[LINK] Murdoch to block Google

[Tom Worthington]

Jan Whitaker wrote:
> Murdoch could block Google searches entirely
> http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/nov/09/murdoch-google

According to "News could bid for digital spectrum" Geoff Elliott (The 
Australian,  November 09, 2009), Mr. Murdoch is interested in wireless 
delivery of newspapers to e-readers, perhaps using the spectrum freed up 
from the conversion to digital TV:
<http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/news-could-bid-for-digital-spectrum/story-e6frg996-1225795552587>.

However, the current crop of e-book readers have monochrome screens, 
whereas even print newspapers now have colour, with online newspapers 
having multimedia.

In the UK, Mr. Murdoch's BSkyB is selling live TV for iPhones via a WiFi 
for £6 a month. The killer application for this is English soccer: 
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8352178.stm>.

It seems that Mr. Murdoch's strategy is to provide a service with a 
combination of TV and newspaper content to a wireless handheld device. 
The wireless service will therefore need to be fast enough for video and 
the device will need a colour screen able to display TV. The subscriber 
would then get a combined service spicing up old fashioned newspapers 
with colour, sound and video. This would also make a very good 
advertising platform, able to shown compelling multimedia advertisements.

Of course this assumes that colour e-readers become available and are 
not subsumed by smart phones. The worry for Mr. Murdoch seems to be that 
the mobile phone will do to TV what the web did to newspapers: provide a 
free option. Mr. Murdoch seems to be favouring an e-book type device, 
because it can be locked to one content provider, such as News Corp, 
whereas a mobile phone is likely to be open to content from anyone, 
including free content.

But I suspect that the e-book reader as a separate device will 
disappear, before it has become more than a niche product. Between smart 
phones, with screens of about the size of a credit card (the largest 
practical screen  for a pocket size device) and netbooks with screens of 
around 10 inches, there may be no market left for e-book readers.

ps: The Barnes and Noble "Nook" e-book reader is to use the Google 
Android operating system, which might give Mr. Murdoch some sleepless 
nights. This is an odd hybrid device with a large monochrome screen and 
a small colour one, something half way between a smart phone and an 
e-book: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnes_%26_Noble_nook>.

The Nook looks like a Personal Access Display Device (PADD) from Star 
Trek Next Generation. In 1996 I predicted these would replace PCs and 
mobile phones by 1998 <http://www.tomw.net.au/twadd3.htm>. But cheap B5 
size devices with 2000 x 2000 pixel full motion full colour screens are 
not here yet.


-- 
Tom Worthington FACS HLM, TomW Communications Pty Ltd. t: 0419496150
PO Box 13, Belconnen ACT 2617, Australia  http://www.tomw.net.au
Adjunct Lecturer, The Australian National University t: 02 61255694
Computer Science http://cs.anu.edu.au/people.php?StaffID=140274