Pocket PC eBooks Watch - eBook and beyond  
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KYOU
Podcasting Killed the Radio Star
Podcasting will soon break out of the "pod" and onto the public airwaves.
The world's first all-podcast radio station will be launched on May 16 by Infinity Broadcasting, the radio division of Viacom.
Infinity plans to convert San Francisco's 1550 KYCY, an AM station, to listener-submitted content. The station, previously devoted to a talk-radio format, will be renamed KYOURadio.
Infinity, one of the country's largest radio operators with more than 183 stations around the country, will invite do-it-yourselfers to upload digital audio files for broadcast consideration by way of the KYOURadio.com website.

posted by Jerry permanent link

  4/23/2005

New eBooks:

Jane Fonda: My Life So Far
She is one of the most recognizable women of our time. America knows Jane Fonda as an actress and an activist, a feminist and a wife, a workout guru and a role model. Now, in this extraordinary memoir, Fonda reveals that she is so much more.

No Place Like Home
eBook by Mary Higgins Clark
In a riveting new thriller from America's Queen of Suspense, a young woman is ensnared into returning to a place she had wanted to leave behind forever--her childhood home. There, at the age of ten, Liza Barton had shot her mother, trying desperately to protect her from her estranged step-father, Ted Cartwright. Despite his claim that the shooting was a deliberate act, the Juvenile Court ruled the death an accident.

posted by Jerry permanent link

Sin City
Congress confuses file sharing with manslaughter
Making a movie available electronically prior to its release can now result in a three year sentence, thanks to the Family Entertainment and Copyright Act approved Tuesday by the House. The Senate has already passed its own version, and the final bill is expected to be signed by the President.
The bill also calls for three years in cases where a person is caught recording a movie in a theater with a camcorder - and six years for a second offence. It also indemnifies theater operators against all criminal and civil liabilities arising from detaining suspects "in a reasonable manner." (Welcome to movie jail.)

posted by Jerry permanent link

  4/19/2005

Hello
The future of digital music: iPod or phones?
Apple and the other tech players concentrated in Silicon Valley that see the computer as central to the future of music. On the other are telecom companies, from Finland to South Korea to the U.S., that think the mobile phone can become the center of this emerging world." Carriers are looking for direct-to-mobile downloads for about $2 per song, according to the report.

posted by Jerry permanent link

  4/15/2005

I Told You So Dept.
Napster Faces DRM Crack As WMA Files Compromised
Napster may have a new headache on its hands, with a DRM hack recently surfacing.
A team of programmers led by Cody Brocious are rumoured to be very near an implementation of a utility that will allow people to turn songs acquired through Napster Light and Premium into unencrypted files.
Users will still have to pay for the initial download of the file (to acquire the key from Napster) with the tool then stripping the WMA files of their underlying DRM protections.
Previously, users keen to distribute encrypted DRM-protect files have had to resort to unwieldy workarounds such as recording from the sound card.

posted by Jerry permanent link

  4/13/2005

Pocket Map from Google
Google Mobile: Local
Google now has a local search engine for mobile phones. Of course, it works great on Pocket PCs too. Simply enter the place you are looking for and the city and state.

posted by Jerry permanent link

  4/11/2005

My Sharona
Dubya's iPod
First, Bush's iPod is heavy on traditional country singers like George Jones, Alan Jackson and Kenny Chesney. He has selections by the folk-rock singer Van Morrison, whose "Brown-Eyed Girl" is a Bush favorite, and by John Fogerty, most predictably "Centerfield," which was played at Texas Rangers games when Bush was an owner and is still played at ballfields all over America. ("Oh, put me in, Coach - I'm ready to play today.")
The president also has an eclectic mix of songs downloaded into his iPod from Mark McKinnon, a biking buddy and his chief media strategist in the 2004 campaign. Among them are "Circle Back" by John Hiatt, "(You're So Square) Baby, I Don't Care" by Joni Mitchell and "My Sharona," the 1970s song by The Knack that Joe Levy, a deputy managing editor in charge of music coverage at Rolling Stone, cheerfully branded "suggestive if not outright filthy" in an interview last week.

posted by Jerry permanent link

  4/10/2005

Slashdot
Seeking a Good eBook Reading Device?
Quimbly asks: "I'm an avid reader, and I find that downloading books is much more convenient that trying to get them from the bookstore or library. However, I'm tired of sitting in front of a monitor to do my reading. I'm looking for a hand-held device to do my reading on, and I'm hoping the community has some suggestions.

posted by Jerry permanent link

P2P2 da extreme
Exploring the Right to Share, Mix and Burn
Mr. Lessig, one of the philosopher kings of Internet law, and Mr. Tweedy, the crown prince of indie music, traded places more than a few times during the presentation, with Mr. Lessig, who has argued copyright cases before the United States Supreme Court, enthusiastic about the artistic possibilities the Web engenders, and Mr. Tweedy making sapient pronouncements on the theoretical underpinnings of ownership.
"Once you create something, it doesn't exist in the consciousness of the creator," Mr. Tweedy said, telling the audience that they had an investment in a song just by the act of listening. Later, at a dinner at Lever House, Mr. Tweedy suggested that downloading was an act of rightful "civil disobedience."

posted by Jerry permanent link

  4/07/2005

iPoders Unite
Leader: Apple work with Microsoft? Let the people decide
It's down to the public, not the government, to decide whether Microsoft and Apple interoperate. If customers start to complain loudly enough, you can bet Apple will sit up and take notice. Or at least take more notice than it did of the Congressional debate, at which rivals such as Real and Napster testified but from which Apple was conspiculously absent.

posted by Jerry permanent link

Rewind
Lawmakers consider digital music file standard
During a hearing Wednesday to discuss enforcement of digital music compatibility standards, a House panel said it does not want to force interoperability on the industry, but may have to consider actions in the future.
Lawmakers met in part because of "concerns that had been mounting about Apple's overwhelming hold on the digital music market after the company altered its iPod and iTunes technology to prevent the playing of files downloaded from competitor RealNetworks' Harmony system," according to Elana Schor of the Medill News Service.

posted by Jerry permanent link

OSX
Mark/Space Announces the Missing Sync for Windows Mobile
The Missing Sync for Windows Mobile adds Microsoft Entourage synchronization alongside its support for Mac OS X's Address Book and iCal applications. Other new features include SyncMinder™ to tell the user when it's time to sync, at-a-glance status that shows useful information about a connected device, handheld clock synchronization and user-created profiles that allow specific sync features to be turned on or off. Earlier favorites are of course still present: Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, iPhoto and iTunes integration and the ability to mount the Windows Mobile device like a disk on the Mac OS X Desktop.

posted by Jerry permanent link

Time Out!
Google: Where in the world?
An address search on Google Maps pinpoints the location on a two-dimensional map. The new "Satellite" feature.

UPDATE: look at this cool blog: Google Sightseeing

posted by Jerry permanent link

  4/04/2005

Podcast Rulez
More than 6 million Americans listen to podcasts
Nearly 30 percent of U.S. consumers who own an iPod or other MP3 player have downloaded and listened to podcasts from the web, according to a new survey released this week. The Pew Internet and American Life Project said that means more than 6 million Americans are taking advantage of the new form of personal broadcasting.

posted by Jerry permanent link

iPod Rulez
Attack of the Anti-iPods
Leading the iPod-killer list is Sony's NW-HD3 Network Walkman, a player that attacks Apple at its stylishly minimalist core. Sony engineers understand that consumers want products that look as good as they sound, and the 20-GB NW-HD3 reflects that with its slim, anodized-aluminum casing. The player offers excellent sound and a menu that's easy to navigate using a four-way directional button. The company claims the player can go 30 hours without recharging. But Sony style means Sony price: at $349, the NW-HD3 costs $50 more than Apple's 20-GB iPod and is the same price as the 30-GB iPod photo--yet unlike the latter, the Sony has no color screen.

posted by Jerry permanent link

  4/03/2005

Editorial
Why I hate April Fool's Day
April Fool’s Day is an absolute nightmare for a news guy like me, because it’s become a grand tradition for some companies that use the Internet as one of their primary methods of communication to send out phony press releases announcing products that don’t really exist or new services they have no intention of offering. By the end of the day, I’m usually shell-shocked at trying to figure out the real stuff from the hoaxes. And I always wake up on this day just a bit gunshy.

posted by Jerry permanent link

  4/02/2005

April Fools? Forbes got fooled
Forbes: Apple Adopts Windows Media for iTunes, iPod
In a surprise move, Apple Computer announced Friday, April 1st, that it was licensing Microsoft's Windows Media platform for use with both the iTunes Music Store and the company's market-leading iPod music player. Apple will be replacing its proprietary FairPlay DRM scheme and AAC codec with Microsoft's Janus platform, allowing the company to leverage the more open nature of Microsoft's Windows Media platform across its burgeoning consumer electronics product line.
In addition to managing a la carte downloads from online music stores, Janus has the added bonus of allowing music lovers to take rented music with them in Windows Media-supported devices, something that has helped Napster become the #2 online music service. By licensing Windows Media and Janus, Apple will be able to follow in Napster's footsteps, and the company plans to open a rental section in the iTunes Music Store.
Mac Observer's Reader's Comments

posted by Jerry permanent link

World Mourns, RIP

Selecting the Pope: Uncovering the Mysteries of Papal Elections
by Greg Tobin
Award-winning author Greg Tobin offers a compelling guide to what is sure to be one of the most important and headline-making events in modern history--the election of the next pope. Selecting the Pope examines each rule of this secretive process--and explores the rich history behind the conclave and the key issues that will shape the future of the Catholic Church. You'll discover: Why the election always concludes with the rising of white smoke; What powers the cardinals hold during the vacancy of the Holy See; Pope John Paul II's startling changes to the centuries-old election process; A day-by-day account of the balloting inside the Sistine Chapel; How the electors should behave during the conclave--even their "dress code"; A look at the list of probable successors to John Paul II
Selecting the Pope is an indispensable handbook for anyone, Catholic and non-Catholic alike, who wishes to understand the extraordinary process of electing the world's most influential religious leader.

posted by Jerry permanent link

  4/01/2005

No April Fool Jokes Folks
but here are what a fool believes:
1. Napster is cheaper than fill in your ipod for $10,000
2. Creative will beat iPod
3. MS's guide to Flash Music player is to have a torture user interface
4. M:Robe high quality picture and easy user interface

posted by Jerry permanent link