BrianAndPamela.com

Link to Apple - Thoughts on Music

I made a bold statement back in October that the only people that are inconvenienced are legitimate customers.  That people who are serious about stealing music are going to do it anyway.  I'm not by any means the only one saying it.  Bloggers have been saying it.  DefectiveByDesign has been saying it.  The EFF says it. Bill Gates said it.

Now one of the biggest names in Digital Music is saying the same .  Arguably THE biggest name in digital media distribution, Steve Jobs of Apple, Inc. released what amounts to a blog post today in which he says exactly that. (more…)

CollisionDetection.net has an interesting article up right now commenting on a Chuck Klosterman piece in Esquire, about how YouTube is empowering a resurgence in guitar as an art form.

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Link to iTunes Store - John Hodgman - The Areas of My Expertise (Abridged Nonfiction) - The Areas of My Expertise

Most people know the polymathic John Hodgman as the likable "PC - Guy" on the "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" adds for Apple.  But before he was a likeable counterpoint to the snarky "Mac Guy", Hodgman wrote a book called "The Areas Of My Expertise", which is a "satirical almanac."  Now, in its wisdom, Apple is giving away the entirety of the audiobook for free.

The full title of the book is actually:

An Almanac of Complete World Knowledge Compiled with Instructive Annotation and Arranged in Useful Order by Me, John Hodgman, a Professional Writer, in the Areas of My Expertise, which Include: Matters Historical; Matters Literary; Matters Cryptozoological; Hobo Matters; Food, Drink, & Cheese (a Kind of Food); Squirrels & Lobsters & Eels; Haircuts; Utopia; What Will Happen in the Future; and Most Other Subjects; Illustrated with a Reasonable Number of Tables and Figures, and Featuring the Best of "Were You Aware of It?", John Hodgman's Long-Running Newspaper Novelty Column of Strange Facts and Oddities of the Bizarre

Get it yet?  Not to be missed is Hodgemans recitation of 700 Hobo names, complete with Jonathan Coulton playing "Big Rock Candy Mountain". 

Link to Techcrunch » Blog Archive » Bill Gates On The Future Of DRM

Microsoft had a couple of bloggers up to Redmond to meet with (among other people) Bill Gates.  Mike Arrington is reporting in TechCrunch that in response to a question about DRM, Gates responded that he agreed DRM had major issues.

Quoth Techcrunch (quoting Gates…how's that for fourth hand sources?):

Gates said that no one is satisfied with the current state of DRM, which “causes too much pain for legitmate buyers” while trying to distinguish between legal and illegal uses. He says no one has done it right, yet. There are “huge problems” with DRM, he says, and “we need more flexible models, such as the ability to “buy an artist out for life” (not sure what he means). He also criticized DRM schemes that try to install intelligence in each copy so that it is device specific.

His short term advice: “People should just buy a cd and rip it. You are legal then.”

You heard the man… what are you waiting for?  Rip…Mix…Burn, baby burn.

Have you seen the marketing "feel" for Microsoft's new Zune portable media device?  Clearly, it has a different feel than what Apple has put together for the iPod.  I'm not sure I like it at all.  To be fair, I'm probably not in the target demographic for either player, but still the iPod marketing has always been fresh and appealing.  Apple marketing shows the device it in the hands of fresh young hipsters having fun.  The Zune "feel" is much grittier and earthier, and I'm not sure in a good way.  It is pictured in the hands of tough looking gangsta types and people with lots of bare feet.  (Did they pay too much for the Zune?  Can't they afford shoes?)   Let's compare the two.

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Red Hot Chili Peppers, QOTSA, T.I. Rock For Zune

Ok, ignore the title of the linked article for a second… in fact ignore the article all together.  The only thing important about the article from billboard.com is that it includes a quote from Universal Music Group's CEO Doug Morris:

"These devices are just repositories for stolen music, and they all know it, so it's time to get paid for it."

Oh, you know you wanna read (more…)

“Music Only” for your iTunes playlists | 43 Folders

For those of you who live by iTunes, Merlin Mann from 43Folders (and MacBreak Weekly) shows how to make sure all of your smart playlists (including  Party Shuffle) include only music.  Thanks, Merlin!

Brian

One of the things I try to do here in my little corner of the net is to educate. There are issues out there that get very little attention in the normal world press, and those issues are really very important to all of us. Decisions on issues like net neutrality, freedom of information exchange, copyright and IP law will set precedent now and shape the future of the entire world. October 3rd is the International Day Against DRM which makes this a great time to explain why DRM, something that seems so helpful and benign, is actually capable of eroding the very fabric of freedom. You think that was a little extreme? Read on… (more…)

New item on the site. On the right, you’ll see a list of “Brian’s recent play list”. Thanks to LastFM, Pandora, iTunes and the internet, I’m auto-posting my recent listen list.

It get’s pretty crazy when I just let my entrie collection shuffle. Today in the same half hour I got Glad, Cypress Hill, Dennis DeYoung (from Styx, remember?), Goo Goo Dolls, The Corries (Scottish Folk), Merle Haggard, NWA, The Fray, Snow Patrol and Death Cab For Cutie and a couple of things from Worship CDs. I think there was some broadway stuff in there too… go figure. Good luck figuring out my tastes!

Oh by the way, if you’re into it, the new Evanessence album is out on Oct 3, I’ve heard the preview track (”Call Me When You’re Sober”) on iTunes, and Amy Lee’s voice seems to really have matured. Let’s hope the whole album is as good as the preview.