January 11, 2010
Volume XXIX, Issue 4
European ISP Deploys Oversi for Bandwidth Savings and Improved QoE
Oversi, the global leader in high-performance peer-to-peer (P2P) and Internet video caching solutions, announced that BeotelNet, one of the leading Internet service providers (ISPs) in Serbia, has deployed Oversi's video caching platform in its Belgrade headquarters. Since installation, the OverCache multi-service platform (MSP) has generated substantial bandwidth savings and significantly improved subscribers' video quality of experience (QoE).
Radivoje Milicevic, Director of BeotelNet, said, "As one of Serbia's fastest-growing service providers, we looked for a scalable, robust and fail-safe system which could grow with our subscriber base. With its out-of-band architecture, OverCache proved to be the most cost-effective solution for international bandwidth savings, video acceleration, and uplink congestion relief. We can now guarantee customers faster video downloads and the highest-quality Internet experience for both video and P2P applications."
David Tolub, Oversi's President & CEO, said, "OverCache was originally developed as a scalable solution for large carrier-grade networks, providing redundancy, resiliency, flexibility, and easy installation. The BeotelNet deployment shows how our scalable technology can be applied to mid-size and smaller operators as well. With the huge surge in Internet usage, operators of every size are looking for the most cost-effective way to relieve their network load while strengthening their competitive edge. This important win reflects the growing demand for Oversi's solution in the Balkan States."
Oversi's OverCache MSP offers a "one-stop-shop" caching and video acceleration solution for online media content delivery.
Abacast P2P Technology Protects Against Inadvertent File Sharing
Abacast, a provider of hybrid Content Delivery Network (CDN) solutions for online radio and video, has announced that the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) staff has completed its review of Abacast's flagship live and on-demand P2P delivery solution and found it to be compliant with applicable industry best practices in defending users from inadvertently sharing sensitive files over P2P networks.
Inadvertent file sharing can result in consumers unwittingly sharing sensitive documents such as tax returns to other members of P2P networks. To address this concern, the Distributed Computing Industry Association (DCIA), a non-profit trade organization focused on commercial development of P2P and related technologies, sponsors the Inadvertent Sharing Protection Working Group (ISPG). The ISPG created a set of Voluntary Best Practices (VBPs) for P2P companies to implement in order to minimize or eliminate inadvertent sharing of files. In its review of P2P delivery solutions, FTC staff concluded that Abacast's solution protects against the inadvertent sharing of any file among peers. Importantly, several of the VBPs are not relevant to Abacast in light of its function as a closed content distribution network.
Jim Kott, Abacast Co-President, said, "Consumers who access services that rely on Abacast's P2P delivery can be confident that the technology will enhance their listening or viewing experience and not in any way expose private files to others."
Abacast is the only company to-date to receive this recognition and approval of the ISPG's Voluntary Best Practices that specify desired file-sharing behavior. In the FTC staff report, Mary Engle, Associate Director of the FTC Division of Advertising Practices, noted that, "... only files that have been provided to Abacast's servers from Abacast's customers are distributed." The report went on to conclude that "Our staff's tests show that [Abacast's] program is compliant with the industry Voluntary Best Practices..."
Marty Lafferty, CEO of the DCIA, said, "Abacast has provided an exemplary industry leadership role with its full implementation of the ISPG Voluntary Best Practices that apply to Abacast. We applaud the FTC's recognition of Abacast's P2P delivery technology for helping to safeguard private information."
Report from CEO Marty Lafferty
 Congratulations to CEA President & CEO Gary Shapiro and the entire organization that presents the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) for a phenomenal success this year.
Attendance was up over 2009, and the energy and excitement of resurgence in this most innovative sector of the global economy was evident throughout the show.
And special thanks to all who participated in this year's P2P MEDIA SUMMIT at CES, which offered a full-day of stimulating and provocative sessions offering insights into activities going on at the very cutting edge of software advancement in the distributed computing arena, from the latest in file-sharing refinements to the future of cloud computing.
For those unable to personally attend - which remains vastly superior to attending virtually thanks to numerous high-value networking opportunities - Abacast is now post-producing an archival webcast of the event, which will be available here in the next week or so.
In addition, many of the keynote presentations will also be archived here.
The DCIA also conducted meetings of the P4P Working Group (P4PWG) and the P2P-for-Games Working Group (PFGWG) at CES and presented the Next Generation P2P panel for Digital Hollywood at CES.
We are grateful for the contributions of panelists Michael Papish, CEO and Co-founder, MediaUnbound; Adrian Sexton, Co-Founder & CEO, New Medici; Bob Holmes, CEO, Sudden Industries; Nathan Lovejoy, Product Manager, LimeWire; Vincent Hsieh, CEO, Aleric; Steve Masur, Managing Partner, MasurLaw; Travis Kalanick, Founder, RedSwoosh; and Max Davis, Director, DataRevenue.org.
Michael works with P2P networks in two ways: first, as customers for his company's media recommendation engine, and second, as sources of data for defining parameters of its services. He views P2P as a technology that can support multiple business models, with a key to success offering consumers meaningful and compelling experiences.
The focus needs to be on developing viable business models, and legal or regulatory initiatives will be of limited value relative to solving business fundamentals. Most important is making people excited about offerings. That's a pre-requisite to making money in P2P content distribution.
Adrian is focused on content distribution issues involving the motion picture industry. The opportunity for a more direct relationship with viewers could improve margins. Using new marketing methods made possible by advanced digital technologies can also be good for expanding distribution.
Bob's firm serves as a digital services agency for major content rights holders. The emergence of the freemium business model is showing promise in the digital realm. Because Bob's clientele are very conservative with their content in terms of security requirements, there has been greater comfort in using P2P for marketing and promotional purposes. More precise methods for tracking content in online distribution will help this market mature.
Nathan's focus is on monetizing P2P traffic while enhancing the consumer experience. A mix of business models will drive greater revenue generation than relying exclusively on just one. Currently, when users search for media on LimeWire, they are presented with the opportunity to purchase content through the LimeWire Store. To accelerate growth, legislation to simplify the content licensing process may be desirable. But more important is experimentation and innovation and getting beyond simply protecting old business models.
Vincent's company offers a cloud application platform. The enterprise space seems to be an area where commercial advances may be able to be made more quickly than the consumer entertainment arena due to greater acceptance by participants in the distribution chain. Security remains an important concern there as well, however.
Safety is paramount, but this must be balanced with privacy concerns. Moral as well as legal considerations are critical to consider. The fears of copyright infringement and of revenue declines need to be confronted. Waiting for models and standards to be become fully entrenched will be too late. Innovation needs to be encouraged.
Steve's law firm is very active in the new media space. Experimentation with a variety of models is what is needed now, both direct revenue-generating and indirect cross-promoting, and it may be that a blanket licensing regime could be part of the optimal mix as well. The three-strikes regime in process now in France will not work, in part because the Internet is a global phenomenon rather than a territorial one. More experimentation with different approaches to monetization and security is needed most of all.
Travis developed a P2P content delivery network (CDN), which was acquired by Akamai. Many advancements are now underway. Essentially, P2P distribution can be at least as robust as any other kind of distribution in terms of supporting a variety of business models. Peers simply become additional servers.
The entertainment industry should reduce its emphasis on lobbying to increase draconian enforcement of copyright laws in favor of doing more to explore new business models based on the realities of current distribution technologies and consumer behavior. Technological innovation should be embraced rather than trying to curb it.
Max's organization is seeking to develop a revenue stream from mobile P2P multimedia distribution. There is an opportunity to avoid the lack of content delivery monetization that has been a problem on the tethered Internet by taking a different approach at the outset with mobile data distribution.
An approach can be built around a consumption model with variable pricing for users based on the amount they download. Various external statistical methods as well as internal actual tracking can be employed to allocate proceeds among rights holders. New legislation may be required to implement this kind of a program. Copyright is important to deriving value from online distribution for content creators.
In the audience Q&A, panelists voiced a conviction that monetizing the content consumption experience should be emphasized over prosecuting copyright infringement against individuals or companies. If Napster had been licensed, it is likely that the music industry would be in a better place than it is today.
Given that this did not happen, however, a more aggressive approach to DMCA take-down notices may be advisable in the short term. But the primary effort should be on experimenting with innovative business models. Share wisely, and take care.
Digital Containers Among Start-Ups Exhibiting at CES
Excerpted from The Arizona Republic Report by Andrew Johnson
Tablet computers, web TV, and 3D technology took the spotlight at the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this week in Las Vegas, NV, which drew more than 112,000 attendees as of Friday.
For many firms, CES provides an opportunity to generate product buzz on a large, international stage.
Tech titans such as Microsoft, Sony, and Logitech have used the event to unveil new innovations and updates to existing products. Analysts, tech journalists, and distributors from around the world attend to scope out the next big thing.
A common thread among firms at CES this year was that they were offering products or services that augment or work in conjunction with electronics that allow users to watch videos, listen to music, play games, or surf the web while on the go.
For example, DCIA Member Digital Containers exhibited at CES to spark interest in software that its founders say swaps digital media over the web while safeguarding against copyright infringement.
CES: FaceVsion Intros Skype-Certified HD Webcam
Excerpted from CNET News Report by Dong Ngo
Good news for Skype users.
There are currently quite a few high-definition (HD) web-cameras on the market, but what faceVsion announced at CES is something rather unique, especially for video calling using the P2P industry's most successful offering, Internet telephony service Skype.
It's a new HD webcam called the FV TouchCam N1 that's the result of a partnership between faceVsion and Skype. It's the first HD webcam that's certified by Skype.
According to faceVsion, most existing HD webcams suffer from the same barriers when it comes to HD video communication, especially when using Skype. These include the fact that CPU power is insufficient to handle real-time, two-way HD video communications, and the connection to the Internet is not fast enough to transmit HD video quality.
FaceVsion claims it has overcome both of these issues with the new TouchCam N1 Webcam. The company says that the new camera, with an embedded H.264 codec chip and dual microphones supporting beam-forming techniques, is able to offer synchronized, crystal-clear 720P HD video and very high quality over a broadband Internet connection.
The FV TouchCam N1 connects to a PC using a USB plug; it also comes with a flexible universal base that fits on any monitor. Note that HD video calling is currently supported in Skype for Windows 4.2 beta or later.
Other than Skype, the new Webcam will also work with other instant messaging (IM) applications such as Yahoo or Windows Live Messenger.
The FV TouchCam N1 will be available later this month at faceVsion's website; it will cost $129.
Microsoft Patents DRM'd P2P, Torrent Method
Excerpted from Tom's Hardware Guide
Today, the whole idea of P2P file sharing scares copyright holders as it allows for the easy distribution of material. Microsoft, however, sees a future in digital-rights-managed material and P2P networks.
Microsoft has been awarded US Patent 7,639,805 for a "digital rights management (DRM) scheme for an on-demand distributed streaming system."
The abstract reads: A DRM scheme that may be optionally invoked by the owner. With the DRM protection turned on, the media is encrypted before it is distributed in a P2P network, and is decrypted prior to its use (play back).
The peers may still efficiently distribute and serve without authorization from the owner. Nevertheless, when the media is used (played back), the client node must seek proper authorization from the owner.
The invention further provides a hierarchical DRM scheme wherein each packet of the media is associated with a different protection level. In the hierarchical DRM scheme of the invention there is usually an order of the protection level.
As a result, in one embodiment of the invention, the decryption key of a lower protection layer is the hash of the decryption key at the higher protection level. That way, a user granted access to the high protection layer may simply hold a single license of that layer, and obtain decryption keys of that layer and below.
The invention further provides for a process for managing digital rights to a scalable media file wherein a different encryption/decryption key is used to encrypt each truncatable media packet with a base layer without requiring additional storage space to store the key.
The whole system works similarly to a torrent network, where content is split-up and then shared among peers in a secure and encrypted manner. Learn more about it at Cryptopatents.
Analyst Forecasts Better Days in 2010 for Online
Excerpted from Online Media Daily by Laurie Sullivan
Display advertising should recover and rise nearly 11%, global search will grow roughly 17.8%, and e-commerce will hit an inflection point, with Amazon.com emerging as the clear winner. That's according to JP Morgan's 2010 Internet Industry Outlook released Monday.
Interestingly, JP Morgan Analyst Imran Khan expects e-commerce to rise about 12%. Adding to the uptick, he notes brick-and-mortar bankruptcies, consumers finding selections at offline retailers limiting, and both fulfillment by websites and alternative electronic payments becoming easier to use.
Data estimates from Chase Paymentech and JP Morgan suggest that online e-commerce had a positive 2009 holiday season. At 50 of the top e-commerce 250 sites that Chase tracks, consumers spent nearly $10 billion from November 5th through the year-end - up 17% year-on-year same-store sales, although the average selling piece came in 9% lower compared with the prior year. Transactions rose 29% in 2009, suggesting that consumers felt more comfortable buying online, according to the report.
JP Morgan's 328-page 2010 Internet Industry Outlook also suggests that cyclical cost-per-click (CPC) and international growth will push up the overall search market. The report pegs Google's 2010 net revenue and pro forma estimates per share (EPS) at $21 billion and $26.91, respectively.
In the US, search engines generated about $65 per Internet user in 2009, while Khan estimates the international market generated about $15 per search Internet user. He writes that the gap is due to digitalization of content, and lack of broadband penetration, but estimates that advertising outside the US represents roughly half of global advertising revenue. This offers significant growth potential in ad revenue outside the US.
Expect search revenue to climb, reaching $16.5 billion in 2010 representing 13% growth from the prior year, according to the report. In 2011, Khan believes that search revenue growth will further benefit from an increase in mobile browsers and smart-phones.
As the economy improves in 2010, Khan believes that major ad categories, such as auto and finance, will begin to stabilize. Display advertising is under-penetrated and has significant opportunity to gain ad dollars from traditional advertising.
Khan estimates that US display advertising will rise 10.5% year-on-year in 2010. RPMs should grow at 5%, driven by flat growth in impressions per page, offset by a 5% increase in CPMs. The long-term view in the US puts the display ad market at 8% CAGR from 2009 to 2011, estimating $7.539 million and $8.794 million, respectively. Improved pricing trends and flat ad coverage as budgets stabilize will have the greatest impact on the 2010 recovery, he writes.
Social networks will become a new platform and gateway. Facebook surpassed 100 million US visitors in November 2009, and about 440 million worldwide, according to the report. It goes on to explain that the social network site accounts for nearly 5% of all time spent on the web worldwide in October 2009. Khan attributes this success to it being a trusted network, and having robust applications and a scalable technology platform. Other analysts and experts in the past have noted its easy-to-use mobile application and advertising model.
Khan also notes that Facebook and other social sites could potentially become a long-term threat to search engines when it comes to a source of directing and redirecting online traffic to and from other sites.
Xunlei Announces 2010 Gaming Strategy
Excerpted from Marbridge Consulting Report
Chinese P2P online video and download accelerator provider Xunlei has announced its 2010 gaming strategy.
Xunlei's gaming projects group will be headed by Xunlei CEO & Founder Cheng Hao. Cheng said that the company will work to fully consolidate its platform resources in order to develop its gaming operations.
In 2010, Xunlei's gaming business model will be to seek exclusive game operating rights, and the company has already published contact information for business cooperation inquiries. In addition, several gaming-related job positions have appeared on Xunlei's hiring website.
For more background on this topic, please see Xunlei Opens Nanjing Online Gaming R&D Center.
Spotify Wins PC Advisor's Best Mobile App Award
Excerpted from The Industry Standard Report
Spotify Mobile has won the PC Advisor Awards 2010 - Best Phone App award.
Spotify won many fans when the desktop version of this free P2P music-streaming service launched. Log in, search and save tracks and albums to playlists, share them with friends, fellow bloggers and Twitterers and enjoy the excitement of discovering new music without the commitment of buying it or playing it only on a specific device. The sole catch: periodic advertisements.
The iPhone version demands a £10 a month subscription, but that's a snip considering how much music you get.
Best Practices White Paper on Cloud Computing
When the authors came up with their idea for this best practices topic, they expected many participating software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies to write about rapid deployments of tactical, non-information-technology (IT) intensive solutions.
This is still the case, but the interests of these participants are much larger in scope. These vendors want people to know that their SaaS solutions have moved into a different phase of maturity and, as a result, are making their way into more large enterprises.
Still, as adoption of SaaS solutions become more widespread, integration and customization challenges, especially at larger companies, exist.
This new Best Practices White Paper discusses integration issues as well as several other Cloud Computing / SaaS themes such as: Contact Centers in the "Cloud" for Better Customer Service, Compelling Benefits of Cloud-Based Business Intelligence, Enterprise SaaS Solutions, and How to Avoid Cloud Data Disaster.
Please click here to download this white paper at no charge.
QTRAX Promises January Launch
Excerpted from Digital Media Wire Report by Mark Hefflinger
QTRAX, the ad-supported P2P music download service, which made headlines in 2008 with a major pre-launch promotional campaign, says it will launch in January without a large press event.
"What would we say? Pretty simple really: that we are finally launching," the company wrote, adding, "Are we? Yes."
"We've also decided there's no need for another conference - we'll just launch. Let the fanfare follow rather than precede."
The company also recently initiated service availability in Australia. "Music ingestion 'Down Under' is taking a little longer than expected. We will be up and running in the coming days," reads a note on the company's website.
PPLive to Invest in HD Programming
Excerpted from TMT China Interfax Report by Hua Jinglei
Online P2P streaming video service PPLive will increase the proportion of its high-definition (HD) programming in 2010, PPLive's spokeswoman announced on January 4th.
PPLive recently changed its logo to PPTV and transferred all programs on its former website, PPLive.com, to its new site PPTV.com in order to transform itself from a purely P2P streaming video service provider to a high-definition (HD) Internet TV station, according to Amy Chen, PPLive's spokeswoman.
PPTV started internal testing of its HD channel on December 31st, in which the company has already invested nearly $15 million deploying infrastructure and purchasing HD programs. The new channel will be launched before the end of January, according to Chen.
TMT China Interfax reported on December 2nd that PPLive completed its third-round of financing, raising more than $15 million in venture capital including funding from the Shanghai municipal government.
Prior to that, PPLive also received $200,000 of venture capital from Softbank China Venture Capital (SBCVC) and a $20 million investment from SBCVC, DFJ DragonFund China, and BlueRun Investment as well as Chinese search engine giant Baidu.
Chen said that PPLive will use the majority of the money to optimize infrastructure, purchase HD programs and recruitment in 2010.
"We aim to launch an initial public offering (IPO) and list on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange within the next three years," Chen said.
Federal Agencies Look to Cloud Computing in 2010
Excerpted from EDL Consulting Report
Agencies in the federal government will continue to invest in cloud computing technologies in 2010, one Salesforce.com executive predicted in an article published Tuesday.
Government administrators often prefer cloud computing applications over traditional on-premise solutions for a number of reasons beside their low initial costs, Salesforce.com Vice President for Global Public Policy Dan Burton told Federal News Radio.
Cloud-based services offer rapid deployment times, and save agencies from having to install new hardware when they implement new systems or scale up or down.
"With a lot of customers that Salesforce sees in the federal government, they love the cost savings, but that is, perhaps, not the reason that they ended up going to cloud computing," Burton told the news outlet.
The executive noted that the US Census Bureau, the Army, and the State Department have all deployed cloud computing solutions in recent months, and that each bureau has seen increased speed and performance from their software systems.
Obama administration officials, including federal Chief Information Officer (CIO) Vivek Kundra, have repeatedly iterated their support for the usage of cloud-based technologies in government. In September 2009, the White House launched its Apps.gov service to connect government agencies with appropriate software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions.
Ares for Windows 7 Launches
For those users who still have Ares Vista, an upgrade to Ares for Windows 7 is now available. Ares Vista was specifically coded to work with Windows Vista and not with Windows 7. The latest version of Ares "will work with Windows 7 without causing any hardware or software issues," say its developers.
January 1st, 2010 marked the release date of the official Ares P2P file-sharing software for Windows 7. After a year of work, Ares development group updated the popular P2P software to include many new upgrades, such as a beautiful video player for playing high-definition (HD) movies and videos, updated and more user friendly media library, Windows 7 compatibility, and 24/7 e-mail support.
"We have been working on compatibility issues and bug fixes for the Windows 7 operating system for quite some time and we were able to finally complete the work, just prior to the new year. We officially released Ares for Windows 7 on January 1st and what a great new year. Our users are thrilled with the new updates we've made to the software, especially the new HD video player."
Anyone who is familiar with downloading music, movies, games, or software, is probably well aware of Ares. Ares has been around for quite some time and is currently one of the most popular file-sharing applications in the world.
The BitTorrent protocol was implemented into the software a couple of years ago, allowing users to use the Ares download software to download torrent files, thereby eliminating the need to have a torrent client and a P2P client.
Ares is both and allows concurrent downloads of torrent files and files pulled from the Ares network.
Syabas Unveils Open-Source Popbox Set-Top Box
Excerpted from Geek Report by John Brownlee
Ask audiovisual enthusiasts what the best set-top box (STB) for their bucks is, and they'll usually answer, visibly panting, "Popcorn Hour." The Popcorn Hour C-200 can handle pretty much every video codec under the sun, prominently features a built-in BitTorrent client, and you can even plug-in a Blu-Ray drive.
The downsides of the Popcorn Hour C-200 were major, though: it was roughly the size of a 1970's era stereo receiver, had a terrible interface and cost about $300, which is twice the standard price of the competition. But Popcorn Hour manufacturer Syabas has virtually eliminated all of these complaints in its follow-up to the C-200, with a far snappier product name: meet the Popbox.
The Popbox keeps the C-200's world class codec support, but shrinks the package down to match the size of the competition. Syabas has substantially improved the interface, with animation, automatic IMDB and AllMusic parsing, while integrating a lot of online video content channels that the C-200 was previously missing, including Netflix, Facebook, Twitter, and MLB.
Best of all - the Popbox's incredible new price: it's dropped from $300 to $130, well in line with the competition. It was unveiled officially at CES on January 5th.
New Content Exchange and Copyright Infringement Report
Content exchange online is evolving profoundly. P2P solutions are constantly being perfected. New platforms, such as news groups, stock-and-share platforms, and video-sharing sites, are developing at a rapid pace and private solutions, such as closed communities and the use of instant messaging (IM), are now becoming more available.
Meanwhile, the copyright infringement ecosystem is also becoming complex: it combines specialists in the acquisition and distribution of content; legal technologies which are distorted for unauthorized exchange; and an extensive community dynamic.
All the indicators seem to imply that the level of unlicensed content exchange continues to grow, in spite of being more complex to measure. However, growth is observed in the different levers for countering infringement: clarification of legal status, evolving "competitive" pay offerings, and, especially, technological solutions that make digital rights management (DRM) more credible. Some previously unlicensed sites are consequently opting to develop licensed solutions.
This report presents the added-value chain of content exchange on the Internet, technical innovations, and key players based on a number of case studies. It offers components for measuring infringement and sets out the main tools for countering unauthorized exchange. It concludes by describing the challenges facing the content and telecommunications industries in the fight against online infringement.
Key issues covered in this report include: What are the new content exchange platforms, what are the practices of infringement on the Internet, what are the most popular platforms for non-authorized content exchange, what are the tools used to counter unauthorized exchange, what impact does infringement have on the licensed content market, and what are the challenges for the content and telecommunications industries?
For more information, please click here.
Cerf Urges Standards for Cloud Computing
Excerpted from Computer World Report by Paul Krill
Vint Cerf, a co-designer of the Internet's TCP/IP protocols and considered a father of the Internet itself, emphasized the need for data portability standards for cloud computing during an appearance on Thursday evening.
There are different clouds from companies such as Microsoft, Amazon, IBM, and Google, but a lack of interoperability between them, Cerf explained at a session of the Churchill Club business and technology organization in Menlo Park, CA.
"At some point, it makes sense for somebody to say, 'I want to move my data from cloud A to cloud B,' " but the different clouds do not know each other, he said.
"We don't have any inter-cloud standards," Cerf said. The current cloud situation is similar to the lack of communication and familiarity among computer networks in 1973, said Cerf, who is Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist at Google.
"People are going to want to move data around, they're going to want to ask clouds to do things for them," said Cerf. They might even want to have multiple clouds interact with each other in order to take advantage of the computing power offered through such combinations, he said.
"There's a whole raft of research work still to be done and protocols to be designed and standards to be adopted that will allow people to manage assets" in clouds, Cerf said. Google, for its part, is resonant with this notion, he said. But right now, users can get data out of the Google cloud but perhaps not send it to another cloud.
He also stressed cloud security. "Strong authentication will be a critical element in the securing of clouds," said Cerf. The Obama Administration, for its part, has expressed a desire to use cloud-based computing techniques to make government more efficient and for inter-agency communication, he said.
Commenting on other topics, Cerf predicted a growing role for mobile devices in everyday life and connections of more appliances, including home appliances and office equipment, to the Internet. "Once you do that, the mobile device is potentially the remote controller for all of these things," he said.
"The mobile now replaces all those little remotes that are sitting on the table in front of you," said Cerf.
He endorsed the notion of opening access to "white spaces" - unused broadcasting spectrum serving as a buffer between TV channels - as a way to expand broadcast access. Google would like to see the white spaces unlicensed and said technology today exists to enable use of the white spaces.
Questioned about offering inexpensive wireless or broadband services, Cerf said different entities should continue building and operating different pieces of the Internet and put them together, rather than Google itself taking on the whole task. He explained that Google had gotten involved in plans to build a free WiFi service for San Francisco and developed a pilot project for Mountain View, CA, south of San Francisco. But the project scope began expanding to include 29 jurisdictions in the area.
"As a business model, it's hard for me to imagine a global company like Google wanting to invest in infrastructure for the entire world," Cerf said.
Cerf also said he has been working with NASA to see if the interplanetary protocols in development can be put on top of the Google-backed Android OS for mobile devices. Eventually, mobile devices might be able to communicate with satellites via these protocols, thus enabling more complex space missions involving multiple space crafts, he said.
Optical switching also has caught his attention. "I have become very excited about optical switching as an efficient way of moving huge quantities of information back and forth," Cerf said.
Cerf also endorsed the notion of IP-based television to support services such as on-demand programming. "A packaged-switch system can support on-demand more easily," he said.
FTC Examining Cloud Computing
Excerpted from Information Week Report by Thomas Claburn
In response to a Federal Communication Commission (FCC) Notice of Inquiry into how broadband and data portability issues relate to cloud computing, identity, and privacy - part of the FCC's effort to formulate a National Broadband Plan - the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said last month that it is examining the privacy and data security implications of cloud computing for consumers.
"The ability of cloud computing services to collect and centrally store increasing amounts of consumer data, combined with the ease with which such centrally stored data may be shared with others, create a risk that larger amounts of data may be used by entities in ways not originally intended or understood by consumers," wrote FTC attorney David Vladeck in a letter to FCC Secretary Marlene Dortch.
The FTC's consumer protection efforts also include scrutiny of authentication and credentialing. The agency has pushed businesses to strengthen the methods they use to authenticate new and existing customers. The agency won a settlement of over $10 million in civil penalties and $5 million in consumer redress from ChoicePoint in 2006 for poor data handling following a breach that affected over 163,000 consumer records.
Vladeck's letter states that many of the FCC's concerns will be addressed in a series of roundtable discussions that are being hosted by the FTC. The first of those discussions, covering behavioral advertising, was held last month. The next roundtable discussion will be held on January 28th, focusing on how technology affects consumer privacy. The final roundtable discussion is planned for March 17th.
The letter appears to be a reminder to the FCC, as it comes up with a broadband framework for the US, to save a place at the table for the FTC. "We recommend that the Broadband Plan recognize the FTC's law enforcement, consumer education, and ongoing policy development efforts in light of its years of experience in online, and offline, consumer protection," Vladeck's letter says.
The FCC was supposed to deliver its broadband plan to Congress by February 17th, but is asking for an extension.
Court Indicates FCC Net Neutrality Ruling on Thin Ice
Excerpted from Daily Online Examiner Report by Wendy Davis
A federal appellate court reportedly appeared sympathetic to Comcast's arguments that it shouldn't have been sanctioned for violating neutrality principles by throttling P2P traffic.
The company maintains that the Federal Communication Commission's (FCC) Internet principles, set out in a 2005 policy statement, were never codified as regulations. Therefore, the company says, it wasn't put on notice that the principles were legally binding.
Comcast also makes the far broader argument that the FCC has no authority to regulate the Internet.
This week, Comcast finally got its day in court. The company asked a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to overturn the FCC's ruling against Comcast.
Some panel members openly questioned whether the FCC overstepped its bounds, according to accounts from Dow Jones, Business Week, Multichannel News, and others.
"You can't get an unbridled, roving commission to go about doing good," Chief Judge David Sentelle said.
Of course, judges' statements during oral argument don't necessarily indicate that they know how they will rule. Even if some judges currently are inclined to hand Comcast a victory, they could change their minds as they mull the issue some more.
But if the court does rule in favor of Comcast, the decision could effectively put the kibosh on the FCC's attempts to craft neutrality regulations, depending on how far the judges go.
Should the appellate court declare that the FCC lacks authority over the Web, the ruling could prove fatal to any new neutrality rules.
On the other hand, if the court says only that the FCC had no grounds to enforce a mere policy statement, that ruling would still leave the agency free to draft regulations governing Internet service providers (ISPs).
The decision isn't expected for several months, but the FCC intends to carry on with its efforts to craft new rules in the meantime. FCC Chair Julius Genachowski said in a statement that he "remains confident the commission possesses the legal authority it needs" to proceed with a rulemaking.
Are Rights Holders Making a Fortune with File-Sharing Lawsuits?
Excerpted from NewTeeVee Report by Janko Roettgers
A new study released by a German consumer advocacy group is estimating that entertainment and software companies sent roughly 450,000 cease-and-desist letters to local file sharers in 2009, yielding some $370 million in damages. That's a steep jump from 2008, when the group tracked closer to 250,000 of such cases.
It's hard to independently verify these figures, but experts agree that the number of individuals affected by file-sharing lawsuits is likely in the hundreds of thousands. Add to that the fact that similar campaigns are also waged in countries like the UK, and suddenly infringement is starting to look less like a threat and more like a not very kosher way to make money.
The German non-profit organization Verein zur Hilfe und Unterstutzung gegen den Abmahnwahn, which very loosely translated means "The Association Against Cease-and-Desist Madness," released a detailed study this week based on multi-year investigations of anti-file-sharing lawsuits.
Germany has in recent years become an intense battleground for file sharers and content owners, with companies like Digitprotect GmbH scouring file-sharing networks to find users that are offering files for download. Armed with this evidence, they're using legal means to force Internet service providers (ISPs) to reveal the identity of such users, to whom they subsequently send cease-and-desist notices complete with an order to pay as much as $1,900. Users unwilling to pay are threatened with even more costly lawsuits.
The study concludes that Digiptotect and similar companies were acting upon the request of 159 rights holders in 2009. Most lawsuit threats were related to music sharing, but 10.8% had to do with Hollywood or German movies, and another 15.2% with pornographic videos. The group is basing these numbers on around 2,700 cases it was able to analyze in detail based on data provided by the alleged offenders. It also scoured various web forums to collect data, and estimated the total number of cases based on publicly available data and previous estimates.
Granted, that doesn't sound very scientific, but experts view 450,000 cases as a realistic ballpark figure, as the German information technology (IT) news site Netzwelt.de is reporting.
The site is quoting a lawyer named Alexander Wachs who's been defending accused file sharers as saying that rights holders have started to send multiple demands to file sharers who happened to share more than one movie. However, Wachs believes that the total amount of damages paid may be lower since not everyone ends up paying. Still, file sharers may have paid close to $190 million to rights holders in 2009, according to his estimates.
That's a whole lot of money, and it explains why companies like Digiprotect are advertising their business with promises to turn piracy into profit. In fact, a Digiprotect competitor recently made headlines trying to convince rights holders that they make 150 times as much money by hunting down a file sharer as they would if the same user would buy a licensed digital download.
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