You gotta hand it to Microsoft: Yesterday they got Google to help promote their message for them.

On Wednesday afternoon, shortly after Google finished a marathon presentation at its I/O developer conference, reports surfaced that Google’s YouTube had sent Microsoft a cease-and-desist letter demanding that Redmond shut down a YouTube app it had built for its Windows Phone.

The issue, in a nutshell, is that the Microsoft app, built on YouTube’s public data feed, violates the video site’s terms of service, primarily because it strips out YouTube’s ads. Windows Phone users can still watch YouTube videos via their Web browser, but the experience isn’t as slick as a dedicated app.

So: Bad for Windows Phone users! But while it’s tempting to turn this into a he said/he said, there’s little to hash out, fact-wise.

There’s no dispute that Microsoft’s Windows app violates Google’s terms. And Microsoft, which has been complaining about access to YouTube for years, had to know exactly what it was doing. It also knows how to play nicely with YouTube, as it did with an Xbox app the two companies built together and launched last year.

The only question is why Microsoft went ahead and built the app anyway. Here we have to do some guessing, as both YouTube and Microsoft executives declined to comment.

So, okay, I’ll guess: Microsoft launched the YouTube app last week precisely because it hoped YouTube would make a fuss.

I’m also guessing that Microsoft is very happy that The Verge and Wired were able to “obtain” copies of the C&D letter.

I’ll keep guessing: I think Microsoft is ecstatic about the fact that Google sent the letter yesterday, on the same day it wanted all eyes on its new products and services.

And the fact that Larry Page closed the Google event by insisting that he’s got nothing but love for everyone, everywhere — even if they’re building rival technologies?

My guess is they have to be over the moon about that.

So much ink has been spilled deriding the false concept of a “Facebook friend,” but I can tell you that a “Facebook friend” is better than nothing.

– Paul Miller, writing for The Verge, after being offline for a year

The former Microsoft exec turned gaming entrepreneur didn’t rent out a hotel ballroom or hire Big Bird or Maroon 5 to get the attention of the press. In fact, as far as we know, Valve’s only presence at the show was a small private booth for meetings, and an interview with The Verge.

But since many covet Newell and his quirky company, when he speaks, everyone listens as if it were videogame gospel.

Valve is popular for producing mega hits like Half-Life and the Portal game series. It also gets huge props for Steam, its consumer-focused PC games-distribution platform (referred to by the rest of us as an app store).

This preamble is to help you better understand why it was a big deal when Newell said yesterday that Valve is building its own hardware that will essentially be a gaming and media hub for your whole house.

This isn’t some half-baked Kickstarter idea. With an estimated valuation of $3 billion, and more than 50 million users (in comparison, Xbox Live has 40 million), Valve has the money, the distribution system and the clout to try something outrageous.

And what Newell described to The Verge yesterday is a little out there.

He confirmed that the company is building a “Steam Box,” which will be a game and entertainment server for the home that can be used by eight TVs and eight controllers at one time.

For the average consumer who likes to stream Netflix to their TV, this will come off as pretty abstract stuff, especially when you hear more details.

First, it’s going to be built on the Linux OS, which is not exactly mainstream. Second, if not done absolutely correctly, hooking it up to multiple TVs sounds like a networking nightmare. Third, Valve says it will be inventing new types of controllers “that use a lot of biometric data.”

In July, Newell was interviewed onstage in Seattle, where he elaborated on this topic. He said touchscreens are “short-term,” and that your tongue is one of the best mechanical systems to your brain. “I don’t think tongue input will happen, but I do think we will have bands on our wrists, and you’ll be doing something with your hands, which are really expensive.”

In other words, we’re talking really sci-fi stuff here.

Generally, what’s interesting about Newell’s desire to build something on Linux is that he believes it is a hedge against Windows 8. Increasingly, operating systems have become locked down, where the OS maker, like Apple, owns the software distribution on the device, like the iPhone and the App Store. That’s happening on laptops and computers, as well, which is a threat to Steam.

On multiple occasions, the former Microsoft executive has disclosed his disdain for the software giant’s new operating system.

In the interview with The Verge, Newell put it bluntly: “Windows 8 was like this giant sadness. It just hurts everybody in the PC business … When I started using it I was like ‘oh my god …’ I find [Windows 8] unusable.”

Newell can say pretty much whatever he wants. Valve is a privately held company with few or no investors, so there’s no pressure for a public offering or a sale. Clearly, if he wants to preannounce something, he will.

In addition to laying out some of the Steam Box’s specs and confirming its existence, he also discussed pricing. The boxes, which will be built by partners in some cases, will have three tiers, he said. The low-end device will start at $99. A midrange device could cost around $300, and the high-end device could be even pricier.

But when a Steam Box will be released remains a mystery. Presumably, to be competitive with the next generation of consoles from Microsoft and Sony, it would be expected around the end of this year.

To get some feedback on what Valve’s plans mean, I asked Pete Hawley, co-founder and chief product officer of Red Robot Labs, what he thinks. Although he’s creating a location-based games platform today, he previously worked at PlayStation, and just a month ago told me during a conversation that he thinks Valve will win the next console war.

“I think this news is huge,” he said. “Gabe and Valve are building something amazing here.”

Hawley also said that while the experience Newell describes today sounds futuristic, he could easily imagine the box appealing to a wide audience, ranging from everyday users who want to stream movies through a browser to the most hardcore gamers.

“The openness and ‘hackability’ is there for those core users that are more heavily engaged — the creators. I think you’ll see some users that absorb content, plugged into the TV like a traditional console,” Hawley said. “Others will run servers, create content, have their own store, push to multiple screens, etc., etc. I think its flexibility in that sense is really interesting.”

One daunting challenge, which Newell acknowledged in the interview, was getting Steam’s current content to work on Linux. This summer, Newell mentioned wanting to make it as easy as possible for the 2,500 games on Steam to run on Linux. Valve will also have to work on a way to get the content to work with a game controller. Since most of the titles today run on PCs, they use a mouse and a keyboard. As Newell told The Verge, “the problem to solve is how to interact with a Web browser, how to get all the games to support controllers, and how to make it all seamless.”

In the meantime, Valve has developed a feature called Big Picture, which allows you to connect Steam to your TV. Big Picture is designed to be used with a traditional game controller, but also supports a keyboard and mouse.

Here’s Valve’s video explaining Big Picture, which may also provide a sense of how Steam Box will eventually work:

Back in February, Kara Swisher reported that the goal of the site “is to create the premier destination and media outlet for videogame news, reviews, video and entertainment.” Now we’re going to see firsthand what that means, especially since hardcore gamers already have so many places to get their news.

Vox Media CEO Jim Bankoff says gaming was the next logical vertical to invest in since the topic fit nicely with the 18- to 49-year-old demographic that SB Nation and The Verge were already attracting with their respective sports and technology news coverage. From a business point of view, it’s also a category that’s seeing a lot of change, “which creates a lot of opportunity,” he said. It’s not just about PC or console gaming, but also mobile, social and other connected platforms. “It’s a bigger and more dynamic part of our lives,” Bankoff said.

Up until today, Polygon has been publishing its content on The Verge, where it has been growing its audience.

As with The Verge, the Polygon staff is made up of well-known editorial personalities from other prominent sites. The roughly 17-person team includes former Joystiq Editor in Chief Chris Grant and Managing Editor Justin McElroy, former Kotaku Editor in Chief Brian Crecente and The Escapist’s former Editor in Chief Russ Pitts. Other reporters are joining from UGO, IGN, MTV and Videogamer.com.

Chris Grant, Polygon editor in chief

Grant said he decided to join as editor in chief because it was an opportunity to completely redefine what a game site should be. One of the most noticeable things it has done is to create a reality TV show about the launch. In a 13-part documentary, called “Press Reset,” fans of the site can follow the creation of Polygon from conception to finished product.

Other things that might stand out, Grant said, is that the site will come with a pink color palette — not exactly the first color that comes to mind when playing first-person shooters or even arcade games, but it’s an aspect of the site that Bankoff says is “fresh and different.” In deciding how else to make the site different, Grant said they “got together a big brain trust of people, who saw all sides of the videogame industry.” One outcome is that the site will do it all — more features, more news and more reviews.

Of those areas, a big focus will be on changing the way games are reviewed and scored. Instead of reviewing a game on launch day and then walking away from it, he said game scores will be dynamic and change over time as the software is updated and the game evolves. “Reviews become outdated very quickly,” Grant said. “As a service, we can help our readers understand where they should spend their time and money. … We hope to be the only site with the most authoritative review.”

As part of the launch, Polygon is going live today with several sponsors, including Unilever’s Clear Men Scalp Therapy, Sony Entertainment Network and Geico.

As first noticed by The Verge, the commercial shows off some of the devices that have been rumored to be announced at Amazon’s press conference tomorrow in Los Angeles.

For those watching closely, you may be able to spot a new e-reader with a glowing screen; the company’s current Kindle Fire (or possibly, an updated seven-inch device); and a larger-screened device — although, in my opinion, it’s being held too far away from the camera to presume that it is equal in size to the iPad.

In general, the commercial does a good job describing how Amazon is a part of your daily life, whether it’s because you ordered something online that arrives in the mail, or because you downloaded something electronically.

The narrator says: “We are the reinventors of normal. We dream of making things that change your life and then disappear into your everyday — of making the revolutionary routine.”

More live coverage coming from AllThingsD at 10:30 am PT tomorrow.

Here’s the commercial, via The Verge:

If anyone had any question what irony is exactly, consider this: Today is the one-year anniversary of the day Steve Jobs stepped down from his job as the charismatic and legendary leader of Apple, as well as the very moment that the company he co-founded has largely won an epic legal battle with Samsung over patent infringement.

The late Apple co-founder was particularly vocal at various times on the issue of copying innovations that he felt his company had pioneered.

That’s been especially true related to Google Android operating system that Samsung and many other device makers are using.

In a quote by Jobs from Walter Isaacson’s biography of him, he famously said:

“I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple’s $40 billion in the bank, to right this wrong. I’m going to destroy Android, because it’s a stolen product. I’m willing to go thermonuclear war on this.”

And that has certainly been at the center of the landmark trial over who stole what in the aggressive race to dominate the market for popular smartphones and tablet devices, including Apple’s iPhone and iPad.

Right now, the verdict from a California jury — who deliberated for less than 24 hours — is being read in a San Jose courtroom.

And, so far, it is largely favoring the Silicon Valley-based Apple over the South Korean consumer electronics giant on the wide-ranging patent infringement case.

As The Verge’s liveblog of the verdict noted: “Apple didn’t win everything — not by a long shot — but it won enough to make this a very important day.”

Indeed.

Those wins include patents related to touchscreen features, such as zooming, as well as on designs.

In addition, so far, Samsung has been ordered to pay Apple $1.05 billion in damages.

The jurors determined that Samsung violated six of seven patents and found that it willfully infringed in five instances. Also: The jury said that all seven of Apple’s patents were valid, which Samsung had contested.

The findings in the complex case are still being read in court, because it involves many patent infringement allegations on both sides related to dozens of devices.

Legions of lawyers for Apple and Samsung went back and forth on who invented what and whether it was a matter of copying or simple inspiration.

Samsung, naturally, said the various devices might be similar, but not the same. Apple begged to differ.

Jobs would have been in agreement, too, had he lived to see the verdict — he died of pancreatic cancer in October of last year, only months after stepping down.

But, in his resignation letter a year ago, he wrote about the importance of innovation:

“I believe Apple’s brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role. I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you.”

Apple versus Samsung Full Coverage

Without further ado, here’s one of the more controversial interviews of the 10th D: All Things Digital conference — Hollywood super-agent Ari Emanuel unplugged.

Actually, he is usually a very live wire, which the crowd at the event did not get to see burning hot until the very end, in a testy exchange with The Verge’s Josh Topolsky.

This exchange caused some level of debate online over Emanuel’s brusque manner, including some cursing. But — however riveting it is to watch their argument devolve from initially like a funny wrestling match to really pissed-off — there’s a lot more to the interview to pay mind to.

Emanuel — who co-heads William Morris Endeavor, one of Hollywood’s most important talent agencies — talked about a range of issues, from a recent investment by private equity firm Silver Lake to spur more digital initiatives, to the state of the entertainment industry, to crowdfunding movies.

But it was the topic of intellectual property piracy that got Emanuel’s content-loving juices flowing, taking particular aim at Google for not doing enough to filter out stolen copyright-protected material.

Here’s the video of the full interview:

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20120625/hollywoods-ari-emanuel-has-strong-opinions-about-content-the-full-d10-interview-video/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20120620/is-that-french/ http://allthingsd.com/20120620/is-that-french/#comments Thu, 21 Jun 2012 06:59:00 +0000 Voices http://allthingsd.com/?p=222645

Excuse my French, it was a clusterfuck. It’s like you had a chance to win the Super Bowl and you didn’t show up for the game.

– Elevation Partners Roger McNamee, about the Facebook IPO

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20120620/is-that-french/feed/ 1 http://allthingsd.com/20120502/microsoft-preparing-to-sell-cellphone-like-subscriptions-for-the-xbox/ http://allthingsd.com/20120502/microsoft-preparing-to-sell-cellphone-like-subscriptions-for-the-xbox/#comments Wed, 02 May 2012 17:43:51 +0000 Tricia Duryee http://allthingsd.com/?p=202573 The Verge is reporting that next week Microsoft is planning to sell subscriptions for the Xbox, similarly to how wireless carriers sell phones. Under the plan, the Xbox plus Kinect will cost $99 plus $15 a month for two years, including access to the Xbox Live Gold service and its streaming TV and music. Right now, the package appears to be cheaper than paying upfront for the console, though that doesn’t factor in any future price discounts for the aging hardware.

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20120502/microsoft-preparing-to-sell-cellphone-like-subscriptions-for-the-xbox/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20111208/photo-filter-hounds-rejoice-instagram-is-coming-to-android/ http://allthingsd.com/20111208/photo-filter-hounds-rejoice-instagram-is-coming-to-android/#comments Thu, 08 Dec 2011 14:29:01 +0000 Lauren Goode http://allthingsd.com/?p=151821 Instagram, the popular mobile photo-sharing app that has racked up around 14 million followers in the year since it launched, has always been an iPhone-only app — until now. CNET, The Verge and other outlets report that Instagram co-founder and CEO Kevin Systrom confirmed yesterday, at the LeWeb conference in Paris, that he has dedicated staff working on an app for the Google Android mobile platform. He didn’t say exactly when the app would hit the Android Market, but said that he’s “excited to see our numbers today nearly double” when it does.

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20111208/photo-filter-hounds-rejoice-instagram-is-coming-to-android/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20111031/on-the-verge-of-a-new-tech-site-which-finally-debuts/ http://allthingsd.com/20111031/on-the-verge-of-a-new-tech-site-which-finally-debuts/#comments Tue, 01 Nov 2011 02:18:14 +0000 Kara Swisher http://allthingsd.com/?p=138536

Tonight at 1 am PT, techies who have nothing else to do — that would be me! — can click onto a brand new tech site called The Verge.

Well, kind of — it’s the result of many months of work by the gang that defected from AOL’s popular Engadget tech powerhouse, set up temporary shop under the Web site name This Is My Next and busied themselves with creating The Verge.

I have another screenshot below of the new site that will be focused on news, reviews and features about tech, and which has been getting a final tweaking all today.

From my quick perusal, it has a vibrant and slick design, with a lot of packed boxes, swooshy movement and plenty of content.

Along with the launch, The Verge’s parent company — formerly doing business as SB Nation, focused on sports — will also transform into Vox Media.

In a chit-chat with Vox’s CEO Jim Bankoff, top exec Marty Moe and Josh Topolsky, The Verge’s Editor-in-Chief, the trio of former AOLers all said they were going to for the big time.

“We want to build the platform for talented native Web voices, in sports and tech for now, and then we plan to grow more verticals,” said Bankoff.

“We want to create more than a news site or blog about tech — the frustration at AOL was that we did not get the resources or manpower to realize that bigger vision,” said Topolsky.

(You’re speaking to the choir, brother!)

Said Moe: “We think this category has not had a large enough vision…not enough has been innovated over the years and we think it is a big opportunity.”

Topolsky said the site, along with a mass of original content from 30 writers, will also be helped by a strong database of information about all its topics and gadgets and also focus a lot on community input.

“What we want to do was graduate beyond the blog,” he said.

(Hmm…and here I just got the hang of this blog thing.)

Bankoff, who would not say how much Vox spent on launching The Verge — my back-of-the-envelope guess, several million dollars — said that costs were spread out between the tech and sports sites with centralized sales and product teams.

Initial launch sponsors are BMW, Sony and Samsung, said Moe, who is aiming to sell “major brand advertisers on the idea that we will be the premiere destination of consumer tech coverage.”

It has to grow past big sites like Engadget to do so, but Topolsky said that This Is My Next had three million unique visitors in the last month and more than 10 million page views.

“We have done that with a lot of editorials and in-depth reviews,” he said. “I think people are really hungry for great content and stories.”

As to competitors, Topolsky said that “this not to necessarily I win if you lose,” although his clear aim is to unseat sites like CBS-owned CNET, Engadget and Gawker Media’s Gizmodo and perhaps even newsier sites such as TechCrunch and AllThingsD (as if!).

“We are going to do the nuts and bolts stuff,” he said. “Somewhere between Engadget and Wired.”

Topolsky compared The Verge to a “boutique hotel — we have the same stuff everyone else has, but it is a much more elegant experience.”

Later, that will change, he promised, noting that “this is only version 1.0.”

Of course — but what else would you expect from a gadget site?

(Good luck and congrats to the entire The Verge team from AllThingsD!)

And here is another lovely screenshot, as promised:

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20111031/on-the-verge-of-a-new-tech-site-which-finally-debuts/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20110718/new-tech-gadget-news-site-name-the-verge/ http://allthingsd.com/20110718/new-tech-gadget-news-site-name-the-verge/#comments Mon, 18 Jul 2011 23:00:14 +0000 Kara Swisher http://allthingsd.com/?p=99077 A new tech site, which has been founded by a number of former staffers of AOL-owned Engadget and operating temporarily as This Is My Next, will be announcing its new name — The Verge — during an appearance by Editor-in-Chief Josh Topolsky tonight on Jimmy Fallon’s late-night television talk show. The Verge, whose charter sponsor will be BMW, will debut in the fall as a new competing gadget property for the well-funded content start-up SB Nation.

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