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New user? Friday, July 28, 2000
I'm going to go check this out
MP3.com, EMI settle My.MP3.com suit -- "On Monday, MP3.com said it took a $150 million charge against its second-quarter earnings for the estimated lawsuit costs. There is also a pending copyright infringement suit filed by some song publishers."
If I remember correctly, My.MP3.com is the service where you insert your CD into your computer to give yourself access to the songs on that CD in MP3 format. That'd be very handy, since I wouldn't have to create the MP3s myself, which I've tried once (ironically with a Metallica CD that was getting badly scratched) and found very slow on my aging computer.
Update: I signed up, and "beamed" a few CDs to my.mp3.com. However, they are "locked", because there is still ongoing legal battles, and apparently I won't be able to listen to this music until that's all cleared up. Oh well.
Anyway, I found a great band on mp3.com already -- ex number five, from New Brunswick and New Jersey. I bought their CD "a history of......." for $6.99. Cool.
Another Update: Hey, check out how much money ex number five has made from mp3.com. Over $900 so far this month, nearly $5000 in total including product sales.
Compare that to S.G.O. which has made just $1.13.
Which is $1.13 more than Napster would have paid them.
CNN.com - Recording industry files response to Napster appeal - July 28, 2000
TANSTAAFL
Angus Glashier on Latte.weblogs.com: There Aint No Such Thing As A Free Lunch -- well said Angus!
Cobalt has their heads up their asses
Apple faces suit over Cube -- Cobalt says Apple ripped off their case design for the G4 Cube.
Uh, yeah right. Cobalt forgets that Apple owns NeXT, which created the NeXT Cube many many years ago. This is not a new idea. Cobalt, fuck off.
Is Apple purposely leaking [mis]information?
Am I the only one that finds it a little bit odd that ZDNet has gotten information about Mercury, the supposed PowerBook G4, and InkWell, the supposed Newton HWR system for Mac OS [X]?
Apple's normally very air-tight, you can't get anything out of them. But suddenly, after MacWorld, there's all this information, and even pictures, of unreleased and unannounced products.
Conspiracy theory #1: It's all bogus. Apple Misinformation Campaign hits ZDNet.
I mean, a slot-loading DVD-ROM drive on a PowerBook? Personally, I wouldn't want a gaping hole on the side of my computer only a half an inch off the ground, where dust and spilled liquids could destroy the machine.
Handwriting recognition? Well, I'd love it, and the theory that a new PDA-style portable OS X machine using this software is forthcoming is very intruiging, but I think it's just too good to be true. (somebody pinch me!)
Conspiracy Theory #2: Apple has decided to let some information through, either as a trial balloon, or to get people excited about handwriting recognition for a few months before they announce it, so that there won't be as many knee-jerk negative reactions about it.
Conspiracy Theory #3: It just got leaked.
Conspiracy Theory #4: Apple's changing their ways and is letting more info out to the press, because they realize they've been way TOO tight with future product information.
Thursday, July 27, 2000
Quickies
Here'a a pile of links I found last night but didn't have time to post:
Swaine's World has excellent links as always, July 26th's news features 3 articles about Be/BeIA.
Via CamWorld, a strange article about a yearlong partnership to bundle the Bible with cereal boxes and how it died at the 11th hour.
Via Faisal, how decades of probing Mars has changed our perception of the planet. Reports of a Dead Mars Are Greatly Exaggerated.
Also, Tog says If They Don't Test, Don't Hire Them. Exactly.
In MacNN's forums, Denise McNickle discovers that Sony's MiniDisc player works out-of-the-box with recent USB Macs without drivers.
Via Mr. Damien Barrett, how an Anthropologist Sees WWF Wrestling Bouts As Passion Plays.
I haven't even finished reading this one yet, but everyone is raving about it, so here it is: Joel on Software -- Does Issuing Passports Make Microsoft a Country? (via Archipelago)
Via Wes, an Advogato article speaking out against FreeNet, and what the author Matthew Parry considers an extremist attitude of FreeNet developers.
InkWell
I'm very excited about this report on ZDNet about InkWell, the Newton handwriting recognition system for Mac OS (X?), reportedly undergoing private beta-testing.
Defintely check out the slide show. Very cool. They've added a number of cool gestures that the Newton didn't have.
Wow, talk about left-field -- the obsetity virus?
Obesity may be caused by a virus in some cases -- "And an earlier study by Dhurandhar showed that of 52 obese humans, 10 were infected with a chicken adenovirus -- known as SMAM-1. SMAM-1 is known to cause obesity in chickens. Those 10 people in Dhurandhar's study who carried the virus were the most obese of the entire group. "
Wednesday, July 26, 2000
The Inquisitor has hit the e-biz scene early
Update: was down. I guess the Inquisitor didn't get them.
Joke...
It's a joke! A woman's husband had been slipping in and out of a coma for several months, yet she had stayed by his bedside every single day.
Thanks Alex!
Your brain is picking sides...
Philippe "Flip" Martin and James Spahr explain why I'm more creative when I'm nearly asleep, and other neat brain stuff.
Their answers disturb me -- I really don't consider myself a left-brain person. I'm left-handed, so shouldn't I be a right-brain person? I want to be a right-brained person.
I know, I'll just bash the left side of my head against my desk for a while, then I'll definitely be a right-brained person.
My music
I've been using HitMusic.com to get music the last few days. They kick ass. On-demand music, playlists, streamed QuickTime, beautiful stuff.
Flash and QuickTime required. A fast internet connection would help too. :)
Cake
WSJ: Napster Lays Claim to New Frontier, But It Doesn't Want Any Company -- I think this adds an interesting twist to Napster's core debate. They protect their property but don't think the artists have the right do the same.
Andre Torrez
2 cool links through CamWorld:
torrez.org -- read the July 25, 2000 entry. Porn, pre-adolescent Geeks, AD&D, and what happens when you mix the three together. Hilarious stuff!
FilePile.org. Here's the what is it? document.
Some interesting MacCentral articles for a change...
A trio of interesting articles on MacCentral:
Totally Hip developing new QuickTime products
ATI on Apple leak: "It was our fault"
Totally Hip and ATI -- two cool Canadian companies. :-)
Dual processor G4 optimized apps on the way -- skip half way through, the first half is just filler.
Napster shutdown coming.
Quick thoughts about Napster. You know my opinion. That said, I think the RIAA's action against Napster is going to backfire on them. There will be a boycott, I'm sure, at least by netizens. Napster is now a martyr for the cause, and this will only make it harder for RIAA to hold on to their business model (which I think is great for both parties, btw -- I'm all for legal internet music distribution!).
RIAA would have been better served working with Napster rather than shutting them down. Since that wasn't ever going to happen, this is the natural course of things, IMHO. Napster will be back up, with a much stronger brand, once the industry is reformed.
Update: I've had some time to think about the Napster decision on my own for a while without any media influence (my Mom told me about it tonight while visiting); now I'm starting to read articles.
Here's the first:
Salon: Why the anti-Napster campaign is as doomed as Prohibition
I compared the theft of songs via Napster to the organized crime of the prohibition days a couple of weeks ago. In this reenactment, RIAA is the government, Napster/Gnutella are the mobsters, and the people are the people, who want something and aren't being allowed to have it.
RIAA should learn from history. Either Napster didn't, or they're willing to play the part of the mobsters, smuggling music for "the greater good".
