The latest salvo in the war for domination of the online video and data serving wars was fired this morning.
Google has acquired On2 Technologies, we’ve learned. On2 Technologies is best known as a video compression and codec vendor. That sounds wonky, but pay attention…
Because we spend a lot of time working to make the overall web experience better for users, we think that video compression technology should be a part of the web platform. To that end, we’re happy to announce today that we’ve signed a deal to acquire On2 Technologies, a leading creator of high-quality video compression technology.
Although we’re not in a position to discuss specific product plans until after the deal closes, we are committed to innovation in video quality on the web, and we believe that On2 Technologies’ team and technology will help us further that goal.
This could bring major improvements for casual web users (of course I’ve been wrong about Google’s acquisition-innovations in the past). What sort of improvements?
If would be great if Google decides to open-source On2’s VP7 and VP8 video codecs and free them up as the worldwide video codec standards, thus becoming alternatives to the proprietary and licenced H264 codecs. On2 has always claimed VP7 is better quality than H264 at the same bitrate.
Also noteworthy: Google could use the VP8 codec for YouTube in HTML5 mode, basically forcing its many users to upgrade to HTML5-compliant browsers instead of using Flash formats.
In other words, Google could surpass the need for technologies such as Adobe’s Flash or newer Air formats to not only serve video but also perform other functions that HTML 5 will bring (if you like GMail or Google Apps now, just wait).
The big loser (as seems to be often the case) is Microsoft and its interesting Silverlight play (cue Steve Gillmor).
By having codecs necessary for HTML 5 and a slew of video compression technologies, Google is rerouting Microsoft’s attempt to penetrate Google’s flank with Silverlight. Video, streaming and virtual app architecture has long been one of Google’s potential weaknesses. With the acquision of On2, Google is clearly patching up that vulnerability and making moves to position itself at the center of the evolving real-time and video-driven web.
Web broadcast god Leo Laporte, Lifehacker founder and awesome blogger / coder Gina Trapani, and Jeff Jarvis have teamed up for what has become my new favorite podcast after just 2 minutes.
This is the podcast I wish I had created.
This Week In Google 1: In Beta (54 minutes)
Hosts: Leo Laporte, Gina Trapani, and Jeff Jarvis Topics:
* Media Talk USA with Jeff Jarvis
* City university of New York Graduate School of Journalism
* Apple Blocks Official Google Voice App, Pulls GV Mobile from App Store
I hope the level of quality stays this high (with Leo, Gina and Jeff behind the wheel, I’m sure it will).
Of course, there’s always material enough for a podcast focused on Google and their latest Willy Wonka creations that feed all of our web candy addictions.
Although super affiliates may cringe when they read this, some affiliates still use PayPal for transacting on the web (especially if they are doing anything with the eBay Partner Network… but that’s for another post).
Let’s face it, the cut given to PayPal is often well worth the convenience of payment collection and not having to verify credit cards if your promotions involve physical goods or services outside of the major networks.
Google Checkout launched about 3 years ago (and we had a fun time figuring it out on ReveNews) and has had its spots of contention with the wider affiliate community. Some see it as Google’s way of becoming an affiliate itself or cannibalizing the CPA market while ensuring higher returns for Google’s bread-and-butter paid search plays. I’m not so sure about those tinfoil hat conspiracies, and I haven’t seen much in the way of data (besides the circumstantial kind) implying that is what Checkout eventually means for the affiliate industry.
Even still… many affiliates use PayPal and I think many affiliates (more?) will be using Checkout as we all grow up with the web and begin to feel comfortable moving and storing our data up in the Google cloud.
Why?
The new updates that Google Checkout is rolling out:
We’re happy to announce the launch of the Google Checkout store gadget in Google Labs. In a matter of minutes, you can create an online store that’s powered by Google Checkout and has inventory managed in a Google Docs spreadsheet. Selling online has never been easier — no complicated coding or technical tasks are required.
Basically, you can now pipe your data from transactions through Google Checkout into a Google Docs spreadsheet. Simple. Easy. Searchable. Fantastic.
PayPal’s claim to superiority has always been its ease of use and integration with large sellers like eBay or product driven sites.
The game just changed with this one little switch. Watch for Google Checkout to continue to realize its potential and grow up from its 3 year old toddler stage as the web continues to figure out responsible transactional modes.
The latest salvo in the war for domination of the online video and data serving wars was fired this morning. 
Web broadcast god Leo Laporte, Lifehacker founder and 
