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Bummer. I use the term “Shakey Jake” to refer to any random shambolic man of the street.
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Note the quote from a K&L guy.
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Flagging article not because of content but because there’s a new Whole Foods at 17th and Rhode Island, more convenient than other locations for me.
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What the hell?!
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Love it, the Lloyd Carr–Russell Crowe connection continues.
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Vanessa knew this last week!
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Kickass!
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Nice.
links for 2007-09-19
September 18th, 2007 § 0 comments § permalink
links for 2007-09-17
September 16th, 2007 § 0 comments § permalink
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Nice to read some more praise of Curtis.
More iPhone frustration
September 15th, 2007 § Comments Off § permalink
Hmm, that’s pretty annoying, the touch sensor under the “Send” on-screen button in the SMS texting program doesn’t register my button press. I can’t send texts now. Maybe if I reset the iPhone, the problem will go away. Nope. Arrgh. OK, let’s restore the device to its original software state. Maybe the software I installed on it is causing problems. Not a big deal, since the iPhone’s contents are automatically backed up when you sync and reinstalled when you restore the device. Wait, what is this error message? “Contents not restored due to iPhone timeout during sync”? What the fuck? OK, I’ll just choose to manually restore the contents within iTunes. Wait, there’s no manual restore/backup choice, it only occurs automatically in certain situations? What the fuck, Apple. I’m getting tired of minor glitches with my iPhone. It’s making me nostalgic, as this is like owning a Treo 650. Nostalgic in a way that makes me want to throw it out the goddamn window.
links for 2007-09-15
September 14th, 2007 § 0 comments § permalink
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Good stuff!
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Good points from Pogue. Nothing new, but still startling what a ripoff these are. I’ve been using the free utility from Rogue Amoeba for the Mac.
Ringtone madness
September 14th, 2007 § Comments Off § permalink
Apple’s entry into ringtones last week has triggered an explosion of analysis by the various Mac blogs that I read. Even David Pogue has gotten into it.
The most detailed analysis comes from John Gruber, the Daring Fireball guy. He makes some good points, including his excoriation of the record companies, but I would disagree with one point of his. He classifies iTunes songs into three buckets: non-purchased songs (e.g., ripped from a CD), iTunes songs not eligible for ringtones, and iTunes songs eligible for ringtones. Gruber then goes on to criticize Apple for not allowing users to take songs from bucket 1 and do whatever they want with them with respect to ringtones. He wants the ability to put an MP3 from your ripped CD on your iPhone, and perhaps also full access to the ringtone editing controls found in iTunes.
Here’s his closing paragraph from the post:
“Faced with the choice between doing what’s right for customers or charging them money for something they shouldn’t need to pay for, Apple chose the latter. There is no middle ground. And any business that hinges on your customers “not knowing any better” is a bad business.”
Maybe that’s true. But a more likely outcome is that the record labels told Jobs that they wouldn’t let him sell any ringtones unless the only ringtones available in iTunes (the software, not the store) were purchased ringtones. I would not be surprised if the contract between Apple and the record labels re: ringtones has explicit language implementing this restriction.
You may say, “But wait? By extension, couldn’t the record labels tell El Jobso that they wouldn’t let him sell any music, ringtone or full song, if he let iTunes users put non-iTunes purchases on their iPods and in their libraries?” And I would say, Good point. But the iTunes music sale contracts were negotiated several years back, when the record companies were desperate. They may still be desperate, as the ship most certainly keeps sinking under their feet, but now they know the kind of market power Apple has and they are perhaps willing to blow holes in the hull of their boat to avoid giving in to Apple.
See NBC’s actions with respect to video sales in iTunes; the video content owners don’t want to get in a situation where one seller of digital video content controls 90% of that market, and thus they may be more willing to pack up their toys and leave.
links for 2007-09-14
September 13th, 2007 § 0 comments § permalink
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Some armchair psych analysis of Lloyd (good lord don’t make it Llloyd after Saturday).
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How many times have I read that this type of volume leveler is on the way or is part of a new TV? Enough that I yawn when I read this. Not holding my breath.
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I’m on my second. Good work Microsoft!
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Interesting column. Makes me think about reconsidering my views on Lloyd, but ultimately we’re talking the two worst losses in 40 years, in two consecutive games. Bye bye.
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For a great defensive play, open up the 4th link from the bottom, “Ankiel’s strong throw.”
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Nice overview of Ankiel’s turnaround from pitching depths.
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Pretty depressing to read how poorly Henne played. WTF is wrong with that guy? Don’t people usually get better as they get older in college, with better offensive talent surrounding them?