Toronto Company Kills Word Sales

By Mark Evans in Microsoft 2 Comments Tags: , , , ,

From the hard-to-believe file, a Texas judge has ruled that Microsoft can’t sell its popular Word product in the U.S. because Microsoft is allegedly violating a patent involving XML owned by Toronto-based i4i Inc. (For the news story, check out Seattle PI.)

Judge Leonard Davis, of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, ordered a permanent injunction that “prohibits Microsoft from selling or importing to the United States any Microsoft Word products that have the capability of opening .XML, .DOCX or DOCM files (XML files) containing custom XML.”

In addition to the injunction, which takes affect in 60 days, Judge Davis also awarded i4i damages of $290-million.

So, who’s i4i?

According to its Web site, i4i is a ” world leader in the design and development of collaborative content solutions and technologies” that was founded in 1993 by Michel Vulpe.

If you’ve never heard of i4i, you’re probably not alone.

That said, i4i was thrust into the spotlight in May when it received a $200-million patent verdict from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Tyler Division.

After an eight?day trial, the jury agreed with i4i that certain versions of Microsoft’s Word 2003 and Word 2007 products use “extensible mark?up language”, or XML, in a way that infringes i4i’s U.S. Patent No. 5,787,449.

i4i filed the lawsuit in March 2007, seeking an injunction and damages. The Eastern District of Texas is known for being a haven for patent litigation.

More: CNet did an interview with i4i chairman Loudon Owen, who notes that the injunction only affects Word that features the company’s customer XML technology.


Rejected by Twitter, Facebook Buys Friendfeed

By Mark Evans in Uncategorized No Comments Tags: , , ,

So, the big news within the high-tech world is that Facebook is buying Friendfeed.

I’m happy for Bret Taylor and Friendfeed’s investors but the deal doesn’t excite me that much.

Maybe it has to do with the fact I’ve really, really tried to like Friendfeed but it has never resonated. And as much as I recognize Facebook’s size and utility, I’m not an avid user.

To me, the Facebook-Friendfeed deal is sort of like striking out with the beautiful girl (aka Twitter) so you make the best of the situation by dating her not-as-beautiful friend (aka Friendfeed).

Who knows, maybe Facebook can revive Friendfeed, which has not only seen its growth plateau but start to decline. (See the Compete.com chart below. That said, I think anyone – such as Mashable’s Adam Ostrow – who thinks this new combination is a Twitter-killer is off the mark.

The integration of Friendfeed into Facebook will enhance Facebook’s features but it’s a niche deal as opposed to a game changer.

More: Mashable has a post on three reasons why Facebook bought Friendfeed. As well, J.D. Lasica posted a video of an interview he did with Friendfeed co-founder Paul Buchheit in 2007 about how Friendfeed was started.


Can URL Shorteners Make Money?

By Mark Evans in Social Media 5 Comments Tags: , , ,

(Update: tr.im will live to see another day as Nambu has decided to keep the URL shortening service alive after announcing earlier this week it was closing down. TechCrunch points out this the decision could still let Nambu sell the business.)

The URL-shortening market is a fascinating business, partly because a viable business model has yet to evolve despite their growing popularity.

For example, everyone loves bit.ly (especially after Twitter decided to make it the default URL shortener) but bit.ly is still trying to figure out how to make money – a news service is currently front and centre.

Given the absence of a business model and the lack of revenue, it should come as no surprise that a popular player has bit the dust. Nambu has decided to shut down tr.im after failing to find someone to take it over. (Update: bit.ly has offered to host tr.im’s URLs, according to Mashable.)

While it’s always unfortunate to see interesting start-ups disappear, the reality is no one is willing to pay for a URL shortening service.

If you’re bit.ly and lucky enough to find venture capital, you have the luxury of time to see if a business model can be created. If there’s no sugar daddy paying your bills, then it’s a business activity that can suck up time, resources and money.

Given this reality, it’s impressive that tinyurl.com (the Google of the URL shortening business) has been around for such a long time.

Of course, it helps that founder Kevin Gilbertson is a one-man operation content with make a living, while riding a unicycle in his spare time.

Maybe that’s the secret to a successful URL shortening business – you keep costs extremely low and generate enough revenue to operate a skeleton staff.

Here’s a snapshot of the leading URL shortening services, according to Compete.com. Of course, this only takes into account people within the U.S. who visit these Web sites.


Pay-Per-Play Newspapers Coming Soon

By Mark Evans in Media No Comments Tags: , , , , ,

Maybe I’m alone in the woods but it seems like it’s only a matter of time before newspapers – at least world-class newspapers – start charging for more of their content.

Case in point is the Financial Times, which plans to introduce a pay-per-view system for online content next summer, while exploring whether FT.com content should stay free. (The Guardian has more details on how the FT’s subscription model could evolve.)

It’s becoming obvious – at least to me – the online pendulum is swinging away from free. It may not swing all the way back to paid, but the free buffet is going to over soon because newspaper owners such as Rupert Murdoch have realized their investments aren’t viable under the current free system.

That said, not all newspapers are going to be able to charge for content, and newspapers will only be able to charge for certain content.

The newspapers that could implement pay-per-play would the FT, Wall St. Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, the Guardian and Telegraph.

And the chances of fee rather than free being successful would be enhanced if they climbed on the bandwagon at the same time.

Would you pay for online newspaper content, particularly if it was columns, features and in-depth stories?


The Obsession with Social Media and Teenagers

By Mark Evans in Social Media 5 Comments Tags: , , , ,

As social media tools and services become increasingly popular – heck, my parents are asking about this Twitter thing! – one of the more interesting developments is the angst among the digiterati that teenagers aren’t enthusiastic about social media.

Whether it’s Nielsen suggesting teenagers don’t like Twitter or an Ofcom report that teenagers are abandoning social media because older people are embracing it, there’s a palpable sense of anxiety that the young’uns aren’t doing what they’re supposed to be doing.

After all, social media is cool, hip and leading-edge so the teenagers should be all over it. Instead, they’re apparently leaving the scene while the rest of us are climbing on the bandwagon.

What does this say about social media? And what does it mean about the future?

If teenagers – the next generation who will have a huge influence on future trends – aren’t digging social media, does that means all the hype about social media is going to disappear? Is social media failing to resonate with teenagers because it’s not the way they want to communicate?

Maybe social media is becoming a medium dominated by marketers as opposed to a personal form of expression, which may explains why teenagers are so blase about it.

Maybe teenagers are just obsessed with text-messaging. Or maybe they’re turned off by anything their parents like. Or maybe teenagers are just fickle. Or maybe they lie when they’re asked about their social media habits.

What do you think? Is social media doomed because teenagers don’t like it?


The Beauty of the Trust Economy

By Mark Evans in Social Media 1 Comment Tags: , ,

A couple of true stories about the benefits and power of the Internet’s trust economy:

1. A few years ago, we wanted to buy a bicycle rack for our car but didn’t want to cough up $100 to $200 for a new one. We looked through Craigslist, and found someone selling one $20 but it meant driving to the heart suburbia to pick it up.

Well, $20 is a damn good deal so we agreed to meet at a coffee shop when the exchange would happen. Lo and behold, the person shows up with the bike rack, and happily takes my $20. Win-win.

2. Among other things, my wife is a master of home economics. In the last couple of years, she has rented our house while we go away on vacation – usually finding people on Craigslist.

Over the past few years, we’ve had families from The Netherlands, California and Spain, who have been happy to live in a comfortable house rather than stay at a hotel – and save lots of money.

As much as spam and scams tend to dominate the headlines when it comes to the Web, there’s a vibrant trust economy happening that never ceases to amaze.


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