If you are a linux user and you contributed to the FSF in the form of a donation, that's a communication, complete with any information you may have provided to the FSF including, but not limited to, your home address, phone number, age, name, etc. Do you want SCO to have that information? Wouldn't you consider that confidential?
From the context of your post, it almost sounded like you meant to say that the cost of certain commodities are rising, while the cost of doing business is dropping. I mean given the fact that a lot of critical jobs in IT have been shipped overseas because of considerably lower costs, decreases in communications and hardware for businesses (you can buy a copier/printer/fax machine for less than $200) have plummetted, and business software is getting cheaper (linux and open-source), you have to wonder if were not heading toward some class divide (intentional or unintentional) between those that understand business/law/tech, and those that don't.
That's what I gather anyhow. I'm usually wrong about these things.
"Despite the original poster's notion that the prices of milk, butter *AND* ice cream imply some structural macro-economic issue, it's a pretty specific problem that will sort itself out in a year."
While that may be the case, you have to take it into consideration when your making a case for inflation and a rise in cost of living. A year is enough time to have a marked effect on people, especially those that subsist on dairy products. Take for instance, the individuals that are on some public welfare plan that provides those goods to them. Someone, somewhere has to pay for those goods, and the increase in cost. The way I see it, certain products, particularly dairy products, are tied in very closely to macro-economical issues because the dependence is wide-spread throughout the people in this country. The WIC program gives free dairy products to its participants, and there's enough individuals in that program alone to make the dairy issue more than a moot point.
Ay man...if Microsoft turned around and took all the bazillions they make on their clodware, and invested it in more, cool science/human progress-type projects, I bet there'd be a lot less ridiculing. But as it is now, that money is being used for EVIL.
If you insist on keeping that sort of attitude and mentality towards music, then I'll cut the middle-man and just give you the finger in person, because that's about all the respect I have for that sort of thing.
You haven't looked at the site, nor have you read the article submission. MP3.com's sole purpose is NOT to sell legal downloads, just like everyone else. They are a multi-purpose site. Digital music news, user guides, compatibility guides, etc. I, for one, like the site. I think it's got a lot of useful info, it acts as sort of a catch-all for user discussion, and it even looks good. I hope they succeed in at least becoming a good, central source for digital entertainment.
I thought Apple Itunes, which looks like the field leader, was not making any profit at all, and was just using it as a tool to boost thier ipod sales.
I feel I have to address this since it seems to keep coming up. Apple might not be making any direct profit from download sales, and maybe neither is anyone else, but someone is, and that "someone" are labels. Given the notion that the business-end of the labels appear to be the least tech-savvy people on the planet, consider iTunes and the rest as the outsourced end of the labels' distribution methods. What I'm getting at is that the services probably aren't going to ever make the money they should in volume, but probably just enough to keep them around as another marketing tool for the labels'. It's like web-banners. You may never click on one, but if you see them enough, you're bound to become familiar with the service/product/etc. that the banner advertises.
Anyhow, wasn't one of the aims of the "downloaded music craze" to improve the quality of the product from the consumer point of view? Consider this: There's about seven or eight legal download services that I consider to be the "primary" services. Together, they make up a fairly large music catalog, and not of just pop music. I can buy a whole album's worth of music for considerably less than what I'd pay at a retail outlet, like a Sam Goody (nearly half the cost if you consider tax on a $17.99 album.) In nearly all the cases, I can burn a CD of the music, which means I can pretty much do anything with it after that. And for those of you that are running Linux, let me ask you this: would it kill you to go out and get a generic windows box, and set it up so that it specifically handles music only? I mean if you are that adamant about not using windows, then don't, but for christ's sake don't act like you have no other option. In most cases, if you don't like anything that iTunes or the like carries, then you won't be needing windows anyhow. Case in point: Audio Lunchbox. 192 Kbps.mp3 format downloads, accessible through a web browser on nearly any platform, and 100% free of DRM and other nonsense.
You have options, and it has gotten better. You still can't walk into a store and preview the music before you buy it, but you can with most of the legal download services. It's a pain in the ass nowadays to use P2P apps for downloads because it takes too damn long, even on my cable modem, mostly because I have to find it first, then I have to try and find a decent sound quality, and then there's the viruses, and what have you...99 cents, you have what you're looking for, right from the get go, it downloads fast, it sounds GOOD ENOUGH (I'm not an audiophile, nor do I care to be one, that's too much work for too little enjoyment)...it's basically a whole lot less of a pain in the ass.
I'm just trying to be optimistic about the whole "downloaded music craze" and hope that it only gets better as time progresses, because everything can stand to improve. If you ask me, we are at a much better place than we were 3 or 4 years ago. Granted we could have all gone without the bullshit lawsuits and the DRM/DMCA crap, but as history will tell you, if you can't learn from your mistakes, then you won't be around long enough to keep making them.
Re:Turning down to medium and letting simmer ...
on
The Confusion
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· Score: 1
Ahhh yes...
Operations manuals says, "Heat on high until boiling, then decrease heat to medium and let simmer for 45 minutes, or until tender. Serve with fried support staff, garnish with sprig of marketing dept."
I always forget the garnish...
Re:Boiled clean of syphilis
on
The Confusion
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· Score: 1
You know, you'd probably cut that "breakage" factor down to about 2% if you would just turn the heat down to medium and let simmer for about 30 minutes...
Re:Reading this post was taxing in itself
on
The Confusion
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· Score: 1
If by some miracle Sony makes all of their millions of songs (up from the initial half-mill) available to all music players, platforms, etc. via a nice 192Kbps.mp3 file minus the DRM that everyone whines about, but damn near everyone can circumvent, and throw in a blow-job for every 10th album downloaded, then yeah I'd say its possible for them to make up that deficit.
Even without the BJs I'd still say its possible so I'd be careful about saying "never."
On a side note, I think it's interesting that a gamer will buy a separate machine, and allocate gigs of space on that machine, and spend oodles of $$ on a nice vid-card for that machine, in order to play a $40-50 game, but for someone to take a spare box, drop in a 30gig HD with a decent sound card, download every music provider's client software, and turn it into their music-only station is unheard of. For the record, that's what I've got set up at home. It records, edits, produces and plays-back all manners of audio in whatever format is available. It's got an iPod, a stereo receiver, a studio mixer, 2 mics and a DJ setup (two turntables, DJ mixer) attached to it, and it cost me less than $150.
Music, Movies, Video Games. All forms of entertainment, only one of which has had proprietary format restrictions from day one, and not once has anyone ever whined about it. Yes, I know this comment is modded funny, but I hear these kinds of comments enough for them to be anything but funny. Quit the whining. "It doesn't work on Linux, it doesn't like my iPod, eww it's got DRM, whine whine whine." For what? Most of these places don't seem to be selling anything most of the people here would listen to, and if they did, are you telling me that you're too cheap to spend the $0.99, and too dumb to circumvent the DRM? Sales prevention nothing. Let me ask you this: do you think you could create and release the Sony store at no cost? Even if the store is a loss-leader for their player, don't you think they're hoping to make some money? Isn't obvious that greed is the motivator of business? So why on god's green earth would you think that Sony is out to piss you off by not making money? While it might appear that Sony isn't as informed as you or I on the status of the digital format music market, do you think it's possible that they might know something you and I don't?
Of course if anyone took this comment to heart, there would be nothing left to talk about on slashdot...
This is a troll if I've ever seen one. The poster doesn't have the slightest idea what he's talking about in some cases. And you would think that the "OMG the shufflez is teh party!! THE DJ IS ME!!1" would be enough of an indicator.
In terms of UI design, and the "LCD" factor, consider video games for a moment. They don't cater to a lowest common denominator, but somehow, the UI is designed so that a child can learn to play the game with a great deal of skill within a short amount of time. Consider the design of the game controller versus the mouse. Do you realize that a game controller can understand millions of commands? It because the software is designed to interpret single and multiple button presses. The standard mouse interface rarely makes use of anything besides a double-click. What about combo clicks? What about keystroke-mouse click combos? 3D modeling and graphics software is one of the few subsets in software UI design that utilizes a keystroke-click combination. Applications like Photoshop also make use of it, but in a context-specific way. Maya and the new version of Studio Max make use of the keystroke-click combo both within and without context. It exists as part of the environment's structure and is intended to be used with such proficiency and frequency that it almost becomes impossible to functionally operate without it.
If I could verify that and I was able to hire people right now, you'd have an interview tomorrow. It's easy to delude yourself into thinking you're good at both, but if it's actually true, you'll be in high demand.
Also, remember that we are talking about UI design, not UI coding or graphics design. Those are completely separate skills.
I realize that design is not just graphical or coding or a product. The approach I take in terms of design is practical and creative problem solving. In UI design, its more than just how it looks, its how it functions and how it serves as the medium between the logic of computer code, and the dynamic of human interaction. I wish you could verify that, but the majority of my work can't be shared outside my company's walls (I work for a defense contractor.) Incidentally I work in information design and graphic design, specifically things like UI. The fact that I don't have demonstrable work and that you'd probably have a hard time hiring me away from my current job are not mutually exclusive things.
Ack!! Even advanced users benefit from well designed UIs. I can understand it as a time vs. benefit argument, but all I can say is wow. Sorry you didn't run into some better "project managers."
At the time, I was just happy to be making even a little money on the project I was working on. While it wasn't "free-software," it was definitely open source. I would imagine that there are a great deal of projects that could go from pipe dreams and side-jobs to beautifully developed products if only the necessity for income could be transcended by the desire to create great things. Unfortunately the immediate needs always precede the more remote desires.
"Good UI design is hard. A good UI designer might not even be able to code and hardcore coders generally don't make very good UI designers. It's simply not what they're interested in and so it gets only as much time and effort as is absolutely necessary. We, as a community have built some wonderful code, but not many in the community are actually UI designers. We need to find and motivate more of these people."
With no intention of "tooting my own horn," UI design is something I excel at. In addition, I know how to code, I understand how to integrate the two and I know that those two things are often exclusive to each other. However, the few times I've been involved with Open Source projects, the "project managers" have expressed a disinterest in enhancing the UI for any of their software since they felt that the user base wasn't the kind that would benefit from it. Granted, that makes perfect sense, but in the long run, how many users will start to look for improved UIs as Linux moves to the desktop? I feel that poor UI design is PRECISELY the reason Linux isn't there yet, and I think for it to truly succeed on that level, they need to get some of design's heavy-hitters to bear their expertise on it. It isn't difficult to learn how to code, especially for designers since they already have an instinct for detail and "cleanliness" which carries over well into the coding world, but its exceptionally difficult for a hard-core coder to learn how to design well since its never been something they experience to the same degree as others, especially new users.
If Linux is to truly compete as an alternative to Windows, it needs an interface that provides the ease of use and flexibility that companies such as Apple and Microsoft use in their products.
It's not even that Microsoft's UI is particularly good, its that people know how to use it, and even then, most of those people use it poorly. Linux has the exceptional opportunity to set a new standard for usability.
That's funny because my music purchases have gone up nearly 400%. I went from spending about $20 a month on music, to nearly $80 per month. Incidentally, I was spending less on music while I was working at a record store because, (1) promos are FREE, and (2) I had a discount. This was back in 1997 when there were actually a few artists on labels that I gave a rat's ass about.
Now, at least a full 90% of that $80 goes to independent labels, the rest gets spent at the iTunes store, and most of those tracks are from obscure band or musician anyhow, the kind of band or musician that EMI is starting to cut from their label. The simple fact of the matter is (for me at least): The big labels rarely have anything I want from them. My downloading habits haven't changed, I can still find just about anything I want, and I've even increased the money I spend on music, but that money doesn't go to them because they have a product that I don't care to buy. How much simpler does the logic have to get?
Fuck that shit, I OWN my car, my house, the movies that I have on DVD that I watch because I never watch TV, my iPod with all the music I can fit on it... Sure, people may be USED to that sort of thing, but does anyone really strive to see how much stuff they can rent? Yeah I have magazine subscriptions...but those magazines are mine when they come in the mail, I'm not sending them back so I can receive a new issue. Incidentally, I also own the computer along with all the audio equipment attached to it that would allow me to easily record via analog anything that is played from my computer. Bring on this so called "subscription." I'll OWN every last song I can play for $9.99 a month.
For that Divendo thing, but from what you indicated, it sounds like a pyramid scheme that might actually work.
Invest in the product, and then tell other people to invest in the same product through you. The investment cost is low enough to not be prohibitive, and the interest is there (I mean, who doesn't like music), plus it no longer becomes a hard sell when its a matter of sharing your good taste in music with others. Wish I would have thought of it...
We should have him executed, and collect the $1million+ he's worth.
[woman in nightie]: ...but I don't have a hard drive...
*bow chica bow bow*
If you are a linux user and you contributed to the FSF in the form of a donation, that's a communication, complete with any information you may have provided to the FSF including, but not limited to, your home address, phone number, age, name, etc. Do you want SCO to have that information? Wouldn't you consider that confidential?
From the context of your post, it almost sounded like you meant to say that the cost of certain commodities are rising, while the cost of doing business is dropping. I mean given the fact that a lot of critical jobs in IT have been shipped overseas because of considerably lower costs, decreases in communications and hardware for businesses (you can buy a copier/printer/fax machine for less than $200) have plummetted, and business software is getting cheaper (linux and open-source), you have to wonder if were not heading toward some class divide (intentional or unintentional) between those that understand business/law/tech, and those that don't.
That's what I gather anyhow. I'm usually wrong about these things.
"Despite the original poster's notion that the prices of milk, butter *AND* ice cream imply some structural macro-economic issue, it's a pretty specific problem that will sort itself out in a year."
While that may be the case, you have to take it into consideration when your making a case for inflation and a rise in cost of living. A year is enough time to have a marked effect on people, especially those that subsist on dairy products. Take for instance, the individuals that are on some public welfare plan that provides those goods to them. Someone, somewhere has to pay for those goods, and the increase in cost. The way I see it, certain products, particularly dairy products, are tied in very closely to macro-economical issues because the dependence is wide-spread throughout the people in this country. The WIC program gives free dairy products to its participants, and there's enough individuals in that program alone to make the dairy issue more than a moot point.
Ay man...if Microsoft turned around and took all the bazillions they make on their clodware, and invested it in more, cool science/human progress-type projects, I bet there'd be a lot less ridiculing. But as it is now, that money is being used for EVIL.
If you insist on keeping that sort of attitude and mentality towards music, then I'll cut the middle-man and just give you the finger in person, because that's about all the respect I have for that sort of thing.
You haven't looked at the site, nor have you read the article submission. MP3.com's sole purpose is NOT to sell legal downloads, just like everyone else. They are a multi-purpose site. Digital music news, user guides, compatibility guides, etc. I, for one, like the site. I think it's got a lot of useful info, it acts as sort of a catch-all for user discussion, and it even looks good. I hope they succeed in at least becoming a good, central source for digital entertainment.
.mp3 format downloads, accessible through a web browser on nearly any platform, and 100% free of DRM and other nonsense.
I thought Apple Itunes, which looks like the field leader, was not making any profit at all, and was just using it as a tool to boost thier ipod sales.
I feel I have to address this since it seems to keep coming up. Apple might not be making any direct profit from download sales, and maybe neither is anyone else, but someone is, and that "someone" are labels. Given the notion that the business-end of the labels appear to be the least tech-savvy people on the planet, consider iTunes and the rest as the outsourced end of the labels' distribution methods. What I'm getting at is that the services probably aren't going to ever make the money they should in volume, but probably just enough to keep them around as another marketing tool for the labels'. It's like web-banners. You may never click on one, but if you see them enough, you're bound to become familiar with the service/product/etc. that the banner advertises.
Anyhow, wasn't one of the aims of the "downloaded music craze" to improve the quality of the product from the consumer point of view? Consider this: There's about seven or eight legal download services that I consider to be the "primary" services. Together, they make up a fairly large music catalog, and not of just pop music. I can buy a whole album's worth of music for considerably less than what I'd pay at a retail outlet, like a Sam Goody (nearly half the cost if you consider tax on a $17.99 album.) In nearly all the cases, I can burn a CD of the music, which means I can pretty much do anything with it after that. And for those of you that are running Linux, let me ask you this: would it kill you to go out and get a generic windows box, and set it up so that it specifically handles music only? I mean if you are that adamant about not using windows, then don't, but for christ's sake don't act like you have no other option. In most cases, if you don't like anything that iTunes or the like carries, then you won't be needing windows anyhow. Case in point: Audio Lunchbox. 192 Kbps
You have options, and it has gotten better. You still can't walk into a store and preview the music before you buy it, but you can with most of the legal download services. It's a pain in the ass nowadays to use P2P apps for downloads because it takes too damn long, even on my cable modem, mostly because I have to find it first, then I have to try and find a decent sound quality, and then there's the viruses, and what have you...99 cents, you have what you're looking for, right from the get go, it downloads fast, it sounds GOOD ENOUGH (I'm not an audiophile, nor do I care to be one, that's too much work for too little enjoyment)...it's basically a whole lot less of a pain in the ass.
I'm just trying to be optimistic about the whole "downloaded music craze" and hope that it only gets better as time progresses, because everything can stand to improve. If you ask me, we are at a much better place than we were 3 or 4 years ago. Granted we could have all gone without the bullshit lawsuits and the DRM/DMCA crap, but as history will tell you, if you can't learn from your mistakes, then you won't be around long enough to keep making them.
Ahhh yes...
Operations manuals says, "Heat on high until boiling, then decrease heat to medium and let simmer for 45 minutes, or until tender. Serve with fried support staff, garnish with sprig of marketing dept."
I always forget the garnish...
You know, you'd probably cut that "breakage" factor down to about 2% if you would just turn the heat down to medium and let simmer for about 30 minutes...
I'm so totally going to buy this book!
If by some miracle Sony makes all of their millions of songs (up from the initial half-mill) available to all music players, platforms, etc. via a nice 192Kbps .mp3 file minus the DRM that everyone whines about, but damn near everyone can circumvent, and throw in a blow-job for every 10th album downloaded, then yeah I'd say its possible for them to make up that deficit.
Even without the BJs I'd still say its possible so I'd be careful about saying "never."
On a side note, I think it's interesting that a gamer will buy a separate machine, and allocate gigs of space on that machine, and spend oodles of $$ on a nice vid-card for that machine, in order to play a $40-50 game, but for someone to take a spare box, drop in a 30gig HD with a decent sound card, download every music provider's client software, and turn it into their music-only station is unheard of. For the record, that's what I've got set up at home. It records, edits, produces and plays-back all manners of audio in whatever format is available. It's got an iPod, a stereo receiver, a studio mixer, 2 mics and a DJ setup (two turntables, DJ mixer) attached to it, and it cost me less than $150.
Music, Movies, Video Games. All forms of entertainment, only one of which has had proprietary format restrictions from day one, and not once has anyone ever whined about it. Yes, I know this comment is modded funny, but I hear these kinds of comments enough for them to be anything but funny. Quit the whining. "It doesn't work on Linux, it doesn't like my iPod, eww it's got DRM, whine whine whine." For what? Most of these places don't seem to be selling anything most of the people here would listen to, and if they did, are you telling me that you're too cheap to spend the $0.99, and too dumb to circumvent the DRM? Sales prevention nothing. Let me ask you this: do you think you could create and release the Sony store at no cost? Even if the store is a loss-leader for their player, don't you think they're hoping to make some money? Isn't obvious that greed is the motivator of business? So why on god's green earth would you think that Sony is out to piss you off by not making money? While it might appear that Sony isn't as informed as you or I on the status of the digital format music market, do you think it's possible that they might know something you and I don't?
Of course if anyone took this comment to heart, there would be nothing left to talk about on slashdot...
This is a troll if I've ever seen one. The poster doesn't have the slightest idea what he's talking about in some cases. And you would think that the "OMG the shufflez is teh party!! THE DJ IS ME!!1" would be enough of an indicator.
Yeah, the federal tax rate is lower than 33%. You're factoring in the state, the fed, and the social security we pay. Altogether they are around 33%.
I think it was the Loch Ness Lab's Sound Monster 6 card with Dawlby Pro-Illogic 9.6 speakerless technology.
In terms of UI design, and the "LCD" factor, consider video games for a moment. They don't cater to a lowest common denominator, but somehow, the UI is designed so that a child can learn to play the game with a great deal of skill within a short amount of time. Consider the design of the game controller versus the mouse. Do you realize that a game controller can understand millions of commands? It because the software is designed to interpret single and multiple button presses. The standard mouse interface rarely makes use of anything besides a double-click. What about combo clicks? What about keystroke-mouse click combos? 3D modeling and graphics software is one of the few subsets in software UI design that utilizes a keystroke-click combination. Applications like Photoshop also make use of it, but in a context-specific way. Maya and the new version of Studio Max make use of the keystroke-click combo both within and without context. It exists as part of the environment's structure and is intended to be used with such proficiency and frequency that it almost becomes impossible to functionally operate without it.
If I could verify that and I was able to hire people right now, you'd have an interview tomorrow. It's easy to delude yourself into thinking you're good at both, but if it's actually true, you'll be in high demand.
Also, remember that we are talking about UI design, not UI coding or graphics design. Those are completely separate skills.
I realize that design is not just graphical or coding or a product. The approach I take in terms of design is practical and creative problem solving. In UI design, its more than just how it looks, its how it functions and how it serves as the medium between the logic of computer code, and the dynamic of human interaction. I wish you could verify that, but the majority of my work can't be shared outside my company's walls (I work for a defense contractor.) Incidentally I work in information design and graphic design, specifically things like UI. The fact that I don't have demonstrable work and that you'd probably have a hard time hiring me away from my current job are not mutually exclusive things.
Ack!! Even advanced users benefit from well designed UIs. I can understand it as a time vs. benefit argument, but all I can say is wow. Sorry you didn't run into some better "project managers."
At the time, I was just happy to be making even a little money on the project I was working on. While it wasn't "free-software," it was definitely open source. I would imagine that there are a great deal of projects that could go from pipe dreams and side-jobs to beautifully developed products if only the necessity for income could be transcended by the desire to create great things. Unfortunately the immediate needs always precede the more remote desires.
"Good UI design is hard. A good UI designer might not even be able to code and hardcore coders generally don't make very good UI designers. It's simply not what they're interested in and so it gets only as much time and effort as is absolutely necessary. We, as a community have built some wonderful code, but not many in the community are actually UI designers. We need to find and motivate more of these people."
With no intention of "tooting my own horn," UI design is something I excel at. In addition, I know how to code, I understand how to integrate the two and I know that those two things are often exclusive to each other. However, the few times I've been involved with Open Source projects, the "project managers" have expressed a disinterest in enhancing the UI for any of their software since they felt that the user base wasn't the kind that would benefit from it. Granted, that makes perfect sense, but in the long run, how many users will start to look for improved UIs as Linux moves to the desktop? I feel that poor UI design is PRECISELY the reason Linux isn't there yet, and I think for it to truly succeed on that level, they need to get some of design's heavy-hitters to bear their expertise on it. It isn't difficult to learn how to code, especially for designers since they already have an instinct for detail and "cleanliness" which carries over well into the coding world, but its exceptionally difficult for a hard-core coder to learn how to design well since its never been something they experience to the same degree as others, especially new users.
If Linux is to truly compete as an alternative to Windows, it needs an interface that provides the ease of use and flexibility that companies such as Apple and Microsoft use in their products.
It's not even that Microsoft's UI is particularly good, its that people know how to use it, and even then, most of those people use it poorly. Linux has the exceptional opportunity to set a new standard for usability.
That's funny because my music purchases have gone up nearly 400%. I went from spending about $20 a month on music, to nearly $80 per month. Incidentally, I was spending less on music while I was working at a record store because, (1) promos are FREE, and (2) I had a discount. This was back in 1997 when there were actually a few artists on labels that I gave a rat's ass about. Now, at least a full 90% of that $80 goes to independent labels, the rest gets spent at the iTunes store, and most of those tracks are from obscure band or musician anyhow, the kind of band or musician that EMI is starting to cut from their label. The simple fact of the matter is (for me at least): The big labels rarely have anything I want from them. My downloading habits haven't changed, I can still find just about anything I want, and I've even increased the money I spend on music, but that money doesn't go to them because they have a product that I don't care to buy. How much simpler does the logic have to get?
But they're hard as fuck to produce...
Fuck that shit, I OWN my car, my house, the movies that I have on DVD that I watch because I never watch TV, my iPod with all the music I can fit on it... Sure, people may be USED to that sort of thing, but does anyone really strive to see how much stuff they can rent? Yeah I have magazine subscriptions...but those magazines are mine when they come in the mail, I'm not sending them back so I can receive a new issue. Incidentally, I also own the computer along with all the audio equipment attached to it that would allow me to easily record via analog anything that is played from my computer. Bring on this so called "subscription." I'll OWN every last song I can play for $9.99 a month.
I'd mod you up, but I already used all my points, and life is a bitch like that...
For that Divendo thing, but from what you indicated, it sounds like a pyramid scheme that might actually work.
Invest in the product, and then tell other people to invest in the same product through you. The investment cost is low enough to not be prohibitive, and the interest is there (I mean, who doesn't like music), plus it no longer becomes a hard sell when its a matter of sharing your good taste in music with others. Wish I would have thought of it...
"...no implementation in site." Don't you mean, "in sight?"