Interesting plan for Current TV.  In some ways Twitter makes more sense than traditional blogging. People will be able to share quick reactions.

Current TV is handing over feedback on the upcoming presidential debates to those who make up so much of the network’s programming: its audience

Current TV to broadcast `tweets’ during debates – Yahoo! News

As you are probably aware, almost all commercial DVDs are embedded with software to prevent their being copied. That software, called “content scrambling system” (CSS), not only prevents users from duplicating their DVDs but also from copying a movie from the DVD to a PC or other device.

That’s a drag. If I buy a movie, I want to be able to enjoy it anytime and anywhere, whether on my TV, a PC, an iPod or other portable device. But for that to happen, I have to defeat the studios’ copy protection scheme.

There have been numerous programs that do that, including one called DeCSS from a Norwegian programmer named Jon Lech Johansen, who, while a teenager, was put on trial by Norwegian authorities for the “crime” of helping to write the software. He was eventually acquitted of the charges.

Here in the United States, a company called 321 Studios published software to allow PC users to make backup copies of DVDs, but it was sued by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and ultimately closed up shop after its product was found to be in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. That law prohibits producing or distributing technology to circumvent copy protection measures (known as Digital Rights Management) in copyrighted works.

But an Internet search for “copy protected DVDs” reveals other workarounds, including free programs like DVD Decrypter (still available but not updated since 1995) and DVDFab (based in China) that effectively defeat the copy protection on commercial DVDs. Such programs can be found online, but software that allows you to make copies of protected movies is not sold or distributed by well-known U.S. software publishers.

That’s about to change — sort of. Real Networks of RealPlayer and Rhapsody music service fame has just announced RealDVD, a program that lets you “legally” save the contents of protected DVDs to a PC hard drive. I said “sort of” because the copy you get has its own digital rights management that limits what you can do with it.

I’ve been testing a pre-release copy of the product and it pretty much works as advertised. I copied several movies from my DVD collection to my PC’s hard drive and, after putting the original DVDs back on my shelf, was able to play the movies on my PC. But because of restrictions engineered into the product, the movies can’t be played on other devices, such as an iPod, Apple TV, a PS 3 or even a Macintosh. Some other DVD ripping programs allow you to play movies on a variety of devices.

Copying a DVD with RealDVD is easy. You just run the program, insert the DVD and click on either Save or “Play and Save.” If you pick the latter, the video plays while it’s copied. Real Networks says it can take between 10 and 40 minutes to copy a movie, depending on the length of the movie and the speed of your DVD drive. It took me about a half hour for each of the three movies I copied. As you save, the program displays the percentage completed.

Playing a movie is even easier. The program displays cover art and a synopsis of the movie along with its rating and length. Simply click on the cover art of any movie you’ve copied and it begins to play just as if you had inserted the DVD, only faster because you don’t have to wait for a slow mechanical DVD drive to extract data from a plastic disc.

As with the physical disc, you can play the movie, select a scene or watch special features, such as deleted scenes or director’s commentary. Because the program makes an exact copy, there is no compression, so the folders that contain the movies can be quite large. Mine each came out to about 7.5 gigabytes.

Once you’ve saved a DVD to a disk, you can’t copy that file to another drive. But if you saved it to a removable external hard drive or memory device such as a USB thumb drive, you can watch it on up to 5 Windows PCs that you register to use with the program.

“It’s sort of equivalent to the rules of the road that were established in the music area,” Real Networks CEO Rob Glaser said in an interview.

Listen to Larry Magid’s CBS News interview with Real Networks CEO Rob Glaser

The program has some interesting extra features, including parental controls that allow you to password protect your film library so that anyone without the password — such as your children — can only watch videos that fall below a certain ratings such as PG-13, PG or R. If you need to take a break, the program remembers where you stopped and lets you resume from that point.

The program will have an introductory price of $29.95 when it becomes available later this month. There is a $19.95 charge for each of up to four additional licenses to use on other computers. It works with standard DVDs only. There is no support for Blu-ray.

On September 2, I wrote a first look about Google’s new Chrome browser. I gave it a mixed quick review but now I’ve had a chance to live with it for 10 days and I have to admit it’s growing on me. 

Let’s start with the issue of speed: My first impression was that Chrome was about as fast as Firefox and maybe just a hair faster than Internet Explorer. In a sense that’s true – at least on my PC. I can’t operate a stopwatch fast enough to measure the performance difference between Chrome and the two other popular browsers, but Chrome does seem snappier. 

Using a browser today reminds me of using PCs back in the days when hard drives and processors were slower. Sometimes you’d have to wait three, four or five seconds for something to happen and felt good when you could reduce that to a second or two. 

It’s not as if those few seconds made any real difference in your day, it’s just the psychological aspect of getting instant gratification rather than having to wait even a short time. We can all relate to that when we’re stuck at a traffic light that slows us down a tiny bit – not enough to make us late but enough to make us feel frustrated and held back. 

One very cool aspect of Chrome that’s gotten little attention is the way it respects screen real estate. In addition to keeping the interface simple and clean and devoid of too many icons, tool bars and even menus, the browser allows you to move tabs from the main window to separate windows and then move them back. At first I didn’t appreciate that feature, but now find it awesome. 

When using Firefox or Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, there are times when I decide to open a page in a new window instead of a new tab because I want to be able to see it and another page at the same time. Typically, I then move away from that page and forget it’s there, which results in lots of windows cluttering my screen. With Chrome you can open a new page in a tab and – if you later want it in a separate window – you can drag it away. And you can later drag it back to consolidate it with other tabs.

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Podcast: CBS News tech analyst Larry Magid talked with Google co-founder Sergey Brin about the new “Chrome” browser.

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A lot has been said about how Chrome is crash-proof. While nothing is anything-proof, I have already experienced the advantage of Google’s multi-threaded approach. I visited a couple of sites that ground Chrome to a halt. But instead of having to close the entire browser, I just closed that one tab and everything continued to work. With Firefox, I often have to press Ctrl+Alt+Del to abort the entire program and there have even been times when I’ve had to power down my PC to get out of a browser crash. 

Ease of use is an issue with Chrome. Many aspects of its interface are not readily apparent, which forced me on more than one occasion to look at Google’s help page. For example, I had a hard time figuring out how to drag tabs back to the main window. I kept trying and failing until I realized that you need to grab the visual depiction of the tab itself, not the blue bar at the top of the window. And because there are no menus, you have to click around to figure out how to do basic tasks like printing. 

I wish that both Google and Microsoft hadn’t messed around quite so much with the interface. I still have trouble getting used to the non-standard interface in IE 7 and, for that matter, the new version of Microsoft Office. However, anyone willing to consult the help screen and spend a couple of hours of trial and error should be able to figure out how to use Chrome’s essential features. 

Like the public beta version of Microsoft Internet Explorer 8.0, Firefox has a private browser option that doesn’t record anything from your session. As with Explorer this is an option. When you’re using Chrome’s “incognito” mode, what you do won’t appear in your search or browsing history and there won’t be any traces such as cookies. Google is quick to point out that this won’t provide protection for “Websites that collect or share information about you, Internet service providers or employers that track the pages you visit, Malicious software that tracks your keystrokes in exchange for free smileys, Surveillance by secret agents or People standing behind you.” “Googlers” (people who work at Google) have a sense of humor. 

One thing missing in Chrome is the lack of a send-this-page option. I frequently find myself wanting to share Web links with others and, unlike Firefox and IE, Chrome offers no way to e-mail a link directly from the browser. You would think that Google would want to at least let you do that via Gmail. 

The nice thing about Chrome is that it’s free and a relatively small download so there’s no impediment to checking it out. If you decide to try it, give it a few hours. Like anything else that’s new, it will be unfamiliar at first. But after a few hours you might find yourself liking it. If not, you still have the option of using Firefox or Internet Explorer.

by Larry Magid

Street view of home with bedroom window

As if the TV series “To Catch a Predator” wasn’t enough paranoia, now there’s a campaign to protect our children against predators who use Google Street View.

I admit, there may be some privacy concerns as a result of Google taking pictures of homes and businesses around the country but StopInternetPredators.org’s “campaign to highlight child safety concerns over Google’s ‘Street View’ strikes me as absurd. The organization, which is headed by Stacie D. Rumenap, former Deputy Director for the American Conservative Union, argues that Google Street View “can be misused by child predators to target children.”

In a video that appears on the site, Rumenap says that it’s “frighteningly simple” for anyone “to find out detailed photographic information about you and your family.” The video and accompanying text make it seems as if Google Street View is a predator’s best friend for targeting children for abuse. Rumenap calls it “an entirely new threat to our families and children” that “makes it simple to map the most likely route your child walks to school… view entrances to community parks and even find the location of your family’s bedroom windows.” She wants people to “urge local leaders to ban Street View in your neighborhood until the technology is safeguarded.” She does, however, admit that “banning Street View might not safeguard our children 100% from child predators.”

I don’t know where to start with this. To begin with, Google Street View would be a very inefficient way for a predator to find a child victim. It would be much more effective to simply walk or drive around the neighborhood. It’s not as if you need the Internet to find parks, schools and homes where children live and play. There are schools, parks and homes with bedroom windows in just about every neighborhood.  And, statistically, the vast majority of predators know their targets anyway — in real life, not online.

Instead of banning Google Street View, maybe we should put up walls between streets and sidewalks so that predators can’t see children walking home from school. And while we’re at it, let’s ban public outdoor parks and recreation areas or at least find ways to hide the children playing there. Or just keep children away from churches, schools, scouting and other places where pedaphiles have been known to operate.

Second, it completely distorts the way predators operate – at least those who are “successful” in finding actual victims. There is plenty of research to show that trolling online for victims is not the way that predators typically find young people to exploit. In about 80% of child sexual abuse cases, the victims and the perpetrator know each other in the real world either through family ties, friendships, schools, youth groups and situations that bring kids and adults together.

Based on what we know from arrest records, survey research and other data, the actual danger of Internet predators, strangers harming victims that they find online has been greatly exaggerated and this campaign simply adds fuel to that fire. If a child is to be harmed online, it is much more likely because of bullying or harassment from a fellow young person, something inappropriate the child posts online or by taking extraordinary risks in a chat room or other public forum.

If anything, campaigns like this actually increase danger to children by alarming people unnecessarily and distracting us from dealing with real risks.

I’m not suggesting that Google Street View doesn’t bring up some privacy concerns. It’s probably a good idea for people to look up their own address just to make sure there’s nothing posted that could be embarrassing or a possible security threat. But finding a serious security risk is pretty unlikely. A Google spokesperson said that “if you are not comfortable with the imagery available on Street View, we have easily accessible tools for flagging sensitive imagery for review and removal.”

And, of course, it’s essential for parents to talk with their children about safety. Adults should study the child safety tips from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and remind kids to follow some basic guidelines like “Always check first with a parent, guardian, or trusted adult before going anywhere, accepting anything, or getting into a car with anyone,” “Do not go out alone. Always take a friend with when going places or playing outside” and “Say no if someone tries to touch you, or treats you in a way that makes you feel scared, uncomfortable, or confused. “ That, along with age appropriate parental supervision, is what will protect our kids – not going ballistic about the possible safety implications of every new piece of technology that comes our way.

(Disclosure: I serve as co-director of ConnectSafely.org, a non-profit Internet safety organization that receives financial support from several Internet companies, including Google.)

© 2008 – Larry Magid

by Larry Magid

By Larry Magid
San Jose Mercury News
September 1, 2008

ADLERSHOF, Germany — About 12 miles south of the center of Berlin, this district has a rich history of science, technology and innovation. But when the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, the future of Adlershof was very much in doubt.

Today, Adlershof is home to numerous research institutes and more than 250 companies, many of which were founded by scientists of the former East Germany’s Academy of Sciences. Some call the area “the Silicon Valley” of Germany.

Adlershof became a breeding ground for innovation through a combination of tenacity, political will and a hybrid work culture that blends free-wheeling capitalism with communist-style planned economic growth. Though different in many ways, this German center for science and technology and our own Silicon Valley share some striking similarities.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the area that now bills itself as the “City of Science, Technology and Media” was home to the German Experimental Institute for Aviation. Orville and Wilbur Wright built airplanes here, as did Fokker and Rumpler.

But after the defeat of the Nazis in World War II, the airport was closed, marking an end to the area’s contribution to aviation. Later, under Soviet control, the area enjoyed a revitalization, serving as headquarters of the East German television network and the East German Academy of Science. It was also home to the East German Ministry of State Security and its 12,000 soldiers.

The Academy of Science, which employed 5,600 people when Germany was reunified in 1989, was East Germany’s premier center for scientific research and known for numerous products and inventions. Those included ultra-short pulse lasers, time-resolved optical spectroscopy and space diagnosis devices. It even claims to be the birthplace of contraceptive pills.The demise of East Germany meant trouble for this region. The military base and its 12,000 soldiers went home and both the Academy of Sciences and the TV network underwent massive changes. About 1,400 academy employees, including 700 scientists, were allowed to continue their work under a different agency, but most were told to find other jobs or start their own businesses.

And that’s exactly what some of them did. Despite having been raised under the decidedly non-entrepreneurial East German regime with little or no training in business management, about 100 of the scientists formed private companies. Now, amid the area’s state-owned academic institute, about 250 private companies are developing a wide variety of products around photonics, lasers, control instruments, wireless telecommunications products, software development and other technologies.

The area reminds me a bit of our own Silicon Valley, where a university environment and former military presence served as a breeding ground for spinoff businesses. Even the architecture is similar, with plenty of low-rise buildings and a train track running through the center of the area connecting this technology-rich region to its cosmopolitan urban neighbor to the north. Unlike our Moffett Field, only a few remnants remain of what was once an important military and civilian airfield.

One big difference between Silicon Valley and Adlershof, though, is that Adlershof’s economy didn’t just happen — it was planned. Following reunification of Germany, federal and local governments formed a state-owned corporation to develop the area.

That effort included demolishing many of the old military and academic structures and converting the rest to house both the new institutes and the private businesses.

Peter Strunk, a historian who serves as a spokesman for the company that manages area facilities, said only one of the 250 new companies had gone out of business. Asked why there was such a low failure rate, he said the former East German scientists who started these companies tend to do an enormous amount of planning and take far fewer risks than their Western counterparts. Many of the companies operate from revenues rather than venture capital or loans, getting their money by offering research, development and consulting services to West Germany’s large technology companies.

Strunk also pointed out that the scientists and others who had worked in state-owned East German enterprises had a far more communal approach to their work and a strong tendency to collaborate.

The former East German scientists “concentrate on long-term planning,” he said. “They don’t invest in Porsches but put their money in their companies.”

And, like Hewlett-Packard of old, “When there is a recession and a crisis, they stick together and all reduce salaries rather than laying people off.”

At the IFA show in Berlin the big story is “white goods” – the fact that the show, for the first time in its 84-year history, is mixing home appliances along with consumer electronics. The issue is so big here that it was trumpeted on Thursday night by none other than German Chancellor Angela Merkel who, along with the Mayor of Berlin, addressed the show’s opening night “gala” dinner.

As a tech columnist I don’t review refrigerators, washing machines, coffee makers and electric irons. But I have to admit I was impressed by some of the cool looking machines I saw on the show floor. The fact that many of these devices have chips, timers and other electronic components is hardly news. Most of the appliances sold in America have had electronics in them for years. What is interesting here is how electronics are being used to cut down on energy consumption. Many of the refrigerators at the Bosch exhibit, for example, had displays that report how much electricity they are using. There was also an emphasis on washing machines that save water and dryers that cut down on electricity or gas use. The company announced a new washing machine that uses 10 liters (2.6 gallons) of water. Standard U.S. full-size washers use typically use about 40 gallons per load and even so-called “Energy Star” washers use between 18 and 25 gallons according to the U.S. Department of Energy. The department has a Web page with tips on how to save water when washing clothes.

I didn’t see any Internet connected appliances – I keep waiting for that coffee machine that will send me a text message when my beverage is ready. But Vestel, a Turkish company was showing a dish washer and refrigerator with a built-in TV screen. The dishwasher — which isn’t yet on the market – is a bit wacky because unless you’re really short, you’d have to kneel down to view it.

Personally I can do without a TV on my refrigerator. We do have a small TV in our kitchen but I’m perfectly happy to perch it on the counter.

Another wacky product is a 3D TV from LG. The good news is that you don’t have to wear those goofy 3D glasses and the other good news is that objects really do jump off the screen. The bad news is that everything is really blurry, making me wonder why anyone in their right mind would pay about $7,500 for it. To be fair, if you get in just the right position it gets clearer but if you move your eyes or head just an inch or two it goes out of focus.

Fraunhofer Institute was showing a 3D computer display aimed at gamers that uses electronic eye tracking to keep help keep you in a position to the screen remains in focus. While still a little bit blurry, it was clearer than the monitor from LG.

My favorite device was a home clothes pressing system from Monster – a German company that has nothing to do with Monster Cable. You put your coat, slacks or shift on what looks like an ironing board and steam comes from below to remove the wrinkles. At $800 Euros (about $1,200) it also has a monster price. At that price, I’ll just live with wrinkles.

IFA, which is billed as Europe’s largest consumer electronics show, opened on Friday and goes through Sept. 3.