Google's WebM patent pals agree to share

These days, patent lawsuits have become the big guns that tech companies use to battle their competitors. But when it comes to Google's WebM video technology, the company is trying to establish a neutral zone of patent peace.
Today, Google is announcing a program called the WebM Community Cross License initiative designed to dispel patent-related threats looming over freely usable video technology for the Web.
Under the effort, members who join agree to license any WebM-related patents to each other, a move that offers mutual reassurance that the technology is royalty-free in practice as well as in Google's aspiration.
"Each grants to the other members a patent license for any patents that may be essential to WebM," said Mike Jazayeri, Google's director of product management for WebM.
So far Google has signed up 16 other organizations for the effort, some of them obvious allies such as browser makers Mozilla and Opera Software. But other allies, such as Samsung and LG Electronics, have video-related patents one could judge as commercially viable by virtue of their relevance to H.264, WebM's biggest video encoding technology rival.
The effort is an attempt to counter doubts raised about the patent purity of WebM by MPEG LA, which licenses the H.264 patent pool and is investigating the creation of a similar pool for VP8, the video encoding technology that along with the Vorbis audio codec is the core of WebM. MPEG LA has said it believes VP8 violates others patents, though it hasn't revealed any details.
Google hopes the WebM Community Cross License, combined with its own usage of WebM, will allay concerns.
"We felt comfortable in including it in our own products and services," Jazayeri said, mentioning its YouTube video site and Chrome browser. "We're hopeful the CCL will bring clarity and confidence" to those considering using WebM themselves.
If MPEG LA offered a VP8 patent pool, it might be convenient for some companies interested in using VP8 that are worried about potential lawsuits from patent holders. But it also would severely undermine Google's ambition to create a patent-free technology. For example, it would preclude it from inclusion in open-source software such as Mozilla's Firefox and in standards such as HTML5 that seek to sidestep patent encumbrances.
"We genuinely believe the Web is as ubiquitous today as it is because the early founders made the core technologies of the Web open and freely usable," Jazayeri said. "That's critical."
Many important video patent holders such as Microsoft, Panasonic, Philips Electronics, Sharp, and Sony aren't on the list, though--at least yet.
"This is just the beginning," Jazayeri said. "We are in active discussions [to] engage those who benefit from the Web ecosystem."
The full list of partners so far is:
• AMD
• Cisco Systems
• Google
• HiSilicon Technologies (for itself and on behalf of its parent, Huawei)
• LG Electronics
• Logitech
• Matroska
• MIPS Technologies
• Mozilla Corporation
• Opera Software
• Pantech
• Quanta Computer
• Samsung
• STMicroelectronics (for itself and its affiliate, ST-Ericsson)
• Texas Instruments
• Verisilicon Holdings
• Xiph.Org Foundation

Google has taken other measures to promote WebM. It's removed H.264 support from Chrome, putting its browser in the Mozilla and Opera camp rather than the Internet Explorer and Safari camp when it comes to HTML5 video built straight into Web pages. It's also begun transcoding all uploaded YouTube videos into WebM--a mammoth task from a computing standpoint--and already has transcoded the most popular videos such that 99 percent of what's seen on YouTube can be seen in WebM.
It remains to be seen how effectively Google can counter MPEG LA. Google is hoping to marshal allies under the banner of an unencumbered Internet.
"I think the comments they've made at this stage aren't helpful to innovation on the Web, and I think others share that concern," Jazayeri said.
To prevail, though, Google and its allies will have to convince others that the commercial value of a livelier Web outweighs the commercial value of any WebM-related patents they have. Today's explosion of patent suits suggests that tech giants with big patent portfolios might not be so eager to lay down their weapons.
Corrected 10:58 a.m. PT to reflect that Google's initiative is about WebM video technology, not its related WebP effort for still images.

Stephen Shankland

Nook Color gets Flash support, curated app store

With its latest update, Barnes & Noble is now marketing the Nook Color as the 'best value of any tablet on the market.'

(Credit: Barnes & Noble)

A month ago we reported that Barnes & Noble was set to roll out a major software update for the Nook Color in April. This morning, Barnes & Noble finally flipped the switch on that update, which is a customized version of Android OS 2.2 (Froyo) and most notably adds a free built-in e-mail client, Flash support for Web browsing, and an app store with a selection of more than 125 free and paid apps.
Those who've already "rooted" the $250 Nook Color with custom firmware that's been circulating on the Web for months will be quick to note that this update is still limiting because it doesn't offer access to the Android Market and allow you to run any app you want. However, for the thousands of less tech-savvy customers who purchased the Nook and haven't hacked the device, the official update--dubbed version 1.2--at last turns the Nook Color into a more fully functional Android tablet.
The update also marks a subtle but important shift in Barnes & Noble's marketing strategy for the device. While it's still calling it the "Reader's Tablet," the company has now inserted the adjective "full-featured" in front of it and says that at $249, the Nook Color "presents the best value of any tablet on the market." That's something a lot of "rooters" have been saying for a while, which one could argue makes the new marketing message slightly ironic.
Not coincidentally, Barnes & Noble is launching a new ad campaign for the Nook Color today as well. However, the initial ads that will run are less about the device's new features and more about reading in general and the idea that although the way we read may be changing, it's still reading--and it's more exciting than ever. Amazon.com has been running ads with similar themes for the Kindle.

Related links
• Nook Color Android app store coming in April along with Flash support
• HSN 'previewing' Nook Color's app store and Flash capabilities
• Nook Color Honeycomb 'beta' hack advances

Here's a look at the highlights of Nook Color version 1.2. You can manually download the update at www.nookcolor.com/update or wait to get it over the air via Wi-Fi. However, it may take several days to get the update automatically delivered to your device, so manually updating is the way to go if you're impatient.

• Android 2.2: Barnes & Noble says Android OS 2.2/Froyo offers system improvements and enhanced browser performance, including support for Adobe Flash. You can also easily switch between larger desktop or mobile Web versions of sites, with enhanced pinch to zoom. You also get improved global search and shortcuts to settings. (Note: We've had pretty decent luck with many Flash sites and most of the Flash video we tested ran OK as long as we had a rock solid Internet connection. That said, you will encounter some choppiness from time to time and our Nook Color review sample completely locked up once while browsing, so it's far from a perfect experience.)
• Free e-mail app: Every Android device comes with a basic e-mail app, so it's high time the Nook Color got one. As you might expect, the free Nook Email app works across top Web mail services including Yahoo Mail, Gmail, AOL, and Hotmail and allows you to access multiple Web mail accounts from the app. All updated Nook Color devices will now include the Nook Email and Nook Friends apps preloaded, as well as Pandora Internet Radio, Crossword Puzzle, Sudoku, Chess, Contacts, and Gallery. Nook Friends is an app that allows you to share what you're reading with friends (see below for more details).

Nook 'app store.' (click to enlarge).
• A Nook app store not called Nook App Store: Apple is suing Amazon for calling its app store for Android an app store, which is probably why Barnes & Noble isn't calling its app store an app store. But semantics aside, you can now download apps to the Nook Color. Barnes & Noble is highlighting games like Angry Birds, Uno, and More Brain Exercise, the news app Pulse, Drawing Pad, and various kids' books. It's also got Lonely Planet Phrasebooks apps and the recipe app Epicurious. That's just a small sample and new apps will come onboard in the weeks and months to come. Again, it's not the Android Market, with its thousands of apps, or Amazon's impressive app store for Android, which already has a wide selection of apps. But it's a whole lot better than the handful of apps that initially came with the Nook Color. (Note: We couldn't install the Angry Birds app. This is a bug and we assume Barnes & Noble will fix it soon.)
• Slide page-turn animation: Users requested a slide page-turn animation, so they get one. (Note: Landscape book reading was originally supposed to be included in v1.2. B&N says it now plans to include this in its next software update, though it declined to give a specific date.)
• Enhanced Nook Kids digital picture books: We got a demo of the new interactivity in some of the new Nook Kids books, and while it's certainly a welcome addition, we've seen plenty of creative kids' apps and digital picture books on the iPad, so it didn't seem like anything groundbreaking.
• Nook Books enhanced: At launch, Barnes & Noble said that in the future some books would have embedded video, and now it has added that feature. How much extra you'll have to pay for these types of books is another matter, but 225 multimedia titles are currently available and the list is growing, according to the company. This obviously makes some sense for health and fitness books, tech and travel guides, and cookbooks, and you can expect more digital books to have rich multimedia content as the color tablet market continues to grow.

The new e-mail app (click to enlarge).
• Nook Friends app (beta): We mentioned that the Nook Friends app is going to be preloaded on Nook Color devices going forward, and Barnes & Noble is calling it the "go-to social network for people who love to read." It says that Nook Color users can create a group of Nook Friends to "easily swap books, get a friend's take on a new best seller, discover great new reads, or see if someone's enjoying a book they recommended on the Friend's Activity tab." You can also view your Nook Friends' content ratings and reviews, shared quotes, recommendations, and how they're progressing on their latest books. You could call this Barnes & Noble's take on the digital book club, and it will be interesting to see users' response to it.

While we'll be downloading the version 1.2 update along with the rest of the Nook owners, we did get an early look at it last week and were generally impressed with what we saw. To be clear, if you've rooted your Nook or happen to own an Android tablet such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab, a lot of these "enhancements" will probably make you yawn. But the update certainly makes an excellent device better and more functional--in fact, this is the Nook Color that a lot of people thought Barnes & Noble should have released in the first place.
During our demo of the e-mail app, we couldn't help but ask Jamie Iannone, president of Barnes & Noble Digital Products, why it wasn't there at launch--along with a few other apps.
Iannone paused for a moment before responding, then said, "We were really focused on getting the reading experience right. That was the No. 1 priority. And we just ran out of time to get this other stuff really right for launch."
Five months later that other stuff is here. And while the Nook Color (in its official software form) may still fall short of being a full-fledged Android tablet, it's doing a better job of masquerading as one.
As always, let us know your thoughts on the update after you've downloaded it--and whether you've spotted any bugs. Also, in the comments section feel free to let Barnes & Noble know what apps you'd like to see made available for the Nook Color.

Tahun 2021 Jakarta Jadi Kota Pilihan Orang Tajir Dunia

Survei yang dilakukan perusahaan konsultan properti global Knight Frank dan Citi Private Bank menyimpulkan, Jakarta menjadi kota pilihan ke-48 pada tahun ini bagi orang yang memiliki kekayaan lebih dari US$100 juta atau sekitar Rp 900 miliar.
Pada 2021 mendatang, Jakarta bahkan naik peringkat menjadi kota pilihan ke 28. "Pertimbangan utama adalah kestabilan ekonomi dan politik. Jakarta punya fundamental ekonomi kuat," ujar Senior Associate Director Knight Frank Indonesia, Fakky Ismail Hidayat, saat diskusi bertajuk "Peluang Kota Jakarta Sebagai Kota Dunia" di Harum Manis Restaurant, Apartement Paviliun, Jalan KH Mas Mansyur, Tanah Abang, Jakarta Pusat, Rabu (13/4) siang.

Manajer Riset Senior Knight Frank Indonesia Hasan Pramudji menerangkan, survei ini mewakili 5 ribu orang super kaya di dunia, yang memiliki kekayaan rata-rata Rp 900 miliar ke atas. Orang-orang tajir itu berasal dari 36 negara berbeda dan merupakan investor yang asetnya dipegang Citibank. "Survei ini merupakan persepsi mereka," kata Hasan di kesempatan sama.

Dalam presentasinya, Hasan menekankan, Jakarta diproyeksikan menjadi peringkat 28 pada masa 10 tahun ke depan dari survei pemilihan top 40 kota besar. Saat ini, lanjut dia, kota New York dan London menempati posisi puncak dan diperkirakan akan tetap berada dalam posisi yang sama dalam 10 tahun mendatang. "Sepuluh tahun lagi Jakarta di atas Monaco dan Istanbul," ujarnya.

Tren ini, menurut Hasan, merupakan dampak peningkatan peran kota-kota di negara berkembang yang sebagian berada di Asia Pasifik. Dia mencatat, pada 10 tahun mendatang, kota Shanghai akan menempati peringkat ke 3, sementara Mumbai berada di peringkat ke 7. "Kota-kota di Asia Pasifik akan menggeser peranan kota-kota besar di Eropa dan Amerika," ujarnya.

Bukti Jakarta berpeluang sebagai kota dunia adalah hasil survei yang menempati Ibu Kota Indonesia itu di peringkat 17 sebagai kota pilihan untuk berbisnis dan investasi. Dalam hal ini, Mumbai dan Sao Paolo menempati peringkat 5 dan 8 dari kelompok negara berkembang. Sementara,  Shanghai, Hongkong dan Beijing, kata Hasan, menempati peringkat 3 teratas sebagai kota pilihan utama.

Dalam pandangan Hasan, Jakarta tidak lepas dari pengaruh kondisi politik dan ekonomi di Indonesia yang secara umum menunjukkan tren positif. Termasuk, peningkatan peranan Indonesia di dunia internasional. Ditambah lagi, Jakarta dinilai mampu menawarkan kelengkapan fungsi kota, mulai dari bisnis, hiburan, rekreasi hingga budaya.

Hal di atas didukung meningkatnya permintaan lahan untuk sektor industri di Jakarta, yang berfungsi sebagai penggerak sektor properti dan perkantoran dari investor asing. Seperti dari Jepang, Singapura, Malaysia, China, Korea, Abu Dhabi, Timur Tengah dan India.

Untuk menuju sebagai kota dunia, Fakky berharap, Jakarta berbenah diri. Dia menganjurkan, penanganan banjir dilakukan komprehensif dengan ditunjang regulasi tata kota yang ketat. Hal itu diikuti perbaikan sarana infrastruktur kota seperti rumah sakit, klinik kesehatan, puskesmas dan utililas listrik, air bersih serta telekomunikasi.

Menurut President Director Knight Frank Indonesia, Wilson Kalip, investor asing amat optimistis dengan Jakarta untuk 10 tahun mendatang. Dia mengemukakan, mulai tahun lalu banyak pabrik yang sebelumnya lari ke Cina dan Vietnam sudah pindah ke kota satelit (kota pendukung) Jakarta. "Apalagi UMR di sini murah. Di Cina UMR-nya dua kali lipat," ujarnya.

Wilson mendukung konsep The Greater Jakarta, karena jika Jakarta sebagai kota dunia, maka dampaknya akan ke Bandung, Jawa Tengah bahkan hingga Sumatra. "Seperti air di gelas yang sudah penuh, dan meluber ke daerah lain," ujarnya menganalogikan. Untuk mewujudkan itu, dia menuntut diterapkannya pemerintahan yang bersih, transparan dan menjamin kepatuhan hukum.

sumber disini