Old Street View Lawsuit Allowed Another Gasp
January 31, 2010
About 22 months ago, Google was sued over its Street View program by a couple named Aaron and Christine Boring. The entire suit was dismissed a little while later. Now, the Borings have made a small bit of headway with an appeal, but it doesn't appear that Google has much to worry about.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit is sticking by the dismissal of the Borings' claims for invasion of privacy, unjust enrichment, injunctive relief, and punitive damages. The only claim that will be allowed to go forward is one regarding trespassing.
(Now-Deleted) Street View Shot Of The Borings' House
The Borings, who originally sought $25,000 in damages, don't seem likely to get much money due to this, either. A court document stated, "[T]hey 'bear the burden of proving that the trespass was the legal cause, i.e., a substantial factor in bringing about actual harm or damage' . . . if they want more than a dollar."
This looks to be a significant win for Google. Had things gone another way, the lawsuit could have encouraged all sorts of people to sue the company. Taken to an extreme, Street View might have met its end as a result.
Yet as things stand, no one can count on getting more than a single dollar, and that's only if Google's Street View drivers prove unable to turn back at "Private Road" signs.
Have You Read This?
> Street View Spreads To Denmark, Sweden
> Google Headed To Swiss Court Over Street View
> Google Street View Hits Hawaii, Mexico
Online Video Viewing Soared In 2009
January 31, 2010
The media sector performed well in 2009, recovering $200 billion of value, or 63 percent of what it lost in 2008, online content providers and distributors made up more than half of these gains, according to a new report by consulting firm Oliver Wyman.
The largest gains were in China, where the media sector market value increased by 200 percent. The report indicates that the trend toward online media cannibalizing traditional platforms could push the industry toward a "zero-sum game" and increase the pressure on existing companies to sharpen online strategies.
Online video viewing minutes increased in 2009 by 50% in the U.S. and 30% in Spain, with TV shows and movies accounting for around half of these minutes. "These averages, however, mask the full extent of the change among the subset of the population that watches long-form content online," said Robert C. Fox, a Partner in Oliver Wyman's Communications, Media, and Technology practice.
"In the U.S., for example, among those who watch long-form video online, 15% of their total long-form viewing is online and their linear TV and DVD viewing decreased in 2009. Similarly among all 18-34 year-olds, a key advertising demographic, all forms of viewing other than online and mobile dropped in 2009."
"The pace of growth in online-video viewing is striking," said Mr. Fox. "However, while the platform is still in its infancy, the behavior of today's online population suggests that much of this growth will come at the expense of traditional platforms. Video could be headed for a zero-sum game," he added.
Have You Read This?
> Google To Get More Interactive With Mobile Video Ads
> IAB Releases Ad Unit Guidelines Updates
Intel Shows Off Interesting Way to Access Content
January 30, 2010
At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas earlier this month, Intel had a lot of things going on. For one, they introduced a whole new family of Intel Core Processors. They also had a cool proof-of-concept device on display. This was something they call the Intel Infoscape.
Infoscape is a giant display featuring cubes of information, and users can walk up to it and access all kinds of different content - Google News, Tweets, blogs, Flickr images, etc. While on display at CES, the content dealt with CES-related info.
Being a proof-of-concept device, Infoscape is designed to look at different ways of presenting content down the road. The giant cube is powered by Intel’s Core I7 processor, and pulls from about 20,000 different content sources.
The Infoscape displays its content on a double HD screen at 1920×1920 resolution, running at over 100 frames per second. For the event, it was organized into content areas like healthcare, habitat, the environment, communications, transportation, etc.
According to Intel, the device is aimed at exploring how people might access and organize their content in the future. What do you think?
Have You Read This?
> Looking at Polaroid's Photo Sharing Service
> A Close Up with Sony's New Personal Internet Viewer
> The World's Smallest USB Drive and Portable Hard Drive
Bathroom Scale Now Connects To Google Health
January 30, 2010
We know, we know: many individuals will view this as an invasion of privacy, or at least a potential cause for embarrassment. Still, you may find it interesting to learn that a bathroom scale is now able to inform Google Health (along with users' Twitter followers) of a person's weight.
No one's kidding around here. According to an official press release, "[T]he Withings WiFi Body Scale can provide updates to a user's Google Health profile wirelessly in real-time using its built-in WiFi connection. . . . [T]he scale will automatically update the user's weight and fat mass to their Google Health profile."
As for the Twitter integration (which isn't enabled by default), that's actually been in effect since November. It just seemed worth mentioning.
Now, for the ramifications. The Withings scale costs a somewhat pricey $159, so this development isn't likely to have any big effect on everyday life. Still, since it's not unaffordable, doctors who like the idea of Google Health may start recommending the scale to patients, giving it real traction.
From there, the price of the tech would almost certainly go down, and more models would come out, leading to a greater market share.
Or not. Internet-connected ovens, washers, and dryers haven't been overly successful, and there's no question that the Withings WiFi Body Scale would take a lot more getting used to.
Have You Read This?
> Google Wants To Save Your Life (Or Help End It)
> Google, Microsoft Endorse Declaration Of Health Rights Data
> Google Reaccused Of Lobbying Against Privacy Provisions
