Dreamland Blues Radio lives!
After a way-too long hiatus, the DLB Radio web site is rising from the ashes of the former server. That trusty old Compaq machine let out a final gasp and released the 'magic blue smoke'.
That was about 9 months ago...
Please pardon our dust as I patch things back together with a renewed energy for sharing the Blues with you!
C U on the bitstream,
T.
Adobe Flash is the king of online video playback. It is cross-platform and provides for animation and interactivity that no other mainstream player can touch. Until now…
Microsoft have announced their own cross-platform player that reports to support animation and interactivity. One thing it has that is missing from Flash is support for HighDef (720p or better) video. Details are still a bit sparse but considering they have deals in place with MLB and NetFlix to use the player it may get a decent shot at taking some of the limelight away from Flash (yes, pun intended).
I’ll let Mark speak for himself…
Mark Shuttleworth » Blog Archive » Note to content owners: DRM doesn’t work
And in the continuing saga of the ‘Me too Zune’ player from Microsoft they have ‘announced plans’ to offer DRM free tracks on the Zune Marketplace and some undisclosed future date.
Yawn.
Don’t waste my time telling me that you plan to do something, shut the frack up and do it already! Sheesh…
Microsoft sees DRM-free music in Zune’s future | CNET News.com
The first crack in the DRM’ed content wall!
EMI, the smallest of the ‘big four’ labels, have inked a deal with Apple to offer tracks via the iTunes music store without copy protection.
This is H U G E!
Assuming they don’t pull some other shinagins this means that you’ll be able to download tracks into iTunes and then move them between computers, iPods, burn to CD, etc. without limitation. You’ll still likely have to convert the tracks to MP3 if you want to play it on some portable device other than an iPod but that’s a small inconvenience.
Hurray to EMI!
San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors have approved a city-wide ban on plastic bags from supermarkets.
I am constantly surprised at the reaction I receive when I ask for paper bags rather at the grocery store. I often get the ‘why would you want to do that?’ look from the high-school aged droid working the register. I sometimes get the deep ‘oh-no-he-didn’t, this old fart is going to make me reach down below the counter and drag out those dingy paper bag things that give me paper cuts’ look.
To which I return my ‘I’m doing this to save the World for insipid, ungrateful little wretches like you so just drop the ‘tude and do what I say’ look.
Our little household of two adults generates one small bag of ‘trash’ weekly. Yes, the bag is plastic but in this case it is justified. We’re not always real good at eating all the leafy veggies we buy and what remains after they have been in the ‘frigde for awhile is a fifth state of matter; not exactly liquid, not quite solid, but with a significant gaseous component. Anyway, to dispose of that in a paper bag would be… umm… impossible.
However, when recycle day comes along bi-weekly we put out two heaping bins of ‘stuff’. Our recyclables outweigh our trash by a factor of 15. Our town is also in the enviable position of getting paid for each pound of recyclable material that is picked up. So not only are we saving the World for insipid, ungrateful little wretches we’re also lowing our tax bill.