About this Author
Sandy McMurray is a long-time technology journalist whose work has appeared in Time, the Globe & Mail, the Toronto Sun, Report on Business, Profit, and other sources. Between 1995 - 2002, Sandy wrote a weekly column about technology for the Toronto Sun, and served as Technology Editor for five Sun Media newspapers. He has been publishing on the Web since 1996.
Contact: readme@mac.com
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Monthly Archives
September 29, 2005
Posted by Sandy
A note to the folks who own Brasso: send a case of the stuff and a big thank you note to Todd Dailey.
Todd's before and after pictures of a scratched iPod nano are being linked to from everywhere today.
There are other cleaning products that can be used to remove light scratches like this -- even toothpaste, I'm told -- but it looks like Brasso works as well as anything. (Read the comments section on Todd's site.)
And yes, the nano scratch problem is real. I got a new iPod nano today, and there were some small abrasions on the screen right out of the box. Nothing serious, but not just smudges, and definitely not something you can just wipe away. Maybe it's a packaging problem, but I can see why some people are annoyed.
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September 28, 2005
Posted by Sandy
SanDisk explores the market for flash memory with built-in DRM. "The chip design company is introducing TrustedFlash, a memory chip with built-in security that prevents illegal copying. That could help calm the tension between the entertainment industry that wants strict controls on intellectual property and technology companies that want digital content to be freely transferable to cell phones, music players, computers and other gadgets.
"Eli Harari, chief executive of SanDisk, said in an interview that the new chips create more options for both entertainment companies and consumers alike. The entertainment companies can sell their songs, movies or games in different ways, and consumers can buy and view the entertainment where they want and whenever they want, as long as they pay for it." Read the whole article here.
The advantage of something like TrustedFlash is its potential compatibility with many electronic devices. The same music chip could be used in your mobile phone, MP3 player, car stereo, or television.
It's worth noting that Sony tried something like this (in a more proprietary way) with its MagicGate technology.
SanDisk announced that a version of the Rolling Stones' album "A Bigger Bang" will be sold on a TrustedFlash microSD or miniSD card in November. The price? US$39.99. This -- plus the fact that SanDisk is using the name "gruvi" to market TrustedFlash -- makes me skeptical of this tech. Why pay more for something that offers less than commercial CDs?
SanDisk is offering freedom from "lock-in" on a PC or iPod in exchange for lock-in to its own electronic prison. Plus, you lose the ability to mix and match songs. Like a commercial CD, the SanDisk card comes with a set play list.
Will SanDisk be able to grab a piece of the DRM distribution pie? According to an analyst contacted by Macworld, "the entire mobile device and content ecosystem" would have to change first.
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Posted by Sandy
Was Steve Jobs baiting the record companies when he called them "greedy"? That's how it looks to me. Jobs usually chooses his words very carefully, and leads you by the nose to where he wants you to be.
No doubt he anticipated that one or more of his label partners would respond angrily to his bait, and say something to attract the wrath of everyone who has ever paid too much for a CD.
It didn't take long. Warner Music CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr. made a public statement in favor of flexible pricing and was labeled a hypocrite by the EFF and others who remember Minimum Advertised Pricing.
"Some songs should be $0.99 and some songs should be more," Bronfman said. This did nothing to help his cause and gave ammunition to the "greedy" argument. This became the story.
Could some songs sell for less than 99 cents? Most reports do not mention the possibility, but check this out: "That's not to say we want to raise prices across the board or that we don't believe in a 99-cent price point for most music," [Bronfman] said. "But there are some songs for which consumers would be willing to pay more. And some we'd be willing to sell for less." Jobs has taken his case to the court of public opinion, and he's winning. Apple's side of the pricing issue is less complicated, easier to explain, and looks like a better deal for consumers. If the labels choose to negotiate with Jobs in public, they're going to lose.
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Posted by Sandy
 The free ride ended yesterday for beta testers of the Pandora music service. A friendly e-mail from the founder, Tim Westergren, encouraged me to subscribe.
I did. Pandora is really great. I can't remember when I've been so excited by a Web tool, or so willing to pay to keep it. I paid the $36 required for a year's subscription, and spent the afternoon listening to my personal radio channels.
I also saw my Dad today, and gave him a copy of 40 by Larry Sparks -- a CD I might never have discovered without the Pandora service.
I would love to see Apple license the Music Genome Project data and fold it into iTunes. The current "buy this song from iTunes" feature in Pandora is hit and miss -- it doesn't know whether Apple has the song, or if I can buy it from the Canadian store. A partnership with Apple could make this data available.
For now, though, I should probably be grateful that this doesn't work. Pandora's music discovery smarts plus iTunes one-click ordering would be very bad for my already smoking credit card.
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+ TrackBacks (0) | Category: Music
September 27, 2005
Posted by Sandy
So Microsoft and Intel have announced their support for the HD DVD video disk format. This is seen as a blow to Sony and others who back the competing Blu-ray disk format.
Apple is in the Blu-ray camp, along with a host of consumer electronics companies.
Although this announcement gives the HD DVD format a big boost, the rubber really hits the road when the next generation game consoles arrive. Sony says its PS3 will have Blu-ray inside; Microsoft has not committed itself to HD DVD for the Xbox 360.
Scoble links to a 2004 post by Mark Cuban, which suggests a dark horse in this race. Cuban notes that hard drive and flash memory may be the future of HD video distribution.
He makes a good point, and his lengthy post about the future of HD is interesting reading. As capacity rises and costs drop, we should consider the possibility that future HD content could be sold on thumb drive.
Update: Why Microsoft abandoned Blu-ray.
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Posted by Sandy
Remember the Neistat Brothers? I'm sure Apple does. The battery problem that affected a relatively small number of iPod owners became a PR nightmare for the company thanks to an attention-grabbing short film.
Apple responded to iPod nano screen concerns today with news that the small number of iPod nano units affected will be replaced free of charge.
The company was less sympathetic to accusations that the iPod nano screen scratches too easily. Apple said the fourth-generation iPod screen uses the same material -- buy a protective case or be more careful. Ouch.
Visitors to Matthew Peterson's flawedmusicplayer.com (formerly ipodnanoflaw.com) will find that he seems to be happy with Apple's response.
Is this the end of the "nano too fragile" meme?
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September 20, 2005
Posted by Sandy
 Apple has introduced several improvements to its .Mac service.
.Mac upgrades include:
- more e-mail and file storage (1 GB total, up from 250 MB)
- new forums, file sharing options (.Mac Groups)
- new and improved file backup tool (Backup 3)
- full French and German localization (in addition to English and Japanese)
First Impressions
Backup 3 has a different user interface, automatic backup for iLife files, and other new features that answer some of the requests I made here.
I'm sure it's no coincidence that this update took place just before the anniversary of the first paid .Mac subscriptions. Most original subscribers face renewal in the next 2-3 weeks.
Update: It looks like the QuickPicks system in Backup has been updated to allow third parties to add their own -- like this QuickPick for Delicious Library data. Very nice!
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Posted by Sandy
I was reading about Nintendo's decision to reinvent the controller and this passage jumped out at me:
"Focusing on product innovation at the expense of commodity markets is a classic business strategy that is used successfully in non-game companies around the world. Companies like 3M are required as part of their strategic plan to have 30% of their revenue come from new products. They are constantly exiting markets when strong competition emerges and constantly competing with themselves by offering new products that outdate their existing products...
"What you find is that selling innovative products early on can be dramatically more profitable and less risky than selling commodity products. The early market might not be as large, but the money is much better. You see this over and over again. Nintendo sells less but makes more money. Sony and Microsoft sell more, but make less profit." Does that sound familiar?
This is recommended reading for anyone who wondered why Apple would axe its best-selling iPod in favor of a new model (and for anyone who is interested in Nintendo's new controller strategy).
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September 14, 2005
Posted by Sandy
Recommended reading: Fixed Fees and Diminishing Returns by Ross Rubin. "Subscription music services have the most theoretical value to music enthusiasts. However, the bigger one's music collection is, the less incremental value one will find in the service. The ideal customer for these services is a mythical musical virgin whore -- someone who has a limitless appetite for music, but who never buys it. Napster-to-Go competes with Napster Lite, the company's more "traditional" online music store. As more tracks are purchased, the subscription value decreases." Read the whole thing here...
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+ TrackBacks (0) | Category: Music | Recommended Reading
Posted by Sandy
 Google BlogSearch indexes and searches the text of weblogs. All weblogs.
Finding stuff is just the beginning. For frequently-used searches, just bookmark your search results (just like Google News searches). This makes it easy to return and do the same search each day, or several times each day.
It gets better. Each search results page has its own XML feed, so you can bookmark the search result in your RSS reader software go through the results quickly without firing up Google BlogSearch at all.
So. If BlogSearch can find everything you need, and your browser can bookmark the resulting dynamic bookmark, do you need feed reader software?
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September 13, 2005
Posted by Sandy
"In a demonstration of Windows Vista, semitransparent windows on the computer desktop allowed users to see objects underneath, including moving video, while search results were displayed in real time as queries were typed in." - Reuters I spent this evening catching up on Microsoft news from this week's Professional Developers Conference.
A quick skim of the various announcements yields lots to tease Microsoft about, from the OS X look and feel of Vista and me-too Microsoft Gadgets to the remarkably transparent announcements of "embrace and extend" strategies (e.g. adding new "rich" features to RSS feeds). (And am I alone in hearing about Atlas and thinking that Atlas vs. Ajax looks like ActiveX vs. Java all over again?)
Update: I was wrong. Ajax -- short for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) -- is not a technology in itself. The term refers to the use of several technologies together. Atlas (aka ASP.net) can't compete with Ajax because it's simply Microsoft's version of Ajax. Mea culpa!)
These are tempting topics, but I'll leave them alone until I finish watching the for-some-reason-very-choppy Windows Media webcast of today's Bill Gates keynote. I'm sure Sparkle is in there somewhere...
Meanwhile, skip the mainstream news headlines about Windows Vista and the new user interface for Office and check out some of these cool bits:
- Start.com (a.k.a. "A Preview of Web 3.0")
- Microsoft Max (aka Codename Max - free photo sharing)
- Microsoft Gadgets (Microsoft's Konfabulator)
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September 09, 2005
Posted by Sandy
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Posted by Sandy
Has Sony borrowed from iTunes to redesign its SonicStage Connect store software, or is this screen shot a fake?
link
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Posted by Sandy
Chosun reports that some Korean electronics companies are grumbling about Apple's flash memory deal with Samsung. The domestic MP3 player industry is sulking, saying the iPod nano owes its exceptionally low price to Samsung Electronics...
But Samsung Electronics executive Joo Woo-sik defends the company. "I can’t tell you the discount rate, but it stands to reason that we expand the range of discount rates for a big buyer like Apple," he said. "Samsung didn’t mean to do any harm to domestic MP3 manufacturers."
But they are unhappy. Reincom spokesman Kim Dong-hwan said, "We can hardly declare a price war with Apple. We’ll counter Apple’s challenge by releasing new concept products." So, to recap:
- Apple competitors say its products cost too little
- They plan to compete with originality and innovation.
Ah, irony.
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September 08, 2005
Posted by Sandy
 iTunes 5 features a new look that's softer than the previous "brushed metal" look. It's sort of a darker version of the Tiger Mail interface, with squared corners. Some are calling it Burnt Aqua. Others are less kind with the names.
This screenshot shows the brushed metal look of Safari, the new look of iTunes 5, and the slightly brighter look of Tiger Mail.
Follow this link for a screenshot of six different interfaces used in current Mac OS X applications.
You want consistency? Good luck.
Does it matter? To some people -- including designers, usability experts, and OS 9 veterans -- the fact that Apple makes HIG rules then breaks them (or makes rules and exceptions in order to make its own goofy interfaces possible) is downright offensive.
For the record, if anyone cares, I agree with Jonathan Rentzsch, who observes genius in the design of NetNewsWire. (Brent's own comments on iTunes 5 and the OS X user interface are worth reading.)
I'm also counting on Mike Matas to sort things out. Stop driving your shiny new car and get to work, Mike!
iTunes 5's departure from the look of previous versions of the software is good news for people who hate the metal look, but bad news for the previously shiny career of Brushed Metal himself.
Note to the easily offended: Brushed Metal is a fictional character with a potty mouth. Follow this link to Daring Fireball at your own risk.
That's funny stuff, Gruber. Take a bow.
Update: It could be worse!
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Posted by Sandy
 Let's pause a moment to remember the popular iPod mini. It burst on the scene last January, with bright colors and a stylish new look. The mini was young, slim, and exciting, and it soon became more popular than its plain white sibling.
What goes around comes around, I guess. In spite of the iPod mini's popularity, Apple has dropped it in favor of the new iPod nano -- a replacement that's even younger and slimmer. (How can you compete with "impossibly small"?)
There's a lesson here. It's probably a lesson about drinking less coffee and editing bad analogies out of your posts before you hit the "Publish" button, but it's a lesson nonetheless.
As Apple bids farewell to the popular mini, Engadget has this reminder of all the hard-working iPods that helped prepare the way for the ungrateful iPod nano:
The iPod Family Cemetery
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Posted by Sandy
 A posting on Macslash questions Cingular's claim to be exclusive carrier for the iTunes phone, and cites my TechStuff article as evidence.
In fact, Cingular did have an exclusive on launch day, and will continue to be the exclusive U.S. carrier for the iTunes phone. Rogers Wireless, the exclusive Canadian carrier, gets the phone later this month.
Here's the list of international partners from Motorola's press release: U.S. -- today, exclusively with Cingular
U.K. -- expected to be available first with Carphone Warehouse in mid-September and with O2, Orange, Virgin Mobile, BT Mobile and other top retailers by late September
France – expected to be available by late September through Bouygues
Italy -- expected to be available by late September through distributor and operator channels
Canada -- expected to be available in mid- to late-September with Rogers Wireless
Hong Kong -- expected to be available by late September through multiple retail outlets and operator channels
Australia, Singapore and the Philippines -- expected to be available late September through early October through retail and operator channels
Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and other markets throughout the world -- expected to be available in the fourth quarter
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Posted by Sandy
 "The iPod nano is small. You just won't believe how precisely, minutely, mind-bogglingly small it is. I mean, you may think the iPod mini was small, but that's just peanuts compared to the nano. Listen..." And so on.
(with apologies to the late Douglas Adams)
Small has value. The amazing success of the iPod mini showed that people are willing to pay for portability and style. The iPod nano has both of those, in spades.
But small costs money. The full-size 20 GB iPod, which costs just $50 more than the iPod nano, has five times the storage capacity. And it can connect to a TV to display photos -- something the nano can't do.
iPod nano Pros:
- tiny size and weight
- color screen for photos and album art
- new features (clocks, stopwatch, screen lock)
- compatible with 30-pin dock connector (and related accessories)
- holds the line on price at $199 and $249
iPod nano Cons:
- less storage space than iPod mini
(2 GB / 4 GB nano vs. 4 GB / 6 GB mini)
- no video out for photo display on TV
- um, maybe impossibly small = easy to lose?
If you want an iPod that does double duty as a hard drive, or you want all the photo features, move on up to the 20 GB or 60 iPod.
Otherwise -- in the words of pretty much every review I've seen so far -- the iPod nano looks like a slam-dunk.
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September 07, 2005
Posted by Sandy
 Suppose 10,000 people buy a ROKR phone this week.
Motorola would profit from 10,000 handset sales. Cingular would profit from 10,000 two-year wireless contracts.
Where's the money for Apple?
...continue reading.
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Posted by Sandy
 The webcast of today's Apple Special Event is now available.
Watch the video to see the introduction of the new Motorola ROKR phone and the slim iPod nano.
Follow this link to enter the Reality Distortion Field.
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September 06, 2005
Posted by Sandy
Some fun while we're waiting for ROKR and iPod news...
I must have been napping when this was introduced at CeBIT.
Behold Tulip E-Go - "the first lifestyle notebook."
Shortly after Apple released the original clamshell iBook, tech writer John Dvorak described it as a "girlie" computer with "a Barbiesque look."
The E-Go takes that notion to its logical conclusion: the notebook as fashion accessory.
It may be a shameless theft of the clamshell iBook design, but it's probably accurate to call it "the first lifestyle notebook with an AMD processor inside and zebra stripes outside" or "the first lifestyle notebook covered with diamonds and priced at 283,000 euros.."
E-Go image 1 | E-Go image 2 | more images
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Blink ›
FEMA to Mac and Linux users: drop dead
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September 02, 2005
Posted by Sandy
Donna points to a guide to DRM (Digital Rights Management) published by the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation). ...in this brave new world of "authorized music services," law-abiding music fans often get less for their money than they did in the old world of CDs (or at least, the world before record companies started crippling CDs with DRM, too). Unfortunately, in an effort to attract customers, these music services try to obscure the restrictions they impose on you with clever marketing. Beginning with the iTunes store, the guide outlines the various restrictions that are placed on copy-protected digital downloads.
Although I strongly dislike DRM and usually buy music on CD, I'm willing to buy single tracks from the iTunes store. There's enough flexibility in the iTunes "Fairplay" license for my taste. The music is not locked into protected AAC format as long as I can burn it to CD. (The EFF guide fails to note that the 7 burn limit imposed by Apple's DRM applies to playlists, not individual tracks. This strikes me as a reasonable compromise between creators' rights and consumers' rights.)
The EFF guide is good and useful, but it leans towards the All DRM is Evil end of the spectrum. Those who know nothing about DRM should probably read the Wikipedia entry before reading the EFF guide.
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Tiger Secrets revealed
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September 01, 2005
Posted by Sandy
 Weirdness.
The Mac mini Test Drive promotion at the online Apple Store is dead.
There are plenty of reasons to try something like this, and plenty of reasons not to, but it's thoroughly weird to launch it then shut it down. Was it rogue marketing or a premature launch of a planned promotion?
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