The announcement of a new Apple product always generates lots of buzz, and the iPad was no exception. In advance of the iPad’s unveiling on Jan. 27, thousands of posts predicted the product’s name, features and functions, and a few were even correct. If success was measured by preannouncements, Apple had another winner.
Unfortunately, good press doesn’t always equate to good sales. Post-iPad news conference stories have not been particularly kind to Apple’s new kid. “iPad hype hangover follows buzz binge,” said one headline. Many writers complain about missing features, screen size and aspect ratio, connectivity, and the biggie: no support for Flash. more
I discovered a funny video on the topic of backup storage. Broadcasters are well familiar with the importance of backing up data and media. Even so, this short video puts the issue into perspective in terms of importance — and hassle. While it’s directed at regular office data backup issues, the principles of backing up data applies also to video.
One caveat, the video is a commercial for Sepaton, a VTL backup technology company. Even so, the video puts the issue of properly backing up data into a humorous perspective.
Back on Jan. 21, the FCC issued a Public Notice of its inquiry into what it called, an “Examination of the future of media and information needs of communities in a digital age.” This 11-page document contains 42 questions concerning media, distribution, consumption and minorities. Just in case you don’t feel like preparing a Word document, the FCC has even built a Web site where you can interactively fill in the blanks.
While the notice is filled with lots of feel-good language, “We’re from the government and here to help,” an impartial reader might come away with the uncomfortable feeling that this could represent another power grab by Obama’s commission — one that is filled with First Amendment issues. more
Teenagers are dumping blogging and instead settling for that always-on, location-based connection from their iPods and smartphones. According to a report released by the Pew Research Center, blogging has declined particularly for both teens and young adults since 2006. more
On Jan. 15, the FCC fined Electronic Corporate Pages (ECPI) in Florence, TX, for failing to properly maintain its tower lights. Then on Aug. 11, 2009, the commission’s Houston Office of the Enforcement Bureau received a complaint that antenna structure number 1048971 was unlit, and the owner listed in the registration could not be reached.
A month later, agents from the Houston Office inspected above tower and found that structure’s medium intensity obstruction lights were not operational. Upon investigation, the FCC discovered that while the tower owner had hired a person to monitor the lights, that person had moved from the area, and the tower owner did not know precisely when that happened. In addition, ECPI had failed to update the tower’s registration information with the FCC. The tower owner repaired the lighting system, and it appeared to be working properly that same day. more
Hulu CEO Jason Kilar last week said his company will next push into the mobile space, possibly across several platforms. When asked about supporting an Apple tablet before the iPad launch, Kilar made it clear that his TV streaming service will “embrace any device” and won’t lock itself into supporting any one platform. Kilar said his company’s mobile solution would be complementary to the desktop rather than detrimental. more
The battle between the CEA/CTIA and NAB continues. Last week, the NAB filed a response to a December filing from the CEA/CTIA, which called for broadcasters to move to single-frequency networks (SFN).
Unfortunately, both actions add to the ever increasing list of examples of back and forth, he said/she said between these groups. The NAB has been playing catch-up ever since the CEA put forth its October 2009 report titled, “The Need for Additional Spectrum for Wireless Broadband: The Economic Benefits and Costs of Reallocations” by Coleman Bazelon. That report became the foundation for the public side of the FCC’s call for additional broadband spectrum. These megasize associations have been butting heads for years. But this issue has ratcheted the intensity to critical on the seriousness scale. more
Apple has a reputation for introducing “revolutionary” products, but that’s not what many in the telecom/media industry are calling the iPad. Phrases like “disappointing,” “I’ll need to jailbreak it,” “stunted,” “handcuffed,” and other less-than-complimentary words were common.
Of the couple dozen stories I’ve read, they break equally across two lines: Either you love Apple products or you don’t care so much. The arstechnica.com site posted a series of briefs by several of its writers along with a comparison table of features supported by the iPad, smartphones and soon-to-be-released tablet-type products. The table indicates that while Apple may claim the iPad is “first,” significant features common to other products are missing from its latest introduction. more
Broadcast Engineering editorial director Brad Dick offers his thoughts and insights on the changes in the industry. For more, check out his monthly Editorial in Broadcast Engineering magazine. To start up a conversation on about one of Brad's posts, visit the Forum.
The announcement of a new Apple product always generates lots of buzz, and the iPad was no exception. In advance of the iPad’s unveiling on Jan. 27, thousands of posts predicted the product’s name, features and functions, and a few were even correct. If success was measured by preannouncements, Apple had another winner.
