more on Sony Mylo

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Jonathan Zittrain <zittrain () law harvard edu>
Date: August 14, 2006 3:36:13 PM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Subject: more on Sony Mylo

It appears from the Sony Mylo website that the Mylo is intended to be  
a closed box.  Sony has arrangements with partners (Skype, Opera,  
Google, Yahoo), and it doesn't seem as if new applications can be  
easily added to the machine (though I suppose a lot can be done with  
Opera plug-ins).  I can't even tell what OS it runs.

I worry that this is part of an eclipse of the PC -- a fading away of  
the central device in so many homes and workplaces that could run new  
code from afar at the click of a mouse, allowing for Skype and other  
unaccredited upstarts to gain traction so long as they had code that  
worked better (or was more appealing in some other way) than everyone  
else's.  In the PC's place comes Internet appliances that will slow  
or halt the kind of innovation we've seen from all corners, and  
instead lock in a certain set of prevailing applications (now  
including Skype).  And with control of the app can come control of  
the network destinations -- whether light influences like bookmarks  
or heavier ones that say all further un-partnered innovation must  
come through a Web window and use a limited set of markup tools.

There are benefits to such lockdown at the client side -- a more  
predictable and controlled user experience, pound-for-pound less  
vulnerability to spyware and other bad code (since all outside code  
is limited), and perhaps more willingness from content companies to  
partner since the user experience will be managed and, apart from the  
small subset of people who will try to hack it, the use of the  
content can be negotiated with Sony rather than thrown to the four  
winds.

The downsides are legion -- a slowdown of the kind of innovation that  
has done so much for the industry and for users, replaced by that  
which is negotiated among "partners."  The Mylo joins the xbox,  
blackberry, tivo, most mobile phones, and the ipod in the list of  
closed or mostly-closed appliances that are displacing the PC.  The  
sooner we can deal with the PC's existing downsides -- such as  
viruses and malware -- the more easily it can compete with these  
appliances that otherwise will sideline it.  An open network with  
closed endpoints is an undesirable equilibrium -- it's a freeway  
connecting prisons.  ...JZ

At EDT 03:02 PM 8/14/2006, you wrote:
> From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>
> Date: August 14, 2006 8:47:36 AM EDT
> To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <dewayne-net () warpspeed com>
> Subject: [Dewayne-Net] Sony's Mylo Delivers Wireless
> Reply-To: dewayne () warpspeed com
>
>         Sony's Mylo Delivers Wireless
>
>
> Sony last week launched a WiFi broadband communication and
> entertainment device to capitalize on the growth of wireless internet
> access.
>
> The mylo personal communicator is capable of operating in any open
> 802.11b wireless network, can be found on college campuses, in public
> spaces and within private homes. The product is for people who use
> instant messaging as a primary form of communications and networking.
>
> The name mylo stands for "my life online" and the communicator allows
> consumers use instant messaging, browse the internet, listen to
> music, send e-mails and view photos.
>
> The oblong-shaped device features a 2.4 inch color LCD with a slide
> out keyboard. The device, available in black or white, comes embedded
> with popular instant messaging services such as Google Talk instant
> messaging service, Skype and Yahoo! Messenger. The services are free
> and the product does not require initial computer setup or monthly
> service contract.
>
> For more about the product, go to: <http://www.sony.com/mylo>
>
> Weblog at: <http://weblog.warpspeed.com>

Jonathan Zittrain
Professor of Internet Governance and Regulation
  Oxford University
Jack N. and Lillian R. Berkman Visiting Professor for Entrepreneurial  
Legal Studies
  Harvard Law School
<http://www.jz.org>



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