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iPod, iTunes and DRM

Posted in Thu, 19 Oct 2006 04:03:00 GMT

I've been a happy iPod user for some time now, however I've only ever used my single iPod with a single iTunes install. I recently reinstalled my OS after wiping the hard drive for a clean start. To my surprise a fresh install of iTunes with the same iPod serial number would not import songs from my iPod into the iTunes library. iTunes had the gall to ask me if I wanted it to erase all the music on my iPod and replace it with the (empty) contents in its library. Essentially my iPod was orphaned. I've never thought about Apple DRM issues before but I'm no longer as excited about the iPod and iTunes as I was before.

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Apple MacBook Pros - Aesthetics over Ergonomics

Posted in Sun, 17 Sep 2006 07:04:00 GMT

The other day I went to a store to check out the 13", 15.4" and 17" MacBook/Pros and especially their keyboards and touchpad placement. One of my pet peeves regarding laptops is manufacturers that position the touchpad in the center of the area below the keyboard vs. centering it under the G and H keys where hands are normally positioned. While centering the touchpad against the laptop is an aesthetic (appearances) win, it loses out on ergonomics (actual human usage) because it requires hand/palm movement to effectively use the touchpad. Laptops that center the touchpad typically have your thumbs end up in the upper left corner of the touchpad rather than centered unless you move your hands. This is compared to centering the touchpad under the G and H keys the palms typically don't have to move to use the touchpad.

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Ubuntu - Winning with Microsoft's Strategy?

Posted in , , Thu, 06 Jul 2006 05:29:00 GMT

It's interesting to watch the evolution of Canonical Ubuntu. It started off by gaining popularity in the desktop space and now it's finally moving into the server space. Linux on the desktop has been a thorn in Linux's side for a while and Ubuntu seems to be the answer. Just recently a couple of people have moved from OS-X to Ubuntu causing quite a stir on Slashdot and Tim O'Reilly's blog. By winning the desktop, they win users that they can leverage to win the server space. If this strategy sounds familiar, it's the same one that Microsoft used to defeat Novell NetWare. Now that Ubuntu has entered Red Hat and SUSE's turf, it will be interesting to see if they respond with more user friendly desktop editions (I'd be happy for a Linux-version of Textmate). If so, the users will win.
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