This argument is both ludicrous, and wrong. Ludicrous, because if piracy is actually wrong, it doesn’t get less wrong simply because you can’t have the product exactly when and where you want it at a price you wish to pay. You are not entitled to shoplift Birkin bags on the grounds that they are ludicrously overpriced, and you cannot say you had no alternative but to break into an the local ice cream parlor at 2 am because you are really craving some Rocky Road and the insensitive bastards refused to stay open 24/7 so that you could have your favorite sweet treat whenever you want. You are not forced into piracy because you can’t get a television show at the exact moment when you want to see it; you are choosing piracy.
If that’s not wrong, then hey, no need to write long articles about how they’ve really backed you into a corner. If you think it is wrong, then act like a grownup and wait until you can buy it legally. And really, if you wouldn’t write an op-ed urging storeowners to stay open 24/7 lest they drive their customers to a little light B&E, then please don’t write essentially the same thing about cable networks.
Microsoft earlier this week made a point of noting that there have been 40 million downloads of Windows 8 since it launched a month ago, putting it ahead of where Windows 7 was at the same point in its sales cycle. But according to figures out today from NPD, in the midst of an overall slowdown in PC sales, this is not translating into robust hardware sales in the influential U.S. market.
I wonder if all the shit that gets pre-installed on PCs these days has anything to do with why consumers hate buying them.
Separately, Universal Audio will be releasing a public beta of 64-bit Mac plug-ins (UAD Powered Plug-Ins v6.4.1 software) in December, ensuring that 64-bit UAD plug-in support will be available on both PC and Mac platforms in 2012.
Printers manufactured by Samsung have a backdoor administrator account hard coded in their firmware that could enable attackers to change their configuration, read their network information or stored credentials and access sensitive information passed to them by users.
Jim and Dan discuss different approaches of growing a business, taking advertising, and building audience. They also chat about past and future logos, the history of iTunes, the Diamond Rio, lame Apple rumors, the Apogee Jam, Amplitube, AmpKit, and more.
“We’re innovating on the seam between software and hardware,” said Ballmer, asked why his company had fallen behind rival Apple. “Maybe we should have done that earlier.”
You think?
“I feel pretty good about our level of innovation,” he added.
Adblock Plus blocks all annoying ads on your Android device. NO ROOT REQUIRED! It blocks all online advertising when browsing, and when using your favorite apps like Angry Birds. It is 100% free and makes your Android device much more enjoyable. Adblock Plus blocks: mobile ads, video advertising, banners, push notifications, display advertising, HTML5 advertising, and much more.
Doesn’t Google make its revenue from ads? Sucks when even your own users hate you.
Realmac Software’s Rob Jarman discusses the company’s strategy behind the pricing for Clear for Mac. Personally, I hate the race to the bottom with pricing and am willing to pay a developer a reasonable price for their work. “Reasonable” is often the point of contention with many people though.
A Dutch court ruled on Wednesday that some of Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy smartphones and tablets infringe an Apple patent in the latest round of the two firms’ worldwide battle.
The court ordered Samsung Electronics to pay Apple damages, determined by how much profit it has made from the sales.
The patent dispute concerns the Android operating system versions 2.2.1 to 3.0 used on Samsung’s Galaxy tablets and smartphones, the court said.
Dave Caolo takes you through the process of creating a holiday greeting card using one of your own photos. It’s a great tutorial, especially with the holidays being right around the corner.
One industrious YouTube user gathered together 485 videos that represent every Apple TV ad ever. I honestly don’t know if it’s really every ad ever, but it’s really cool.
Microsoft only sells Windows 8 as an upgrade at retailers in Australia, but the boxes aren’t marked that way. The complaint received the support of a consumer group as well.
Hewlett Packard Co rebuffed a request by former Autonomy Chief Executive Mike Lynch to detail accusations of accounting fraud leveled against the British software company and its former executives, and challenged Lynch to submit to questions under penalty of perjury.
HP was responding to an open letter that Lynch shot to HP’s board on Tuesday, asking for specifics of the U.S. company’s allegations that Lynch and former Autonomy executives inflated revenue and gross margins, which HP said last week forced it to take an $8.8 billion writedown on Autonomy’s value.
It really appears that both sides think they have something on the other. If Lynch really did do something, wouldn’t he just go hide and count his money? Now HP ups the ante with its “penalty of perjury” request.
A rumor began circulating earlier this week that Apple’s Pro audio team has been decimated.
Apple’s Pro Audio application team is virtually gone, according to recent conversations with a couple of ex-Apple employees. […] In the words of one of them, the team has been ‘decimated’.
Linden Labs, the folks behind the 3D virtual world Second Life, announced Tuesday the release of a new $5 app for iOS called Creatorverse. Creatorverse lets you create and animate 2D objects using physical rules, then share them with others.
The company describes Creatorverse as “a two-dimensional shared creative space, a digital canvas on which you can build unique creations, set them in motion, and share them with the world to enjoy and remix.”
Simple drawing tools enable you to create 2D objects, while other tools enable you to define physical rules for your creation such as gravity and velocity. Then you can set your creation in motion and see what happens. Your creations can either be stored locally or uploaded and shared with other Creatorverse users.
Creatorverse runs on iOS devices, Android and some Kindle devices as well. Here’s a YouTube introduction video:
Amazon today announced that this Black Friday and Cyber Monday were the best ever for the Kindle family, and the popular new Kindle e-readers and tablets remain at the top of Amazon’s best sellers list worldwide.
How many exactly did they sell? Amazon won’t say. Could be they sold 10 Kindles between the two days, nobody knows for sure. Just more bullshit from Amazon.
