Recent Posts in technology

January 2, 2009

lots of Zune MP3 players froze, but 'leap year bug' now fixed

Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) says it has resolved a glitch that caused the 30 GB model of its Zune MP3 player to freeze up over the past week.

"You can go back to using your Zune!" the company said in a support note posted Thursday on its Web site. The note details steps that Zune owners should take to eliminate the bug by resetting their players.

Earlier this week, thousands of Zune users flooded blogs and support forums with reports that their devices had locked up. Microsoft traced the problem to a software bug that caused the Zune's internal clock to fail when switching from the past leap year to 2009, which is not a leap year.

To fix the problem, Microsoft advised users to unplug the Zune from its power source and allow the batteries to drain. "Wait until the battery is empty and the screen goes block," the company said in its support bulletin. It then instructed users to power up the devices, but only after 7 a.m. Eastern time on New Year's Day Thursday. "No other action is required," said Microsoft. [Information Week]

Posted by brooklynvegan at 10:14 AM | Comments (3)

December 17, 2008

Governor Paterson proposes an iPod music downloading tax

Hot Chip on the Daily News (thx Brian)

Gov. Paterson's proposed $121 billion budget hits New Yorkers in their iPods - and nickels-and-dimes them in lots of other places, too.

Trying to close a $15.4 billion budget gap, Paterson called for 88 new fees and a host of other taxes, including an "iPod tax" that taxes the sale of downloaded music and other "digitally delivered entertainment services."

"We're going to have to take some extreme measures," Paterson said Tuesday after unveiling the slash-and-burn budget.
[Daily News]

Posted by brooklynvegan at 12:36 PM | Comments (57)

November 6, 2008

'How much will (RIAA supporter) Biden influence Obama?'

Joe Biden (by Gizmodo)

"There's no question America looks like it'll be an exciting and interesting place under Barack Obama.

But it's starting to look a little scary for the online world.

Joe Biden is already cause for serious alarm, but now, will Google get an amazing foothold in the new White House?

And might RIAA boss Mitch Bainwol become Obama's CTO?

It's OK. Relax. We were just kidding about Bainwol. He voted for McCain, although you can bet he and other corporate entertainment cartel minions such as the MPAA's Dan Glickman are sleeping outside Obama's door, metaphorically speaking.

But could either Do No evil Google boss Eric Schmidt, who "conveniently endorsed Obama," or another Google employee, Vint Cerf, be named? - wonders CNet News." [p2pnet]

Posted by brooklynvegan at 2:27 PM | Comments (30)

September 11, 2008

OiNK users being charged

Almost one year after authorities shut down the private torrent tracker OiNK, the site's administrators and a few alleged uploaders have been charged, putting an end to the year-long investigation.

Alan Ellis, the administrator, was charged with "conspiracy to defraud" and the uploaders were charged with copyright infringement for the unauthorized upload of one CD. [After Dawn]

"In other semi-related news, a 26 year old man was sentenced today to 18 months in prison, three years of supervised release and a $20,000 fine for his work on the site EliteTorrents - looks like it's a bad week for torrent site admins." [TechSpot]

Posted by brooklynvegan at 6:06 PM | Comments (19)

July 29, 2008

RedLasso, RIP

This makes it harder to find clips of bands playing on late night TV...

Continue reading "RedLasso, RIP "

Posted by brooklynvegan at 2:21 PM | Comments (8)

June 9, 2008

'Speed boost and big price cut for Apple's new iPhone'

Apple Inc. cut the price of its best-selling iPhone in half Monday - to $199 - making the all-in-one smart phone, media player and Internet device more accessible than before.

Apple also said it had increased the speed for the iPhone so that it runs on the latest 3G technology, shortening the time it takes to download a Web page and access the Internet. And for the first time, it will also incorporate GPS technology so that users can track where they are as they're traveling. [SF Gate]

Posted by brooklynvegan at 9:22 PM | Comments (27)

April 30, 2008

'EFF: Microsoft betrayed MSN Music customers'

"With MSN Music, Microsoft has admitted just how expensive, clumsy, and unfair DRM is," McSherry said in the statement. "It's time for Microsoft to reject this sloppy technology, and for customers to demand something better." [CNET]

Posted by brooklynvegan at 3:55 PM | Comments (0)

April 15, 2008

The Filter recommends music & movies

"The Filter is the ultimate discovery service. Tell it the movie, music and WebVideos that you like and it will find new stuff for you that match your taste - every day."

"...backed and advised by the British singer and technology evangelist Peter Gabriel, who was in San Francisco last week promoting the company in advance of its relaunch today" [NY Times]

Posted by brooklynvegan at 5:57 PM | Comments (1)

April 11, 2008

'The new chip that will let an iPod store 500,000 songs'

"What is Steve Jobs doing in a boat?" (anubisconq)

"Scientists at IBM say they have developed a new type of digital storage which would enable a device such as an MP3 player to store about half a million songs - or 3,500 films - and cost far less to produce." [Times Online] (thx Gilles)

Posted by brooklynvegan at 10:18 AM | Comments (30)

January 25, 2008

Technics 1200 turntable watch

This turntable watch is modeled after the classic Technics 1200 down to the tiniest detail, so much so that you'd swear you could spin some wax on it if only records came in such wee sizes. It's available now for $65 and a small shred of your dignity. [Gizomodo] (via)

Posted by brooklynvegan at 11:27 AM | Comments (2)