Video for Everyone: YouTube or Vimeo

Do you prefer YouTube or Vimeo for watching videos? YouTube is, of course, owned by Google and brings with it all of Google's baggage, including the growing insistence on the use of real names. And if you post videos, what differences exist between YouTube and Vimeo? Because of an increasing interest in video, this seemed to be a good topic to explore.

I'll come back to the "baggage" question later, but first let's consider some of the operational characteristics of the two systems.

YouTube has more videos than Vimeo, but that may not be good. As Yogi Berra once famously said about a restaurant, "Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded." YouTube has a similar problem: Simply trying to find a specific video among all the clutter is challenging.

Vimeo tends to play the part of PBS while YouTube is Fox or ABC. Vimeo cares more about quality, both technical quality and content. Serious videographers are more inclined to post their videos on Vimeo simply because the videos look better. Both services offer HD video and HD video has the same number of pixels regardless of where it comes from, so why do videos look sharper on Vimeo? It's not a question of the kind of sharpness that a videographer can add in post-production on Vimeo but a lack of expected sharpness on YouTube.

Eugenia Loli ran some tests to compare the two services and they explain, in plain English (with a few diagrams) why Vimeo's videos look sharper: They are sharper.

Mathematically, the frame differences are small but they're visible. For HD video, Loli said, "Vimeo seems to have found a sweet spot at 4.6 Mbps: Quality is indeed stellar, and better than our Comcast cable box!" But she admits that even Vimeo could do better: "I’d love to see Vimeo supporting 5.1 audio in 1080p, bringing the bit rate at 5 Mbps overall."

So if you're a videographer who wants to showcase your work in the better setting, Vimeo is the hands-down winner. But if you're a videographer who wants your video to go viral, YouTube is the only viable choice. So which service is "better" may depend on what you hope to achieve.

I rarely view the comments on YouTube because they quickly degrade into poorly written, misspelled insults. Many of the comments on Vimeo, though, deal with technical issues and are actually phrased as discussions. Vimeo has more of a community feel while YouTube seems to be more about throwing raw meat into a pack of hungry feral cats.

Vimeo offers members two options. One of them is free. For $0 (the kind of account I currently have), you are permitted to upload 500MB of video per week. That may sound like a lot, but high-quality video files are huge. Free users may upload one HD video per week and the player options are somewhat limited. Free users are at the back of the line when it comes to trans-coding videos, too, which means that your video won't be available until at least an hour after the upload ends.

The Plus account ($60 per year or $59.95 in marketing speak) unlocks extra features. You're now at the front of the line for trans-coding so your videos will appear sooner. You'll be allowed to personalize your area and the banner ads will disappear. The upload limit goes up to 5GB per week and you can upload as many HD videos as you wish.

Vimeo is, as I mentioned previously, not the place to post a video if you want to make money with it or have it be seen by everyone on the planet. It is the place to post your video if you'd like to receive positive feedback and rational discussions.

YouTube's Baggage

If you want to have a YouTube account, you must have a Google+ account. I have one but there are reasons why somebody might not want to have one. This gets into security and privacy issues—and how much Google might know about you. This is a topic that I looked at last week.

Another concern, and calling it an "annoyance" wouldn't be too extreme, is the advertising on YouTube. You can try to disable ads but you'll still see some. Granted, Google needs to find a way to monetize its services because Americans seem to have a built-in bias against paying for content, but the number of ads is a significant detriment.

YouTube's screen is far too busy, too. You're watching one video but the right side of the screen is enticing you to see others. Again, Google needs to monetize the service and one way to do that is to find a way to keep people on the site for longer periods so that they'll be exposed to more ads that Google can charge for. But really I don't want all those distractions. It's like trying to concentrate while ignoring a chorus of hungry cats.

The Winner?

When it comes to declaring a winner, I'm going to wimp out.

Choosing the "better" service is difficult and might be impossible. In many ways this is simply a case of each being what it is. Choose one or the other (or use both), depending on your needs.

Libraries Continue to Push the Envelope

Some people think of libraries as old-fashion places that are filled with books at a time when nobody reads. That's wrong. Although books are a key part of what libraries have to offer and people do stitll read books, libraries are more about information than they are about books. No matter how the information is stored, libraries and librarians are the ones who manage it, organize it, and safeguard it. Libraries have served the nation well and, with any amount of good luck, will continue to do so.

Both the Worthington and Columbus library systems have been named library of the year by the Library Journal, Worthington in 2007 and Columbus in 2010. That says something about the administration of those two library systems but it also says something about the people of central Ohio who support the libraries.

Videos from Your Library

The Columbus Metropolitan Library is one of 7 libraries nationwide that have joined Hoopla, a service that provides free streaming video for library patrons. For residents of central Ohio, anyone with a Columbus, Worthington, or Grove City library card will have access to the system. Nationally, the participating libraries include Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, Hartford County Public Library, Los Angeles Public Library, Orange County Library System, Seattle Public Library, and the Toledo Public Library. The Hoopla system is current in beta mode and the selections are limited.

Enough videos are present for testing. Hoopla says "we currently have thousands of movies, television shows, audio-books, and CDs available for library patrons to stream or download." Note that "thousands" applies to all media types combined. Probably no more than a few hundred movies and TV shows right now and most of the movies offered seem to be low-budget films that you've probably never heard of while the TV shows looks like late-night fare from small cable networks. Music and audio-books will be downloaded so that they will be available even without an Internet connection. Video content is available only as streaming content.

Hoopla was formed in 2011 and the first libraries began offering it in January of this year so what you'll find is a new operation that's admittedly still in beta. One would assume that Netflix and Blockbuster are applying pressure to studios not to do business with Hoopla.

To view videos in a browser, you'll need to install a player application from Google. Widevine is the video player that Hoopla uses and it's a free add-on. If Widevine isn't installed when you attempt to play a video, you'll be directed to the Widevine website. The installation process doesn't properly close all instances of Firefox (and possibly other browsers) during the installation. If you try again to play a video and Hoopla continues to report that Widevine is not installed, close the browser—making sure that all instances close—and reopen it.

Magazines, Too

I haven't been a big fan of Zinio and that attitude hasn't changed much. When I tried to create an account, the confirmation message from Zinio never arrived even though I had it sent twice but once that was straightened out, everything worked well. New editions have downloaded largely without problems and much faster than with the Nook reader from Barnes and Noble.

If you haven't been to your library's website lately, now might be a good time to drop by.

A TechByter Worldwide Benefit

Recently I described how Macrium Reflect saved the day when a video upgrade managed to scramble some important files on my computer's C drive, rendering the system unbootable. Saul Painter at Macrium liked the story and offered a 20% discount to TechByter readers and listeners. The only catch is that you have to act before the end of April 2013. Enter the code shown on the coupon on the Macrium checkout page and your discount will be applied.

Feel free to share the coupon code with anyone, even those who don't read or listen to TechByter Worldwide.

Placing 'Google' and 'Privacy' in the Same Sentence

Asking whether placing 'Google' and 'privacy' in the same sentence creates an oxymoron seems a fair question. After all, Google knows what you search for, what's in your e-mail, and what videos you watch on YouTube. It might know what phone numbers you call and who calls you. There's no question that Google offers dozens of useful services but the cost of those services is measured in the value of information you willingly provide to Google.

Nearly 3 years ago, there was a lot of publicity when Google's Street View cars were found to be collecting more than just street views. They were also collecting Wi-Fi information along their route. An engineer decided to use the cars to accumulate data from any unencrypted Wi-Fi networks that the cars happened to encounter anywhere around the world. He didn't ask his supervisor for permission or even mention the project.

Google didn't see this as a privacy concern, though. To Google, it was a management problem and in the intervening years Google has tightened its internal controls, including the naming of Alma Whitten as director of privacy for product and engineering. She heads a team with more than 300 employees.

Google employees are now trained explicitly in privacy and engineers who are in charge of projects must document processes more fully. The documents are then reviewed by internal auditors with a goal of fully understanding how a Google product deals with users' data.

Attorneys general in 38 states have created documentation that tells Google what it should to do ensure higher privacy standards. The guidelines include education for Google engineers and attorneys. The recommendations were the culmination of a 2-year investigation.

Google has agreed to abide by the recommendation. The attorneys general won't monitor Google directly but they have the option of reopening the case with Google if they feel that there are problems with implementation.

Google doesn't want to be Microsofted. In the mid 1990s, the Department of Justice sued Microsoft and nearly broke the company up (as it did with Bell Telephone decades earlier and Standard Oil many decades before that). Microsoft is still a large and powerful company but it never quite recovered from its run-in with the DOJ.

But besides possible prosecution, Google needs to be concerned about the court of public opinion. Companies such as Google can use social media to build their brand but disgruntled users can use those same social media to tear down a company's brand.

There's a certain sense of deja vu here. In 2011, Google signed a consent decree with the Federal Trade Commission in which it agreed to be audited by an outside firm every 2 years for 20 years. That case dealt with Google's unauthorized use of users G-Mail data in the Google Buzz social network.

Short Circuits

For Apple, A Nasty Case of Deja Vu

Remember when Apple all but invented the personal computer only to see IBM and the various IBM-compatible computers take over the market? That seems to be happening again, but this time with smart phones and tablets.

A research paper released by IDC, a company that concentrates on analyzing high tech businesses says that Apple is running out of steam. Phones that run Google's Android operating system are already outselling Apple's Iphone and, surprisingly, IDC predicts that Android tablets will overtake the Ipad this year.

Already Apple has dropped from owning all of the tablet market to having just 51% of it in 2012. This year, IDC says that Apple's market share will drop to less than 49%. Many of the Android devices are small and light (about half of the Android tablets sold now have a screen smaller than 8 inches diagonally). Consumers seem to like the smaller devices and manufacturers are obliging by turning them out in larger numbers.

The Ipad Mini tries to address the trend but IDC says that people who buy the Ipad Mini would probably have purchased a full-size Ipad if the Mini hadn't been available so Apple is actually hurting its own bottom line with the smaller device.

Unlike in the early days of the PC, losing market share doesn't mean that Apple will find itself in the near-bankrupt position of the 1980s. IDC agrees with Apple's expectation that the tablet market will continue to grow and, as more people replace notebook computers with tablets, Apple will continue to be profitable even with smaller market penetration.

IDC expects nearly 200 million tablet computers will be sold in 2013 while computer sales will drop to about 350 million. By 2017, according to IDC, tablets and PCs will each have about half of the market.

Electronic Arts Simulates a Disaster

Sim City is one of the longest-running electronic games in the history of personal computers, but now it's recovering from a problem that reduced the new version of Sim City to a pile of burning rubble.

If you bought the new Sim City and found that you couldn't play it because the company's servers kept crashing, Electronic Arts will allow you to download some new games. "I know that's a little contrived," Lucy Bradshaw, general manager of EA's Maxis label, wrote on her blog. She said it was "like buying a present for a friend after you did something crummy, but we feel bad about what happened."

The updated edition game was released a little over a week ago. Even those who play the single-user version of the game need to be online, though, and the crush of people trying to log on caused server crashes. Could it be that Electronic Arts is still using the same hardware it had when it invented Sim City 24 years ago? (Yes, that was hyperbole. Or snark. Take your pick.)

Within a week, Electronic Arts had reduced the crashing problem by more than 90%. As usual when something like this occurs, the various social media were the venues where users went to vent their anger and frustration.

Since its release in 1989, Sim City has been one of the company's biggest money makers. The updated game ($60) had received a lot of positive reviews before it was released but reviewers didn't have to deal with crashing servers.

According to Bradshaw, "More people played and played in ways we never saw in the beta." Apparently it was a surprise to the company that more than just the beta testers might want to play the new game.

More Warnings that Future Wars Will Be Fought Online

The Australian central bank says that it has been attacked by hackers but lost no data (or money) in the incident. Actually, it was more of an admission than an announcement. The Australian Financial Review had reported that the Reserve Bank of Australia had been attacked several times, successfully, and that information had been stolen.

The bank's statement was somewhat short on information: "As reported in today's media, the bank has on occasion been the target of cyber attacks. The bank has comprehensive security arrangements in place which have isolated these attacks and ensured that viruses have not been spread across the bank's network or systems."

The message said that no information had been lost and none of its systems had been corrupted.

More information came from reports that were provided under Australia's Freedom of Information Act: The central bank received malicious e-mail messages with the subject line "Strategic Planning FY2012" in November of 2011 and the virus was not detected by the bank's protective software. The messages were sent to high-ranking officials and 6 of the recipients opened the file that contained the malware.

The only thing that kept the malware from spreading was the fact that none of the users had been granted administrator rights on their computers. The infection was discovered within days and the computers were taken out of service.

The report said that the bank's computers could have been compromised by the attack and, had that happened, the result would have been system downtime and loss of information.

How Secure Is Information Businesses Store?

The FBI is investigating a website that posted personal information about people ranging from Michelle Obama and Joe Biden to Al Gore and Los Angeles police chief Charlie Beck. The data might have been obtained by Russian thieves. Or maybe not.

The information posted about a dozen or so government officials and entertainers included home addresses, Social Security numbers, credit information, and other personal information. Although the FBI is the lead investigating agency, state and local police are involved, as is the Secret Service.

The side has a top-level domain that indicated Russian registration (.su). The SU designation has largely been replaced by "RU".

NOTE: SU was assigned to the Soviet Union in 1990 and in 1991 the Soviet Union ceased to exist. The SU top-level domain remains in use today, particularly by organizations that were closely related to the old soviet government. The presence of the SU top-level domain is inconclusive, though. The domain is administered by the Russian Institute for Public Networks, but as with many other top-level domains, obtaining the designation simply requires registering for it. ICANN had intended to eliminate the domain but registrations have increased since about 2008.

Although some of the posted information is public, FBI Director Eric Holder's Social Security number, for example, is not. The site also posted what was claimed to be Holder's birth date, home address, and credit report.

Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion provide credit reports to individuals via the Web, but obtaining such reports requires in-depth knowledge about the person the requester claims to be. If the information is legitimate, the crooks will have found a way to start with public information and parlay it into increasingly private information until they had enough to pass muster via a credit reporting agency.

Most people aren't sufficiently attractive targets to merit such a serious effort by crooks. The high-profile people whose information was posted on the site would be unlikely fraud targets, too, but posting the information is a good way for the crooks to prove how good they are.

Security experts say that financial institutions generally do a good job of protecting data but businesses often have lax security procedures that make it easy for crooks to obtain the kind of information they need to assemble in order to approach a credit rating site or financial institution with sufficiently rich detail to prove that they are you.