At a cable industry gathering earlier this week, News Corp. founder and CEO Rupert Murdoch opined that more newspapers should take a cue from the Wall Street Journal and have customers pay for content. He thinks The New York Times in particular could benefit from making such a premium move. Meanwhile, over on the Nieman Journalism Lab Blog, Martin Langeveld tries to make the case that the more they charge, the less money the newspaper companies will make.

They’re both interesting theories, especially considering that advertising on the web has thus far proven to be the one big winner. Down in Austin, Texas, Trilogy, a once-high-flying startup, is “reinventing the newspaper business for the Internet Age,” with a venture-backed online newspaper. I wonder what you guys think: Will you pay for content on the web? If yes, what kind of content? And no, porn doesn’t count.

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Europe Struggles With Three Strikes, Fox Exec Wants It Anyway NewTeeVee – by Janko Roettgers "; Desert Bus For Hope Rides Again for the Third Year NewTeeVee – by Liz Shannon Miller "; Smartbook No More — What Should We Call Them? jkOnTheRun – by James Kendrick "; Dealing With the Avalanches In Life and Business WebWorkerDaily – by Amber Riviere ";

Posted by Om Malik on GigaOM  |  Permalink  |  33 Comments

UPDATED: Ever since I broke up with my iPhone, not a day passes without me hearing from someone who shares the same sentiments about AT&T’s network. AT&T, of course, has done little more than hem and haw about the problem, which is much more widespread than we think.

This week at our Green:Net conference, a number of people came up to me to share their frustration with the iPhone/AT&T 3G network; most said they switch to the slower EDGE and/or Wi-Fi in order to use their iPhone. So in an attempt to gauge the extent of the problem, we have created a poll/survey. Update: To be clear, we have issued this in an effort to understand the extent/nature of the problems that folks are having with the AT&T iPhone. If you are happy with it, please fill out only the questions that reflect that and skip the ones that don’t apply to you. We will present the results in context.

Poll is now closed.

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Posted by Om Malik on GigaOM  |  Permalink  |  62 Comments
Tags: 3G, AT&T, HSDPA, HSPA, iPhone, Wireless Broadband

Microsoft has launched its largest consumer marketing campaign focused on the broad potential of Windows across PCs, the web and mobile devices to date. The reviews are in — the blogging corps have given it a thumbs down. I kinda found it funny, but then I love everything Jerry does. And Bill Gates acts almost human. However, if the ad is trying to engage me about Microsoft and Windows, I give it an “F.” What do you think? Take the poll and share your thoughts.

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Posted by Om Malik on GigaOM  |  Permalink  |  19 Comments
Tags: Bill Gates, Jerry Seinfeld, Microsoft

Earlier this evening, Apple sent out an email to Mobile Me subscribers, giving us free 60-days of service in acknowledgement of outages and poor performance that had plagued the service earlier this summer, leading to a lot of complaints. Earlier, the company had offered a free 30-day extension to MobileMe subscribers. In some ways I was a tad mollified by this latest offer.

The offer, ironically came hours after I asked people who follow me on Twitter if they were frustrated with Apple’s support. What prompted me to ask that question was that a couple of friends emailed complaining about long wait times on the phone to get help with their iPhones. One of them is a life-long Apple user and his anger was quite telling. Anyway, the replies on Twitter came thick and fast. A few had no complaints, some were willing to put up, but there were quite few who were not shy about their dissatisfaction with the support service.

These problems shouldn’t be a surprise: the company has gone from making just computers to a slew of devices, including the iPhone, a mass-market product. It has increased the number of problems that crop up with various devices, putting a lot of stress on Apple’s support system. For me personally, a visit to the Apple store typically solves all the problem — or they replace the device (iPod for example) itself. Anyway, I wanted to take a poll and get your read on Apple’s support system.

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Posted by Om Malik on GigaOM  |  Permalink  |  28 Comments
Tags: AAPL, Apple, MobileMe

Warning: This story is meant for our U.S. readers only. As many of you already know, I am giving Olympics the miss and perhaps that is why I am not familiar with the daily coverage on NBC and its online properties. The Olympics apparently have proved to be a bonanza for the company. The Peacock Network CEO Jeff Zucker thinks the viewership number of Olympics prove that network television is still dominant. Mattew Ingram says not so fast, buddy, because Olympics come around once every four years. What about rest of the years… when viewership is declining, because somehow viewers can’t make must-see-TV.

Unfortunately, not everyone seems to be pleased with NBC’s coverage — too many ads, inane and bland commentary and time-delay tactics have got people hopping mad. While Zucker seems to be crowing about how well the Olympics are doing online, Rafat Ali of PaidContent points out that Yahoo’s Olympics section beat out NBCOlympics.com, and sees it as a missed opportunity, thanks to what is described as “bottled excitement.” Russell Beattie, a good friend, pointed out in his typical no-bullshit style that NBC has ruined the Olympics. “What should be a privilege for a national broadcaster has been turned into an extortion racket, holding the Olympics hostage with all of us paying the ransom,” he wrote. NewTeeVee’s Chris Albrecht added, “This could have been a golden moment for online video — too bad NBC just couldn’t stick the landing.”

What grade would you give the NBC coverage, both on TV and on the Internet? Take our poll and leave a comment.

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Posted by Om Malik on GigaOM  |  Permalink  |  60 Comments
Tags: Beijing Olympics, GE, NBC, Yahoo, yhoo

So in a couple of days the iPhone 3G is going to go on sale. Like many of you I am going to get this device as part of my duties as an intrepid reporter (and a shameless Apple-holic.) However, if you are rational, then you might want to read these reviews by the big three tech writers and their take on the iPhone 3G before you decide to hand over your credit card to the sales people.

• Walt Mossberg/WSJ: “I found it to be a more capable version of an already excellent device. And now that it’s open to third-party programs, the iPhone has a chance to become a true computing platform with wide versatility….if you can live with the higher service costs and the weaker battery life.”

• Edward Baig/USA Today: “With GPS newly added to the mix, this handheld marvel has no equal among consumer-oriented smart phones. While not everything on my wish list made it onto the new device, Apple has raised the bar with iPhone 3G. To which I offer an enthusiastic thumbs up.”

• David Pogue/NYTimes: “It’s not so much better that it turns all those original iPhones into has-beens. Indeed, the really big deal is the iPhone 2.0 software and the App Store, neither of which requires buying a new iPhone.”

I am sensing some hesitation on the part of the these reviewers. And now that you have read their reviews, are you still interested in buying the iPhone 3G.

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Posted by Om Malik on GigaOM  |  Permalink  |  37 Comments
Tags: 3G, Apple, iPhone

“iPhone, till now, has not exactly been video-friendly,” writes Liz over on NewTeeVee. And that is a damn shame because the screen is pretty awesome and made for enjoying video-on-the-go.

However there seems to be a thought that the new version with video features and 3G could change that. “I personally haven’t been persuaded by the touch-screen dream machine yet, but I’m thinking this could be my moment. How about you?,” Liz asks. Take our poll, and answer her question.

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Posted by Om Malik on GigaOM  |  Permalink  |  8 Comments
Tags: 3G, Apple, iPhone

While not so uncommon overseas, bandwidth caps and metered broadband are coming to the US market place. Time Warner is the first major cable company to announce its metered broadband strategy & prices for a small Texas market, in what can be described as draconian.

We have written about Bend Broadband of Oregon resorting to such tricks. Comcast, recently proposed bandwidth caps as well. What it means: get ready to pay more and get less for broadband. Will this spur into action, and switch ISPs or look for alternatives. Take our poll and share your opinion.

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Posted by Om Malik on GigaOM  |  Permalink  |  26 Comments
Tags: Bend Broadband, Comcast, Metered Broadband, Time Warner Cable

PC Advisor, a UK-based magazine, reports that Cisco Systems (CSCO) may phase out its Linksys brand all together, making the company it acquired in March 2003 for $500 million a product category, according to Cisco’s VP of SMB solutions marketing, Rick Moran.

Last year, Cisco CEO John Chambers ruffled some feathers when he made similar kill Linksys noises. (See YouTube video) The idea is to simplify the product lines and branding. I wonder if it is such a good idea? In small biz and SOHO markets, Linksys is more well-known than Cisco. Moreover, this goes against Cisco’s strategy to woo the consumers. Have your say in our poll, below the fold.

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Posted by Om Malik on GigaOM  |  Permalink  |  16 Comments
Tags: Cisco, Linksys, SMB, SOHO, Wireless Routers

The Wall Street Journal reports that a growing number of companies are thinking about blocking online videos in the workplace — blaming productivity loss and clogged pipes for such a draconian line of thinking. Folks at NewTeeVee are in a tizzy about this. “Online video is a great way for workers to kill five minutes in between soul-crushing meetings and memos,” writes Chris. Are companies overreacting? Or do they have a legitimate gripe? Take our poll and let us know what you REALLY think![poll]

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Posted by Om Malik on GigaOM  |  Permalink  |  11 Comments

Apple has introduced new versions of it notebooks — Macbook & Macbook Pro — with a little more speed, more hard drive and memory, but the same price. Tell me you are as underwhelmed as me by this announcement. These speed bumps are business as usual in the PC business, thanks to Moore’s Law.

The new MBPs have a trackpad with Multi-Touch gesture support similar to that of the Macbook Air, but that’s all. I was hoping for a redesign of Macbook Pro. And the new notebooks use Intel Core Duo 2 Penryn processors, which makes me wonder: Will the new machines run cooler? (Frankly I will settle for cool enough for mobile computing.) And will they have better battery life, as suggested by Intel’s claims of energy efficiency?

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Posted by Om Malik on GigaOM  |  Permalink  |  23 Comments
Tags: Apple, Macbook, Macbook Pro

Mac-erati are busy debating about the virtues of the supermodel skinny. John Gruber, who was a bit lukewarm earlier, compares MacBook Air to a convertible coupe and writes, “it’s a secondary car, but for anyone without kids and with no need for significant storage space, it works just fine as their only car.”

David Heinemeier Hansson, the brains behind Ruby on Rails is impressed as well. “Dismissing it as merely a 3rd computer vanity accessory, as I’ve seen many do, is misguided and not based on actually using one for a longer period of time,” he writes.

Of course, there is the other view. Being less of a web-app zealot as others, I am still on the fence on this one, and even after using the Macbook Air for close to two weeks, I still can’t make up my mind – whether to keep using it as my only machine or pair it with the MacBook.

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Posted by Om Malik on GigaOM  |  Permalink  |  61 Comments
Tags: Apple, Macbook Air

The Wall Street Journal reports that Google is about to announce an online storage space. Some call it GDrive, and I see it as a vital component of Google Computing Cloud. Regardless, instead of obsessing over the minutiae, I want to know what you folks specifically think about it. Take this poll and let us know.

[poll]

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Posted by Om Malik on GigaOM  |  Permalink  |  14 Comments
Tags: Gdrive, google, online storage

Google’s apparently thinking that by attracting developers they can give Android, their mobile phone platform, the best chance at success. Targeting developers, though, is not the only way to find success with new technology: some companies succeed by going directly after users while others ride on waves of hype.

Apple chose user-led success with the iPhone, spurning developers with a closed platform. Yes, there’s hype involved, but it seems secondary to Apple’s legendary reputation for giving users what they didn’t even know they wanted.

Maybe Facebook is an example of success-via-developers? Though they have attracted thousands of application builders to their platform, the applications themselves seem less magnetic for users than the ambient Facebook hype that draws people in.

Technology platform vendors need users, developers, and hype — that’s clear. But which is most important?

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Posted by Anne Zelenka on GigaOM  |  Permalink  |  12 Comments
Tags: Apple, facebook, google

The long-awaited and much-derided NBC (GE) and News Corp (NWS) joint venture Hulu will make a somewhat public debut this week, opening up a private beta tonight of its web video service and initiating distribution of its movies, TV shows, and mashups on AOL (TWX), Comcast (CMCSA), MSN (MSFT), MySpace, and Yahoo (YHOO). Full report on NewTeeVee.com. Will it be able to beat YouTube and other players in the online video portal game? Take our poll (below the fold)

Related & Previous Coverage of Hulu: Big Media vs YouTube & Google: Smart or Not. Also: NBC confirms pulling YouTube content for Hulu and No more NBC shows on iTunes Mad Money & Battle For The 10th Spot NewCo now has new CEO Is NewCo really worth a billion dollars? NewCo: Nuts & Bolts from an Insider.

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Posted by Om Malik on GigaOM  |  Permalink  |  12 Comments
Tags: Hulu, NBC, News Corp, NewTeeVee, YouTube

It is becoming increasingly obvious: Big media companies (content owners) are lining up against YouTube & Google (GOOG), and are coming up with their own strategies for online video. Today, NBC (GE) confirmed to NewTeeVee that it pulled its content off YouTube in a shift towards its own service, a joint venture with News Corp. (NWS) called Hulu.

Last week, after Google launched a new way to identify and prevent copyright infringement, a newly formed coalition said it had come up with its own anti-piracy proposals. There is a clearly fear of Google on the part of large content companies, while at the same time, a desire to build their own online video properties.

It is no surprise that NBC, Viacom (VIA) and others are taking this inward-looking approach. For decades they have married their content to their distribution channels via traditional cable and satellite television. Their approach is merely an extension of that paradigm — though one I don’t necessarily agree with.

It is my belief that these companies are in the business of content, not distribution. Offering their content on their own properties may give them a lift in terms of page views, but at the same time they also run the risk of losing the audience that simply seeks out such content on sites such as YouTube. (I am not even going to touch the fact that this will be yet another place where we will go looking for videos.)

My opinions aside, what do you think? Take our poll, or leave your comments.

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Posted by Om Malik on GigaOM  |  Permalink  |  23 Comments
Tags: google, Hulu, NBC, Viacom