Blu-ray beats HD-DVD

The gravitationally challenged female has sung. The hi-def disk format war is over. Sony's Blu-ray has vanquished Toshiba's HD-DVD and, in doing so, has evened the score after its spectacular Betamax flameout a generation ago.

Big news in technologyland often gets my phone ringing, and this time's no exception. Here's a roundup of some of the hi-def coverage I've had of late, as well as a smattering of other media hits (alas, no one's asking what I think about Fidel Castro's resignation or the future of Cuba now that he's solidifying his role as an Adidas track suit salesperson):

• The Canadian Press. Consumers will now be buying Blu-Ray DVDs; format war over. Byline LuAnn LaSalle. Also picked up by the CBC and the Ottawa Sun.

Analyst Carmi Levy said HD DVD players will make good DVD players because the average DVD will still look better when played on an HD DVD player.

"Technically, it's a very good device and it will do the job but it is essentially dead-end technology," said Levy, senior vice-president of strategic consulting at Toronto's AR Communications Inc.

"This will not be the centre of your future hi-def television."

• The Financial Post. Blu-Ray's Next Trial: The Internet. Byline David George-Cosh.

"A format war is not good for anyone," said Carmi Levy, senior vice-president of strategic consulting for AR Communications Inc. "It slows the evolution of the market down and forces people to the sideline when they really want to dive right in."

• The Financial Post. Engineer rallies ABCP investors on Facebook. Byline Jim Middlemiss

It's believed to be one of the first times that a social networking web site has been used in such a fashion in Canada. "This is the first time I've really seen individual investors or small investors using Facebook for a business related issue or goal," says Carmi Levy, senior vice-president, strategic consulting, at AR Communications Inc. in Toronto.

"This is where grassroots organization takes place today, on sites like Facebook. It allows you to rapidly assemble large groups of like-minded people in ways you simply could not accomplish using traditional tools such as email or instant messaging."

• The Toronto Star. Blog artist imitates a dark side of life: 90DayJane, who claims her suicide countdown blog is art, provokes a huge and often harsh reaction. Byline Stuart Laidlaw, Faith and Ethics Reporter

Throughout, there was speculation the site was a viral marketing tool for a movie or video game, something industry expert Carmi Levy said would likely backfire.

"At some point, a line is crossed," says Levy, a consultant with AR Communications. "Using suicide would likely be seen as going too far."

Tod said the same would likely apply to art.

Within days of the site being launched, other bloggers began linking to it and opening their own discussions about it.

Once something begins to take off on the Internet, Levy says, others jump on board to generate traffic to their own sites as a way to boost revenue.

"There's a self-serving aspect to a lot of the comments, the forum post and the blog posts," he says.

• InternetNews.com. Starbucks Wi-Fi gets sweeter. Byline Judy Mottl.
• InternetNews.com. A Black Eye For The BlackBerry? Byline Judy Mottl.
  

Perhaps the only real alternative is leaving the BlackBerry for another type of device and provider.

But the practicality of adopting an enterprise-wide backup in case of a RIM failure isn't a viable option for many, said Carmi Levy, senior vice-president of strategic consulting at AR Communications.

"Think of the cost of the device, another service subscription, the application work and integration work," Levy said. "That's a pretty steep price to pay to have a backup system for when and if RIM service takes a dip. It's like using a jackhammer to nail a picture on the wall."

• IT World Canada. Software designed to prevent identity theft. Byline Kathleen Lau. Also picked up by PC World Australia.

It's necessary that security measures be holistic, encompassing software, process and behavior, said Carmi Levy, senior vice-president of strategic consulting for AR Communications "It's one thing to implement the tool, it's a quite another to make sure all employees at all levels of the organization understand all the threats that expose the organization to unnecessary risk."

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