Posted by Jeremy Scott | 15 Comments

Teenagers Don’t Buy CDs Anymore

These darn kids today & their newfangled music formats!

It seems that teenagers don’t buy CDs anymore.  They have moved beyond the compact disc in a big way. 

I know this because I just read this article in the LA Times, which says that in 2007, half of all U.S. teenagers bought zero CDs.  Well, almost half… it’s 48%. 

That’s sort of astounding.  I remember being a teenager–barely–and I bought a lot of tapes and CDs.  Hey, back off…I’m just old enough that my youth spanned the gap between cassette tapes and CDs. 

But regardless….I bought a lot of music. 

And I don’t think music is any less important to teenagers today than it was to kids in my day.  It’s pretty clear what’s going on:  iTunes and illegal song-swapping have killed the compact disc… or at least maimed it. 

The illegal sharing of music online continued to soar in 2007, but there was one sign of hope that legal downloading was picking up steam. In the last year, Apple Inc.’s iTunes store, which sells only digital downloads, jumped ahead of Best Buy Co. to become the No. 2 U.S. music seller, trailing Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Please note that Wal-Mart is the number one music retailer in the U.S.  Also note that Tower Records went out of business in 2006.  Also note how sad these two facts make me.  And the article says that computers are to blame.  Here’s a snippet:

Rachel Rottman, 14, says she hasn’t bought a CD in a year. The Santa Monica High School freshman says she downloads five or six songs a day, using paid services such as iTunes and social networking site MySpace, where bands post songs for free download. Rachel said she had about 2,600 songs stored on her computer.

Before getting a computer in the seventh grade, she always bought CDs. But now it’s too much trouble, she said.

“You have to go to the store and then you have to pay — I don’t know how much, $12, I’m guessing? — then you have to put it on your computer,” Rachel said. “When you download it, it’s right there.”

Man, this girl is out of touch if she thinks CDs are only $12. 

But seriously, she’s right.  Buying a CD is, to this generation, just an unnecessary step in the process of getting your favorite songs on your iPod or uploaded to your MySpace page.  By the time people my age start becoming grandparents, the age of the physical medium for entertainment will have come to a close.  Movies, TV shows, music and more will be all digital.  These crazy teenagers today just don’t care about holding something tangible in their hands.  They care only for the music. 

In a decade or so you’ll find quaint little throwback boutiques opening up in trendy places like Nashville and Austin and they’ll sell things like CDs, DVDs, BluRay Discs, and other physical media like magazines and books.  And hippie people will shop there and remember the days when your entertainment dollars actually brought you something you could hold in your hand and touch.  And those things will cost $100 a piece, because they’ll be nostalgic items now… antiques. 

But the trend has too much momentum to be stopped now.  Digital media is the wave of the future.  You can either ride the wave, or let it overtake you… but there’s no stopping it, that’s for sure.  I can just hear the Scooby-Doo CD manufacturers howling about how they “would’ve gotten away with it too, if it weren’t for you meddling kids.”

Hey, at least music itself isn’t dead… yet. 

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Posted by Jeremy Scott | 0 Comments

Experts Agree that Killer Robots Might Be Dangerou...

The actual headline of the news story reads “Automated Killer Robots Are a Threat to Humanity.”  I know, another gem from the “Well, Duh! Center for Research & Obvious Findings.”

Hmmm.  They even interviewed “experts” for this story. 

How many experts does it take to tell us what we already know?  In fact, can you think of one person in your circle of friends who wasn’t already sort of leaning towards thinking that automated killer robots might be dangerous?  Maybe my four-year-old nephew.  He would actually be in favor of killer robots, I’m guessing. 

Everyone else?  Yeah, we already drew this conclusion ages ago, after watching any one of a number of good sci-fi movies.  Neo, Sarah Conner, & Optimus Prime have been telling us for years that automated killer robots might be dangerous.  There are, of course, countless other movies where similar themes are explored.  But the bottom line is this:  there is definitely such a thing as giving a robot too much AI. 

Maybe it depends on the kind of job we’re asking that intelligent robot to perform.  I guess I’m fine with giving a bunch of artificial intelligence to a robot on an automobile assembly line.  Give that guy the authority to make decisions.  That’s okay.

But the robot tooling around the Iraqi desert… the one that has an automatic weapon with him?  Yeah, not so much.  I don’t even trust most human beings with an automatic weapon; I’m certainly not going to breathe easy with machines running around with AK-47′s.  Guns don’t kill people… automated killer robots do.  Watch Terminator 2 if you don’t believe me. 

Here’s a quote from the “expert” that pretty much agrees with everything I’m saying:

“I have worked in artificial intelligence for decades, and the idea of a robot making decisions about human termination terrifies me,” Sharkey said.

Consider me terrified as well.  Also, consider me completely underwhelmed by this unnecessary and redundant news article.  Automated killer robots are dangerous?  Okay.  I think I knew that already.  Next you’re going to tell me that kids shouldn’t do drugs, that gas is expensive, and that tornadoes can be scary.  Well, I guess it’s comforting to have the “experts” backing up our fears at least. 

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Posted by Jeremy Scott | 5 Comments

The Network Solutions Lawsuit; Schoolyard Bullies ...

You may remember when we wrote about the shady dealings by the sneaky jerks over at Network Solutions.  For some time now, if you search with Network Solutions to see the availability of a domain name, the company registers it automatically and holds it for five days.  This means that you can’t buy it from anyone but them…for five days. 

There are a few problems with this.  First, Network Solutions is more expensive than most of their competitors.  So I should be able to search available domains at any of the registrar companies’ sites, and then choose to purchase said domain wherever I see fit.  But it’s not working that way over at Network Solutions.  They are the schoolyard bullies of the internet.  They steal your lunch and make you buy it back from them… at a premium.

Well, now they’re being sued for this shady practice.  And I think…well…it’s about time for this Network Solutions lawsuit to happen…maybe it’s even overdue. 

The lawfirm Kabateck Brown Kellner put out this press release announcing the suit.  From the release:

“Network Solutions has forced millions of people to buy Internet domain names from them instead of cheaper competitors through a scheme that’s netted the firm millions of dollars, a federal class action lawsuit filed today by Kabateck Brown Kellner, LLP states.

Whenever someone searches for the availability of a domain name through Network Solutions’ website, the company immediately registers the name for itself, preventing other companies from selling it and forcing consumers to pay Network Solutions’ expensive fees.

If a consumer were to go to another, cheaper site to register the name, they would find the name is “unavailable.” Consumers are never informed that inquiring as to a name’s availability through Network Solutions results in the company holding a monopoly on selling that name.”

ICANN, the nonprofit that oversees domain name purchases, is also named in the suit because they aren’t doing anything to stop Network Solutions. 

Look, we said this before and we’re not afraid to say it again–until all our clients know to avoid the schoolyard bullies–don’t search for domain names through Network Solutions.  Oh, and also, don’t do business with them period.  Why would you want to after knowing this? 

Even if they reverse their policy, there are still plenty of reasons to avoid them.  Their domains are nearly four times as expensive, that’s been covered.  But they also have a difficult-to-navigate administrative control panel.  It’s hard to figure out how to do things with your domain, whereas the other registrars like Bulk Register make it intuitive and easy. 

And forget about transfering a domain name out of Network Solutions.  I mean, sure, it can be done.  But the second you change the domain status from ‘locked’ to ‘unlocked’, which is required before you can transfer it, Network Solutions puts the domain in a “transfer lock status”.  That’s right.  They take it out of “domain lock” only to put it in “transfer lock.”  Gee, thanks.  Then they hold the domain in stasis for 60 days just because you changed some of your administrative contact information or asked for the domain to be unlocked. 

As they did with the domain-stealing bit, Network Solutions claims that this “transfer lock status” is to protect you…and keep some hacker from logging in and stealing your domain without your knowledge.  But then why do none of the other registrars feel the need to do this?  I’ll tell you why.  Because they aren’t sneaky jerks and schoolyard bullies.  Network Solutions’ only reason for this transfer lock is so that you can have 60 more days to contemplate whether or not you really want to leave their service.  They’re hoping–I’m sure–that by the time 60 days have passed, that you’ll forget all about the fact that you even wanted to transfer the name in the first place. 

I’m not a mean guy.  I have no interest in bashing companies just for the sake of it–you can read through this blog and see that we rarely do that.  But there’s just so much going on at Network Solutions that we feel we need to warn our clients.  It seems they care WAY more about squeezing every dime out of you than they do about you.   And that’s what’s led to this Network Solutions lawsuit. 

For the record, we recommend you use Bulk Register, or GoDaddy, or just call us and we’ll take care of it for you.  But unless you enjoy forced overcharges and unnecessary hassles, don’t search for or buy a domain name through Network Solutions. 

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Posted by Jeremy Scott | 5 Comments

BlueRay Has Killed HD DVD Dead

Remember all those HD DVDs you spent the last 8 months buying, because everyone said that HD DVD would win the format war with Blu Ray?  Yeah, they’re basically worthless now. 

Okay, maybe not worthless.  But definitely worth less.  Cue the violins.

Blue Ray is now the king.  BlueRay has killed HD DVD dead.  First degree murder.  Blue Ray is the big winner, as Toshiba has announced they will cease production on the HD DVD players.  Toshiba was the major backer of the HD DVD format, with Sony backing Blu Ray.  Over the last couple months, more and more battles went Blu Ray’s way.  Movie studios like Warner Brothers announced they would only produce their films on Blu Ray and retailers like Wal-Mart decided to only carry the Blu Ray format. 

Most consumers had held off buying either, choosing to wait for the dust to settle and a real winner to be declared in the format war before jumping on board the high definition DVD bandwagon.

Now the choice is simple. 

Expect the $5 bin at Wal-Mart to soon be filled with any remaining HD DVD titles they have yet to burn off.  Blu Ray disks, though, will likely continue to be expensive for now. 

From the article:

“We concluded that a swift decision would be best,” Toshiba President Atsutoshi Nishida told reporters at his company’s Tokyo offices. “If we had continued, that would have created problems for consumers, and we simply had no chance to win.”

I can’t claim any insider knowledge on this one.  I haven’t waded out into the high definition DVD waters just yet.  Hey, I’m old enough to remember how Betamax owners felt when VHS won out.  And I definitely had a few friends get burned in the whole Laser Disc fiasco.  So I will forever be a cautious and patient embracer of technology. 

That being said, I’m pretty pumped about this news.  Not that Blue Ray won, but simply that one of the two formats won.  Now, with a clear victor, we the consumers can breathe a bit easier.  Prices will slowly begin to fall for Blu Ray stuff, and the format itself will probably get even better.  And you know Sony has to feel good right now–they were behind the infamously failed Betamax format back in the 1980s. 

Of course, this win by BlueRay will have an impact in the video game console battle as well.  Sony put the BlueRay player in their Playstation 3, while Microsoft went with the HD DVD player in the XBox 360.  Oh well.  Something tells me that Microsoft has enough going for them that they’ll weather the storm.

Of course, in just a short time, most everything is going to go digital.  And we won’t buy our movies in any physical format whatsoever.  We’ll buy them in the form of downloads.  It’s already happening, actually.  While Blu Ray may have scored a victory today, it will sadly be a temporary one.  Soon enough, all formats will lose out to the digital download.  And frankly, I’m alright with that. 

Anyway, go buy your Blu Ray players, people.  It’s safe now. 

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Posted by Jeremy Scott | 0 Comments

Starbucks WiFi to go Free… Sort of

So the reason you’ve always had to pay for your WiFi connection at Starbucks is that the coffee chain had a contract with T-Mobile for their Internet service… and that contract was expensive. 

Now Starbucks has switched over to AT&T for service, and that deal will save them some money.  So they want to pass the savings on to you, in a way.  If you are one of the Starbucks customers that uses a “Starbucks purchase card” (whatever that is), you will now get 2 hours of WiFi for free.  Additional 2-hour blocks will be $3.99. 

Oh, you can also pay for a WiFi membership of sorts, for $19.99, which will give you unlimited free access to the web at all 70,000 AT&T hotspots (even the non-Starbucks ones). 

Here’s a quote from some Starbucks big-wig about the new arrangement:

Welday said the company viewed the deal with Starbucks as a “competitive opportunity.”

“Here we are with the nation’s largest Wi-Fi network,” Welday said. “Consumer trends are clearly pointing toward an increased need and desire to access broadband outside the home and office — what a terrific opportunity.”

Yes.  It is a terrific opportunity… to rip people off.  Look, maybe I’m closed-minded, but I tend to think that if I can get WiFi for free (at such wonderful establishments as Panera Bread or Krystal) then having to pay for it somewhere else is ridiculous.  The list of places that carry free WiFi for customers is growing by the day.  Starbucks is banking on their customer loyalty (to the coffee) to make some money off the WiFi, and that’s aggravating to me. 

Sure, I like their coffee.  Who doesn’t?  But I don’t like it enough to pay extra just to view the Internet while I drink it.  Panera’s coffee is pretty darn good too, and I can surf the web for hours on end there without having to pay any extra cost or hold a special type of purchasing card. 

But I know that there are many of you who are Starbucks junkies, who have gladly paid the necessary WiFi fees all along.  So for those people, this is probably welcome news. 

It’s sort of like the Wall Street Journal news we covered recently (where they’re making more content free, but still charging a premium for other stuff), where something that used to cost a lot of money is made free-er, but still not completely free. 

Also:

AT&T also is giving Starbucks’ more than 100,000 U.S. employees free wireless accounts and said it will soon extend the Wi-Fi at Starbucks to its wireless phone customers.

So great… if you happen to work for Starbucks…your WiFi will be completely free.  In your face, customers!! 

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