Posts by Chris 31 publicly visible posts • joined 30 Jan 2008
For what it's worth, I'm 23 and pay for Spotify. It does happen.
It's interesting what the supposed typical usage is - virtually everyone I know uses it for Collaborate Playlists (a genius idea in it's simplicity and simplicity of implementation) to discover new music.
I have more CDs on my shopping list now (although I accept I may be in the minority for preferring to hold the booklet and read the credits whilst listening). Like many others, my moral compass allows me download an illegal torrent for 3 plays before I feel compelled to delete or buy). *If the label can get paid at the same time then that's even better.*
What was everyone expecting from Spotify? We knew the good times couldn't last forever - of course targeted marketing was on the cards (I think a surprising number of listeners would welcome the convenience of getting merch pushed to them). Is it that hard to support them?
Bump up the ads on the free version slowly (I remember them being incredible sparse), and people will be hooked (especially if they've spent time building up their playlist).
IMHO, Spotify's biggest problem at the moment is only accepting Mastercard/Visa - not even debit cards, let alone Paypal. How are they expecting people to give them cash?
"OK, so it's quite evident that the Oyster system can do automatic refunds. Why do they leave it to us then to go on-line and claim refunds when trains run late? Couldn't the system detect late-running trains and then refund us automatically?
Oh, wait, no, it would bankrupt them."
If I go from A>B>C, and the B>C train is delayed, how does the system know I'm even at B? I might have gone A>D>C...
Also, what's to stop me going 20 mins early when I know the trains are delayed, reading a paper on the platform and getting a free ride? Absolutely useless suggestion, AC.
I kept it, because it was just too good.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Timothy Killer" <Timothy2008@eor.hmdnsgroup.com>
To: me
Sent: Friday, July 04, 2008 2:08 PM
Subject: BE VERY CAREFUL Christopher
>I am very sorry for you Christopher, is a pity that this is how your life is
> going to end as soon as you don't comply. As you can see there is no need
> of introducing myself to you because I don't have any business with you,
> my duty as I am mailing you now is just to KILL you and I have to do it
> as I have already been paid for that.
>
> WARNING: DO NOT THINK OF CONTACTING THE POLICE OR EVEN TELLING ANYONE
> BECAUSE I WILL KNOW.
>
> GOOD LUCK AS I AWAIT YOUR CALL AT 585-991-3301 OR 585-237-3346.
They're New York numbers - an interesting twist.
I'm probably out of the loop, but why are Dell so bad? I bought a home computer from them a few weeks ago (from the business Vostro line, as it suited me better), and I'm happy with it. Yes, I could probably have spent a few weeks researching and putting together something cheaper, but for 'out of the box' they seem to have some good offerings.
I called their Poweredge support the other day also, and I felt they were pretty good - not too much waiting at all to get through to someone knowledgeable.
Eh?
that it's going to be the same as a DVD.
DVD = subtitles. Download = no subtitles.
DVD = bonus features. Download = no bonus features.
DVD = physical product and burns. Download = no physical product, and probably very limited burns.
So if download is clearly an 'inferior' product, why the same price?
"still on CD-sized 120mm platters"
Is it just me who thinks it's bizarre that so many new formats have to look like CDs? Why?! Surely there's just more opportunity to put the wrong disc in the wrong player; which will just annoy the customer ("Oh, but I thought it would fit?" - if it's a different size/shape, they will know they need new hardware)
"I don't get royalties from most of the code I write, but I still write it. There are other ways for music to work. Elvis could have become an employee of EMI, just as you may be an employee of IBM. He then gets a salary for live performances, product endorsements etc."
A world where artists live on product endorsements (Radiohead advertising Cillit Bang perhaps?) and are *owned* by a record company is so incredibly backwards that it beggars belief. We're always told the internet gives opportunities for artists to become individual, to do it themselves, to cut out the middleman. Your proposal really doesn't sound attractive to anyone other than 'the man' if you ask me.
Quite frankly, I don't think there is a 'way around'. If artists are told they can't make money from a music recording, then the crusts around the edge are not going to make up for it, which means sad times for *musicians* (as an audio artform anyway; the dancing monkey endorsing performers who look pretty stand a much better chance in "the new model")
"However, the automatic version of the download remains missing in action. Redmond had chalked mid-April as the date when SP1 would start downloading onto computers across the world."
... but Vista asked me if I wanted to install SP1 earlier this week? It was 69Mb if that sounds about right...
I always think of it as a recursive thing. If it's fine to take music for free, who pays for it? Noone. How does it continue? I just don't get it.
@ "Websites that bring that music to listeners are doing artists a favour. In fact, they’re doing them a favour that they should (and will) be paid for."
What are those websites without music? Nothing. What is music without those websites? Well, music's been around for a few years now...
A bit OT, so apologies....
I'm probably very low-tech compared to other readers of El Reg, but can anyone recommend anything good for encrypting a backup on an external USB drive? (People seem to be slating BitLocker, so anything that will work on non-Vista Windows?)
People may have scorned the backup device a few weeks ago which didn't do partitions, but it was aimed at the other 99% of computer users. A 'normal person friendly' encryption solution, which doesn't talk about algorithms or bit lengths, really would encourage people to encrypt things. These things start at home, and I'd hope that if people working the public sector found encryption at home, they'd probably implement it at work too. Which would be nice when things inevitably go wrong.
So is there anything Windows-based which is idiot proof and 'just works' out of the box?
It gives me a warm feeling that I'm using Google's service, but without looking at any of their ads (where did I read recently that it was estimated they lose tens of millions $/year in potentials ads?).
It's mostly for Gmail - my home page is Google so I type those 5 characters, tab twice, enter and it takes me there. It's just the habit I've got into; I'm sure I'll get 101 suggestions of how a Firefox extension could do it better.
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