The good:
You have some extra paper in case you run out.
The bad:
Google employees won't be able to shit anymore unless they are reading something. Can someone try to verify this one by checking the home toilet of a Google friend?
Everything is advertised as free here and it never is. There is always a fine print and as times go it becomes smaller and smaller and harder to find, read and understand. Such thing should be considered as false advertisement and there should be laws against it.
This service looks exactly like many other music subscription services out there just that it's on the phone. For many people it makes sense to have a subscription than to purchase songs but not necessary for everyone.
There are many people that fail to understand the concept of music subscription. The best analogy I could find is a Comcast TV subscription with OnDemand. Many people are paying for TV subscriptions and many are already paying now for subscription music (and the number is growing). Others prefer to buy DVDs and others like to buy their music (CDs and digital downloads). I believe both ways of getting online digital music will survive and will thrive.
DRM is everywhere so I made a list so you don't "sin" by mistake during the holly day:
- Don't play games that have copy protection
- Don't use commercial software
- Don't watch DVDs
- Don't listen to protected music (not even on your iPod)
- Don't read protected e-books
I for one have even stopped drinking Coke until they make the recipe open source.
Many are already using their cell phones to listen to music. I have a 1GB card in my phone and that's holding a lot of music. I can transfer mp3s to it or I can purchase tracks for $1 or less from tens of online stores (excluding iTunes). The phone also supports the music subscriptions from Yahoo Music, Napster and others. There are also services that allow direct download or streaming from the phone.
Battery life is decent and the interface is simple to use (maybe not as simple as an iPod but very close). Some newer phones have WiFi making it even easier to get music on them.
Why would I want to carry another mp3 player with me when my cell phone is small and I need it anyway? Soon people will realize that the mp3 player is dying a rapid death and Apple is too smart of a company to not understand this.
Since this has turned into a discussion about fuels...
Romanian farmers have discovered that their tractors can run with sunflower oil. In Romania sunflower oil is cheaper than the diesel fuel for the tractors. Plus now in their villages it smells like donuts.
I'm not making this up.
The vast majority of the companies will not hire H1-B workers. Why? Because it's a PITA especially for small and medium companies. All the legal trouble and fees and restrictions are just too much hassle for most companies.
Also it is good to know there are minimum salary levels for the H1-B workers. A company can't hire a senior programmer from outside of US and pay 20k per year. This doesn't mean that some companies might not abuse the system and try different tricks to get cheaper work force but I really belive that the majority of H1-B workers came in US because companies couldn't find qualified people.
The truth is that there aren't many good programmers out there and there is still a lot of demand for them. I see many programmers coming for interviews at the company I work for and when someone good arrives (not very often) it is very difficult to get them as they already have several offers from other companies.
BTW I am also a H1-B worker and I'm payed a competitive salary and the company also pays a lot of legal fees for my H1-B and green card. Besides that I pay income taxes and spend all my money here in the US. America has a lot to win from the H1-B program.
Nobody forces people to use DRM. For example if some company or person has legal rights to a song they have the right to distribute that song as they like it, give it for free or sell it for 1 million, sell it as an mp3 or packed with a heavily restrictive DRM solution.
If you don't like the DRM just don't buy stuff that is protected with it. I don't see people protesting that their cell phone is locked to one network or that the cable/satellite companies are protecting the TV signal from being watched for free or that the game that they play on their PlayStation or XBox can't be easily copied. They don't protest that Louvre is closed at night with a lock and they have to pay and come during the day to see Mona Lisa. If you don't like it don't buy it.
Also I hate when people cry about Vista "having DRM integrated". How is that going to affect them? Will it affect their photos, home videos or personal collection of mp3s? Do they realize that XP has DRM too?
DRM is not restricting anything, the content providers are restricting usage of their content and I really belive they have the right to do it.
My advice to these guys: Dudes, wake up, get a life and if you really care start worrying about important things in this world. Go protest against war, pollution, global warming or poverty.
Slashdot Mirror
Does this mean that the MAC guy from the TV add will get fired?
The good: You have some extra paper in case you run out.
The bad: Google employees won't be able to shit anymore unless they are reading something. Can someone try to verify this one by checking the home toilet of a Google friend?
Everything is advertised as free here and it never is. There is always a fine print and as times go it becomes smaller and smaller and harder to find, read and understand. Such thing should be considered as false advertisement and there should be laws against it.
This service looks exactly like many other music subscription services out there just that it's on the phone. For many people it makes sense to have a subscription than to purchase songs but not necessary for everyone.
There are many people that fail to understand the concept of music subscription. The best analogy I could find is a Comcast TV subscription with OnDemand. Many people are paying for TV subscriptions and many are already paying now for subscription music (and the number is growing). Others prefer to buy DVDs and others like to buy their music (CDs and digital downloads). I believe both ways of getting online digital music will survive and will thrive.
DRM is everywhere so I made a list so you don't "sin" by mistake during the holly day: - Don't play games that have copy protection - Don't use commercial software - Don't watch DVDs - Don't listen to protected music (not even on your iPod) - Don't read protected e-books I for one have even stopped drinking Coke until they make the recipe open source.
Battery life is decent and the interface is simple to use (maybe not as simple as an iPod but very close). Some newer phones have WiFi making it even easier to get music on them.
Why would I want to carry another mp3 player with me when my cell phone is small and I need it anyway? Soon people will realize that the mp3 player is dying a rapid death and Apple is too smart of a company to not understand this.
Since this has turned into a discussion about fuels... Romanian farmers have discovered that their tractors can run with sunflower oil. In Romania sunflower oil is cheaper than the diesel fuel for the tractors. Plus now in their villages it smells like donuts. I'm not making this up.
Also it is good to know there are minimum salary levels for the H1-B workers. A company can't hire a senior programmer from outside of US and pay 20k per year. This doesn't mean that some companies might not abuse the system and try different tricks to get cheaper work force but I really belive that the majority of H1-B workers came in US because companies couldn't find qualified people.
The truth is that there aren't many good programmers out there and there is still a lot of demand for them. I see many programmers coming for interviews at the company I work for and when someone good arrives (not very often) it is very difficult to get them as they already have several offers from other companies.
BTW I am also a H1-B worker and I'm payed a competitive salary and the company also pays a lot of legal fees for my H1-B and green card. Besides that I pay income taxes and spend all my money here in the US. America has a lot to win from the H1-B program.
Nobody forces people to use DRM. For example if some company or person has legal rights to a song they have the right to distribute that song as they like it, give it for free or sell it for 1 million, sell it as an mp3 or packed with a heavily restrictive DRM solution.
If you don't like the DRM just don't buy stuff that is protected with it. I don't see people protesting that their cell phone is locked to one network or that the cable/satellite companies are protecting the TV signal from being watched for free or that the game that they play on their PlayStation or XBox can't be easily copied. They don't protest that Louvre is closed at night with a lock and they have to pay and come during the day to see Mona Lisa. If you don't like it don't buy it.
Also I hate when people cry about Vista "having DRM integrated". How is that going to affect them? Will it affect their photos, home videos or personal collection of mp3s? Do they realize that XP has DRM too?
DRM is not restricting anything, the content providers are restricting usage of their content and I really belive they have the right to do it.
My advice to these guys: Dudes, wake up, get a life and if you really care start worrying about important things in this world. Go protest against war, pollution, global warming or poverty.