iPhone 3GS from AT&T. Free ShippingWe discover a fun new tautology on today's show (you know, competition...for the win?), have a fun time goofing off with Brian Tong, rail against Apple's decision to include HDCP restrictions in its new MacBooks, and rejoice at the arrival of Netflix streaming on the Xbox 360 (minus a few select Sony movies, ahem). Also: India takes on Google in the Earth-spying department. Yeah, India! Go, India!
Listen now: Download today's podcast
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EPISODE 856 |
Apple’s new MacBooks have built-in copy protection measures (thanks Mager!)
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/11/18/apples_new_macbooks_have_built_in_copy_protection_measures.html
http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2008/11/17/apple-brings-hdcp-to-a-new-aluminum-macbook-near-you
Psystar antitrust claim against Apple dismissed
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10101581-37.html
Microsoft’s new Xbox experience launches, Netflix users go wild
http://www.pcworld.com/article/154163/microsofts_new_xbox_experience_launches_netflix_users_go_wild.html
http://venturebeat.com/2008/11/19/new-xbox-experience-launches-looks-great-netflix-integration-fails/
Netflix streaming on Xbox doesn’t include Sony Columbia Pictures movies (thanks, Anu!)
http://www.joystiq.com/2008/11/18/nxe-netflix-streaming-queues-suddenly-gimped/
Quality pays: Hulu trumping YouTube
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13505_3-10102220-16.html
http://mediamemo.allthingsd.com/20081117/when-will-hulu-catch-youtube-it-already-has/
Microsoft to offer free consumer security suite
http://www.download.com/8301-2007_4-10101582-12.html
A drink backed by a sports (gaming) hero
http://news.cnet.com/A-drink-backed-by-a-sports-gaming-hero/2100-1043_3-6247818.html
PC Magazine goes out of print
http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/11/pc-magazine-goes-out-of-print
http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-ziff-davis-to-close-print-pcmag-focus-on-online-still-looking-for-optio/
Indian space agency, Isro, to roll out a rival to Google Earth (thanks, Phil!)
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article5182639.ece
Woman wants a cyborg eye! - BTONG contribution
http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/article/267901/artist_wants_cyborg_webcam_eye
VOICE MAIL
Dwight the T-Grip: true Hollywood battery stories
Paul from Verizon: why the BlackBerry rocks!
E-MAIL
Hey Buzz Crew,
I’ve been traveling so I missed a couple podcasts, but I don’t think there has been a mention of the re-start of the One Laptop Per Child Give One Get One program this past Monday (11/17). I’ve been wanting to get one of these laptops for a while mostly because I think they’re interesting and I want to help out the program. I know the OLPC folks got a lot of grief last time they offered this program because they didn’t really have the logistical infrastructure to handle the delivery of laptops to people who bought them quickly and some people had to wait months to get theirs. This time however, they’ve teamed up with Amazon.com and things look like they should work much more smoothly. I placed my order with Amazon and I should get mine by Friday.
I’m sure there are listeners that would like to get a new NetBook/E-reader. And I think the keyboard is waterproof so in can be a great conversation opener for chatting by the pool (Chris from Austin). So deploy the Buzz Brigades to help kids in developing countries get a great tool for education.
Julian (San Diego)
Hey JaMoTo
I was listening to episode 853 and 854 Re: The Wii speak application and then again on to the subject of the software companies not liking pre-loved games.
If the companies don’t like the idea of pre-loved games why don’t they have their own way of buying back sold games. This would allow people to get the same value from their games as trading their old games to EB etc… But allow credits to the new games. This would kill 2 birds with one stone so to speak.
Plus with the idea of saving the planet. Think about the latest game being made out of our old games.
Love the show.
Jon “The Student”
Australia
Hey Buzz Gang,
Just wanted to tell how impressed I was with the new NetFlix add-on to the Xbox 360. The quality is very good, particularly on cartoons. I just hope they update it so you can add stuff to your queue without a computer. I would hate to think the Xbox is just as dumb as a TV tuner and can only passively show videos. That would be as stupid as having a super gaming computer that’s hooked to my TV and my network that can’t browse the web… oh wait… never mind.
Take Care,
Kelvington
I have to disagree that the ‘Remote Spy’ program is significantly different then EA’s DRM. Well, on a technical level at least.
Both should have EULA’s stating don’t use their program illegally.
Both are meant to be put onto a computer you have legitimate access to.
Both change how your computer works and that change can be percieved as negative.
An unauthorized user can install both of these programs without permission by owner of the computer.
Both have removal issues.
Both can have legitimate uses.
In the discussion the case was made for business sales of this product, but for private sales one completely legitimate reason for a spy program that quickly comes to mind is by parents monitoring their children’s computers. I’m sure there are other things people can think up, but that’s my strongest legitimate use point.
In the class action lawsuit (http://www.courthousenews.com/2008/09/23/Spore.pdf) it states that the irremovable DRM is not disclosed (properly/at all) in the EULA and even if you made a case that it didn’t inappropriately phone home, the fact that it can prevent legitimate hardware/software from working is malware like behavior that occurs after an uninstall of the game itself.
In both cases when looking from a certain perspective they are put in a good or bad light… but if the government goes after one they should be going after the other.
Ben @ Nova Scotia
Listen now: Download today's podcast
|
EPISODE 732 |
Why Friday audio sucked
What we just learned about Windows 7
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-9952067-56.html
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-9951638-56.html
First pictures from Mars Phoenix lander
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/05/26/1231236
YouTube law fight ‘threatens net’
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7420955.stm
Facebook heading for the open (source) road?
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-9952311-36.html
Borders opens online store; won't 'out-Amazon' former partner
http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/
419-borders-opens-online-store-admits-it-wont-out-amazon-former-partner/
Amusement park bans PDAs and smartphones
http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/05/25/1726257
http://feeds.arstechnica.com/~r/arstechnica/BAaf/~3/299169317/
20080527-theme-park-pda-ban-says-time-and-a-place-for-everything.html
Ready-made Apple TV hack should help non-geeks play DivX (Thanks, boxtech)
http://www.crunchgear.com/2008/05/27/
ready-made-apple-tv-hack-should-help-non-geeks-play-divx/
Brazilian beetles hold key to faster computers (Thanks, rafacst)
http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2008/05/
photonic_beetle
VOICE MAIL
Good use for geolocation
Paul from Denver
Why the Orange Box might not sell in stores.
Royalties for games
Hey Buzzcrew,
I’m an actor and have actor friends that get royalties. ( I’m graduating from RADA this July.) They receive money for DVDs sold, broadcasts, and bits of their work used for promotion out of contract.
Is this a precedent? I think so, because games companies can record exactly how many units are sold (as with DVD), and so would be able to pay him 5 cents per copy (or something).
Paris Arrowsmith the actor
London, U.K.
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GTA voice royalties
Dear Buzz crew,
Just in regards to episode 730 where you talked about the main voice actor for GTA 4 not getting royalties per unit sold, I don’t see where he is entitled to any of the 600 million dollars made from game sales. It is not like TV writers or music artists. They write the script or the song. They don’t get paid $20 an hour while they write. It is their intellectual property, the lyrics, the script, they receive royalties for, not their voice.
The actor was paid approx. $100,000 for the hours' work he did, and now is no longer working so gets paid nothing more. Tough, find another job and work for the money.
Love the show,
Dane Lewis
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ChaCha (Thanks, Molly)
Hi all,
I want to thank Molly for getting me my summer job. You mentioned ChaCha human powered search on the show a few weks ago. I thought i would check it out for some extra summer cash. It only pays 20 cents an answer, but I was just going to sit in front of my computer anyway. Might as well make some money.
I got to tell you, its odd, though. Most of the questions are just random. Like “what should I do tonight?” or “should i marry mr.X?” Literally, just random questions that I can answer with my own opinion. Maybe 25 percent are normal/fact-based questions like “why is the sky blue?” or “what's the current score of a game?” or “what are the movie times for movie x at my local theater?”
So not to advertise, but listeners, you have to try it. Ask anything and we will come up with some kind of answer. Or join us as a guide for a cool, very easy summer job.
Love the show,
Thurman Jamison
Brooklyn, New York
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Hell, Michigan
Hello Tom, Molly, and Jason,
I was listening to Episode 731 today as I was driving between Dexter, Michigan and Pinckney, Michigan, when Tom mentioned casually that “there is a Hell, Michigan.” I was only about two miles from Hell, so I took a little detour over to Hell and snapped a few pictures for Buzztown.
You can see the pictures on my Web gallery at
http://gallery.mac.com/mwaldyke#100034
As you can see, it’s basically a little tourist trap, though a good dinner can be had at the Dam Site Inn. It’s also a good place to mail your tax returns–they cancel the stamp with a large red stamp proclaiming “Taxes from Hell!” Across the street from the buildings it’s very green this time of year, and not very hellish.
Love the show.
Mike (the chemist) from Michigan
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Google and HIPAA
Molly, Tom, and Jason,
OK, I listened with interest about HIPAA not covering Google's Medical Record's system. Believe it or not, this isn't unusual. I am a medical software developer and an EMT, so I have a pretty good understanding of HIPAA from both angles.
Here is the deal: HIPAA specifies something called a covered entity. These are doctors, hospitals, labs, EMTs and paramedics and the like, as well as insurance companies. Not everyone who deals with your healthcare information is a covered entity. My company (again we write medical software) is not a covered entity, but we must have something called a Business Agreement with any covered entity that is going to give us Protected Health Information (or use our software). Believe it or not, many of the doctors that you see when you're sick use a third-party company that handles billing and insurance submissions, and I don't believe they are covered entities in and of themselves, but they do have business agreements with the doctor's offices they bill for. That means that while we and they are not specifically covered by HIPAA, this business agreement requires that we act like we are. I am not sure if Google has such agreements in place (I imagine they would if they are getting information directly from a hospital or doctor's office), but I don't know for sure.
Now, if you as a person are providing your medical data to Google for storage, HIPAA doesn't apply, as it basically only covers healthcare providers and payors (insurance companies). So if they don't have a privacy policy as stringent as HIPAA and with the financial penalties for failure to follow their policy, my advice is don't offer up your information.
Just some food for thought.
Thanks and "Love the show."
Branden
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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Why cell phones in public places piss us off
Buzz crew,
Reference show #729
Here is the abstract (not going to pay for the full article) about why a cell phone conversation (or any one-sided conversation) seems more annoying than it is actually. Basically you cannot stop yourself from listening, but the fact that you cannot hear the other side is what annoys you. The fact that the conversation is mostly banal crap is controlled for in the experiment.
Love the show!
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~
content=a713820212~db=all~order=page
Abstract
Mobile (cell) phone conversations are commonly perceived as annoying when conducted in a public space. An experiment is described that demonstrates one factor contributing to this phenomenon: hearing only one side of a conversation makes it more noticeable and intrusive. Two actors repeatedly staged the same conversation under three conditions: cell phone; normal, co-present both audible, and co-present only one audible. After the staged conversation, which took place on a train, a third person obtained verbal ratings from members of the travelling public. As in a previous experiment published in this journal, the cell phone conversation was rated as more noticeable and intrusive than the normal co-present both audible conversation. Critically, a new experimental condition, co-present one-audible, in which both actors were present but only one side of the conversation was heard, produced ratings equivalent to the cell phone condition. This ‘need-to-listen’ effect is discussed with regard to implications for design and theories of language use.
Brent Quick
Listen now: Download today's podcast
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EPISODE 728 |
Look out, Apple TV: The $100 Netflix Player has arrived
http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9947582-1.html
6 million DRM-free MP3s now at Napster
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9945987-7.html
Breaking: iPhone 3G launch date confirmed
http://gizmodo.com/391960/iphone-3g-launch-date-confirmed
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/05/20/
apple_wwdc_rumour_revival/
Microsoft confirms Windows adheres to broadcast flag
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9946780-7.html
66% Apple market share for sales of high-end PCs
http://apple.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/05/20/0146218
Blog Archive » BBC's Sound Index is good, but we won't get the data
http://uk.techcrunch.com/2008/05/20/
bbcs-sound-index-is-good-but-we-wont-get-the-data/
Video of Steve Ballmer getting egged
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/05/19/video-of-steve-ballm.html
ET will phone home using neutrinos, not photons
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/05/20/120239
Voice mail
Josh Denver
Thoughts on Wii sales.
Greg Raleigh
Professional use of magnets.
Jason Car
Video podcast thoughts.
Ring back tones
I’m with T-mobile and I have a ringback tone on my plan. Granted some of my friends don’t like my song but as i said to them if you dont like it either stop calling me at 3 in the morning for no reason or give me 2 dollar and i will buy a song that you like and assign to you.
Peterjon
******************
An electronic message of indeterminate length
http://gizmodo.com/391848/first-year-kindle-sales-vs-ipod-palm-pilot-and-other-famous-gadgets-hows-it-doing
Well…its getting there. 2.2 million is too far off right?
Your loyal buzzian (it might catch on…maybe (and if it doesn’t let Dr. M and the Evil party kill us all (by all I mean I))).
Mr.dudeperson
********************
Test market in Wilmington
Hey guys,
I was listening to 727 and I had a very very quick Well, Actually:
The Digital TV switch experiment is in Wilmington, North Carolina, not Wilmington, Virginia. I’ve been following the story because Wilmington, NC is actually my hometown. 
LTS,
~Gail-Marie in Japan
********************
XP SP3 FIXED my system!
Lots of folks saying XP 3 had broken their system but I had the opposite experience.
I was building a new PC for my remote control astronomical observatory (see link), and I could not get XP to install (install crashed with BSOD) unless I turned OFF the second processor (Core Duo) in Bios first. Even after getting SP2 installed and everything working in this way, it would still crash on boot if I reactivated the second core.
BUT, when I installed SP3 and then activated the second core, VOILA!, it has been rock stable since.
FYI, Mobo is and Intel DP35DP……
Orion Observatory:
http://www.orionobservatory.com/observatory_
construction_2007/index.html
William
******************
Speech impeding magnets on a plane
JaMoTo,
In episode 727 (the plane episode) you talked about speech impeding magnets I can think of a positive application for them. Mount speech impeding magnets in the headrest of seats on airplanes at the same time that cell phones are allowed. If there is an annoying passenger on the plane who is constantly talking loud on his cell phone the flight attendant could ask him or her to please turn off their cell phone if the passenger refuses out comes the remote control and with a press of a button the passenger stops talking. The airline slogan would be when on your cell phone please respect other passengers otherwise you will have to turn off your phone or we will turn you off. (We control your speech, we control the horizontal,, we control the vertical....)
Love the show,
RJ
**********************
Sprint mobile broadband
Buzz community,
It is my sad duty to inform you that Sprint will no longer be offering truely unlimited mobil broadband for users of laptop data cards. We are now capping the service at 5GB/month just like Verizon and AT&T. I got a chance to ask Mr. Hesse about the change and he said it was simply costing too much to keep it unlimited. He claimed this change would only effect 0.5% of our customers, I question that, but that’s what he said.
In better news, the Instinct officially comes out on June 20th.
Oh, and with regaurds to hulu, I downloaded my copy of BSG on Bit torrent last night. If one person stops selling you the crack, you just find another seller
Love the show,
Your friendly neighborhood Sprint employee
--Tom
Listen now: Download today's podcast
|
Episode 672 |
Judge: Wikileaks gets its domain name back
http://www.news.com/8301-13578_3-9883240-38.html
First spam felony conviction upheld: No free speech to spam
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/
20080302-first-spam-felony-conviction-upheld-no-free-speech-to-spam.html
Vista prices fall even further
http://www.news.com/8301-13860_3-9883961-56.html
Pirates find proper way to crack Vista’s activation schema
http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/03/0622230
More audiobook publishers drop DRM: Will Audible follow suit?
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/03/03/more-audiobook-publi.html
Nine Inch Nails uploads new album on Torrent sites
http://torrentfreak.com/nin-uploads-new-album-on-torrent-sites-080303/
Fan-funded music
http://blogs.cnet.com/8301-13526_1-9882091-27.html
Woz strikes again: Disappointed by iPhone, wary about MacBook Air and Apple TV
http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/03/
woz-strikes-again-disappointed-by-iphone-wary-about-macbook-ai/
MacBook Air aflutter: Demand stays strong, sold out often
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/
20080302-macbook-air-aflutter-demand-stays-strong-sold-out-often.html
iPhone jailbreak tools updated to open firmware 1.1.4
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/02/29/iphone_114_hacks_released/
Source: Apple may not restrict free iPhone apps
http://www.electronista.com/articles/08/02/29/apple.and.free.iphone.apps/
Advocacy groups bash Comcast’s “technical-sounding nonsense”
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/
20080303-advocacy-groups-bash-comcasts-technical-sounding-nonsense-fcc.html
Will RealNetworks buy Scrabulous?
http://gigaom.com/2008/03/02/will-realnetworks-buy-scrabulous/
Mark Shuttleworth reveals definitive list of Ubuntu code names
http://menpro.blogspot.com/2008/02/mark-shuttleworth-reveals-definitive.html
Voice mail
Anonymous Darwinist
Robot-Grandma love anecdote.
Brian
Tax the filing process.
Alex Romania
Warranty on unlocked iPhones.
Comcastic!
Hey buzz crew,
I opened my current Comcast statement and on the last page after all the stupid fees there was “IMPORTANT ACCOUNT NOTICE” it said “Effective March 2008 - Standard cable service will no longer be sold. Current standard Cable-Only customers may continue their subscription at the new monthly rate (see enclosed) but new customers will no longer be able to purchase, upgrade or downgrade to the standard package.”
Now this is where it is stupid.
Standard cable's new rate is $54.40.
Digital started package is $55.40.
Just a dollar more?
Patrick
**********************
The Tilde
The tilde in URLs came from many of the original Web servers running on Unix. If my account on a server is chris on a Unix server, then my personal home directory is probably something like /users/chris2x but can also be referred to by “~chris2x”. URLs often had ~ because that was shorthand for where this particular user’s home page was stored. Since the users on the Web in those days were nerds, it probably did not occur to people at first that this was obscure. The death of the tilde in the URL was caused by people trying to tell their less nerdy friends how to type the darn thing.
Here is a good reference:
http://diveintomark.org/archives/2002/10/04/history_of_the_tilde
Chris the podcaster
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The Archivist!!
Hey Buzz Town,
I’ve been listening to TWiT for about a year now, and finally decided to try BOL a couple weeks ago. Now, of course, I am kicking myself for not having come over sooner. However, I am now on a mission: archiving ALL of BOL.
When I noticed that iTunes did not have all of your backcasts (I wonder if I just created a new word…), I started listening to the earliest episodes available, starting with episode 483. Then, even though I knew it was coming, I was distraught at episode 521, when Veronica left. I decided that I needed more Veronica, so I wanted to find even older eps. I heard alpha.cnet.com from the older eps, and was able to find all of the backcasts. I am still working on downloading all of them, since I could not find a single link for all of them.
As I have been downloading, I have imported them all into iTunes and am working on making all of the titles uniform to comply with the format of the recent episodes. I am still deciding on whether or not I want to put the show notes in. The problem that I am running into is that there are some episodes that are just interviews, and I don’t know whether they count as separate for the episode count. For example, by my count, Episode 089 is “What the heck is Google Base?” dated October 26, 2005.
Also dated October 26, 2005, is an interview with Cory Doctorow. Neither of these intros actually list episode numbers yet, so I don’t know if the interview should be Episode 090, or 089i, or what. I would hate to get back to 483 and find that I have been counting wrong all along!
Also, I was fortunate enough to have heard your request to make a list of all of the things that Molly has said she wanted to buy, and once I start listening from episode 1-482, I will do so.
Thank you all for a wonderful podcast. Veronica, even though I see you on Mahalo, and BOL is still great, I miss you.
Thanks,
Joshua the Archivist
Wichita, KS
P.S. I also work for the post office, and was wondering what position Remmy (sp?) is in. My guess is he’s a DCO like me, and thus has 8 hours a day to podcast.
***********************
HD-DVD disc best-selling HD movie last week.
American Gangster HD DVD Tops VideoScan’s weekly high-def disc sales chart | High-Def Digest
http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Disc_Sales/
Universal/American_Gangster_HD_DVD_Tops_VideoScans_Weekly_High-Def_Disc_Sales_Chart/1526
Ha!
-Nav
**********************
Buzz Town motto - Vote!
Jacob here to let you and the rest of Buzz Town that you can now vote for the Buzz Town wiki motto at: http://buzzoutloud.wikia.com/wiki/Buzz_Town_Motto
Thanks for the podcast,
Jacob the student from Australia
--Tom
Listen now: Download today's podcast
Starting Monday, February 18, we will discontinue the Buzz Out Loud newsletter. If you are currently subscribed to the newsletter, keep your eyes on the Buzz Out Loud blog at http://bol.cnet.com for a post that will describe the many options you have to get the show notes e-mailed to your inbox using available online services.
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EPISODE 662 |
Apple TV issues.
Halle Berry as Storm.
Hey Buzz crew,
First, I wanted to thank Tom for mentioning the CNET iPhone page. It's now in my iPhone bookmarks. Second, I've included a link about LOLing that sums up my thoughts on it perfectly. My suggestion to all the Buzzfans out there is that every time you type LOL and aren't actually LOLing, make your LOL a link to the video. It'll be sort of like Rickrolling people. Maybe we can call it LOLrolling. Anyway, love the show.
Sorensilk (the CoinStar hacker)
Austin, Texas
Hey you guys,
My friends and I use LOL when we are truly laughing out loud. We use COL when we are chuckling out loud. And we now use LOI thanks to Buzz Out Loud. I think COL is a very worthy addition to the LOL/LOI lexicon because there are a lot of times when one is not actually laughing out loud nor is one just laughing on the inside. I think that place in between those two worlds is well served by the ol' COL. Whaddaya think?
Merci,
Fordeaux (I am feeling international today so I've been using the French spelling of my name all day. It feels right.)
P.S. Molly, I have seen some good movies lately! Saw Juno the other day. L-o-v-e-d spells loved it! I think if we ever need to rent out our third bedroom, we could totally rent it out to Juno. Or Ellen Page. Either would be a worthy and welcome addition to our very fun and funny household. That cheeseburger phone of Juno's isn't really very techie but it's retro and cool so I think it can come to live with us too.
Hi guys,
Just for the record, I don't support the idea of you changing the name of the show to BOI--Buzz On the Inside. I for one frequently listen to the show on a hi-fi, and therefore out loud. While many people probably do hear Buzz "on the inside," this is only because of the nature of headphones, and I don't think it's a good enough reason to change the name of a show.
But with 'LOI' in mind, maybe we could consider changing ROFL to something a bit less misleading, since I don't believe anyone ever hears anything over IM that prompts them to get out of their chair, lay down on the floor and roll around like they're on fire. Anyone who does this shouldn't be allowed on the Internet anyway.
Nate
Just wondering what all the fuss is about with the 24-hour limit on the rentals. Comcast does the same thing on their movie rentals, a friend of mine says her online rental service has the same terms. Is it that people expect Apple to strike a better deal than everyone else, or are people just nit-picking because it's Apple? I don't own an Apple TV yet, and I don't rent movies from Comcast even though I have their digital cable. I prefer to buy the movies I like.
Robert
Vijay went to a concert last night at Madison Square Garden, and saw the future of music sales, and it was good. (Full disclosure: The concert was Matchbox Twenty. And Alanis Morissette opened. So, it felt like 1997.)
At the booth right where they sell t-shirts and such, there was a big sign that said something like "Take the concert home...tonight." It worked like this:
1) Pay $35 before the show, and get a ticket.
2) Watch the concert.
3) After the concert, redeem the ticket for a 256MB USB flash drive wristband. On the flash drive: the concert we had all just seen (Note: This was only available for the Matchbox Twenty part of the show.)
I (Vijay) decided to give it try. The only problem was that I had to wait in a big pushy mob for about 20 minutes before the first batches of wristbands emerged. But the key is this: There was a big pushy mob. People were willing to shell out a lot of cash ($35!) to get their content, direct from the artist.
And the kicker: it was un-DRM'd 128Kbps MP3 format. They even broke the songs into different tracks, making it dummy-proof. Heck, the concert is already on Vijay's iPod.
And for the crazy fan, you can go online and buy the official wristband for any of the tour's shows.
As far as we can tell, this is the first big-name band to do something like this. Judging from the crowd, it seemed successful. Soderburgh may have failed in his experiment with instant DVD gratification at the theater, but just-in-time concert albums make a lot of sense. And lots of people paid for un-DRM'd MP3s. And the label got no money. Take that, RIAA.
As always, keep on buzzing!
Vijay & Mo
The boys from Boston
Sorry about this. I tried to call in using a satellite phone right after attaching a satellite tag to a leatherback sea turtle in Gabon, but it did not seem to want to connect to your 1-800 number. So I recorded an audio message instead. Attached as a QuickTime movie file.
In short, I would like to name one of the turtles we tagged in honor of BOL helping to save me from utter boredom at a remote field camp. All of the turtles will be tracked live online at this site. Not much to see yet, but we will fill it out with information, pictures, and video and soon as we get back to broadband speeds in a few days.
And I've been twittering a bit of the trip.
cheers,
Michael
--Molly
Listen now: Download today's podcast
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EPISODE 660 |
Question for Molly.
Apple TV sucks.
Dear Tom, Molly, and Jason,
With reference to show 659 when someone e-mailed regarding getting harassed to pay $20 for an upgrade on their iPod Touch?
I have it worse--I live in Singapore, which is one of the places which does not have an iTunes store. So, on top of being harassed for $20 to get more icons repeatedly, I have to endure that fact that it's not even possible to do so even when I wanted to initially, because Steve won't accept a credit card from Singapore. I tried asking the Apple store in Singapore if I could pass my iPod Touch to them and get them to do upgrade it--they said that they couldn't. Although Apple seems to want to make money from me, they make it really difficult for me to give it to them. I gave up trying and clicked on "no thanks" after the third or fourth try.
Love the show!
YY from sunny Singapore
When Apple changed the iPod software so that you couldn't create an on- the-go playlist of podcasts that play one after the other (instead the podcasts will only play one at a time and you have to manually start the next one), I downgraded my iPod software to the version that worked as I want and now only buy first-gen Nanos that do what I need it to do.
I was confronted with that screen (mentioned by the folks with the iPod Touch) that wanted me to upgrade the software and it, too, didn't have a "no" option. After getting it many times (where I answered "don't ask me this again" and "cancel"), it finally quit asking.
So it is either as Tom says, bad code, or iTunes is just a slow learner. It has nothing to do with the $20. On a previous podcast, a reader provided the reason for the $20, which seemed quite reasonable at the time.
Tre
Hey Buzz crew,
Andy here to follow up:
So, here's the inconvenient solution grabbed from a forum on Apple.com: "Disable your Internet connection, then connect your iTouch. It will bring up iTunes, but it not load in the January Update page."
Hope that helps Kevin and anybody else who has this problem. Love the show!
Andy
Dear Buzz crew,
How do you decide on which type of calls gets played in the show and which are put at the end of the shows? However you decide, I think that Sony hater (voice mail played on show 659) should've been relegated to the end of the shows. Please mention on your show that if it wasn't for Sony, there would not have been portable music players, remember the Walkman! If it wasn't for Sony, the gaming industry won't have come so far so fast. Back than, you were forced to pick between NES (mostly for kids), Sega (which was not bad), and PC (which most people had to use their keyboard to play their games). Without Sony's involvement in the gaming industry, everyone would still be using game cartridges. Companies like human beings make mistakes, even Google and RIM, don't bash Sony too much.
Enjoy the show very much,
Ronald
So if Hillary is HD DVD, and Barack Obama is Blu-ray...does that mean Mike Gravel is HD VMD because nobody knows he's even running?
Alan, New York
Hey you guys,
Can you please explain at some point what difference is between Web 2.0 and Web 3.0? I have no idea. Also, while you're at it, maybe review the difference between Web 1.0 and 2.0? Is it that Web 1.0 was all about just pushing information out to people, and Web 2.0 is more interactive and is more about stuff like social networking and advertising?
This may be a sort of dumb, basic question and I should probably know the answer to this so if you don't answer it, no problemo.
Gracias,
Fordo
--Molly
Listen now: Download today's podcast
|
EPISODE 651 |
How we all die and become zombies.
Here's something about eBay.
FCC auction.
Hey Buzz crew,
Long time listener, but inactive responder as I am always listening to the previous day's podcast on my morning commute. I can't even pause and call on the cell phone while driving, (not that I would, of course) because I am already the proverbial day late and dollar short.
So, this isn't in response to anything particular from a show, just a story from TechDirt on yet another salvo in the Culture of Ownership wars (see link and excerpt below).
Heh (not LOL)--maybe you already talked about it today.
BTW: After fixing Netizen usage of "its" and "it's", could you please do something about "loose" and "lose." Arghhh!
Love the show, love the rants!
Best,
Bob in New Jersey
In regards to the story in episode 650 about U2. My question is, if U2 should be held to the same standards for any criminal activity that occurs at their concerts? Should they have to collect and provide lists of concert-goers, track activity, and be held responsible for any illegal activity that might occur at their concerts?
'Nuff said.
Darrin in New York
Hi Jason, Molly, Tom (thought I would shake up the order),
I am writing concerning my fellow countryman, Paul McGuinness and his comments on ISPs, episode 650. I think he is totally disingenuous, he rants about ISPs destroying music. I totally agree that to compel ISPs to introduce mandatory service disconnections to end unauthorized downloading, is total madness.
He specifically accused companies such as Apple, Google, and Facebook of building "multibillion dollar industries on the back of our content without paying for it". Could that be because he could then sue the world's richest men for a lot more money to stick in his Dutch U2 bank account now, would it Paul? These comments are rich, forgive the pun, considering this same individual and his band U2, moved their finances-- Euro 690 million, to evade Euro 15 million in taxes. Why then should the average individual concern themselves over huge businesses that abuse our tax systems, to ensure their ability to buy bigger silver spoons? Boo hoo hoo Paul, Bono etc.
Paul wants to "shift the focus of moral pressure away from the individual P2P thief and on to the multibillion dollar industries that benefit from these tiny crimes." Also, could this be the same individual who signed a multimillion dollar deal with Apple back in 2004 on behalf of U2 so that they would help promote the iPod with the sale of their own limited edition versions.
I totally agree with you, Tom and Molly, that no business should have to support another business.
Anyway great show, listen all the time for about a year, great to distract me at work.
Cheers,
Mike
Hey Buzzards, Ankh in Dublin here.
In episode 650 you played a call from someone who had listened to two Zune users hooking up on the back of a bus. Well, I have trumps on that one: Last night an attractive girl sat beside me on the DART; she seemed to be crying, so I set about trying to cheer her up. I whipped out my HP tx1000, snapped it into tablet mode and we drew some silly pictures together.
She cheered up. Mission complete!
-Keep up the good work. and tell that Merritt to expect an angry e-mail from me soon.
Ankwatcher
Hey BOL crew,
I'm in the army, so I only download episodes over the weekend and listen to them over a week, so forgive me for being slow on this one.
Anyway, on episode 648, Tom was responding to the e-mail from the guy from Thailand who sees iPhones everywhere, mentioning that "if Thailand has that many, you gotta figure Singapore..." would have them selling everywhere too.
Well actually, a few weeks ago, Apple sent letters to every Singapore retailer selling unlocked iPhones telling them that it is illegal to do so and that they will fine them $1,000 (not sure U.S. or Singapore dollars) per iPhone they sell! (I may be wrong about the price, it's on iLounge.com. Their mobile version only goes so far back.)
I think they said something about copyright infringement, because you pay for the license to use but not modify the phone. Can't really remember. I asked people in the industry about this and they said some guy here signed Singapore up for a stricter DMCA that doesn't allow unlocking. We've never heard of subsidy locks before the iPhone, you see. It's illegal for carriers to lock phones here. So the only iPhones around here are either purchased before Apple stepped in or are doing it in the dark. Yeah. As if not bringing the iTunes store here wasn't bad enough.
Just thought I'd throw in that "well actually."
Oh, and really love the show, been listening before Veronica was on board. :)
Dan the Singapore podcaster
P.S. I love the newsletter 'cos I can't get to the BOL blog while at work (well, I could, but my phone's browser won't load it properly), so I rely on reading them in my Gmail mobile from my Nokia E61 when I'm in my army camp. In fact, sometimes I read them instead of listening to the show 'cos I've collected too much backlot over the weekend, and there's no time to listen during the weekdays.
Hey Jason, or China,
I was outside shoveling the 35cm of snow we got today (with 120km/h winds and -30C windchill that shut down our whole city and closed about 700km of highway in northern Ontario) while listening to today's BOL. So, umm, could Jason or China do something about this?
On the plus side, my neuropharm students missed a midterm, so there is that.
Dave (the snow-shoveling psychologist)
Ben from Highland, Illinois
Go Bulldogs!
BTW, Tom, thank god for the DMV in Greenville--it is way better than Edwardsville's two-hour wait!
--Molly
Listen now: Download today's podcast
|
EPISODE 642 |
Blame it on the S-OX.
Life imitates The Office.
Always keep paper maps around.
What's up with Christina Del Ponte?
Hey gang,
Just a quick correction on the Macworld keynote on CNN. CNN replayed the keynote after the keynote was originally done. In other words, it was a replay, not live. Sorry I didn't add that in the original e-mail.
After watching a few minutes of the replay on CNN, the audio had an echo and the camera was always out of focus when they zoomed in on Steve Jobs. After watching five minutes, I'd rather read it or wait until Apple released the keynote.
Greg the Mass Comm student who moved from New Orleans to Baton Rouge,
Louisiana
This is Matt from Maine.
I have a comment about the MacBook Air. The MacBook air is thin, but that doesn't mean it's "ultraportable." Most people concerned with size feel that x and y dimensions (the footprint, if you will) are more important than z dimensions (thinness). While the Air is not huge in the x and y directions, it is certainly larger than most other ultraportables in that respect. And that's what counts most when trying to fit a laptop into a small bag or large purse. Additionally, by making it so thin, Apple really burnt a lot of customers who want Ethernet built-in, FireWire, and user-replaceable batteries. Expandability is very limited, the cost (with SSD and 1.8ghz) is very high, and it's larger (x and y) than most ultraportables. I have to admit though, the design is just gorgeous, and I can still see it selling well...just not to performance-only minded people like me!
Hi Buzz team,
I was looking at the Macbook Air and since it has no built-in DVD drive, what do you do when it comes to reinstalling the operating system when it crashes so you can boot. I assume the 'over wireless disk' won't work without a working operating system.
Just a thought which no one seems to have covered.
Keep up the good work.
Dave, U.K.
Tom, Molly,
I've been listening to the podcast for about a year and a half, and this is the first time I had to write you. You always answer my questions or extinguish my rants on the next podcast. You guys usually have the same questions/rants, or another listener corrects you and that usually satisfies all my problems.
My question here is about the new Apple Time Capsule. Is Steve really going to make us buy a hard drive and another wireless router to back up a Mac wirelessly? I just bought the Airport Extreme! And get this, it has a handy dandy little USB port on the back. I should be able to use Time Machine with my own external hard drive and the Airport. Do I really need to buy another overpriced wireless router from Apple just to get this wireless backup capability? Can't they just update the Time Machine or Airport software to allow this seemingly simple function. Uggh, Steve, where's the software update for this? Gosh, I might be willing to pay you $0.99 for this update, you know for accounting purposes.
I feel obligated to end with "Love the show!", but it's also true.
B-Mike
Jacksonville, Florida
--Molly
Listen now: Download today's podcast
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--Molly
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Tom Merritt appears on
CNET TV, specializing in help and how-to and the ever popular Top 5
lists. He also co-hosts CNET's The Real Deal podcast. 
Jason Howell can
often be found producing Buzz Out Loud from the audio studios at CNET,
updating XML feeds from the comfort of his cubicle, and saying "uh-oh"
from time to time. 
