The new iPod Shuffle

I already have a problem with the new iPod Shuffle – because the controls are built into the headphones, Apple has made it impossible for me to use my current Shure, in-ear, noise canceling headphones which I love. Apple’s stock iPod headphones are notorious for being uncomfortable, flimsy and produce questionable sound quality (there is a lack of balance between the lows and highs with no mids whatsoever). With this vendor lock-in, I’m not going to venture into the Apple store and pick up the new Shuffle, even though my current Shuffle needs to be replaced.

I think it’s time I pursued the player my friend Rajit picked up from Best Buy – for $50, it has a screen with the current track’s information and a radio. Good deal I say…

Microsoft changes tune on selling DRM-free songs

Apparently, this has been in the pipelines long before Apple’s talks with EMI.

Go Figure –Link

Microsoft Quietly Making Untold Millions?!

Interesting paragraphs from the article on how Microsoft Quietly Making Untold Millions

To put this in another way, if a domainer profits from a specific domain that potentially resembles a trademark, he is accused of bad faith, relieved of his domain, and quite possibly slapped with a lawsuit. But if Microsoft does this with not just one, but all non-existent domains (a virtually infinite number), it’s not bad faith because they aren’t specifically targeting a single trademark owner.

Obviously, this wouldn’t be Microsoft if they wouldn’t also go out and hunt down and sue “cybersquatters” – all the while keeping a straight face.

The Daily Domainer believes that Microsoft will prevail in its quest for typo profits while traditional squatters, who actually have to register typo domains and put their neck on the line in order to profit from them, will increasingly run into problems.

Microsoft is not the only company that has recognized the incredible profits that can be made with this strategy.

Last September, Earthlink started its own program to intercept requests for non-existent domains and redirects them to a customized page filled with ads and alternative search suggestions. Charter got into the game just a few days ago. And Mozilla is leaving millions of dollars on the table by not doing something similar with Firefox.

Time for Mozilla to stand up and take notice of this revenue generating scheme?

Extending the Web-Based Ad Revenue Model to more Media Types

After having seen the RIAA and the MPAA struggle with curbing Piracy and handing out lawsuits like they are going out of style, I wonder if there is a way to make users stop pirating content. If the numbers from the iTunes Music and Video Stores is to be believed, users are willing to pay for their content if procuring it is both cheap and trivial. Think about it though, TV wasn’t supposed to be paid for by the user – one could argue that since the terrestrial transmission of some of the most popular downloads (music and video) is free, the content should be free from the download sites too. How then can the store and the content creator make money?

In the Web paradigm, content creators make money via advertising. It would be interesting to investigate distributing content that is supported by advertising to users’ computers, hand-held devices, et al. If you have thoughts on this idea, please write me a comment – I plan to continue thinking along these lines and might write up a paper soon.

Vista Wins on Looks. As for Lacks … – New York Times

This article primarily summarizes why Windows Vista, the operating system I worked on, is bound to be a success. Unless the Mac suddenly corners more than 50% of the world’s PC market share, Windows is going to continue to survive; heck, it’s going to thrive! Read on…

Vista Wins on Looks. As for Lacks …

Online, there’s much talk of Vista’s place in the universe. Is it too little, too late? Does the Mac’s uptick in market share threaten the dominance of Windows? Does Web-based software make operating systems obsolete?None of the above. Windows isn’t going anywhere, the landscape won’t be changing anytime soon, and the corporate world will still buy it 500 copies at a time.

In other words, it doesn’t matter what you (or tech reviewers) think of Windows Vista; sooner or later, it’s what most people will have on their PCs. In that light, it’s fortunate that Vista is better looking, better designed and better insulated against the annoyances of the Internet. At the very least, it’s well equipped to pull the world’s PCs along for the next five years — or whenever the next version of Windows drops down the chimney.

This should tell you, the Windows team is a great place to work! Nothing says job security like constant demand. 🙂

XviD, Divx for your Mac?

After searching for an entire month, I have finally found THE Codec pack for my MacBook Pro that will let me watch any video I download off the Internet. It’s called Perian and honestly, thank god for http://www.apple.com/-> Search Downloads!

Here is the link to the application: http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/video/perian.html

The best < 1MB download of this month (November 2006) is the Perian Codec Pack for the Mac (that rhymes). This find will definitely save you a lot of time and hopefully, bring you a whole lot of pleasure!! Enjoy…

Mac Mojo : On being a Macintosh girl at Microsoft

So eloquently put, I had to quote this verbatim:

I think it’s like those old Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups ads. Some people might say, ‘Keep your Microsoft off of my Mac’ And some people might say, ‘Keep your Mac out of my Microsoft’ But that’s the wrong attitude. Microsoft and Macintosh are two great tastes that taste great together.

Read the entire piece here: Mac Mojo : On being a Macintosh girl at Microsoft

The Intel Core 2 Duo

To quote a paragraph from the final notes on this new processor from Intel,

Now that Intel has shipped the mobile version of its Core2 CPUs, we can see that Intel has substantially met its goals with Core2 Duo. However, the new CPU can be quite power hungry under certain circumstances, thought the improved power management should mitigate battery life somewhat.

You can read the entire article :here: I am going to return the Mac Book and wait for new laptops to be released with the new processors. I am tempted to buy a Dell though since there are machines available for less than $500. Compare that to the Mac that costs more than $1100 and the choice to go with the Mac becomes more difficult…

Microsoft’s Windows Media DRM 10 Cracked

Read the entire news article :here:

A user called “viodentia” on the the doom9.org message boards a DVD conversion has posted links to a program called FairUse4WM that is capable of cracking Microsofts DRM 10, which protects files offered by PlaysForSure-commpatible music stores. The program is an easy-to-use front end to an app called drmbg that strips DRM headers from “secure” WMA files. Although he apparently developed the program to allow people to play their legally purchased music on the device of their choice, the potential for abuse is fairly high.

What does this portend for music subscription services?

Go Vista!

The Built-in administrator account is disabled in Pre-RC1 Vista Builds. Who made this extremely stupid decision? First, someone conceives LUA, which makes my machine unusable. Now the powers that be decide to disable the “Administrator” account. When I try to enable it, I am told that “This account has been disabled. Please see your System Administrator.” I am the friggin’ system administrator for crying out loud!

UTTER BULL CRAP if you ask me. Such measures are intentionally designed to reduce productivity and for once, something does exactly what it is designed for.