The 463: Inside Tech

That Phone and Mobile P2P

On the eve of the shiny, new iPhone release, it's time to bring up an old subject here.

I've long wondered when mobile computing would meet P2P content distribution head on.  The entertainment focus of mobile devices matched with the bandwidth efficiencies always seemed to be a natural.  Indeed, so much so, that the CTIA quietly filed an amicus brief on Grokster's behalf in the famous Supreme Court case.  (As we noted at the time the brief was less about supporting the defendant and more about protecting the Sony Betamax precedent.)

Given this, it will be interesting to see the natural competition that will play out on the iPhone platform.  On one hand you will have the interest of control that comes with operations over AT&T's EDGE network (when not on Wi-Fi) and Apple's interest to keep labels happy (see:  Microsoft's Zune).  On the other hand, Apple promises to open up the device to third-party apps later this year and, moreover, there will be a massive desire to hack the iPhone.  This interplay might lead to content industry supported forms of wireless P2P distribution.  It might mean that mobile BitTorrent applications are (further) developed.  And, it might mean both.

We did a deep dive on the wireless distribution of music last summer.

Remarkably, some of the ramblings still have some validity.  But, mostly they make me think that this amazingly hyped and anticipated iPhone launch is telling Apple's competitors that they need to do something BIG to hit this onslaught at the knees.  Perhaps that something big is to seize on the the power of open platforms and the advent of Wi-Fi and/or VOIP networks and find ways to connect smart phones to entire libraries of music or video content? Or perhaps this will happen organically on the iPhone first and help it justify the anticipation that will end for some lucky souls tomorrow.

Drawing above is from the iPod Lounge iPod Concept Gallery

The Sound of Silence

A little more than 11-years-ago, Yahoo! and other big Web sites at the time turned their pages black for 48-hours to protest the signing of legislation that would censor content on the Internet.  That effort was ultimately successful in getting a Supreme Court repeal.

Today, Yahoo! and other big Web radio providers are shutting down their services for 24-hours to protest the big performance royalty hike that will take effect July 15 if a last breath congressional effort doesn't stop the speeding train.  The Washington Post has a good summary.

SaveNetRadio.org has organized the protest.  We wrote on David Byrne's perspectives on the issue here.

The Old Man and the Facebook

To the great consternation of territorial 20-year-olds trying to keep a favorite club cool, there has been a serious rush of old-dudes like me to Facebook in the last month.

Why?  Here's the simple story. Facebook recently opened up their social networking platform to outside developers.  This has led to increased functionality of the site, profiles and ways to interact with others.  You now can use third-party tools to display your Flickr photos on your profile, promote an event, share a YouTube video, link to your blog, and so on.

The opening of the platform then led to massive amounts of publicity and chatter about both the individual apps and the holistic strategy (like this WSJ article from last Friday).

This, in turn, led naturally curious people like me to check the service out -- if anything, because I don't want to be left outside the party when the velvet ropes get draped in front of the door.  Plus, I had already received an invite from the good folks at Technology Daily to join their group on Facebook and, more than theoretically, my job requires me to actually understand these kind of things.

Once I got on Facebook, I noticed that like my favorite homes and fashions, the pages were understated, calm and minimalistic.  Think Mid-Century Modern with widgets. 

I also easily found a good number of aged hipsters like me who may have lost their edge to the kids coming up from behind, but still know their way around the Internets.  For example, there is a group called the "Net Natives of Old" that has 367 members -- with 30 people joining in the last few days or so.  And, in a delicious (not  del.icio.us) bit of synergy (and perhaps, one-day, integration), there is a group for those like me who also reside on that other site for aged-social networkers, Linked-In.  This group has more than 2200 members.

But, now that I am on Facebook and have prettied up my profile page, I feel like I just got to a party that has the nervous energy of bunch of people waiting around trying to figure what's going to happen next (as they wonder to themselves whether this place looks like that old Friendster mansion).  The vibe is:  "sure, these party favors are pretty neat and my name tag is cool, but I'm the type that gets bored quickly so when are people going to start throwing each other in the swimming pool?"

We'll see...

(P.S.  We'll also see what tech policy implications come from the mad rush of fast Facebook application developers.  Already, it's clear that uploading music to your profile will be easy to do soon.  There are also questions about tools that "slurp" content from user-upload sites like Flickr without proper permissions).

Is DC About to Go Policy Blog Crazy?

Cynthia Brumfield at IP Democracy remarks about this week's Google policy blog launch/Google W. Post story combo...

... this non-newsworthy piece is probably a direct result of Google’s decision to join the still-small ranks of corporate tech and communications policy bloggers. You can now wager a lot of money that trade associations, lobbying oufits, and DC offices of cable, telco, content and high-tech companies are rushing to launch their own heretofore-scorned blogs.

We think Cynthia might be right.  Already, in the last two days, we have spoken to two organizations that are now interested in implementing a policy blogging strategy.  Before this week, not so much.

As I ranted in February, tech interests using their own communications innovations to add another layer to their policy communications would be a most welcomed and long overdue ...

Those in tech policy aren't blogging enough, reading blogs and, more generally, using existing technology to enable a community dialogue and debate about important issues that impact us.  (And, I won't even get into the power of video and vlogs just yet).

If we moved from a 1.0 to a 2.0 form of collaboration, we might be able to raise issues, find ideas and generate consensus in a way that simply can't be as easily replicated offline.

Instead, many in DC take it as a badge of honor that they don't read blogs.  Suggesting that they actually write or comment only gets you quizzical stares.  "What are you?  From San Francisco?"

With a few exceptions, there is a natural irony that those who are the voice of the tech industry in DC have largely avoided some of the biggest tech trends in the last few years that would allow them to amplify and synchronize their voice.

The result?  If our community was better socially networked, than an op-ed in the Merc on blowing up the current system of tech industry associations would have generated significant dialogue. Those from other sectors could lend their experience.  Folks from the Hill would pipe in and suggest ways to improve (or perhaps debunk conventional wisdom).

In a perfect bit of timing, old friend and colleague Donnie Fowler launched his politics, policy and technology blog over at CNET this week.  In his opening salvo, he writes...

Google's Microsoft Lesson

Top DC lobby business reporter, Jeff Birnbaum, becomes the latest in a long line to take a look at Google's DC team.  The hook to Birnbaum's Washington Post column is his direct comparison to Microsoft's fabled Washington growth spurt after the software giant's initial mistakes.

Google credits Microsoft’s missteps in the 1990s with helping it see the wisdom of setting up shop in Washington in a big way and using the many tools available in the capital, such as lobbying and lawyering, to get its way on major policy matters.

“The entire tech industry has learned from Microsoft,” said Alan B. Davidson, head of Google’s Washington office. “Washington and its policy debates are important. We can’t ignore them.”

Two years ago, Google was on the verge of making that Microsoft-like error. Davidson, then a 37-year-old former deputy director of the Center for Democracy & Technology, was the search-engine company’s sole staff lobbyist in Washington. As recently as last year, Google co-founder Sergey Brin had trouble getting meetings with members of Congress.

To change that, Google went on a hiring spree and now has 12 lobbyists and lobbying-related professionals on staff here — more than double the size of the standard corporate lobbying office — and is continuing to add people.

We wonder if someday soon there won't be a lobbying shop or law firm in DC that hasn't pledged their loyalty to either Google or Microsoft.  Probably very few.

And, as if to calm The 463, the piece also provides a hint that Google's new office will include room for tech educational seminars.  We hoped for this and so much more a couple weeks ago.

Girl Talk With Congressman Dolyle

By far the most popular post ever at The 463 is "Perhaps the Coolest Moment in the History of Congress and Why it Matters".

The quick history: In March, I read a reference in a music blog about Congressman Mike Doyle name checking a mashup artist in his district who goes by "Girl Talk" during a committee hearing and was impressed. After all, I had seen Girl Talk's out-of-control live show a couple times and knew that he was the hippest DJ going. (We actually posted about him in January.)

So I found the video of the hearing, wrote up a quick transcription of Doyle's comments, and spread the word.

Fast forward to this week's issue of Newsweek. In it, respected tech columnist Steven Levy has brought together the two protagonists. Over hot dogs, the Congressman and the "not a DJ" remix artist discuss sampling, rights issues and how the legislative process works...

Internet is Becoming a Cesspool of Darkness

From, Jay Rosenthal, SoundExchange board member, RIAA/artist/label lawyer in the LA Times last Friday...

"To some this may sound crazy, but I sincerely am starting to hate the Internet. I know you see the Internet as some incredible invention that has opened the door to unlimited distribution of music—and your lofty goal is to bring music to as many as possible. But all I see is a tidal wave of artist abuse. And the thought of webcasters emulating the Groskters of the world, and being given a free pass just reinforces my view that the Internet is not becoming a beacon of light, but a cesspool of darkness. I don't think it is overstating it by concluding that illegal file sharing is the direct cause of the greatest campaign of copyright infringement in history, and has resulted in the music industry's being devastated."

Copyright Mashup

A merging of copyright related chatter and initiatives that inevitably (and appropriately) clash together like a Celine Dion/Nine Inch Nails extended dance version remix...

NBCU general counsel Rick Cotton tells the FCC to enforce IP protection as part of its job regulating broadband industry practices ...  From Broadcasting & Cable....

"The commission should make unmistakably clear, as part of its regulations governing broadband industry practices, that broadband service providers have an obligation to use readily available means to prevent the use of their broadband capacity to transfer pirated content," even if it is just to notify customers who have been "identified as infringers."  (hat tip: NewTeeVee)

He calls out the FCC for being "mute" on copyright infringement and throws out notable bugaboos to underline his claim...

NBCU suggested that the government was "stand[ing] by mutely" while the Internet was being "hijacked" by bandwidth hogs illegally distributing digital content over peer-to-peer networks, saying P2P traffic accounted for 60%-70% of all Internet traffic, with 90% of that P2P traffic in violation of copyright laws.

"Would the government permit Federal Express or UPS to knowlingly operate delivery services in which 60%-70% of the payload consisted of contraband such as illegal drugs or stolen goods," said NBC U, then racheted up the analogy: "Surely, the government would not turn a blind eye if nearly three-quarters of the Internet's traffic consisted of child pornography."

Interestingly, Ars Technica today reports on a study by Ellaycoya Networks, makers of deep packet inspection gear for carriers -- and a company with, presumably, no dog in the copyright fight -- that says that P2P use now makes up 37% of broadband traffic.  HTPP traffic has taken off thanks to the surge of Web video streaming sites like YouTube.  (Graph and more after jump....)

The Case for a National Broadband Policy

Some simply say American broadband "sucks."  Others delve into the math problems that make even measuring US broadband capacity often-counter productive.  And, others still insist that all is well today.

Robert Atkinson at The Innovation Technology & Innovation Foundation wraps up much of the current debate about US broadband and makes the case for a national broadband policy that will get the country ahead of Belgium, Canada and France in penetration and speed.  Here's the pdf of the policy paper that came out last Friday.

After the jump is the summary of Atkinson's policy recommendations....

Google Public Policy Blog Launches

We welcome to the neighborhood, the Google Public Policy Blog. We'll be bringing over the casserole after it cools a bit.

And, ever the overachievers, those Googlers, the blog launches with two months of "private" posting unwrapped. More from public policy lead Andrew McLaughlin...

We're seeking to do public policy advocacy in a Googley way. Yes, we're a multinational corporation that argues for our positions before officials, legislators, and opinion leaders. At the same time, we want our users to be part of the effort, to know what we're saying and why, and to help us refine and improve our policy positions and advocacy strategies. With input and ideas from our users, we'll surely do a better job of fighting for our common interests...

We hope this blog will serve as a resource for policymakers around the world -- including legislators, ministers, governors, city councilmembers, regulators, and the staffers who support them -- who are trying to enact sound government policies to foster free expression, promote economic growth, expand access to information, enable innovation, and protect consumers. We also hope (cliché alert) that this blog will promote real conversation, so we've enabled comments.

They've enable comments (which will be interesting) AND added perspectives to the "what we're reading" link roll that includes opinions that aren't always going to jibe with the search giant.

In the posts, to date, one cool feature is the video and reviews of presidential candidate visits to Google's HQ.