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Re: The Technology Liberation Front » Archive » Is Verizon’s Chocolate Sweet?

David — Fri, 01 Sep 2006 18:53:04 -0000

As one who just bought a Chocolate, I'll reassure you that you don't have to worry about any DRM-only issues with it. I literally transferred the mp3s I wanted to hear to the miniSD card and plugged it in. The filenames had to be shortened, and there's a little app Verizon gives you to check and truncate the names if you can't do so already yourself. The files are sorted into genre and artist by id3. That works for me, because I listen to a genre at a time anyway. That said, I have no advice for you on how well the playlist part works.

Re: eBay for Black Hats?

David — Sat, 16 Dec 2006 23:22:25 -0000

I have to agree with Tim. I find it hard to believe that people who have the programming knowledge to engineer exploits to operating systems would trust any type of online auction system. Seems like a nice plot for a novel though.

Re: The Economics of iPod Repairs

David — Sun, 27 May 2007 00:00:34 -0000

I think Apple's iPod strategy has led to an interesting social tension, creating situations for a few people like the one listed above.

What I think is especially interesting is the price point that Apple has picked. Most people I know consider their iPods to be fairly significant investments, but Apple has created a strategy that forces them to overcome that feeling of investment in a time which I think many people find to be a little too short.

Granted, it's a smart decision since they sell more devices that way, but the pull that many consumers are feeling between paying what they consider a more luxury price for an increasingly commodified item creates a small, but interesting opening for repair services.

Re: The Technology Liberation Front » Archive » IP: An Odd Monopoly

David — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 13:24:35 -0000

I think this is a great issue to explore, and I look forward to future posts.

Personally, my biggest issue with the IP market is the goal of copyright itself. It's designed to encourage innovation, but due to increasingly lock-down approaches to enforcing it, the borrowing and reshaping that drives artistic innovation is being cut off.

...At least in my opinion.