e:leaf's Profile

1. Apple is trying to change the way we watch TV, and a PVR is antithetical to that vision. No way, or it would have been done by now. 2. Sure. 3. That what a video converter is for. This device is little more than an Airport Express for video. Why should it have the capabilities to send video in 2 directions? The goal for Apple is that A) We buy content from Apple and store it on our computers and B) That we keep this material on our computers for use. Video will only ever travel from computer to iTV (or another computer via Front Row) in 1 direction only. 4. What do you think the USB port is for? 5. Theoretically speaking, one can already do this with a Mac mini. Many HDTVs have DVI inputs, and there are certainly DVI>HDMI or DVI>Component cables in existence already. Plus, the Mac mini (at least the new Intel ones) do 5.1 surround. I will have to think hard as to whether I would rather have a Mac mini as my entertainment server, or an iTV to stream it from somewhere else. 6. Sure. 7. Isn't that what a Mac mini is for? What you're asking for is another computer, not a video streaming device. It can already access movies, photos, and music (both on a local computer on your network, or over the internet). Anything else requires a computer rather than just a decoder chip. 8. Why does Apple need their fingers in every digital pie in existence? Since personal video is an ad-centric business, Apple will stay clear. Besides, viewing the horrible quality flash content on an HDTV (especially one as large as my 77" wall mounted projector screen) would be an eyesore. No way Apple goes in that direction. 9. Yes. More content is better. How is this some secret?

Slots: 7 is overkill, no matter which way you split it. I was a long-time PC user who assembled my own boxes exclusively and never came anywhere near using 7 different cards, especially since NIC and sound cards are almost always on the motherboard these days rather than individual cards which take up slots. Bays: A floppy drive? What's that? In all seriousness, one can get an external floppy drive for less than $20. Using 3 optical drives is only really useful if you copy a lot of discs on-the-fly (1 drive to another without using the HD as a go between), and want to read a 3rd disc at the same time. I can honestly say that rarely do I need to read a CD or DVD from the disc itself as most software can be run after you've read the disc exactly once (games and movies are the notable exception). Ports: The extra USB ports on the Dell are not mutually exclusive I/O ports individually, but are really nothing more than an internal USB hub. A good USB hub which has 7 (or more) ports can be bought for less than $30. You're kidding about PS/2 and serial ports right? These haven't existed in the Mac world in ages because the technology is dated (and was in 97 when Apple stopped using them). I would bet that, except for the occasional ancient keyboard and mouse setup, few use PS/2 (and no one except someone who hasn't bought a printer in at least 6 years uses serial ports anymore), even in the el-cheapo PC world which hardly makes them an advantage. So for less than $50, I can get the same (or more) ports and a floppy drive which match the *useful* specs from the Dell (that is if one considers having a floppy useful), while a Dell user must spend at least $30 to get the FW 800 capabilities plus, and be forced to use Windows (unless they use an alternative). The Mac Pro is the clear winner here, no questions. For once, we Mac users can have our cake and eat it too. We have a superior system, at a much better price.

I don't think that either format will win anything. It seems that, rather than the more oft cited VHS/betamax wars of the 80s, we're looking at the DVD-Audio/SACD flop of the early 20th century. For now, HD-DVD has the edge because it is significantly cheaper, and cheaper (with the same video quality) will win out hands down. Extra storage won't be the deciding factor, especially since most of these discs wil be used for movies, which will easily fit on the smaller of the 2.

Beeb: While I may agree with many points that you have here, there is at least one that I have serious qualms with . . . "One could just as easily argue then that you are responsible for your own safety in your home or where you travel within the US, and not have it handed to you." If I am not responsible for my own saftey in my own home, who is? I'm a firm libertarian, and strong supporter of the right to bear arms, and think that we're all personally responsible for our own saftey while we're on our own properties. I don't trust anyone else to adequately protect me, nor is it anyone else's responsibility to do so. If we can't even bother to protect ourselves in our own homes, why should we have the right to protect ourselves against DRM fraud (in an attempt to keep on topic in the crudest sense)? I also agree that Americans don't have the right to have everything handed to us through government action, but that the governmenet exists so that we can all do for ourselves without impediment. Living in a babysitter nation where I depend on the government to provide me with everything I need is not a good alternative. When we let the government into our lives any more than is absolutely necessary, we all lose.

In the article you write: "From there they are free to do what they want with it, including playing that music on another type of MP3 player. This involves extra steps, but it’s not all that difficult." Burning a handful of songs to a cd and re-ripping to rid the tracks of digital handcuffs known as DRM may not bea big deal. But how about doing it to hundreds of songs? I have personally bought about 300 songs from the iTMS, or about 30 CDs give or take. Burning 30 CDs and then re-ripping them is not "difficult," but have you any idea how long that would take? DRM is evil. Although Apple itself cannot be blamed for the use of DRM per-se (the record companies require it for their own purposes), but they can be blamed for not licensing it to others so that DRM ca, at the very least, be standardized. Although Apple did not attain their posistion in the downloads market via monopolistic actions, maitaining it, if they are to keep (Un)Fairplay closed, will be. "There is also competition. Though iPod leads the pack by a wide margin, there are plenty of other options. In fact, many individuals own more than one iPod. If iPod/iTunes presents a problem, they can choose to purchase an iPod and a different MP3 player." Can I? As I staed before, I have over 300 iTMS songs that would then have to be burned and re-ripped before I could transfer them over to another device. If there was a compatibility problem I could understand, but DRM restrictions is not a compatibility problem. Fairplay is an active way to lock iPod and iTMS users into the Apple ecosystem for good, despite the fact that the AAC files, before being laced with the DRM in iTunes, are fully portable and can play on any digital audio player which is capable of playing AAC files. It is ONLY the DRM which prevents them from doing so. And it has nothing to do with "protecting the intellectual property of the artists" either. Apple's stance is that Fairplay protects from piracy. If this were the case, why is it then that these files can play on an unlimited number of iPods, yet completely incompatible with any other brand music player? If Apple had a paltry share of the digital player market (as it does with the OS market), keeping the iPod and iTunes a closed environment would be acceptable. But since it controls ~80% of both the digital player and online music downloads market, keeping it closed only makes them more MS-like with every passing day. Potential competitors have little chance of gaining any kind of success (especially when one considers that the profit margin in the audio downlods business in slim) because they can't work on the most popular player on the market (and gaining marketshare with each passing month). How is this fair? "Of course, there are several other choices. Though purchasing online is convenient, nobody is forcing music lovers to do this. Download purchases are a convenience, not a basic constitutional right." Perhaps not. But if I do buy music online, should I be able to do what I will after I pirchase it? Should I be able to move to another player later down the road? Buying from the iTMS is betting your hard earned money that the iPod will be the best music player for good. That is not a good bet. Also this whole "if you don't have an iPod buy from a brick and mortar store" argument is simply mind bogglingly stupid. In short, Apple is only out to protect their lead in the digital audio market. What needs to happen with DRM (since I highly doubt that the RIAA would ever license their music if there is no DRM) is what happens with other standards in the computer industry. A body of interested groups and companies need to get together and form a standard that is acceptable to all parties. A scheme that will protect artists and their profits, as well as the consumer from being locked into ultra-proprietary ecosystems. Consumers should be the ones who cotrol what we can and cannot do with the products that we buy, not companies. Fairplay doesn't provide for any real choice, unless you choose to go with Apple hardware and software across the board -- iPod, iTunes, and Airport Express, because anything beyond those choices have been completely removed. Not because of the format, but the DRM alone. Personally, I don'y buy any music from iTunes anymore, and most of the music that I have purchased has been de-DRMd by JHymn. I choose www.allofmp3.com which, although under attack by the RIAA (hardly a surprise considering they don't receive a cut of the profits), is perfectly legal, much cheaper than iTunes, has higher quality files, and no DRM to be found. And yes, the artists get paid.

I tried this plugin (about a week ago when it was shown on one of the many Mac blogs I have rss feeds for) and decided that I like the default view better. But when I tried to uninstall the plugin, I had to reset my entire mail program by adding in the accounts again (a pain when you have 6 email accounts). Be careful.

to dustincook The same reason that we have only 5 Roots stores in the US, while there are 124 in Canada. Think real hard, and you just might get the answer.

Your typecasting of medieval folk as "peons" is a bit short sighted. Call me sensitive, or whatever (I am a scholar in medieval literature so I feel it is my duty to correct assumptions not based on fact), but those in the middle ages were no more stupid or gullible than any man living today. It is when institutions have complete control over society that widespread belief of certain things, even the seemingly ridiculous, becomes widespread. (Religion, technology, government, etc.) We don't have any less of that today (how many people believe in Angels or the sasquatch despite there being no solid evidence that they exist?). And your writing about medieval peoples as though they are complete idiots demonstrates this point. Some of the most poignant thinkers ever emerged from the middle ages, yet you still openly cast all of them as "peons," a myth as large and widespread as wolf-headed men or iPhones you are trying to debunk. If you're to accuse someone of believing something without evidence, don't commit the same mistake during your rebuttal.