Oct 16
BusinessWeek has an interesting analysis of the introduction of the iPod nano and the resultant cancelation of the iPod Mini.
A harsh law of the high-tech jungle says only those companies willing to kill off their most successful products to make room for even better ones can hope to remain on top. Few chief executives actually follow that tenet, however. One of the exceptions is Apple Computer’s (AAPL Steve Jobs.
But then, Jobs isn’t your typical CEO. He showed why a month ago, when he announced the supercool iPod nano on Sept. 7. That day, Jobs also announced that Apple had discontinued the iPod mini — as of that day Apple’s single hottest product.
Popularity: 2% [?]
Sep 28
Last week Steve Jobs called the record labels greedy for wanting to raise the cost of songs, particularly new songs on the iTunes Music store.
. The war of words escalated this week as MacDailyNews
reports:
“Michael Nash, Warner’s digital strategy chief, suggested labels might have no choice other than cut Apple’s digital music sales off at a stroke,” Andrew Orlowski reports for The Register. “‘What if Jobs says 39 cents or 29 cents per download - what then? The industry can say, OK we’ll cut him of - very few people people buy music from digital downloads,’ said Nash, who pointed out that most of the music on iPods is from their own collections. The iPod won’t disappear, he pointed out, and the decapitation will really feel no more painful than a gentle shave. ‘[Jobs] will figure out another model,’ said Nash… His comments came at the CTIA Telecomms Show, in a panel titled ‘Artists, Labels, Publishers: What Do License Holders Want.’”
Nash also said, “The industry got together and said ‘We don’t want another MTV’. Well, now we’ve got another MTV, in Apple. And we have to deal with it.” And an unnamed executive stated, “It’s going to be difficult to get the consumer to stop thinking about owning music, and think about paying for participation instead,” Orlowski reports.
Popularity: 3% [?]
Sep 11
I can almost constantly found wearing my iPod shuffle and listening to my favorite podcasts. That did not make this story on Podcasting News good news.
According to researchers at Sydney’s National Acoustic Laboratories, one out of four iPod users is damaging their ears by blasting audio at unsafe levels.
The researchers found that about 25% of those surveyed listened to their players at volumes similar to small power tools. The team predicts increased levels of tinnitus as a result.
Lab director Professor Harvey Dillon suggests “People either need to turn them down or not listen for as long.”
Popularity: 2% [?]
Sep 10
Ever wondered what the best filk songs are? No? You don’t know what filk songs are? You think that is a typo? Ah, then have I got a site for you. According to Wikipedia flik is:
a form of music created from within fandom, and performed generally late at night at science fiction conventions. It is also popular in some circles of the Society for Creative Anachronism.
Each year the Pegasus Awards are given for the best filk songs. Songs like my favorite (with thanks to the Larsen’s who taught me about filk):
Never Set the Cat on Fire
Copyright © by Frank Hayes, Firebird Arts & Music (BMI)
Never set the cat on fire, you only will annoy it
The heat will make the beast perspire; she surely won’t enjoy it
Likewise do not ignite the dog, the snake, the gerbil, or the frog
No, never set the cat on fire
Refrain
And mind your manners, as circumstances may require
And never set the cat on fire
Don’t open up the cabin hatch; the air is sure to leave it
And air is very hard to catch; you never will retrieve it
And though you think your life’s a bore, don’t open the reactor door
Don’t open up the cabin hatch
Refrain
Don’t change the navigator’s data, someone’s sure to see ya
You know the captain’s view of that, a very bad idea
He doesn’t want his ship to race forever lost in endless space
Don’t change the navigator’s data
Refrain
Don’t start an interstellar war; it has no helpful uses
When someone asks you ‘what’s it for?’, you’ll only make excuses
If thirty trillion folks get hurt, you’ll go to bed with no dessert
Don’t start an interstellar war
Refrain twice
mp3 version
Popularity: 2% [?]
Aug 31
This may not be a stupid criminal trick but it is at least a very unlucky one. From engadget :
File this one in the “doh!” category: a UK iPod thief was caught red-handed when he brought the device to a local Apple retailer looking for cables for it - unfortunately for the thief, the manager of the Nottingham-based store he walked into was actually the guy he stole the iPod from. Adrian Smith, manager of Apple retailer KCRS, had had his iPod stolen out of his car the weekend before. When the ?customer? walked into the store, Adrian noticed the unit looked rather familiar, and sure enough upon plugging it into one of the store?s machines, it turned up as “Adrian?s iPod.” Another staff member kept the thief occupied while Smith called the coppers, and the rest, as they say, is blog fodder.
Popularity: 3% [?]
