Online video on the rise

In less than three weeks, Apple's iTunes store has put up impressive numbers for video sales, reportedly topping 1 million. Perhaps more notable, though, is the fact that these sales were done with a small number of TV shows and music video clips. Imagine what kind of sales iTunes could do if it boasted a full-sized video library.

And on a somewhat related note, Comedy Central unveiled its plans for an online-only series of TV "stations" that provide content on-demand. "Motherload" will have five channels, titled Originals, TV Shows, The Daily Show with John Stewart, Comedians and Cult Classics. It's great to see that Comedy Central will be offering original content online, and not just repeats of TV broadcasts.

Is the corporate TV world finally starting to embrace the Internet? I think it's safe to say that if iTunes continues to turn out positive numbers and Comedy Central's Motherload is a success, more companies will certainly turn to the Web.

God's not down with blogging

A principal at a Catholic high school in New Jersey has told students that they have to close their personal blogs, or face suspension. That includes personal sites on Xanga.com, Myspace.com, Livejournal.com and the like. The principal's reasoning? He's protecting the students from online sexual predators.

Aside from the fact that I don't think it's possible for the school to know whether or not a student has a blog (you're not required to give your real name), this is ridiculous. Sexual predators? They're high school kids, I think they can look out for themselves.

Just another example of good intentions gone bad. It's unfortunate when those with power don't have a lick of sense about how technology works or what its purpose is.

$100 billion of Google

Google's total market value closed above $100 billion - yes, billion, with a 'B' - Monday afternoon. It is now the fastest company to achieve that status, and sits in a league, according to Red Herring, that includes only about 20 other U.S. companies. Investors cite Google's "AdWords" and their higher click-through rate, when compared with typical graphical banner ads, as the chief reason for the company's success.

Of course, having the best search engine on the Internet doesn't hurt much. Not to mention all of the other great services offered by Google.

Does Google's recently unveiled free WiFi Internet service in downtown San Francisco show where Google will go next? Can Google avoid being labeled as a Microsoft-like tyrant, or can it stay within the good graces of the Internet community? With the company growing larger and larger, one has to wonder.

Skip class with podcasts

"Podcasting," or independent radio-type programming available for download on the Internet, has seen amazing growth in the past year. Thanks, in part, to Adam Curry's Daily Source Code, Podcasting is the next heir to the blogging phenomenon. And now Curry has his own program on Sirius Satellite Radio, called the PodShow. Podcasting has hit the mainstream.

But here's a new take on podcasts: Why not download class lectures in MP3 format? This is a great idea for professors to record their lectures and post them weekly on a Web site with an RSS feed. I think it would be of great help to students.

And since a lot of larger classes at big universities have downloadable or streaming video of lectures, sounds like a good time to start considering videocasting, with Apple's new video-enabled iPod.

iPod frenzy

Haven't had enough iPod news lately? Less than a month after announcing the flash-based iPod Nano, Apple called the press back for "one more thing," as they called the event. Rumors of a video iPod have lingered for years, and now it's finally true: While still a music-centric piece of technology, the new iPod features a larger, color screen that plays videos. Cool.

But the big news? Apple struck a deal with ABC and Disney, and has begun selling single episodes of hit TV programs on iTunes for $1.99 apiece. It's about time TV companies started to embrace the online world.

But with the limited availability of high definition channels in smaller TV markets, I can't help but think that the low-quality images put out by the iPod video will look awful on a big-screen television, via the product's new TV-out feature. I won't pay $2 for a low-quality copy of a show, but give me high-def video at around $5 and you've got a new customer, Apple.

Blockbuster of a mistake

File this one in the "bad business decisions" department: Variety has revealed that Blockbuster could have bought mail-based movie renting giant NetFlix for $50 million and didn't. And guess what NetFlix's estimated market value is now? $1.4 billion, according to the article.

Renting movies is big business, as Hollywood has found out recently, and Internet mailing services such as NetFlix have been blamed for lower-than-expected returns at the box office. Meanwhile, in the rental market, Blockbuster now finds itself attempting to play catch-up with NetFlix, which will have 3.5 million subscribers by year's end, according to the article, compared with Blockbuster's 2 million. Imagine how different things could be if Blockbuster had bought NetFlix when it wasn't even a blip on the radar - or much of a hit on Blockbuster's pocketbook.

Art imitating life... and death

The virtual plague that hit popular massively multiplayer online RPG World of Warcraft has been making the rounds in the news for weeks now because of how unique it is. For the uninformed, a virtual virus that was intended to only kill a few who were fighting a monster managed to find its way back to civilization in the game, killing off thousands of game players' characters and in-game non player characters. The situation was a cool-yet-frightening example of how online worlds can mimic the real world, and can given an example of a very probable real-world scenario.

The story has cracked into the mainstream media now, with NPR doing a story on how scientists could use virtual worlds to see how such scenarios could play out in real life. Who'd have thought that an online game could shed life potential social and scientific disasters?

Danger-ous Move?

In a move that is sure to make the RIAA cringe, the band Harvey Danger just released their album totally free on their Web site. As they clearly say, no digital rights management nonsense, no "streaming" files, no 30 second clips - this is the full album and cover art, even available in three varying quality formats.

The band is also offering a copy of the album for sale on the site and in stores, which includes a bonus disc. The band's hope, obviously, is that people will enjoy the album before purchasing it and sharing the music with friends.

Sounds good to me. I've always thought that bonus discs with extra content are big selling points for albums, especially in the age of online piracy. There's no sense in fighting technology that has already established itself.