Apple today launched iTunes Plus, the new part of iTunes for DRM-free tracks starting with most of EMI’s catalogue of music. These tracks are in 256kbs AAC format, with no kind of DRM at all so will work on any kind of music player that supports AAC file format.
There is a couple of problems with this though. The tracks are $1.29, all other tracks are $.99. Of course this isn’t that bad since you are getting higher quality tracks. But therein lies my issue, what if you don’t want higher quality and current iTunes quality suits you just fine? Tough. You don’t have a choice. Higher quality means higher filesize. So if you have a 1Gb shuffle and want to squeeze as many tracks as possible on there you are better shopping elsewhere.
It’s a good first step in that they are DRM-less but there needs to be a lower quality $.99 option as well to make it worth it.
2 weeks today I’ll be in Philadelphia. I hope it’s not as big and confusing as Chicago.
I went to see 28 Weeks Later today with Chris. It was pretty good.
The film is set, wait for it, 28 Weeks After the first date of the original Rage virus was recognized. Now all the infected are dead and a US-led Nato force has started rebuilding Britain.
But of course things go wrong.
The movie takes a while to get started but once it does it’s pretty fun, perhaps a bit heavy on the politics side but still good. Not as good as 28 Days Later but not really trying to be. If you liked 28 Days Later you should like this also.
Big Brother 8 starts tonight. I get to see it for 2 weeks and then I’m off to Seattle and then I’ll get to see the last 4 days when I get back. Which means that Big Brother is on for almost 13 weeks? Man that’s a long time to be stuck inside the same place and with no contact from the outside world.
I couldn’t do it. I’d come out and Apple would’ve revamped their computer line 6 times.
Microsoft today unveiled Surface, a new interface involving multi-touch technology. Multi touch technology is what the iPhone uses and various other things use it also but Surface aims to use it in a new way.
Imagine you have a wireless device, a Zune for example, and you want to put photos from your digital camera on it. Well you would place the camera, which has to be wireless enabled, onto the…surface and it synches with it and copies all the photos from it and places them on the surface and you then put the Zune down on the table and simply drag the photos over to the Zune and it transfers to them.
Of course it is one thing in concept but Microsoft have been known to choke great ideas so hopefully they can get this right as it is a brilliant piece of tech that looks a load of fun to use.
Bioshock is a game set in what was an underwater utopia for the world’s best. Poets, musicians, mathematical geniuses. That is until something went wrong and everyone died.
Enter you. Your plane crashes and you end up in the ruins of this city, which seems to be falling apart (woah just as I typed ‘falling apart’ the Biffy Clyro song I’m listening to for the first time ‘Machines’ said the words falling apart as well, that’s freaky) and you have to work out some kind of way to get out. Basically it’s a shooter, but 2K Games is promoting it as something else.
They are saying that everytime you will have to think everytime you pull the trigger. What does that even mean? That you have limited ammo so you shouldn’t shoot very often? Ethical/moral dilemmas?
I’m not sold on it being anything more than a run of the mill shooter that looks very pretty. Of course that doesn’t mean I won’t be dying to play it.
Halo 2 for Vista is supposed to finally be released this week, it has been delayed multiple times and was delayed last week because it had partial nudity in it. Ok, so barring that it should be released and retails at….$50. So basically you are paying the normal retail price, for a 3 year old game?
I mean that is bad enough from Microsoft but then there’s Shadowrun. A multiplayer-only game, there is absolutely no solo side to it, so that’s basically half a game. But they still are expecting you to pay $60 for it as if it is a full game?
There’s something wrong here.
I started reading The Time Traveler’s Wife last night and bloody hell it’s really good. It’s quite confusing though.
Definitely the best episode of the season so far.
The Doctor and Martha are being chased by hunters known as The Family and the only way the Doctor can escape them is by becoming human. He seals all his thoughts inside a pocket watch and leaves it up to Martha to keep him safe.
It was a really good episode, with a very strange enemy (living scarecrows) and unlike most first of two-parts it didn’t feel like it was all build up.
I finally finished reading Mary Doria Russell’s The Sparrow last night. For such a riveting read I’m amazed it took me so long to read it.
I thought overall it was very good. A scathing look at what it means to be human and how we view the world.
I’ll definitely be checking out the sequel, prolly not till I’m in Seattle though as I have a couple other books to read in the meantime.
