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April 30, 2005
Pablo and Me
Who's the idiot here?
Posted by Steve Warren at 7:56 PM | Comments (0)
April 26, 2005
Weebl and Bob
You may have already seen this... it's a cult classic from the web. It's pure absurdity, and I love it.
Want Pie Now!!!
Posted by Steve Warren at 3:53 PM | Comments (1)
This is me
I haven't found a good way to transfer images out of my Flickr account yet. I took this photo with my phone then emailed it to Flickr. Since Flickr is Flash based, you can't right click on the image and save to disk. Instead, I can use my "Blog This" button in Flickr to send the image here, to my blog.
I'm going to update my photo on Meetup.com with this one. I like the image of me standing in front of the upside-down flag, although I'm not sure it reads properly. I'm not anti-establishment, or anti-America... I'm anti-THIS-establishment, and I'm a patriot.
I don't want to send the wrong message to the Meetup group, so instead I'll use this goofy photo.
Posted by Steve Warren at 11:29 AM | Comments (1)
April 25, 2005
My New Device - iRiver PMC-120
Here's my new media player:
http://www.iriveramerica.com/prod/multi/pmc_120.aspx
I'll post a more comprehensive review of it soon. I wouldn't recommend it unless you're a real gadget freak with some tech savvy... the Windows Media Player synchronization is really tricky to manage. I'm working through the issues by myself, and am ultimately really happy to own this unit.
I haven't gotten Tivo To Go to let me play my tv programs on it without breaking the Digital Rights Management, but Napster To Go was the "killer app" that drove me to the purchase. The PMC-120 is quite large to use as just a music player, but the promise is that Microsoft and Tivo are working to implement the Tivo To Go features into the Portable Media Center paradigm.
The responsibility for the difficulty of use here is Microsoft. Hey, Robert Scoble - Do you really see every blog posting that mentions your name? I'd be very pleased to work with the developers over at Microsoft to resolve these issues if you have someone contact me.
On another Microsoft note - I finally shelled out the $200 to upgrade my Windows 2000 machine to Windows XP Pro in order to take advantage of all the latest DRM capabilities with Tivo To Go, Napster To Go, and Windows Media Player 10. I have this older analog to digital converter, the Sony Media Converter which is incompatible with Windows XP unless you call Microsoft Customer Support and ask for the special HotFix. I did this, installed the patch, and my device still didn't work. I called back and started the process of troubleshooting with a Microsoft representative named Prabhakaran. The end of the story is that my problem has been fixed after much research, but what I wanted to say was... Microsoft Tech Support ROCKS! It was a Saturday, and my call was answered each time I called within a couple of minutes, and this guy bent over backwards to help me. Everyone I spoke to was smart, polite and helpful.
Robert, endorsing your blog is another thing that I like about Microsoft. I saw a bit of your trip to Seattle, downloaded from Ourmedia - are you going to start vlogging next? I'd subscribe. One more question captive reader: Will I be reading The Scobleizer on this device someday?
The Scobleizer:
http://scoble.weblogs.com/
Posted by Steve Warren at 1:13 PM | Comments (0)
NYC Podcasting Association
I just joined a Meetup group for New York City Podcasters (and the surrounding area...)
http://podcasting.meetup.com/33/
We're having an interesting discussion about the legal issues of playing music in podcasts, a subject I'm pretty interested in. It's a public forum, so go on over and check it out:
http://podcasting.meetup.com/33/boards/view/viewthread?thread=1364957
Here's my latest post framing my position:
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Re: [LEGAL] Music in Podcasts
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Frank said:
In general, podcasters playing music without proper licensing are not criminal masterminds, they're people excited by the possibilities of a new medium who are innocently creating shows with the music they love, not understanding the law. Most podcasters have extrememly small audiences (under 100) and are making no money at all from their efforts. Yes, they are most likely violating the letter of the law - but it is not with malicious intent. And for most of them, faced with the reality of the cost and resources required to be compliant with the law, they'd probably just quit rather than attempt to comply.
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intro
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Well said, Frank. I'm coming from a similar place. To me, the idea of making money from the podcast I'd like to do is irrelevant. At this point, I'd gladly pay money to be able to communicate with others using music as the central topic. I come from punk rock and DIY, and remember a time when college radio defined a genre called Alternative music, because it was actually an alternative to what was getting played on the radio. Today, Alternative isn't an alternative at all - it's mainstream.
Back in my youth, I loved a song by Eugene Chadbourne called "Break the Law Everyday." To me, it meant smoking pot when I felt like it, taking other mind bending drugs too illegal to admit to in this forum, and the occasional theft of a CD from The Warehouse... (okay - so it wasn't so "occasional!") Today I have a family and assets in my name. I don't want to get sued for something stupid like playing music over the internet. I can't afford that kind of a hit.
I'm still a punk, and I hate the mainstream alternative music that pretends to be edgy. I'd rather tell the tale of the New York Dolls, Iggy and the Stooges, and the Velvet Underground. Talking Heads, Blondie, and the Ramones. The Damned, the Sex Pistols and the Buzzcocks. Black Flag, X, the Circle Jerks, the Minutemen and the Dead Kennedys. Green River, Soundgarden and of course, Nirvana. The end of an era came when Kurt Cobain blew his brains out... he couldn't live with what he knew was about to happen to the music he worshipped, with his wife, or with his drug habit anymore.
I'm talking about the origins of punk rock, the New York scene, the UK scene, the West Coast scene, the Grunge scene, and the end of an era. Those were the times in which I grew up.
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legal and opinion
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Speaking of the legal issues, I have a lawyer and I've consulted with him on this matter. There is no existing license I can get to do what I want to do. You can get a pretty nifty web license for about $300 bucks a year - ASCAP License 2.0, but it only covers streaming, not downloads. Podcasting is inherently a download, which to be legal requires a mechanical license to make reproductions of a copyrighted work.
Podcasting to me, is just a word soon to become extinct. Are you still podcasting if you're streaming onto someone's phone? This is where this game is headed. Is a download subject to the same restrictions, if the download expires due to Digital Rights Management (DRM)? What kind of a license did Napster acquire for it's Napster To Go service? I'm a customer of that service, and let me tell you... IT ROCKS! I'm considering trying something new and doing my show using Skype.
Ultimately, all this concern is futile. Like I used to record college radio with my cassette player, I can record Napster To Go through my headphone output on my laptop. But you know what? I don't. I will remain a subscriber, because the price point is acceptable to me. For the cost of one CD per month, I can listen to whatever I want when and where I want to.
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about me
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I mentioned in the first meeting, but will repeat it here for the record. I work for a company that builds the online music stores for radio stations. I was hired to build the front end software in Flash with a small team of developers, and have since attained the title of Production Manager and am responsible for all of our software development including the deployment of new stations. To see an example of my work, go to the WPLJ Music Store.
It's funny that I've become "that guy" working for the traditional radio business in a Microsoft based DRM environment for that doesn't even support Macs (yet). With that said, I must admit - I *like* Windows Media, but have been struggling to bond with my new iRiver Portable Media Center (PMC-120). I develop consumer software myself, and have a lot of criticism for the current implementation of the software on the device and also for Windows Media Player 10. I've been working with Windows Media Encoder 9 for quite a while though, and think it's pretty easy to use and generates good results. I expect the software to develop over time, and am interested in talking with others about the Windows Media DRM paradigm and the alternatives. I'm a big Linux fan, and still use my iMac DV running OSX at home on a daily basis. We bought a Mac Mini at my office to run out our production files from Flash, and I use that 5 days a week. I dislike the iPod's dominance in the music industry, but respect Steve Jobs' ability to accomplish what once seemed impossible.
My favorite podcasts come from ITConversations, Adam Curry and Dawn and Drew. I've been listening to the podcasts from people in this group, and look forward to giving that feedback personally ;-)
Posted by Steve Warren at 1:07 PM | Comments (0)