Thoughts from the Shelf

Google’s new Street View service was this week given the go ahead in the UK after the service was given the okay forms the privacy watchdog. The service had attracted opposition from civil liberties campaigners concerned that that the service would infringe on individual’s right to privacy and break data protection laws.

The Street View system will take photos of streets at ground level to provide users of Google maps with a ground level view of the location they are viewing.

The information commissioner said in a statement that it was “satisfied” Google had put safeguards in place to avoid risking anyone’s privacy or safety. These safeguards include blurring the faces of people and number plates of vehicles.

The statement read - “Although it is possible that in certain limited circumstances an image may allow the identification of an individual, it is clear that Google are keen to capture images of streets and not individuals.”

It was also reiterated that due to the time delay between picture and update to the web, the service could not be used as a tracking tool.

The Street View tool has already been launched in the US in 2007 with ground views of a selection of major cities. It has since expanded it reach and is now looking to expand the service internationally.

Street View cars have been seen throughout the UK but Google has yet to reveal when pictures will be added to UK maps.

Google said of the ruling - “We’ve always said we will not launch in UK until we are comfortable Street View complies with local law,” they added, “and that we will use technology, like face-blurring, licence plate blurring and operational controls, such as image removal tools, so Street View remains useful and in keeping with local norms wherever it is available.”

Early in 2008 Apple announced the launch of the 32GB iPod Touch to the extremely popular 8GB and 16 GB range. Knowing the new iPod Touch is due to be launched in the future is not breaking news, however some sources are reporting that there are new clues suggesting significant developments will be made in the new model.

It is being reported today that there are references being made to an Apple iPod Touch 2,1, which would insinuate a big step forward in the devices capabilities.

Currently the iPod Touch models are know as 1,1 the same group as the first generation iPhone. With the addition of models carrying extra capacity the group number is not usually altered, as was the case in January with the launch of the 32GB version.

Instead these numbers are often changed when the device launched has new features, such as the iPhons’s 3G model is now know as 1,2.

This certainly goes a long way to argue that the new iPod Touch will carry more features. What features these might be remain guarded, but with the recent launch of the new iPhone ant iPod Touch developments are bound not to overshadow that.

Some are expecting the addition of GPS with potentially a 64GB memory.

Electronics firm Pioneer have developed a new 16 layer read only optical disc that has the capacity to store 400 gigabytes of data.

Each layer of the disc is capable of individually storing 25 gigabytes which is the same as that of a Blu-ray disc. The multilayer recording technology will also be applicable to recordable discs, boosting confidence that optical disc storage will remain a viable option in the future as increased storage capacities are required.

By using optical disc production technology that the firm has already has in place in the DVD field, pioneer has overcome problems of crosstalk from adjacent layers by using a new disc structure. This results in a 16 layer optical disc capable of playing back high-quality signals from every layer.

Pioneer achieved stability in the playback of recorded signals by employing a wide-range spherical aberration compensator and light-receiving element that can read out weak signals at a high signal-to-noise ratio in the optical pick-up mechanism.

Since the optical specifications of the objective lens, such as NA (Numerical Aperture), are the same as those for the existing BD discs, it is possible to maintain compatibility between the new 16-layer optical disc and the BD discs.

In our second post from this year’s E3 games conference in Los Angeles we look at what leading games manufacturer Nintendo is planning next for its market leading console the Wii.

Nintendo it seems have responded after Sony made claims earlier this week that the Wii console was an expensive novelty, and that Sony did not see it as future competition to its own console.

The response came in the form of a demonstration of the consoles latest add on called MotionPlus, an addition to the Wii controller that is intended to add more realism and depth to the games on offer.

“It renders every light shift of the wrist or arm into the gameplay.” - Nintendo America boss Reggie Fils-Aime

With the demonstration the firm also said that even the first Wii sports title took advantage of the new add-on.

The company also unveiled a Grand Theft Auto game in development for the DS console and a new Wii title, called Music, which sees gamers play more than 50 musical instruments by using the Wiimote motion-sensitive controller.

Selling more than 10 million consoles since its launch, the Nintendo Wii is currently the market leader. The company have also sol 70 million DS machines worldwide.

Nintendo stated that it was selling 200,000 units a week in Europe alone.

Earlier this week we wrote about how Sony have plans to release a larger version of the PS3 and push online gaming with the planned launch of Little Big Planet’, a social-networking game that can be played online through the two-year-old console.

Sony also intends to push the Blu-ray capability of its system with a series of movie download services due to launch.

Today a new report has been released that cites there are now more reasons to justify buying a PlayStation 3 than there are to buy rival gaming console the Xbox360.

In 2007 the Sony console lost out to its rival in terms of sales, however 2008 sales statistics show that the PS3 is gaining significantly on Microsoft’s offering. In the first five months of the year Sony have put the increased sales down to new games released exclusive to its platform, such as that of the popular title ‘Metal Gear Solid 4’.

The Sony console has also seen a rise in sales thanks to the victory of Blu-ray as a dominant high definition DVD format after Toshiba’s HD-DVD was dropped by a series of Hollywood studios early this year to be replaced by its Sony rival. (The Blu-ray vs HD DVD Format War)

“For the first time since the console launched, I really think there’s more reason to buy a PS3 than the 360” - Todd Greenwald, Signal Hill Capital Group analyst.

The rivalry between the two console formats will be sure to heat up later this week as console makers and game publishers meet for the E3 Business and Media Summit in LA. At the conference Sony plans to demonstrate the DVD capability of the PS3, as well demonstrating ‘Little Big Planet’, a social-networking game that can be played online through the two-year-old console.

In an effort to increase the appeal of its console Microsoft plans to triple the storage capacity of the Xbox360, selling 60 GB consoles in August, whilst keeping the starting price the same at $349.

Being introduced a year prior to the PS3 and Wii in 2005 gave the Xbox a 12 month head start, however it is the case that over the last 15 months, 14 of them have seen more Wii consoles shifted than Xbox 360’s or PS3’s.

With each console sold also comes hundreds of extra dollars in revenue of boxed games, downloads, and royalties from third party game developers.

“This battle (between the PS3 and Xbox360) for second place is quite relevant, they lose revenue stream for years ahead based on what people buy.” - Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter

In the first five months of 2008 Nintendo sold 2.8 million units compared to 1.2 million PS3 unit and 1.12 million Xbox360 units.

That said Sony doesn’t see Nintendo as a competitor as the console doesn’t offer the broad range of services its console does, such as the ability to watch movies and access the internet.

“I don’t see it as a competitor. It’s more of an expensive niche game device. We’re selling a lot of PlayStation 3s now and it’s still the best way to buy a Blu-ray player.” - Sony Chief Executive Officer Howard Stringer