Tim Marman's Loosely Coupled

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• The real reason for Google's free 411 service

  Tim O'Reilly speculated why Google is really doing a free 411 service . In short, I'm speculating that the 1-800-GOOG-411 service is designed to harvest voice data to build Google's own speech database, rather than licensing from Nuance or another player. Charlie confirmed this at the recent Google Developer Day. Dr. Norvig said that the primary motivation behind Goog-411 is to provide something useful to Google's users, but the voice data the service collects will certainly help the company improve its voice recognition capabilities. This isn't surprising - Google has a proven track record of providing useful, free software that is ultimately a vehicle to feed the AdSense cash cow. Perhaps the more interesting question is how Google will put this speech database to work in the future. Such a database would be incredibly useful to deliver contextual AdSense for audio products. Of course, the injection process is a bit more complicated (and less dynamic) in a podcast as opposed to a web... Posted Jun 04 2007, 12:32 PM by Tim with | with no comments Filed under: Technology, Web 2.0, Google, Advertising

• How Microsoft can crush Google

  Dare points to this insightful, if nefarious, post on how Microsoft could crush Google in one easy step . I've long made the argument that Google is not a technology company, but rather an advertising / media company. Clearly, the distinction between technology and media is at least blurring. In fact, it was observed at a recent nextNY event that a lot of startups - particularly those in New York - are less about "technology" and more about employing it intelligently. Though it's unrealistic and unlikely that Microsoft would (or could) ever do this, the post recognizes a simple truth sometimes lost in this discussion: unlike Microsoft (or Apple), Google doesn't really "sell" anything. (Search appliances and Google Premier Apps aren't even on the radar). They are largely dependent on advertising, and most of their products, purchases and partnerships are about securing vehicles for that advertising. As Henry suggests, Google would be disproportionally affected by the loss of a major vehicle... Posted Apr 10 2007, 01:01 PM by Tim with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Technology, Business, Microsoft, Google, YouTube, Advertising, NextNY

• The UAC security flaw in Vista

  User Account Control (UAC) is one of the key security mechanisms introduced in Vista. In the past, the default account as an administrator. Following the principle of least privilege , the default Vista account runs with limited access, and Vista detects when something requires "administrator prompts", as mocked in the most recent Mac ad. All told, this is a good thing. Unfortunately, Microsoft made some poor design decisions in the implementation, sacrificing some of the security for ease of use. Joanna Rutkowska summarizes the issue : One thing that I found particularly annoying though, is that Vista automatically assumes that all setup programs (application installers) should be run with administrator privileges. So, when you try to run such a program, you get a UAC prompt and you have only two choices: either to agree to run this application as administrator or to disallow running it at all. That means that if you downloaded some freeware Tetris game, you will have to run its installer... Posted Mar 03 2007, 03:57 AM by Tim with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: Security, Microsoft, YouTube, Video, Apple, Advertising

• Another ironic Mac commercial

  We already know some of the ads in the Get-A-Mac campaign don't exactly make sense . The latest, "Counselor", seems particularly ironic to me. In the ad, the Mac says that the PC "is a wizard with numbers and dresses like a gentleman". The PC is able to say that the Mac is "better with creative stuff", but quickly qualifies such behavior as "completely juvenile and a waste of time". Wait... I thought Apple was the one running the slander campaign? Speaking of which, Apple and Microsoft really do need some counseling. Some of the 5.5G iPods were released with a virus , which Apple blamed on Microsoft because of its insecure OS. Microsoft, of course, said it was simply Apple's lackluster quality control . Let me just come out and say it - Apple wouldn't stoop to releasing a device that intentionally included a Windows-only security exploit to "prove a point", would they? I mean, sure, they'll have some lawsuits, but pretty effective marketing move... Posted Oct 19 2006, 02:33 PM by Tim with | with no comments Filed under: Rants, Security, Gadgets, Web 2.0, Marketing, YouTube, Apple, Advertising

• More innovative advertising in a TiVO world

  Honda previously launched 5-second ads to combat the effects of Tivo . Now Fox is embracing that model , "running a 30-second television spot with just one static image in an effort to reach viewers who fast forward through ads using digital video recorders like TiVos." "Viewers fast-forwarding through the ad would see the image for a few seconds; those watching it normally would hear dialogue from the show in the background." It's good to see media companies thinking creatively here and not simply trying to disable our fast forward button . Posted Oct 11 2006, 04:28 AM by Tim with | with no comments Filed under: Technology, Innovation, Marketing, Advertising

• Prescription Drug Advertising

  Ernie commented recently on the drug side effects in the commercials , and suggests that maybe this is a strategy to limit liability. At first blush it seems counter-productive. But, if you consider the inevitable litigation that will ensue, it's actually a very smart move. As we all know by now, people don't pay attention to warnings, so why not feature them prominently in TV ads? Actually, there's a simple answer for this: they are required to disclose the side effects by the FDA under 21 CFR 202 . An exception is made for "reminder advertisements", which the FDA defines as "those which call attention to the name of the drug product but do not include indications or dosage recommendations for use of the drug product". In other words, if you tell us what a drug does, you have to tell us about the potential side effects. However, if you just tell us to ask our doctor about the little purple pill, you don't have to tell us that it causes bloating, diareaha, or any other such unpleasantries... Posted Oct 10 2006, 11:57 AM by Tim with | with no comments Filed under: Intellectual Property, Advertising, Law

• Most people pay for advertising, but EA wants to charge for it

  Starting this Friday, EA and ESPN are making a behind-the-scenes preview of Madden NFL 07 available . Rather than give it away, they are planning on selling it on pay-per-view (yes, through your cable provider) and online for $20. In a recent Major Nelson podcast, they justified it because, apparently, it includes strategy and tips from some of the best Madden players out there, including their insight into the new features. (I guess they all have been able to put in countless hours on the new game already?). If it were $1.50 (or even $5.00), I might consider it - but with games that already cost $60, can they really expect us to pay another $20 for this as well? It seems to me that EA would have been better off putting this out there as a free promotional thing to drum up support after their somewhat lackluster first attempt on Xbox 360. (I know, I know, it was a launch title, this year will be better, but still). Then again, maybe they figure Madden is a title that sells itself and doesn't... Posted Aug 03 2006, 02:12 AM by Tim with | with no comments Filed under: XBox 360, Gaming, Marketing, Advertising

• This Apple advertisement doesn't make any sense. Touche!

  I love the new Get A Mac campaign . Very clever, and great casting. I'm willing to overlook some of the factual inaccuracies because, hey, this is advertising, right? One of the most recent ads ( mov ) doesn't make a lot of sense to me though. The ad in question is touting Boot Camp, OS X's ability to boot both Windows and Macs. After the Mac and PC make their introductions, the Mac says "and I'm also a PC", going on to explain why the Mac is the only computer you'll ever need. It's clear that all of these ads, with the Bill Gates lookalike and all, are not-so-subtle jabs at Microsoft. Here's the thing - Microsoft doesn't sell computers, it sells an operating system. It doesn't matter whether that OS is running on a Mac or a Dell. And isn't it better if someone has to buy a full retail copy to install on a Mac than a pre-installed OEM copy? Ironically, the PC was using the term correctly. Touche is the acknowledgement of a hit - and sometimes used sarcastically to mock an opponent's absurd... Posted Jun 19 2006, 07:48 AM by Tim with | with 18 comment(s) Filed under: Technology, Rants, Things that amuse me, Microsoft, Apple, Advertising

• Advertising in RSS

  Mike Gunderloy (Larkware News) points to an ad brokerage for RSS feeds . Interesting idea. How effective it is depends. I still think that, especially when it comes to personal weblogs, a personal endorsement is going to be infinitely more effective than a canned ad. I think the only way this is going to be effective is to have ads that are carefully selected based on the content of your weblog. Even if automated, the ads need to be something that, if given the choice, you might actually endorse. Actually, what would be ideal would be avoiding any automatic ad injection and instead buying placement. This, of course, requires more effort on the part of the author - but it helps the author's opinion come through a bit better, and still generates the same or better buzz for the product. After all, I subscribed to the feed to read the author's opinion, not a canned advertisement. I want the ad to reflect that. Of course, there should be some disclosure and the ad should be clearly marked as... Posted Jan 26 2004, 07:49 AM by Tim with | with no comments Filed under: Web 2.0, Business, Blogging, Advertising