Apple suckitude
 

First to what market? Phones have been playing MP3s for years, and content protected AAC files were Apple's own creation. The 100 song limit is proof that when hardware manufacturers get in bed with DRM interests, suckitude is inevitable.

Apple suckitude
 

Dude knew his audience.

Yes, I love technology . . . iPod Nano
 

Damn you.


http://www.colorwarepc.com/_inventor...iPod/3_1_3.jpg

Yes, I love technology . . . iPod Nano
 

Ooooh. I want that one.

Although I carry mine in a black leather carrying case with lime green suede for the lining. So I get the lime green/pink combo already.

XBOX 360
 

SEATTLE - The next version of Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox game console will be available in the United States two days before Thanksgiving, in time for the important holiday shopping season, the company said Wednesday.

The Nov. 22 launch of Xbox 360 in North America will be followed by a Dec. 2 launch in Europe and a Dec. 10 launch in Japan. Yay.

The Japanese unit will cost 37,900 yen, or about $345 — slightly less than the $399.99 the company is charging in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Microsoft had previously disclosed the U.S. price, as well as the European price of 399.99 euros.

Microsoft also is selling a scaled-back version, dubbed “Xbox 360 Core System,” for $299.99 in North America and 299.99 euros in Europe. But David Reid, director of platform marketing for Xbox, said the company had decided there wouldn’t be enough demand to immediately launch that cheaper system in Japan.

XBOX 360
 

So what you're saying is that Sidd's kids will be having yet another unhappy Thanksgiving where Daddy doesn't come out of the living room?

XBOX 360
 

Well, he could always buy that second controller, but it somehow never happens.

Phote Editing Software
 

Can anyone recommend a good photo editing software program for a PC? My HP laptop came with HP Imaging Software, and it may be the most irritating, unintuitive, practically useless fucking program ever. I want something that will be very easy for papa to use to download and organize photos, while giving me the option of doing more on the editing side.

(I know Burger, my next computer will be a MAC, but it hasn't joined the family yet.)

Phote Editing Software
 

Picasa. Hands down from the perspective of organizing photos, decent for editing (though it's no Photoshop).

http://picasa.google.com/index.html

Phote Editing Software
 

http://www.io.com/~tcm/etwr2372/plan...front_logo.gif

Phote Editing Software
 

Pony's helpful response aside, while iPhoto is very good for organizing, its editing capabilities are pretty limited (although the new version, 5, may be a lot better). You can crop, resize, bright/contrast, and remove red eye, it's not much more than that. But that may be all you need or have time for.

Phote Editing Software
 

Anything more than that and he would have to use photoshop.

And IMovie and IDVD are great for taking downloaded porno clips, editing (doing stuff like looping the audio where the girl says "I'm a dirty fucking whore--deal with it") and burning the whole thing to a DVD.

Hacking Directv Tivo
 

Standalone Series 2 Tivos support networking, so you can watch recordings from any Tivo in the house. Directv branded Tivos have this function disabled. There are tons of helpful forums showing how to hack these Directv tivos to install better software and enable the network access, although it's pretty dense and complicated and knowledge of linux is extremely helpful. I don't need any links to the how-to threads, I just want to know if anyone else here has tried this yet? I've hacked my other dvr, but tivos are a whole new ball of wax for me and I wanted to gauge the difficulty factor.

Satellite
 

I was informed that my HDTivo and my HD satellite dish will be obsolete next year when they begin broadcasting in MPEG 4.

Crap. That fucker's not even a year old yet. And I'm not sure I want a 36" dish on my house.

The birds have already been launched.

Assholes.

treo service providers
 

I have a Palm Treo 600 with T-Mobile. I am looking to swith to a different carrier and a Treo 650.

Verizon, Cingular or Sprint? Pros or cons?

Merci.

treo service providers
 

How long can you wait before the switch? The only reason I ask is that the Palm 700w (using Microsoft Windows) should be released in the near future (at least for Verizon).

aV

treo service providers
 

Do you really want Windows running on one more device? For me, my work-supplied computer is enough. If anything, the 650 running POS (a good maching in its own right) should come down in price.

treo service providers
 

The black helicopters should be landing near your office shortly to take you to the "re-education camp."

4 legs good.
2 legs bad.

aV

treo service providers
 

Dude, Palm OS is so over.

Or Beta
 

Intel, Microsoft take sides on next-gen DVDs
Tech giants throw support to HD DVD format over rival Blu-ray.

So I guess Sony is backing another Beta format. Blu-ray is also so over.

The HD DVD camp has made inroads with manufacturers in China, where most of the world's DVD players are currently built. Without that support, it would be difficult to quickly deploy the technology at a low price.

"(Blu-ray) does not have that relationship and we're concerned about whether that offering of Chinese players will be there. We know HD DVD will be."

Blu-ray

Or Beta
 

It will be great to have HD DVD players on my computer that will be able to play only home movies. Without the backing of the film industry, which Blu-Ray has, HDDVD is going to have real problems. And, I suspect neither microsoft nor intel is going to give the movie industry much comfort that their anti-piracy efforts will be first rate.

While undoubtedly this is a boost to HD DVD, without content the step up is pretty useless. And, frankly, what computer screen on a desk or in a laptop is truly going to take advantage of HD?

treo service providers
 

JesusHfuckingbabychristsuperstar. Just give me some o'dat superduper hi-techy guidance all y'all possess on a carrier. I can read the paper on the other shite. Its front page business/tech news. Does it make Verizon the best carrier for Treos? What's Verizon's service like? Anyone?

Nano
 

Anyone heard the reports that Nano screens scratch/crack easily? Two Nano purchases in my household were just put on hold based on this rumor. Sounds like Apple made some sort of announcement about it?

Nano
 

apparently. http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/ptech/0...lem/index.html

Nano
 

I suspect the scratching and cracking (although the cracking looks like a fault in some part of the production run and they're replacing them) may have to do with the way people treat them: yesterday morning on the train I watched a young lady choose a song on her Nano and then slip it into the back pocket of her very snug designer jeans. I imagine if she then sat down it wouldn't be the best thing for the Nano.

Nano
 

Heaven forbid that a person put a pocket music device into his or her pocket.

Seriously though, there have been hundreds of complaints posted about the nano screen. Something tells me that they are not all shoving them into their back pockets and sitting on them on the train.

aV

Nano
 

Front pockets? The ipod was not easily slipped into a pocket. The nano is. The screen is fragile, like on a mobile phone.

Nano
 

Yes, that's what fringy's article said. There was a problem with a production run.

But I do think there's something to the size suddenly being enough smaller to cause people to treat them differently, with some perhaps unexpected consequences. I imagine the Shuffle tends to get scratched up too, but fewer people notice because the lack of screen.

It's hard to say it's a design flaw. Maybe it is a failure to not anticipate that people will tend to treat the new ones rougher. But maybe not.

Frankly, I think it's too small, personally. I'd lose it. And its too small to use in the car. To each his own, though.

Nano
 

I had no problems with the mini. I understand that the screen is fragile, however if some of the complaints are to be believed, simply placing the nano in a pocket with no other items in the pocket caused the screen to scratch so badly that the individual could no longer read anything on the display.

aV

Nano
 

Indeed. I'm sure there were no coins, keys, or other items in the pocket. And it was just there for a minute. Or even was like that when they got there.

I have an iPod. Despite my best efforts, the screen has gotten scratched. I'd like it to be hardened sapphire so it wouldn't. But I also though paying $400 was more than enough.

Nano
 

Or perhaps some of them do have really crappy screens that crack and scratch very easily, as the Apple rep pretty much admitted at the UK Expo.

aV

Nano
 

Cracking's one thing, but scratching he said it's no different than any other ipod because it's the same material.

Nano
 

Admitted? This is what he said...
When I was doing the research last year, this was the main complaint - that the surface scratches too easily. No shit.

Mine's in a case and it's still scratched.

Nano
 

I'm confused that Apple's site has no colors, but http://www.colorwarepc.com/products/...x?configid=890 that one (from Burger from a few weeks ago or whenever) does. Well, whatever. Does putting the color on violate warranties or anything? Hm.

Nano
 

Yes. Admitted. This is what he also said.

Apple's Senior Vice President of Worldwide Product Marketing Phil Schiller responded to those complaints at macworld.com. Schiller addressed the issues of scratched and broken screens separately. In response to reports of broken screens, Schiller promised that if users who have this problem contact Applecare, their iPod nanos will be replaced. He is quoted as saying:
“This is a real but minor issue involving a vendor quality problem in a small number of units. . . . In fact, this issue has affected less than 1/10 of 1 percent of the total iPod nano units that we’ve shipped. It is not a design issue.”

http://www.tuaw.com/


aV

Nano
 

colorware does the coloring themselves. I have done no research, but I suspect they offer a warranty to supplant any voiding of Apple's warranty.

Nano
 

Burger is correct. Colorware has their own 1 yr limited warranty on the products. Click the 'Support' button on the website.

aV

Satellite
 

Some folks on the Tivo forums have said that DTV support told them that they were going to do a free upgrade for HDTivo users to the new hardware. Support guy told me a couple days ago that the old hardware would be compatible, so who knows what to believe?

At any rate, I put off the HDTivo until the MPEG4 is active, with HD locals over sattelite in some markets (mine included).

Google Wifi
 

I've been reading about google's bid to provide free WiFi to SF. What's the business model for them? They're not making money by increasing the customer base. Is it simply to ensure that everyone has to start their webbrowsing experience at Google, rather than through their preselected homepage, or pay for that privilege?

Seems like a pretty expensive way to take over the world.

Google Wifi
 

Cheaper than a Google Death Star.