July 07, 2006, 4:52 PM PDT
YouOS: a very cool science experiment
Posted by: Rafe Needleman

There is an interesting article on Slate about an experimental "Web operating system" that a small team at MIT created. YouOS is an online platform with a window-based, graphical user interface. The service has handy applications on it, such as an RSS reader, an e-mail client, and a text editor. The team has opened up the platform so that other people can write applications for it, and many have--there are nearly 200 applications you can install on your own YouOS account.

One of the default applications on YouOS is a Web browser, which is ironic, since the browser runs under YouOS, which in turn is displayed in your computer's browser, which of course runs on your computer's operating system. It's the software version of Russian nesting dolls.

But I don't want to diminish what the team has created nor what they're working on: there's an integrated file system, built-in presence detection, and an architecture to spread computing load across the YouOS servers. Also, YouOS tracks a user's state across user sessions, which means that after you log off, you can log on from anywhere and your YouOS desktop and applications will be in the same state you left them. And it's supposed to be easy to develop for, to which the 200 applications attest.

I believe the next big Web 2.0 boom is not going to be a million more clever but small apps, but rather the release and ongoing improvement of big suites, such as Glide Effortless, Goowy, Veetro, NetSuite, Zoho, and perhaps an integrated suite from Google (as opposed to Google's current mishmash of online applications). I'm not convinced that we really need a general-purpose online operating system just yet, although the tools and concepts in YouOS might make a very useful platform for one of the new suites.

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July 07, 2006, 3:26 PM PDT
Cingular, Verizon hit with class action suits
Posted by: Kent German

Customers of Cingular Wireless have filed a lawsuit against the carrier, alleging it crippled services and overcharged former AT&T Wireless subscribers following the merger between the two companies in 2004. According to the suit, which was filed in federal court in Washington D.C., AT&T customers were forced onto Cingular's network after the company began dismantling AT&T's infrastructure. As a result, its customers were forced to buy new phones, transition to higher-cost plans, and pay an $18 transfer fee. For customers that stuck with the old AT&T network and didn't switch, the suit alleges they suffered from poor coverage, while customers who switched to other carriers completely were forced to pay a $175 early termination fee. Cingular is refuting the suit, a spokesman said.

Meanwhile, a class action suit against Verizon Communications claims the carrier has charged a $2 roadside assistance fee since January 2004 without securing customer consent.

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July 07, 2006, 2:41 PM PDT
Rhapsody support for Squeezebox now official
Posted by: John P. Falcone

Slim Devices' Squeezebox now officially supports the Rhapsody streaming audio service. The 6.3.0 version of the company's SlimServer software, which had previously been available as a beta, was deemed ready for prime time earlier this week. (It's available as a free download from Slim Devices' Web site.)

Rhapsody joins Pandora as the second premium audio service available on the Squeezebox. Having tested the new software and verified that the Rhapsody function works as advertised, we've updated our review of the Squeezebox and nudged the rating (from 8.2 to 8.3). As such, the Squeezebox (not to be confused with the Slingbox) and the identically rated Roku SoundBridge M1000/M1001 are now, in CNET's estimation, the two best network digital audio players you can buy for less than $300. The Squeezebox is best for discriminating listeners who will benefit from its support of advanced audio codecs (lossless formats such as Ogg Vorbis and FLAC) and impressive networking features (it supports WPA encryption and can even act as a wireless bridge). The $200 Roku SoundBridge, meanwhile, is more affordable and--unlike the Squeezebox--streams copy-protected PlaysForSure WMA songs purchased from various online music stores.

The Squeezebox and the Roku SoundBridge will have some potential competition later this year in the form of the Philips Streamium SLA5520. It will offer a competitive feature list, including a display (so you can access and page through the music collection on your networked PC), wireless networking support, Internet radio playback, and PlaysForSure compatibility, in addition to streaming WMA and MP3 files, of course. But the biggest draw of the Philips is likely to be its price: just $99. We'll have a full hands-on review as soon as it's available in North America.

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• See product information for Slim Devices Squeezebox version 3 Wireless (black)
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July 07, 2006, 10:26 AM PDT
XM and Sirius release satellite radio subscription figures
Posted by: James Kim

During the second quarter of this year, Sirius gained 600,460 new subscribers, while industry leader XM garnered 398,000. Not bad for Sirius, which still trails XM in overall subscribers with 4.67 million to XM's 6.89 million. Will Sirius, with the likes of Howard Stern, pull even soon?

Details:

Sirius press release,

XM Satellite press release

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July 07, 2006, 9:15 AM PDT
ABC ad exec floats disabling DVR fast-forward buttons
Posted by: Molly Wood

Just when I was starting to think that ABC really gets it--what with putting its shows online for free, with ads, and all of that. But now comes a report that ABC's ad sales exec would prefer it if cable and satellite providers would just disable the fast-forward button altogether. ABC president of advertising sales Mike Shaw says people aren't into their DVRs solely because of fast-forwarding through commercials--they just like the on-demand nature of being able to record shows and watch them whenever they want. And just because every video-recording device in the history of mankind has had a fast-forward button doesn't mean that we'd eventually get used to not having one just because that's less of a hassle for the networks than having to adjust to a new advertising strategy, right? Right.

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