Hasta La Gadget!

Two acquisitions in as many days? Say it ain’t so! Prior to even unboxing Phonetic Arts, Google has now snapped up Seattle-based Widevine. Truth be told, you’re probably taking advantage of the company’s technology without even being aware of it — it’s used in over 250 million web connected HDTVs and streamers around the globe, and it’s primarily designed to thwart piracy attempts while enabling consumers to enjoy content on a wider array of devices. As these things tend to do, neither outfit is talking prices, but it’s fairly obvious why El Goog would want a firm like this in its portfolio. Moreover, it’s borderline comical that Viacom’s pushing an appeal in order to pit Google as an anti-studio, pro-piracy monster while it’s spending hard-earned cash on a DRM layer. At any rate, Google’s not getting into specific plans just yet, only stating its intentions to maintain Widevine’s agreements, provide support for existing and future clients as well as “building upon [the technology] to enhance both Widevine’s products and its own.”

Google spends a few more million, picks up Widevine DRM software firm originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 05 Dec 2010 13:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Don’t ever knock Google for not reinvesting a little of that cheddar it’s stacking in Mountain View. Barely two months after pulling the trigger on BlindType, El Goog has now sunk an undisclosed amount of money into Phonetic Arts, described as a speech synthesis company based in Cambridge, England. Naturally, Google’s been toiling around the clock in an effort to better its speech technologies, and it looks as if it could be cutting out quite a few months (or years) of work with this one purchase. Phonetic Arts was known for being on the “cutting edge of speech synthesis, delivering technology that generates natural computer speech from small samples of recorded voice,” and we get the impression that the team will be given clearance badges to enter Google’s London-based engineering facility shortly. The company’s own Mike Cohen is hoping that this will help us “move a little faster towards that Star Trek future” — frankly, we’re hoping to have Jack Donaghy’s voice become the de facto standard in under a year. We hear some dudes at 30 Rock are already toying with a prototype…

Google acquires speech synthesis outfit Phonetic Arts, plans to use Jack Donaghy’s voice for everything originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 04 Dec 2010 08:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ready or not, Comcast and NBC will walk down the aisle in matrimony — but it’ll not be without a few conditions. According to The Wall Street Journal, both the FCC and the Justice Department are expected to impose conditions on how NBC online video is distributed online, to ensure the cable operator (with online video distribution channels of its own) doesn’t withhold or threaten to withhold NBC Universal content from rivals — both Netflix and Apple are specifically cited by WSJ. The FCC is additionally considering restrictions on Comcast slowing down / blocking “legal traffic” from its internet network, maintaining a pro-net neutrality stance. Chairman Julius Genachowski is currently meeting with staffers twice a week on the deal, with the timetable of circulating proposed conditions by mid-December — narrowly avoiding sweeps week, unless 30 Rock has an idea or two up its Kabletown-owned sleeve.

FCC, Justice Department look to prevent Comcast from hogging NBC’s online video all for itself originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Nov 2010 15:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Like any two technology behemoths, Adobe and Microsoft have certainly had their ups and downs. But now that Google and Apple are looming over them in a number of ways, it seems as if the two may be courting one another in order to help re-level the playing field. According to a New York Times report — which was crafted after collecting reports from “employees and consultants to the companies who were involved in the discussions that took place” — Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen recently met at the latter’s headquarters for a closed-door meeting. Purportedly, the meeting went on for over an hour and covered a variety of topics, with one of ’em being Apple and its newfound dominance in the mobile market. Shockingly enough, a “possible acquisition of Adobe by Microsoft were among the options” of stopping the skyrocketing growth. The report accurately notes that such a deal makes entirely more sense now that Redmond isn’t exactly the 800 pound gorilla that it was before Android and iOS hit the mainstream, though details beyond these assumptions were few and far betwixt. Whatever happens, no one can blame Steve Jobs for not giving Adobe every possible reason to hit Apple with everything it’s got — even if that involves buddying up with Ballmer and co.

Microsoft and Adobe CEOs meet, purportedly plan world domination originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Oct 2010 16:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The more the merrier, right? Cutesy sayings aside, the world is gearing up to say “hello” to yet another player in the NAND flash memory market, as Japan’s own Elpida Memory (which currently specializes in DRAM) will be joining the fray in the coming months. Said outfit stated this week that it has entered into an alliance with Spansion (the former flash memory joint venture between Fujitsu and AMD), with Spansion licensing its NAND flash intellectual property to Elpida as part of the deal. If all goes to plan, Elpida will begin producing flash chips at its western Japan plant “as early as next year,” with some of the output being funneled directly to Spansion. ‘Course, with the explosion in smartphone popularity, it’s not shocking to see a DRAM stalwart looking for ways to dip its toes in that high-demand NAND stuff, and as consumers, you certainly won’t find us kvetching about the competition.

Continue reading Elpida and Spansion move from ‘it’s complicated’ to ‘engaged,’ look to conquer NAND universe

Elpida and Spansion move from ‘it’s complicated’ to ‘engaged,’ look to conquer NAND universe originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 24 Jul 2010 07:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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