Monthly Archive for September, 2007

Amazon Unbox Review

Published on September 30, 2007 in Internet, Review and Technology. Closed

I’ve been using Amazon’s Unbox service with my Tivo now for quite some time and thought I’d write a review of it (it’s been out for a while, so this review is quite the latecomer). I have yet to try using it directly from my Tivo, but I have used it many times Amazon’s website. It provides a nice service compared to renting movies, but I wouldn’t replace renting DVD’s with it.

First, the website makes it a bit difficult to browse through what they offer (Amazon only lets you look at a certain number of items per page). The nice thing is, they have filters on the left side (like with everything on Amazon), so you can choose all movies, rentals, or movies for sale. Since I would never buy a digital movie in a format does not give me a hard copy, I always look through rentals. That’s easy. The rentals range from $0.99 (for stuff on sale) to about $3.99 (about the price of renting at Blockbuster or Hollywood Video). Since I registered my Tivo with it right away, I got $15 in credit towards it and used that up pretty quickly. Also, since I’m cheap and the quality isn’t that great, I have been only renting the $0.99 movies.

The catch to Unbox rentals is that once the movie downloads, you only have it for a month. However, once you hit play, you only have it for 24 hours. That’s the beauty of DRM. Since I generally only watch movies once when I rent them, it’s not a big deal, but it might be for people used to renting a movie for 5 days (for the same price as the Unbox movie) and watching it one night or falling asleep and wanting to watch it again the next night.

My other issue, as stated above, is the quality. It’s nowhere near DVD quality and I don’t even have a great DVD player or TV. On my 20″ flat CRT non-HD TV (though I have one of the better 20″ flat CRT non-HD TV’s), the movies tend to look a bit fuzzy. The sound quality is great though. Since I generally only rent the $0.99 ones, I don’t complain. It works out pretty well for me.

The last issue is the time it takes to download the movies. On the website, once you click “buy” using the single-click method, it tells you it will start downloading in the next 15 minutes, which is accurate. What they don’t tell you is that it takes a long time for the movie to finish downloading and, unlike TV shows you’re recording, you can’t watch it until it’s finished downloading.

Someday I’ll try using it directly on the Tivo, but there’s still no substitute for walking through the store and looking at all the movies to see what peaks your attention. The Unbox service is great if you have an idea of what you’re looking for and if you pick out something well enough in advance to let it download before you’re ready to watch the movie. The internet gives a feeling of instant satisfaction, and I made the mistake the first time I tried Unbox thinking it would be much quicker than it is. Unfortunately, I ended up having to watch a movie I had that night and watch the Unbox movie another night. If they somehow made it faster to download the movies, the service would be much better than it is. However, it’s great if you have an idea of what you want to see and pick it out ahead of time. It’s moving in the right direction of on demand viewing, but the download speeds really kill that (though it does download faster than real time, so if they let you watch it before it finished downloading or after a certain percentage of the movie downloaded, that would be a big help).

Great Amazon MP3/iTunes Music Store Comparison

Published on September 30, 2007 in Internet, Music and Technology. Closed

I found a great writeup comparing Amazon’s new DRM-free MP3 store with Apple’s iTunes Music Store.  It goes into some nice detail comparing the various issues.  From the sounds of it, Amazon comes out on top.  While I don’t regularly buy digital music because I do prefer CD’s for having higher quality music to use as I please, I have used iTunes to grab some songs to use as suggestions for my upcoming wedding.  The biggest issue it seems regarding the Amazon store is that it’s a bit clumsy to use.  That’s no surprise to me considering it’s still in Beta.  I love Amazon’s regular store and buy stuff from them all the time.  It makes buying stuff online quite easy.  I also love Amazon Unbox, which is very convenient for renting movies as I don’t have to go to a store (though they don’t download to my Tivo very fast and I usually have to pick a movie at least an hour and a half before I want to watch it, but maybe I’ll write a review of that some other time).  With time, I have a feeling that Amazon’s MP3 store will work just as smoothly as everything else Amazon.

The biggest thing that the Amazon store will be is competition for iTMS.  The prices are a cheaper ($0.89 and $0.99 for single tracks and $5.99-$9.99 for whole albums, all DRM-free all encoded at 256 kbps compared to the iTMS prices of $0.99 for all tracks with DRM and $9.99 for all albums with DRM encoded at a lower bit rate and $1.29 per track and $9.99 per album for the DRM-free versions, also encoded at 256 kbps).  While I don’t expect this to bring the majority of iTunes users over to Amazon, I do think it will take enough of them away for Apple to change their thinking, perhaps their prices, and perhaps a complete abandonment of DRM.  This, of course, will take some time.

For the record, the writer only tested the Amazon store on his Apple computer using a lesser known web browser called OmniWeb (I’ll have to look into that one as I’ve never heard of it).  I have a feeling one of his issues with the Amazon MP3 store was caused by his use of OmniWeb.

Again, I urge any iTunes Music Store users reading this to make the switch to the Amazon MP3 store when possible (as the one thing that iTunes has over Amazon is 6 million songs as opposed to Amazon’s 2 million songs).  Check Amazon first when looking for a song or album.  You’ll probably save some money and have a file that can be played on just about anything (all computers using Windows, MacOS X, Linux, etc.; any portable music player as they all support MP3; and even most newer car stereos support MP3 directly now, with with USB ports for a flash drive).

Amazon MP3 Vs. iTunes Music Store (Slashdot)

CNet Blog Suggests MS Abandon Vista… Huh?

Published on September 28, 2007 in Microsoft, Software and Technology. 1 Comment

So a guy from CNet decided that he knows best and that Microsoft should just abandon Vista and move on.  His reasoning behind it is all the “inexcusable issues” and “features taken from Mac OS X and Linux”.  I wonder if he realizes that many of the features of MacOS X were taken from Unix and Linux windowing systems.  Borrowing concepts and ideas and making them into something your own has long been the way of software and operating systems.

As I posted a while back, I have been using Windows Vista since January.  I reported some issues, but they were in no way the fault of Microsoft or Vista.  The problems I reported were the fault of incompatible memory and HP’s driver for their fingerprint reader (which added a lot of time to system startup).  After the memory was removed and those drivers were removed, I had no issues.  Many of the issues I’ve seen reported were due to driver problems and incompatible hardware and software.  Microsoft did almost everything they could to make sure people were ready for an upgrade to Vista.  They released the Vista Upgrade Advisor that searched your computer’s hardware and software to determine how compatible your computer would be with Vista and inform you of any software to remove prior to upgrading to Vista.  If the customers ignored that and just went for it on an older computer with older software, they might’ve been in for a surprise.  I can’t blame Microsoft for that.

Much of his reasoning sounds to me like personal issues with Microsoft.  It sounds like he just plain doesn’t like Windows and prefers MacOS X.  That’s fine, but offering suggestions to Microsoft when you generally don’t like their products and can’t give concrete reasons why is just silly.  He speaks of the increased cost of Ultimate and how you need it to burn DVD’s.  He’s wrong on that part because Home Premium will do DVD’s.  He ignores the general extra expense of buying an Apple computer, which “just works”.  That could be in part because you can’t run MacOS X on just any hardware.  It has to be hardware from Apple, which doesn’t allow for competition and allows Apple to charge a premium for the same hardware found in just about any computer.  The cost of buying a laptop that comes with Vista Ultimate is still generally less expensive than buying a similarly spec’d Apple laptop.  Apple doesn’t have to worry about drivers.  Microsoft does their best to include what’s known to them in the operating system, but because of the way of hardware, they can’t possibly include it all unless they lock down what their operating system will run on.  That would end competition and be just plain stupid on their part.  As I have said many times, I would love to have a computer with OS X, and I have a computer that could run it, except it wasn’t built by Apple, so I can’t.

He suggests that the UAC is flawed.  The problem he’s having is not Microsoft’s fault, but the fault of software developers who have gotten used to allowing their software to access (read and write to) the system directories rather than stay only within the user profiles.  It’s for this reason that the UAC pops up when running certain pieces of software all the time.  It’s the software developers that need to take a lesson from this and write software the same way they would for a Linux/Unix environment when you can’t access the system directories.

Then there’s this (and I had to quote it because it’s just so ridiculous):

Much talk has been given to Service Pack 1 and how this update should address many of the issues users have with Vista, but I simply don’t agree. Will SP1 eliminate the ridiculous Microsoft licensing schemes? Will SP1 drop the price on the higher-end versions? Will SP1 eliminate the need for users to buy a new computer just to use the faulty OS?

SP1 will do nothing but fix the holes and issues we currently know about and create even more. As we all know from the days of Windows ME and even XP, Microsoft is not the best company at finding and addressing security issues, and chances are, Vista will be no different.

Of course SP1 will not lower the price or eliminate the hardware requirements.  OS X has hardware requirements as well.  I have OS X 10.3 on an old G3 iMac at 433 MHz.  It runs, but most of the pieces of software won’t upgrade (like iTunes, that “just works”, for example) and take forever to load.  The same is true of every version of Windows.  There comes a time when you just need to suck it up, bite the bullet, and buy modern hardware.  If you have legacy applications, run a legacy operating system.  It’s just that.  You can’t expect a company like Microsoft to continue to allow legacy applications running on legacy hardware on their new state-of-the-art operating system.  That’s just ridiculous.  Service Pack 1 may not make Vista 100% perfect, but is OS X or Linux without flaws?  It’s laughable to think that any piece of software is flawless.  What SP1 will do is fix the current known issues.  The fact that some guy, who more likely than not uses MacOS X and Linux predominately, is saying (as if it’s fact) that SP1 will do nothing for Vista is just silly.  He has no idea what it will fix or not fix and won’t know until it’s released.

He uses excuses like the fact that many companies and businesses are slow to adopt Vista as a reason to abandon it.  Name one version of Windows that businesses were quick to switch to.  It doesn’t exist.  Businesses need to have their software tested thoroughly to be sure that they can meet their needs on any major operating system upgrade.  Of course they’re slow to adopt it.  With Vista being that much different, it’ll be slower than most, but the difference is, Vista fixes many of the problems that sat in the other versions and just got passed on from version to version.  It took 5 years to release because it was built from the ground up rather than simply patching holes and adding features to an already bloated system.

You may think I’m just being a “Microsoftie” here, but that’s not the case.  I’ve used all 3 of the operating systems mentioned and they all have their pros and cons.  I use Windows primarily because I work in a Windows environment and have to support it.  It makes my life easier.  Of all the versions of Windows I have used (everything since Windows 3.1 for Workgroups), Vista is definitely my favorite.  You will also find a lot of comments to the blog post linked above that mirror my thoughts and a lot of comments on the following Slashdot discussion doing the same.  The reason for that is because this article is just flamebait.

Microsoft Should Abandon Vista? (Slashdot)

Best Southern New England Auto Racing Site

Published on September 27, 2007 in Fun Stuff. Closed

I just wanted to take this time to offer a free plug to a friend’s site. If you live in the Northeast and/or just have a general interest in auto-racing, you should check out YankeeRacer.com. Nick, the site admin, has won a Speedy Award for Best Series or Track Coverage. He generally covers about 6 tracks in the CT, RI, and MA areas, but also some national news as well with footage of the races he covers. I offer him some free assistance with setting it up and helped him convert his site from a straight HTML site to a WordPress blog. He puts a lot of time and effort into his site and deserves some praise.

YankeeRacer.com

Finally a DRM-free Online Digital Music Store that Sells Mainstream Music!

Published on September 26, 2007 in Internet, Music and Technology. Closed

Amazon.com recently released an online digital music store that sells mp3 files without DRM.  As far as I know, this is one of the first of its kind (eMusic did something similar, but they are subscription based and also had mostly indie music).  This store has a lot of mainstream music and the prices on much of the music are better than the iTunes Music Store’s DRM’d music, and a lot cheaper than the DRM-free music at iTMS.

This is exactly what the digital music world has needed.  The songs will play on any portable music player that supports mp3 (which I think is everything).  If you were thinking about buying a song from iTMS, I would strongly recommend checking out Amazon’s store first.  If they have it, buy from them.  Support lower priced DRM-free music on a (somewhat) standard file format (at least a whole lot more standardized than AAC).

Review of Amazon’s DRM-Less Music Download Store (Slashdot)

Amazon DRM-Free Music Store Goes Beta (Slashdot)

Amazon creates gigantic DRM-free music store! (Boing Boing)

Amazon MP3 Open for Public Beta (Amazon Earworm’s Blog)

Stone Tasting at Nikki’s

Published on September 26, 2007 in Beer. Closed

Since I wrote my nice review of the kickoff “party” at Track 84, I will also give Nikki’s some free advertising. If you missed the even at Track 84, and really want to try Stone beer, I’d strongly recommend attending the tasting Friday night at Nikki’s Liquors in North Providence. He should have all the same beers that were available at Track 84, though his will be bottled beer, as opposed to draft. I’ll be there to taste some of the ones I missed last night and probably buy a few bottles.

The tasting is from 5:00 pm until 8:00 pm. There will be special discounts on the featured beers.

Stone Brewing Co. Kickoff Tasting @ Nikki’s Liquors

1978 Devo Cover of “Satisfaction” on SNL

Published on September 26, 2007 in Music. Closed

I saw this on Boing Boing and had to share it. Devo was on SNL in 1978 and performed a totally kick-ass cover of the Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction”. I’m a big fan of the Stones, but I have to say that musically, this rendition is 100x better than the Stones. Check it out.

Stone Kickoff… Great night!

Published on September 25, 2007 in Ale, Beer and Review. Closed

So, as I posted earlier today, Stone kicked off their distribution in RI tonight at Track 84. I went. I drank… a lot. OK, so I only had 4 beers… but they were strong beers. I started with the IPA and moved on to the 11th Anniversary Ale. After that, I had the Double Bastard and then I finished the night off with the Ruination IPA. Now I’m sitting here drinking water… I’m really pretty damn drunk. Stone beer is strong. Anyways, the IPA is a nice easy-drinking IPA. It doesn’t have a strong aftertaste like most IPA’s. It poured crystal clear from the tap and had a nice citrusy hops taste to it, again with little aftertaste. It was excellent. The next beer I had was the 11th Anniversary Ale, which I tasted last Friday at Nikki’s. I should have tried this before the IPA because I think I killed my taste buds. I got all the hops flavor, but little of the roasted flavors that I got on Friday. Then I had the Double Bastard Ale, which was my favorite beer of the night. I don’t recall many of the flavors, but I do know it was really freaking good. Finally, the Ruination Double IPA, which was an excellent balanced Double IPA.

It was a really fun night. Met and hung out with some people I’ve seen and talked with at tastings at Nikki’s. I’m sure I’ll see them at Nikki’s on Friday at the Stone tasting. The only beer I didn’t get that I wanted was the Arrogant Bastard, but I’ll try that on Friday. Susan got the Smoke Porter which was a really good porter.

Well, since I’m pretty drunk and have very little feeling in my body, I’m gonna end this here. Have a good night and maybe I’ll see you at Nikki’s on Friday.

New Firmware Might Turn Your Unlocked iPhone into a Brick

Published on September 25, 2007 in Apple, Gadgets and Technology. Closed

I know I write an awful lot about Apple and how much I dislike them, but they’re really started to turn into a company that they never were before and it does bother me.  I really want to like Apple.  I think they do make some nice products, but the company itself prevents me from really liking them and dropping the money on their products (yes I do run Windows, but I also have to support Windows, it’s easier this way… and I didn’t pay for it as I get a copy from my job).

Anyway, various reports have come in saying that Apple has said that the new firmware might permanently disable any unlocked iPhones because the unlock “hack” broke something.  There are several different unlocking hacks, one of which is a hardware hack.  The hardware hack does have the potential to damage the phone, but purely software hacks are reversible and do not cause this problem.  Apple decided that they would void the warranty on any phones that have this problem because they were unlocked.  Unfortunately for Apple, a decades old law makes it illegal for them to void the warranty unless the third party application (in this case the unlocking hack) damaged the phone or the phone’s native software.

My opinion (and for those that know me, I am very opinionated) is that Apple should embrace the unlocking and third parties as it increases the value of the iPhone.  Believe it or not, not everyone who might buy one wants to use it only on AT&T’s network or use only Apple-approved applications on it.  I am also of the opinion that wireless carriers should not be crippling cell phones and should be allowing all uses of them.  Most cell phones today have Bluetooth, but they “don’t support” the full capabilities (such as file transfer).  This is because the wireless carriers are afraid of losing the income from the sale of overpriced ringtones to people creating their own on their own computers and transferring them to their cell phones.  Lucky for me, both Susan and I have the same cell phones (the LG VX8550 Chocolate, the new Chocolate, I love it by the way) and she bought the music pack that came with a USB cable.  I was able to make my own ringtones editing an mp3 I had with Audacity (an open source audio editor) and send it to my phone using Bitpim (an open source information manager for phones).  However, I do still wish I had the capability to send files to my phone via Bluetooth (since my laptop has Bluetooth).

So the moral of the story is that cell phone carriers suck because they cripple phones (something I think should be outlawed, but won’t) and that Apple sucks because of their premature threats of voiding warranties.  The question I have is with whom the burden of proof falls that the third party software (in this case the unlocking hack) damaged the phone and caused it to turn into a brick.

Upcoming Firmware Will Brick Unlocked iPhones (Slashdot)

The Optimist/Pessimist: Apple’s iPhone Unlock Warning (Boing Boing Gadgets)

Apple May Be Breaking the Law With Policy on iPhone Unlocks (Slashdot)

Stone in RI tonight!

Published on September 25, 2007 in Beer. Closed

Stone Brewing, previously unavailable in all of RI, is having a kickoff party for their new distribution in RI tonight at Track 84 in Warwick. The taps will be all Stone beers (a total of 8 I think). I’ll be there trying some beer from this celebrated brewery. If you recall, I did get to try some of their 11th Anniversary Ale (the dark IPA) on Friday at Nikki’s. This will be one of the beers they’ll have on tap. I’m excited and it should be a fun night. I’ll write more about it and the beers I tried later on tonight or tomorrow morning. If you can’t make it to this event tonight, Nikki’s will be holding their weekly tasting on Friday from 5:00-8:00. This week’s tasting will be Stone.


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