Tech

The Internet Knows No Borders

Wayne Hartman — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 04:02:32 GMT

One of the underpinning tenants of the Internet is the concept of self-healing, world wide access. It doesn't matter where you are in the world, as long as you're connected to the 'Net, you're connected to everything else. The Internet knows no borders, political boundaries, or frontiers. Once you are plugged in, the world is at your fingertips. Unless you live in China. Or the United States--what?

One of the things I find goofy about content producers is the idea of U.S. only content. You can go to Hulu, MySpace Music, and Pandora to listen to free, ad supported movies, TV shows, and music, but only if you happen to be geographically located within great U.S. of A. And why is that? Is it because shows that end up on Hulu usually aren't seen until weeks or months later in international cities? Is it because the ad targeting is geared towards an American audience, thus making ad campaigns pointless?

It's hard to say, really, but to me it speaks volumes about how the MPAA/RIAA don't understand the digital age. They don't understand what it means to make a true transition and embrace the concept of how content wants to be free from the restrictive controls that they try to set.

In response to such backward thinking, several free products have appeared such as AlwaysVPN, a mechanism that allows users in foreign countries to fool these websites into thinking that that users are located on American soil. It's interesting to note that this organization supports itself on ads as well, but I have a sneaking suspicion (if they're as smart as they seem) that ads presented would be relevant to the location that you're connecting from, taking advantage of revenue earning potential that content providers seem to be missing out on.

Even still, though, it is very apparent that while making sites like Hulu and MySpace Music available for 'free' consumption seems to be a step in the right direction, the content providers still have a lot to learn about how to cast the widest net possible for generating revenue.

So in the end, content producers, free your content, come up with a model that works well for you and your consumers, and please, let me know what ads you'll be showing me if I surf from Antarctica.

Steve Jobs: 'Blu-Ray Is Just A Bag Of Hurt'

Wayne Hartman — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 22:42:23 GMT

The real kicker in Apple's notebook announcements wasn't the release of their new manufacturing process, MacBook upgrades, or glass multi-touch trackpads, but Steve Jobs' response to a question on why the new additions didn't include options for a Blu-Ray player:

"Blu-ray is just a bag of hurt. It's great to watch the movies, but the licensing of the tech is so complex, we're waiting till things settle down and Blu-ray takes off in the marketplace."

Phil Schiller chimed in immediately after Steve saying, "We have the best HD movie and TV options in iTunes." Ouch. In other words, Stevo isn't convinced that a plastic disc is in Apple's digital future, it's costly to implement, and this far into its nascent market emergence, it isn't worth putting in their laptops. This isn't much of surprise considering consumers seem to be clinging to the popularity and ubiquity of DVDs.

How To Kill A Brand, Apple Style

Wayne Hartman — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 20:34:28 GMT

When I think of Apple, one of the first things that comes to mind is good, quality products. Expensive, but nice. The experience I get when I go to the Apple Store is top notch and I have a feeling that a lot of people feel the same way—until now.

I’m seeing a disturbing trend lately where Apple seems to be slipping quite a bit on the quality side—not necessarily with hardware—but with their software. It seems that with the latest iteration of the iPhone, it has been plagued by software bugs and defects that really detract from the whole Apple experience. Apple’s latest flub involves the release of its latest version of the iTunes software which is causing Windows Vista machines to BSOD. As much as I dislike Vista, you still have to play nice.

Not a big surprise really, considering how fast Apple has been moving with their iPod and Mac lines, but one has cause to wonder when they’re going to catch up and provide stable products. One of the mainstays of a successful business is maintaining and improving your brand image. When you do things that detract from that brand, you create opportunities for competitors to move and capture a slice of your market—not that Apple ought to be worried from the likes of the Zune, but it’s the small (and large) things like bad 3G connectivity, apps crashing, and getting your email wiped out that really take a detrimental toll on that brand that ought to give you pause.

I think the big issue here is that Apple is really expanding, meaning that these are just growing pains that Apple is going through. Microsoft has taken a big hit (the bad kind) with its release of Vista, giving Apple an opportunity to cut into the computer market with its diverse array of integrated products. In the end I think Apple will pull itself out of its funk, but let this be a lesson to us all: if you grow too much, too quick, there are going to be some painful times.

Why The Zune Fails To Impress

Wayne Hartman — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 13:22:08 GMT

Microsoft revealed its new Zune music player this past week without the fanfare that Apple generated with its new iPod line. One really has to ask why Zune isn't nearly as successful as the iPod. The answer isn't really one thing.

First of all, the Zune's design isn't that appealing. Microsoft opted to give the Zune a more boxy appearance with sharp corners. The colors weren't that inspiring, either with plan black,white, and a drab brown model. Apple, on the other hand, went with more a eclectic selection of interesting neon colors with their Nano line, for instance.

Which leads us to another problem: lack of product variation. The iPod line has something for everyone with cheap Shuffles that hold a couple GB of storage, to 160GB iPod Classic, to a fully functional phone/iPod/gaming device. The Zune prefers a one-size-fits-all-take-it-or-leave-it approach. People like choice--give it to 'em.

Finally, there's iTunes itself and the software to sync the iPod itself. The Zune has no such cross-platform equivalent. You're stuck with Windows Media Player, meaning this is a Windows only game. It's limiting and insulting at the same time. Also, with the advent of the Apple App Store, users can purchase or even code up software to run on their device!

Also worth mentioning is this: It's very telling when a whole community lines up to hack the iPod to pieces, but one with the same zeal doesn't really exist for the Zune.

So what is Microsoft to do? Good question. First off, they need their software to be cross-platform. Microsoft is notorious for not doing this, but it was the iPod's saving grace.

Next, they need a product line that has something not only at the right price point, but provides a set of functionality/utility for varying audiences. Think Shuffle vs. iPhone. Not everyone needs or wants a bulky, touch screen player, maybe a matchbox-sized device with play button is good enough.

Lastly, Microsoft needs to outsource their product design department. I can't remember the last time I bought a Microsoft product and thought, 'wow, this makes me look good'. Apple seems to have proved itself in that regard time and time again--wait, what was up with the fat Nano design???

Anyway, to wrap things up, some might think I've taken a turn for the worse on Apple-fanboyism, so just to prove ya wrong, they're getting the smack down later this week.

Spore: DRM Backlash

Wayne Hartman — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 17:34:56 GMT

C|Net News has an interesting blog post highlighting Spore from EA Games. This game has been in the works for a couple of years now and its unique gameplay and concept have stoked the fires of anticipation for some time. However, one of the biggest things to come out with its release has not been its intriguing gameplay, but the strategies used to curb piracy. Spore uses a anti-copy protection scheme called SecuROM, which is considered by some to be much more than just an anti-copy protection scheme, but system subversive malware.

The controversy seems to seems to revolve around EA's activation scheme that only let's you install the game a total of three times. If your computer hard drive crashes, you reinstall Windows, you remove the game because you don't want to play it anymore--all legitimate activities on your computer-- don't matter because EA doesn't want people to pirate it. If you take a gander to the Pirate Bay, you can see that the numbers are quite substantive and send a very clear message: Consumers don't like DRM. At the time of this publication there were over 6000 seeders and nearly 20,000 leechers actively downloading a torrent of the cracked version of the full game. C|Net points at estimates that the game has been illegally downloaded nearly half a million times!

It seems that backlash seems to be making a very pointed comment on the state of DRM and anti-piracy efforts: the more you push honest people with malware-like software to keep them in check, the more you are going to drive them to do dishonest things. DRM only hurts, or is an inconvenience, to those who want to pay for creative works. The pirates will always find a way to do defeat and circumvent control mechanisms. But, as Princess Leia succinctly put: "The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers."

XP Drivers For HP S3500T

Wayne Hartman — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 02:17:53 GMT

I had mentioned previously that had gotten a new PC. This one is an HP S3500T. I purchased it to take over the responsibilities that my server has had for not only housing the data of all my music, DVDs, and other videos, but being hooked up to the TV to watch and listen to them. This puts a strain on my server at times when there is a lot of things that it is trying to do during the day--one of which is to host this blog.

So, the first item of business was to wipe Vista off and put XP on. While finding drivers for everything was pretty much a breeze, I did have some trouble with the IR receiver for the remote control and the TV tuner card.

Chipset Driver - http://www.nvidia.com/object/nforce_630i_610i_winxp_16.08.html
Video Driver - http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp_175.19_whql.html
Audio Driver - http://waynehartman.com/downloads/WDM_R195.exe
TV Tuner Driver - http://waynehartman.com/downloads/AverMedia m792 Drivers.zip
LAN Driver - http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/genericSoftwareDownloadIndex?cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&softwareitem=pv-42542-1&jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN

You'll notice that I don't have the IR receiver drivers listed. You actually already have the real driver installed, it's just that the INF files don't recognize it to be compatible (even though it is). So for that, you have to do a little INF hacking to get it to work. All you have to do is follow the direction in this forum post and it will run perfectly in Windows XP. Just in case that link goes dead for whatever reason, I will post the directions on my site later.

The reason that I had so much trouble getting the TV Tuner driver is that AVermedia does not actually have the driver posted on its site. Appearently the card that goes inside the s3500t is an OEM only part, so HP provides access to the driver. Unfortunately, HP only provides a Vista driver and had inserted a procedure that checks your Windows version before installing it. If you don't have Vista, then it won't install the driver. Fortunately for us, however, their installer expands all the files into your temp directory before doing that check. Otherwise, I would have had to rip the installer apart to get at the files. Also fortunate for us, the driver is compatible with XP, so I have graciously posted the file for your use above.

With those drivers, you should be able to use all the hardware inside your box. For those not running Windows Media Center 2005, but want to take advantage of the multimedia and PVR hardware in your machine, here's a shameless plug for MediaPortal, an open source media center application. It's free, it's better than Windows Media Center, and they've done a pretty darn good job, so pick it up.

32509 Days and 16 Hours Remaining

Wayne Hartman — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 00:54:28 GMT

I got a new PC earlier this week (more on that later) but I was copying a 3.5GB file from my server. This is how long it said it would take:

I knew the network stack wasn't that great, but Vista, you're killing me...

The irony was that I was trying to copy my XP backup to burn to disc and wipe Vista off. I think its 'Spidey Sense' was tingling and was trying to forgo its doom.

Music Artists Bitter Over Listeners' Change In Taste

Wayne Hartman — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 00:25:39 GMT

Ars Technica has a great article about how the consumer has shifted from album purchases to singles. Many artists including Kid Rock, AC/DC, and Jay-Z have boycotted iTunes' approach to only allowing tracks to be sold individually, versus forcing a consumer to buy the whole album. What Apple has done is change the whole landscape of how consumers approach music. No longer are we bound by the chains purchasing a $10-$20 album, if all we really want is a 99 cent track.

The economics for the artist are quite simple. They make a much greater amount of money on the sale of a full fledged album than a drip of a single. But when you bring in the consumer, the matter seems very clear: they want choice. From my view, it seems that a lot of time is spent producing a good, decent (ok, sometimes bad too) single, while the rest of the album is filled with throw away songs. To be made to purchase a full album just for a song seems too steep a price to pay.

One point that the article brings out is that some albums really should be consumed as a whole, but it seems that it has been a long time since I have listened to an entire album and thought that there was something worth more than the sum of its parts. When artists get all persnickety about people only wanting a song or two, maybe they ought to look at the overall package.

We're voting with our dollars and in the end this consumption model doesn't seem to be disappearing anytime soon. Which brings us to the real crux of the argument: business models have to adapt to changes in the consumer landscape. If not, you can keep your 'albums only' mantra and find a new way of making your living.

Cuil, The New Kid On The Search Block

Wayne Hartman — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 14:06:39 GMT

It seems that the arena of search has been relatively quiet since the search wares of the late 90s, so it has been a welcome surprise to see someone else rise up to challenge the search status quo since Google rose to the top. What's interesting is that Cuil, the new 'contextual' search engine, hails from Stanford lineage, like its Google predecessor. Even still, it's gray and blue on black color motif tries to distance itself both as much as possible from the giant. This only serves as a distraction, since it displays results in 2 or 3 columns, making it difficult to scan for results.

One of the issues that I've had with it are its inconsistencies. Last night I search for 'Wayne Hartman' and was greeted with a page that told me that it didn't have any results out of all the 120 billion pages it has indexed. When you compare that with all the leading search engines, something like that seems disappointing.

Another issue that I had was broken links--especially for their 'About Cuil' page. You'd think that if you wanted to be a serious player in the search business, you wouldn't have broken links--especially on your home page.

So will I use it? No. Half the time it isn't able to return search results, reading it takes more effort that its worth, and I really question the relevancy of results. Meh, I'll just stick with the king of the hill for now.

Another Apple Product Added To The Ranks

Wayne Hartman — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 19:20:05 GMT

Today I added another Apple product to the ranks of computer junk I have. After adding upgrading my wireless access point to WPA, I found it to be sluggish, and at times, outright unresponsive. Sometimes it would take up to two minutes for my iPod to connect! I attributed this to the access point itself. The previous firmware revision for it didn't support WPA, and the latest (and likely last) firmware update for it didn't seem very stable. It all came to a head yesterday when I accidentally got locked out of my house and I couldn't join my access point outside my home because it decided to go on the fritz again.

So last night, I hatched a plan to get a new access point. The problem was that I didn't feel like going to my wife to ask for some money because I had to burn a bitter amount on calling the locksmith out, so I couldn't just go buy one outright. Then, I remembered that I still had a $300 gift card from Apple. At that moment I realized that I could get an Airport Extreme Base Station and wouldn't cost me a thing. The added bonus is that it supports printer sharing, too.

So I went out there today and bought one. Setup was a little tricky, but I was able to get it quickly up and running. Some of the features that I really liked is the ability to put in 'bridged' mode where it doesn't create a separate network, but wirelessly extends your existing one. That combined with WPA2 encryption with RADIUS support, just beefs up the security even more.

After plugging everything in and setting everything up, I found out that connecting to the AP was extremely quick! Problem solved! My iPod Touch instantly authenticated after supplying my credentials, and didn't have to wait at all for to surf or check email.

Connecting the printer, on the other hand, was a little more tricky. You can plug it in, and it instantly detects it, but getting clients connected can be a pain. I found that the Bonjour service was pretty much useless to connect because I would get an error message that said: "You do not have sufficient privileges to connect to this printer." Oh really? I was, however, able to resolve the issue by following the steps outlined in this article I found online: http://www.ifelix.co.uk/tech/1004.html It completely eliminates the use of the Bonjour utility to add the printer to your computer.

After setting that up my network is now completely up! I get great wireless range, but as mentioned, the fast connect times are what really makes me happy this product.