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You just need to know who to ask...

Though, if you were actually going for a +5 Funny... well played, sir.

so, it will work on both blueray and UMD...

but seriously, the only way I see that Sony could make this almost ubiquitous would be to build a web app that uses flash and something like google gears for disconnected content playback persistence.

Sort of like a mashup of youtube and itunes.

Sort of like a Sony music store except... better.

The distinction's not as clear as you seem to think. With the iTunes/FP setup, I install media, know my options with regard to said media, and I choose to continue using the software regulating those rights.

Sony's solution", however, meant I didn't get to know my options, didn't get to make any decisions regarding what went on my box, etc.

There's a clear contrast, and an important one, as far as I'm concerned. With one, I'm fully aware of what's happening - even if I disagree with it - while with the other I'm duped for just attempting to play a CD.

Now, I don't know if you really wanted to compare FairPlay to this defunct service, but it's a no-brainer to me. As long as I keep a local copy of my AAC files & iTunes (or de-FairPlayed AAC files and any of a number of options) I get to keep listening to my music. Connect managed to come through with instructions on how to avoid the fate that customers of other fee-based services have endured, but why go with such a service in the first place? Gimme a local copy any time.

What she is doing is blaming Steve and friends for the fact that she isn't doing anything about the RIAA cartel. Why focus on iTunes instead of something like SONY connect where the content provider and the distributor are one and the same?

http://connect.com/ Who do you think is behind Atrac? I'll give you a clue, the PSP natively supports it.

I'm truly disappointed at Sony for supporting proprietary formats like PDF, instead of introducing a better, mandatory *Universal E Book* format that any Sony Reader can open!

Oh btw, maybe their marketing isn't totally worthless if they offer more than 250 star trek books to their early gadget adopters. It's kinda obvious, but it might as well work!

Welcome too the future, btw! Party at my house.

We will offer titles on a pay-to-own basis - similar to the way a user expects to purchase and own other digital media today. The user will have the option to purchase this content and read it on up to 6 different activated devices (computers or Readers).

On my trawl of PSP news sites i came across one which had an article about Sony linking to a hacking site , i thought this is of course rubbish, but a closer look at PSP Connect has verified that news.
Now i went to the site in question and theres an iso loader called DevHoook for the PSP. Surely sony dont want to offend all the game companies by linking to sites like this.
Are Sony that desperate for users to use the playstation portable that they link to a hacking site.?

Cause you know too much McSony can cause high blood pressure and heart disease, not to mention that sluggish feeling.

http://www.connect.com/McD_info.html

As a funny side note:

We appreciate your interest in the Connect music store, but our store currently only works with Internet Explorer 5.5 and above. You don't seem to be using that particular browser at the moment, so, unfortunately, we'll have to part ways until we support the browser you're currently using or you upgrade to the latest version of Internet Explorer. Please click the Download link below if you'd like to upgrade now..

Well, Somehow I don't think so...

"The concept of having HUB be a "media HUB" for Sony music, films, etc. is interesting, but I really wouldn't call that new."

If the PS3 has a DVR, that's no doubt a great thing to many people. If you see TV over regular coax cable or have over-the-air HDTV reception, this will be great. However, there's a ton of people who have subscribers (DirectTV, Comcast, Time-Warner, Dish) where AFAIK the only way to see expanded and/or HD content is through that content provider's digital set-top box.

The two workarounds would be to have inputs and outputs to record the content (analog) or to have a Cable Card slot. But Cable Cards usually have monthly fees attached to them about equal in price to the fees for the content provider's DVR.

What strikes me as interesting is that Sony wants people to believe that you can happily move around movies, music, TV shows to and from your PS3 and your PSP. Yet this same company is the one that doesn't let you rip CDs that you've already bought. What Sony is not saying is that you can move your purchased content around. (See Sony's answer to iTMS). I can't see this being an easy, open way to move around your media. Not with Sony.

Also, if consumers really wanted DVRs with their game machines, the PSX would've been a huge hit that Sony would've brought to territories outside of Japan.

If you want to use content sold by Sony in the reader's native format, you'll need to go to Sony's Connect site, which redirects you to http://www.connect.com/non_ie.html if you're not using IE on a Windows platform as an administrator user. As for me, I'd never buy a Sony device until I knew that I could provide my own content derived from text, HTML, or other formats via another operating system.

So close and yet so far... Once again Sonys hardware is cool, only to be crippled by shoddy software.
In this case, even their online store is IE only. I got this in Firefox:
"We appreciate your interest in the Connect music store, but our store currently only works with Internet Explorer 5.5 and above. You don't seem to be using that particular browser at the moment, so, unfortunately, we'll have to part ways until we support the browser you're currently using or you upgrade to the latest version of Internet Explorer. Please click the Download link below if you'd like to upgrade now." http://www.connect.com/non_ie.html

The Washington Post thinks that "This service is an embarrassment to the company that gave the world the Walkman.".

The impact however, which Sony has on culture, society and laws is certainly no laughing matter.

*) Don't bother if you are not using IE; I quote from the link:

We appreciate your interest in the Connect music store, but our store currently only works with Internet Explorer 5.5 and above. You don't seem to be using that particular browser at the moment, so, unfortunately, we'll have to part ways until we support the browser you're currently using or you upgrade to the latest version of Internet Explorer. Please click the Download link below if you'd like to upgrade now.

Are Sony releasing a competing product?

What follows is a tutorial for doing just that

(lovingly stolen from my friends redvsblue journal).

March 26th, 2005 The tutorial for getting RvB on PSP Important Step Skipped, try again if you didn't get it before.

OK. Many of you have been wondering, WTF, why can't I just drag and drop my files, and bam there are my movies? One of the sad things about the PSP is, the lack of a program on the computer that easily sorts out the files.

Go here, and watch the tutorial. If you don't have time... just connect your psp to the computer and make a folder on it entitled: "MP_ROOT." Then make a folder within that called: "100MNV01"

Note: "MP_ROOT" should be right next to the folder called "PSP," not inside of it.Also, although not tested, I don't believe you need a video saying, congradulations on getting video to your PSP.

Download this, next

This is the 3GP website. For those of you that want to know the source of the site, its in Japanese.

When you get it downloaded, unzip the file, and then install the software. EDIT IMPORTANT: Double click SETUP and change it to MP4, PSP (you can use "direct" if you have USB mode set up on your PSP). You'll know that you're good so far when you see a program that looks like this:

http://www.nurs.or.jp/~calcium/3gpp/images/3GPPC onv_01.gif You can change the language to English.

Set a directory (unless you want it to hog up the desktop, two files will be made each time you start a conversion. Drag and drop an episode of your choice, and the program should begin a conversion. Watch the log, to see if it is making good progress. If you want episode fifty-two, the episode is downloadable at the bottom for PSP play.

I ran into a problem with both Windows Media Video, and .mov formats.

Divx versions of the episodes worked fine.

Once you recieve TWO output files, with the beginning numbers "M4VCXXXX" (x=numbers) with a .mp4 extension and a .THM format, drag and drop the two files into "100MNV01."

Enjoy

For those of you who are redvsblue members and would like to go mod him up,the entery from which I stole is Here

It's kind of funny that the Sony PSP is probably more Linux friendly than than Sony's regular mp3 devices.

Have you ever tried to visit Connect http://www.connect.com/ with FireFox? Yep, it's IE only though you can spoof the UserAgent. Maybe Linux users should keep complaining to Sony. You never know it might work.

Here's another thing, I've got 2 Playstation 2's, one with the Linux kit and the other with the FFXI HD in it.

Now with the Linux kit, I can transfer music, photos, video clips over to the PSP no problems. But I cant use Connect.. The Linux kit is a niche product for certain so there's probably not going to be any SonicStage for Linux on the PS2.

But that FFXI HD PS2 has a lot of empty space on that HD, about 26 GB I think. There were rumors of some kind of media playing/CD ripping software for HD equipped PS2's from Sony but nothing came of it. It seems sort of a no brainer, people aren't going to be running iTunes, WMP, Napster, or Musicmatch on their PS2's. Captive audience for content and with the PSP, Sony could have created a synergistic relationship between PSP, PS2 and Connect similar to what Apple has done with IPod and ITunes.

It's likely too late for something like this to happen with the PS2, but the PS3 on the other hand.

Hackers are transferring movies to the PSP?
You mean hackers who follow directions on sony's website?

connect.com is Sony's music store. The software that is included with players is just slightly modified from the free version.

Sonic Stage is basically an updated version of OpenMG, with a much better interface. It should work with the old players.

Huh? You can download Sonic Stage here.
You either didn't look too hard or the user board you went to is full of maroons.

Exactly, so Apple's model is to make money form IPOD sales, not from distribution of songs.... thats just an additional service to push the sales of IPODs... I was just responsding to the parent, and a few others who were speculating whether there is money in distribution or not, and the answer is that no, unless you can use distribution to push a hardware device, or maybe a DRM technology(something like what sony is now trying to with with Sony Connect) there is not a lot of money in distribution

We know you are interested in using the Connect music store. Unfortunately SonicStage only works on Windows 98SE and above. We have no immediate plans to support other operating systems at this time. However, we believe this is an important user base and we hope to support it in the future.

Gee, thanks I say.

A quick look around for something to mimic Sonicstage comes up with zero, so forget it. I'm not going to waste hundreds of dollars for a device I have no hope of using. I'm not willing to purchase Windoze for the privilege of spending weeks of my life converting all of my music to Sony's ownership with a file format I can't use anywhere else.

As a side note, I'm still very happy with my Zaurus' performance as a music player. With a large enough CF, I get plenty of play time out of it with ogg or mp3.

Permitted Uses:
You may play the Connect Downloads an unlimited number of times on up to three (3) personal computers that are registered with the Connect store, including the personal computer on which the Connect Downloads are originally downloaded. Once downloaded to that personal computer, you may transfer the licensed Connect Downloads an unlimited number of times to portable music devices and media (except for WMG's Content, which may be transferred to up to three (3) different portable devices) that read the OpenMG DRM such as the HiMD, the Net MD, and the Memory Stick media. You may not thereafter transfer, copy or export (or the like) such Connect Download from one such device to another, or to any media of any kind without maintaining the OpenMGDRM. In addition, you may also "burn" up to a total of ten (10), (up to five (5) permanent copies of the Connect Downloads in compressed form in the Atrac3 codec encrypted and protected by the OpenMG DRM and up to five (5) Redbook CDs, (except for UMG's content, which may be burned to at least ten (10) Redbook CDs)), to either blank recordable CD-R compact discs or blank recordable CD-RW compact discs (i.e., a physical, non-interactive record configuration that conforms to either (i) in the case of CD-Rs, the so-called "Orange Book Part II" technical specification for "write once" compact discs or (ii) in the case of CD-RWs, the so-called "Orange Book Part III" technical specification for "re-writable" compact discs). Any burning or transferring capabilities of the Connect Downloads are solely an accommodation to you and shall not constitute a grant or waiver (or other limitation or implication) of any rights of the copyright owners of the sound recording and underlying musical composition embodied in the Connect Download.
Non-Permitted Uses:
Any use of the sound recordings as embodied in the Connect Download other than as permitted above is a violation of the copyright in such sound recording under applicable laws, and is prohibited. Except as expressly permitted in the "Permitted Uses" section above, you may not reproduce, distribute or transfer the Connect Downloads, in any format. For example, you may not: (i) transfer the Connect Downloads to anyone else; (ii) register more than 3 computers with the Connect store at any one time; (iii) copy or transfer the Connect Downloads to more than the number of portable music devices expressly permitted in the "Permitted Uses" section above; (iv) "burn" more than ten (10) copies of any particular Connect Download to blank recordable compact disc; or (v) copy or transfer the Connect Downloads to any storage device or blank media not specifically authorized in the "Permitted Uses" section above. In addition, you may not reverse engineer, transcode, decompile, translate, adapt, modify, disassemble or otherwise tamper with the Content, or the software, or circumvent any technology designed to enforce these Limitations on Use. You further agree that you will not attempt to modify the software or the Usage Rules for any reason whatsoever, including for the purpose of disguising or changing ownership of the Content.

Of course these record labels want iTunes to charge $1.25 per song. They have their own online music stores; iTunes is the enemy, not the vanguard savior of online music distribution (according to the labels).

Sony is about to roll out their online music store as well. They have weird deals with United Airlines and etc. Exchange frequent flyer miles for music?

Sony is about to roll out their online music store as well. They have weird deals with United Airlines and etc. Exchange frequent flyer miles for music?