Web Concepts

Plex is media center software, from a startup of the same name, which integrates video content from local and online sources. Thus far, Plex has only been available for Mac OS X and iOS (for iPad, iPhone, iPod). But today LG announced that in 2011 it will integrate Plex into its range of Netcast-enabled HDTVs and Blu-ray devices, making Plex a video solution for mobile, PC and TV.

LG’s NetCast Entertainment Access System gives direct access to online video and audio content. Many of Plex’s current users attach a Mac Mini to their TV, but this is an expensive solution in comparison to having Plex built into the TV.

Using the same media software across multiple devices means users will be able to starting to watch a show on their iPhone and then picking up where they left off on their TV set. Plex also does some clever things like converting content from different codecs into the correct format for iOS when users try to access the content on, say an iPad. Plex’s iOS version launched a couple of days ago to a hyperbolic review on CrunchGear and a more measured one on PCWorld.

Plex started out as a hobby project for the company’s founders, who wanted to design the perfect video system for their own use, and it shares some history with Boxee, since both products were originally based on the same open source project, XBMC. Plex’s strategy differs from Boxee in that the company aims to get its software embedded into third-party entertainment products like TVs rather than making its own branded boxes.

Developers can create plugins using the Plex software development kit to add new content sources. The Plex user experience remains the same across all devices, regardless of the number or variety of plug-ins being used. It’s quite a lot of work for a company like LG to add support for a single content source like NetFlix to its web-connected TVs. Plex enables TV-makers to give viewers access to multiple (and extensible) content sources.

One of the problems with online video content is that many of the big content owners like HBO or NBC have their own PC and/or mobile applications, whereas most consumers would prefer a one-stop-shop where they can access all their favorite shows regardless of the source. There is also a big divide internationally. Services like Hulu and Netflix are only available in the US and have European equivalents like LoveFilm and SeeSaw so TV-makers have to integrate different content sources for different markets. Software like Plex might help with both of those issues.

Plex CEO Cayce Ullman declined to give me exact figures on user numbers but said that users are in the six figures. He did give me some data from a user survey of 3,000 Plex users (admittedly a year old) which shows that 54% used Plex daily and for more than 6 hours a week. 20% cut off or reduced their use of cable or satellite services because of Plex. Ullman also told me that Plex expects to announce partnerships with a couple of set-top vendors in the next few months. Plex was founded about 6 months ago in San Francisco, is privately funded and has 10 employees.

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Tags: iOS, Mac OS X, TV, Video

Companies: Lg, Plex

People: iOS, Mac OS X

Google Chrome may have been late to the browser game compared to Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera, and Safari, but in two short years it's managed to become a formidable option--maybe even the best browser around--and is gaining market share fast (up to 7.5% these days).

The most notable new features include a streamlined UI, form autofill, and extension syncing. The UI change is what will hit most users first. The already-sleek UI is trimmed down even more, reducing the two menu icons (the wrench and paper page) into just the one, and moving the "bookmark this page" icon into an interior menu.

Power users, or those who jaunt back and forth between computers, will love the extension sync feature, which keeps all of your extensions handy no matter what machine you're using. Extensions are synced just like bookmarks, preferences, and themes--just sign in, and it's like being at home. Same with the autofill form feature, making it easier to fill out the many forms that require all the same information.

The changes may be minor, but they're all welcome. If you haven't checked out Chrome, I'd really recommend it--it's my personal favorite browser, thanks to its speed, flexibility, lightweight size, and the do-everything search bar. The newest version of Chrome can be downloaded for free here.

Dan Nosowitz, the author of this post, can be followed on Twitter, corresponded with via email, and stalked in Brooklyn (no link for that one--you'll have to do the legwork yourself).

There isn't one.

Corporations don't have a conscience, people do.

That means that every time you say, "It's just my job," or "My department has a policy," or "All I do is work here," what you've done is abdicated responsibility--to no one.

It's convenient and even comfortable to blame the anonymous actions of many working in concert on a evanescent brand or organization, but that starts you on an inevitable race to the bottom. Organizations have more power than ever before. They are better synchronized, faster, and possess more tools to change the economy and the people in it than ever before. And the only option available to the rest of us is for individuals to take responsibility (it's not given) for what they do and how they do it.

The very same tools that permit organizations to synchronize their efforts are now available to you and to me. I guess the question is: will we use that power to humanize the systems we've created?

PS It's not just about being a good citizen: when bad behavior comes back to hurt the company, it hurts you, too.

Reprinted from Seth's Blog

Seth Godin has written twelve books that have been translated into more than thirty languages. Every one has been a bestseller. His latest book, LINCHPIN, hit the Amazon top 10 on the first day it was published and became a New York Times bestseller. His company, Squidoo.com, is ranked among the top 125 sites in the U.S. (by traffic) by Quantcast. Follow him at SethGodin.com or on Twitter @ThisIsSethsBlog.

Facebook is testing a new feature that allows any user to "subscribe to" another user. What with having hundreds of friends, multiple news feeds and only so many hours in the day, you might miss out on what your ex-girlfriend is doing these days--and that will not stand!

The "subscribe to" feature gives you notifications whenever someone to whom you've subscribed takes action on Facebook, from status updates to photo uploads to wall comments. The new feature doesn't seem to extend as far as Facebook Places check-ins--Facebook says it only applies to updated statuses and new content. Here's their statement:

Yes, this feature is being tested with a small percent of users. �It lets people subscribe to friends and pages to receive notifications whenever the person they’ve subscribed to updates their status or posts new content (photos, videos, links, or notes).

AllFacebook notes that while this is sort of creepy for individuals, it could be used to great (and less weird) effect with public pages (eds. note: Please stalk Fast Company on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/FastCompany). Imagine following a band, and never missing when that band sends out a Facebook message with new tour dates. You could see how business and other groups would find the feature pretty useful, especially since it distills the true fans from the casual ones who join every page.

In the wake of pretty much continuous privacy scandals, it's unclear how Facebook will make this feature seem palatable. It doesn't exactly allow anything that wasn't possible before, but it makes obsession much easier. Perhaps Facebook would implement a way for users to approve subscribers?

In any case, the feature is merely being tested now, and may or may not ever be implemented for the general public. How do you all feel? Is this a valuable new tool, or a step over the line into creepiness?

Dan Nosowitz, the author of this post, can be followed on Twitter, corresponded with via email, and stalked in Brooklyn (no link for that one--you'll have to do the legwork yourself).

Huawei, famous mainly for 3G computing peripherals, is trying its hand at smartphones--and it's latest effort is pretty distinctive: It's bringing the smartphone to entry-level markets.

Huawei doesn't mess around in describing the phone. The Ideos is championed as "an affordable smartphone powered by the latest iteration of Android 2.2." And one of the headline facts is its price: "Between $100 and $200, depending on the market."

The smartphone is slowly but surely taking over the handheld world, and Huawei could be accused of attempting to pull a Nokia maneuver by aiming at the lowest common denominator. Ideos, however, is designed to "redefine" the entry-level smartphone concept by "combining high-quality hardware and software with a high price-to-performance ratio."

Here's how Huawei is going to do it. The phone is going to be available in a bunch of colors (black, yellow, blue, and purple) to appeal to the stereotypical youth market. It's got the ability to act as a Mi-Fi-like Wi-Fi router for up to eight devices (versus the Mi-Fi's five). We're imagining a huddle of younger WoW players in a coffee shop here, making the most of someone's Ideos' 7.2Mbps download speeds. In the press info, Huawei highlights functions like voice dialing, voice navigation, and apps running off the SD-card as well as 70,000 applications on the Android Market--all features coming from adopting the Google operating system. And Huawei's trick has certainly been to refine the design of the hardware to keep component costs lower, and including the free OS will have helped with this. The company hasn't skimped though--even while the capacitive screen is just 2.8-inches, there's a 3.2-megapixel camera, GPS and 802.11 n wireless compatibility.

You know what? This kind of sounds like the Nexus One, reinvented.

To keep up with this news, follow me, Kit Eaton, on Twitter.

Google's "Don't Be Evil" motto has become increasingly controversial in the past year as the Internet giant made private GMail contacts public with Google Buzz, collected personal information from Wi-Fi networks in Street View vehicles, and most recently teamed with with Verizon to hammer out questionable net neutrality policies. While it's possible (and maybe even probable) that none of this was done with malicious intent, Google's capacity to invade our privacy is scary. That's why Consumer Watchdog, a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization, took to Times Square this week to protest Google's privacy invasions.

Consumer Watchdog's Times Square ad, which is visible on the 540-square-foot Jumbotron, portrays Google CEO Eric Schmidt as a creepy character in a Google-branded ice cream truck that drives down a street while collecting personal information from children. Text at the bottom encourages viewers to text a telephone number for more information (spoiler: the text results in a reply asking for your name and email address to "help stop Google from invading your online privacy!").

It's a move that will draw attention to Google's ham-handed privacy blunders from people who might not have otherwise been aware of them. That's a good thing for consumers, but Google might want to gear up for damage control. Check out Consumer Watchdog's full investigation into Google here, and watch the Times Square ad below.

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Ariel Schwartz can be reached on Twitter or by email.

EBay is perhaps the ultimate online destination for used goods, so it only makes sense that the site is taking its hand-me-down sensibilities a step further with the eBay Box: a shipping container designed to be sent from sellers to buyers and back until the container becomes a soggy heap of post-recycled mud. The box, which is made out of 100% FSC-certified material, features water-based inks and requires minimal tape to close.

The box idea was the grand prize winner at eBay's annual Innovation Expo, a celebration of creative ideas from eBay employees. Designed for "simple green shipping," eBay believes that a single box reused five times could save nearly 4,000 trees, 2.4 million gallons of water, and conserve enough energy to juice up 49 homes for a year.

EBay will send out a pilot run of 100,000 boxes in October to all sellers who request them. Recipients can log on to a special website to report on the status of their boxes (and track them as they move from place to place), and after a few months, eBay will evaluate the program and figure out how to proceed.

We love the idea, but have one little concern: bedbugs. The little critters are becoming an increasingly large problem in the U.S., and sending nook and cranny-filled boxes from house to house seems like an easy way to spread bedbugs far and fast. Let's hope we're wrong--this is an idea that deserves expedited delivery.

Ariel Schwartz can be reached on Twitter or by email.