Blackhacker

1. Caring around your entire music collection is just as intoxicating as it seems.
2. The Belkin FM transmitter Sucks !!
3. How do you keep those buds in your ears ?
4. If your going to use your iPod with a Mac and a PC format your iPod for PC first. The Mac can read a PC formatted iPod but the reverse is not true.

Stop treating me like a criminal. Let me …

… update my iPod from more than one iTunes instance, without destroy the music that I have on it.

… transfer ANY MUSIC I WANT from my iPod to iTunes. Just because ITMS was not the point of sale doesn’t mean I stole it. 9.18 GB of audio and the ONE album I bought from iTunes is the only thing I transfer to my PC at work. Never mind that the rest represent YEARS of music collecting acquired by going to the store and plopping down 12-15 dollars apiece and hours spent importing.

1. Probably one of the worst kept secretes, and that was by design, the new iPhone, announced at Macworld today.
2. Jobs also unveils it AppleTV. Basically this is a device that allows you to stream iTunes movies and TV shows to your TV.
3. Real, apparently tired of being punked by Microsoft, is now taking the lead in the PlayForSure relationship, and announcing a deal with Tivo. You will soon be able to stream Rhapsody content to your Tivo.

With signature (buzz making) flare the CEO of Apple Computers finally makes it BIG Announcement. C|Net has the details.

1. Video iPods, with new searching capabilities, and plays games
2. Some new brighter, longer lasting nanos. And they come in colors
3. A new smaller, clip on 1GB shuffle (it is REALLY small)
4. iTunes 7 will have cover art for music, & carry movies, for download, the same day they come out on DVD 14.99 & 9.99 price points. Download will take 30 minutes at 5Mb/s, quality will be close to DVD. This is not as big of news as you think because only Disney & Pixar movies will be available, initially.
5. Last but not least is a new product codenamed iTV, Cringely calls it videoXpress (Cringley’s name is better)
   

   iTV will sell for $299 and works with PCs and Macs. “We think it completes the picture here,” Jobs said.

   10:55 a.m.–The new iTV device, which Jobs demonstrated onstage, has 802.11 wireless built in, wired networking, USB, an HDMI connector, and also component video, analog audio and optical audio. It will be controlled with an Apple remote and hooks directly to a TV or to set-top box or home theater system.

   The point of iTV is to allow movies and TV shows downloaded to a computer to play on a TV in another room. The device is coming in the first quarter of 2007, Jobs said.

I think the last item is the really big news. It comes out in Q1 of 2007. My question is will it play standard formats or just what ever DRMed up forma Apple comes up with. It would be cool to download video via juice or democracy, and then be able to see it on a standard TV.Ooooorr what if I set up a DVR into a Mac, will it play those videos as well?

Today must really be a special day. I’m doing MSFT dirty work and telling you about Zune. In case you where under the same rock as me, (I just found out about this today) Zune will be MSFT’s answer to the Apples iPod. The link just points you to a stupid little flash movie and then asks you for your email addy and those of your “family & friends”, a reference to the old MCI promotion. Engadget Has a good write up on what is known about the MSFT soon coming portable media player.

I will say this, if the player is half decent, Apple could have a fight on their hands because, MSFT as something that AAPL dosen’t. All that liquid cash sitting around like Scrooge McDuck’s money bin. And also according the enageget they play to use it, to pay for you to re-download all of the DRMed up itunes media, making switching MUCH easier.

Don’t forget that MSFT’s gonna need that money ’cause, AAPL’s secrete weapon is good will. People who use Apple LOVE Apple. People who use Microsoft, tolerate it. Its gonna need to spend ALOT of money to get people to switch to this new player. And it gotta do at the expense of partners in PlaysForSure, like Napster.

Well it should be interesting.