Hi,
I will be out of the Internet on 4/1, returning on 4/2.
If you need immediate assistance in finding bad April 1st humor, I suggest Google.
Regards,
Tom
Amazon, eMusic, iTunes, and Other Digital Download Thoughts.
Thursday, 27 March 2008Much has been made of the “news” that Amazon’s MP3 store is now the #2 online retailer in digital music. You can absorb some various thoughts on this in these articles:
- USA today’s original article, citing no other data than the “Big 4″ labels’ word for it.
- MacDailyNews’ take on the above article, particularly its lack of any hard data.
- The CEO of eMusic calling BS on the USA today article, and claiming that eMusic is #2
And then of course there are the myriad re-hashes of the USA Today article syndicated in papers everywhere, as well as other articles parroting the story as if iTunes is somehow being threatened.
7 Comments | 
General | Tagged: Amazon, Apple, eMusic, Media, MP3, Music | 
Permalink
Posted by Tom
Windows SuperSite on the XP and Vista Conundrum.
Thursday, 27 March 2008The Windows SuperSite, in an article about Windows XP SP3 being “good enough”, discusses the “Windows XP and the Vista conundrum“:
I mean, imagine a case in which customers were allowed to choose between a previous generation Toyota Camry and the all-new, designed-from-the-ground-up 2008 model, and the customers actually chose the old version by a roughly 2-to-1 margin, despite the fact that the price hadn’t changed at all?
4 Comments | 
General | Tagged: Microsoft, Software, Vista, XP | 
Permalink
Posted by Tom
Music In the Air: My New Apple Airport Express.
Wednesday, 26 March 2008Picked up an Airport Express today. This thing has intrigued me ever since it was introduced. Not because it’s a super small and convenient device for creating a high-speed WiFi network — complete with Internet and print sharing. And not because it can also serve as an inexpensive bridge for extending an existing wireless network.
No, what appealed to me about it was AirTunes: The ability to stream music. In other words, to plug into a powered stereo and make those speakers appear “remote” to a copy of iTunes on any Mac or PC on the same network.
1 Comment | 
General | Tagged: Airport Express, Apple, iTunes, Music | 
Permalink
Posted by Tom
A Second Look: Apple Windows Updater, Safari 3.1, and You.
Saturday, 22 March 2008Yesterday I stated my position on Apple’s use of their Windows Software Updater to “update” Safari on systems that don’t run it. Many other bloggers, analysts, etc. posted their positions as well.
There’s been a lot of debate about it, so today I thought I’d take a second look by reviewing some of the recent commentary on this topic…
12 Comments | General | Tagged: Apple, Microsoft, Safari, Software, Windows | Permalink
Posted by Tom
Apple to Windows Users: Run One, Run All!
Friday, 21 March 2008The mid- to late-90s seemed to be the heyday of software vendors deciding that if you ran one of their products, you’d want a bunch more as well. In my opinion, it was not Microsoft, but Real, that typified this behavior and annoyed me greatly.
Even when all I wanted was their media player, it seemed I was stuck with their little message center and other crap. Turning it all OFF was a pain in the rectum, and in my opinion should never have been necessary. It made me hate Real, and I’ve yet to install any more than the minimum software of theirs needed.
21 Comments | General | Tagged: Apple, Microsoft, Safari, Software, Windows | Permalink
Posted by Tom
Vista SP1: Just What Microsoft Needed.
Friday, 21 March 2008See this from Information Week:
The affected chipset is Intel’s 945G Express series, which is used in computers from virtually all major system vendors. It’s also found on standalone motherboards sold by Asus. The 945G Express chipset driver versions between numbers 7.14.10.1322 and 7.14.10.1403 won’t work with Vista SP1, according to Microsoft…
1 Comment | General | Tagged: Microsoft, Software, Vista, Vista SP1 | Permalink
Posted by Tom
eMusic Can’t Sell Their Product: Whines About Apple’s Potential iTunes Plans.
Thursday, 20 March 2008Back when Apple announced the Safari web browser for Windows, Mozilla missed a great opportunity to plug their Firefox browser, choosing instead to whine like sniveling babies. I called them on that tack, and suggested what they should have done.
Now it appears that eMusic is following the same path. Showing zero confidence in their own offering, they’ve shriveled up at mere rumors of a possible iTunes subscription model and, avoiding the rush, got in line immediately with cries of Antitrust. Pathetic.
3 Comments | General | Tagged: Apple, iTunes, Media, DRM-free | Permalink
Posted by Tom
TinyTech Sues Apple Over Macs, MacBooks, Mac OS X, iPhones, iPods — um, What Else Have They Got — Oh Heck, Everything!
Wednesday, 19 March 2008Today, Mudbutt, OK-based TinyTech sued Apple for pretty much everything. The lawsuit alleges Apple infringes on “some of our stuff” and calls for compensatory damages of “a bajillion” dollars.
In their press release today, TinyTech stated that they had to take legal action. “We were sitting around brain-storming our next great idea (OK, our first great idea), and then it hit us,” said Bjorn Loser, TinyTech’s President and CEO, “all these people suing Apple, and we’re not getting a piece of it.”
1 Comment | General | Tagged: Apple, Humor | Permalink
Posted by Tom
Apple iPod, iTunes, and Music Subscriptions.
Wednesday, 19 March 2008According to the Financial Times this is in the works.
Personally, I’ve never been a fan of this model, though assuming it’s optional it finally has a shot to succeed now that the largest and most popular online music store (and second-largest music store) would be offering it for those who want it.
3 Comments | General | Tagged: Apple, DRM, iPod, iTunes, Media, Music | Permalink
Posted by Tom
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