I am looking for an HTML5 media player primarily for audio files. It would be ideal if it seamlessly switched based on the source file parameters to audio with an image if it had one or a compact audio player or a video player. Also would be ideal if the media player was compatible with all of the different application mediums. Meaning it would be embeddable into other applications, able to play from mobile mediums like an iPhone, work on the most recent browsers with some backwards compatibility, and able to integrate into other publishing platforms like Tumblr, WordPress, Posterous, Social Networks, RSS etc. I have not found one yet that can do this but I also just started looking. If anyone knows of an open source preferably HTML5 based media player please let me know in the comments or any of the social networks.

On another note, I am currently using the built in flash player for Tumblr and have been having issues with the play count as well as realized it does not work on the iPhone.

Jon Stokes / Ars Technica:
Why Intel bought McAfee  —  There's been quite a bit of head-scratching over Intel's decision to purchase McAfee, but, despite all the breathless talk about mobile security and ARM and virus-fighting processors, the chipmaker's motivations for the purchase are actually fairly straightforward.

As SpaceX completes safety tests on its potential human space capsule, and a European outfit preps its innovative rocket for a test launch, it’s obvious that some of the most exciting space news at the moment is coming from folks other than NASA.

Copenhagen Suborbitals

In just one week’s time, on August 30th, Danish company Copenhagen Suborbitals is going to put everything on the line and try a test launch of its full HEAT rocket system–a vehicle that one day soon may be used to carry human passengers on a quick “popgun” ride into (as the name implies) suborbital space. The mission is something akin to Virgin Galactic’s plans to ferry passengers into the void aboard its SpaceShipTwo vehicle, just using a pure rocket rather than a combination airborne launcher-flight vehicle system.

It’s being lauded as the world’s first amateur effort to launch people into space, and it’s the culmination of work that started in 2004. The unusual HEAT rocket uses a relatively low-thrust liquid-oxygen motor that propels the lightweight vehicle upwards at under 3g accelerations, meaning passengers can ride standing vertically inside the Tycho Brahe single-man capsule. There they’ll get an almost unprecedented view of the world, the ride and space from a transparent dome at the tip of the stack. With engine tests already completed successfully, the upcoming launch will be the first full-scale test of the system–unmanned. If all goes well, company co-founder Peter Madsen plans to be a passenger as soon as possible.

SpaceX Dragon Capsule

SpaceX’s efforts to capitalize on President Obama’s commercial space push have often hit the headlines, and now the company has passed an important milestone for its efforts to get not just cargo but people into orbit. The company has been developing both its Falcon launch rocket and Dragon space capsule in order to deliver cargo to the International Space Station during the years when NASA cannot perform these missions, and has followed an unusual path in Dragon’s design: Right from the outset the capsule was designed to be human-ratable. This means that ultimately, and with relatively low costs and short timescales, Dragon could be adapted to loft astronauts into orbit and up to the ISS.

As part of this rating, the Dragon capsule just recently completed a high-altitude test of its parachute recovery system. Much like the Apollo and Soyuz capsules which use huge parachutes to slow a capsule and float it gently to a touchdown (after its slowed from orbital speeds by its re-entry shield) Dragon has a two-stage, multiple-parachute descent system. Last week a test unit was hauled up to 14,000 feet by helicopter and dropped, and everything worked exactly as planned–with the capsule making an acceptably gentle touchdown in the ocean off the Californian shore. The test proves Dragon can return up to 2.5 tonnes of cargo, or a human payload safely to the Earth after a spaceflight, and if all goes well with further developments SpaceX will add correction rockets to enable pinpoint landing targeting to within a mile of the selected point.

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To keep up with this news, follow me, Kit Eaton, on Twitter.

The Apple Investor is a daily report from SAI. Sign up here to receive it by email.

AAPL Up As Market Gains 
Stocks are seeing moderate upside this morning as share of AAPL are up strong out of the gate. Future catalysts for Apple stock include monthly NPD data (Mac / iPod business); iPhone unit updates and AT&T exclusivity expiration; iPad shipment ramp and international expansion; new content revenue streams such as video and books; and possible entry into the TV market with a refresh of Apple TV (possible announcement mid-September). AAPL trades at 14x Enterprise Value / Trailing Twelve Months Free Cash Flow (incl. long-term marketable securities).

Digg Co-Founder Says Apple TV Will Change Your Life (kevinrose blogg)
Kevin Rose, co-founder of Digg, is making some bold predictions about the update of Apple TV (iTV), what Steve Jobs calls his “hobby.” He expects:

• iOS TV Apps: iPhone/Pad like marketplace for TV applications with apps for video sharing, streaming and recording, interactive news apps, games, etc.
• A La Carte (App) Stations: With iAds, networks and content producers can directly monetize and distribute content (eventually destroying the television side of the cable and satellite industry – goodbye cable bill).
• .Me Picture / Video Sharing: Sharing pictures, videos, etc. with other iTV owners will happen at the push of a button.
• iPad Remote: The iPad will be the preferred (“badass”) input device for the iTV.

Rose, who claims to have inside information, has a mixed record as an Apple prognosticator. He was right about the iPod nano, but spectacularly wrong about the first iPhone.

iPad Classification Could Make Apple The U.S. PC Market Share Leader (Betanews)
Neither Gartner nor IDC includes the iPad numbers in PC shipments. But Window Tablets and slate netbooks have been shipping for years – aren't those devices counted as PCs? Based on analysts' projections for the third quarter, Apple almost certainly could sell more PC units than HP or Dell in the United States if the iPad were included. At 4 million to over 5 million iPad units, Apple would be in striking distance of topping either HP or Dell as the PC market share leader.

What Did Antennagate Do To Apple? Nothing (The Motley Fool)
Nearly two months after the launch of the iPhone, channel checks suggest the product is still hard to find. New units are only trickling in to AT&T and Best Buy stores and things aren't much different at Wal-Mart. Apple's online store is quoting three weeks for shipping. The bottom line is that Antennagate had no material effect on sales. The likely damper could come in the form of supply constraints.

Analysis Of iPad Competition; There Is None (Seeking Alpha)
None of the wannabe competitors of the iPad have constructed a serious challenger. The Android devices on the market have failed to be even close to the iPad’s quality, and all are short of features. A more serious challenge is expected in September from Samsung‘s The Galaxy 7. We’ll see. The more likely victim will be Amazon; it’s not hard to see the online retailer "bleeding from a thousand tiny cuts."

Daily Trader: Don’t Give Up On Apple Stock Just Yet (The Street)
AAPL hasn’t done much lately. Here are two ways to play the stock:

1. Take option positions early in the week that would benefit on a move to $250. Buy the 260 puts on when the stock trades above $250. Or buy the 260 put and sell the 250 put (vertical spread); the trader is now on the same side as the professionals who are looking for this option to expire worthless.
2. Initiating trades for the first few hours of the trading day on options expiration day itself (Friday). Watch AAPL and anytime it veers more than $1 away from the 250 strike, throw on a vertical spread for an expected trip back to the $250.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• THE APPLE INVESTOR: Half Of All iPhone Apps Usage Comes From Facebook
• THE APPLE INVESTOR: iPad’s Cannibalization Of MacBooks Will Surface But Maybe Not This Quarter
• THE APPLE INVESTOR: Apple TV Could Move The Needle In Two Years

Groupon is having a smashing day, likely generating over $4 million in net revenue, thanks to a deal with the Gap.

Today’s Groupon gives users a $25 discount at the Gap if consumers spend over $50 at the store. If you think it sounds like a good deal, you’re not alone.

CEO Andrew Mason tells us that as of 4:43 ET, Groupon has sold over 300,000 Gap deals. That puts Groupon’s gross revenue for the day at $7.5 million ($25X300,000).

Mason wouldn’t say how much Groupon keeps, but previously we’ve heard it’s around 50%. So, Groupon’s net revenue could be $3.75 million already, and the day’s not over yet. It will keep selling deals and it will generate much more than $4 million today.

TechCrunch thinks Groupon could do 700,000 sales today for gross revenue of $17.5 million.

And by the way, in case you ever had any doubts about Groupon justifying the $1.2 billion valuation from its most recent round of funding, consider that today’s sales number annualized equals $1.4 billion in sales.

See Also: Groupon Explainer And Office Tour

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Groupon CEO Andrew Mason: "I Decided To Set The Bar Very Low And Make Up Lies About Myself That Make Me Sound Lame"
• Groupon Buys Majority Stakes In Japanese And Russian Groupon Clones
• Groupon For Dudes? We Hear You, Says CEO

Earlier tonight, we sent Facebook some questions probing for more details about user experience on Facebook Places that weren’t covered in the presentation tonight.

Facebook’s presentation about Places focused on the user experience and how adding a location element to social networking will make the experience richer and more useful. The company also gave a shoutout to developers, announcing an Application Programming Interface and bringing developers of other location services on stage to cheer Facebook on. But it glossed over some of the grittier logistics.

Sponsor

There’s good news and questionable news. The good news – users must be “within a certain range” of a location in order to check in, which should prevent users from gaming the system. Facebook had a huge advantage over MySpace because it encouraged users to use their real names; similarly, it’s smart to ensure its users’ location updates are reasonably accurate – especially considering the emphasis on real-time sharing.

“So, if you’re at a bar that is next to a restaurant, it’s possible you could check in to the restaurant since it will show up in the list of places nearby. You cannot, however, be in California and check in to the Empire State Building in New York City,” a Facebook spokesperson wrote in an email.

The questionable news concerns user-submitted places. If a place doesn’t exist in the database provided by Localeze, users can add it and check in right away. But the mechanism for removing inappropriate places – such as a user’s home or something offensive – sounds ambiguous and vulnerable to the problems some have had with Facebook’s opaque policies for removing fan pages (also Facebook Shutters Political Fan Page, Users Cry Foul).

Users can “report” a place page that they believe violates Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, but Facebook does not say how quickly place pages will be reviewed or what the criteria for removal might be. In addition, official representatives of a business will be able to claim their place pages using the same verification system in place for fan pages. (A fan page administrator will also be able to merge his or her place page with the official fan page on Facebook.)

We hope that Facebook has a plan and doesn’t intend to do this kind of place maintenance by the seat of its pants. Otherwise, the Places feature could get messy in its first iteration – we’re imagining check-ins from anywhere from the home of a teenager and her unsuspecting parents to “the Internets” and “your MOM’S LOL!”

Discuss

Leena Rao / TechCrunch:
Facebook Wants Advertisers To Help Build Out Its Directory of Places  —  As we heard tonight, Facebook has officially launched Places, the social network's location-based platform.  We know what Places will mean for Facebook users.  Users will be able to check-in to Places …