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Virgin's New iPod Rival
iammaxus writes "CNET has the scoop on Virgin's new iPod killer. Favorite quote: 'Virgin said support for open standards such as WMA will let people select the music service of their choice.'" While this doesn't look like a bad player, it's the same price as an iPod mini (and incompatible with the most popular pay-per-download site), so calling it an iPod killer seems a bit premature.
Branson of all people should know that if you don't differentiate, you won't beat the incumbent
Not trolling, but (with one obvious exception - Virgin Galactic) when has Branson innovated? Virgin Atlantic was just another airline, Virgin Cola just another cola, etc. There's probably something obvious I've missed but when I think of Virgin/Branson, I *don't* think innovation, I think discount prices.
(Still, with Virgin Galactic I'm prepared to forgive him...)
This is where the serious fun begins.
I like the built in FM tuner. The big question is if you can record from it. It doesn't look like it. And that's exactly what I want.
I attend various conferences. Some of them broadcast on a low power FM radio signal for people in the audience that are hard of hearing. Those people can have a private radio with headsets and adjust the volume to make it easier for them to hear. It also is a great way to record the program without the distracting noises from the audience.
I'd like to find an MP3 player, HD based or replacement memory sticks (SD, xD, whatever), that has the ability to record using a built in microphone and an FM tuner. A microphone jack would be a plus.
The closest I've found is a small 128/256 meg device, but the memory is not interchangeable, it's built in.
Anyone know of anything like that? Who makes it? And where it can be found?
. 62,400 repetitions make one truth -- Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
You may wish to research Branson's early business history. He began with a telephone order music service that was (at the time) very innovative.
It seems that the smart thing to do in business, is to come up with a innovative product, make enough money to get your head above the water and from that point just lock-step.
Of course the iPod supports AAC and MP3 and "is capable of working with various digital music services" too. So I guess that's fair enough.
If Apple refused to license FairPlay to Virgin, then Virgin is correct in saying that their lack of iTunes support is Apple's choice."Digital Music" is not all "MP3". iTunes are AAC, not MP3 (yes, I know, they both use MPEG-style encoding). Pedantic, perhaps, but important. Encoded music comes in lots of formats, not just WMA and MP3.
We may not imagine how our lives could be more frustrating and complex—but Congress can. – Cullen Hightower
20 GB iPod: 2.4 x 4.1 x 0.57 = 5.61 cu. in.
(40 GB iPod: 2.4 x 4.1 x 0.69 = 6.79 cu. in.)
iPod mini: 3.6 x 2.0 x 0.5 = 3.60 cu. in.
Virgin: 3.78 x 2.23 x 0.62 = 5.23 cu. in.
>The Public was conned into believing that privatisation would benefit them in some way....
... that the British blood in your veins... ;)
You tell me with a straight face that you honestly believe that the privatisation of, e.g., BT, has not benefitted the British people, and I'll buy a copy of Socialist Worker off of you. When I've stopped laughing, which will take a while.
> Why did people buy these shares anyway?
To make money on the investment? Capitalism 101.
>
Oooohh, Nationalist and Socialist, nice
> After seven years of Blair, the nation's wealth is distributed less equitably than when he started,
I'm not sure the focus on wealth distribution is entirely healthy; you should look instead at the levels of poverty. If everyone has enough to eat, and a roof over their head, access to services and education - why should they worry that someone else has more?
> and fox hunting is still legal.
And let's hope it bloody well stays that way!
Coming on to the real failures of the Blair administration:
* Completely fucked up the reform of the house of lords, achieving the seemingly impossible by making it less democratic.
* Huge increases in tax, nicely hidden away where it's not too obvious to the feebleminded.
* No visible progress on improving the things that actually need fixing - NHS, transport, education. But time to protect cuddly foxes.
* Still no Freedom of Information Act. Funny how they dropped THAT manifesto promise once they got their grubby hands on power.
* Continuing erosion of civil liberties. Come on, Blunkett makes Howard (previously universally reviled as the most repressive home secretary in history) look like a bleeding heart liberal in comparison. Let's look at some examples:
* RIP act - the government, the council, and any tom dick and harry has the right to snoop your email. And of course this will not catch a single criminal.
* Phone taps don't need judicial oversight anymore
* Foreigners (like me, in theory) can be locked up indefinitely without trial, charge, or any disclosed evidence
* Biometric ID cards - lots of government invasion into your life, huge costs, zero actual benefit.
Let's not even get into the mess of the pension system (admittedly that was a mess beforehand, but he's not done anything to improve it), or the fundemental injustice of meanstesting.
no taxation without representation!