Joseph and I have entensive convisations regarding the “PAD” race.

He eMailed me this today and it is really spot on to the issues at hand and how Apple rockets ahead while Google, looking like a three stugges episode is nothing more then interesing to watch.

Note: Joseph references the not widely known fact that Google CHARGES for the addition of all the gTOOLS.  Gmail, Maps calender integration etc.  Also FLASH on Android is part of this and is not FREE to have on Android.

Android is not FREE software in reality as all the tools that make it competitive to iPhone type features are not free.

–

—

WOW, thanks for the info Joseph.

I mist admin Apple knows how to make amazing products.  Its just the doctatorship, globalisation and handing so much control over to Apple I have a hard time with.

30% if the total price of the App.  Credit card people get 2-4% (Usuaully 2%).  Maybe 10% ok..  but really.

Is this fare.  We NEED to get Android to be successful as to keep Apple honest.  As history has shown Apple is  not a company you can trust.

Example:  Steve Jobs: I hate DRM.
Reality: Apple products are the most DRMed, locked down and restrictive products in the world.

Does any of this matter if Apple gives us what we want?  Well YES it does.
Living in China is probably really good..  its a thriving and growing country…. Unless you believe in human rights.

I am probably going to get an iPad because, for what it is, it is very useful and has no real equil (yet).  However, if there was an alternative, I would likely get that.  I have a iPhone now as it was the only choice that had the feature set.  My next phone will be a gPhone as its just as good in terms of how I use it, and it feels more like I have control of my life in using it.  Ie, the great features like iPhone, but the freedom to do things like, copy files onto it like a memory stick.  To play any audio not just that which I have in my iTunes. To decide what best Email or Maps program I want to use.  To write my own software for the MY device and not have to ask Apples permission.

I am personally not at all surprised.  I have always held the line that Blu-Ray due to it being the best hi-density random access storage ( apart from Hard drives, which has many issues) is the only real path forward for our data storage needs.  This alone will pull it across the line enough to make it the defacto standard for what will replace DVD.  But likely one of the last for a long time.

See this link for graphs on DVD/Blu-Ray sales.. “High-Def digest“.  Blu-Ray is slowly growing, however, slower then anyone expected.  Even me.  But growth is growth.  Until Blu-Ray takes it’s place as the archival pinical of our future, to think Blu-Ray and to want Blu-Ray  is not likely to materialize.

Once we are all using Blu-Ray disks, we are likely to think Blu-Ray when we come to purchase films or replace DVD players.  The Archival revolution will establish this eventually.

However, lets look at some of the reasons why this is inevitable.

1. Philip has unearthed the fact that all the new Video makers, producing more data then ever before, are starting to become uneasy about spinning disk storage for long term archival.  Do you really want to maintain a RAID system permanently for the relevance of the content?  This realization is only a drop in the ocean. (See following points)

2. Cloud storage is by no means a real solution.  Yes, it probably goes a long way to solving this, but do you really expect to take 1TB of video, pictures, you may need later, say  20-40 years form now.  Dump it on a cloud, and upkeep it?  How about 10 Blu-Ray disks. put it in a box, through it under our bed, forget about it for the next 20 years..  Who do you think will sleep easier?

3.  I mentioned a drop in the ocean, now lets look at Noah’s flood coming in the next 10 years..

When I was young I was watching the news about a house on fire..  An old lady ran back into the burning house to save.. get this..  out of all the things.. A picture Album of her memories and family.  That was the most important thing in the house to her.  As a kid, I expected her to get her TV, Bike or favorite Mixed tape…  But now at 40 I can understand and relate to this behavior.

These days with digital Cameras the norm, everybody is storing their prized memories on DVD’s, portable Hard Drives or thumb drives.  How long until these devices start failing?  When will this generation, storing these priceless memories on inappropriate devices, realise they need to take steps to protect it?  Well, its probably starting to take traction now..  And when it does, Blu-Ray will thrive, and any industry connected to it will likely come along for the ride.

Many, evangelists do say Cloud Storage will fix this.  I’m sorry but this simply does not ring true to me.  Yes, it will probably answer this problem, however, it will never answer the problem of trust and paranoia. My most important pictures. Why would I even bother trusting some unknown corporate entity that 1.could loose my data or 2. go out of business.  Just dump it on a storage device that will last for a LONG time, and put it under my mattress.  Nothing makes you sleep sounder.

The only real issue here is that a newer, even better data storage technology will show up.  This was more likely to destroy Blu-Ray as a successful product then anything else.  Fortunately for Blu-Ray, nothing that mature seems to close.  Blu-Ray has the floor for quite some time.

The “Do no Evil” slogan crumbles as Google blatantly berried a great Web idea only to bring out their own version of it.

Recently Google launched Google Sidewiki.  An idea in that anyone can comment on a web page outside the control of the website itself.  This is a firefox (and Internet explorer) plugin.

Back in February (7 months ago)  some friends of mind (www.sharpsushi.com) launched FeedBack Loop (www.feedbackloop.com.au).  Strangely enough “Google SideWiki”  is exactly the same idea and implementation.

When they launched feedback loop, the FireFox plugin went into what is called “Experimental” plugins.  That’s OK, as it is what all plugins have to go through.   However, today, the plugin is no longer even listed on the FireFox extension site.  It had been removed.

Obviously Google has added its “Back End Magic” to some of the features it has, but still.  This is obviously not an original idea and has been copied from feedbackloop.com.au

This is an example of a big company taking advantage of its position.  A every day occurrence in reality.  However, Google is not a typical company.  Any company that dominates an industry needs to be held accountable to much higher values.

Is the weight of Google dominance and power starting to escape from the clenched fist that holds it to the slogan “Do No EVIL”?

The reasons for this where said to be many, however, as a person who was a part owner of a largish post facility in Melbourne until a fire ended all that, the “real” reasons for the larger player becoming so dominant is quite simple.

I like to call it the “Rate card, Mate Card factor”.

If you are going to make a movie you have two expensive factors of the post production portion.  This is either the Telecine/Film scanner at the beginning, or the Film Printer/duplication at the end.  These are very expensive processes.  As a larger player who has built up to these hi-value parts of the production chain, you can offer a full end to end solution.

Now, if you use the end-to-end offering, you get the Mate-Card rates (Never published) on the hi-value portions.  If you choose to use an external boutique (and usually much cheaper) post house to do anything in the middle, well then you get the Full-Rate Card, usually 40-50% more then the Mate-Card.

These practices have protected the incumbent players by killing of man of the boutique post houses.  Only the larger and more powerful post houses remain.

This, however, may all soon change.  Both ends of the hi-value chain are changing.  Digital Cameras like the RED are cheap and the boutique post house or even the film maker can afford to purchase this kit themselves.  With the use of digital cameras, the need for the hi-value telecine/film scanner portion of the chain is removed.

Digital cinema projection is starting to get reasonable traction and the capability to export a DCP (A file used by digital projectors in cinemas) is available for very little if not soon to be built into editing systems like Final Cut Pro or Premiere.  This removes the need for the film recording and duplication costs.

In the very near future, a film maker will likely to able to purchase all the kit they need (Digital Camera system and online editing and effects system) plus contract all the labour for the same amount as going to a big post house to do the same job. At the end of the production, you have all the kit ready to go on the next job, more then halving your typical Post costs you expect from a big post house on that net job.

Unfortunately is is not as simply as that, but a smart film maker could make this happen.  Its all about building the right team.

What a big post house bring to the table is more then just services, they bring know how and knowledge.  You KNOW it is going to work.  This is especially important on special effects films where a lot of visual effects and 3D integration is required. Doing it yourself could be very risky. Can you trust the contractors to do the right job?  What if you hire the wrong guy and everything you shoot is unusable?

The DO-IT-YOURSELF nirvana is very definitely here, and is likely to lead to a contraction in large post house dominance.  Especially in Australia.  However, for more complex and specialised films, there will still be a need.

Still, I am keen for this future of ease of production. To many times I have seen the larger post houses take advantage of smaller independent film makers.  Film makers are very passionate and are easily convinced they need many deliverables, they simply don’t need but end up paying 50-100K more to obtain.

Recently I was considering how Microsoft came to its dominant position by offering the best products in their class, at that time, and using this position to leverage itself into a position impossible to even attempt to displace.

Strangely enough, looking at Apples chess moves over the last few years, they have been doing exactly the same thing.  The more interesting issue is the lack of resistance or media representation of these facts.  Especially considering history and Microsoft.  Did we not learn from our past?

I am not a Apple hater. I think Apple have the best technology around.  OSX, especially Snow Leopard, will definitely be the best operating system available.  The Apple iPhone has a fantastic ecosystem that all other could only dream of.  Apple deserves to be in the dominant position. It has the best products available by a long way. However, does this give them a get out of jail free card? Are we letting Apple hand cuff us like Microsoft did?

Apple use a few business practices that make me very uneasy.

Example 1
One of the biggest recent examples is the Palm Pre support as a iTunes supported device.  So you could use a Palm Pre just like an iPod and sync your library with it.  Of course Apple made a change in the latest iTunes and it no longer works.  In effect, this is like Microsoft making there operating system able to run the IE browser and breaking any attempt to run some ones else’s browser on Microsoft operating systems.  What an outrage this would cause.  The EU fined Microsoft hundreds of millions simply because Microsoft integrated IE into the OS.

Apple is as dominant with iTunes and online music, the fuel for all mobile music devices, as Microsoft ever has been with Windows.  Still, Apple gets a free pass.  Should Apple be forced to open the docking protocol so SANdisk, Zune and other iPod type devices have a chance?

Example 2.
Apple is said it want to vet all Applications for its iPhone device.  To make sure they are of quality and don’t drain the battery.  As such, Adobe Flash, none of the versions, has been aloud on the iPhone?  How can this be considered reasonable.  This is clearly a monopolistic activity poorly spun.  Games and other super power hungry apps are all fine.  Flash Lite or other stand alone Flash players are all a no go.  The reasons given are clearly a smoke screen.

Microsoft wouldn’t even attempt to make excuses like this.  It would be in an anti trust suite fast.  Apple, however, gets a free pass.

The more amazing aspect of this is the willingness for the Apple user’s to willingly place there hands into the handcuffs Apple is selling.  This was the issue that I found a hand time to understand.  Then one day I was speaking to a Apple zealot and it hit me.  They simply cannot see it.  All they can see if the best product in its class, forget the small print.

And really, can you blame them?  No not really.

My realisation here is that I am critical about Apple, not because I hate them, but because I like Apple and am passionate about those areas it lets us down.  If you are an Apple user, I encourage you to also be critical, as in the long run, it will lead to a better Apple.

I am also a big fan of technology and tools for making it cheaper and better films.  Especially for the Independent Film maker.

I would like to offer my time and access to these facilities for doing some real life tests of using new DSLR cameras such as the Nikon D90 or Canon 5DmkII  (Ok, if some one has a RED1.. we will look at that too).  This will involve doing some Test Shots, going through a post production process, resulting in a DCDM (Digital Cinema Distribution Master).  From this Creating a DCP, and finally going to a DCI-Cinema to experience the result on screen.

I do not have access to these cameras, but expect those interest would.  I do have access to a Grade 1 HD monitor on a Final cut pro suite for ingest and doing some post.

NOTE: This is Melbourne Based.

If you are interested, please contact me and we can get a group togther to give this all a go.  It will be a great learnng experiance for all of us.  And a sign of the work flows of the future.

This idea has been around for a long time.  It is an easy idea to understand.  Ads for a free-to-watch internet viewer can be much better targeted. Can be customised exactly for the viewer so it is more appearling and effective to the viewer.  Its is completely trackable.  This is all a dream come true for the advertisers.

However, tho this idea is easy to understand, by no means is it easy to accomplish.  So much so, one wonders exactly how archevable it really is.  Injecting custom ads into every stream is no mean task.  The infrastructure is excessive and really only possible, currently, based on cable TV infrastructure.  I currently cannot see this being effective on global Internet size.

Unfortunately, it is these older advertising models that pay for most of our favourite shows we freely watch every week.  Utilising the power that digital gives us, to skip all the ads, at the same time kills what we enjoy so much.  The hi-quality shows that take a lot of money to make.

Microsoft has put a lot of effort into implementing a new model that can carry some of the traditional ideas forward.  Feasible or not in the new digital media future, it is better to have this technology then to not.

I rarely endorse Microsoft, however, his could one of many important technologies for the future of content production.

see me.com and the online demo at HERE. (http://www.apple.com/mobileme/guidedtour/)

Ad the new focus on business (See HERE http://www.apple.com/iphone/enterprise/)

mobileme is a direct attempt of Apple to jump into the Google, Yahoo and Microsoft Web2.0 space.
Online Email, Calandar, Contacts and File share.  This is an attempt similar to the Microsoft deal of software and services.  Ie unlike Google and applications online, Microsoft push Local Applications with internet services.

This is likely only the start.  What are we to expect next?  OSX been given away just so end users use the Apple Internet Apllication services @$100 per year?  A trend Microsoft is heading towards?

Comments please…

Producing a documentary attempting to give those who have reaped the fortunes and millions up until now is in bad taste. This is a sorry state of affairs in my opinion.

If these bands and artists understand what is happening, they either have to realise their position, and change the business model and get on with it, or get out.

The fact is, if all the bands and artists shown in the doco disappear over night, there are plenty of die hard artists making and distributing music on myspace and the internet in general that will take their place and fill the ears of the consumer.

The world is evolving, and as the invention of the car put all the black smiths out of business making horse shoes, those who understood the opportunities became mechanics and “gas Stations”.

The real issue here is that many powerful organisations who have had the power to literally print money, are about to become obsolete.  And they are distorting the reality and trying to convince the artists/bands that they are victims.  ARIA/APRA, those organisations that collect money from venues, shops, or any public place on behalf of their members.

An example of these organisations is that they have sued venues having live original music for not paying the yearly license.  Ie they have no right to, but it is more trouble than it is worth to fight.  The truth is that these organisations are not protecting people’s right as much as ensuring their money tree makes as much money as possible, and keeps doing so, even in an unjustified environment.

With so much free music coming from non-members of these organisations being used now,  one has to wonder what is really going on here.

I have noticed a lot of people hitting my “About JamieG” page.

There was very little there, as such, I have updated it with a details (Probably to detailed) history of companies and technologies I have worked on over the years.

Thanks,
James