Recent Comments:
Malfunctioning fax machine prints out bomb ClipArt, forces evacuation of area {Engadget}
Jun 3rd 2007 1:50PM WTF is "ClipArt"? "Clip art" is two words.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/clip%20art
Apple patent app details 'accessory detector' for mobile handset {Engadget}
Jun 1st 2007 2:54PM "Apple still hasn't learned the lesson they should have learned 20 years ago - trying to control the hardware is not the best way to go."
Yeah, that iPod thing really turned out badly for them, didn't it?
USB fish bowl: placeshift feeding, settings -- but not your love {Engadget}
May 2nd 2007 6:02PM Due to its small size, this is obscenely unhealthy for fish but would make a decent freshwater shrimp tank (red cherry shrimp, etc.). If you put fish in it, you will basically be taking close-up webcam footage of your pet succumbing to ammonia and/or nitrate poisoning.
Apple issues fix for recently discovered QuickTime flaw {Engadget}
May 2nd 2007 10:15AM I know the Maynor flap was a "high-profile" controversy, but not every Mac security issue revolves around Maynor and Ellch. Plus, Apple never denied the issue as you say. The company's claim was that Maynor and Ellch did not provide Apple with enough details to identify the specific issue, so they conducted an audit of the AirPort software and eliminated the bugs they found. Whether you believe them or not, I don't really care -- the whole mess is long past its expiration date as it is. But let's not repeat the canard that Apple denied there was a security issue in the AirPort drivers.
Apple issues fix for recently discovered QuickTime flaw {Engadget}
May 2nd 2007 9:38AM "and interestingly enough, Apple seemingly tipped its hat to Dino Dai Zovi and the TippingPoint Zero Day Initiative for reporting the issue."
This is actually standard practice. If you read the release notes for Apple security updates, you'll see that they routinely give credit for bugs reported by outside parties. For instance, Security Update 2007-004 include hat-tips to Kevin Finisterre, Month of Apple Bugs, Mu Security Research Team, etc.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=305391
Likewise, Apple didn't "seemingly" tip its hat in this case -- it was a pretty clear-cut credit. From the release notes for the QuickTime update:
"Credit to Dino Dai Zovi working with TippingPoint and the Zero Day Initiative for reporting this issue."
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=305446
Apple's not fighting back against Apple TV hacks {Engadget}
Apr 5th 2007 4:03PM That response from Apple may be good, but Engadget readers are dying to know ... is it "good enough"?
Apple and EMI ditching DRM is good, but it's not good enough {Engadget}
Apr 2nd 2007 4:47PM To summarize: today's announcement did not make everything magically perfect forever.
This stuff happens gradually. I guess I can understand the skepticism, but I have to agree with a previous commenter -- I just don't see the conspiracy here. Jobs publishes an anti-DRM essay and a number of people question his motives. Now he makes a deal with EMI to sell DRM-free music, and it's criticized as "just a test."
How much money does the guy have to put where his mouth is? Oh, he has to encourage Disney labels specifically (as he has already done so generally) to go DRM-free. So that's the benchmark now. And what if he does? We all know what the reaction would be: "It's just words, not actions. Completely meaningless, obviously."
I take issue in particular with this section:
"Assume it's a test to see how many people will buy DRM-free music, and possibly also a test to see how many copy it. If the experiment fails EMI and Apple can blame lack of consumer interest, or quickly inflated rates of piracy -- but they certainly wouldn't ever admit that the 30% price premium and inability to choose smaller file sizes and lower bitrates will have anything to do with lack of uptake."
What if there really is a lack of consumer interest? Judging by the tone of this post, if the experiment does "fail," Engadget certainly wouldn't ever admit that most consumers don't care about DRM. I certainly hope the experiment succeeds, and I also hope that most consumers prefer DRM-free music, but you can't automatically make that assumption. Engadget provides no evidence either way that a broad base of customers give a shit about DRM -- just insinuations.
I find the AAC compatibility issue to be over the top, as well. There is now nothing preventing other manufacturers from producing players that will play DRM-free music from the iTunes Music Store. It's not like AAC is Apple's proprietary music format. It's MPEG-4 audio.
Points not mentioned in the article:
- Album prices will remain the same and DRM-free music will be the default for full albums from the EMI catalog.
- Jobs stated that he plans to have the iTunes Store offer similar DRM-free deals to independents that have been clamoring for such for a while.
- Jobs stated that the plan is to have at least half of the iTunes catalog DRM-free by the end of the year.
That doesn't sound like Jobs is treating this as "just a test" to me. He's given every indication that this is the start of a sea change. It will take an enormous amount of backtracking to undo what he has essentially now made company policy.
If you look at the progress made between the beginning of 2007 and today, you have to be incredibly myopic to not observe that Apple is heading very much in the right direction here. Again, I just don't see the conspiracy. Editorial -1, Troll.
Retailers to Sony: cut the price on the PSP or get lost {Engadget}
Mar 16th 2007 12:15AM The word "bespoke" does not mean what you think it does.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/bespoke
Zune viral marketer arrested at SXSW {Engadget}
Mar 14th 2007 11:32PM I agree, Twist. The guy was putting posters up. There's a term for that. It's called "marketing." The fact that he did so without permission doesn't make it "viral" -- just dumb.
Hands-on with Apple's AirPort Extreme 802.11n Base Station {Engadget}
Feb 15th 2007 2:15PM Here's the link -- forgot that you can't put HTML links in Engadget comments:
http://www.macintouch.com/reviews/airportn/
