new FCC chairman, pending his appointment by the new President.
The early reaction from both the cable and broadcasting lobbies is quite positive. American Cable Association chief Matthew Polka released this statement this morning: "The role of the FCC has never been more significant to more Americans, and we wish Mr. Genachowski well in taking on today's historic challenges. The next several years will present opportunities and obstacles in the technology and communications industries, including the coming DTV transition and the Government's effort to deploy broadband in underserved areas. ACA and its members are eager to work with the new Chairman and all the Commissioners of the FCC to ensure the unique challenges of smaller cable operators and their subscribers are understood and accounted for. Mr. Genachowski's record of accomplishments and reputation within the industry make him a good choice as Chairman, and we congratulate him."
Requiem for an 'N'
Many of you longtime BetaNews...oops...Betanews readers will have noticed starting last week with our CES 2009 coverage that we not only got fatter over the new year (contrary to everyone else with designs on losing weight) but we got a trim up top. Yes, just like myself, there's a little less bushiness on our head this year, and we went lower-case with the "n" in our name.
Now, does this mean anything? In this era of great and stirring symbolism, is there some dramatic statement that goes with the lowering of our "n?"
Most Commented Stories
Betanews Is Growing Alongside You
Only a fool still uses Windows 7
© 1998-2025 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy.