[IP] more on Sony Mylo
Begin forwarded message:
From: Jonathan Zittrain <zittrain@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: August 14, 2006 3:36:13 PM EDT
To: dave@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: more on Sony Mylo
It appears from the Sony Mylo website that the Mylo is intended to be
a closed box. Sony has arrangements with partners (Skype, Opera,
Google, Yahoo), and it doesn't seem as if new applications can be
easily added to the machine (though I suppose a lot can be done with
Opera plug-ins). I can't even tell what OS it runs.
I worry that this is part of an eclipse of the PC -- a fading away of
the central device in so many homes and workplaces that could run new
code from afar at the click of a mouse, allowing for Skype and other
unaccredited upstarts to gain traction so long as they had code that
worked better (or was more appealing in some other way) than everyone
else's. In the PC's place comes Internet appliances that will slow
or halt the kind of innovation we've seen from all corners, and
instead lock in a certain set of prevailing applications (now
including Skype). And with control of the app can come control of
the network destinations -- whether light influences like bookmarks
or heavier ones that say all further un-partnered innovation must
come through a Web window and use a limited set of markup tools.
There are benefits to such lockdown at the client side -- a more
predictable and controlled user experience, pound-for-pound less
vulnerability to spyware and other bad code (since all outside code
is limited), and perhaps more willingness from content companies to
partner since the user experience will be managed and, apart from the
small subset of people who will try to hack it, the use of the
content can be negotiated with Sony rather than thrown to the four
winds.
The downsides are legion -- a slowdown of the kind of innovation that
has done so much for the industry and for users, replaced by that
which is negotiated among "partners." The Mylo joins the xbox,
blackberry, tivo, most mobile phones, and the ipod in the list of
closed or mostly-closed appliances that are displacing the PC. The
sooner we can deal with the PC's existing downsides -- such as
viruses and malware -- the more easily it can compete with these
appliances that otherwise will sideline it. An open network with
closed endpoints is an undesirable equilibrium -- it's a freeway
connecting prisons. ...JZ
At EDT 03:02 PM 8/14/2006, you wrote:
From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: August 14, 2006 8:47:36 AM EDT
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <dewayne-net@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] Sony's Mylo Delivers Wireless
Reply-To: dewayne@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sony's Mylo Delivers Wireless
Sony last week launched a WiFi broadband communication and
entertainment device to capitalize on the growth of wireless internet
access.
The mylo personal communicator is capable of operating in any open
802.11b wireless network, can be found on college campuses, in public
spaces and within private homes. The product is for people who use
instant messaging as a primary form of communications and networking.
The name mylo stands for "my life online" and the communicator allows
consumers use instant messaging, browse the internet, listen to
music, send e-mails and view photos.
The oblong-shaped device features a 2.4 inch color LCD with a slide
out keyboard. The device, available in black or white, comes embedded
with popular instant messaging services such as Google Talk instant
messaging service, Skype and Yahoo! Messenger. The services are free
and the product does not require initial computer setup or monthly
service contract.
For more about the product, go to: <http://www.sony.com/mylo>
Weblog at: <http://weblog.warpspeed.com>
Jonathan Zittrain
Professor of Internet Governance and Regulation
Oxford University
Jack N. and Lillian R. Berkman Visiting Professor for Entrepreneurial
Legal Studies
Harvard Law School
<http://www.jz.org>
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