Friday, June 08, 2007

Apple in the Google cloud?

Rumor has it:

I don’t typically join the gaggle of folks trying to guess what Steve Jobs’ next move is going to be, but for once I can’t resist. On Monday Jobs is taking the stage at Apple’s worldwide developers conference in San Francisco to do what he does best - tell us all about Apple’s latest products and reinforce his place as the most charismatic CEO on the planet. He’ll probably announced a new Ipod, tell us more about the iPhone etc etc. One announcement I’m almost sure of, however : A far reaching, cloud computing partnership with Google. Both companies have been hinting about it for months, and it makes perfect sense.

Cloud computing is the hot new thing in the world of technology right now; Apple is a complete laggard; and it knows it needs to fix it. Apple makes beautiful hardware, but it hasn’t improved on .Mac, its cloud based storage offering, in years. You get 1GB of storage on .Mac for $100. That’s laughable in an era where you can get double that for nothing. READ ON

Parallels updates Windows-on-Mac software

CNet:

Version 3.0 of the software adds a number of new features, including SmartSelect, which lets Mac users choose which program opens a particular file type, regardless of whether it is stored in the Mac or Windows desktop. Other features include support for hardware-accelerated 3D graphics, support for Vista Boot Camp partitions and a new file explorer that enables people to view and change the contents of their Windows virtual hard drive without launching Windows.

A Parallels fan, that last new feature will be the most useful to me.

YouTube Embedded Videos interface updated

Google Blogoscoped:

Embedded YouTube videos have now received the new interface that had been around for a while, as Daniel Garcia reports in the forum. For a live sample, have a look at the two promotional videos posted here earlier. The time line navigation has been optimized so that you can now jump ahead in a video even if that part hasn’t been loaded yet (Google Video already did this before). The time control is still flaky when it comes to certain details – e.g. jumping back to a specific point in the video by clicking the control doesn’t always work. Also, embedding the code on your own site has been made easier through new buttons displayed at the end of a movie.

The bigger change in this roll-out is the related videos feature; when you hover over certain parts of the video (which may happen accidentally), an array of related videos pops up at the bottom, represented by video stills. Clicking a thumbnail seamlessly opens the new video in the same player. This change might ensure that people stay longer and longer on embedded YouTube content, jumping from clips they wanted to see to clips they didn’t even know existed. As soon as ads are rolled out into embedded YouTube content – something we can be quite certain will happen one of these days as a good way for YouTube/ Google to create revenue from all the free hosting they provide – this will also be a way to expose viewers to more ad time than before.

Via ZDNet’s Garett Rogers, who calls the related videos feature a money machine. “As soon as it becomes second nature for users to use the tool, we should start to see sponsored results mixed with these related videos. These advertisements stay out of the way and are only seen when users are actually looking for something - the reason Google’s other ads are so effective.

Bovine Rights Now

Cows Unite:

“COWS HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE COWS.
Cows are not machines-we are equals in the interdependent circle of life. All our rights begin with this right.

COWS HAVE THE RIGHT TO GRAZE.
Turn us loose to graze in pastures free of synthetic pesticides and herbicides. We will take only what we need and we will refresh the soil. You will be happier for it, too. Our milk will be delicious and delightful. Promise.

COWS HAVE THE RIGHT TO JUST SAY NO TO DRUGS.
The days of experimentation are over. Stop pushing the synthetic hormones and antibiotics! Organic is the right way for Sisters everywhere.

COWS HAVE THE RIGHT TO DIGNITY AND JOY.
When we are free to move about outdoors, it’s our best opportunity for dignity, health and joy-and a chance at joy should be the right of all living things. Even dogs.

COWS HAVE THE RIGHT TO DECENT HELP.
Sure, us cows are the all-stars, but the time has come to say thanks to the little guys-the organic family farmers. We can’t do this alone. Fair pay for an honest day’s nurturing and care. It’s all we ask. Viva la family farm!

COWS HAVE THE RIGHT TO CLEAN AIR.
Nothing makes us breathe easier than local customers. When you choose milk from pastures close by, you reduce trucking. It’s pretty nifty. Less air pollution, less fuel used, and support for your neighboring farmers, all from one little milk choice.”

But do please keep in mind that there is a distinction between animal rights and animal welfare. I come down on the welfare side of that distinction.

Via Eating Liberally.

RELATED NON SEQUITUR: An artist’s disembodied, robotic cow tongues. Yuck.