2013年7月31日 星期三

Rethinking How We Watch TV 百家搶電視商機" TV Frontier With Google's business under pressure from mobile advertising prices,

未來我們怎麼看電視?


想弄清不久後電視可能會發生多大的變化,不妨參觀一下英特爾(Intel Corp. INTC +0.60% )位於加州聖克拉拉的一個部門,這個部門的運營方式頗似初創公司。

出 生於荷蘭的前英國廣播公司(British Broadcasting Corp.)高管哈格斯(Erik Huggers)組建了一個有350人的團隊,其中的人才遠不止研究電腦芯片的人員,還包括程序員、工業設計師、藝術家和視頻編碼等領域的專家。這個團隊 正在創建一種基於網絡的服務,這種服務不僅可以提供點播節目,還會令直播電視發生翻天覆地的變化。

英特爾的計劃包括一個服務器群,它可以錄下播出的每一個節目(地方的、全國的或國際的),並將其存儲在“雲”中至少三天。安裝了英特爾設計的機頂盒後,人們就不必買數字硬盤錄像設備了,甚至不用再為錄節目做安排了。

在任何節目的中間打開電視,用戶都可以返回到節目的開始。哈格斯說,這就是直播電視,但你可以倒回去看。

英特爾只是電腦行業眾多加入起居室地盤爭奪戰的公司之一。這種爭奪戰可能帶來語音激活、新式遙控器、新型屏幕界面以及人與電視機之間互動方式的其他重大改變。

其他正在推動電視進步的科技巨頭包括蘋果(Apple Inc. AAPL +1.23% )、微軟(Microsoft Corp. MSFT +0.98% )、索尼(Sony Corp.)和谷歌(Google Inc. GOOG +0.98% )。谷歌上周公布了一種名為“Chromecast”的設備,這種設備可以將移動設備上的內容無線傳輸到電視上。據知情人士說,谷歌和索尼還一直在研制基於互聯網的視頻交付服務。

20年來,電腦行業內的公司一直在為電視業開創新領域,結果明顯是好壞參半。有線電視和衛星電視提供商有著強有力的地位,康卡斯特(Comcast Corp.)等大公司也在準備進行重大升級。

與媒體公司就內容版權進行的談判可能令新服務的推出延遲,並限制一些功能,不過英特爾誓言將在今年年底前進入部分市場。

瑞典電信設備巨頭愛立信(Ericsson)首席技術長艾華信(Ulf Ewaldsson)說,目前電視業的創新程度是我從未見過的。愛立信計劃加大力度進軍電視業。

這背後的推動力量是使互聯網成為一種更可行交付介質的各種變化,包括有寬帶接入服務的用戶的比例不斷上升。

盡管有了這些進展,基於互聯網的服務仍有很多不足。包括體育賽事和新聞直播在內的頗受大眾歡迎的節目由於許可証限制,常局限於傳統媒體。

有了大型音像資料庫後,找到具體節目可能比較麻煩,特別是用傳統遠程遙控的方式。在幫忙發現新內容方面,大多數電視服務也落後於網絡和移動應用程序。

數字硬盤錄像設備先驅TiVo Inc.的首席執行長羅傑斯(Tom Rogers)說,電話、筆記本電腦和平板電腦取得了突飛猛進的發展,電視被遠遠地落在了後面。

蘋果是試圖改變這一點的科技公司之一。2007年以來,蘋果開始發售名為Apple TV的流媒體機頂盒,但它對提供電視機新產品卻一直保持沉默。蘋果供應商高管說,蘋果已對其電視機設計進行了測試。

知情人士說,蘋果探索了電視機產品的很多新功能,包括整合數字硬盤錄像設備存儲、iCloud互聯網同步和數據存儲服務以及語音交互功能等。

微軟也在推進語音識別功能,欲讓其遊戲機和kinect控制器在家庭娛樂中發揮廣泛作用。微軟定於今秋發布Xbox One,用戶可通過口授命令來觀看具體節目,如“打開ESPN(娛樂體育節目電視網)”或“我想看《絕命毒師》(Breaking Bad)”。

一項基本挑戰是要管理日益增多的內容選項,包括Netflix的電影、YouTube等網絡產物、傳統直播電視節目和消費者自己錄的視頻等。

康卡斯特目前承諾,X2將在搜索方面有諸多改善,而且會配備個性化功能。X2是這個電視巨頭建立的一個新娛樂操作系統。

康卡斯特計劃今年年底之前開始推出該軟件,它可追蹤用戶以前的瀏覽習慣並根據推特(Twitter)及Facebook上的熱點話題來推薦正在直播的節目內容。康卡斯特說,X2可與電視、個人電腦和移動設備相連,也可支持語音搜索功能。

英特爾決定目前暫不追求的一個功能是配備人臉識別軟件的攝像頭,該攝像頭有助於為家裡的每一個用戶提供個性化服務。哈格斯說,看電視時普遍是低光環境,該技術在這樣的環境下工作效果不是很好,並且會產生隱私問題。

Don Clark / Ian Sherr

Rethinking How We Watch TV

Intel, Apple and Others Push New Technologies to Take Control of the Living Room

SANTA CLARA, Calif.—To understand how much television could soon change, it helps to visit an Intel Corp. INTC +0.60% division here that runs like a startup.
Erik Huggers, a Dutch-born former British Broadcasting Corp. executive, has assembled a 350-person team with talents beyond computer chips—programmers, industrial designers, artists and experts in fields like video encoding. Working in bright, newsroom-style offices that differ from standard Intel cubicles, they're creating an Internet-based service that doesn't only serve up on-demand programs but overhauls live TV as well.
Intel's plans include a server farm to record every piece of programming aired—local, national and international—and store it for at least three days in the "cloud." With an Intel-designed set-top box, people won't have to own DVRs or even plan to record programs.
Switch on the TV in the middle of any show, and a viewer can simply go back to the beginning. "This is live TV—but you can rewind it," Mr. Huggers says.
Intel is just one entry in the computer industry's growing land grab for the living room, one likely to bring voice activation, restyled remotes, new on-screen interfaces and other major changes in the way people interact with TVs.
Other tech giants pushing TV advances include Apple Inc., AAPL +1.23% Microsoft Corp., MSFT +0.98% Sony Corp. and Google Inc., which last week announced a device called Chromecast that expands a category of devices that wirelessly transfer content from mobile devices to TVs. Google and Sony have also been working on Internet-based video delivery services, people familiar with the matter have said.
Computer industry players have been pushing new TV visions for 20 years, with decidedly mixed results. Cable and satellite TV providers have strong positions, with big players like Comcast Corp. CMCSA -1.59% preparing major technology upgrades of their own.
Negotiations with media companies for content rights could delay new services and limit some features, though Intel vows to enter some markets by the end of the year.
Yet there is a growing consensus that underlying technologies are evolving to the point that major changes in the TV experience are all but inevitable, whether delivered by new entrants or incumbents.
"I've never seen as much innovation in television as there is right now," says Ulf Ewaldsson, chief technology officer at Swedish telecom-equipment giant Ericsson, which plans to step up its own TV efforts.
Propelling the activity are changes that have made the Internet a more viable delivery medium, including the growing proportion of customers with broadband service that can accommodate high-quality video signals.
Many customers now have Internet connections in their living rooms through various devices, used largely to stream or download video programs from a variety of sources, including Netflix Inc. NFLX -0.49% Consumers also use tablets and smartphones to view movies and TV shows as well as to serve as companions for action on the big screen.
Despite the developments, much is missing from Internet-based services. Popular programming, including live sports and news, is often limited to conventional carriers by licensing restrictions.
When large video libraries are available, finding specific programs can be cumbersome—especially with conventional remotes that weren't designed for entering text. Most TV services also lag the Web and mobile apps in helping discover new content.
"The phone, the laptop and the tablet have advanced so dramatically," says Tom Rogers, chief executive of TiVo Inc., the DVR pioneer. "Television has been drastically left behind."
Tech companies trying to change that include Apple. The Silicon Valley trendsetter has since 2007 sold an add-on box called Apple TV for streaming content, but has been mum about new TV offerings. The company has tested designs for its own televisions, executives at Apple suppliers have said.
Apple has explored a number of new features for such a product, people familiar with the situation have said, including integrating DVR storage and its iCloud Internet syncing and data-storage service, and voice-interaction capabilities—which Apple's Siri brought to its mobile devices.
Microsoft is also promoting voice recognition as it positions its videogame consoles and companion Kinect controller for a broad role in home entertainment. The company's Xbox One, due out this fall, allows customers to turn on multiple living-room devices by simply saying "Xbox On," the company says. They can also navigate to programs by speaking commands such as "Go to ESPN," or "I want to watch Breaking Bad." Some Xbox apps can also be used while watching television; a Skype video chat or fantasy sports scores, for example, can appear on TVs alongside a game.
Microsoft has experimented in other areas—including offering an Apple TV-like set-top box without videogame capability, building Xbox circuitry into TVs and adding DVR capability to Xbox models, people familiar with its prototypes have said.
Sony, which hasn't commented on plans for a content service, has been less vocal about technologies like voice interaction. But it has been active in other areas to improve the TV experience.
The Japanese company, for example, has developed a tablet and smartphone app called Sony TV Sideview that augments TV program guides. It supplies information on topics such as shows and actors—while also letting people incorporate searches across Netflix, YouTube and, of course, Sony's own video and music services.
One basic challenge is simply managing the growing array of content options, including movies from Netflix, Web-originated fare like YouTube, conventional live TV and video consumers have recorded. TiVo has been particularly active in offering interface software that searches through the varied offerings and works on mobile devices as well as set-top boxes.
Comcast is promising similar search advances as well as personalization features in X2, the cable giant's name for what it calls a new entertainment operating system.
That software, which Comcast plans to begin rolling out by the end of the year, is designed to recommend content currently on live TV based on tracking a customer's past viewing habits as well as topics trending on Twitter and Facebook. Comcast says X2's interface can work on TVs, PCs and mobile devices—allowing users to manage their options from multiple screens—and supports voice searching capability.
Intel's Mr. Huggers, who spearheaded development of a popular BBC content app called iPlayer, sees advantages in starting from scratch. For one thing, his developers can exploit Intel technologies such as new chips for servers and set-top boxes, configuring them to call up programs and change channels noticeably faster that other living-room hardware.
One feature Intel has decided not to pursue for now is a camera equipped with facial recognition software to help personalize offerings for each user in a household. Mr. Huggers says the technology didn't work well enough in the low lighting common when watching TV and raised privacy questions.
Intel is testing its technology with 2,500 Intel employees in California, Oregon and Arizona. Documents that surfaced this month suggest Intel may call the service OnCue, though the company has declined to comment on that possibility.
Whatever the name, Intel and others planning to create new Internet-based services are widely expected to face tough sledding in negotiating rights for video content. Such companies are in a position to demand lucrative terms, says James McQuivey, an analyst who tracks TV technology for Forrester Research.
But he doesn't expect licensing hurdles to stop long-term trends that will weaken the influence of TV incumbents. "The business is very quickly shifting away from the people that have controlled it forever," Mr. McQuivey says.





http://www.cw.com.tw/article/article.action?id=5050848.......付費電視台高層也決定加入這場解放運動,向訂戶提供「隨處看電視」的服務;研究公司指出,目前幾乎每個美國電視頻道商都為訂戶提供這類服務,許多其他國家的頻道商亦是如此。
如果要提供隨處看電視的服務,線上平台的建置成本僅需要數百萬美元,但卻可讓訂戶繼續訂閱那些昂貴的付費電視方案,同時有助於吸引年輕顧客訂閱付費電視。
等到現在的青少年成家立業,到時候便可帶來真正的豐厚報酬。根據專家估算,每一位年輕的付費電視訂戶,一生中可能會支付約4萬美元的訂閱費用,依此計算,如果隨處看電視可以成功阻止5%的現有訂戶停止訂閱,每年就能留住42億美元的營收。
但截至目前為止,隨處看電視的推廣速度十分緩慢。電視台高層因為擔心盜版問題,所以認證過程極為嚴格,有的電視公司將此服務限制在家中使用,另外還有許多企業並沒有積極推銷。
不 過,取消訂閱付費電視的家庭並不多,因為如果沒有訂閱,便無法立即觀看熱門的電視節目。但是即使如此,新的競爭者已開始爭搶控制權;據報導,Google 正在與電視公司協商,希望能建立自己的網路串流服務,Netflix、Amazon等企業今年也會大舉投資,製作自己的專屬節目。
這場保護 舊系統、前進新系統的爭鬥,情節高潮迭起的程度直追肥皂劇。Hulu的大股東包括迪士尼、二十一紀福斯和NBC環球,由於三家電視頻道商無法針對Hulu 的未來發展取得共識,因此決定出售Hulu。但在7月12日,它們又取消了出售計劃,表示會留住Hulu,並投入更多資金。它們大概是擔心,如果新的擁有 者真的讓Hulu成功,可能會回過頭來傷害自己的業務。(黃維德譯)
©The Economist Newspaper Limited 2013

intel not here yet
過去幾個月以來,英特爾和多家媒體公司密談,推銷「虛擬有線電視網」的概念,類似有線電視業的營運方式,但是透過網路傳送全美各電視頻道的節目。英特爾將自行開發電視機上盒,提供節目推播的服務。根據英特爾向媒體公司進行的簡報內容,預計在今年年底推出這項服務。
這項計劃再度確認了現任執行長保羅‧歐特里尼(Paul Otellini)的經營策略:英特爾將不再只是一家電腦公司。
去年,英特爾挖角負責為英國國家廣播公司(BBC)建置線上影音播放服務平台iPlayer的大將艾瑞克‧休格斯(Erik Huggers),並在去年10月,任命他為英特爾媒體事業群(Intel Media)總經理。
但新市場競爭程度,不下於PC市場的激烈,已有多家廠商搶進。稍早之前,索尼宣布和Dish Network合作推出類似的服務;另外,包括蘋果、微軟和Google都曾和媒體公司會談過。
儘管,早在多年前英特爾已開始祕密布局,但看來這條路似乎不太好走。去年10月,英特爾解散了負責開發網路機上盒與電視機的某個研發團隊。
此外,未來的節目播送也將是一筆可觀的成本,目前美國有線系統、衛星系統與電信公司每年購買版權的費用就高達380億美元。另一個關鍵問題是網路頻寬,一旦高畫質電視變得普及,要提供多大頻寬、讓多少消費者同時線上觀看,這些都仍是未知數。
英特爾的虛擬有線電視夢,未來將有重重難關要過。
Google Results Show Struggle With Mobile

By CLAIRE CAIN MILLER

The second-quarter income announcement showed the desktop search business continued to slow, while ad prices fell.
Weak PC Market Catches Up to Microsoft

By NICK WINGFIELD

The company blamed the declining personal computer market and disappointing sales of its Surface RT tablet for missing Wall Street's quarterly forecasts.
Advertising

An app lets users stream Sky News through Apple TV, giving the network access to viewers without dealing with cable providers. Pushing the Right Buttons

By BRIAN STELTER
Apple's steps to reimagine television, like teaming up with ESPN, stand in stark contrast to efforts by Google to compete with established companies.
Google, which also owns YouTube, the world's largest online video site, declined to comment on its possible interest in Internet television.

Google Said to Weigh Supplying TV Channels

By BRIAN STELTER
The company has begun talks with major media companies about licensing TV channels, according to people with knowledge of the meetings.
Google earnings clipped in mobile headwinds
USA TODAY
SHARECONNECT 80 TWEETCOMMENTEMAILMORE. SAN FRANCISCO -- With Google's business under pressure from mobile advertising prices, CEO Larry Page talked up the potential for none other than the Internet giant's mobile businesses. Google on ...
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Symantec: Google Glass still vulnerable to Wi-Fi attack
PCWorld
Google fixed one Wi-Fi security problem with its wearable computer Glass, but Symantec says there's another problem, which has been a long-known weakness in wireless networking. The security vendor has been analyzing Google Glass in its labs and ...
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Google Expected to Release New Nexus 7 Tablet, Android 4.3 Next Week
ABC News
0. Google's green robot has something brewing, and signs point to it being an improved Nexus 7 tablet and an updated version of the Android operating system. Technology website Android Central has gotten what is allegedly the first images of the ...
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Google exec hints at ultimate recruitment perk for top engineers: Life extension
ZDNet (blog)
Google exec hints at ultimate recruitment perk for top engineers: Life extension. Summary: Work at Google and you could end up living a lot longer than your peers elsewhere... Tom Foremski. By Tom Foremski for Tom Foremski: IMHO | July 17, 2013 -- 22 ...
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Google shares plunge 5% after earnings miss
Los Angeles Times
Google has been making efforts to make it easier for advertisers to reach consumers on smaller mobile screens, but in the second quarter its average cost per click declined 6%. In February, Google took the wraps off a new push to get advertisers to buy ...
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Google Chrome For iOS Promises Data Cost Savings
InformationWeek
"[I]f you prefer to follow directions in the Google Maps app instead of in the browser, you can easily set a preference to open these links in the Maps app instead," explains Google software engineer Peter Lee in a blog post. Through what's known as a ...
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Google Test-Driving NSA-Proof Encryption for Google Drive
PC Magazine
Google is exploring ways to encrypt files stored in Google Drive to prevent the the U.S. government and other authorities from demanding access to user data, according to a CNET report. The company is allegedly "actively testing encryption to armor ...
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Google gets off in Korea anticompetition case
CNET
South Korea's Fair Trade Commission (FTC) ruled Thursday that Google is in no way violating competition rules by including its search engine with Android, Yonhap News is reporting. The company's chief competitors in the country, NHN and Daum ...
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Google Unveils New Google Maps App for iPhone, iPad
eWeek
The updated iOS Maps app, Version 2.0, includes enhanced search and navigation capabilities, as well as Google's "first dedicated iPad mapping experience," according to a July 16 post by Daniel Graf, the director of Google Maps, on the Google Lat Long ...
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Google competition plan 'not good enough' - EU official
BBC News
Google has not done enough to address concerns it is unfairly stifling competition, an EU official has said. Google stands accused of using its 90% market share of internet search in Europe to promote its own services. The company has offered to change ...
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2013年7月30日 星期二

苹果销量下滑 前景堪忧 / Apple Sued by Former Retail Workers

.
A sign outside of an Apple store in New York. Apple's retail stores take in more money per square foot than any other United States retailer, but employees in those stores enjoy little of that wealth.

Bits Blog

Apple Sued by Former Retail Workers for Unpaid Wages

By BRIAN X. CHEN

Apple designs its retail stores to be a seamless shopping experience. But some of Apple's former retail employees say working at the stores was less than smooth.


2013年07月30日 06:26 AM

苹果销量下滑 前景堪忧



苹果(Apple)上次销量下跌已是十多年前的事儿。那时,对于前景黯淡的MP3播放器市场而言,iPod似乎仍是一个定价过高又非必须的后来者。史蒂夫•乔布斯(Steve Jobs)还没推出iTunes,也没与音乐行业达成帮他实现电子产品梦的交易。
乔布斯的继任者已再次接近销售下滑的局面,这有何重大意义?上一季度,苹果的利润勉强增长不到1%,这一表现正式宣告高速增长的时代结束了。
全球最具创意的消费科技企业正在陷入下滑的危险,想要感受一下苹果的萧条境况,只需看看其门店的客流量就行了。上一季度,苹果零售店每周平均客流量同比减少了1000人次。而光临的客户,消费额也下降了。
这种局面甚至让微软(Microsoft)的投资者都感到更轻松了。Windows软件或许无法像精雕细琢的MacBook Air那样惹人喜爱,但每个季度一开始,就有大笔收入汇入微软的银行账号了:很多企业客户延长了购买合同,这让微软像IBM一样,收入具有一定程度的可预 测性以及持久性。
苹果则像在儿童生日聚会上表演的魔术师一样,每季度都要靠自己努力才能挣到收入。
苹果最新财报透露了两条重要信息。其一是,早在iPhone和iPad刚刚问世之时,苹果就已把产品打造得臻于完美。这是苹果工程师和设计师的伟大贡献,但也成了公司的负担,因为苹果开始依赖升级市场。
iPhone 4和iPad 2已经成为苹果阵营的主力产品。不管是在发展中国家,还是英美市场上,人们都喜欢老款iPhone,这不仅仅是因为老款价格更低。在发展中国家,苹果以前销量很小,如今的增长非常惊人。
同时,iPad 2似乎正在成为平板电脑打进教育领域的利器。这里不太需要昂贵的Retina显示屏。
如果拿不出新产品刺激顾客,加上更多对价格更敏感的消费群体的加入,价格以及利润率恐怕只有一条路可走了。2年前,iPhone的平均售价和iPad的平均售价都是654美元。如今,iPhone跌到581美元,iPad降幅更大,降至436美元。
预计苹果将于今年年底推出一款价格更低、塑料外壳版的iPhone,有助于应对这一转变。苹果的失误在于,没有尽早这样划分智能手机市场,听任老款机型填补高价策略留下来的真空。
然而,正确地看待这一问题很重要。与智能手机业务所面临问题更为严重的三星(Samsung)相比,苹果成功地保持了高额利润率。
iPhone的售价已经降下来,但仍享有较高溢价。上个季度正值产品周期的低迷时刻,在此期间一款像iPhone这样的产品实现了如此幅度的销量加速,其成功毋庸置疑。
当然,如果移动运营商(在很多市场上,它们才是iPhone的真正客户)开始加大施压力度,价格会进一步大降。很多运营商希望停止高额补贴iPhone。但目前而言,苹果依然掌握主动权。
最新财报透露出的另一条信息是,苹果的命运依然牢牢地系于iPhone。
今年上半年的iPad销量同比增幅高于18%,当然也属非常可观,但比不上许多人此刻预期的iPad采纳曲线,仍相去甚远。7英寸的iPad mini虽然确实地大获成功,但似乎部分替代了原有iPad的销量,而未能再次推动整体平板市场的增长。
这些都不能贬低iPad的成功。但这提醒人们注意,iPhone将要效仿的举措何其严峻。苹果首席执行官蒂姆•库克(Tim Cook)承诺将在今年年底和2014年推出一系列新产品,但人们对此日益不耐,这应该引起投资者深思。
本文作者为英国《金融时报》美国西海岸主编
译者/倪卫国

2013年7月29日 星期一

Amazon for jobs, Netflix's amazing evolution, advertising is now firmly in the business of collecting and selling the personal information of millions of consumers.

Bits Blog

Twitter Will Make It Easier to Report Abusive Posts

By VINDU GOEL

Responding to an online petition campaign, the service said it would make it easier for users to report abusive posts and spam and to block offensive accounts.
An Amazon.com employee at the company's Nevada warehouse.

Bits Blog

A New Role for Amazon: An Engine for Jobs

By NICK WINGFIELD

Amazon, plans to announce it is creating more than 5,000 new jobs in the United States, as the company seeks to draw more attention to the working-class jobs it is creating at home.

Maurice Lévy of Publicis, left, and John Wren of Omnicom at a news conference on Sunday in Paris to announce a merger deal.

Two Ad Giants Chasing Google in Merger Deal

By TANZINA VEGA
The merger of Omnicom and Publicis signals that advertising is now firmly in the business of collecting and selling the personal information of millions of consumers.

Video

Video: The Sweet Spot: Why Netflix Matters

In this week's episode, A. O. Scott and David Carr talk about Netflix's amazing evolution, and how people are watching its critically acclaimed shows.




From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Netflix, Inc.
Type Public company
Traded as NASDAQNFLX
S&P 500 Component
Industry Video rental and Streaming
Founded 1997[1]
Headquarters Los Gatos, California, US
Area served USA
Canada
Mexico
Brazil
Argentina
South America
United Kingdom
Ireland
Nordic countries except Iceland
Netherlands (end of 2013)
Key people Reed Hastings, co-founder and CEO
David Wells, CFO
Neil Hunt, CTO
Ted Sarandos, Chief Content Officer
Products Proprietary Microsoft VC-1 video streaming, online DVD and Blu-ray Disc rental
Revenue Increase US$3.61 billion (FY 2012)[2]
Operating income Decrease US$50 million (FY 2012)[2]
Net income Decrease US$17 million (FY 2012)[2]
Total assets Increase US$3.97 billion (FY 2012)[2]
Total equity Increase US$745 million (FY 2012)[2]
Employees 2,045 full-time (FY 2012)[2]
Website www.netflix.com
Netflix, Inc. is an American provider of on-demand Internet streaming media available to North and South America, the Caribbean, United Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and flat rate DVD-by-mail in the United States, where mailed DVDs are sent via Permit Reply Mail.
The company was established in 1997 and is headquartered in Los Gatos, California. It started its subscription-based digital distribution service in 1999,[3] and by 2009 it was offering a collection of 100,000 titles on DVD and had surpassed 10 million subscribers.
On February 25, 2007, Netflix announced its billionth DVD delivery.[4] In April 2011, Netflix announced 23.6 million subscribers in the United States and over 26 million worldwide.[5] By 2011, the total digital revenue for Netflix reached at least $1.5 billion.[6] On October 23, 2012, however, Netflix reported an 88% fall in third-quarter profits.[7] In January 2013, Netflix reported they had added 2 million U.S. customers during the 4th quarter of 2012 with a total of 27.1 million U.S. streaming customers, and 29.4 million total streaming customers. In addition, revenue was up 8% to $945 million for the same period.[8]
As of mid-March 2013, Netflix had 33 million subscribers.[9] That number increased to 36.3 million subscribers (29.2 million in U.S.) in April 2013.[10]
In 2013, Netflix became a "streaming TV network service" that plans to compete with cable television and network television.[10] Netflix hopes to one day revolutionize TV by making television ratings obsolete.[11] On July 18, 2013 Netflix earned the first Primetime Emmy Award nominations for original online only web television for the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards in 2013. Three of its web series, Arrested Development, Hemlock Grove, and House of Cards, earned nominations.[12] Among those nominations were Outstanding Drama Series for House of Cards, marking it the first web series to earn a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Series (comedy or drama).

2013年7月28日 星期日

What's Catching Our Eye

The new Google Chromecast device is shown on July 24, 2013, in San Francisco.
Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP
Each Friday we round up the big conversations in tech and culture during the week that was. We also revisit the work that appeared on this blog, and highlight what we're reading from our fellow technology writers and observers at other organizations.
ICYMI
In case you missed it ... here on All Tech, I the competing notions of noncommitment and yet endless connection in today's digital dating world. Steve Henn explored the science behind how unexpected freebies and rewards offered by apps and services . Tech addiction is so prevalent that millions have from using social media sites while trying to be productive. Our was Uniqul, which is letting shoppers in Finland use their faces for payment transactions.
On our airwaves, All Things Considered featured a chat about . And you could hear Steve and me Friday on Morning Edition — he reported on the big takedown of a global credit card hacking ring, and I took another look at after the "didn't-see-the-email" defense was offered in a high-profile insider-trading case.
The Big Conversations
Facebook's earnings triumph and its subsequent stock surge (it's trading at IPO levels again) dominated headlines, and the ongoing theme of the future of television continued to play out with the launch of Google's Chromecast.
Chromecast is a dongle-like device that plugs into your TV's HDMI jack and lets you cordlessly watch the Web on your TV. Priced at $35, it's significantly less expensive than comparable products — AppleTV and Roku — and you can get it at Best Buy or order online. Time magazine but it doesn't solve "the only problem that matters" — content. Live sports and HBO still can't be easily accessed on a Chrome browser. The Wall Street Journal . The slow slog to mass cord-cutting continues.
What's Catching Our Eye
In no particular order:
The Verge:
A look at why tech giants are making their products in America again. (Hint: "Made in America" sells.)
The New York Times:
This was the link that people sent us the most this week. "Like a station that plays love songs and only love songs," the new network aims to focus on the happy moments in life.
Wall Street Journal:
The densely populated but tiny island of Taiwan is full of tech-obsessed consumers. Those tired eyes need some love, and vendors of eye-massaging goggles say sales have surged this year. But you don't have to be Taiwanese to get a pair. Apparently similar eye massagers are available on SkyMall.

Google Glass Today, Smart Contact Lenses Tomorrow?

News 10 new results for google
Google Needs To Stop Screwing Around, And Just Build A Really ... San Francisco Chronicle
Google CEO Larry Page is fond of what he calls, "moon shots." A moon shot is a project that tries to take what exists right now and improve it by 10X. This is why ...
See all stories on this topic »
Google exec suggests hardware partners need to improve lackluster ... ZDNet (blog)
Google's release of the new Nexus 7 again highlights an area of concern for the overall Android ecosystem: That tablet's hardware seems to be well ahead of ...
See all stories on this topic »
'Google of garbage' debuts in NZ TVNZ
Terracycle, a company designed to eliminate the idea of waste, has launched in New Zealand today. It is already present in 23 countries around the world and ...
See all stories on this topic »
REVIEW: Google Took The Two Best Android Phones In The World ... Seattle Post Intelligencer
htc one google edition Samsung's Galaxy S4 and HTC's One are two of the best smartphones you can buy today, and if you love Android, they're the only two ...
See all stories on this topic »
Google Believes Balloons Can Solve Internet Problems in Third World Guardian Express
Google believes that if balloon therapy is involved, the internet access problems of the third world will be resolved. Many third world countries suffer from poor or ...
See all stories on this topic »
Google Giving $600K Grant for WiFi in San Francisco Parks eWeek
Google is donating the money to enable the city to build a WiFi network that ... Google is providing a $600,000 grant to San Francisco that will allow the city to ...
See all stories on this topic »
Google Moves Into Internet TV Again HispanicBusiness.com
Google launched a new foray into the crowded field of tech companies that want to deliver Internet video to your television set, unveiling a deceptively ...
See all stories on this topic »
Google announces Chromecast and second-generation Nexus 7 HispanicBusiness.com
Google has launched its second-generation Nexus 7 and the Chromecast, a device that can be plugged into TVs, PCs, smartphones or tablets for watching ...
See all stories on this topic »
Google, Microsoft and Apple Represent the Evolutionary Nature of ... Guardian Express
Surely, its been said, but deserves repeating; Google, Microsoft and of course, Apple Inc. represent the evolutionary nature of contemporary reality.
See all stories on this topic »
Google unveils a faster tablet Montgomery Advertiser
The new Nexus 7 tablet is shown next to an older version during a Google event on Wednesday, July 24, 2013, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose ...
See all stories on this topic »

Google Launches a Dongle to Bring Online Video to TV
Tom Simonite

2013年7月26日 星期五

Amazon's Message: Digital/ Google floods market with hardware

Amazon's Message: Digital

Google's Netflix-Chromecast Deal Is Over

Apple Cautions China Customers Over Chargers

 

 

 Facebook didn't have much presence in mobile advertising a year ago, a concern that contributed to the stock-price slide after its initial public offering price. Then, in the latest quarter, mobile accounted for 41% of Facebook's ad sales–and investor attitudes have recovered with Facebook's ad revenue: the shares skyrocketed 30% Thursday.

[image]

 

 

News 10 new results for google
Google floods market with hardware USA TODAY
In what was likely an accident, Best Buy revealed the specs and images of the new Nexus 7 tablet early Wednesday morning, only hours before Google's own ...
See all stories on this topic »
Google reveals new London 'groundscraper' headquarters San Jose Mercury News
LONDON -- Google (GOOG) has revealed that its new UK headquarters is a building longer than the Shard skyscraper is tall. The so-called groundscraper at the ...
See all stories on this topic »
How Google just quietly made your Android phone more secure Computerworld (blog)
Google Android Security By now, you've probably heard all about the changes introduced with Google's Android 4.3 release. But those fresh features and bits of ...
See all stories on this topic »
Google Loses Bid to Delay UK Trial Until After EU Probe Bloomberg
Google Inc. (GOOG) lost a bid to delay proceedings in a London antitrust case until after the resolution of a European Union investigation triggered by the same ...
See all stories on this topic »
Google launches search tool to help firms retrieve data HispanicBusiness.com
Google Wednesday launched a tool that will help companies search for information stored in their computers for a fee as the tech giant seeks to diversify its ...
See all stories on this topic »
Google, Yahoo, Microsoft told to label ads better in search results Contra Costa Times
SAN FRANCISCO - U.S. regulators warned leading Internet firms including Google (GOOG) to better identify paid ads in search results, particularly as new ...
See all stories on this topic »
Google Nexus 7, Chromecast: Visual Tour InformationWeek
Google reveals its Nexus 7 tablet and Chromecast wireless TV device, capable of streaming content from any mobile or desktop device to an HDTV. Start The ...
See all stories on this topic »
How New Google Nexus 7 Compares With Rivals ABC News
Google Inc. has announced new versions of its Nexus 7 tablet computers. ... The new models are available in the U.S. starting Tuesday through Google's online ...
See all stories on this topic »
Google's Chromecast menaces Apple TV Computerworld
On Wednesday, Google introduced Chromecast at a California press briefing, touting the device and technology as a way to push content from the cloud to a ...
See all stories on this topic »
Chromecast: What's Not to Love? PC Magazine
Google pulled off a rare feat this week, shocking the tech world with a product so unexpected and at such a low price that many of us were left scrambling to ...
See all stories on this topic »
Blogs 10 new results for google
Google's Instant Translators Could Become The Universal Tongue ... Darrell Etherington
Google likes to create things that gather data, which can be used to determine intent and for all kinds of profitable purposes. There's no bigger fish in..
TechCrunch
Google Shopper Price Comparison Apps For iOS And Android Get ... Frederic Lardinois
It looks like Google is starting to cut back on some of its less successful mobile apps. Earlier today, we reported that the Google+ Local app has disappeared..
TechCrunch
Google's Chromecast No Longer Comes With Free Netflix Because ... Greg Kumparak
In what is a solid example of the best sort of problem to have, Google's just-announced Chromecast video streaming dongle is already proving too damned p..
TechCrunch
Google's living room plans reportedly included a Hangout-ready set ... Richard Lawler
As if the Google TV and Chromecast platforms (which are coexisting, if you hadn't heard) weren't enough, the Wall Street Journal reports there may be.
Engadget RSS Feed
WSJ: Google Is Also Testing a Hangout-Equipped Set-Top Box Jamie Condliffe
If Chromecast isn't enough, the Wall Street Journal is now reporting that Google has also been working on another living room device: a set-top box with a heavy ...
Gizmodo
Google and Amazon clarify Chromecast Netflix offer: here - GigaOM Janko Roettgers
Ordered a Chromecast device, and now you don't know whether you will get three free months of Netflix? Google and Amazon have some answers for you.
GigaOM
Google TV getting Chromecast support in a future update - Engadget Melissa Grey
In the wake of the Chromecast announcement yesterday, some Google TV owners began to worry that Mountain View was taking a different approach to its.
Engadget RSS Feed
Google still dwarfs Facebook on the infrastructure front — Tech ... Derrick Harris
This probably isn't a surprise to anyone, but Google makes a lot more money than Facebook and also spends a lot more on infrastructure. Take a look.
GigaOM
Watch a Google Project Loon launch Friday, witness the cloud ... Timothy J. Seppala
Fancy yourself a balloon maven? Well, tomorrow, Maker Camp's Field Trip Friday event is going to Google X for a Project Loon launch. Don't worry, you're.
Engadget RSS Feed
Today's Scuttlebot: Sizing Up Google - NYTimes.com By THE NEW YORK TIMES
The New York Times's staff scours the Web for important and peculiar items. Friday's selections feature a pair of Google product reviews and a theory about why ...
NYT Bits
Web 10 new results for google
The NSA Had Google News Before Even Google ... - Yahoo! News
From Yahoo! News: No matter what iPad you have, you are carrying more storage than the NSA relegated for a secret news database it launched 20 years ago.
news.yahoo.com/nsa-had-google-news-even-google-had-goog...
Will Google invest in Uber? - The Term Sheet: Fortune's deals ...
Ride-sharing company Uber nears large new funding round with some unexpected investors that could include Google.
finance.fortune.cnn.com/2013/07/.../will-google-invest-in-ube...
Chromecast: Google TV to be updated with wireless streaming feature
Apparently Google TV isn't dead, despite Google's announcement of the Chromecast streaming device. Google revealed in a post on Thursday that partners will ...
bgr.com/2013/07/.../chromecast-google-tv-wireless-streaming/
Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook product demo - YouTube
Bad News For Reader Privacy: Google News Doesn't Index HTTPS ...
In the ongoing effort to encrypt the entire web, news sites are an area of special importance. After all, the articles you choose to read can say a lot about you: how ...
https://www.eff.org/.../google-news-doesnt-index-https-sites-b...
Google's New $35 Streaming Device to Rival Roku, Apple Already ...
Google has unveiled a new Internet-streaming device -- Chromecast -- that has some wondering how it will rival already established players like Apple TV and ...
www.theblaze.com/.../googles-new-35-streaming-device-to-riv...
Google Doodle Celebrates Rosalind Franklin | TIME.com
Today's Google Doodle pays tribute to a game-changing scientist who was denied her rightful claim to fame until recent years. The biophysicist, who would have ...
newsfeed.time.com/.../google-doodle-celebrates-rosalind-frank...
Google Chromecast: $35 Cable Industry Killer? | Breakout - Yahoo ...
From the blog Breakout: While no one was paying attention Google (GOOG) showed us the business model that will change the world of media content ...
finance.yahoo.com/.../google-chromecast-35-cable-industry-ki...
Nexus 7 (2012) 32GB, WiFi + Mobile data, Unlocked ... - Google Play
The first tablet from Google. Thin, light, and designed for Google Play.
https://play.google.com/.../Nexus_7_2012_32GB_WiFi_Mobil...
Forget Apple: Samsung Could Be Google's Next Big ... - Slashdot.org
Nerval's Lobster writes "The idea of Samsung as a Google rival isn't unprecedented. For the past several quarters, Samsung has progressively molded Android ...
tech.slashdot.org/.../forget-apple-samsung-could-be-googles-n...

 

 

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