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Yep!! Here's the dealnews writeup. You can even order it online. (I have the Sony-branded version of the same and it rocks!) This is the best way to watch TV.

Philips DSR-6000 DIRECTV Receiver with TiVo 35-hour recorder $99.99

I picked up this remote a few months ago for 50 bucks at circuit city.

RCA 8 Device Remote

I haven't had any problems with and am extremely happy with it for the price. It is a learning remote that can control up to 8 devices. Just about every button on the remote can be reprogrammed to preform a different function, including commands for components other than the component that you are currently controling. For example, I have the volume and sound mode switches from my reciever mapped to a couple of the buttons in DVD player mode. The only real down side to is that it can only hold 3 macros, but I find that is all I need. The LCD screen at the top makes it very easy to program the remote, but it isn't terribly useful during normal operation(only showing the component you are currently controling and the time). I don't think you can find one more powerful for the price.

Consider this hypothetical situation. You go to one of the numerous electronics or computer retailers across the fruited plain and you buy a computer off the shelf. (Please...you can stop laughing now at the absurdity of this possibility.) The thing's preloaded with the latest bluescreen inducer. (We're also assuming that, for whatever reason, thinking different isn't an option.) You'd rather replace the preloaded software with something that's a little more reliable. You borrow a copy of $LINUX_DISTRO|$FREEBSD_DISTRO from a friend and blow away Win$YEAR when Billy sends some attack lawyers down from Redmond and slaps you with a lawsuit for depriving him of any future revenue when Win`expr $YEAR + 1` comes along.

How is the above hypothetical any different than what Gracenote is trying to pull off here? They seem to be under the impression that once you use their service in your software, you're stuck with them forever.

(Does anybody have a tool and/or a project (probably of a distributed nature) going to brute-force CDDB for all possible data and pass the info along to one of the free (as in speech) alternatives?)

Motorola's on to an interesting marketing gimmick enforcement mechanism. But what about the legal/contract law implications?

For example, If I buy a CD player, will I be required to agree to a license? If I don't agree and the device suicides, will I be able to sue the manufacturer, the distributor, or the retailer? After all, if I buy the device at the local Circuit City but the sales clerk didn't point out the agreement to me, or I bought the device on the gray market, I shouldn't be bound by the terms of the license, should I?

This looks like one more insidious possibility of UCITA shrink-wrap licenses causing grief in the marketplace.

Don't forget to read the unbiased news about UCITA, also (Not that Stallman's opinion doesn't explain enough...).

I don't think that Sony will bother to keep supporting MiniDisc for very long, as the format they're pushing is Memory Stick Anyway the capacity of MD isn't that great. I could be way off track here but isn't MD basically like a CD but using ATRAC3 compression?

Minidisc comes in two flavors now; An audio/data minidisc with a capacity of 120MB, and a video minidisc with a capacity of 650MB. The video minidisc, as far as I know, is used for nothing other than Sony camcorders, though I would certainly like to see a scsi, ide, usb, and firewire-connectable (different versions are okay) removable media drive using them.

Minidisc is read (and written) magnetically; Writing can only occur when the disc is heated to the Curie point with a laser (the only thing low-power enough for use in a portable device capable of heating up the precise spot on the disc to the proper level.)

Memory stick only comes in capacities up to 256MB, and only up to 128MB anywhere that isn't Japan. I could only find a 64MB memory stick (doing a rapid search) available on Circuit Shitty's webpage; They want $159.99 for one stupid MagicGate Memory Stick in the 64MB range. You can actually buy a Sharp MDSR60S player/recorder from CC for $199.99! And finally, a 5-pack of 80 minute minidiscs (which must be slightly over 120MB, since a 74 minute MD is 120MB, IIRC) is $11.99. Cheap off-brand? Nope. It's Memorex (Apparently, it's not Live.) A Memorex 20 pack (74 minute) is $34.99. A ten-pack is $19.99, a 5-pack of 74 minute is $9.99.

Two bucks for a minidisc which holds about the same amount of music (given a reasonable level of quality) as a 64MB Memory Stick which costs $159.99... Well, I know which one I'd choose. The memory stick is 80 times more expensive, and not 80 times more convenient (though it IS dramatically more convenient, not THAT dramatically.

Depending on where you look, many are sold out: Amazon and Buy for instance. I did find some in stock at Kmart (anyone know what model that is? it doesnt say) as well as Circuit City (link may not work, uses sessionID stuff).

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If Bill Gates had a nickel for every time Windows crashed...

>where I can put a DVD, CD audio, CD-R, CD-RW, or a CD full of MP3's in my single component, and let it play

Um, I think I just bought one of those for my parents, I'm not positive if it plays cd-rw's, but I'm relatively sure it knows all the others. it's the Apex AD660, they sell it at Circuit City, among other places, I imagine.

Ok, I checked, it recognizes CD-RW too.

• Instead of "O'Reilly and Associates" it's "O'Really and Associates".
• Instead of "Crutchfield" it's "Crotchfield".
• Circuit Shitty (kind lame, but still appropriate)
• And the IBM ;Crap tiva (in the tradition of the Tandy "Trash 80")

Heh.

The previous one APEX 600-AD can play DVD / CD / VCD & mp3 . This one has 3 disc changer in addition.

I have the single disc version and I have nothing but good things to say about this geek's toy. My friends went and bought name brands (Panasonic / Sony) for twice/thirce the price (I got mine for $150 in Circuit City ). But still some of theirs don't play VCDs and don't have the zoom / sound / play functions of APEX. But what is kinky is it can play MP3 CDs (even CD-RWs without closing the CD - I haven't tried this, but I know others who do this successfully). Here is circuit city link

Forget this vaporware crap and buy one that works and affordable. And this is your good chance to upset MPAA :=))

The previous one APEX 600-AD can play DVD / CD / VCD & mp3 . This one has 3 disc changer in addition.

I have the single disc version and I have nothing but good things to say about this geek's toy. My friends went and bought name brands (Panasonic / Sony) for twice/thirce the price (I got mine for $150 in Circuit City ). But still some of theirs don't play VCDs and don't have the zoom / sound / play functions of APEX. But what is kinky is it can play MP3 CDs (even CD-RWs without closing the CD - I haven't tried this, but I know others who do this successfully). Here is circuit city link

Forget this vaporware crap and buy one that works and affordable. And this is your good chance to upset MPAA :=))

_/_
/ v \
(IIGS( Scott Alfter (remove Voyager's hull # to send mail)
\_^_/

agree. you could buy a websurfer for $50 hackit into a full 300 Mhz machine using a $10 old HD and $5 assorted components. for $450 you will get 7 of these units, with a computing power larger than the one PCI card, but usable for other purposes as well, including some fun beowulf clustering

Make sure you check out the availability of this at your local Circuit City store before you drive to buy one. When I checked it out, neither of the stores near me had any, and they weren't available for direct shipping, either. Just a heads up...

I'm just sick of exagerations, even if it's only $20.00.

Apex 600, Circuit city, 18-Feb-2000, on sale.

After reading about it (on /. no less) I went to the CC website, paid for it online to be picked up on the way home from work that day. When I got there the sales droid informed me it was on sale. Life is good.

While definately not as nice a price as the Circuit City $150-$190
Circuit City online has them listed at $179.99
http://www.circu itcity.com/detail.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0228002481. 0950906976@@@@&BV_EngineID=dalhckjeegibe mfcfkmcgcg.0&bookmark=bookmark_0&oid=18772&index=0

Buy.com also seems to have a limited lot of them for sale also at $255.95.
http://www.buy.com/clearance/ product.asp?sku=70000060

I thought I would throw that in for the geek that must have one and can't find them anywhere else or doesn't want to get out of bed :)

(also interesting in terms of comparison)

While definately not as nice a price as the Circuit City $150-$190
Circuit City online has them listed at $179.99
http://www.circu itcity.com/detail.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0228002481. 0950906976@@@@&BV_EngineID=dalhckjeegibe mfcfkmcgcg.0&bookmark=bookmark_0&oid=18772&index=0

Buy.com also seems to have a limited lot of them for sale also at $255.95.
http://www.buy.com/clearance/ product.asp?sku=70000060

I thought I would throw that in for the geek that must have one and can't find them anywhere else or doesn't want to get out of bed :)

(also interesting in terms of comparison)

Check out Circuit City's web page! They're still talking about what a great thing DIVX is. Um, Webmaster, get with the program!
(click here)