User: yagu

but can Zune become the new iPod? No.

On: iPod Owners Not As Loyal To Brand As Mac Owners

iPod may be falling victim to its own popularity. Marketing, excellent design, cachet, marketing, cuteness, and marketing gave Apple a great foothold in the portable music player market. iPod is a great product (I don't own one, don't intend to), and captured the imagination of a public wanting the next new cool thing.

Problem is, the next new cool thing isn't new anymore. And with so many owning iPods now, it's almost not even cool anymore. With Apple's continued re-invention of iPod, iPod has managed to keep iPod as "next".

The loyalty for iPod is different from the loyalty for Mac. iPod is more public, more connected to the owner (until there are wearable Macs)... Once the newness and coolness factors wear off owners want the next greatest thingy that shows their hipness.

So, can Zune fulfill that and capture Apple's market? Maybe. But Microsoft has been kicked around so much lately I think any product by Microsoft is likely to scream "I'm cool". To accomplish the deed, the Zune would almost have to be sublime. Microsoft brought some interesting ideas (wireless, community, sharing), but in typical MS fashion appears to be delivering a product so wrapped around the axle and DRM'ed I can't imagine it will catch fire.

Yes, the survey indicates a high number of iPod users could/would switch, but polls and surveys in a commercial setting hardly bring credence to the point. My guess, far fewer would really switch than indicated by the survey.

And I also think we're not far from some kind of Apple "new" iPod with better screens, and wireless... and the new iPod will be compatible with the old line, and you can bet they'll continue to trump MS in usability. For me, "It Just Works" is better than "Plays for Sure" (I know, MS has abandoned that for the Zune, but whatever the new catchphrase, it's code for "only plays with MS stuff).

Time will tell, but I'll continue to put my money on Apple.

sined, sealed and delivered

On: Surprises in Microsoft Vista's EULA

To quote the Buckaroo Bonzai movie, Microsoft's locked in monopoly is sined, sealed and delivered. The EULA for Vista provides more evidence Microsoft is the 800 lb. guerilla that doesn't care about potential faceoffs on these issues any more. The article seems to think differently:

If you thought that the legal troubles the company faced in the late 90s would perhaps mellow it out, you were wrong. Far from it. The draconian limitations I've discussed could only be enacted by a monopoly unafraid of alienating its users, as it feels they have no other alternative. Microsoft may yet learn, however, that there are limits to what its users will bear. To paraphrase what my fifth-grade teacher often told his rambunctious class, "Beware the wrath of a patient user base." Security pros have already given Microsoft a deserved black eye over the never-ending string of gaffes and vulnerabilities streaming out of the company. It seems now as though another black eyes and a bloody nose may be coming, along with a final wave goodbye. There comes a point at which corporate hubris causes a fall, and we may be seeing the beginning of that collapse. If so, Microsoft will have no one but itself to blame.

I'm not sure how the article's author would see the user base reacting. Pick a different platform? How? At what expense? No, Microsoft has got this one in the bag.

I predicted in the late 90's if Microsoft didn't have to pay real consequences for their business practices, eventually they would be rolling out OSes at any price they wanted and noone would be able to do much about it. This was at a time where hardware dramatically was decreasing in price but Windows, all flavors, continued to sustain an amazingly different cost curve. I predicted eventually:

• Microsoft would put out an OS at around $400
• Their OS would eventually be the largest cost of a new machine

It looks like we're pretty close to both. I'll continue to do my development in my Linux world, but I'm guessing there will be a momentary raised eyebrow with Microsoft's Vista, Vista's EULA with it's almost amazing restrictions (especially compared with already draconian past EULAs) and then business as usual.

they had me right up to...

On: Does Offshoring Threaten Combat Software?

It's not clear to me what software the Government is outsourcing or has outsourced or is considering. But it does seem they have at least dabbled in weapons systems and other software related to warfare being offshored. I can think of reasons this isn't a good idea...

• first (and maybe most importantly) if we are creating and structuring a defense system for our country, why would we ask others to write the software? Would be outsource our soldiers for the military?
• relatedly, when there are wars, why would we look to a future of any conflicts built on the platform of sending work to create goods to fight those wars to other sovereignties? I think the residents and citizens should be the ones for hire...
• ultimately we could be in a conflict with the very countries who have written our software and while the heat of battle may be too late for them to sabotage, their "prior knowledge" of our systems could give them an advantage, possibly devastating to "us".
• there's the continuing possibility of unfriendlies infiltrating the outsourced ranks and sabotaging in advance our software, or building in back doors for possible future use.

That's a small list, there's plenty more. However, the building of reliable and secure software is fraught with pitfalls no matter where it's written. There's no reason enemies couldn't get on staff with local software writing.

I think as the software becomes increasingly complex the problem expands geometrically... and we probably have more to worry about from plain and simple code errors than malicious activity. The clear and present danger is knowing the software top to bottom with virtual certainty of its behavior in every conceivable circumstance.

I wish I knew where the article was, but I remember reading about NASA and their approach -- the amazing thing was they (NASA) produced code with almost unmeasurable defects. Their approach was to keep things simple and straightforward -- to the extent that the engineers and software developers interviewed described the process as almost boring. But, hey, if that gives us safe military software...

As for where the Government goes with this, the article started out sounding like they had some people on the ball. But, in the last paragraph, they lost me with (emphasis mine):

"One of the possible conclusions is that very sensitive software would be written differently vs. the commercial software that DOD uses extensively," says the Defense Science Board's Schneider. The DOD is "not going to write the next version of Vista. We're happy to use Microsoft. "

games may help, but why such a niche?

On: Games Are the Next MTV?

I've often wondered, never heard any logical explanation why there isn't more "exposure" for bands and music with attribution on many levels. It makes sense music exposed anywhere serves to enhance the bands' chance of reaching wider audiences and collaterally ratcheting up their fame and fortune a notch.

But, why video games? I guess, why not? I don't play video games, so I'd never be exposed to that music. I know many who also don't play video games... they won't be reached either.

The video gamers demographic is nothing to sneeze at, but why just there?

The closest thing I've ever seen is recently FOX network (I think it was FOX, it certainly wasn't one of the original "big three") has started attributing bands with titles much like MTV videos. That's a start. And, I've noticed Grey's Anatomoy attributing band credits on one of their trailers. That's a start.

The business model seems completely upside down. I've heard TV shows eschew genuine cuts of real music as in popular mainstream songs from popular bands (hey, gotta start somewhere) because they have to pay royalties and such and they don't want to do that. I think that's wrong... the return on investment should be worth it, but I also think it's wrong bands and artists charge to use their songs (are you listening music industry? -- I assume this is more the RIAA than the artists).

There are few shows today that bother to use real music, but I take note when they do. I don't think Cold Case is the best show on TV, but it ain't bad, and I enjoy watching it with the added spice of real music from different era's (depending on how cold the case is).

The show Alias also used real cuts, real bands... I loved that! They also picked less mainstream cuts finding great music not heard by many... However, they didn't attribute... I actually had to find fan web sites to track down some of the music -- I wanted to buy! (Once again, are you listening RIAA?)

Bands would do well to find shows to use their songs. The exposure on national network TV would be huge and well worth forgoing fees to allow shows to use their work.

That said, more power to the bands, the artists, and the video game industry. It's a start, I only wish the lines were less bright separating popular culture music from popular culture entertainment... it seems odd.

giving grasp a bad name.

On: Politicians Have Poor Grasp of Technology?

Assigning a grade of "poor" to politicians' grasp of technology implies they have grasp, most don't. They (IMO) seemingly react to political winds, political windbags, and moneybags. I can't recall ever seeing a politician on TV, or elsewhere and thinking, "Gee, that politician really gets it!".

And, that's probably why we see laws passed and considered that continue to feed the wealthy and lock in their revenue streams. Technology has so much potential, it is almost mind-boggling what we could and should be doing with it, but instead (IMO) we've watched the train wreck that is our (and now others (BTW, an American here)) government and their bizarre understanding spawning laws that not only hinder technology, they are indecipherable (anyone understand fair use anymore at all?).

The future continues to look more locked in with probably one major provider of technology with a track record of bumbles and fumbles that boggle. Money talks, and politicians listen.

I used to see a future of broad interconnected technology, almost transcendental and transparent. Instead, I see vertical silos of incompatible rubbish that doesn't even mature before generation N+1 is released... the technology moves "forward", our ability to use and access to technology diminishes. (Anyone still confident HDTV, HD DVD, BluRay, etc. will have a soft landing with everyone up and running happily? It's been 10 years since HD, what gives?)

Ironically, glimpses of technology at its best were government funded, the internet is largely an outgrowth of ARPA and DARPA funding. Hubble is NASA. One (the internet) is on the cusp of being regulated to death, to the benefit of the powerful lobbying of powerful groups. The other (Hubble) is on the chopping block for monies in almost any other context would be paltry...

Another interesting lack of understanding manifested after the 2000 elections. The confident rush to technology and electronic voting paradoxically ended up being pointed at as the culprit for another "stolen" election by the very people who had demanded the technology.

There's still a lot of good technology, and there will be a lot more, but it won't be because of the good hands of government. I'm hoping I never see politicians encroach to the point of locking up and out the Open Source and Linux worlds, but I'm fearing I might (Trusted Computing anyone?).

the guy who invented intermittent windshield wiper

On: Intellectual Property Discussion in the Classroom?

This could be a good starting point (an article listing some pioneers in inventions, and some of their fates).

Also, this article is a synopsis of Robert Kearns' battle with Ford over his IP/patent rights for the invention of the intermittent windshield wiper.

anything is a good alternative to DeBeers

On: Lab Created Diamonds Come to Market

Lab manufactured diamonds is an interesting concept, but if DeBeers gets its metaphorical finger in machine, it will ensure these diamonds either never get manufactured, or if they are manufactured never hit the marketplace with the name "diamond". The DeBeers monopoly is too dear and too powerful for disruption like this.

You can argue the "blood diamond" political aspects of the diamond mining industry, but even tossing that aside DeBeers' behavior and domination and control of the diamond industry transcends any other monopoly. There's a reason DeBeers isn't a U.S. company (among many others...), DeBeers' monopolistic practices and domination and heavy handed control of the diamond market would not likely pass legal muster in the U.S.

If you ever get a chance (/. "girlfriend" jokes aside), buy the lab diamonds, or buy your to-be a genuinely rare gem such as a Ruby (diamonds are not rare).

The sooner the myth that is diamonds is de-mythed, the better. Read more about diamond myths here.

a recent "install" experience

On: How Much Does a Vista Upgrade Cost?

I recently built my own machine... 2G memory, .5TB (2 SATA drives), 3.06Ghz dual core... all very cool. I spent almost 2 weeks getting my XP Professional installed and working properly (for what reason would an OS not come with PS/2 generic mouse drivers?). The sound was a nightmare to get running, the video was a joke. Fortunately (I guess), a lot of the drivers came with the motherboard (as one might expect), but the installation and configuration was amazingly tedious, and error prone.

I'm convinced one part of the horrible nature is that even today it seems that EVERY driver, EVERY re-configuration demanded a reboot though in my wildest imagination, I couldn't think of a rationale -- this continuity interruptus makes for a tedious, drawn out, error-sprinkled, bad-taste-in-the-mouth experience.

I finally shook out all of the bugs (oh, yeah, about 100+ XP updates -- the CD was pre-SP1, go figure), got a SCREAMING machine, absolutely delighted with the configuration and performance.

Now, to be on-topic, I can't begin to imagine these upgrades will be problem free, I can't even think they'd be problem-sparse. It's non-trivial work installing from scratch, much less considering layering something as big as Vista over an existing XP. I wouldn't want to do it. I've read enough reviews from people with bollixed machines (granted, they were working with release candidates) -- there will be a LOT of people out there who've committed too much data and personal work (blood, sweat and tears) on their new XP machines -- and they're going to lose data.

It's interesting to note the article recommends upgrading to Vista by doing a clean install. That's not really upgrading XP, that's installing Vista. How many people will not have had their data backed up properly ahead of this? How many will be left with applications that ran on XP that won't run on Vista?

The article is probably right, this is MS' olive branch to vendors who had hoped to roll out the new machines with brand spanking new Vista already installed. It's a PR debacle and nightmare in the making. Fortunately for MS, that would be mostly irrelevant.

(To contrast, on same machine described above, I took the new Mandriva, booted up, installed and got completely running, all sound and video working perfectly -- in less than 2 hours!

Funny, for my life I could not find a satisfactory solution (or even find a google solution) to get the XP dual boot file configured properly to reference the Mandriva... Finally gave up, and let lilo handle it, the configuration was painless and flawless. Go figure.)

classic diligence, albeit in a modern world

On: Web Surfing in Public Places Is A Way to Court Trouble

I remember sitting behind (I discovered later) an attorney on a business trip once. It was business class, and he had laid out all around him paperwork and documents busily reading and making notes. In addition to being behind him, I was beside myself with curiosity -- what kind of "stuff" would an attorney read on a plane?

I succumbed and started reading. Interesting, I was reading the IPO strategies and schedules for a startup company in the bio-medical field. And coincidentally in minutes I realized these were notes for the IPO of a bio-med company I was consulting for in my personal time! Probably mostly no harm, no foul, but it was an eye-opener for me to realize what kind of information people expose unwittingly, technology or not.

While wireless could make for more surreptitious spying, it seems to me once again (just like "security") the biggest risk and danger is from the lack of due diligence... striking up a conversation in the concourse bar and saying a little bit more than you probably should would be my bet on spilled beans.

I could even think it might be safer with everyone traveling with laptops, I once did an informal (and anecdotal) caucus, and on one business trip observed about 95% of any laptop users playing solitaire or some game with their computers.

very colorful review.

On: What's Different About Vista's GUI?

Enough said.

What the heck? I'd love to understand look and feel better, but it would seem to be a more effective review if the pictures were in color.

it's the form factor, not the tech factor

On: The (im)Mobility of Web 2.0 Apps

The article seems to carry as a given that layering 2.0 (fill in your favorite definition of what the really is) into the mobile architectures. If I were to consider all of the times I've been frustrated with mobile web experiences, and there have been many, I'd say 99.9% of my frustration has been and continues to be real estate, and screen quality.

Yeah, there may have been a couple of times where I'd wish for faster refresh, but when all is said and done, I'm going crazy trying to establish any kind of gestalt with the mobile web experience. Heck, I'd even say I'd prefer simple text interaction -- not an easy assignment for developers required to sandwich ads into the presentation space.

I know there are some who say we can solve this darned form factor thingy -- I don't think it's soluble. At some point, smaller is just too small, no matter the "quality" of that smallness. Taken to a ridiculous extreme, technology may someday be capable of squeezing a phone, camera, video, music, tv, all onto something the size of the head of a pin. So?

The article mentions "ShoZu", a mobile client that lets mobile users update flickr photos (adding comments)... changing the experience from a 165 second-71.4kb ordeal to a 16 second-3.25kb ordeal. Yeah, the improvement is significant, but I'm not meeting many people who: find adding comments to flickr photos so urgent they MUST do so on their phones; nor are much inclined to do so given the capability.

(personal anecdote: The whole family replaced/upgraded cell phones about four months ago. It was the first time we'd had phones with the builtin cameras -- something I'd never cared about or wanted. However it was intriguing, and fun -- the whole family took pics, swapped pictures and videos, created ringtones, created personalized wallpapers, for one day! Four months later, we all still have the same wall papers we created that day, none of us has sent a single other picture to each other. It's a novelty -- it wears off -- fast!)

testing the waters?

On: Microsoft Agrees to Changes in Vista Security

From the article (and /. summary):

It looks like Microsoft was really testing the waters here, sort of pushing the limits of antitrust and decided they probably couldn't cross that line just yet," Northcutt said. "That's a good thing, because it's just too easy for mistakes to happen when you are only left with a single security provider."

It's only an author's surmise, but as I understand and interpret Microsoft's position, there is no line they will be able to cross ever while they are still a monopoly. Microsoft enjoys (immensely) their monopoly position in PC OSes, and as long as they do (immensely), they will continue to be proscribed from using their monopoly to leverage, influence, and otherwise compete unfairly with any other of their products.

There is no line to test.

Message to DVD industry: Byte Me!

On: New Copy Protection to Make Playing DVDs on a PC Difficult

Just the other night we had more DVDs to watch than TVs and players. Our daughter wanted to watch her Smallville (purchased), and we were watching one of our circulating Blockbuster "mailer" DVDs.

She was delighted when I showed her how to watch her DVD on the upstairs computer -- she hadn't known that was possible. Problem solved, everybody happy.

But, now this? What the hey? So now potentially what she presumably knows about watching on an alternative device could not work, and she wouldn't know why -- yes, the article mentions the latest new "tool" that "effortlessly" bypasses the security, but again, What the Hey? She isn't going to know about that tool, or how to use it, and I'm about as sick and tired as I can be of setting up the workarounds for restrictions that shouldn't even exist.

Interestingly, the article mentions (emphasis mine):

As usual, I don't have a problem with anyone protecting their intellectual property and making sure that they are paid fairly for their work, but I am dismayed when, time after time, they seem to blur the line between fair use and piracy

I only almost agree with that -- "they" in this case seem to be blurring the line between use-use and piracy. Each day I toss a coin to decide who annoys me more -- media "providers" or spammers. It's a close call.

I used to wonder whether the DVD industry would totally shoot itself in the foot with the HD vs. BluRay DVD wars coupled with intrusive DRM, sending potential customers away in droves. If this new protection technology is for existing DVDs (it's not clear from the article), they could send existing DVD customers away in droves. I no longer about the sanity of the industry -- I worry about the sanity of artists allowing contracts for their "art" to be wrapped in technology like this, I wonder why they allow it.

(Interesting (and I think important) aside: I recently updated the firmware on my Creative Vision:M mp3 player, a player I've absolutely loved for its features, ergonomics, screen quality, you name it, there was hardly a thing about it I could find fault with. As the new firmware was installing I browsed the release notes... looking for the standard blah blah blah on what's fixed, what's new. The very last line of the notes said (paraphrasing), This firmware upgrade will disable your FM recording capability(!). WTF? It was too late for me to stop the upgrade -- sure enough, I now have a Creative Vision:M sans FM recording capability, (a feature which I was quite fond of)! Creative doesn't say whether it's RIAA induced, I have no idea why they did this... but if it IS more DRM crap, what a crock!)

(Other aside: I love that the ad for the slashdot page for the "read more" for me was an HD-DVD ad...)

Huh?

On: Deprecating the Datacenter?

With more and more embedded computers, and easier and faster networks, datacenters could become more important than ever. Many trends today require expanding and larger datacenters -- how do you think Web 2.0 applications manage their data.

I wouldn't find it terribly surprising to find things like drill bits and their "computers" relaying performance data which eventually ends up in some manufacturers datacenter. What better way to determine the use, reliability, and performance of a product?

I also could imagine the information in datacenters spawning meta-datacenters where data mining and other analysis is performed.

Distributed computers and distributed computing are different animals. Datacenters will go away much like the disappearance of the world of mainframes (which, btw, was predicted and discussed as early as 1983 (by my experience)).

trade in some of those machines!

On: Setting up Linux in an Inner City Public School?

If he is looking at donated computers truly of the Windows 95 era, he may not be doing the students, nor linux any service. Consider the standard requirements for a Windows 95 "era" machine: (from the Microsoft knowledge base article)

System requirements for installing Windows 95:

• Personal computer with a 386DX or higher processor (486 recommended)
• 4 megabytes (MB) of memory (8 MB recommended)
• Typical hard disk space required to upgrade to Windows 95: 35-40 MB The actual requirement varies depending on the features you choose to install.
• Typical hard disk space required to install Windows 95 on a clean system: 50-55 MB The actual requirement varies depending on the features you choose to install.
• One 3.5-inch high-density floppy disk drive
• VGA or higher resolution (256-color SVGA recommended)

Not saying it can't be done with Linux, but this person is choosing Linux to avoid the hassles of Windows? With machines as lean as these, and today's Linux, he may be getting more hassle with Linux than the old Windows.

Even by Linux (assuming 2.4 or higher kernel, with associated standard Gnu distro packages) standards, these are pretty stripped down machines, and would be likely to be balky even running Linux. There may be some instructional "stuff" you could do with Linux and these machines, but I'd be inclined to steer clear... there's a reason a lot of these machines are donated.

An alternative would be to look for some kind of community "donation", or a grant, where half decent computers could be drummed up -- a decent computer today can be obtained for much less than before -- why not order a bunch of components from Newegg, or somewhere similar, and build computers as part of the education exercise?

please don't mess more

On: Combatting Global Warming With Artificial Volcanos?

Anyone who needs evidence science is an inexact science need only remember Carl Sagan and his wrong prediction on the Kuwait oil fires (emphasis mine):

Sagan famously predicted on ABC's Nightline in 1991 that smoky oil fires in Kuwait (set by Saddam Hussein's army) would cause a worldwide ecological disaster of black clouds resulting in global cooling. Retired atmospheric physicist and climate change skeptic Fred Singer dismissed Sagan's prediction as nonsense, predicting that the smoke would dissipate in a matter of days. In his book The Demon-Haunted World, Sagan gave a list of errors he had made (including his predictions about the effects of the Kuwaiti oil fires) as an example of how science is tentative.

And that prediction explicitly about the effects of something on our atmosphere, ostensibly by one of our most noted intellects. The notion that we have any notion of what the effects of this effort would ulitmately be is indeterminant, and could introduce far more disastrous and devastating unforeseen results.

fool me once...

On: Zune's Viral DRM Will Violate Creative Commons

Fool me once, shame on me.

With DRM, Microsoft, RIAA, MPAA, and the usual cast of characters, it's "fool us a billion times...", it doesn't seem to matter, they keep throwing this kind of foolishness our way.

I guess the good news about this is the silly layer of DRM adds that more assuredness the Zune will be a miserable also ran in the market.

Users will get over the cool factor quickly, especially when the favorite song someone shared with them stops playing three days later. Yeah, there's probably documentation. Who reads it?

I don't see any ads for this device touting "share your tunes three times or three days, whichever comes first!" to catchy music. If I were to buy one of these (not) anticipating the magic of wireless sharing I would return it immediately on learning the fine (hwah?, not so fine?) print.

And, what other silly DRM is layered? I wonder (and almost suppose) Microsoft further encumbers shared songs a la making a song shared by someone unshareable by a sharee...

And, if Microsoft wanted to limit the listening, why so Draconian a limit? WTF? If a tune has any texture, any depth, any insight at all, it can take a lot more than three listens to develop an ear for that song. Too bad. Clearly this is not the era to be exposing listeners to Beethoven or Mozart.

As for my part, I now freely distribute copies of music from my collection to any who want them. I always verbalize the disclaimer they must buy if they like with a wink and a nod. I know now my good faith efforts before were empty gestures. (I even refused in the past to let my daughters make tapes of CDs for their friends, not any more...)

This is all really too bad, because it could be interesting use of technology. Not really my cup of tea (I've posted on this earlier, responses to my post convinced me there could be some market for this).

so, since it supports mp3....

On: Microsoft Launches the Zune

Mentioned is mp3 support for the new Zune... which brings to mind a question, what is an assumption about mp3 support? This is related to a recent "panic" when I found the version of Winamp I was ripping from only allowed me to create VBR mp3s, and I was not sure if my player supported VBR. Nowhere on the web could I find mention it supported anything other than simply "mp3", though it is a very new machine.

Short of ripping some tracks and transferring to give a listen I had no idea. Thankfully, my player does support mp3 VBR, though I've yet to confirm the rest of the players in the household also do.

The reason I ask, I've come to the conclusion unless something is explicitly stated , you cannot make any assumptions about functionality, or even "accessories" for that matter.

Consider, the player I have, which I absolutely love, so much so, I bought another for our daughter. Interestingly and to our surprise, the exact same player came in a smaller box. I figured better packing. Hmmmm, nope. The unit now comes without the AC adaptor for recharging. You can only charge the new units with the power from the USB connection unless you order the AC charger as an extra.

I know this wanders a bit off topic, but, I just wonder how many others have experienced the assumed, e.g., "VBR" compatibility for an mp3 device to find it can't paly VBR.

That aside, gotta love some of the comments on the article page -- e.g., one complains about Apple needing to also get a wide screen for their device... funny, I guess "wide screen" can be a fairly relative description.

hmmmm, a way to make money?

On: Grannies and Pirated Software

This almost seems a new (or not so new) trend, and a way to make money above and beyond having a product, though ostensibly "having a product" is where one should start (are you listening RIAA?). So now after seeing the apparent success of legal scare tactics by RIAA and others, the embroidery industry is piling on?

Should we be enraged? Or should we jump in too, cull the internet, everything, for any evidence of anyone, any group, etc. with even the remotest hint of infringing on something you can claim you own?

Don't worry too much about specifics (read the article, the legal threatening letter isn't specific enough to tell Granny what CD she has that infringes), and raise legal bloody hell. This could be more profitable than spam. With a modicum of respondents "paying up", one could conceivably collect rather large sums.

The internet does provide the ability to spread intellectual property instantaneously, and similarly provides amazing tools to sniff out where stuff is, intentionally or otherwise. Unfortunately, most of the "pirated" booty is "otherwise", i.e., the perpertrator has no awareness. These "perpetrators" are not the problem. They should be left alone. Enough already.

(Aside: I really would be curious to how prevalent this (these) letter(s) is (are). Are they really doing this? How many letters have they sent. The article mentions contacting your states attorney, alas, the demographic targeted here is not likely to know that, and probably not privy to /. for reference to this article. Sigh.)

compelling (me not to buy)

On: Blu-ray vs. HD DVD Round Two

From the article:

Both of the next-gen high-def formats -- certainly more than DVD -- are very, very sensitive to even the slightest discrepancies in hardware setup and display calibration.

Aside from the mere annoyance factor, this is either the blessing or the curse of HD (generic) DVD, and HD TV in general. It is tiresome to see a bad picture and go through the script:

• is it the TV?
• is it the DVD player?
• is it the DVD?
• is it the cable (or lack thereof)?
• is it the video receiver?
• is it the microwave oven?

Also, from the article:

But seeing as the phrase "firmware upgrade" is fast becoming a permanent part of the consumer electronics lexicon, it is clear Darwin would have loved this whole Blu-ray versus HD DVD thing.

WTH? "(F)irmware upgrade" is fast becoming a permanent part of the consumer electronics lexicon?!? Gosh, I hope not! That just means more "consumer support" I have to do. Aside from general consumers not having any idea what firmware is (nor should they have to), the notion of "modding" their units, even under the aegis of "fixing" something is foreign, and frightening to them.

And, now there's a battle brewing over the appropriate codec? Again, WTH? So now we have 2 competing hardware formats, and at least 2 codecs? Are the studios going to ship with a version of each codec? Are all of our players going to be compatible (sans firmware hoops)?

All of this roiling, and a missing piece of the reviews and comparisons. How do these new formats and codecs hold up to and compare with the workhorse DVD of today? Considering today's DVDs have matured quite well, no hassle, no muss, no fuss, it'd be nice to know if the new expensive, complex, and not yet settled new DVD technology is even worth the bother.... Right now, for most, I'm guessing it's not.

60M sold? that's a lot.

On: Why the iPod is Losing its Cool

From the article:

Although it has sold nearly 60 million actual iPods and a billion downloaded songs worldwide, cracks have begun to appear in the edifice.

There doesn't seem so much of a crack in any edifice as much as there's ultimately a saturation of the marketplace. At some point, pretty much everyone who wants an iPod gets one, and by now that's pretty much done (anyone hear any recent "I want an iPod" whines from anyone?).

Jobs (from Apple) isn't letting the grass grow ... with his

most ambitious iPod service yet - the sale of feature-length films via the internet for viewing on the devices, which may receive an expanded 'widescreen' and improved storage capacity. If downloading movies from a computer to an iPod proves even half as revolutionary as it did for music, the multibillion-pound DVD industry could be quaking.

As seen in a previous slashdot discussion (the Amazon Unbox article) on video download, it isn't going to happen, or is at least unlikely. There is a slew of articles and surveys showing consumers, especially the target demographic of "younger folk" aren't that interested in long (full length features) videos. Video downloads, management, etc., is just a messier beast for consumers, enough so it's a long way from emergent (storage considerations, price, quality of small devices, battery power for video, DRM, download times, backups, etc.).

Also, consumers are getting hip to the snake oil that is iTunes: (from the article)

..., We have heard from some conspiracy theorists that the batteries are made to die soon after the warranty ends.

'Other complaints are that iTunes [Apple's online music store] is overpriced and the format is not easily transferred on to other players. In our ethnography interviews, some long-time iPod-users told us that they have stopped updating their iPods because it's too much work, while other consumers who had bought iPods more recently had not even taken theirs out of the package to set it up.'

Yeah, initially all were in love with the iPod because for the return on effort, it seemed like magic. Consumers eventually get tired of jumping through even the tiniest of hoops to continue "enjoying" their gadgets. They want to turn it on, and not have to worry that the computer from which they're trying to transfer music is "iTunes anointed" or not. DRM-fatigue, finally, sets in (it's about time!).

This is the SONY walkman all over again, then the SONY CD walkman... it's done. It's hard to imagine quantum leaps of coolness and convenience beyond an iPod or video iPod. The curve had to level, there just isn't any there there. Apple should be happy with what they've done, but I don't think this is a growth niche any longer.

so, chicken or egg?

On: Newest Job Qualification — A Good Credit History

So, what if a candidate's credit history is a result of not finding a job. I've seen stories of (especially) IT people with long careers summarily right-sized out of their jobs. I've read articles (Enron?) of employees who lost their life savings and retirement funding because of (ironically) mismanagement at the top.

So now a candidate must show good credit? WTF? And if a candidate is in this financial situation because he (she) can't get a job, an employer who dismisses such candidate because they have bad credit perpetuates their situation. Shame on them!

From the article:

Federal laws require that companies notify job applicants before conducting credit checks, butmany (sic) firms reason that viable applicants with good credit have nothing to hide.

I call bullshit. This is an unadulterated power play and invasion of a candidate's privacy. And I suggest all out there looking for work decline the credit check as a part of the interview process.

I also think some public vetting of companies who use credit checks as part of the interview process would be interesting.

what would be really nice

On: MythTV Compared with Windows Media Center

Good news Tom's Hardware picks MythTV over Windows MCE (Media Center Edition), but maybe not so much a surprise. Tom's Hardware's preference isn't going to mean a lick to the general consumers. I can't tell my neighbors MythTV is bitchin' because they're not going to have a clue how do it themselves, and I'm running out of support hours and don't have time to set up everyone with MythTV, let alone support it afterwards.

What would be really cool is if some company pulled a Red Hat, or Suse, etc., with MythTV whereby they offer their "version" of a MythTV distribution bundled with hardware and all. With minor standardization, it's a product that could spark consumer interest. This would offer an alternative to the always present MS MCE, and an interesting competition (potentially) with TiVo.

so, is MS okay to bundle now?

On: Business 2.0 Says 'Boycott Vista'

Is the decree of consent over? In Paul Thurrott's article, aside from the refreshing observation Mr. Thurrott is willing to critique as well as fawn, I find it notable he picks one example where MS has been inconsistent and stupid (I agree) with their navigation ergonomics.

From his article, it's pretty clear MS is shipping a DVD maker, and from just one screen it appears to be a video/other type of application. Is this now considered de rigeur intrinsic Operating System? I know the definition of OS has blurred and been trickier to pin down, and I would expect an OS to have the appropriate drivers to allow burning of a DVD (it is after all, a component of the OS, or at least drivers for a DVD burner are).

If I were ROXIO or NERO, I'd be pissed, this looks like a de facto and direct competitor product, and if it's bundled as "part of the OS", it would seem close to the line of leveraging again.

And later in Thurrott's article he mentions the builtin virus checking -- something previously discussed on slashdot -- this also seems like another market niche MS is conveniently incorporating as part of their OS.... (how about making an OS much less susceptible to this in the first place?).

Is MS free to do this now?

As for boycotting Vista, I wish the world would consider, but it won't. And, I'll have to have some Vista machine and exposure to continue to pretend to support friends and family. Everything I've read about Vista bolsters the view there is not much new worth the upgrade, and there's enough annoying to induce a ferocious case of buyer's remorse.

maybe for future

On: Amazon Unbox Video Store Launches

I got all excited.... shouldn't have. Virtually no shows I care about watching are offered (only one major network, CBS has offerings, unless you include FOX). Even if, the offerings are old shows... shows if I'd cared to watch I'd have (and did) watched long ago courtesy of TiVo or some crappy knockoff (Comcast, anybody?).

That aside, I'm guessing many people will consider this a decent offering (I don't). The next hurdle is:

• XP is the only OS for now on which this will run
• minimum 1.5GHz processor (I'm guessing that's of the x86 family).
• minimum 512MB memory (many, many machines out there still don't come close to this)
• DirectX 9.0 compliant Video 64MB (ironically, Amazon misspells it "complaint"... Freudian?
• internet connection to support sustained 800kbps transfer speeds. I don't know many people who subscribe to this kind of pipe.

But, further consider the recommended requirements:

• 2.4GHz processor
• Direct X 9.0 compliant Video (128MB) (again, the interesting typo, "complaint"
• internet connection capable of 1.5+ mbps transfer speeds.

What are these guys smoking?

Of course it's all neatly wrapped around the axle of DRM so it can be more of a nightmare for anyone who helps and support friends and neighbors.

DOA