facebook

    
      
    
    
      

      
      Login with Facebook
    
 

check out how to play google video

Last week, Google stirred up controversy with a low-key announcement: in the near future, it would drop support for a widely used video format in its Chrome Web browser. Here's a primer on what Google is doing, why it's doing it, and how it will affect you.

Credit: Technology Review

What exactly did Google do?
Last Tuesday, the company announced on the blog for its Chrome Web browser that it plans to discontinue built-in support for the H.264 video format, which is used by many Web publishers. Google said that instead, it would adopt the free-to-use WebM, a multimedia format that Google has largely developed and funded itself.
How will this affect you?
It probably won't, unless you're one of the roughly one in 10 people who use the Chrome browser. Even then, you might not notice. What'll happen is that video clips embedded in Web pages using the new HTML
Today, most Web video is served not via a
Google has announced forthcoming WebM plug-ins for Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Apple's Safari. It's a given that Firefox will also play WebM videos. Several major chipmakers, including AMD, ARM, and Broadcom, have pledged to support the format, as has Adobe for its Flash player. But without WebM being available by default in Internet Explorer, one Microsoft evangelist likened Google's move to throwing its weight behind Esperanto. In response, Google has pledged to supply browser plug-ins for Internet Explorer and Safari that will enable them to automatically play WebM video.
Eventually, engineers could build downloadable add-ons for Chrome that would enable it to play H.264, circumventing Google's move altogether. So for now, Google's move won't have much of an effect. And importantly, if you have a Google-powered Android phone, nothing will change on your device.
Unlike Apple's refusal to support Flash players on its iPhones and iPads, Google's removal of H.264 support from Chrome will be much less high-profile. Google's massive YouTube site will still stream video in H.264 (except for users who click a button to opt to use WebM). "That Chrome has dropped H.264 is less important than YouTube [dropping it]," notes Informa analyst Andrew Ladbrook.
In that case, why is Google doing this?
The H.264 format is commercially licensed by an organization called MPEG LA. Companies that make video software and hardware pay license fees to MPEG LA in order to build H.264 support into their products.
Google's stated aim is to shift Web video away from H.264 and toward WebM, in order to drive the Internet toward a royalty-free standard over which Google would have a large influence.

Story continues below

Interestingly, MPEG LA's members include Microsoft and Apple, which are pushing for H.264 to be used as the standard format for the
There's already another royalty-free video format, Ogg Theora, supported by Mozilla's Firefox and other browser makers. But Microsoft and Apple have refused to build in support for it, and so far have not announced support for WebM. And Steve Jobs has written that he's concerned that Ogg Theora will invite patent lawsuits from other companies, which would undermine the point of using it.

So some observers think Google's move is a swipe at Apple, H.264's most high-profile supporter and holder of some of the patents licensed through MPEG LA. Google and Apple had been close allies in the past, with Google CEO Eric Schmidt serving on Apple's board of directors. But in 2009, Schmidt resigned from Apple's board, and relations between the two companies have grown increasingly frosty, especially now that Android phones are neck and neck with Apple's iPhones among smart phone buyers.
Why are some people so angry at Google?
The worst crime among tech people is inconsistency. Google claims it is removing support for H.264 from Chrome to support open (read: royalty-free) standards for the Internet. But if that's true, critics say, why doesn't Google also remove the Flash player, a much more widely used, and equally proprietary, format that Apple has stridently refused to allow on its iPhones and iPads? Besides the licensing issue, Flash players are said to slow down mobile devices and drain their batteries compared to embedded videos.
Many suspect that Google is simply using Chrome to nudge Web publishers away from H.264 and toward WebM without disrupting access to any content on Android-powered phones (which now outsell Apple's iPhones by some estimates). Chrome users, who were already tech-savvy enough to install an alternative browser, can switch back to their computer's default browser to play H.264 videos. An Android phone owner would need to install a second browser.
How will this play out?
It's not certain. For now, only some Chrome users will notice a difference in how their browsers work on Web pages with video, and only on those pages that use the
For now, though, Web publishers will have to separately encode and serve WebM clips alongside their existing clips, which are largely encoded in H.264. But that doesn't make financial sense. Unless Microsoft and Apple buy in, Chrome becomes more widely used, or Google removes H.264 support from its Android phones and stops streaming its YouTube clips in the format, there's no compelling reason yet for anyone to make the switch to WebM. It's easier and cheaper to wrap H.264 video in Flash—the opposite of Google's stated goal. As one journalist, MG Siegler of TechCrunch, concluded, instead of spurring adoption of its royalty-free format, "Google is handing the keys of Web video's future right back to Flash."

Links

   
• Google News
   
• Edit-Me
   
• Edit-Me

check out new world press

Download WordPress

 The latest stable release of WordPress (Version 3.0.3) is available in two formats from the links to your right. If you have no idea what to do with this download, we recommend signing up with one of our web hosting partners that offers a one click install of WordPress or getting a free account on WordPress.com.

What’s Next?

With our famous 5-minute installation, setting up WordPress for the first time is simple. We’ve created a handy guide to see you through the installation process. If you're upgrading your existing installation, we've got a guide for that, too. And should you run into any trouble along the way, our support forums are a great resource, where seasoned WordPress experts volunteer their time to help you get the most out of your blog.

Download WordPress 3.0.3 .zip — 3.0 MB

Download .tar.gz — 2.7 MB

New hacked site notifications in search results

New hacked site notifications in search results

Friday, December 20, 2010 at 10:00 AM

Webmaster level: All

Today we’ve added a new notification to our search results that helps people know when a site may have been hacked. We’ve provided notices for malware for years, which also involve a separate warning page. Now we’re expanding the search results notifications to help people avoid sites that may have been compromised and altered by a third party, typically for spam. When a user visits a site, we want her to be confident the information on that site comes from the original publisher.

Here’s what the notification looks like:

Clicking the “This site may be compromised” link brings you to an article in our Help Center which explains more about the notice. Meanwhile, clicking the result itself brings you to the target website, as expected.

We use a variety of automated tools to detect common signs of a hacked site as quickly as possible. When we detect something suspicious, we’ll add the notification to our search results. We’ll also do our best to contact the site’s webmaster via their Webmaster Tools account and any contact email addresses we can find on the webpage. We hope webmasters will also appreciate these notices, because it will help you more quickly discover when someone may be abusing your site so you can correct the problem.

Of course, we also understand that webmasters may be concerned that these notices are impacting their traffic from search. Rest assured, once the problem has been fixed, the warning label will be automatically removed from our search results, usually in a matter of days. You can also request a review of your site to accelerate removal of the notice.

If you see this notification appearing on your site’s listing, please take a look at the instructions in our Help Center to learn how you can begin to address the problem. Together, we can make the web a safer place.

check out the science news straight from the source

A total lunar eclipse and winter solstice coincide on Dec. 21

 With frigid temperatures already blanketing much of the United States, the arrival of the winter solstice on December 21 may not be an occasion many people feel like celebrating. But a dazzling total lunar eclipse to start the day might just r… 

NASA’s LRO creating unprecedented topographic map of moon

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is allowing researchers to create the most precise and complete map to date of the moon’s complex, heavily cratered landscape.
“This dataset is being used to make digital elevation and terrain maps that w…

Effect of college on volunteering greatest among disadvantaged college graduates

 Sociologists have long known that a college education improves the chances that an individual will volunteer as an adult. Less clear is whether everyone who goes to college gets the same boost in civic engagement from the experience.
In an innov…

Our Bloggers

• Follow science blogger/children’s author on Facebook
• Balanghai, Borobudur, Phoenicia and the Morgan: Reconstructing and celebrating our ancient maritime heritage
• Review of The Evolutionary World by Geerat Vermeij
• The Third International BHD Symposium … and us!
• Knotty Issue: Drafting Climate Change Policy in the face of scientific uncertainty

Comments

Comments

• Comment on One in 50 teenagers still wet the bed by nicole
• Comment on One in 50 teenagers still wet the bed by nicole
• Comment on New asthma research breaks the mold by Richard Friedel
• Comment on A total lunar eclipse and winter solstice coincide on Dec. 21 by Nature Blog Site
• Comment on Old men chasing young women: A good thing by Nigel Hill

Recent Posts

Recent Posts

• A total lunar eclipse and winter solstice coincide on Dec. 21
• NASA’s LRO creating unprecedented topographic map of moon
• NASA satellite tracks soaking System 91S in western Australia
• Computer games and science learning
• You only live once: our flawed understanding of risk helps drive financial market instability

Save The Tiger "its our National Animal"

Help Save the Tiger! URGENT!!

Tigers are on the threshold of extinction. According to WWF, Tigers are amongst the ten most endangered species in the world. Over the last century more than 95% of the Tiger population has been wiped out & three sub-species are already extinct. Less than 3500 tigers remain in the wild today with around 50% in India & their numbers are declining fast.

Initial results from the Wildlife Institute of India Tiger census (released on 24 May 2007) are warning that India has far fewer tigers living than had been previously thought. Complete stories on BBC & Discovery Channel. The next five years are going to be extremely critical if we are to save India's Tigers & forests. This is a small attempt to mobilise people like you & me to connect with conservationists out there with plenty of energy but very little money (Click here for more details on the Tiger situation & the Satpura Forests - the largest tiger habitat in the world).

I am selling prints of two tiger cartoons & doing custom caricatures to help raise money for a Community Conservation Project in Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) in Maharashtra.

The conservation project involves setting-up a field station in Moharli, with three conservationists for a year. They will work towards improving the living conditions of the tribals who live in extreme poverty & reducing biotic pressure on the forest. The project will thereby help protect one of the largest Tiger habitats in the world. It will be executed by Satpuda Foundation (http://www.satpuda.org/), a registered grass-root NGO & will cost 2.76 lakh rupees (Click here to learn more about the project).

Every single paisa raised will go to the charity. All transactions will be transparent & available on this blog below. If at any time you are not satisfied - I will refund you all your money & you can keep the cartoons.

Buy Cartoons to Contribute

The Tiger Cartoons are A4 size digital prints on Snow-white Matte Art Card . The cartoons are based on the two biggest threats to Tigers – Poaching & Habitat Loss. Only that the Tigers are on top for a change. They can be bought individually or as a set. Each print costs Rs.1000/$25/£12.50 (plus postage for prints – Rs.200/$10/£5).
.

You can also order custom caricatures. So, if you send me a snap of yours (or your boss) – I will do the caricature & email it back to you (jpeg 300 dpi 5"x5"). Each caricature costs Rs. 1000/$25/£12.5 (no postage this time).

.
You can buy via Paypal/CreditCard/DebitCard below. In case you prefer paying by Cheque / Bank Draft - just drop me an email.

.

Feel free to email me if you have any questions/suggestions on save_the_tiger@yahoo.co.in.

PAYPAL SHOPPING CART

Sweet Vengeance	Reclamation	Order Your Caricature

Your cartoons/caricature will reach you within 10 days of your payment being processed.
.
You can also buy cartoon prints from Imagekind gallery if you are looking for different medium (paper/canvas) & framing options.
.
All transactions will be transparent & available on this blog below. I will forward the money raised to Satpuda Foundation at the end of every month. You will also be able to track the progress of the project at the bottom of this blog.

Tigers & the Satpura Forest

About the TATR Community Conservation Project

There are 53 villages on the fringe of the reserve with 60% landless families & no means of livelihood. The project involves establishing a field station at Moharli in TATR and keeping field staff working on employment and other essential works to reduce the biotic pressure of communities on the forest & Tigers.

Your donation will fund a team of 3 conservationists for a year to work towards understanding the problems faced by the tribals in the villages in the area and designing viable & sustainable solutions beneficial to the villagers and the forests.

Project Costs:
Salaries for 1 Conservation Officer & 2 Staff (1 Year) = Rs. 1,56,000
Travel & Office Expenses (1 Year) = Rs. 1,20,000
Total = Rs. 2,76,000

Benefits:
1) A key aspect of the project will be to gather community support and indigenous knowledge for framing and later implementing biodiversity conservation programmes in the Reserve.
2) Man-tiger conflict will fall, and incidences of poisoned waterholes and kills will reduce in frequency. The project will help in strengthening protection to the entire tiger belt, ensuring the genetic viability of this region’s tiger population. In the absence of such proactive measures, it is unlikely that the project area will survive in the long run.
3) Employment opportunities from the district administration will improve, with villagers paid to protect their own source of survival, the forest which provides them food, shelter, water and fodder.

About Satpuda:
Satpuda Foundation is a grassroot NGO works towards the protection of the Satpura landscape which is spread in Central India across two states i.e. Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. It is supported by Born Free & Wildlife Conservation Trust, India. Satpuda is a registered NGO & is headed by Kishore Rithe. Kishore gave up his job to work for wildlife conservation. In view of his contribution, he has been appointed Honorary Wildlife Warden for Amravati and to the Maharashtra Wildlife Advisory Board. He has also been awarded Marathwada Friends of Birds Award in1997, Tiger Link Award in1997, Ashoka Fellowship in 2000 & Conde Nast Traveller's Environmental Award in 2003.
Read his interview here - http://www.satpuda.org/Kishor%20Rithe.doc

Project Update

Save the Tiger Quarterly Report (Q2 2007-08)

1. Fundraising: Thanks to your generous support, we have raised over 50,000 rupees in the last three months.

2. Appointments: As planned, a Conservation Officer & two community officers have been appointed at Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR). Satpuda Foundation (SF) has also set up a field office in Moharli to support the team.

3. Resettlement Assistance: TATR field staff are assisting resettled villages from TATR viz. Botezari and Kolasa. Villagers are facing plenty of problems at the new site as this is their first year at the new place. SF is working towards resolving these issues with the help of district administration. SF has also provided monetary help to villagers for ploughing their lands. Rs.4 Lakhs has been distributed to 116 families resettled at Tolewahi through Wildlife Conservation Trust.

4. TATR Socio-Economic Survey: SF has launched a socio-economic survey of 11 villages on the periphery of the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) as part of this community conservation programme. The house-to-house survey to establish a database on the social and economic conditions of villagers living near the Reserve was started. The database will provide the inputs for the SF to undertake capacity-building workshops through its Employment Cell unit and to address development issues faced by the villagers.

5. Good News: And the icing on the cake, a Tigress has been reported to have given birth to two cubs in TATR. The conservationists, however, have had no hand in it :D

Many thanks to all those who helped us make this happen, I would request or rather urge all those who linked, contributed and supported this cause to link this report as an update.

Donation Tracker

Date, Name & Amount

01/06/07 Vikram Nandwani - Rs. 5000

01/06/07 R K Nandwani - Rs. 2000

01/06/07 Devyani Chatterjee - Rs. 1000

01/06/07 Tilottama Chatterjee - Rs. 1000

01/06/07 Sunil Ankalgi - Rs. 1000

01/06/07 Dushyant Singh - Rs. 2000

01/06/07 Kusum Rohra - Rs. 1000

01/06/07 Nirmal Patel - Rs. 1000

01/06/07 Nisha Menon - Rs. 2000

01/06/07 Priyankara Nandwani - Rs. 5000

01/06/07 Saakshi Juneja - Rs. 1000

02/06/07 Pai Family, Mysore, India - Rs. 1000

08/06/07 Shweta Foulger - Rs. 1000

10/06/07 Krishnan Subramanian - Rs. 1000

11/06/07 Anupam (Bombay Addict) - Rs. 1000

11/06/07 Sandhya Surap - Rs. 2000

16/06/07 Abhishek Mukherjee - Rs. 1000

18/06/07 Ketan Kansagra - Rs. 1000

19/06/07 Name Withheld 01 - Rs. 1000

25/06/07 Rashmi Nair - Rs. 1000

25/06/07 Rashmi Singh - Rs. 1000

02/07/07 Mrinal Singh - Rs. 2000

02/07/07 Mike Payne - Rs. 1000

02/07/07 Kim Ward - Rs. 1000

02/07/07 Sunil Samal - Rs. 800

02/07/07 Sriprasad Giri - Rs. 2000

02/07/07 Anna Wakeman - Rs. 800

02/07/07 Nitish Khetavath - Rs. 2000

05/07/07 Simon Foster - Rs. 1000

06/07/07 Steve Concannon -Rs. 800

06/07/07 Diane Smith - Rs. 400

08/07/07 Poonam Arora - Rs. 1000

11/07/07 Vinitha & Rajan Srinivasan - Rs. 2000

13/07/07 Lalit Patil - Rs. 1000

01/08/07 Puneet Malik - Rs. 1000

21/08/07 Andreas Thulin - Rs. 2000

24/08/07 Prashant Karandikar - Rs. 1000

10/09/07 Alexis Leon - Rs. 2000

10/11/07 Isha, Piyul & Anjan Mukherjee - Rs. 3000

15/01/08 Chinmay Pangarkar - Rs. 1000

24/02/08 Ash Nallawalla - Rs.1000

25/04/08 Lavina Melwani - Rs. 1500