First Generation Nerd

So YouTube sent out a memo to its “content partners” (read: professional film/video guys/companies), telling them that they will now “be able to upload and monetize videos in [their] account that are longer than 10 minutes” (via Silicon Alley Insider).  Though seemingly unlimited in length, the limit to the file size is 1 GB.  This move has a couple of interesting implications:

1.     Longer video times means more networks could use YouTube as the distribution outlet for their online television shows.  Most major networks are up in arms about individuals posting television shows on the site (a la the Daily Show debacle), but if they embrace the popularity of YouTube, they could benefit from increased exposure.  Honestly, what is the difference between going to comedycentral.com to view the videos or watching them on YouTube?  Answer:

2.     Advertising.  These content partners are now able to monetize their content, via advertising.  YouTube will make a couple of bucks, as will the content providers, and we won’t have to watch hour broadcasts on five different pages. 

Indie film producers also can benefit from longer videos and larger files.  They can now post their films, in their entirety, onto one of the most popular web sites in the world. 

What I don’t understand is why Google/YouTube (GooTube) isn’t working on higher quality videos rather than longer ones.  Increasing the file size limit will allow people to eek out a bit more quality, but highly compressed 320×240 doesn’t really do some films and shows justice.  I realize most people aren’t that concerned about video quality, but even a step up to SD would be warmly welcomed.  There are a few people who are doing higher quality on YouTube now (the HD trick apparently no longer works, but higher quality is said to be available).  Interesting developments!

The Wall Street Journal ran an article today posing the question, “Is Faster Access to the Internet Needed?”, citing a recent announcement that Comcast has released a new higher speed broadband service to the metropolitan Minneapolis area (to the tune of $150 per month). The 50Mbps downstream speed (5Mbps upstream) is more than 10 times faster than Comcast’s current offerings, and it intends to expand both the speed and coverage in the near future.

The article goes on to describe how other vendors believe that money needed to enhance the backbones of their networks to accommodate higher speeds can be better spent on other projects, which would leave Time Warner Cable and AT&T subscribers at a standstill with their current bandwidth offerings. The author believes that “aside from a few niche applications like high-end videogaming, no real applications exist to allow users to take advantage of the higher speeds.”

So what?

I’m sure in 1996, WSJ writers touted 56k as “The Fastest Thing Since 4800 Baud!!!”, but without the innovation of broadband, we wouldn’t have the Internet that we have today. Are you happy with waiting 10 minutes to download a 100MB video podcast? Waiting 30 seconds for a video clip to buffer? Watching a tiny 320×240 postage stamp with pixel blocks the size of Tic Tacs?

Let’s take a look internationally.

Japan has the world’s fastest, cheapest Internet access. Western Europe has a faster growing broadband penetration than the US. A 75 year-old woman in Sweden has 40 GIGABIT speed to her home. Yeah, you’re right, 5 Megabits is way too fast. (And I won’t even mention Comcast’s wonderful habit of throttling bandwidth if they deem fit.)

So, is faster access to the Internet needed? In a word: YES. I’m sure it is financially beneficial for ISPs to sit on their laurels and rake in the cash while their networks remain stagnant, while people are content paying a minimum fee for minimum service. But when those “few niche applications” turn into money-making machines, they will be scrambling to catch up to the rest of the world.

A friend recently showed me a great website called UStream.tv. UStream is a great tool that essentially allows anyone to start their own Internet TV station. But it’s not just streaming…it’s also interactive.

When you access someone’s UStream channel, you are also logged into a chat board that is updated live, either in the stream or just on your screen. Popular technology blogger of former TechTV fame, Chris Pirillo has his own UStream channel that is mainly him sitting at his desk most of the time, but has select clips that you can browse through if he’s not actively streaming content.

So what?

I work in academia, and can think of great distance learning capabilities that could be accented with UStream. If a professor is delivering a lecture or screen cast, comments and questions could easily be delivered and dealt with in real time by the professor.

Honestly, I don’t think this is even remotely the next attempt at “IPTV,” but it’s an interesting new way to bring consumer created content to your computer!

If there’s one thing I can’t stand about using someone else’s computer, it’s that I never know how the mouse (or trackpad) is going to respond to my touch.  I don’t know what the settings are or if an eighth of an inch moves the cursor to New Brunswick; call it a pet peeve.  

The other thing that irks me is that I never know what software other people have on their computers.  I live in creative applications, but not everyone has Adobe’s Master Collection, neither do I always have my computer with me (a 17″ MacBook Pro doesn’t always travel well). 

Enter Aviary. 

Aviary  is a suite of creative applications that live online, allowing you to create content from whatever machine you happen to be on.  Flash-based, the tools load relatively quickly and appear fairly intuitive.  Aviary is in beta right now, so not all of the applications are available.  In fact, only two are currently active: Phoenix (the image editor), and Peacock (the pattern generator).  In the works are such tools as a 3D Modeler (Hummingbird), an audio editor (Myna), even a video editor (Starling).   

I played around with Phoenix, and although it’s slightly clumsy and has limited features, I would certainly prefer it over MS Paint or even the GIMP.  I’m looking forward to seeing what the folks over at Worth1000 will do with this suite of apps.  The apps are free, and they are still giving out beta invites, so check it out! http://a.viary.com