Google to Microsoft: Support SVG

Oct 2, 2009 - San Francisco -

The SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) specification may be experiencing a renaissance, but it would sure be helpful if Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser supported SVG, a Google official argued at a technical conference on Friday.

SVG is a World Wide Web Consortium specification for high-quality, interactive graphics on the Web using XML. Other browsers such as Mozilla Firefox and Opera support it, said Brad Neuberg, a developer advocate at Google and a member of the Open Web Advocacy group. "I think SVG has a really special history," he said at the SVG Open 2009 conference at Google offices in Mountain View, Calif. "I'm just blown away by the kind of level of passion and the level of commitment."

"Folks want to be able to do drawing on the Web. They want SVG and Canvas. There's a clear market demand, so developers want this," said Neuberg.

A renaissance is happening with SVG similar to what happened with DHTML, Neuberg said. Hindering progress, however, is a lack of native support for the standard in IE. Developers, Neuberg said, have had to use a workaround: SVG Web, a JavaScript library enabling use of SVG in Internet Explorer and other browsers.

But SVG Web is limited, according to Neuberg: "SVG Web, it's not a 'Get Out of Jail Free' card for IE. The library will always be slower than native support."

Microsoft had two representatives at the event Friday, a move lauded by Neuberg. "I really respect that they came to the conference this year" and are having a dialog, he said.

One of Microsoft's reps, IE software architect Ted Johnson, said the company would not be announcing anything at the event about future versions of the browser. "We're just here to listen and learn," he said.

SVG, Johnson said, grew out of proposals from Microsoft and Adobe. Microsoft has supported vector graphics via Vector Markup Language (VML), he said, but he gave a nod to SVG.

"SVG's coming of age," Johnson said.

Microsoft's lack of SVG support in IE is a problem, said conference attendee Greg Sterndale, senior software engineer at Plectix.

"But it sounds like the guys at Google have done a lot of work, and the community's done a lot of work to find a way around that for now. I think that in the future, IE is definitely going to be supporting it," Sterndale said.

Also backing SVG was a presenter from Wikimedia Foundation, maker of the Wikipedia Web site.

"We've been using SVG very heavily on Wikipedia because it gives us a standard format for graphics, which can be edited by multiple people," said Brion Vibber, CTO of the foundation. He added that browser support is up to snuff on pretty much every browser but IE, though SVG Web helps.

"Until we have native support in IE, we have something almost as good," Vibber said.

Neuberg said Canvas 2-D Web drawing capability is also sought for IE. Canvas is part of the HTML 5 specification, of which Google is a big supporter.

Neuberg cited multiple benefits of SVG.

"SVG is very searchable," Neuberg added, acknowledging that Google is a search company. Also, he noted, SVG is easy to import and export.

"You don't get trapped into any [specific] tool and it's also very server-friendly" when working with -- for example -- PHP scripts, Neuberg said. Google's Visualization API supports SVG as well. "This is a perfect use case for SVG," he said.

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Bing's Biggest Enemy in Search Wars (Hint: Not Google, Exactly)

Oct 3, 2009 - It won't be clear for some time whether Bing's attempt to grab search engine market share from Google has stalled, or even gone into reverse. The September numbers from Web metrics firm Net Applications show a slight drop in Bing's global market share, although Google's whopping share of the pie -- still north of 80 percent -- dipped a bit too.

The takeaway could be that Web users have tried Bing out of curiosity and have found it to be, well, good. Which it is. Bing is a fine search engine. Microsoft should be proud. Problem is, good isn't enough to sway the masses to leave Google behind.

Bing's apparent stagnation may simply be a result of inertia, or an "indisposition to motion, exertion or change," according to Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary. Web users are comfortable with Google. We've used it for years. It's a part of our daily routine.

Many of us have a Google toolbar in our browser. Google Search is integrated in the Web sites we visit regularly. And the brand has morphed into a verb, as in, "Why don't you Google me?"

Ever hear someone say, "Why don't you Bing me?" If Google is the Coca-Cola of Web search, Bing is RC Cola.

Web search is a utility. Most of us don't give it a second thought, nor do we want to. Who wants to ponder, "I wonder if I should try Bing, Google, or Yahoo for this particular search?"

Again, inertia is Google's greatest ally.

To steal significant market share from Google, Bing needs a jaw-dropping, tell-your-friends advancement. But despite Bing's thoughtful design, it's no jaw-dropper.

What should Microsoft do? Some pundits believe Bing should add real-time search capabilities similar to what Twitter offers; in other words, the capability to find out what's happening now on the Web, not last week or last year.

Of course, Google's working to improve the timeliness of its search results too, a factor that poses another challenge to Bing.

In the past, Microsoft has been notorious for force-feeding its products and services down the throats of unsuspecting users, and it may try those shenanigans again with Bing. A "glitch" in Internet Explorer 6 reportedly made Bing the default search engine for IE6 users. And last May, Windows 7 Release Candidate automatically configured IE8 as the default browser. Force-feeding, however, is a dangerous tactic that could result in a Bing backlash. Microsoft would be wise to tread lightly there.

Bribery is another option. Microsoft recently launched a Cashback promotion that doubled the monetary rewards for users who click a sponsored link on a Bing search results page and then make a purchase. A nice perk, sure, but cashback deals don't always draw big crowds. If they did, the Discover Card, with its 5 percent cashback bonus, wouldn't be an also-ran behind Visa and MasterCard.

Which leads us back to inertia. Why should we switch from Google to Bing? I'm not sure. Perhaps Microsoft will have to amaze us.

Contact Jeff Bertolucci via Twitter (@jbertolucci ) or at jbertolucci.blogspot.com .

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U.S. magazines plan online newsstand, led by Time

Oct 2, 2009 - TORONTO (Reuters) – Time Inc is gathering U.S. magazine publishers to start a jointly run digital newsstand next year that would deliver their titles to mobile devices like increasingly popular electronic book readers.

Time Warner Inc is leading the effort, and has approached other big U.S. magazine publishers including Conde Nast and Hearst Corp, a source with knowledge of the joint venture but no authorization to speak about it told Reuters.

Users of the service would get a digital newsstand where they could buy subscriptions, potentially by the month or year or in other forms, the source said.

The venture would let magazines that have been hurt by a sharp decline in advertising in revenue in recent years get their titles in front of people who increasingly are turning to devices like Amazon.com Inc's Kindle and Apple Inc's planned tablet device to read books, magazines and newspapers.

It also would charge readers for their content, something that newspaper and magazine publishers have found nearly impossible to do after more than a decade of being on the Web.

The stakes are high for publishers to find more ways to make money online. Print ad revenue is falling across their titles, forcing some to close and putting the long-term futures of others in doubt. Many reports have speculated that Time Warner could even sell its magazine division, though nothing is imminent, sources have previously told Reuters.

A formal announcement of the venture could come within a month, and the service is expected to launch sometime next year, the source said, adding that many financial details still must be worked out.

The idea originated under John Squires, a Time Inc executive who earlier this year was charged with coming up with ways to help Time Inc and its titles such as Time magazine, Sports Illustrated, People and Fortune make money online as the print business declines.

Parent company Time Warner has been trying to do this in other ways, including the ambitious effort with Comcast Corp to work on "TV Everywhere," a program to extend cable programing to the Internet.

The idea bears some resemblance to the Hulu online TV project run by General Electric Co's NBC-Universal, News Corp and Walt Disney Co's ABC, as well as private equity company Providence Equity Partners.

Officials at the publishers were not immediately available for comment. The Media Memo and PaidContent.org blogs and the Financial Times newspaper reported the news earlier on Friday.

People already can use the Kindle to read periodicals, but many newspaper publishers do not like the arrangement because Amazon in many cases claims 70 percent of the revenue from those subscriptions.

The joint venture would let publishers set their own terms for dealing with their readers, increasing their leverage with device makers.

Time has held conversations with publishers, and the publishers in turn have had conversations with several device makers to see what kinds of technology would be most attractive for the publishers, the source said.

One important element, the source said, is finding ways to make the act of turning pages on an electronic device as easy as it is with paper. Another is finding ways to present photographs in ways that are as attractive as they appear in many glossy magazines. Yet another would be adding video.

It is unknown whether newspaper publishers would be involved.

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