Archive for 'Media'
OK, Mahalo Vlog Idol Is Funny
Posted on April 29, 2008, under Media, Search, Tools and Services.
As Jason Calacanisis behind it and he is a master at promotion, I do not need to promote Mahalo, Mahalo Daily, or probably even Mahalo Vlog Idol. But just incase you live under a rock, basically they are spoofing American Idol looking for a replacement for Veronica Belmont. I know they are definitely having fun with it, but I have to imagine that they are really looking for a host and one of these contestants will be it. Either way it’s funny and entertaining, check it out.
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Free-Codecs.com
Posted on April 22, 2008, under Media, Tools and Services, Windows.
I personally find codecs extremely annoying. For something like music and video that is suppose to be entertaining, fussing with codecs for fifteen minutes before you are able to be entertained really is a mood killer. This is the unfortunate side of technology, when something that should just work doesn’t.
Free-Codecs is a site that has compiled just about every codec you will ever need, and they have done so in a easy to install packages. They also have codec packs where you can install packages of commonly used codecs.
The site has really save me time and frustration, and I am sure it will do the same for you.
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Amazon’s New MP3 Download Service is a True iTunes Competitor
Posted on October 2, 2007, under Media, Podcasts, Software, Tools and Services.
Many have tried to steal part of the large market share that Apple owns of the digital music market. Many have also failed. Amazon was in a perfect position to take on this challenge, but it’s biggest point of failure could have been itself. Amazon failed with it’s Unboxed service for movies and TV shows, with too much DRM, no mac support, and just a user experience nightmare. So what makes the new MP3 service from Amazon a true iTunes competitor, bottom line it works and works well!
Amazon is not playing any favorites. You have to download a small piece of software just to download the purchased music, after that the music works with iTunes, iPod, Zune, and any other media player or software. It also is available for Mac and Windows.
The prices are good, better than Apple in most cases. I hope that they will continue to be this low. It seems like Amazon might be initially taking a cut of revenue to get their foot in the door. If they do raise prices I can’t see it going higher than other digital music stores out there.
The music is DRM free! Yes, they are watermarked, which really is not a form of DRM just a little meta data that says where it was purchased from. The music is clean, which really would have been a show stopper for this new service and made it unusable for most like Amazon’s Unboxed service.
Amazon has been getting more into the service department, with it’s A9 offerings. These services line them up great for offerings like this new MP3 service. The downloads are fast, taking just about two minutes to download an entire album over broadband.
Amazon integrates the service very well into it’s store, again giving Amazon a leg up on competition and threatening Apples market share.
I have downloaded about three albums from the new service, and honestly it is so well done it might even convert the pirates. I truly hope that the record labelssee this service working and do not try to pull the stunts that they have pulled with Apple. Amazon needs to push back on the MPAA and get it’s Unboxed service working as well.
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Why the NBC Announcement Hurts Us All
Posted on September 20, 2007, under Media, Software, Tools and Services.
Yup, we all knew it was coming the second NBC announced it was pulling its shows from iTunes. NBC just announced it’s new service, and everyone is talking… even the fake Steve Jobs. Bottom line is it looks like another DRM’d sucktastic proprietary service. Shows are free for the first seven days, must be played on special player, no Mac client (yet), no iPod or other media device support, it’s everything we knew was coming. While everyone is focusing on this, that, and the other thing: think about who this really hurts… Us! The consumer!
Yup, that’s right, this is a HUGE step back in digital media. Why? Because it’s not going to work. If someone has to have an NBC account, ABC account, CBS account, and the same amount of authorized players, and can’t watch the show on any other medium than their computer… are people actually going to use it? No, probably not. Which means the average consumer, non-geeks, are just going to watch it on television… which is exactly what the media companies want. They do not want change! They want to make sure you are watching shows, at the scheduled broadcast time, unable to rewind or fast forward, and heavens-for-bid skip over that really annoying commercial you have seen a zillion times, or even rewind to see that commercial you can’t get enough of; because it works for them. They do not have to change a thing, and continue to rake in the steady stream of money that they have become to enjoy. They are even lobbying Washington to make sure the Government guarantees that they continue to dominate the market.
So bottom line is we lose! It’s not going to work, and it’s going to be much easier for someone to just watch it on TV; and that sucks!
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