Plus the Googler rewriting Bitcoin, India's smartphone, MIDI's long life, and more
A burst of 12 links for you to chew over, as picked by the Technology team
Ex-Googler gives the world a better Bitcoin >> Wired.com
Charles Lee was a software engineer at Google, spending his days hacking networking code for the search giant's new-age operating system, ChromeOS. But in his spare time, he rewrote Bitcoin, the world's most popular digital currency.
Early one October morning two years ago, Lee unleashed his project, Litecoin, onto an online universe that was still coming to terms with its more famous progenitor, and though Litecoin is still firmly rooted in the Bitcoin code base, it has found a place in the world, showing just how strong the appetite is for a new breed money.
Bitcoin has had an extraordinary run this year, but if you'd sunk your money into Litecoin instead of Bitcoin on January 1, it would have done better.
The pitfalls of geekdom: there's always going to be a new thing to splurge on.
February 2013: Study finds that streaming and spyware are killing music piracy >> Forbes
From February: Alex Knapp:
"Among other factors, the increased use of legal and licensed streaming services has proven to be an alternative for music fans who formerly used P2P networks to obtain music," said NPD senior vice president Russ Crupnick in a press release.
What's interesting to me is that streaming isn't just killing downloads. 44% of the survey respondents indicated that they'd also stopped ripping CDs from friends and family. Which makes sense. Why bother if you have on-demand access?
Another major factor is somewhat related to litigation – 20% of users reported that they'd stopped illegally downloading music either because their favorite site was shut down, or because the sites that are around now are so underground that they're filled with viruses and spyware.
(Thanks #GambaKufu for the link.)
Sistema India opts for Chinese smartphones, skips iPhone >> WSJ
Dmitry Shukov, chief executive at Sistema Shyam Teleservices Ltd., told The Wall Street Journal it decided not to carry the iPhone because Apple sets a floor for unit sales, making it more challenging to sell the smartphone because Sistema Shyam operates on the less popular CDMA mobile standard.
Apple sells phones running CDMA or code division multiple access technology through other channels in India. Of India's 867.80m wireless users, only 73.18m were on CDMA networks at end-March, data from the telecom regulator showed.
(Thanks #rquick for the link.)
The MIDI revolution: synthesizing music for the masses >> NPR
"The idea was, it didn't have to be perfect. We wanted something everyone could agree on and then we wanted to give it away because we wanted to make sure it became universally adopted," [Dave] Smith says. "I don't even remember discussing much about the possibility of charging royalties or licensing fees. It was just assumed that we would give it away."
Today, that decision has allowed MIDI to travel far. In addition to music, MIDI is also used to control light shows and animatronics. It was used to generate ring tones in early cellphones. What was first used to link one synthesizer to another is now used to control the synchronized fountains at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas.
Apple's mistake >> Lefsetz Letter
Back when the iPhone ruled smartphones, if Apple had introduced a streaming service they could have ensured the iPhone's dominance. It would be a reason to stick with Apple. But now Spotify's available everywhere and even Amazon sells a healthy percentage of MP3s, while testing the streaming waters with its Prime service.
In tech, if you don't dominate, if you don't have almost all of the market share, you're on your way to marginalization. Which is why Apple is faltering and YouTube is dominating in music. If I've got YouTube, why do I need Spotify?
That's what the Swedish company has to convince people. That they need to pay for the service.
As for the musicians complaining about payouts, ignore them completely, they're wasting their breath, the battle has been fought and the war is over, streaming already won.
Ain't that typical. Ignorant old school purveyors bitching about something they know nothing about. To rail against streaming services on any level is to complain that you can't buy a car without a catalytic converter, to insist that Tesla must not exist because it hurts Chevron and Exxon.
Radiation Dosage Chart >> Information Is Beautiful
On this updated chart, Fukushima isn't looking like a great place for your next holiday. (Surprising comparison also found in chart: mammograms and Chernobyl. You'll have to look at it.)
A great big phone: Samsung Galaxy Mega review >> Gadget Writing
Tim Anderson tries Samsung's 6.3.in phablet:
[The Mega] is highly capable; but I hesitate to recommend it unless the combination of a large screen and a smartphone is perfect for you; if you do lots of web browsing, email and YouTube, but not many phone calls, or if your eyesight is such that having everything a bit larger is an advantage, it could be just the thing.
The disappointment is that Samsung has not made more sense of the large screen. The Multi-Window feature is not good, and in the end it just feels like a big phone. The fact that its spec is well behind that of the Galaxy S4 is another disadvantage.
The Galaxy Mega also exhibits the Samsung/Android problem of duplicated functionality, contributing to a user experience that is less tidy and more confusing than it needs to be.
HTC execs detained over leaked trade secrets; shares tumble| Reuters
Three HTC design executives were arrested on suspicion of leaking trade secrets, sending the Taiwanese smartphone maker's shares tumbling on Monday as its troubles deepened amid a wave of senior staff departures and disappointing sales.
Taipei prosecutors confirmed that HTC vice president of product design Thomas Chien, research and development director Wu Chien-Hung and senior manager of design and innovation Justin Huang were arrested on Friday.
Chien and Chien-Hung remain in custody, while Huang was released on bail, prosecutors office spokesman Mou Hsin Huang said.
The executives were also accused of making false commission fee claims totaling around T$10 million ($334,200). No further details about the allegations were immediately available.
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