Episode 591: Senator sees shadow
The signs and portents have arrived, and they point to seven more years of tax-free Net access. And home page e-email. Apparently that's a thing.
Molly Wood Former Executive Editor
Molly Wood was an executive editor at CNET, author of the Molly Rants blog, and host of the tech show, Always On. When she's not enraging fanboys of all stripes, she can be found offering tech opinions on CBS and elsewhere, and offering opinions on everything else to anyone who will listen.
5 min read
The signs and portents have arrived, and they point to seven more years of tax-free Net access. And home page e-email. Apparently that's a thing. Who knew? In other news today, poor Vonage has to pay Verizon $80 million, but Verizon has to pay you $1 million, and that's a little more satisfying. Also, the U.S. continues to kick some serious spam butt. Er, as in, send a lot of it. Sigh.
--Molly
Listen now: Download today's podcast
--Molly
Listen now: Download today's podcast
 | EPISODE 591 |
TODAY'S LINKS:
TODAY'S VOICE MAIL:
Rod in Vancouver
Unlocked iPhones in Canada?
Unlocked iPhones in Canada?
Chris the podcaster
He will get to his point.
He will get to his point.
Jimmy in Virginia
Copyright law on campus.
Copyright law on campus.
TODAY'S E-MAIL:
BOL can make medical history
Hey Buzztown,
I think BOL has the chance to make medical history. We just need a clever name for the new syndrome I've discovered, and I'm sure I'm not the only one to suffer from it.
Awhile back, there was that story about people with with their BlackBerrys/cell phones set to vibration mode feeling vibrations even when they weren't getting any calls or e-mails. It was called phantom vibration syndrome (PVS), while others called it "vibranxiety."
Well, here's a newer disorder, and if the citizens of BuzzTown can name it, we can make history. As an avid lover of new technology, I've had a TiVo for eight years, which allows me to pause, rewind, and fast-forward TV. I have an iPod which allows me similar control of every piece of audio I take in. On the net, it's the norm to pause, rewind, etc. videos and audio programs embedded on practically every site on the Interwebs. We can all control video games, DVDs, and some satellite radios the same way.
In the last few weeks, when I'm out in the world and I'm interrupted by something (a person talking to me, a phone call, whatever) my first thought is for me to pause whatever I'm doing. Taking a shower, driving down the road, whatever, my first thought is to 'pause it.' It's like my brain now thinks I should be able to stop time.
I know I'm not the only one feeling this way, so what the heck are we going to call this? "Timexiety?" "Doc Brown's Syndrome?" "The McFly Effect?" "Temporal Narcissism?"
And where are Geordi and Data when we need someone to track this down and give us some technobabble to understand it?
Chris, of Z19's Snowmen Hunters
Hey Buzztown,
I think BOL has the chance to make medical history. We just need a clever name for the new syndrome I've discovered, and I'm sure I'm not the only one to suffer from it.
Awhile back, there was that story about people with with their BlackBerrys/cell phones set to vibration mode feeling vibrations even when they weren't getting any calls or e-mails. It was called phantom vibration syndrome (PVS), while others called it "vibranxiety."
Well, here's a newer disorder, and if the citizens of BuzzTown can name it, we can make history. As an avid lover of new technology, I've had a TiVo for eight years, which allows me to pause, rewind, and fast-forward TV. I have an iPod which allows me similar control of every piece of audio I take in. On the net, it's the norm to pause, rewind, etc. videos and audio programs embedded on practically every site on the Interwebs. We can all control video games, DVDs, and some satellite radios the same way.
In the last few weeks, when I'm out in the world and I'm interrupted by something (a person talking to me, a phone call, whatever) my first thought is for me to pause whatever I'm doing. Taking a shower, driving down the road, whatever, my first thought is to 'pause it.' It's like my brain now thinks I should be able to stop time.
I know I'm not the only one feeling this way, so what the heck are we going to call this? "Timexiety?" "Doc Brown's Syndrome?" "The McFly Effect?" "Temporal Narcissism?"
And where are Geordi and Data when we need someone to track this down and give us some technobabble to understand it?
Chris, of Z19's Snowmen Hunters
Does openDNS solve the Comcast BitTorrent controversy?
Hey crew,
I noticed my "legal" bittorrent downloads are seeding just fine this week after months of not seeding. Could Comcast be folding like Superman on laundry day?? I did change my DNS to openDNS right before it got better, but this doesn't seem like it should make a difference. My old DNS was routing through Comcast though, sooo...
Love the show.
Jimmy "the cartographer"
Hey crew,
I noticed my "legal" bittorrent downloads are seeding just fine this week after months of not seeding. Could Comcast be folding like Superman on laundry day?? I did change my DNS to openDNS right before it got better, but this doesn't seem like it should make a difference. My old DNS was routing through Comcast though, sooo...
Love the show.
Jimmy "the cartographer"
I should be so lucky to be whining about the lack of fiber
Tom, Molly, & Jason,
It's Dave in Missouri.
Listen, quit yer bellyachin' about the availability of 20/20 fiber in your neighborhood.
I'm planted here in the Midwest, currently using a 48K modem connection at home. It's either that or really super-expensive satellite Internet. Which, let's face it, still pretty crappy.
So you coasters, just count your blessings 'cause here in middle, nonurban America, a lot of us can't even get crappy DSL.
Love the podcast...that I can only download at work.
By the way, I hear Molly is a cheesehead. Atta girl, go Packers!
Tom, Molly, & Jason,
It's Dave in Missouri.
Listen, quit yer bellyachin' about the availability of 20/20 fiber in your neighborhood.
I'm planted here in the Midwest, currently using a 48K modem connection at home. It's either that or really super-expensive satellite Internet. Which, let's face it, still pretty crappy.
So you coasters, just count your blessings 'cause here in middle, nonurban America, a lot of us can't even get crappy DSL.
Love the podcast...that I can only download at work.
By the way, I hear Molly is a cheesehead. Atta girl, go Packers!
Self-promoting artist
Hello Tom, Molly, & Jason,
This is Quentin from Chantilly, Virginia.
I do not know if you have heard about this or not but Tori Amos recently starting releasing "bootlegs" of some of her recent U.S. shows that she is calling Legs & Boots on www.toribootlegs.com. These are soundboard recordings of her the shows. You can buy the MP3 version for $9.99 or the FLAC version for $14.99. I have downloaded one show and it does not seem to have any DRM or watermarking.
I just thought it was an interesting way of an artist distributing their music and letting the fans have a chance to hear songs that might not have been able to hear at the show or shows they attended!
Quentin
Hello Tom, Molly, & Jason,
This is Quentin from Chantilly, Virginia.
I do not know if you have heard about this or not but Tori Amos recently starting releasing "bootlegs" of some of her recent U.S. shows that she is calling Legs & Boots on www.toribootlegs.com. These are soundboard recordings of her the shows. You can buy the MP3 version for $9.99 or the FLAC version for $14.99. I have downloaded one show and it does not seem to have any DRM or watermarking.
I just thought it was an interesting way of an artist distributing their music and letting the fans have a chance to hear songs that might not have been able to hear at the show or shows they attended!
Quentin
Signs of new Apple hardware
Dear Buzz crew,
Just to let you know that my knowledge extends to more than just listening to my Apple rep. Our computer store heavily supports Apple products (Macbooks are number 1 among students at our university), but we know signs of new hardware when they come. These include:
Anyway, just a bit of my background. I am not Apple employed and have signed no discloser agreements with them about any product or licensing, except not to sell OS 10.5 till 6 p.m. tomorrow on pain of death. I am currently a third-year at my university with a heavy concentration in Computer Science. For the record, I am both a Mac and PC user.
Tad the college student
Dear Buzz crew,
Just to let you know that my knowledge extends to more than just listening to my Apple rep. Our computer store heavily supports Apple products (Macbooks are number 1 among students at our university), but we know signs of new hardware when they come. These include:
- Sudden "back-order" in one system and not individual models (i.e. all Macbooks are back-ordered instead of just the 2.0 white or 2.16 black etc).
- Apple asking how many machines for a certain system we have in stock and does not coincide with our quarterly reports to them.
- A new processor chip on the horizon (such in the case of the Santa Rosa chip set).
- Frequent in store visits from Apple reps and techs.
- And lastly...rumor sites. Yes, most times Engadget, Macrumors, and etc. have the first leg-up on new hardware, but without a few of these firing off at once, it is highly suspect.
Anyway, just a bit of my background. I am not Apple employed and have signed no discloser agreements with them about any product or licensing, except not to sell OS 10.5 till 6 p.m. tomorrow on pain of death. I am currently a third-year at my university with a heavy concentration in Computer Science. For the record, I am both a Mac and PC user.
Tad the college student
Fake files, care of the RIAA?
Hey Tomolly,
Love the show, been listening for a couple of years. I just had to write in and ask: Does the RIAA put up fake files for downloading to track people downloading illegally? Couldn't that be considered, say, an attempt to seduce others to illegally download files? Is it something that could be used by the defense in a court case? Again, love the show, keep it up!
Aaron
Hey Tomolly,
Love the show, been listening for a couple of years. I just had to write in and ask: Does the RIAA put up fake files for downloading to track people downloading illegally? Couldn't that be considered, say, an attempt to seduce others to illegally download files? Is it something that could be used by the defense in a court case? Again, love the show, keep it up!
Aaron