The Pipeline: Akimbo reviewed, playlists mixed
Each week, the Pipeline looks at the mainstream media, and reports back on it so you don't have to get ink on your fingers. Here are this week's findings.
If you're a regular visitor to Engadget (and we assume you are), you already know that this week marked the official launch of the Akimbo IPTV service, and you can catch our review here. The mainstream media took a look at it as well, and generally had the same concerns we did: Akimbo's limited programming currently makes the service less-than-compelling, unless you're really into one of the niche programming categories available via Akimbo. As Stephen Wildstrom of BusinessWeek sums it up, "Akimbo content is a melange of mainstream programming and channels designed to appeal to small, highly specialized audiences. ... For people who already have cable, such meager offerings don't provide much incentive to add Akimbo as well. The appeal lies in supplying something different. Cable and satellite systems have limited capacity, so every channel has to justify taking up space by appealing to a pretty large number of viewers. The narrowcasting economics of an IPTV system are different. With unlimited channels, even programming that appeals to thousands of viewers, rather than millions, can make sense if it sells some subscriptions." Wildstrom sees the potential of Akimbo to reach underserved viewers, and also sees the Akimbo box eventually vanishing, to be replaced by a software-based service built into your cable box or DVR. With our TV cabinet already buckling under the weight of the cable box, DVR, DVD player and other assorted boxes we've forgotten how to use (is that VHS deck still hooked up?), we couldn't agree more.
David Pogue of The New York Times also checks out Akimbo this week, and sees the potential of the service ? though he focuses mainly on the limits of the current service: ?Akimbo?s library is laughable. As Akimbo?s Web site puts it, the list includes AdvenTV, ?the first on-demand Turkish station in the U.S.?; Veg TV, ?vegetarian cooking instruction?; and Skyworks, ?helicopter flights over the most spectacular landscapes of Britain.? ... Some cable networks have contributed material, including Turner Classic Movies, CNN, A&E, Cartoon Network, Food Network, the BBC and National Geographic. The selection is limited to a few series from each network, but at least they are not Turkish sitcoms.? Pogue also hits Akimbo for having buggy software and a confusing pricing structure. The former issue should be addressed by updates later this year; the latter may only be solved by shaking up the content companies and getting them to agree to a clear and equitable pricing plan (as Pogue says, ?Where?s Steve Jobs when you need him??).
Wildstrom - From The Internet To Your TV
Pogue - TV?s Future Is Here, but It Needs Work
Also of note:
Steven Levy of Newsweek takes a look at MusicMagic Mixer, which analyzes your music library and creates playlists that match your current tastes after you pick just one ?seed? song (a version of the software is also available built into some audio players, like the Entempo Rubato), as well as MoodLogic, which does the same thing, but does it through collaborative filtering rather than algorithms. Levy comes away impressed: ?Yes, I know that my enjoyment comes largely because the universe of songs I?m working from are all self-selected favorites. ... Yet surprisingly often, I get the same satori-esque chills that I did in the days when FM DJs were the oracles of the air.?
Digital DJs Are Turning the Tables
Walt Mossberg at The Wall Street Journal follows David Pogue and provides his guide to ultralight digicams this week. His picks: the Kodak EasyShare V550 and the Canon PowerShot SD500.
