I used to do two spaces every time until I started posting stuff online (Wordpress blogs, online forms etc) when I found that the one space worked better / made more sense and I made an effort to use single spaces only. However, since getting a new phone and finding the double-tap on the keyboard gave a full stop followed by a space, I've found my old double-spacing habit has come back. I guess your own use pattern dictates your habits, but if you've typed with a double space for years, it's a pretty hard habit to break.
There is a big difference between the offerings from iTunes and the "ad-supported" versions on the broadcaster's websites. Firstly, the ads on the website versions are not skippable - that's a big turn off for many users. Crucially thought, the website versions are tied to your computer - it's (AFAIK) not possible to copy these and upload them to your iPod to watch on a long journey for example. These ad-supported versions won't be downloadable either since this would make it impossible for them to control what ads are actually watched and which are simply skipped.
Being from the UK, I've yet to experience any TV/movie content on iTunes, but it's something that I would certainly be interested in. Provided the price is right, I'd far rather pay a modest amount and be able to watch the program at any time on a device I choose (eg. my laptop, desktop, or on my iPod). The ability to pause / fast forward etc. is a nice addition, but the ability to watch it at any time is the real key. The online versions offered on the likes of the NBC website are not going to be available indefinitely, so if you particularly enjoy one episode, you'll have "paid" to see it by NBC's advertising, then you'll have to pay in hard cash to ensure you can watch it as many times as you like.
Contrary to the opinions expressed in the article, I think that selling TV shows on the likes of iTunes has a bright future - especially since it has (so far) only launched in the USA. I personally believe it will grow exponentially when deals are struck internationally - imagine how much of a premium that US networks could charge by offering "pre-release" versions of TV shows to an international audience. In the UK, we usually need to wait almost a year for a new series of a TV show after it's been shown in America. It's a large market with a large amount of money still to be made - sure, it's not perfect, but I believe it can only improve and expand.
While I think the lack of DRM and increase in quality is a step in the right direction, people don't seem to notice that the music companies seem to have got their way: They've increased the price of tracks you pay to legally download. When it was announced several months ago that the "music industry" felt that the download market was strong enough to support a price increase, there was outcry - users were all complaining that the price should actually go down and not up. However, they seem to have achieved this increase in cost, but are masking it essentially as a paid upgrade.
"Just pay a little extra for much higher quality... and you can even play your music on whatever player you want!
Great. But what about those that want to keep the comparatively small sized tracks and still play the music on a player other than an iPod?
Like I said, I think it's generally good news, but I don't think it's something consumers should have to foot the bill for.
In terms of UK law (not sure if this applies in the US as well), when you take an item to the checkout in a shop (or click "order now" on a website and enter your card details), you are not actually entering a contract. Instead, you are making an offer of money for the goods that you have either just handed over to the assistant, or that you have "checked out" in your digital shopping basket. This offer is then reviewed by the merchant, and only if it is accepted, it becomes a legal contract.
Amazon have accepted the offer (whether by automated means or not), and have shipped the item - this constitutes an acceptance of the customer's offer and therefore the sale is contractual. In the UK at least, Amazon would have absolutely no legal recourse at all. They're a big company, and in the grand scheme of things, they've probably not lost too much money. I personally believe they'll lose much more through bad publicity and credit-card chargebacks by pursuing this further.
Yes, they messed up. Yes, they lost a bit of money. They should just learn to live with it and make sure it doesn't happen again.
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I used to do two spaces every time until I started posting stuff online (Wordpress blogs, online forms etc) when I found that the one space worked better / made more sense and I made an effort to use single spaces only. However, since getting a new phone and finding the double-tap on the keyboard gave a full stop followed by a space, I've found my old double-spacing habit has come back. I guess your own use pattern dictates your habits, but if you've typed with a double space for years, it's a pretty hard habit to break.
There is a big difference between the offerings from iTunes and the "ad-supported" versions on the broadcaster's websites. Firstly, the ads on the website versions are not skippable - that's a big turn off for many users. Crucially thought, the website versions are tied to your computer - it's (AFAIK) not possible to copy these and upload them to your iPod to watch on a long journey for example. These ad-supported versions won't be downloadable either since this would make it impossible for them to control what ads are actually watched and which are simply skipped.
Being from the UK, I've yet to experience any TV/movie content on iTunes, but it's something that I would certainly be interested in. Provided the price is right, I'd far rather pay a modest amount and be able to watch the program at any time on a device I choose (eg. my laptop, desktop, or on my iPod). The ability to pause / fast forward etc. is a nice addition, but the ability to watch it at any time is the real key. The online versions offered on the likes of the NBC website are not going to be available indefinitely, so if you particularly enjoy one episode, you'll have "paid" to see it by NBC's advertising, then you'll have to pay in hard cash to ensure you can watch it as many times as you like.
Contrary to the opinions expressed in the article, I think that selling TV shows on the likes of iTunes has a bright future - especially since it has (so far) only launched in the USA. I personally believe it will grow exponentially when deals are struck internationally - imagine how much of a premium that US networks could charge by offering "pre-release" versions of TV shows to an international audience. In the UK, we usually need to wait almost a year for a new series of a TV show after it's been shown in America. It's a large market with a large amount of money still to be made - sure, it's not perfect, but I believe it can only improve and expand.
While I think the lack of DRM and increase in quality is a step in the right direction, people don't seem to notice that the music companies seem to have got their way: They've increased the price of tracks you pay to legally download. When it was announced several months ago that the "music industry" felt that the download market was strong enough to support a price increase, there was outcry - users were all complaining that the price should actually go down and not up. However, they seem to have achieved this increase in cost, but are masking it essentially as a paid upgrade.
"Just pay a little extra for much higher quality... and you can even play your music on whatever player you want!
Great. But what about those that want to keep the comparatively small sized tracks and still play the music on a player other than an iPod?
Like I said, I think it's generally good news, but I don't think it's something consumers should have to foot the bill for.
Amazon have accepted the offer (whether by automated means or not), and have shipped the item - this constitutes an acceptance of the customer's offer and therefore the sale is contractual. In the UK at least, Amazon would have absolutely no legal recourse at all. They're a big company, and in the grand scheme of things, they've probably not lost too much money. I personally believe they'll lose much more through bad publicity and credit-card chargebacks by pursuing this further.
Yes, they messed up. Yes, they lost a bit of money. They should just learn to live with it and make sure it doesn't happen again.