Buzz Out Loud 743: Fablessly 'splensive pigeons

Today's show is a bit of a tongue-twister. Really, the entire show. We just can't get the words out. And in other news, the whole Internet hates Metallica. Again. We find out the truth about Microsoft's Xbox 360 recall, how Disney totally gets the Internet for music but not so much for movies, how much Google engineers make, and how pigeons can solve the U.S. broadband Internet problem.
Listen now: Download today's podcast

EPISODE 743

Buzz Out Loud San Francisco Meetup! June 12, 2008.
http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/780695

Metallica to bloggers: don’t review our music
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080610-metallica-to-bloggers-dont-review-our-music.html

Pearl Jam goes mobile with authorized bootlegs
http://news.cnet.com/Pearl-Jam-goes-mobile-with-authorized-bootlegs/2100-1039_3-6241343.html

Steve Jobs: it’s time we design our own iPhone and iPod chips
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/06/11/steve_jobs_its_time_we_design_our_own_iphone_and_ipod_chips.html

The truth about last year’s Xbox 360 recall
http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=208403010

Disney.com breaks new ground streaming full-length movies online for the first time ever
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080610005595&newsLang=en

Music industry woes not felt by Disney Records
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9965217-7.html

At Glassdoor, find out how much people really make at Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and everywhere else.
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/06/10/at-glassdoor-find-out-how-much-people-really-make-at-google-microsoft-yahoo-and-everywhere-else/

HBO invests in Will Ferrell’s FunnyorDie.com
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9965649-7.html

Virtually waterless washing machine edges closer to production
http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/10/virtually-waterless-washing-machine-edges-closer-to-production/

VOICE MAIL

Rafa
Has a prediction about unlocked iPhone

Jenar
More cost considerations for cars.

E-MAIL

Molly, Tom, and Jason,

You are right. That’s what media does and that’s what people like. It was just way too much coverage and too many rumors. It’s just as you said at the beginning of the show, when you compared the hype with alcohol.

I was also disappointed because everybody said it was launching on Monday and it didn’t.

Love the show,
Bernardo the Reservoir Engineer
________________________________________

Yes it's not illegal to unlock your phone, but is it legal to fine people who don't register it either? I wonder if there is a legal precedent out there that allows for this— Buzz Town Attorneys at Law, LLC?

I get why they want to do this; I mean, if I was going to take a huge loss on a phone, I'd want to be sure I'd make it back up in monthly fees, but to actually have the ability (and not to mention, the testicular fortitude) to fine someone seems dubious to me at best.

Actually, after further introspection, I think what's really jarring me is the word "fine"; maybe if they said "breach of contract" I'd be more OK with it. "Fine" makes it sound like I committed some petty crime like littering or indecent exposure, and believe me, I'm neither a trasher nor a flasher, so don't lump me into the likes of those delinquents if I'm lethargic in my decision to hock my soul to the evil blue and white Death Star.

I also think that the general population has become accustomed to the previous business model, in which they'd pay though the nose for an unsubsidized iPhone and then be sort of (but not really) free to do with their new toy as they pleased. Now with mandated subsidy, our hands are more tied than ever. In the end, AT&T and Apple are private companies, so they can make whatever rules they want about their products within some frame of reason, but that doesn't mean they have to be [insert mad-lib expletives here] either.

LTSKUTGW,
Dr. Karl J
________________________________________

Regarding your discussion (in episode 742) of AT&T’s requirement of an Enterprise Data Plan for the iPhone …

… we encountered a similar problem back in March. Those of us in the company that use GoodLink on our mobile devices to connect to our Exchange e-mail received letters from AT&T indicating that we were using the wrong data plan. We had been using the $39.99 PDA Personal Unlimited plan which also included 1500 text/MMS messages per month. According to the letter, we would automatically be switched (back on April 1) to the Enterprise Data Plan for $44.95.

We spoke with our AT&T business rep and were told that yes, we did need to switch everyone to the Enterprise Data Plan for $5 more/month, and we complied.

Fast-forward to last week when I was having problems sending an MMS message from my Treo 680. I called AT&T and after a few minutes with a rep was told my plan looked okay because I had “pay-per-use” messaging turned on. I stopped him and said my data plan should have 1,500 text/MMS messages a month. He said my OLD data plan had that, but when I was switched to the Enterprise plan, text messaging was no longer included so I was switched to pay-per-use messaging instead. Of course, there was no mention of this in the letter I received indicating I would be switching plans, so now I’ve had a bunch of corporate users with pay-per-use text messaging.

So, on the Enterprise plan, you need to add an additional text messaging plan ($5 for 200, $15 for 1500, or $20 for unlimited). I presume the same will go for the iPhone.

I am now in the process of going through everyone’s text messaging use to determine which (if any) plan is needed for their accounts. Fun!

Jeremy
St. Pete, FL
________________________________________

I just wanted to shed a light on AT&T’s 3G coverage. If you do not live in a large metropolitan area (which I do not), At&t’s 3G service is unavailable to you. After looking for upgrade plans, I found that by the end of 2008, At&t will still only be available in large metropolitan areas. Any iPhone user in a rural area will basically pay more money for a phone and more expensive 3G plan (which they cannot use) for the same speeds and functionality of iphone 2G. The iPhone 2G will essentially be the same phone when the software is upgraded minus GPS integration and a new form factor. I think people need to research their coverage before buying something they might not be able to use entirely.

Jordan
________________________________________

We don’t care if the internet is down, we don’t need it, we have
Pigeon Net. Transfer 64GB in minutes….

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/08/0815_NGTpigeon.html

Mutch