It seems like every day a new company is launching a new way to stream movies online or download them to your computer. Today, there's one less. Vongo, a service provided by Starz Entertainment, was one of the first major players in the online movie space. But it looks like Starz has decided to pull the plug on Vongo.
Starz will now focus on Starz Play, a service the company recently launched for Verizon. Starz Play looks and feels a lot like Vongo -- but it has Verizon branding all over it. Starz is pursuing similar partnerships with other companies.
Current Vongo customers can continue using the service through September 30th. There's some good news in the announcement. Vongo customers paid $9.99 a month for unlimited movie downloads. Starz Play charges just $5.99 for access to the same content library.
It's been a busy week here at Download Squad HQ. We produced our first ever Squadcast, spent way too much time playing with our new Eee PC, and drafted a plan for fixing our parents' broken computer over the Thanksgiving Holiday.
Here's what you might have missed if you weren't paying attention this week. And shame on you for that, by the way.
Download Squad's Grant Robertson and Christina Warren got together to talk shop. On the menu this week, first impressions and problems with OS X Leopard, the Eee PC, and using IMAP with Gmail. As you can probably guess from the title, this is the first episode of the Squadcat, but it will not be the last.
Last week we gave you a first look at the new $400, Linux-based Eee PC from Asus. This week we started digging into the software and figuring out how to configure the Eee PC to make it act a bit less like a toy and more like a computer. If you're new to Linux, this tutorial is a must read.
It appears that Google and Yahoo aren't the only game in town when it comes to search, though they may be the only ones not benefiting from an arguably underhanded tactic called searchjacking. When you key in a typo on Google, you're often given a suggestion, a la "did you mean to say" followed by what Google thinks is the actual keyword you fat-fingered.
But, if you're a Verizon FIOS customer, you may have ended up at a Verizon-branded search page without even trying, because the big telco sometimes takes a different approach with your typos. That is, if you mistype a URL into your browser on the high-speed fiber service, there's a decent chance you'll end up at Verizon's search page instead of the familiar 'Page Cannot be Displayed' message.
The term searchjacking was first used to describe Internet Explorer's tendency to redirect user's to a Microsoft-branded search page when they've mis-typed a URL or experience a DNS name lookup failure. Well, it looks like Verizon has decided to take the low road as well. The objective, of course, is to sell ads on Verizon's customer portal. But one wonders just how large the accidental content delivery market really is.
If you want more Internet access speed, your options are getting more and more. Thanks to services like AT&T's UVERSE Elite offering, next-generation broadband over copper cables is beginning to show up as a legit service (as opposed to the do-it-yourself approach), giving its users effective speeds of up to 6 mbits/second downloading and 1 mbit uploading, or about double what most users can expect out of a standard residential DSL service.
But for the true bandwidth junky, there's nothing (yet) that can come close to Verizon's symmetrical FiOS service, which doesn't place a speed limit on uploading. This is a big shift of attitude for a telco-based ISP like Verizon. Even better, FiOS users will enjoy 20 mbits/sec of unadulterated speed delivered using fiber, not copper. The only catch is that Verizon's FiOS network footprint is still tiny. Only pockets of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut are able to jump on board at this point.
In the meantime, those of us in flyover country will just keep shleppin' it with our 1.5 mbit DSL.
As Google and Verizon are locked in a tiff over the way 700 MHz radio spectrum is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission, it looks less and less likely that we're going to see the forthcoming Google Phone at wireless retail stores when it finally hits the market. Google contends that the licensee of the radio spectrum should be forced to sell "unlocked" devices, therefore permitting open applications on their network, a move which would certainly benefit Google and other powers whose bread and butter is mainly software.
Verizon, on the other hand, argues that they don't need to make unlocked phones available, since it's possible to get unlocked phones from other sources. Google's response? Big carrier retail sells 95% of the phones in North America, so arguably less than 5% of available phones are unlocked and open. Google, of course, isn't accustomed to having access to just 5% of the market these days. Nevertheless, the spectrum license reads as follows (quoted from Google's public policy blog):
"[Licensee] shall not deny, limit, or restrict the ability of their customers to use the devices and applications of their choice."
It's a clash of business models. Verizon makes money by selling applications they control. Google makes money by giving applications away and monetizing the mindshare they gain by doing so. Wireless is a wild frontier for somebody like Google, because the power brokers in the cellular industry don't want to compete with new players from other spaces, like a search engine company.
Bottom line, it doesn't look like the Google Phone is going to be on Verizon's store shelves, and something tells me Google isn't about to start a retail chain of its own.
For those of you who don't regularly keep tabs on your Software Update notifications, Apple released its WWAN support update 1.0 via software update, offering improved wireless broadband support for AT&T/Cingular, Sprint, and Verizon networks. The update was actually released in February, but it flew under my radar as, being a Macbook user with no PCMCIA slot, I didn't realize there was a Mac-compatible USB WWAN adapter. So if you've been looking to get your Apple laptop onto wireless broadband, now would be the time. No guarantees that the retail clerk won't run in terror when you tote your scary Apple-logo-carrying laptop into the wireless store, though.
So you can successfully convince Mac-wary retailers that their wireless cards will indeed work with your "weird computer", here's the info you need. The update includes drivers for Novatel EVDO and HSDPA cards--which are chief among those being sold at wireless retail. They've also added support for Novatel's Ovation USB adapter--handy for all us Macbook users who don't have a PCMCIA slot. Just make sure your Mac laptop is an Intel-based one. This update won't work with PowerPC-based Macs.
Verizon Wireless customers can now shoot and record videos on a cellphone and then upload them to YouTube by dialing 98823, which happens to spell YTUBE.
You'll need to add your cellphone number to your YouTube account by visiting www.youtube.com/mobile. You don't need Verizon's V CAST service to upload movies, but the $3/day or $15/month service will let you watch videos. Or you can just eat into your data minutes by visiting YouTube's mobile site.
The New York Times published an opinion piece by Timothy B. Lee yesterday that compares the current patent conflict between Vonage and Verizon to the software patent landscape of the early 1990's. Back then, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates published a memo to Microsoft's senior management extolling the evils of software patents, claiming that they could lead to a complete stall in technological advancement.
Of course, today Microsoft owns a massive number of patents, and actively uses them to protect their position in the market. And the Vonage / Verizon patent dispute is a shining example of how patents can be used to attempt to kill technological advancement.
So, here's your chance to sound off and spout your opinion. We want to know if the ability to acquire a patent for a software process is good, or evil. For the purposes of this discussion, "good" is defined as supporting technological advancement, whereas "evil" refers to technological stagnation. As much as the example given here clearly shows a bias, there are probably good arguments from both sides of this debate; let's hear them.
During a quarterly earnings call, Vonage CEO Jeffrey Citron said the company would be ready to roll out a workaround for two of the patents its said to be violating soon. They're still working on a way to get around a third patent which applies to wireless transmission of phone calls.
There's no word on exactly what these workarounds will entail. Vonage is seeking an appeal in its case against Verizon, but a federal judge had already ordered the company to stop signing up new customers. That order has been stayed, but it seems like a generally good idea for Vonage to explore alternative technologies whether they're successful on appeal or not.
Well, you got to hand it to them for trying. On Wednesday Vonage requested a new trial in their patent infringement case. Verizon claims that Vonage's internet telephony technology is based on patents held by the phone company. But Thursday, the appeals court denied the request for a retrial.
Vonage had hoped that a recent Supreme Court ruling would give reason for a new trial. The Supreme Court basically said too many patents have been given out for obvious technologies. The appeals court said Vonage can cite that ruling in its appeal, but that there weren't sufficient grounds for trying the case over again.
If you're getting whiplash from the back and forth, here's the score: Vonage can still continue business as usual while the appeal is pending. If it loses the appeal, there's a good chance the company will be put out of business.
It looks like a federal appeals court has issued a permanent stay on a lower court ruling banning Vonage from signing up new customers.
Earlier this year a jury found that Vonage's internet telephony service violates patents held by Verizon, kicking off a whole slew of legal troubles for Vonage.
Today's ruling came just two hours after the appeals court heard arguments from the two sides.
The stay only applies while Vonage is appealing the initial ruling. If Vonage loses the appeal, the company could be finished. That said, Vonage stock jumped closed to 50% today on the first good news the company's had in months.
Remember how Vonage said it would try to find a way to continue providing internet telephone service to customers without violating Verizon's patent? Yeah, that might not work.
Last month, a federal jury found that Vonage's VoIP technology violated patents held by Verizon. A judge ordered Vonage to stop signing up new customers, but that order was stayed pending appeal.
Now it looks like all of Vonage's eggs are in that appeals basket. Because the company says Verizon's patent is so broad that it might not be possible to pass phone calls between the internet and telephone lines without violating (or licensing) Verizon's intellectual property.
On Friday, Vonage filed documents that suggest it would take months to set up a technical workaround -- if one could even be found. The company predicts (probably correctly) that its current customers would not stick around waiting for such a workaround to be found.
U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton has ordered internet telephony provider Vonage to stop signing up new customers as long as it continues to use technology which infringes on patents held by Verizon.
Last month a federal jury found that Vonage was violating Verizon's patents. Judge Hilton says his order will minimize harm to both companies, but a lawyer for Vonage say the company plans to appeal.
Vonage has about 2.2 million subscribers right now, but has a turnover rate of about 2.5% each month. If the company cannot add new subscribers, it could lose quite a bit of money. Current customers should not experience any service interruptions.
Update: Vonage has asked the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington D.C. for a permanent stay on the ruling banning the company from signing up new customers. And while that case is pending, the court has temporarily stayed the order.
Earlier this month, a jury found that Vonage had violated Verizon's patents. Vonage lawyers tried to argue that any harm to Verizon was outweighed by the public good of providing competition in the telephone industry. An appeal is likely.
In the meantime, Vonage says customers should not expect interruptions in service. It's not clear if that means the company expects the two week stay to be extended pending appeal, or if Vonage is readying new technologies that don't violate Verizon's patents.
After only signing up 30,000 customers, Mobile ESPN is expected to announce today their intentions to take their service to Verizon.
Rather than be its own stand alone network Mobile EPSN will now be part of Verizon's V Cast service and will be offered for free to Verizon users who subscribe to the V Cast service which currently runs $15 a month or $3 a day.
Mobile ESPN announced that it will no longer be a standalone mobile company in September of last year--now we know where the service is headed. The service offers users the ability to track their favorite sports team, get sports scores, watch game highlights, and view short newscasts on sporting events from their mobile phone.
Rumor has it ESPN and Verizon will also announce a broadcast television service for cell phones today as well. The cell phone service will include the ESPN channel allowing users to watch most of the same programming shown on the TV station on their mobile phone.
It's been a busy week here at Download Squad HQ. We produced our first ever Squadcast, spent way too much time playing with our new Eee PC, and drafted a plan for fixing our parents' broken computer over the Thanksgiving Holiday.
For those of you who don't regularly keep tabs on your Software Update notifications, Apple released its 
The New York Times published an opinion piece by Timothy B. Lee yesterday that compares the current patent conflict between Vonage and Verizon to the 
