Blake Krikorian, Sling Media co-founder and CEO, was interviewed by The Guardian. It’s a good read in which he discusses where Sling is, where they intend to go, and the market in general. Of particular interest is confirmation that the Mac SlingPlayer beta is underway and that at least one other OS will be supported this year. Based on posted job openings, his comment could refer to Symbian and/or Palm (J2ME) smart phones… though I’ve heard several requests for a desktop Linux player and the Zune does include WiFi.
Some interesting bits:
“Right now we support Windows and we’re releasing the beta of the Mac client this week for the Slingplayer worldwide. We’ve also released the Windows Mobile Smartphone and Windows Mobile Pocket PC phone. Before the end of the year, we’ll support additional platforms – there’ll be at least two more OSs, so that means a whole bunch more operating devices.”
“We’ve had a lot of requests for a mini-Sling receiver that could just plug into the other TV sets in the house so we could sling programming from the main set to another set. That could be a logical extension of our product line.”
UPDATE: I just got a call from Sling VP Jeremy Toeman, who tells me Blake was misquoted by The Guardian. Jeremy says the private Mac beta is progressing nicely, but we’re still about a month away from the public beta. We’ve made it this far, what’s another few weeks?
UPDATE 2: Blake would like to pass along a message…
Hey Charles/Kate/readers,
I am sorry for any confusion I may have caused. Kate from the Guardian was using a tape recorder during the interview, so obviously I must have said what Kate reported in the Q&A. I could put the blame on a late night in Amsterdam (where the interview took place), but no excuses…
Here’s the situation to fully clarify:
- We are currently in the midst of a worldwide private beta for SlingPlayer for Mac.
- We have not yet released a public beta.
- We are pushing like mad to get this puppy out at the quality standards we have set for all Sling products.
- For what it’s worth, I am personally banging away on it 24/7 and am solely using Macs for my everyday computing at this point because of it.
Hope this helps clarify things and once again I am very sorry for the confusion this has created in the community.
–Blake
so, what’s slingmedia’s business model other than selling hardware?
Have you considered that, given that the reporter taped the conversation and then transcribed it, in full, that Blake Krikorian got mixed up?
Assuming the journalist is wrong, rather than that the executive confused public and private betas, is simply rude. You could have emailed us to ask, since you link to the piece. Checking facts always helps.
Charles Arthur, editor, Technology
I haven’t assumed anything. I have relayed a message from Sling Media. I think it is possible Blake mispoke, but I also think it’s bad for business to publicly state your subject is ‘mixed up’ or ‘confused’ — as you have. That strikes me as rude.
I?m here to tell you Jeremy Toeman is wrong. Blake Krikorian was not misquoted. He was wearing the microphone on his lapel, and the interview was taped. He did not specify public or private beta
“BK: Yes, we will support every device we possibly can [laughs]. Right now we support Windows and we’re releasing the beta of the Mac client this week for the Slingplayer worldwide.”
He didn?t specify private or public. He just said ?beta?. It?s correct that it?s a beta; turns out it?s a private beta.
Jeremy Toeman might be seeking to *clarify* things. But he is absolutely wrong to say there is any misquoting. I don?t believe he was at the interview anyway. So how could he have known if there was misquoting?
It?s disappointing if you think it?s better just to write down what someone ?in power? tells you than to check with the available sources. It?s also disappointing that you didn?t use a better form of words – I would have had no objection to ?clarifies?, but I do object to ?misquoted?. Precision matters. Ultimately, it undermines *you* if you simply believe what companies spin you, rather than cross-checking.
You think: unimportant. I point out: precision matters. Especially in journalism.
Charles
Wow. Someone woke up on the wrong side of the Atlantic today…