Category: tech

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2006 Year in Review Podcasts and Lists

I’ve listened to so many over the past week I don’t even know what to do with myself! Perhaps I should aggregate stuff throughout the year on my del.icio.us and tag appropriately but I’m not in the business of providing lists and certainly don’t believe in “best ofs.” I will, however, list below some of the year-end roundups that best examine how recent events and developments provide a window into the future and the trends that are making today’s “best” only as good as what may come tomorrow. Here are a few I appreciated more than others (I know I’m leaving a ton out):

Podcasts

This Week in Tech: TWiT Year in Review: Leo Laporte, John C. Dvorak, Wil Harris, Andy Ihnatko, and Michael Arrington look back at the stories that made 2006, and what’s ahead for 2007. Listen to the podcast.

Sound Opinions: Best of 2006: listen.

PBS Newshour: New Media Develops Rapidly: Nicholas Lehmann, Adam Clayton Powell III, and Mary Hodder discuss. Listen to the podcast.

Slate.com: The Five Best Political Moments of 2006.

Video: YouTube – Keith Olbermann’s “Special Comments.” His first of ’07, “on Sacrifice,” was especially moving.

Columns:

Slate: The 10 Most Outrageous Civil Liberties Violations of 2006, by Dahlia Lithwick.

CNET: Social Networking Year in Review

Read/Write Web: 2006 Web Tech Trends

Lists
Fimoculous: Best of Best of 2006 Lists

Large-Hearted Boy: Guide to 2006 Year End Music Lists.

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iPods, TiVos and the Cheap-Ass Media Mongrels

The other day I blogged about Edgar Bronfman’s disclosure that he spanked his kids (or something) for all the music they illegally downloaded.

Now Reuters’ MediaFile blog details the iPod obsessions of the media moguls who attended last week’s Reuters Media Summit.

The follow-up questions aren’t printed, but I’m gonna go out on a limb and assume that these big-timers took advantage of much of this digital media free-of-charge, and most likely with comped iPods as well. Plus, they’re all hooked on TiVo and/or satellite radio, wisely avoiding the endless spew of lame adverts for, uh, TiVo and iPod (and Chevy). Check these excerpts and ask yourself if these cats have ever dropped a dime on a rhyme:

Richard Parsons, CEO / Chairman, Time Warner: “I like music. I have iPods everywhere. I had the whole bunch of (the Warner music collection) files put on before we sold it….”

Dick Cook, Chairman, Walt Disney Studios: “…For fun, I have a little iTunes and that kind of stuff. The only time I get to read books is when I listen to it so I have a lot of books on iTunes.”

JEAN-MARIE DRU, CEO, TBWA/CHIAT/DAY WORLDWIDE: “…I have five kids, so we are 7 at home and we have more than 15 or 16 iPods in the family.”

Ah, behold the aristocrats pirates of megalomediahackland.

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Google and YOU

It’s hard to argue against the fact that Google has made the boldest moves in recent years regarding Internet-based applications, e-mail, etc.

But — as the company grows and strays from their original motto: “Do no evil,” is your personal information at risk?

Personally, I’d hate to be skeptical, but it’s a very reasonable question, especially as Dan Gillmor warns in response to this GOOG profile by Network World:

Google wants to make the information it stores for its users easily portable so they can export it to a competing service if they are dissatisfied, the company’s CEO said Tuesday.

What to look out for, Gillmor says, is:

Google will continue to reserve the right to keep the data you’ve stored in its servers forever, and use that data as it sees fit.

For all practical purposes, Google pretty much rules the world right now. It’s up to us to keep it from getting out of hand.

Or, maybe, we just shouldn’t have anything to hide?

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Labels to Make Cash on Every Zune Sold

Universal Music Group is assured compensation for the unknown number of pirated or file-shared tracks that are transferred/downloaded to a Microsoft Zune player after striking a revenue-sharing deal on sales of the player.

The record label will get over $1 for each $250 Zune sold and claims it will extend half of what it receives to the artists. The Zune digital media player hits stores next Tuesday and, yes, it’s available in doodie brown.

In trying to compete with iPod, Microsoft is turning the digital audio industry on it’s head — and once again Universal is saving itself from the costy litigation route.

Historically — and as decided in court — labels have never been compensated for the sales of digital audio players that can potentially play “illegally” acquired songs. In the case of Apple’s iPod, labels receive a percentage of every download via the iTunes Music Store. But clearly, this didn’t cutting it for the labels and Universal — the money-hungry bullies they are these days — threatened to give Microsoft hell (imagine that).

From NYT:

A recent study estimated that Apple has sold an average of 20 songs per iPod — a fraction of its capacity. The rest of consumers’ music files — 95 percent or more — come from ripped CDs, possibly including discs from their own collections, and illegal file-trading networks, the study said.

The article, complete with a lil’ nut graf referencing the 1999 Diamond Rio decision, includes “we make the rules now” sentiment from Universal’s whiny chairman, Doug Morris and even David Geffen. Microsoft will happily pimp the same buck n’ change to the other majors.

(A review in the same NYT Technology section harps on the Zune as an “unabashed copy” of the iPod.

Om Malik weighs in: “what a bunch of crap!”