I got a pop last night for the first time (using headphones). I thought it was a glitch in the game I was playing! I really hope they fix this soon!

My wife and I are musicians and the sad reality is that most of the money you pay for a CD or song download through a record label never makes it to the artists. (If you'd like to read the full story of how the music industry works, pick up a copy of Donald Passman's All You Need To Know About the Music Business.)

However, there are several ways to support artists directly. Online independent distributors, such as CDbaby.com, have been an incredible tool for artists to get their music distributed and still keep the majority of their sales. Consumers can also, as mentioned previously, go see the artist on tour and buy their album/merchandise at the show.

I've also noticed a lot of talk about DRM'd music being inferior to physical media. To that end, I wonder if piracy would decrease if iTunes/Rhapsody/etc offered CD-quality .wav files with DRM enclosures. The same holds true for movies. If you could download a full movie with special features, etc. from iTunes and then burn it to a DVD, would people still complain? And, would people continue to bittorrent movies? Sadly, I think both would continue, but to a lesser extent.

As an artist and an individual, I think the reason that iTunes (and others) has succeeded is because they have found the right balance between consumer and content creator rights. As a consumer, I feel that ninety-nine cents for a song is a fair price, and the ability to burn a CD and then rip it into any format alleviates my fears of platform obsolescence. As an artist, I know that I will sell more songs based on the convenience of fans being able to download music from the comfort of their own home and then load it immediately onto their portable music player.

Pending DRM issues, such as the infamous broadcast flag and HDCP, are a little more disconcerting. However, I honestly feel that the market will strike a balance. Personally, after reading about Amazon's Unbox license agreement at http://www.boingboing.net/2006/09/15/amazon_unbox_to_cust.html, I will not be buying from them. But, other people may be perfectly fine with the terms. Ultimately, if someone is providing an inferior product or service (i.e. locked-down, rootkitted media), then that just means that there is an opening in the market for someone else to provide a better alternative.

============================
Allen Guthier
Manager, Marce's Music
Marce - "Gainesville's Joni Mitchell"
http://www.marceonline.com
http://www.myspace.com/marceonline

Is this GM's way of saying, "it's ok to buy a huge, gas-guzzling vehicle for just one person...it's a hybrid!" GM used to be the leader in vehicle efficiency (see the Ultralight and EV-1), and the completely dropped the ball. This is what's on the minds of their executives these days: http://www.autobloggreen.com/2006/08/03/gm-division-president-darkes-record-oil-prices-don-t-hurt/

glacia,

In my opinion, the Segway was a marketing failure, not a product failure. They made such a huge fuss over the product that the real innovation behind it was lost in the fanfare. If they had just announced another "gizmo" and had a tiered pricing model (Model A - $1500, Model B - $2500, Model C - $3500), they would have made their money back by volume. Instead they hyped it up, charged a bundle for them, and are now doomed to the dreaded gadget "could-have-beens". Just my opinion, of course.

gabehoffman:

Try this free utility for right-clicking in Windows on an Intel mac:

http://www.geocities.com/pronto4u/applemouse.html

I'm posting this from Windows XP on a MacBook Pro using Boot Camp. The install was flawless, and I've already installed Photoshop and a ton of other apps. Great work, Apple!

Just installed it. Works great. Super-fast and easy install. Now I have two machines in one!

The Engadget posts on the MPAA and RIAA are always a bit scary, but also informative and entertaining. It's so important that people prevent greedy organizations like them from taking away consumer choice. This one post was particularly amusing: http://www.engadget.com/2005/11/16/mpaa-says-pirated-dvds-are-the-new-drug-on-the-street/
You guys should keep up the good work, and fight the good fight!

An MDA for me today! Please!!!

Engadget Mobile rocks! I've been dying to sport the T-Mobile MDA!