Tuesday, April 05, 2005
Multi-Media from Outer Space to Little Spaces
It's hard to keep up with the pace of consumerization of multi-media technology. These three stories caught my eye because they show how we are using space and satellites to listen and see things at our convenience on very small devices, which we make increasingly flexible. These examples may seem ordinary to those accustomed to using hi-tech on a regular basis; but sometimes we get so used to incremental improvements that we don't see the magnitude of the changes in our lives. Or of the opportunities these changes hold.
Let's start with this NYTimes report that Satellite Radio Takes Off, Altering the Airwaves as new : "subscribers from January through March pushed the industry's customer total past five million after fewer than three and a half years of operation. Analysts call that remarkable growth for companies charging more than $100 annually for a product that has been free for 80 years.
Total subscribers at XM and its competitor, Sirius Satellite Radio, will probably surpass eight million by the end of year, making satellite radio one of the fastest-growing technologies ever - faster, for example, than cellphones. .....
Both companies offer stations devoted to the most popular songs, but it is their national reach and dual revenue streams - subscriptions and advertising sales on nonmusic channels - that allow them to offer niche programming. Genres that receive little exposure on commercial radio, like bluegrass, reggae or talk devoted to African-American affairs, get their own channels on satellite services. Individual ratings matter little; listener satisfaction counts for much more, because it determines how long subscribers will keep paying $12.95 a month."
It seems that people are willing to pay for the advantages of lots of listening choices without commercial interuption. Now if one's selections were recorded for later use, ala the iPod model, we might evolve a better way to to distribute, share , and pay for music content . At least, a modern business model that beats litigation against technology and one's own clients.
As our second example, let's look at looking at ourselves from space, using a new Google Feature for Satellite Maps : "that will enable its users to zoom in on homes and businesses using satellite images, .... The satellite technology, which Google began offering late Monday at http://maps.google.com, is part of the package that the Mountain View-based company acquired when it bought digital map maker Keyhole Corp. for an undisclosed amount nearly six months ago.
This marks the first time since the deal closed that Google has offered free access to Keyhole's high-tech maps through its search engine. Users previously had to pay $29.95 to download a version of Keyhole's basic software package.
A more traditional map will continue to be the first choice served up by Google's search engine. Users will have the option of retrieving a satellite picture by clicking on a button."
Some observers think that Google's satellite maps may compete with Mapquest's maps or with Amazon.com Inc.'s A9 search engine feature that includes an index containing 20 million street-level photographs of building exteriors in 10 major U.S. cities. But maybe we will just use it to check out our next vacation spot.
Finally, going from outer space to little spaces, this story shows super fast early adaptation of the Sony PSP as Hackers Add Web Features to PSP Video Game Player :
"PlayStation Portable is turning into a great tool for Web browsing, comics reading and online chat -- and it also happens to play video games, movies and music, if you prefer that sort of thing.
The $249 PSP handheld video game player went on sale in the United States on March 24, and it took very little time before techies added the kinds of functions to the PSP that Sony did not include -- and may never have intended. ....
But the gaming and hacking communities embraced the PSP with speed rarely seen in the console world -- a nod, perhaps, to its portability."
An Internet Relay Chat (IRC) feature was added in 24 hours. Other "hacks" include a way to transfer TV shows recorded by a TiVo dvr to the PSP, a program for reading ebooks and a viewer for comics downloaded from the Internet. I don't know what, if any, markets will arise from this activity, but it seems many folk are getting these 'hack' freeware items as additions to their PSP purchases. Perhaps Sony didn't intend all this - at least not yet; but if there is a market, they will probably help consumer get there. This little device has all the earmarks of a very flexible personal size multi-media tool; but who could have guessed how quickly people would have adapted it.
Well, that's three stories of new technology- enabled consumer capabilities. I don't have a wise and ringing conclusion; you will have to draw your own from seeing them together. Perhaps, one lesson is that people love choices and will pay for them and for convenience ; and they will invent novel futures rapidly once enough of a technology-economic base is in place.
Let's start with this NYTimes report that Satellite Radio Takes Off, Altering the Airwaves as new : "subscribers from January through March pushed the industry's customer total past five million after fewer than three and a half years of operation. Analysts call that remarkable growth for companies charging more than $100 annually for a product that has been free for 80 years.
Total subscribers at XM and its competitor, Sirius Satellite Radio, will probably surpass eight million by the end of year, making satellite radio one of the fastest-growing technologies ever - faster, for example, than cellphones. .....
Both companies offer stations devoted to the most popular songs, but it is their national reach and dual revenue streams - subscriptions and advertising sales on nonmusic channels - that allow them to offer niche programming. Genres that receive little exposure on commercial radio, like bluegrass, reggae or talk devoted to African-American affairs, get their own channels on satellite services. Individual ratings matter little; listener satisfaction counts for much more, because it determines how long subscribers will keep paying $12.95 a month."
It seems that people are willing to pay for the advantages of lots of listening choices without commercial interuption. Now if one's selections were recorded for later use, ala the iPod model, we might evolve a better way to to distribute, share , and pay for music content . At least, a modern business model that beats litigation against technology and one's own clients.
As our second example, let's look at looking at ourselves from space, using a new Google Feature for Satellite Maps : "that will enable its users to zoom in on homes and businesses using satellite images, .... The satellite technology, which Google began offering late Monday at http://maps.google.com, is part of the package that the Mountain View-based company acquired when it bought digital map maker Keyhole Corp. for an undisclosed amount nearly six months ago.
This marks the first time since the deal closed that Google has offered free access to Keyhole's high-tech maps through its search engine. Users previously had to pay $29.95 to download a version of Keyhole's basic software package.
A more traditional map will continue to be the first choice served up by Google's search engine. Users will have the option of retrieving a satellite picture by clicking on a button."
Some observers think that Google's satellite maps may compete with Mapquest's maps or with Amazon.com Inc.'s A9 search engine feature that includes an index containing 20 million street-level photographs of building exteriors in 10 major U.S. cities. But maybe we will just use it to check out our next vacation spot.
Finally, going from outer space to little spaces, this story shows super fast early adaptation of the Sony PSP as Hackers Add Web Features to PSP Video Game Player :
"PlayStation Portable is turning into a great tool for Web browsing, comics reading and online chat -- and it also happens to play video games, movies and music, if you prefer that sort of thing.
The $249 PSP handheld video game player went on sale in the United States on March 24, and it took very little time before techies added the kinds of functions to the PSP that Sony did not include -- and may never have intended. ....
But the gaming and hacking communities embraced the PSP with speed rarely seen in the console world -- a nod, perhaps, to its portability."
An Internet Relay Chat (IRC) feature was added in 24 hours. Other "hacks" include a way to transfer TV shows recorded by a TiVo dvr to the PSP, a program for reading ebooks and a viewer for comics downloaded from the Internet. I don't know what, if any, markets will arise from this activity, but it seems many folk are getting these 'hack' freeware items as additions to their PSP purchases. Perhaps Sony didn't intend all this - at least not yet; but if there is a market, they will probably help consumer get there. This little device has all the earmarks of a very flexible personal size multi-media tool; but who could have guessed how quickly people would have adapted it.
Well, that's three stories of new technology- enabled consumer capabilities. I don't have a wise and ringing conclusion; you will have to draw your own from seeing them together. Perhaps, one lesson is that people love choices and will pay for them and for convenience ; and they will invent novel futures rapidly once enough of a technology-economic base is in place.
