Quick Drama: Things Of Interest That Don't Necessarily Need Comment

Here are a coupla headlines that have made their way through the news that don't necessarily merit a lot of editorial commentary, but none the less are interesting:

1) France may allow its countrymen to break iTunes DRM ... why? It's quite ridiculous if you ask me. There are DRM free options out there already ... I honestly think this is something the United Nations should look in to. This is allowing one nation to undermine the rules and regulations of another ... and also have a law that thumbs its nose in the face of other nations where iTunes (and it's business model w/DRM) is doing quite well. iTunes would not be possible without the DRM. Like it or not ... the RIAA wouldn't allow songs that common people could just swap freely.

The most ironic thing about all of this ... what idiot can't burn a CD from iTunes ... then rip the song back using iTunes ... just converting the song to an MP3? Really, is there anyone who doesn't know how to do this or at least can't follow these instructions:

Download iTunes song

Put in Playlist

Change preferences to burn Audio CD

Change preferences to encode at 192 bitrate

Burn Audio CD

Import Songs from ^ Burned CD

Voila!

That sounds like it might be involved ... this is less than a 1 minute process on most modern Macs and PCs

2) Other World Computing Buys Powerlogix ... I just think this is interesting ... I have a new perspective on Larry O Conner (Owner of OWC) after meeting him at Macworld Expo this past January. I still maintain that he is the king of acquisition and deals. This headline is more interesting than just the press release it received ... it really shows that Apple is truly making dents into the upgraders and since there can't be a path for G5 upgrades ... the Upgrade Processor Manufacturers business models were running out of time. With the Intel transition ... everyone can sell processor upgrades. Many websites have already published reports that switching to higher powered Intel processors is not only possible, but easy to do.

3) From a reader eMail:

Hello,

Longtime FYT reader here. I'm just passing this along in case you or a client ever have this problem...

"This is in response to concerns on the whining noise from a Macbook Pro. I got my new Macbook Pro last week and I love it!! The first day I used it for 7 straight hrs.

I noticed a whining noise after 4 hrs of operation. But, it wasn't until I paid good attention to it, as I had read reviews at various websites. Some websites posted solutions. One solution is to turn on photobooth and minimize it. You do not have to keep photobooth running. Open it up, take a snap, click on the pic that shows at the bottom of the window and close the program. The noise stops immediately and does not come back.

Taken from: http://www.glorifiedtypist.com/2006/03/macbook_pro_first_impressions.html [via Daring Fireball]

-Chris-

p.s.: That date story was one of the most freaked-out things I've ever heard in my life.

I suppose this is like a camera activation problem with MacBook ??? Maybe the camera is emitting a charged electrical signal that interferes with the speakers. Just speculation. Good tip though.