C|Net.com reports on a new feature user-generated content play YouTube rolled out yesterday – the ability to recieve and post content sent directly from mobile devices. As evidenced by the role Flickr has played in events like the London 7/7 bombings, still images have flown around the web like wildfire in our mobile-happy world. Video has been more challenging, although major news outlets have carried some of these grainy clips on-air and on-line. But this new feature at YouTube suggests the next major news story may include plenty of citizen journalism video coverage if this feature gets even modest adoption.
Tag Archives: Web
No way this is legal…
It’s amazing what’s available on the web today. Who needs user-generated content when you can post network TV? Guba.com appears to be like most of these services – another storehouse for UGC material. Some enterprising soul has searched that site for nuggets – not gold, mind you, but network and cable television full episodes. They’ve organized all that content into another site – peekvid.com – that offers up a nice handy list of episodes from shows like 24, Family Guy, Monty Python and The Sopranos. Not that these can’t be found on BitTorrent, but I can see the cease-and-desists flying through the air now… (via Thomas Hawk by way of Digg).
‘C is for Cookies’ Patented
Microsoft has been awarded a patent they applied for in 2000 to extend the functionality of cookies and web beacons. Trouble is, I really can’t discern where the originality in this concept lies – thousands of web sites do this every day. Ars Technica (quote below) suggests the focus may be on the addition of an API to these ‘permanent cookies’ – of course how permanent can any file be on any computer device for a savvy user?
Provide developers with an Application Program Interface (API) which can be called from languages such as JavaScript, ASP, and VBScript. The permanent cookie can contain four data types consisting of bits, counters, dates, and strings. In the patent description, Microsoft also notes that the cookie is flexible enough to allow for new data types in the future.
M-Dollar: Microsoft patents the super cookie
The patent itself is lengthy and obtuse, but I wonder what’s really ‘new’ in here. The abstract suggests that it’s the application of the cookie info to what content a user is presented on subsequent visits; I believe that’s been done in many forms by many web sites using cookies and databases in the past.
Yahoo! Releases MCE Competitor
Just weeks after closing their deal to buy Meedio, a software developer of a ‘roll-your-own’ digital entertinament solution akin to Microsoft’s Windows XP Media Center Edition, Yahoo! has put a branded version of the software out for free download. called Yahoo! Go. Download the software here and give it a spin. It includes features to access video, music and photos on your local PC, as well as TV tuner integration should you have one, including DVR features. I do wish the Flickr piece was a bit more feature-rich; currently there’s no way to select your own photos or specify a tag to view, it simply includes a half-dozen or so pre-selected tags/groups to view as slideshows. One nice bit of integration is the ‘Video’ area – with Yahoo video content presented alongside your own, as well as search features for other video content. Overall, a very nice UI with a ton of features.
technorati tags: yahoo, mediacenter, mce, meedio