By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews

Last night the federal court for the Southern District of New York ordered Google to hand over (.PDF) user data for all videos watched on YouTube to Viacom, stating:

Plaintiffs seek all data from the Logging database concerning each time a YouTube video has been viewed on the YouTube website or through embedding on a third-party website.

Red flag, right? This means your privacy, assuming you’ve ever watched anything on YouTube, has gone out the window. As users should have assumed, and as confirmed by the ruling (.PDF),

Defendants’ “Logging” database contains, for each instance a video is watched, the unique “login ID” of the user who watched it, the time when the user started to watch the video, the internet protocol address other devices connected to the internet use to identify the user’s computer (“IP address”), and the identifier for the video.

Viacom said it wants the data so it can prove that copyrighted material is far more popular than user-created videos. Think about it though. Why do they need user data … shouldn’t they just need data about the number of times copyrighted material was uploaded and watched, not who watched it?

I don’t know about you, but generally I don’t login to YouTube, so they won’t be getting my user ID - but they will be getting my IP address. Oh, but let’s not forget that Google themselves said that IP addresses are not personal information. More

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews

Despite numerous assertions from both companies that they’ve “moved on,” and even a statement from Bill Gates indicating a Yahoo! deal is unlikely, it appears Microsoft continues to pursue Yahoo!, somewhat like a spurned suitor pursuing his ex-.

The latest in the continuing soap opera: a report that indicates that Microsoft is in talks with other companies, searching for partners for a new run at Yahoo!.

The Wall Street Journal story (subscription required) says that Microsoft has approached Time-Warner, parent company of AOL, and News Corp. among others. All very ironic, since Yahoo! approached both AOL and News Corp. previously as possible “white knights” after Microsoft’s unsolicited takeover bid.

Yahoo!’s stock was up over 7.5%, to $21.74 in morning trading, just a day after dropping below $20 during intraday trading, approaching pre-Microsoft offer levels.

However, those investors scooping up Yahoo! stock probably didn’t notice this paragraph (emphasis mine) in the WSJ report:

Some of the people familiar with these talks say they are preliminary and unlikely to result in a deal with Yahoo. Indeed, two weeks ago, Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer called Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock to suggest they meet to discuss a new idea involving other partners, according to a person familiar with the matter. The meeting, scheduled for Monday, was subsequently canceled by Microsoft, which Yahoo took as a sign that Mr. Ballmer’s efforts to find a partner have so far failed.

They probably haven’t been listening to Gates’ statements, either.

Or maybe they just did; Yahoo! was as high as $21.90 before dropping to its current price.

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews

Perhaps Bill Gates should have pushed his semi-retirement back a few days, so it could coincide with Windows XP’s. As of today, XP says good-bye, for the most part.

Stores aren’t going to pull inventory, however; if they have copies they will sell them out. Also, you can still get Windows XP on nettops and netbooks (e.g., Asus Eee PC). Additionally, at least through the end of next January, you can get XP using the “Downgrade Rights” available to purchasers of Vista Ultimate and Vista Business. Some OEMs, such as HP and Dell, will even pre-downgrade your PC to XP for you.

Microsoft hasn’t been listening to end users who have said that Windows XP is just fine for them. In fact, the SaveXP.com site has had over 210K signatures for its petition to save XP, but no go.

Since Microsoft says Windows 7 will debut in 2010, and that they will support Windows XP until 2014, many businesses will stick with XP as long as possible. Those with Volume License Agreements (VLAs) can pretty much do as they please. Even Intel has foregone Vista, though it has deployed it to a few departments.

Microsoft shot itself in the foot with Vista, with things such initial hardware incompabilities, and difficulties finding drivers (that worked). That gave Vista a bad reputation from the start, and arguments and lawsuits over “Vista-ready,” and just how much Microsoft knew, haven’t helped.

Will consumers, who don’t have as many of the choices move to Linux or Mac OS? Doubtful that you’ll see a huge move to those OSes, but you might see some defections. After all, part of the reason some posit for a backlash against Vista is the familiarity many have with XP. You can make Vista look and act like XP (except for incompatibilities, of course), but it’s not easy for John Q. Public to do so.

And that’s part of it. Why should an end user struggle to get what he wants, when it’s already there in a package for him?

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews

With an initiative Real Networks is calling “Music Without Limits,” Rhapsody, which is co-owned by Real Networks and Viacom’s MTV Networks, launched an assault on iTunes Monday, with promotions by partners such as Verizon and Yahoo!, as well as an all-MP3 store.

MP3 = DRM-free, and that’s proven to be the best way to combat the iTunes juggernaut. Of course, that doesn’t mean that any such store has been all that successful, despite numerous attempts, such as Napster, Wal-Mart, and Amazon MP3; after all the ubiquity of the iTunes software means that the easiest (and thus, preferred) way to buy songs is still through the iTunes store.

According to Rhapsody’s press release:

Beginning today, consumers can purchase MP3 music from Rhapsody and its partners that is free of the digital rights management (DRM) software that restricts how and where people can play their music. Any song or album purchased at www.rhapsody.com/mp3 can be played on any MP3 player, even an Apple iPod.

The Rhapsody MP3 catalogue will include more than 5 million songs from all four major music labels — Universal Music Group, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and EMI — and an extensive number of independent labels. The Rhapsody MP3 Store places a strong emphasis on the digital album with merchandising centers for “new album releases,” “old favorites,” and “who’s on tour.” Most albums will sell for $9.99 and tracks for $.99.

Little or nothing different price-wise, but Rhapsody does let you preview the full song when shopping, something other stores do not.

At the same time, the first 100,000 customers to sign up (or use; it appears this will work for existing customers) for the new store will get a free album via a $10 credit to their account, when they make an album purchase.

Meanwhile, in terms of partnerships, Rhapsody also said:

Beginning in the weeks ahead, consumers will be able to enjoy full-song playback (up to 25 songs per month per person) whether they are on Yahoo! Music or MTV.com, CMT.com or VH1.com, and they will have the ability to seamlessly go from playing a song on those sites to purchasing a DRM-free version of that music.

So, you’ll be able to hear songs on those sites, and buy them directly if you like them.

iLike will get Rhapsody power as well, with the following:

To give iLike’s enormous audience a taste of the popular Rhapsody Unlimited subscription service, Rhapsody will power free, full-song playback across iLike.com and iLike’s leading music applications on the Web’s most popular social platforms, including: Facebook, MySpace, hi5, Orkut, and Bebo.

Same as with Yahoo!, MTV, CMT and VH1, you’ll get 25 plays a month.

Finally, in terms of Verizon, the launch of V CAST Music with Rhapsody gives Verizon Wireless customers are the ability purchase songs over-the-air for $1.99; one copy gets delivered to their phone; the second automatically to their PC as an MP3. Cheapskate that I am, I wonder why you wouldn’t just buy from the MP3 store for less and transfer it to your phone, but go figure.

It’s all pretty impressive, but does anyone really think this will make a dent in the iTunes Store? Wonder why these sites don’t make a deal with iTunes instead? One need only think about how draconian Apple has been in its dealings with labels, wireless carriers, and studios to at least have a guess at why.

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews

In the U.S., despite the fact that the price for the iPhone 3G is less than the price for the iPhone, you will end up paying more when you take into account the higher price for the data plan and the no-longer-included SMS plan. That’s bad enough, but compare it to the O2 plan, and they get a free iPhone 3G despite paying less for a comparable service plan. Jealous much? Yet, Rogers users in Canada, after waiting over a year for any iPhone, are in worse shape.

On Friday Rogers revealed specifics for the services plans for the upcoming iPhone 3G. One look at them and Canadians became quite angry. The fact of the matter is, I would think Apple would look askance at it as well. Why? Take a look at the differences:

A mandatory three-year contract. O2 offers an 18-month contract and throws in the iPhone for free. The U.S. (AT&T) has a two-year contract.

In the U.S., AT&T offers 450 minutes of voice, unlimited data and 200 SMS messages. But for Rogers …

• $60: 150 minutes of calls, with unlimited evenings and weekends; 400 MB of data; 75 sent SMS messages, with unlimited incoming text messages and visual voicemail messages.
• $75: 300 minutes of calls, 750 MB data and 100 sent SMS messages.
• $100: 600 minutes of calls with 1 GB of data and 200 sent SMS messages.
• $115: 800 minutes of calls, 2 GB of data and 300 sent SMS messages.

No plan offers unlimited data, and that’s the biggest complaint. Despite what people say about AT&T prices (including me), these prices have created a megastorm of reactions, including a petition at RuinediPhone.com.

The site intends to send a petition to Rogers on July 11th, the day the iPhone 3G is available, and also to send a letter to Steve Jobs. The letter to Jobs is already written, and says: More

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews

As nearly everyone in the world knows, Bill Gates last full-time day at Microsoft is Friday, June 27th. Gates will continue to serve as Microsoft’s Chairman, but most of his time will be spent working at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

As everyone in the world is likely writing about this day, I wanted to find a different angle. How about Gates’ statements about Yahoo!, given in one of his last interviews, one with Tom Brokaw?

But first …

No matter what you think of Microsoft, it can arguably be said that Microsoft (and IBM; let’s face it, the IBM PC started the real PC revolution) were instrumental in getting us to the point we are at now: one billion PCs in use worldwide, according to Gartner.

A small amount of “credit” should be given to Digital Research, who blew their change to get their DOS on the first IBM PC, and gave Microsoft the opening it needed.

Whild MS- and PC-DOS were the first stepping stones to Microsoft’s near-monopoly, it was Windows that really revolutionized things, with a consistent user interface across applications. Not to say that Windows 1.0 was a wonder: it sucked. But that was a combination of a lack of horsepower CPU-wise and immature software.

Despite Linux and Apple’s inroads, and they’ve made plenty, Windows is still the dominant OS in the world. Whether we curse Microsoft, or thank them, Bill Gates and his company have had a major impact on computing. And he will be missed.

As far as any potential deal with Yahoo!, Gates was honest, at least. As repored by CNBC, when asked by Brokaw about any deal, he said “I don’t think that one is likely.” He added that, however, that he believes Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will find “plenty of other opportunities.”

Perhaps, but compare Microsoft’s performance with Gates at the helm vs. Ballmer’s time at the top, and you’ll see a huge difference, and not in a positive way. Microsoft’s not going anywhere, but we’ll see how things shake out now.

Microsoft closed down 0.12 (0.43%) at $27.63 on Friday.

By Alice Hill
RealTechNews

Geeks and fashion do not see eye to eye and that’s ok. Some call gadget bags the new “Man Purse” while this new accessory makes even the clip-on tie look stylish and hip. Introducing the USB Necktie 2.

The concept is simple. instead of adding a huge USB powered fan to your necktie as the USB necktie 1 did, why not hide the fan in the fabric of the tie yourself and enjoy the cool breeze? Practical and stealth.
Source: Thanko.jp via Everything USB

We Say: uhhhh, not cool

We post this here because Twitter carried it first. This is the new face of breaking news.

“Comedian George Carlin, a counter-culture hero famed for his routines about drugs and dirty words, died of heart failure at a Los Angeles-area hospital on Sunday, a spokesman said. He was 71. Carlin, who had a history of heart problems, died at St. John’s Health Center in Santa Monica about 6 p.m. PDT (2 a.m. British time) after being admitted earlier in the afternoon for chest pains, spokesman Jeff Abraham told Reuters.

“Known for his edgy, provocative material, Carlin achieved status as an anti-Establishment icon in the 1970s with stand-up bits full of drug references and a routine about seven dirty words you could not say on television. A regulatory battle over a radio broadcast of his “Filthy Words” routine ultimately reached the U.S. Supreme Court.” Source: Reuters via TWITTER!!!