Thursday, June 30, 2005

Cory Doctorow is a big fat liar—UPDATED

Of course that’s wrong - if anything, I believe Doctorow and Boing Boing are anti-DRM-at-all-costs. But read on and you’ll see the point I’m trying to make.

As usual, BB and Cory Doctorow thought they had another whipping boy for their continual “no DRM anywhere” drone.

Apple pops out the Podcasting version of iTunes (version 4.9) and Cory is immediately on their ass:

-> Boing Boing: Apple adds DRM to Podcasting—UPDATED

Happily they corrected the body of the article - and posted a correction: Apple uses the MPEG-4 AAC format, which offers higher-quality recording vs. MP3. That they’ve added the “—UPDATED” blip to the old article title, which is a good move forward.

But…

The body title and, importantly, the HTML page title claiming DRM deception remains. Why should it matter? This way, almost all search engines will pop up the page maintaing the factually incorrect position ad infinitum, and collecting ad revenues for every inquisitive clicker that gets faked-out looking for the true facts.

They can smear Apple at will, fire it into the stream of consciousness we call RSS and later revise history to cover their asses. And we have to pay (via advertising) to find the real facts.

THIS is why blogging isn’t immediately journalism.

Want to be really fair? Change the title to “Apple does NOT use DRM on Podcasts - UPDATED” **and** post a new article pointing back to the updated article.

PS: There’s still no way to comment directly on a Boing Boing article - only permalinks and self-promotional linkbacks. The stone-wall remains up.

Posted by Admin on 06/30 at 03:48 AM
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Wednesday, June 15, 2005

2

Why Boing Boing can no longer just be trusted…

Cory Doctorow has this thing about any kind of DRM, and okay - that's his thing and I'm cool with it. It's all about choice, right? But Cory also likes the bully pulpit and can, in my opinion, stretch the truth a bit to fit his theories. A good example is the 21-song iPod, an amazing piece of FUD. If Boing Boing allowed for commentary, it'll be hammered right now.

Cory Doctorow is pushing the idea (founded by the tragically hip types at Downhill Battle) that the average iPod is a gaping hole filled with 21 paid songs and god knows what else. Could it be non-drm'd content, illegally gained? Could it be...SATAN's iPod?

Duh - try CDs.

imageThis is why I don't trust Cory Doctorow anymore - he completely ignores the obvious, that people are buying CDs again because of iTunes and the iPod...I mean, not a WORD about CDs. There were stats bandied about years ago, showing an uptick in CD sales, and while I can't prove it (or find a decent link right now) I do know from personal experience that I bought more CDs in the 2 years I've had an iPod than I have in the past 10 years. All kinds of content - some private lables, some mainstream, some regional, and more of the stuff I just love.

This is what chafes my botox'd-buttocks - Doctorow should know better. He's no idiot - in fact, I'd say he's insanely bright, but its infuriating to read crap like this on his blog AND then have no recourse to comment there. Enter the bully pulpit - "blogs are great! CC everything! And by the way, only my opinions count here." He help promotes this fabrication - this distortion of reality - syndicates it and then waits for others to pick it up. And via propagation, it becomes factual.

Well it's not. It's not even his lie - but he pushes it just like the local dealer, pushing anti-corporation, anti-drm FUD to a confused public.

Ultimately, Downhill Battle - which promotes its indie agenda, let's be fair here - is to blame. The chart above belongs to it, but its appropo since Cory's ignored the obvious facts, pushed the lie and taken their side.

Dude, if you want indie music, buy indie music - don't buy Brit or Boyzone or whatever. But don't call all iPod users thieves or ignoramuses or whatever point you're alluding to. It's insulting to our intelligence.
Posted by Admin on 06/15 at 03:27 PM
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Monday, June 06, 2005

Is it time to gang up on Billy the Bully?

(To say that I was spectacularly wrong is to underestimate how spectacular a supernova of miscalculation can be. A modest man would have erased or re-edited, but I prefer to leave them online. Primarily because I believe words?once written?deserve to remain as record, foolish or not. It goes to fidelity and veracity. And also because I know no-one read this thing anyway. Enjoy.)

It’s hours before Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference 2005 and the newswires are alight that Apple is switching to Intel. True or not, consider the message. Is the world now looking for a savior from years of Windows hegemony?

Since I do so badly at prognostication, I’m going to throw my hat in the ring now and see if I can make a few qualified predictions. Please mind your head, keep your arms inside the ride at all times and, as always, no wagering on who survives.

  • Apple will not switch to x86 processors - Apple builds “walled gardens” like Macintosh and iTunes, places where there’s freedom but safety. Opening up the gates to x86 compatibility would reintroduce the spectre of Orange/PowerComputing-type clones. I can’t see that happening.

  • The PowerPC spec is open - anyone can build them. Perhaps Intel will become the primary manufacturer since IBMs going to have their hands full making all those 3+Ghz G5s for Microsoft’s XBox. Altivec - Moto & IBM’s versions - would be a problem, but the G5 architecture takes care of much of the Altivec advantage. The bait to the Intel rumor has been the new Pentium D processor - with DRM handily built-in. If Intel can build it into a Pentium, why not a PowerPC?

  • Did I say ‘IBM’ and ‘3+ Ghz G5’ in the same line? Sure I did - do you think Steve likes following behind Bill for anything? Add a dash of hubris and you can see why Intel now becomes attractive to Steve.

  • Lastly, why leave a hardware platform that’ll soon have games developed for it? Games have always been Apple’s ‘Achilles Heel’, and with Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo adopting the G5, what kind of advantage would there be to drop it now? The G5s that will be used in future game systems are scaled-down and streamlined verisons of the Apple core…if anything, porting should be easier.

    • There’s likely either alot more to this or alot less, but it does do one very important thing - worth all the media attention draped across the subject this weekend: it marks a line in the sand that both Apple and Intel are willing to crossing over. Is this the opening salvo in a war against the bully of the marketplace, Microsoft? MS dumps Intel for IBM, and Intel promotes Apple’s security over Microsoft. Sony is getting cozy with Apple. Intel. Sun.

    There’s blood in the water and everyone can smell it.

    Posted by Admin on 06/06 at 07:09 AM
    Posted in: IT notes  
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    Friday, April 22, 2005

    Setting up a HP Laserjet on a bridged Apple Extreme/ Express network (updated)

    I think the biggest trouble most tech people will face when coming to the Mac is “overmanipulation”: We try to do too much beforehand. I’m an overmanipulator, and this is my story.

    We’ve done some upgrading at Casa de Trascapoulos and the new wireless network had an upgrade. We doubled the effective range in the old house by adding an Airport Express, making it the primary base station, and then moving the Airport Express to the upper bedroom-cum-hardware dump, where it LANs out to a HP 4100tn laser printer.

    That’s the short version - the long version is a bit twistier.

    First I tried to do this with an Asus WL500g wireless router. The benefit was that it had a parallel printer port, a 4-port router, USB and it was only 50 euros (59 with shipping). I was told the HP’s network card didn’t work and it wasn’t very reactive when I first tried it, so I assumed it’s was dead and decided to go parallel. And you know what that say about when you “assume”...*

    As a word of advice - fuggedabout it with anything but an Asus network. As a rule, WDS bridges are almost impossible across different manufacturers, and while the Airport Express was happy to see the Asus (and vica versa), and they could negotiate the 64-bit WPA key, they couldn’t handshake. Constant timeouts. Just consider it a lockout “feature” - if a manufacturer is going to drop their pants with a cheap price to get you to buy their router, they’re going to anything they can to keep you buying their hardware. Bridging is their hook.

    Being that I bought the printer lightly used for - get this - 1 euro, I figured I had a little lattitude on buying a wireless router…

    To be fair, I only tried the Asus - it’s possible the the Airport would bridge with a Linksys or Buffalo system, but I’m no longer willing to fuss more than a few days to get some 3rd-party network solution working. I sold the Asus for what I paid for it and bought an Airport Express. Setup was brilliantly simple - where I had to be prepared ahead of time with the Asus - MAC addresses, passwords, WPA and access lists, etc - with the Airport I just clicked 3 times:  WDS button, the plus button to add the other station and the update button. Linked. Once the basestation restarted, I could select it, give it the same settings as the existing system and reset it once more to be a masked 802.11g node.

    But the printer wouldn’t print. Of course. Bonjour - previously known as “Rendezvous” and more commonly “ZeroConf”, saw the printer in the Setup window, found the correct driver and let me add it, but it would never connect accross to the correct address. Even if I manually changed the address to the correct IP range, subnet, etc…nada.

    Part of the Asus setup had me change some settings in the JetDirect 610 card and the printer itself, so rethinking my strategy of giving it exactly what I thought it should need, I hit the reset button. Cold reboot - factory settings. Whammo.

    And whaddya know…The printer setup found the printer again, set up the network addressing in the JetPrint itself, found the correct driver, etc. All I had to do was click on the printer name, agree with the driver, and click Save. And I was saved - the damn thing started printing perfectly. Everything was set-up for me.

    Sometimes less it more. You have to relax and let the Mac work FOR you.  So if anyone has a problem with an Airport network, do LESS. Hit the reset button, let the thing configure and THEN tweak.

    Update: In my hammering around for information, I did come across a good source for the WL-500g: the Chupa forums - http://www.forum.chupa.nl/index.php. Definately worth stopping in if you prefer to fight the good fight with the Asus…

    * Note: Who remembers the TV version of the “Odd Couple”? Quoth Felix: “When you ‘assume’, you make an ‘ass’ of ‘u’ and ‘me’...” **Sigh**...no-one writes like that anymore…

    Posted by Admin on 04/22 at 02:03 AM
    Posted in: IT notes  
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    Finally - a new Powerbook!

    Finally I have a new computer. It’s warm and cozy on my lap and we’re getting to know each other quite well…

    I’ve waited and waited and finally chosen a 15” Powerbook. A opportunity arose to pick up a Powerbook cheaper than normal (about 500-euros cheaper too) but with a much better kitting-out:

    * 1.67GHz PowerPC G4
    * 1GB DDR333 SDRAM (and Apple-RAM-myths too…oooh!)
    * 15.2-inch TFT Display, 1280x854 resolution
    * 8x SuperDrive (DVD?RW/CD-RW)
    * ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 (128 MB DDR with dual link DVI functionality)
    * Gigabit Ethernet
    * FireWire 400 & 800
    * Analog audio in/out
    * DVI & S-Video out

    I could actually run Motion properly now, on a second big-ass 30” screen if I could afford it wanted to do it. But that I have a proper computer again, instead of the old PC clone and borrowing my SO’s Mac when I needed some power - man, was that pathetic!

    I’m soooo happy that’s over…now to buy that Nikon S1 (Flash site)

    Posted by Admin on 04/22 at 01:43 AM
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