Ep. 16: XXX shakedown, Yahoo CEO fired, and Netflix restrictions

Hey guys welcome to the best the buzz -- -- weekly dives and everything that happens -- buzz out loud show. And we did have a special announcement this will be the last episode. Of the best the buzz out loud on September 23. Buzz allowed a weekly she'll be shifting over to once a week so really that's three yet all the best of information so. Acer -- with -- and remember to keep on watching and you'll transition over to a weekly show. -- here's what's in the show today first of the porn industry is a little shaken up as the xxx domain opens and they're not sure how it's gonna work for them also Yahoo!'s Carol Bartz. Out as CEO and she leaves with. Click the potty mouth and finally Netflix is restriction one -- customer. It's not as bad as we first slot so sit again enjoyed the best a buzz out loud. Over the long weekend a lot more iPhone five news broke not all of it was needed. That's true but there is so as we -- as we left for a three day weekend. As we unplugged if you will got ourselves off the grid. The the lost iPhone prototype story part two part two was getting -- so much more confusing to there was the last prototype aimed and then. There was this that report may be that there was no police report. Even though our original stories and that the police have Dennis surged -- -- there -- -- speculation over the weekend that -- Apple employees were impersonating police desert island house which frankly I loved. I was -- them -- particular twist with pretty freaking great turns out. The San Francisco police have confirmed. That there was a search of the apartment at the -- carried out also -- They issued a reports. That may have in fact out of the prototype ads and iPhone five because we didn't actually know that. Yet the report was the document was titled. IPhone five dot DOC. -- which is a word document and that's the only real thread of credibility but if the police -- that as the name of the of the document. You it it. Think or -- I know it's it's like a stretch but Apple because they were working with police -- -- and it was an iPhone five. Right that's why they -- named the document that now here's some of the little logistics of the -- that after our report ran. The man who was approached by SF PD and Apple officials. Took his storied and SF weekly to give more details about what happened. Once of that story broke that individuals that came into his house did not identify themselves as Apple employees represented as at all. Then -- the question was pose backed asset PD as a PD first was kind of Monday even asked. Apple to -- a follow up with what what it happened on their site Apple stead said nothing said mom and then it came it service that. The what -- happen is get this. Senses -- police a bit department officers for of them. Escorted. To Apple employees to the location. Where DS a PD did not go into the house or. Allegedly did not knock on the door the Apple. Employees -- investigators. Did that and they also the Apple investigators were the ones who did the search of the house. Which the man said He would not have let them in the house if He knew they were not SF PD. Gets back there on -- million. -- Now turn their little Jack booted that over there -- this it's pretty remarkable and it just. Keeps going on and on and it still I think is unclear at this point whether there was a police report. -- -- right that is -- somehow they did manage to get. The -- -- -- the police to do this escorting as we know but so far. Apple sorry so far we have been unable to find a specific report the police have the as a police have been a little un helpful. In the sense that what they have told reporters is that they can't divulge information about a search without a specific report number or the name of the person. Not the company who made the complaint so when our reporters tried to look for a police report which would otherwise be available. There were told He can't say like Apple filed a -- where they would've had to have the actual name of the person who did. So then now they have at least said. That there was some sort of a search. There is some sort of assistance. Are guided that's basically what they're saying. Right we -- there and we -- -- adopted him as Election Day -- Apple Apple checked the man's computers to see if the phone had been saint. Apple checked his. Living areas or the families living -- his quarters to see if there was any phone -- they did allegedly according to article also offer money for the phone no questions asked apnea. But there is no at the at this moment there's still no official police report -- -- me. This. Is you tell me this is the it's only -- legit and also we just wanna make a point and everyone was very skeptical about this article we're not -- sold in the back but the wrote the original port that we put out there. -- it it's from what we console seems to hold true and in fact is evenly dirty air it even days earlier than we -- it that we had initially reported. -- that -- seriously sketchy stuff which frankly I might expect from like -- -- you know technically. -- this thing and I just say and I didn't realize that Apple's influence extended so far nor -- I was surprised to discover that. That they even had jurisdiction appeared winter file so at the moment since -- the police -- Apple was no official report I think we can expect. Many many more report on what exactly went down and also a lawsuit from that guy against Apple will. That's that's the thing -- gentleman whose home was searched is up for him to file report because only she. -- have an investigation looking into whether or not these Apple employees. Posed as officers and -- his his. -- mentioned from NASA we clerical makes it sound like He had no idea but it's up to him to push this further yeah so -- that that rests on him if you want to get involved or not. Now back at Apple. They appeared to be hiring their own and they appear to be beefing up what -- seems to -- to -- -- pretty and that's -- it regardless -- security force. They've posted two positions or product security management. Following the second incident in which a prototype. -- -- Meanwhile the long debated xxx top level domain opens today. -- this -- are not not to. This week but there's a really got excited for an ever put a black hole and really did not expect my Bible I. Other red light district will be open for business this week -- the xxx domain registration starts in earnest but it's really interesting because apparently some. I mean. I think adult entertainment companies had been balking at this in some way all along I think that we're gonna get filtered and generalized and all of that but now that now that they -- were like okay well. I guess we'll go along with the top level domain they're now -- claiming that there being shaken down basically that the registration. Is. Way more expensive than other top level domain restrictions and that they're being pushed to register the xxx domains even if they don't necessarily want them. As a way to protect their brands like. It would be a shame if something happened to you Brent Blake glued to the yes so for -- O'Neal got your name -- directs behind it. Let's say like fees involved right we get there is there are instances where let's say you have Disney dot com. Or cnet.com do you want someone to take that name and -- xxx domain. Probably not so you're gonna have for small some of these larger corporations bigger brands. Purchase -- that don't mean to be blocked so that it can't be used -- -- pain. For the xxx top level domain just to protect their own brand -- then you have other sites. Site owners erotic site owners who are complaining because the fees. Are -- That they have equivalent dot com sites -- have to be transfered over or in addition to Latin would cost them more money so one example is a as a as the owner of this under the site to said okay every. Top level domain it's gonna cost me around sixty dollars for your -- -- hundred dollars to maintain rank. -- I do that that's gonna add on 121000 dollars to my budget. Which. Is just to cover my bases there was nine England and on to my regular -- of the really -- this is just like. This is money being funneled into the business is for the triple -- toppled and. It totally is and -- end of and it's only one company that is controlling the registration I think which is why everybody feels like it's such -- -- because like is you point out it's not just a shakedown for adult entertainment companies who have to pay more. But it's literally like they're going to you Disney or they're going to Tina under the going to who knows just be like what they came to me -- there are -- now. The other Hollywood wants to register -- xxx commands and. I mean they're trying to run a little bit of a protection scheme and say you should definitely -- make -- the registers Sports Illustrated you know. Yet even some of the companies like godaddy and wanna want to may not -- -- -- -- domain -- The triple -- registers that application fees for those xxx top level domains runs between eighty. And 110 dollars or a regular dot com address is only ten dollars -- Says I don't know there's there's a there's a little there's a little big gap between those. Prices at the total scam and they're also claiming that -- -- industrial policy which is the company overseeing all of these answers and doesn't have permission to sell. The triple X version of the trademark names of trademarked names and brands which is what they're also trying to that the pretty light I gotta admit. It's pretty it -- -- -- top level domains -- as I'm concerned is tempered in disaster waiting to happen because any country. -- I mean we've been through this so many times but the biggest problem with it is that countries that filter content. Within their borders can very easily put reproductive information and sex and information and who knows what they want behind -- xxx domain and then filter the entire domain. And it's not accessible I mean it's a huge -- speech problem anyway and then when you add to -- the fact that this is like him pulling money -- -- -- Never wanted to say no. And the paraded -- of news continues unabated. With the latest big bomb to drop last night Carol Bartz out. At Yahoo! and she is -- let's just make it clear she is not leaving to spend more time with their family have done. No error message to Yahoo! employees sent over email she wrote I'm very sad to tell you that I've just been fired over the phone. By Yahoo!'s chairman of the board it's been my pleasure work with all of you and I wish you though only the best going forward. Over the phone that you know what that's kind of an ouch. Sent from my iPad there wasn't for exactly fit the keys until they think like you know that you just hung up and you'd -- optic. Sentence and then. She is mad at lady -- She is out He is -- -- Yahoo! and then this test I heard she was apparently ousted with about 833%. Approval rating within Yahoo!. And this has to hurt when you get fired by the board over the phone. And shares go up the other shares actually went up out on the news of her firing. You see I mean it. I was that surprised by the time I listen it's always surprising when someone has an honest and those emails that was definitely -- -- as a way -- to be blunt -- to the point. But the the board. On the other hand sent a note to Yahoo! -- -- Saying the board sees enormous growth opportunities on which Yahoo! to capitalize on our primary objective and blah blah blah. We wish Carol all the best critical time of transition to -- about and -- have installed Tim Morse. As interim CEO effective immediately. Yahoo!'s I mean we've seen how the problem with their company is they've struggled to be more competitive and profitable really the core of their business that -- -- Yahoo! which was search. We know how that played -- what Google did but then even more telling was there was that time was that a year ago or maybe even more -- than year ago when Microsoft. Offer to purchase Yahoo! for 33 dollar per share the that fell through and then later on. One of the core pieces of Yahoo!'s model which was searched. They ended up using being as their search model in a partnership and that also kind of shows how. That really didn't work necessarily. Work out probably for both companies because you would think okay beings engine William Moore the search data they were working on Yahoo! doing the advertising side lobbying implement a search. But with that move you would have hoped they would have gained some sort of traction but it appears that that to work at either aren't really people -- searching on Yahoo! anymore. Yet and it's it's Yahoo! still has a lot of users and this is what I feel like Yahoo!'s. It's almost been the albatross around their neck as long as Yahoo! has been around that they have this weird sort of arrogance about the literally just the fire hose of users that they have not literally Yahoo! run email actually a -- Yahoo! mail. Yahoo! mail Yahoo! fantasy football. Mobile pool logo to the casual gaming. They have a ton of services that there the home page alone. Is what ever it is half a million unique or more million unique to -- I mean it's a huge. Amount of traffic that they've never been able to use effectively but when you talk to them and in fact even -- that I sat down and today at thirty minute conversation with Carol -- you can -- -- -- CNET conversations about. Yahoo! and her sense was -- -- her response -- sort of these questions about what's Yahoo! gonna do. Especially considering that they're -- document trading around twelve dollars when the -- -- -- with 33. Her response was only the valley thinks that we're in trouble. That everybody else. Out there in the rest of the world is still using Yahoo! and they're perfectly happy -- they -- us. And that's fine if that's the perception. They believe is going on -- the -- that thing is though. Whether or not a consumer chairs or uses your brand they would they were losing profits and mind share yet and companies they they weren't innovating. Again ray once the innovator no longer the innovator and they just the -- safe once Google. Slipped them up with Apple -- think they just really didn't have any other answers how to grow or diverse -- or be different. -- and it was all it is -- that they still have all those users and that that people. You know it that are not the tech elite do you still use Yahoo! and love Yahoo! but they haven't been able to make money off of that or even converted into a sense of confidence and I think part of that is just like mission creep. I mean you look at Yahoo! and you think what are you guys gonna do. They you know they they have services that are be -- like Flickr. That they have allowed to just wither and die -- the mine they kind of innovate with Yahoo! mail but it's what it always sort of feels like catch up it's kind of like. What -- you guys gonna do other than to sort of sit there and have users. I -- yes it's safe to say they are. A has been in in the tech world role in its true that I know it's summer it's I mean I hate to say it LA -- they -- has been in the tech world. We keep -- real here. Also we talked about how on dream -- -- tenor Marxist and here. A lot of some of their other products now we're not doing so well -- just -- popular they decide to shut them down -- -- Yahoo! buzz -- my blog log deletion mutton which was a favorite bookmarking now a favorite site of dollars or service they decide -- that all the live dot com Yahoo! picks and altered Vista in ultra Vista. Here's the interesting thing about Yahoo!. Throughout it all. Yahoo! has remained very profitable. Like you do start to wonder how much of this has to do it -- people internally didn't care for Carol Martin didn't -- she had. A vision I mean you -- you didn't see significant change under Carol Bartz but at the same time did you have to. Yahoo! generated one point two billion dollars in profits. In 2010 on revenues of six point three billion most web properties would be pretty thrilled that -- -- -- to do that kind of revenue it's just that it wasn't Google money. Exactly you know and -- sort of and Yahoo! has certain irony media company or are they a search company -- sales in May dabbling in original content I think it's really it is like this -- Silicon Valley. -- job in some ways it's it's the valley in the shareholder saying we just don't trust. That you're gonna do the right thing even though you're making. Quite a lot of money and it's not that Wall Street on the investor -- -- odd. Do you think they settled an actual. Lawyer -- as hindsight point one -- yeah absolutely. Foreign. I mean what would they well that at the I'm gonna guess label would have gotten paid that so many jobs would have been lost -- -- I'm not sure it would take an -- either you know I'd. I think if they thought that something was on the table for them internally. I was going to accelerate and grow the Yahoo! brand and maybe they would say no we don't wanna go with -- -- even though you're offering has almost three times are our stock price now. And maybe they believed in that maybe they believe that they can turn it -- I mean I'm -- it that would have made shareholders happy to shareholders -- had -- -- failure they run the show. Like I -- tight world that would have made them happy but it wouldn't have made users happy and it would have as -- guild went on the Tara may be -- and mail system and Curtis BM might have been about as successful as allowing palm to HP it's like if you have that many users and they're really -- Levy serves as what do you think about sound Macs. Somehow it's just. This it's this trust to drain -- got the more than anything you know in in the in the Silicon Valley we don't like it when a company plateaus. -- -- and no -- you -- -- -- once they plant -- -- coming -- it's like your -- just show us something new. Bring -- -- -- table why should we care anymore right companies that are outside the tech world. If there you know if their plateauing but still making their general their profit line. There okay -- did people don't really complain about its business as usual but here we wanna see change we wanna see growth you wanna see more profits and we don't that's only turn their back on. Now and that's -- that's part of kind of what happened here. And is that -- -- -- it's also moot point now because now Yahoo! just doesn't have the intellectual capital -- to be bought by anyone. It'll be very interesting to see who they end up with -- and you CEO and what what you can do because we've also -- -- many times over the years and a show about talent to get the -- on. -- pretty hard to gated off -- -- -- -- Netflix went on an emotional rollercoaster the likes of which I haven't seen since they announced the new pricing -- fifty. It's hard to be it's hard to be there but be FF right now it really is and then roughly 39 million people tweeting -- That's its numerous articles. Is a mild exaggeration. I am slightly prone to hyperbole it was probably more like thirty million people treated me no dignity that consumers article linking -- actors. It's a qualifier that instead to. That Netflix -- going to restrict the number of concurrent streams that you could have or make you pay more if you want it to stream more like one more than one movie at a time on department. So what happened is during the -- Labor Day weekend people were. Watching their Netflix and if they're watching on multiple devices they got a message that said please. Turn -- discontinue use of the video service on your other devices -- -- use for you to watch on this specific device. Which -- lead people then go believe that. -- Netflix has decided -- only allow me one stream. On one single device concurrently. Aren't we it's -- in the new -- -- and Davis is out now. -- little time. Then name and -- -- that dart leaders know from episode three was a more painful tormented soul who's like the -- the new no formatting on the tonight is more like don't kill my -- summit -- -- down -- two new units. -- -- -- -- Know mule. Any honest this is so it made people angry because it's not it's not even it's about sharing an epic account like a lot of people especially in the comment -- people cinemanow IA watch one show in the betterment of the launch is another show in the other room and that you know you can't have more than 21 concurrent -- -- content. Now what almost immediately happen. So don't panic. Is that Netflix said in an independent and in an independent and in. We have done a lot of that's up lately but we are not doing meant that we are not doing that is not true we're not cracking down on simultaneous streams. -- -- They said they don't know Netflix member is limited -- less. Then two concurrent streams. At the Netflix members have heard differently from us which is an error that -- -- correcting and they said it was a gonna pick up in their system over the Labor Day weekend and so as a glitch not a policy change it's hard to -- have something like this happen. After the price changed after the star's news cycle on it hit me again while also lets. Here they have some kind of an error message built into their system that says -- shutting down one stream in many man I mean. I'm not slow death if -- -- -- that's still thinks the little man I'm not totally convinced that they weren't paying. When you got one dvd -- when you had one dvd to dvds or three dvds elated. Kind of allow you to have an additional cost concurrent stream with each additional dvd -- -- physical Clinton when it was a combined plan. So let's say you had a three dvd plan in like for five people are like -- at home that that messages probably built in for that reason as well. Yeah I mean what was interesting about this -- I did not know. That they that was part of their terms of service policy that you can only have the number of streams going as number of dvd is that you took out when now with unlimited streaming -- -- a standalone option. It does make you wonder what. The ultimate that's -- kind of wonder appear in error message it makes sense like I think acrid cemetery -- make sense that. If the system was unloaded and they couldn't deliver a signal or overloaded beacon delivers signal to -- -- overloaded error message might say something like try shutting down one of your seems but it sounds like -- message was specifically. You have too many streams going. At once. And so I do wonder if they aren't at least flirting with this concept and I don't know. But certainly their terms of service right now only talks about the number of dvds you have available so it's a little unclear how they plan to handle that was streaming -- and. Also -- gotta wonder moving forward what is the actual limit -- -- -- but their plans wrecked. And I guess that's what it real that's what I want to -- and limited the limit now -- streaming only. How many can I watch I'm the only two is it three I'm feeling that until last night -- can be one. It. So that's it for this -- and I remember you guys as we transition over you can still -- just. Each week live at 10 AM Pacific time on Thursday. They haven't that's been your best of the buzz out loud.