Latest Rumors about Apple iPod Line - From Kevin Rose
August 27th, 2008It seems like Kevin Rose knows more than he’s telling but this is what he posted on his site about the new form factor for the iPod Nano as well as other rumors.
Latest rumors:
- Revamp of entire iPod line.
- Small cosmetic changes to Touch, Nano to see significant redesign see pic below.
- iPods to see fairly large price drops to distance itself from the $199 iPhone.
- iPod touch 2.1 software, iPhone to get update very soon after.
- iTunes 8.0 “it’s a big update w/new features”.
- All of this coming in the next 2-3 weeks.
It’ll be interesting to see if this is true.
links for 2008-08-26
August 26th, 2008-
this is still scary
Pandora can’t make money, may pull the plug
August 26th, 2008
Buckling under the weight of the Internet radio royalty hike that SoundExchange pushed through last July, Pandora may pull its own plug soon. Despite being one of the most popular Internet radio services, the company still isn’t making money, and its founder, Tim Westergren, says it can’t last beyond its first payment of the higher royalties.
Now the RIAA has gone to far. When will this stop. These money grubbing execs want their cut, which is understandable, but they are doing it ini such a way that it’s hurting everyone else in the process.
It’s one thing to collect royalties, the artist (especially) and the labels deserve to get paid for the work they put out but why pick on Internet Radio and sites like Pandora. If anything these sites are increasing their profits because people are discovering new artists through these sites.
It’s because of the music industry’s greed, that a cultural phenomenon that was started on the Web and nurtured on the Web will go extinct.
There are plenty of sites out there like Pandora but they’ll all eventually go under because of this. I fear that this is just the start of the gagging of innovation. When will it stop?
In an article on Tech Crunch, Erick Schonfeid expresses what most of us are thinking, that the next president needs to help form an Digital Bill of Rights. Because Right now we as a people, don’t have any set boundaries of what we can and can’t do and there are no boundaries for companies like Comcast and organizations like the RIAA to keep them from doing what they like and getting what they want.
As the Democrats and Republicans gather at their national conventions, it is time to really think about a comprehensive national technology policy for the Internet Age. Many laws and policies governing the Internet and digital property are inadequate attempts to transplant rules from a different era.
The problems that arise are not just about Net Neutrality (see Comcast
) or copyright infringement or digital privacy. They are about all of these things. What we need is a Digital Bill of Rights that spells out what freedoms and rights consumers can expect from Internet service providers, content companies, device manufacturers, and the government itself.
It is time for this Wild West we call the Internet to get some guidlines, for both the users and the suppliers.
Twitter should switch from RoR to Laconi.ca
August 24th, 2008
Okay, we all know Twitter has problems, but we’re all addicted to it. Why? Because everyone is on it. But with the Twitter hell that was June/July, it is time for the Twitter crew to abandon Ruby on Rails for something better… like PHP/MySQL. It’s a much better framework and it’s open source. Oh and best of all… IT’S STABLE! As far as Twitter being open sources, I know they have given out it’s API but I don’t think it’s Open Source.
On Floss Weekly, which is part of the TWIT Network, Leo Laporte and Randal Schwartz talked to Evan Prodromou (it’s just a quirk that he has the same first name as Twitter’s founder) of Laconi.ca, an open source microblogging PHP/MySQL program (aka Twitter-clone). It doesn’t crash, it’s open source, and people can start their own microblogging sites on their own servers. Best of all any Laconi.ca installed microblogging site can interconnect to all the others on the Web (See it in action at the TWiT Army or Evan’s Identi.ca). What this means is that if someone who is using TWiT’s TWiT Army site to microblog they can also follow people who are using the Identi.ca microblogging site and vise versa. This makes for a huge community, which is fantastic.
Now imagine this… if Twitter were to adopt the Laconi.ca framework, it wouldn’t have the problems it’s having, it would also be able to connect with all the other Laconi.ca sites out there and the community could grow an flourish. I really think this is the way to go, now if only Twitter would do it.
Ideas? Comments? I’d love to hear them!
Welcome Joe Biden
August 24th, 2008
Free Obama-Biden Desktop Wallpaper
August 23rd, 2008
Obama picks Biden as running-mate!
August 23rd, 2008
Okay I’m excited. Today Barack Obama chose Senator Joe Biden (D-DE) as his presidential running-mate today. This is a good sign. Biden is a proven politico and has a track record of getting things done. My one concern is that Biden is very liberal so I’m not sure how Obama’s choice will effect the campaign. It is exciting because I’m always wanted Biden in the White House. This not because of the fact that he is a fellow Blue Hen. I believe he has what it takes to make a good VP or even President. Biden gives Obama the experience ranking that he needs to win the White House!
“Joe Biden is that rare mix. For decades, he has brought change to Washington, but Washington hasn’t changed him,” Obama said.
The announcement–made official by text message and e-mail to millions of supporters only 12 hours earlier–added Biden, a sharp-witted, voluble foreign policy expert who has held two of the Senate’s most important committee chairmanships, to the Democratic ticket just two days before the start of the party convention in Denver.
Biden, 65, bounded on stage just after 2 p.m. local time. He hugged Obama, and then, taking the podium as the presumed vice presidential candidate for the first time, eagerly assumed the role of attack dog against the Democrats’ opponent, Sen. John McCain.
Biden said McCain–a longtime friend of his–has “yielded to the very Swift Boat politics he once deplored” during the course of the current race. And he made fun of McCain for being unaware of how many homes he owns, saying McCain cannot understand what struggling Americans discuss at their kitchen tables.
<Source: Washington Post>
My fingers are crossed. We don’t need another George W. for another 4 years.
Life and what’s going on…
August 22nd, 2008So I haven’t posted in a few days, life has gotten busy. Work is picking up which is great and my wedding is less than 17 days away. The latter I’m still adjusting to. Honestly I can’t wait to marry the love of my life, I just can’t believe we’re almost there. All that planning and hard work is about to pay off. I can’t wait.
So if I’m a bit sketchy on posting for the next few weeks that’s why.
Cheers!
Webware : Cool Web apps for everyone - CNET
August 19th, 2008
So Yahoo! has released Buzz to the public today. At first I was skeptical about yet another news article ranking site. Digg in my opinion does a great job of it, so why reinvent the wheel. But after reading Rafe Needleman’s post on Webware, I’m definitely intrigued. According to Webware, Buzz let’s you also submit the story to Digg, Delicious, StumbleUpon and other sites. So that’s definitely intriguing. It’d be need to see if Buzz is actually something worthwile. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
It’s tempting to discount Buzz as just another content voting site, but that misses the point. Publishers (like Webware publisher CNET) cannot afford to ignore Buzz, since popular stories on the service can get placement on the Yahoo page, and that could drive large amounts of traffic back. It’s a big carrot. Competition for Buzz votes is going to be strong.
Stumble It!
