Engadget Schools Sony Over PS3... Or Does It?

I'm a pretty avid gamer and have a non-functional Xbox as well as an older PS2 that I got shortly after its launch. Since I didn't really miss my Xbox when it broke (except for playing Knights of the Old Republic 1 & 2) and didn't pick up the 360 despite many trips to Best Buy, I would call myself loyal to the Playstation ecosystem. It's not been an easy ride to the release of PS3. But I'm bullish in thinking Sony isn't out of the marketshare game yet.

Yes, I'm disappointed at Sony's arrogance with the PS3 missteps. As a company they've blown the mindshare leading up to this console's release. But I'm not entirely convinced that Sony was out of line for their 360 and Wii comparison. Just the delivery of it...

Why? Because I will purchase the $600 version of the PS3 eventually. That means I will compare all the features on that console to what the 360 offers. And when I do that comparison, the prices aren't so out of line. Now if I was doing Sony's PR on this, I'd have fessed up to that. I would have compared the low end PS3 and 360 and show just why it is a better machine. And I'd have shown how both high end machines with similar outfits aren't so out of whack in price.

And this comparison will hold more weight as the generation matures. Sony should focus on how their bet is on the long term where Microsoft is focused on the immediate. Here's the story on Engadget:

http://www.engadget.com/2006/10/19/sony-claims-xbox-360-requires-hd-dvd-etc-thus-costs-700/

Apple Knocks Into the Echo Chamber

Here comes the pile on... Apple's manufacturing slipped up and sent out a small batch of their full size iPods with a virus on them. Bad in terms of quality control; they should have never been affected by this and I'm sure internal processes have tightened to prevent this problem in the future. And I'd absolutely agree they should take responsibility to resolve the issue and to provide assistance to anyone who fell victim to an actual infection.

But the big deal in the blog world? An off-color remark where Apple states: "As you might imagine, we are upset at Windows for not being more hardy against such viruses, and even more upset with ourselves for not catching it."

Now the pitchforks are out and a good lynch mob has formed for their dig at Microsoft's rather vulnerable flagship OS. There are tens of thousands of viruses out there that target Windows but everyone is so worked up about Apple's tongue-in-cheek comment.

But the fact is this is a really silly affair. When blogs start engaging in this, it tarnishes the best of the blogosphere. After all, we've had big stories appropriately hit the echo chamber in blog world that mattered. Two recent events that stand out are the HP's spying scandal and the new Windows Vista retail license restricting users to one machine transfer. I'd even consider that Apple, despite its lack of online presence, has had to be more responsive due to blogs describing hardware problems (intermittent shutdowns, discolored iBooks) that may not have come to light otherwise.

But get a grip, we have bigger things to worry about than Apple's little jabs at Microsoft. I mean does everyone forget the history here? The lemmings ad, C:\ONGRTLNS.W95, etc. have been part of Apple's list of taking the piss of their Redmond competitor. Can the skin of these complainers be any thinner?

An Open Letter to Robert Menendez

My blog has been gathering considerable dust over the past several months. But the lack of morality in the US Government must end. This is a letter I am sending to Senator Robert Menendez for his approval of torture. Even though I realize this may assist a Republican candidate, I am morally outraged and cannot select the "lesser of two evils" since such a stance condones evil.

Dear Senator,

I was shocked and appalled when I read this morning’s New York Times article titled “Democrats See Strength in Bucking Bush” in which I learned that both you and Senator Lautenberg voted for a blatantly immoral, un-American, and likely unconstitutional bill that allows for torturing suspects held in American custody. You sir, have now lost my support and I will not be voting for you in the upcoming November election.

In the 12 years I have been eligible to vote in New Jersey, I have never even hesitated to pull the lever for a candidate under the Democrat line but your "pro-torture" vote is completely unconscionable. As a member of the 13th District, I have voted for you to represent me in the House of Representatives and I had every intention of continuing that support. But your immoral act should have consequences and the only recourse available is to withdraw my support for you. Sadly this stance may enable the greater of two evils to succeed, namely your opponent Thomas Kean, Jr., but my morality cannot allow Democrats to be apologists who disregard their Constitutional duty.

As Americans we should staunchly believe in dignity even for the worst criminals, as our treatment of them is a reflection of our own humanity. Take a step back from the vitriol in calling these suspects “terrorists” which merely serves to dehumanize them; instead remember that our Founding Fathers established basic principles in our Declaration of Independence that established we “are endowed by [our] Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” I encourage you to re-read this document as it birthed the once Great Nation that has fallen into the hands of unwise and morally bankrupt men.

September 11, 2001 was the biggest tragedy of this generation. I was halted in traffic among my fellow Americans on Route 139 in Jersey City that morning, dismayed and tearful as the towers collapsed before my very eyes. Since that traumatic experience we have lost our values as a nation, and my once beloved Democratic party provided no counter-weight to the corrupt but powerful Executive branch along with their henchmen in the GOP.

Mr. Menendez, you have failed America by caving into political expediency and cowardice. This is not the way to lead our country and you do not deserve your post as a US Senator from New Jersey. My only hope is that you one day realize the error of your ways and remember what it means to be an American and to represent America. Righteousness comes from upholding the Rule of Law and our sacred Constitution. Please remember, Mr. Menendez.

Cordially,
Aurous, Proud Citizen of the United States of America

ajaxWrite Ain't Right

I came across the latest Michael Robertson project (of MP3.com and Lindows/Linspire fame) and was intrigued: ajaxWrite. He introduced it on his blog stating:

What if there was alternative for Microsoft Word that would install and open in 6 seconds, read and write Microsoft Word .doc files and run on Macintosh, Microsoft Windows or Linux computers? And oh yeah, it was FREE so consumers didn't have to pay $499 for Microsoft Office. I'm excited to announce that day is here.

That's definitely news. Considering all the alternatives Microsoft Word has withstood all challengers over the years. Granted it's not a fair fight since Microsoft is a convicted predatory monopolist but regardless Word still stands as the benchmark word-processor application.

My initial impressions: this is a very basic beta. I don't want to judge it too harshly but Robertson is not ready to back up his claims. First, the site doesn't seem to have adequate bandwidth so the 6 second launch is way off the mark. In my few attempts at launching the program, it takes several minutes to load up over a very fast link (90 Mb). The ping times averaged over 100 ms whereas pings to Google and Hotmail were averaging 7 ms and 2 ms respectively. Unfortunately the sluggishness makes it hard to objectively compare this to a desktop application like Word.

Opening Word documents was therefore a little painful... In my tests they rendered ok although not exactly as I expected. More complex documents (with lots of formatting and tables) didn't successfully complete although I suspect this to be a bandwidth problem again.

I also note that Mr. Robertson's comparison to Office is disingenuous. As ajaxWrite is only a word processor, it would more closely compare to the standalone version of Word which retails for $229. I'm sure there's a suite of applications in the works, but it'd be nice to see a more honest comparison.

In the end, I think there's room for improvement but the premise is faulty. Desktop software might be considered "bloated" but there are distinct advantages. For the same reason most people prefer Outlook over the certainly capable OWA, I've yet to see a browser-based application that properly and fully replicates the desktop experience.

That said this has some promise for casual word processor users. Unfortunately most of those users probably find programs such as WordPad just as acceptable...

Will P2P Bear the Blame On This Too?

In the past 5 years of the music industry's assault on file sharing services, they've gone quite a few lengths to blame piracy for their sales woes. I've always felt that piracy was an effect rather than a cause of the problems. The biggest issue is that music just doesn't have the personality and cachet that it once did. The latest example: last week's Grammy show ratings were lower than a popular amateur music show, American Idol.

That should be a good lesson for the music biz. File sharing may be partly at fault for dwindling sales, but the Grammy show is a good indicator for the health of music that should be unaffected by pirated content. They've had ratings issues for a little while now and one quick explanation comes to mind: published music doesn't inspire people anymore.

That people would rather watch a bunch of amateurs vying for pop-star medals over the most established names in music is telling for the depth of the music industry's problems... I wonder how long before the RIAA puts out a press release blaming it on P2P.

Joanna Glasner Needs An Education

I came across this Wired.com column yesterday entitled "Digital Music Biz Ain't Booming" at work and thought "wow, Ms. Glasner is to the music biz as a vegetarian is to the cattle industry." Now I should disclaim that I work in the industry she loves to discount. Do I have problems with the music biz? Yeah, a lot of them. But those are all sitting as Blogger drafts so nothing substantial is really posted yet. But I must protest her commentary about a business she has no real appreciation for.

At any rate, Dear Ms. Glasner:

Here's the deal. Records do cost money. All your friends that think they're finding 1 in a million artists are likely attached to some label (independent or Big Guys). That means there's an entire network of people working behind the music. This costs money, whether you're a staff of 5 or a couple hundred.

Now don't get me wrong. Maybe the economics aren't there to have the staffing that is currently required. But even so it still costs a lot of money to get artists and their latest works into the public. Buzz, even by word of mouth, is oftentimes started by people working in the business (whether they work at a label, concert venue, or publication). How else are you going to hear about the great new artists, even if their contracts aren't equitable? If you want to really get a living from music, you can't just expect MySpace to get you there without blood, sweat, and tears. Plus the agents who also think you're talented and want a million people to buy your CD.

Again, this costs real dollars. I'm not rich by any means but I do really love my job. I won't even consider another place to be. But I also want to get paid because I'm an IT guy, not a starving musician. You might think it's selfish, but my efforts help sell millions of records and everyone that helps make that magic happen deserve their share.

Remember that you may not be a lover of music but I can't imagine life without it. For many people, music is a drug and those artists who inspire us should be patronized. Those artists who comprise your life's soundtrack, conveniently in your iPod-sized palms, should be able to pay their rent, taxes, and get white picket fences too. Again, these dreams cost real dollars.

In short, while it's really easy to beat up on the music business because of bonehead RIAA lawsuits and SonyBMG's DRM-turned-virus debacle, there are many good hard working people who dedicate their lives to selling music. Just because the moral relativists successfully convinced the public (who didn't really need too much help) that music should be free doesn't mean it costs nothing.

Ms. Glasner, I appreciate some of your arguments but you really need to take a larger look at how music gets from the artist's mind to the public's hands. Even if you personally don't value music, there are very real costs of production involved. Perhaps an overview economics class would have been in order before writing such misinformation on a rather respected publication.

Google Music?

I've been mulling the idea of Google acquiring Napster as reported a few days ago. The first thought I had was "why?" because this is a space where there are hundreds of competitors worldwide. Not to mention that the deals are setup such that the labels who own the copyrights retain the lionshare of income. As P2P has aptly shown, music may be much in demand but nobody's paying.

But it dawned on me today that it's a pretty simple concept. Google relies on advertisements for the bulk of their revenue. AdSense and AdWords have been hugely successful as evidenced by offerings like Gmail and Blogger. Bringing AdSense to a music offering seems exactly like something Google would want to do.

Streaming music over the Internet like Pandora or Last.fm seems like an integration waiting to happen. And if you're going to acquire a licensed music firm, why not nab the one with a big name? Napster certainly is ripe for the taking, with heavy competition with Real's subscriber-leading Rhapsody.

And since it's Google, I'd envision a basic streaming service that is free with downloads or portable device transfers to cost. That would make things very interesting for digital music if that happened...