Buzz Out Loud 926: Save the opera-singing stripper, save the world

We get a call from a person in Chicago directly affected by the idea of Craigslist shutting down the erotic section of its service. We also have a rousing discussion about the quality of digital music and Rafe comes close to telling a Bris joke. But he doesn't.

EPISODE 926

Compact Disc turns 30
http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/compact-disc-turns-30-mp3-doesnt-bother-to-send-a-gift/

Survey shows increasing preference for MP3 by youngsters, audiophiles weep
http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/survey-shows-increasing-preference-for-mp3-by-youngsters-audiop/

Wolfram promises computing that answers questions
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/03/08/2155216
http://www.twine.com/item/122mz8lz9-4c/wolfram-alpha-is-coming-and-it-could-be-as-important-as-google
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13953_3-10191304-80.html

Audio watermarks could pinpoint film pirates by seat
http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/03/07/2114208

Big music will surrender, but not until at least 2011
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/03/08/big-music-will-surrender-but-not-until-at-least-2011/

More free on-demand audio with Muziic
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13526_3-10191262-27.html

Chess match: Hulu blocks Boxee once again
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10191007-93.html

Wintek to supply touch panels for Apple Netbook, says paper
http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20090309PB204.html
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10191526-1.html

Kepler starts mission to detect other Earths
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-10191272-76.html

Olympus: 12 megapixels is enough
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-276512.html

Intel envisions shape-shifting smartphones
http://mobile.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/03/09/1312200

Craigslist to sheriff: Federal law protects site
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10191150-93.html

VOICEMAIL
Anonymous Stripper
About Craigslist erotic services

Lorenzo
Goodbye Circuit City

E-MAIL
Regarding your Eircom discussion on show 925.

Tom your suggestion for people to boycott Eircom is pretty good in theory. It would probably work well in the US where actual consumer choice exists. In Ireland, however, Eircom have a monopoly on landline installations. You have the option to switch over to another provider once you’ve paid Eircom to have your phone line installed but most people are too lazy to shop around for another provider or simply just don’t care.

Additionally, internet by cable is unavailable to most of the country. I live in downtown Dublin and I don’t even have access to the one internet cable provider NTL. By default, therefore, most people stick with Eircom. Eircom already has a bad reputation in Ireland, so most principled consumers (like myself) have already been boycotting them for years. Considering the EU is usually so good at breaking monopolies and abusive behaviour by companies it’s incredible Eircom is still in business. Where are you EU?

Thanks

Tim from Montreal in Dublin.

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Buzz Crew,

After downloading the Kindle app, I tried to download my first book using just my iPhone. Can’t do it from the Kindle app. Can’t do it from Amazon app. Can’t do from the mobile version of the Amazon website. Only by using the URL amazon.com/kindlestore can you order and it is as difficult as using the onscreen keyboard to type this e-mail. I think something got rushed out the door.

My FIRST team is 247 “DaBears” of Berkley High, winners of the Traverse City tourney.

Todd the teacher from Detroit

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In episode #925 you mentioned that brick-and-mortar DVD rental stores
were becoming scarce. Here you can still find Hollywood Video and
Blockbuster as well as mom-and-pop places. What’s becoming
increasingly popular are the dollar-a-day rental kiosks. They’re
everywhere — Kroger, Walgreens, McDonald’s, etc. — and often have
lines. It appears that DVD rentals will be around for a while longer.

–Charlene
Houston, TX

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Hey Buzz Crew,

I don’t know if you read about the brazilian subtitles website called legendas.tv that was taken down by our RIAA (called APCM) in accusation of copyright infrigement. The site only had portuguese subtitles (made by fans) for TV shows and movies that either will take too long to get here or won’t never show up on our screens. There wasn’t one single video file up there, but it was taken down anyway by the power of your beloved DMCA takedown notice. A supposed revenge was to take down APCM’s website, which was lame, but it never got proved that any legendas.tv admin was involved with that attack. You can read more about it here: http://torrentfreak.com/hackers-hit-anti-pirates-to-avenge-sub-site-takedown-090205/.

Anyway, long story short, another fansub site called InSubs started a campaign to show to the APCM (and hopefully some of those bone-heads at RIAA) that people who download subtitles and watch the TV shows and movies are actually avid consumers, buying their DVD’s and blu-ray discs. It’s called We Want Culture (Queremos Cultura in portuguese) and the group basically asks for people to send them photos of their original DVD collections so they can post it to their page on flickr. By the time I’m writing this email, there’s more than 500 photos so far: http://www.flickr.com/photos/insubs/ and I didn’t even sent mine yet (25 Movies and the box of the 1st season of heroes).

So although APCM says the fansubbing hurts their business, there’s at least half a thousand proofs that it doesn’t. And hopefully that number will just increase.

Love the show, keep it up!

Rafa

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G’day Buzz Crew,

David from Sydney Australia here. Just thought I’d let know some interesting local news about how our local commuter rail operator in Sydney (known as CityRail - http://www.cityrail.info/ which is operated by the state-government owned RailCorp - http://www.railcorp.info/ ) has requested at least four developers pull their iPhone apps of the market, citing copyright ownership of the timetable information and inaccuracies.

This is despite having given one developer previous written permission.

The NSW Premier, Mr Nathan Rees, has now been drawn into the debate on Twitter.

The story appears in the Sydney Morning Herald here:
http://www.smh.com.au/news/digital-life/mobiles–handhelds/articles/cityrail-puts-brakes-on-iphone-app/2009/03/05/1235842537210.html

and a followup story here, including the Premier’s debate on Twitter:
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2009/03/06/1235842625754.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1

It appears once again the commuters of Sydney are left in the dark ages thanks to empire-building by irrelevant bureaucrats at a time when government money is better directed in other directions (e.g. like running the actual trains - which they can’t seem to get right here).

Thanks - love the show.

David