Damox's Technology Blog
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Monday, October 31, 2005 

Could the PS3 really be delayed until 2007?

There are rumors that the PS3 could be delayed until 2007. I don't know if I believe this, because the source is kind of sketchy (former GameStop employee, how much could he possibly know?). I'll keep everyone updated on this, so check back here soon.
Could the PS3 really be delayed until 2007? - Joystiq - www.joystiq.com


5:13 PM | |  

 

Apple Reaches 1 Million Video Sales

A new era is upon us. Apple has sold over 1 million video downloads since it first included videos as part of its iTunes download service 19 days ago. People are paying $2 apiece for the latest episodes of hit TV shows, even though the videos are not DVD quality and are small when viewed on the latest iPod with video. Cell phone providers have been trying for years to get people to pay for video downloads, but have failed. Apple has found a way to do this successfully, and they've proven it in under 3 weeks.
local6.com - Technology - Apple Reaches 1 Million Video Sales


12:00 PM | |  

Sunday, October 30, 2005 

The Sony PSP Headset

The PSP will have a few extra goodies available this holiday season. First, Sony announced the PSP Giga Pack, which will be a PSP bundled with a 1GB Memory Stick (as opposed to the 32MB one that comes standard now). Second, Sony will be selling a headset for the PSP. It will retail for $19.99 and will go on sale in a few days (November 5). Look for many more games that take advantage of the headset, and look for many more people wearing them and telling people to "get that guy around the wall to your right" and "use you machine gun" while walking down Main Street.
Is this the PSP headset? Over. Could be! Over. - Engadget - www.engadget.com


8:01 PM | |  

Saturday, October 29, 2005 

Tom's Hardware Builds $500 Gaming PC, Forgets Some Things

Here's an informative but flawed article from Tom's Hardware. They tried to build a gaming PC for $500, and they thought they accomplished the task successfully, but they forget some things. The following were never mentioned or bought for their build: case, keyboard, mouse, speakers, shipping charges, operating system. The operating system would almost have to be Windows for a gaming machine, as there are many games that are not compatible with other operating systems. I'm sure the people at Tom's Hardware can either get their Windows versions for free or they just download their "free" pirated version off a file sharing network, but to the average user this will cost at least $70. If you add in all the costs that Tom's Hardware forgot or ignored, I would guess the final cost would end up being closer to $700. If you don't have another monitor that's another $200 or more if you want a good monitor for games (not some cheap 15" CRT). So realistic final cost, from scratch, is like $900 plus tax. So is it possible to build a complete gaming PC for $500? No.
Tom's Hardware Guide PCs


12:58 PM | |  

Wednesday, October 26, 2005 

What is Google Base?

Google has a new program that will open up to beta testing sometime soon. It's called Google Base, and it looks like it has a bunch of different uses. For the most part it seems like an alternative to Craigslist, which is incredibly popular despite the fact that its very simplistic and hasn't changed much since it started many years ago. It will basically be classified ads with a twist, the twist being that you can share databases of information. I don't know how many people would actually use the service for that purpose, but I digress. Look for Google Base to have a huge technical advantage over Craigslist, and the ability to grow at an even faster pace.
Google Base on Flickr - Photo Sharing!


9:16 AM | |  

Tuesday, October 25, 2005 

Microsoft Changing Course with XBox 360

Microsoft has decided to make the XBox 360 an open device that can accept devices such as cameras, printers, and mp3 players, even those not made or affiliated with Microsoft. This is unusual for video game systems, which make a lot of money from officially branded accessories. Look for the Sony PS3 to have similar features.
Microsoft Changing Course with XBox 360


5:16 PM | |  

Monday, October 24, 2005 

Motorola SLVR L7 Review and RAZR Comparison

Here's a forum post about the new Motorola SLVR L7 cell phone, plus a link to pictures and a review. This cell phone is pretty hot, maybe even cooler looking than the RAZR.
Motorola SLVR L7 Review and RAZR Comparison


11:41 AM | |  

Friday, October 21, 2005 

Samsung A900 Coming to Sprint

Here's some information on the Samsung A900, which could be described as a RAZR ripoff. It will have a 1.3MP camera, and it's under 1.5cm thick. It looks to be a little less wide than the RAZR, and it lacks that super-sleek look. The phone is intended for Sprint, which means people will be able to get these just about anywhere. My hometown just got a provider that supports RAZR in the past month. Finally, all of those pink-polo-shirt-wearing, collar-popping, emo-poseur Long Island dorks can have a cell phone that allows them to express themselves and, more importantly, express their parents bank accounts.
Samsung A900 Coming to Sprint (Phone Scoop)


12:55 PM | |  

Thursday, October 20, 2005 

F-Secure Bricks a PSP

Security company F-Secure has demonstrated what some malicious code can do to a PSP. They made a video of a PSP being "bricked," that is, to take a perfectly good PSP and turn it into a worthless brick made of metal, plastic, and silicon. The PSP cannot be rescued after this program (which is not technically a virus, because it cannot spread on its own) executes its code. F-Secure would know, they are a security company that usually figures out how to protect devices from viruses and worms.
F-Secure : News from the Lab


9:34 AM | |  

Wednesday, October 19, 2005 

Intel Paxville Dual Core Xeon Chips Are Crap

Last week Intel released thier new dual core chip, which was intended to compete with the dual core Athlon Opteron processors. The two have been benchmarked, and the Intel fails to compete on nearly all levels. Not only is the Athlon faster, but it also consumes much less power. It's unbelievable how far Intel has fallen behind in just a short time. AMD is on the verge of really blowing by them on all fronts. In a survey on the site that performed the benchmarks, 93% of those voting said they would choose the AMD dual core over the Intel dual core for their high-end server. This is no longer a race for higher speed and lower power usage, because Intel is getting blown out of the water.
GamePC - Intel “Paxville” Dual Core Xeon and the Asus PVL-D Intel E7520


2:46 PM | |  

 

Introducing the new Apple Power Macs, PowerBooks

Apple is not done with it's week of big announcements just yet. They just released the specs for the new PowerBooks and Power Macs, and they are truly beasts. Here's what you can have in your dream Power Mac: 4 G5 processors, 16GB of 533mhz DDR2 RAM, 1 TB (that's a terabyte!) of internal storage, PCIe (PCI express) expansion slots, Quadro FX 4500 graphics card from Nvidia, and much more. The "Quad" dual processor system starts at $3,299, and you probably don't to know where it ends if you go for the 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. If I see anyone with this configuration, and they are using it as a personal computer and not as a workstation, I will key your car. That's just they way I am.
Macworld: News: Apple updates PowerBooks, Power Macs, intros Aperture


10:32 AM | |  

 

Only 5,000 Pink RAZR Available Canada

Motorola is making a pink RAZR cellphone, but only 5,000 will be made available, and only in Canada. $25 from each sale will go to support breast cancer research, so expect these to become a fashion statement not unlike the livestrong rubber band bracelets. I think Motorola should make another 1,000 after the original 5,000 have sold off, and sell them all on eBay. The market demand for these is going to be huge. People will go nuts to buy something that few people can have. I seriously think Motorola could get $500 for a pink RAZR just because it's pink.
I4U News - Only 5,000 Pink RAZR Available Canada


8:11 AM | |  

Monday, October 17, 2005 

Intel Slashes PC Power-up Time

Intel has developed some new caching technology that it says will drastically reduce startup times, allowing the computer to boot to the desktop or sign-in screen almost instantly. The chip will also allow software programs to open much more quickly. Intel did not release details on how the caching technology works, only that it is named Robson.
PCWorld.com - Intel Slashes PC Power-up Time


9:39 PM | |  

 

TV Downloads May Undercut ABC Stations

I missed a side-story earlier when I reported on the deal ABC had cut with Steve Jobs and Apple to offer TV episode for download on Apple's iTunes program for $1.99. Not only are Hollywood unions upset with this deal, but also local TV affiliates. ABC affiliates believe that by offering downloads of TV shows they broadcast, they will get fewer viewers watching their station. This seems like a logical argument, but I'm not sure if I think there is anything wrong with this situation. If people would rather download the shows for $1.99 than watch it on their local TV network (and have to sit through their commercials), then that's the way the market is going. The local networks will need to innovate, or they will make less money. Their argument now is that things should stay the way they are or they'll lose money. I think they market should advance freely, and the local networks will just have to change the way THEY do things. Maybe they could get people to download local news broadcasts for a fee. They could use interns to make news broadcasts every half hour, so people can pay $1.99 or maybe just $1 to see the news when they get home at 3 instead of waiting until 6. Just an idea (copyright pending... just kidding).
WSJ.com - TV Downloads May Undercut ABC Stations


8:07 PM | |  

 

A Look At Bram Cohen

Reading this article, I just know a movie must be in the works. Bram Cohen is the creator of bittorrent, a program designed for the distribution of large files on the internet. If you've never heard of it, you're falling behind. Bittorrent traffic consumes more bandwidth than any other type of traffic on the internet, including "surfing the web," to use the tired, early 1990s lingo.

Cohen has a mild form of autism, and, thanks to a large venture capital investment, is the CEO of a company worth over $8 million. And it could eventually be much bigger. Although bittorrent is currently used mostly for trading illegal copies of software and movies, Hollywood is looking for ways that they can capitalize on its popularity. They are looking for Cohen, an obsessive coder, to figure out a way for people to be able to download movies and tv episodes for a fee. If he's successful, his little-media-distribution-system-that-could might be worth hundreds of millions, or perhaps even billions of dollars to Hollywood each year.
Technology - BitTorrent: The Great Disrupter - FORTUNE - Page


3:45 PM | |  

Sunday, October 16, 2005 

Motorola VX3 Details

The Vodafone website has some details on the yet-to-be-released Motorola VX3. It will have a 2-megapixel camera, video calling and streaming, bluetooth, memory card, and support iTunes music service. In addition, it looks pretty sweet.
Vodafone - Coming soon


11:46 PM | |  

 

FBI puts stop to spam king

Alan Ralsky, also known as the Spam King, had his home raided by FBI agents, who took computers, laptops, computer disks, and other evidence that could be used in their investigation. Ralsky made millions of dollars sending hundreds of millions of spam emails pitching everything from Botox to mortgages. Ralsky may have ran afoul of the new CAN-SPAM law that forces spammers to abide by certain rules of conduct. Ralsky claims that he is not a spammer, insisting that his job title is "commercial e-mailer."
FBI puts stop to spam king - 10/16/05


6:01 PM | |  

 

Intel Powered Lamborghini Laptop

Intel and Italian exotic car maker Lamborghini have teamed up to make a laptop computer. Like the Acer Ferrari laptop, the Lamborghini/Intel will probably be packed with top-of-the-line components and a stylish case inspired by Lamborghini. They will be sold through Lamborghini's online store, as neither Lamborghini nor Intel have a distribution chain for retail products.
The German Car Blog: Lamborghini: Intel-powered notebook series - Delivering news and opinion about Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini and VW


5:56 PM | |  

Friday, October 14, 2005 

How To Rip DVD Movies To Your iPod

Let me start with this warning: the instructions contained in the link for this post are for educational purposes only. You should only rip a DVD to your iPod video player if you already own the copyrights to the content on the DVD. That said, here are some great instructions for Mac owners who want to quickly rip their DVD to the quicktime video format that is required for videos to be played on the new iPod. The tools needed are freeware, and the instructions are so easy my mom could do it, and she doesn't even know how to get on the internet.
HOWTO Rip DVD Movies To Your iPod


9:54 PM | |  

 

HP Rolls Out Sleek Consumer PCs, Digital Entertainment Centers for the Holidays

The newest additions to the HP lineup are inexpensive, powerful, and... well, sleek. I'm most impressed with the HP Pavilion dv8000 series notebook. It has a 17 inch screen, an integrated video card with 128 MB of RAM, 512 MB of system RAM (DDR, I would assume), an AMD Turion 64 mobile processor, and 240 GB or storage on dual hard drives. That storage figure alone sets it apart from the competition. Most laptops come with 60 or 80 GB of storage as the maximum option. The HP website is a little confusing, but expect pricing around $1,500 for the specs I've described.
HP Rolls Out Sleek Consumer PCs, Digital Entertainment Centers for the Holidays


2:32 PM | |  

Thursday, October 13, 2005 

Second 3G RAZR Slips out of FCC

Thank the federal government for these third-generation pics of a RAZR V3x. I don't think this will ever be available in the US, because it has a little too much for our consumer tastes. It apparently has 2 cameras, which seems kind of pointless to me. Actually, I don't believe there really are dual cameras on this phone, it's probably bad reporting on the part of my source, which seems to happen a lot on these here "interwebs" that I'm so fond of.
Second 3G RAZR Slips out of FCC (Phone Scoop)


5:52 PM | |  

 

Internet Could Fall Apart Next Month

The European Commission has warned that if current negotiations with the US fail, a split in the internet could happen as soon as next month. This could mean that some nations would form their own version of the internet that would not connect to the networks that we currently know as the internet. I just hope my domain doesn't get hijacked from some jerk in Tunisia.
Guardian Unlimited Technology | Technology | EU says internet could fall apart


4:07 PM | |  

 

iPod Video In Quicktime Format Only

This is a bit of a correction of yesterday's iPod Video story. Apparently, the new iPod will only play video in the Quicktime format. Just about any video file can be converted to Quicktime video format, and I would expect to see a lot more people sharing their pirated movies in this format. I know the release of the PSP led to a lot of people sharing movies specially made by rippers to be played on the PSP.
Wired News: Apple Gives Video the IPod Touch


6:29 AM | |  

Wednesday, October 12, 2005 

Introducing The New iPod Video

The big Apple announcement finally came today, and there will be an iPod Video, and it will be wonderful. The screen on this thing is huge when compared to the current iPod models. I'm told that watching movies on this is a pleasure, which is more than I would expect from a portable device. The battery life is fantastic as well. It'll play music for 20 hours, show you thousands of photos for 5 hours, or play 2-3 hours of video. So what kind of videos will you be playing on this? Well, it deconds MPEG4 at 30fps, so pretty much anything you download off the web can be converted to play on the iPod Video (which, by the way, is just what I'm calling it. It is not the official name). We are going to see many more official releases of movies and tv shows in the form of digital files, because any studio that does not officially release their movies will just see it pirated anyway. Expect iTunes to start selling videos in the near future, providing yet another revenue stream for Apple and Hollywood (so stop complaining about piracy, you're rich!).
The Better to See You With - The New iPod Hands On - Gizmodo


1:03 PM | |  

 

LG Shows Off 102-inch HD Plasma

Two plasma TV posts in a row? You're darn right, because I just had to post about this 102 inch plasma from LG. It has a contrast ratio of 5000:1, and oh, it's freakin' HUGE. It's being displayed at the Korea Electronics Show, and there have been no announcements about it actually becoming a production model. I'm sure if you're rich enough you could have LG make one of these for you, but it will probably set you back somewhere between a quarter and half a million dollars.
LG shows off 102-inch HD plasma - Engadget - www.engadget.com


9:00 AM | |  

 

80 Inch Plasma TV From Samsung

Oh dear God. Samsung is selling an 80" plasma screen TV, and all for the low low price of just $150,000. I don't know if this TV would be able to match the excitement of a Ford GT, which is about the same price, but it sure would make Sunday afternoon football a lot more exciting.
Akihabara News


8:43 AM | |  

Tuesday, October 11, 2005 

Kodak EasyShare-one Digital Camera Review

The Kodak EasyShare may seem like a run-of-the-mill 4 megapixel digital camera, but it offers some features that are hard, if not impossible, to find anywhere else. The LCD screen is a huge 3 inches, making it easy to see if that picture you took is good enough to use on the family Christmas card. Second, and most importantly, is the wireless capability. You can take a picture with this camera and immediately send it to your computer. You can even link this with a printer, so you are able to take a picture, approve of it on the LCD screen, and then hit a button on the camera and have the picture print out on your printer. Who knows if you or anybody else will ever find that feature useful, but it's something that will probably impress your friends who you've been avoiding because they got one of those plasma TV's that they hang on their wall.
Kodak EasyShare-one Digital Camera Review - Kodak Digital Cameras - Reviews, Ratings


11:15 PM | |  

 

MacIntel with 4 CPUs?

Rumor has it that future Macs, which we already know will have Intel processors, could have as many as four processors. With hyperthreading enabled the Macs of the very near future will have 8 logical processors. You'll actually be able to check out the CPU montior and see 8 processors working at once. If you click on the link you'll see screenshots of a Mac with this setup already, plus 4 GB of DDR2 Ram. My mouth is watering. Could we be getting an announcement about this from Steve Jobs tomorrow? We'll just have to wait and see.


8:45 PM | |  

 

Could There Be iPod Video After All?

Think Secret, which is perhaps the most avid Apple watching site, now believes that iPod Video will be part of the big announcement from Steve Jobs tomorrow. Their thinking is that the upgraded models, with up to 80GB, will have video playback. The new iPods are not expected to emphasize playing full length movies, which are lacking a unified legal digital format, but rather music videos, which could be easily bought at the iTunes store. That's more money for Apple, and hopefully more money for artists. Now if they can just figure out a way to squeeze out the record labels, maybe we can reach music utopia in my lifetime.
Think Secret - Video after all?


7:03 PM | |  

Monday, October 10, 2005 

Odds On Upcoming Apple Releases

Bodog has odds listed for Apple releasing such products as the iPod Video (6/5, or a $5 bet yields $11, which means a $6 profit if successful). Some interesting lines include an Apple Game Console (7/1), and OSX for PC (9/1). These wagers will all expire after the October 12th press conference. Something new is certain, but we'll have to wait until Wednesday to find out what.
Film, Politics and TV Betting at Bodog Sportsbook


8:07 PM | |  

 

Sony Ericsson P990 Released

The P990 is the lastest P-series smartphone from Sony Ericsson. This cellphone has a little bit of everything, including WiFi and GPRS. It has 80 MB of internal memory, expandable using Sony Memory Stick Pro Duo cards, which comes in a maximum size of 2Gb, which is more than the ancient computer I'm typing this on has. I forgot to mention Bluetooth, which this phone does have, along with an FM radio (AM radio is so 1930's, anyway). The dialpad flips down to reveal a small keyboard, which I guess could come in handy if you're a leprechaun. This handy smartphone will be released everywhere in the world, oh, with the exception of North America. So, if you're a penguin chillin' out at the South Pole you can get the P990, but if you're an affluent socialite living somewhere in Manhattan's Upper East Side you're out of luck. Sorry.
Sony Ericsson P990 / P990i - Mobile Gazette - Mobile Phone News


7:09 PM | |  

Sunday, October 09, 2005 

Google's ETA? 300 Years.

Everyone who pays attention to technology news probably knows Google's ultimate goal: indexing the world's information. Now Chief Executive and founder Eric Schmidt has come up with an estimate on how long that will take. He told a group of Google fans at the Association of National Advertisers that indexing all the information in th world will take about 300 years. That seems like a long time, but it is a lot of information. Building Google into a modern-day Library of Alexandria will ultimately reap benefits for all of mankind, but we'll probably be dead by then, because they won't index the cure for that thing you have until next week.
Google ETA? 300 years to index the world's info | CNET News.com


4:53 PM | |  

 

Google Denies Office Suite

Google has denied rumors that they are teaming up with Sun to develop an office suite product that would be intergrated into an internet browser or toolbar. This is great news for Microsoft, who saw a major portion of their revenue threatened with a product that was likely to be free and more innovative than Microsoft Office, which has only made incremental changes through the years. A source from Google did say that they were working to make better document usability and integration in the future.
No Office suite from us - Google | The Register


12:49 PM | |  

Friday, October 07, 2005 

Trojan software trashes PlayStation Portable

There is a nasty piece of malware out there that can harm the PSP portable video game software. The software will only effect people who are attempting to install software on their PSP to allow it to play "homebrew" games. If a user is not careful and they download this evil piece of software it will make changes to the PSP firmware that cannot be reversed. It only fix currently available is to completely swap the PSP motherboard with a new one, at a cost of $100. Sony has always fought hard against gamers who want to hack their systems and develop homebrew games, but the negative publicity from this will be far more costly.
Macworld: News: Trojan software trashes PlayStation Portable


1:18 PM | |  

Thursday, October 06, 2005 

Not Enough 4GB iPod nanos

Apple is having trouble feeding the demand for 4GB iPod Nanos. It's obvious why, with the 4GB costing just $50 more than the 2GB version. Apple could probably sell the same number of 4GB units if the price were $100 more, so why don't they? Well, maybe they are trying to create more hype by creating a shortage. This practice is actually fairly common in the tech industry. It happened with the PSP and Nintendo DS, and while manufacturers will never come out and say the shortage was artificial, in some cases it's clear that they are holding back. I think this is one of those cases.
TMO Reports - Report: Not Enough 4GB iPod nanos; Mixed Mac Retail Results || The Mac Observer


6:45 PM | |  

 

AOL To Buy Weblogs

A high-level source is indicting that AOL will buy Weblogs Inc. for $25 million. Weblogs is a network of blogs devoted to niche topics. Some of Weblogs 80 blogs include Autoblog, BloggingBaby, and Engadget, which is by far Weblogs most popular site. Engadget, as its name implies, focuses on gadgets, and on some days it reports almost exactly the same thing as Gizmodo. So is this a good move for AOL? Probably, since Weblogs is a quality network of sites and AOL hasn't known what quality is since 1996. Ba - ZINGGGGGGGG
Stock Market News and Investment Information | Reuters.com


11:50 AM | |  

 

Google Spells Bad News For Microsoft

Google has not only teamed up with Sun Microsystems to develop word processing and spreadsheet apps, but it will also offer these OpenOffice products for free via its toolbar. This is very bad news for Microsoft, which makes a substancial portion of its revenue from these very expensive office programs. I can't wait to see how the innovative minds at Google improve on a spreadsheet application that is already quite good.
Google formally declares war on Microsoft


8:33 AM | |  

 

New iPod Coming, But Not iPod Video

Apparently I got all excited over nothing. Think Secret, which seems to always know what Apple's next move is going to be, is now reporting that there will be no iPod Video in next week's big announcement. We can expect to hear about an iPod with 80GB of space, and new colors for both the regular iPod and the iPod Nano. This is really disappointing to me. The only reason I would need 80GB of space on an iPod would be to store movies. I don't have 80GB of music, that's like 24,000 songs. If a person were to purchase all that music with iTunes, they would be paying $24,000, which is more than most people spend on their car.
Think Secret - New iPod--but not video--on next week's itinerary


7:57 AM | |  

Wednesday, October 05, 2005 

FTC Seeks to Halt Alleged Spyware Site

Do not download Kazanon file-sharing software. Not only does it not provide anonymous file-sharing like it advertises, but it also downloads "stealthy" spyware programs without you knowing. This is a violation of new federal laws, and the FTC is on the case and will probably have this whole dirty operation shut down soon. I think it's kind of foolish to download any file-sharing program that lacks an established track record. Sure, that's means you won't be on the cutting edge of new software products (FYI - I was one of the first 500 people to install the original Napster), but at least you'll be sure that your computer is safe.
PCWorld.com - FTC Seeks to Halt Alleged Spyware Site


11:03 PM | |  

 

Microsoft Single-Play DVD Is A Hoax

Yesterday you may have read right here on this blog that Microsoft was going to be producing single-play DVDs and single-play DVD players. I attacked the idea with a venomous assault, and it turns out it was all for nothing. Despite appearing on many well-known news sites, the whole story appears to have been a fabrication, just a lame but ultimately successful attempt to smear Microsoft. I am not surprised that I was fooled by all of this. I saw the story on many different news sites that I've trusted for many years, and I figured that they had done their research. I do not always do my own research. I am a small blog, not a multi-million dollar news organization. It turns out they are all just doing the same thing I do, read the news from other sources and then report it like it's your own story. Shame on me a little bit. Shame on them a lot.
Ed Bott’s Media Central » Single-Play DVDs? It’s a hoax


8:10 PM | |  

 

Apple Plans to Launch a Video iPod Soon

Apple is having another one of their famous launch events next week, where all the journalists gather and then Apple surprises them with a new product. Right now everyone seems to be speculating that Apple will announce the iPod Video, which we can only assume will play all of our mp3s and all of our movies, most of which are probably illegal. This makes me wonder, when these things become really popular and every other guy on the street is carrying one, will cops be able to detain you if they see you playing obviously copyrighted content? Maybe not in the US, but I bet this could happen in some parts of the world.
CoolTechZone::Apple Plans to Launch a Video iPod Soon


8:02 PM | |  

 

More Pictures of the Motorola RAZR 2

Here are some more pictures of the beautiful Motorola RAZR 2 cellphone. This thing is uber-sleek and ultra-cool. I can't think of many other hyphenated adjectives to use here, but I'm sure you can. This site apparently has at least one in their possession, and it can be yours for only $2800. Yikes, I'll wait a couple months.
CTI NYC.com: Motorola RAZR 2


7:52 PM | |  

 

Apple, Labels Feud Mounts

Steve Jobs has been trying to convince music executives that charging a price higher than 99 cents for newer, more popular music, will decrease revenues for both Apple and the music industry. I think that 99 cents is already too high, and net revenues would be higher if prices were lower.

Even if Apple shares 50% of the purchase price of a song with the music labels and artists, they can still make a profit at a surprisingly low price. I think 99 cents should be the high limit, for new and popular songs, while the low end should go wayyyy down, to 20 cents and even lower. Yes, Apple can still make a profit at that level, even with server costs and having to share a huge share with the labels and artists. Amazon.com has demonstrated that there is a lot of money to be made from the "long tail". That is, they sell rarer items that may only have a potential market of a dozen people, but they sell to millions of these little markets. If Apple did this with music they would be selling a lot more of their older, rarer music, which currently may only get 2 or 3 downloads per week. Lower prices on this music would increase revenue and also expose people to a greater variety of music, which would like lead to them purchasing more music overall. With a lot of help from the labels, Apple has the opportunity to expand their little markets and increase the overall market at the same time.
RollingStone.com: Jimmy Buffett : Apple, Labels Feud Mounts : News


1:01 PM | |  

Tuesday, October 04, 2005 

Microsoft Plans Single-Play DVD

I don't to give anyone the impression that I'm a Microsoft basher. The fact that this is the second consecutive post that reflects negatively on Microsoft is just a coincidence, or maybe it's a sign that Microsoft is having a bad week. The single-play DVD has been tried before, and it failed for a reason. Nobody wants a DVD that they can only play once. Even a Blockbuster rental will last for as long as you want to pay the late fees. This idea is made even worse by the fact that you need a special DVD player just to play these pieces of junk. I can't believe somebody actually gets paid to come up with an idea like this. THIS PLAN WILL BE SCRAPPED OR FAIL WITHIN TWO YEARS, or I will stop blogging, sell all my worldly possessions, and move to Afghanistan.
Movie Mess: Microsoft Plans Single-Play DVD


9:01 AM | |  

 

Google, Sun Microsystems To Team Up On 'Web Office' Application

Google is once again trying to expand into a new market, this time teaming up with Sun Microsystems to make a web office application that will almost certainly be bad news for Microsoft, which currently holds a commanding market share of office apps. The official announcement has not yet been made, but expect more on this later today and tomorrow.
Live Webcast


8:39 AM | |  

Monday, October 03, 2005 

Microsoft Xbox 360 Controller

Here's a short video showing off the XBox 360 controller. It appears that a little circle around the logo lights up, for an unknown reason. Nothing really special in the design here, although I think it's an improvement on the original XBox controller, which probably cost Microsoft millions of dollars in sales. I just hope Sony doesn't change much with the PS3 controller. The PS2 controller had the same design as the original, and there was no need to change it. It fits in the hand perfectly, and the buttons are smooth and easily pushed in, unlike those little jewels on the XBox controller. Flame it up XBoxers!
Putfile - Upload Video and Upload Images


8:09 AM | |  

 

The End Of The Mini-Disc

After struggling to survive for the past 6 or 7 years, Sony will stop production of everything that has to do with their Mini-Disc format. I thought the Mini-Disc was a great concept, but it was the victim of bad timing. Most Mini-Disc users just wanted to listen to or record music on something small, and mp3 players that had those features flooded the market soon after the Mini-Disc came out. I still have friends that use Mini-Disc players, including one friend who tapes all of his band's concerts with one. They could have done much better if Sony had opened up a little bit to outside competition. People just don't want to pay a few bucks for a blank Mini-Disc. A little competition would have marked blanks down to their true market value, which I believe was somewhere between $.50 and a dollar. At that price the players would have sold like hotcakes.
Sony’s Mini-Disc Format About to Bite the Dust


8:01 AM | |  

Sunday, October 02, 2005 

The 100 Best Products of 2005

I would be wary of making a list of the top 100 (tech) products of 2005 right now, considering it's only early October, but I'm not PC World, and I never will be. This is an interesting list, and I can see they've got a lot of original thinkers over there at PC World.

Firefox is number 1 on the list, and I think it deserves that spot. I fell in love with this browser about a year and a half ago, and I'll never look back. It's interesting to see how IE has started implementing some of the features of Firefox with their newest updates. I just hope the thousands of people who work on Firefox will focus a little more on security, because this browser will be targetted more often now that it is popular.

I've browsed the entire list, and I can't find a product I don't like, which is unusual. I get the feeling if anyone else made a list like this I would disagree with at least 40 of the items. I feel like I've got to rag on something from this list, so I'll go with Roxio Easy Media Creator 7.5. I think that company used to be called Adaptec, but either way, it seems like they were always a step behind Nero. This program offers a lot of features that look good on paper, but few people would ever use. Photo slide-shows on DVD? Why? When would I ever get the chance to view the 20,000 photos I could jam on one DVD? This program can also convert DivX into burnable DVD files. Once again, this seems like a nice feature, but it's a bad idea. That DivX file is going to look like crap on your DVD player. Save yourself some time and buy the Phillips DVP 642 DVD/DivX player. You'll be able to burn those DivX files on to blank CDs without converting them, and they'll play on the DVP 642 with better quality picture than they have in Windows Media Player thanks to hardware enhancements.
PCWorld.com - The 100 Best Products of 2005


8:05 AM | |  

Saturday, October 01, 2005 

Cassette Adapter For The iPod ... With A Twist

So Griffin, a company that pretty much specializes in making products for Apple iPods, has made a cassette adapter, what's the big deal? Hasn't this been done before? Well, yes and no. This isn't just a cassette adapter. The SmartDeck actually lets you use the controls on your cassette deck to control your iPod, so you don't have to fumble around with your tiny little Nano wheel while driving. You can skip tracks or just scan through a song to that chorus part you really like while your iPod stays safely tucked away in that little container in your center console that doesn't seem to fit anything else.
SmartDeck - Griffin Technology