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-Real number of songs are closer to 100000 than 300000.

This is no longer speculation. I was listening to CNET Radio on my way into work this morning and the Chief Research Officer of Microsoft was the guest.

He confirmed that Microsoft was going to start developing Linux software and said Office was not on the list of things they had planned right away. IIS, SQL Server, and other such products would be placed on the burner first.

He also admitted some other interesting things. Namely that by 2006 they expected Linux to be shipping on 40% of Intel servers and that over time, the TCO of Linux would come to be the same as Windows in the server market.

I can't find any references to an announcement by Microsoft yet.. but you should be able to hear the interview in archive format at cnetradio.com.

One big difference for me is that XM has CNET Radio and Sirius does not. That said, Sirius has some channels that I wish XM had (NPR, PRI). Also, it's great to have 24/7 Bluegrass.

They will never again have the opportunity that they let slip through their fingers because they killed Napster. Napster had the widest selection where anyone could find anything, and it worked well. They threw away the opportunity of a lifetime because they got greedy.

Instead of working out a system where they could have gotten paid something somehow, they grasped for millions, throwing away billions

It is a typical case of the big fish in the small pond fearing the ocean

There will probably never be the same chance to create a market and integrate it all into one service again.

There was a pretty good interview with John Lanning on CnetRadio that is worth listening, goes into the history, and where he sees things going from here.

I know it's been posted before, but there's no harm in doing it again...

You can locate your legislators at www.congress.org. If you choose to contact them, keep these things in mind:

• DO NOT send e-mail. It will be ignored.
• Only send a fax as a last resort.
• Letters and phone calls are best.
• Don't use prewritten letters unless you absolutely have to. No, don't even use them then. They won't be taken as seriously as a letter you compose yourself.
• If you decide to call, you're going to get a staffer. Prepare for them to be relatively clueless on this issue, at least at first. Have your facts in front of you so you'll be able to answer any questions they may have.
• Know your facts. Know the bill number, the bill name, all the sponsors, and where the bill is in terms of passage. If you can't get all of this information, at least get the bill number and make sure it's correct because the person you speak to may want to find a copy of the legislation, and they'll need that number to do it.
• If you call, it's not a bad idea to follow up with a letter.
• In your written or verbal conversations, be polite, but make sure the person on the other end knows that this is something you care about and that will influence your vote in the next election.

And if this is going to work, spread the word to other organizations and people who can help oppose it. Do you subscribe to a magazine that would be interested in this? Send a letter to the editor. Does Consumer Reports print letters to the editor? If they do, send one their way. Lots of people read that magazine, people who may not otherwise find out about this.

Talk radio may be another useful outlet. If your local station has a show that has open discussions about any subject of interest to listeners, call in. Calling in to CNET Radio would be a good place to start. The CNET site says you can tune in at 910 AM in the Bay Area, at 890 AM in Boston, and on XM Satellite Radio, channel 130. Most every city has at least one talk station, so there are many places to call in.

There are other things you can do. Write a letter to the editor of your local paper. If you get it published, great. Even if you don't, someone there has to read it, so at least the newspsper people will be educated, so they'll be more sensitized to the issue when they see it again.

Whatever you do, think of it in terms of getting information to the right people. With Congress, it's getting lots of people to contact them. With the public, it's getting as many people as possible familiar with the issue. It's a numbers game. Just don't forget that most people don't get their information primarily through the Internet. They log on to get their daily fix of the large Web sites and then log off. They may care about this, but you're going to have to reach them offline. Be creative. Think of it as a way to beat the big media companies at their own game. These guys most likely think they can get this garbage passed without the public ever knowing. Let's prove them wrong.

As a matter of fact, CNET Radio just reported on this thing. It was the last item in their newscast, and the whole report lasted about 20 seconds. That needs to get changed, and only our action can change it.