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SanDisk introduces slotMusic – microSD cards preloaded with music

Apple iPod nano (third-generation), a best-sel...
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SanDisk has announced(see Press Release) the launch of a new music option. microSD cards will soon be made available with pre-loaded high-quality DRM-free MP3 music of top artists from EMI Music, SONY BMG, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group.

slotMusic cards enable consumers to instantly and easily enjoy music from their favorite artists without being dependent on a PC or internet connection. Users simply insert the slotMusic card into their microSD-enabled mobile phone or MP3 player to hear the music – without passwords, downloading or digital-rights-management interfering with their personal use.

The cards will be packaged with a USB sleeve to allow them to be interfaced with a computer. They will be encoded at 320kbps and…

Musicians will find slotMusic cards offer a compelling new way to express themselves to their fans. With 1GB1 (gigabyte) of capacity, slotMusic cards can hold songs, as well as liner notes, album art, videos, and other creative content that an artist may choose. Consumers can also add their own content to a slotMusic card, creating a personal plug-and-play media library.

We tried to be enthusiastic about this idea. We realize that the RIAA and SanDisk are trying. We reviewed the comments on a CrunchGear post about this very development. Many people feel they can just make their own, that a 1GB card was small.

However, they’ve overlooked an untapped market. The impulse buyer. They intend to distribute this at brick-and-mortar and online stores. Online is the worst distribution method for this. slotMusic will have a market in people who are in a hurry. They should sell it at convenience stores, airports, and train stations. It will do well with people who suddenly decide to buy some music. Best Buy and Walmart will do well with the impulse buy as well.

Wherever there are people who cannot be bothered to do otherwise, there will be a market. We also predict that this is merely the first step. Imagine this system linked into an online system where you go into a store, select your album or albums from a machine, and it is delivered to you on a card. But this has to start somewhere.

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Published on September 28, 2008
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Microsoft is in the Toilet

Crunchgear posted this amusing image from Russia. It reads, “Windows Vista – The Digital Future Starts Here.”

We’re not thrilled with Vista from the time we spent fiddling with it. It certainly, we admit, has some new features of us, but a lot of things are not as easy to locate in the system as they were under XP.

That aside, Microsoft is advertising on toilets. We can just picture poor Yuri, after a night of drinking vodka, stumbling to the restroom to worship the porcelain deity and…inspired by the ad he sees as he voids his stomach, buying a new computer loaded with Microsoft Windows Vista.

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Published on September 28, 2008
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Convert Word 2007 Files

Microsoft Word (Windows)
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We recently received a file by email from someone with the extension .docx, which is the new Word 2007 format. They redid everything, probably to make us shell out more money. We had to email our friend and ask them to save the file in a different format and send it back to us. It is easier to find ways to do it ourselves.

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Published on September 28, 2008
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Rockbox 3.0 Released

Rockbox
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Lifehacker alerted us this week to the release of Rockbox 3.0. Rockbox is a product we already use on our MP3 player. It is an alternative open-source firmware which includes not only expanded music support, but album art, games, video playback, and more.

For those of you wishing to try it, but not willing to give up the manufacturer’s firmware, it installs a dual-boot firmware loader, allowing you to press a hotkey to boot into the old firmware.

We have switched from MP3 to playing files encoded using open-source format OGG and this software allows us to do so. It runs on a variety of players produced by Apple, Archos, Cowon, iriver, Olympus, SanDisk, and Toshiba. More will come, as people work to port it.

So, check Rockbox out. If you don’t like it, you can uninstall it.

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Published on September 28, 2008
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Sync and Back Up Files using Dropbox

We recently started testing a freeware application and web service called Dropbox. Dropbox instantly backs up files you place in a designated folder to the Dropbox server. Whenever you modify a file, it will update the copy on the server. Dropbox also does revision history, so you can recover older versions should you lose something.

You can check out Dropbox at their site, and download a Windows, Mac, or Linux client.

Published on September 22, 2008
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USB Cell Finally Arrives

Two years ago, in one of our earliest posts, we blogged about a new kind of rechargeable battery available from a company in the United Kingdom.

We still love this product in theory. After two years, we finally saw it being sold at the counter at our local Microcenter. We’re still charging them, which takes 5-7 hours, as we speak, and the product is everything we expected. It is small, easy to recharge, and is perfect as emergency batteries for the peripherals we carry in our bag with our laptop.

However, despite our high hopes, their website two years later has not changed much. The AAA, C/D, 9V and various other batteries have not yet been released for sale. Maybe thre are problems with the longevity of the products.

We checked out what people were saying about these batteries..Here’s a review from one blog. It notes that the shipping process should you buy direct from the manufacturer is efficient, and that the batteries have half the charge of a standard rechargeable battery. They have 1300mAh, but bear in mind the charger is built in so that likely takes space in the form factor.

Published on September 15, 2008
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Congress to Investigate Text Messaging

For all of us wondering why text messages have doubled in price in the last year, rest assured, the Federal Government is on the case.

Senator Herb Kohl, Chairman of the Anti-Trust Subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee sent a letter this month to the four major wireless carriers, AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, and T-Mobile asking them to explain the increase.

Carriers limit the number of characters in a text message to 160. Assuming a maximum of 140bytes stored per message, that means that if you were charged the same per-byte rate to download a 4MB song, you would pay about $6000. Nothing has changed particularly in the cost of providing the service, however, companies have the right to charge whatever they can get away with.

The odd thing is that math. We have a phone where text messages are 20 cents each, yet megabytes of downloaded data are 1.99 each. If we want to use Instant Messenging applications provided on our phone, they use text messages as opposed to using data time so they can charge more(We’re Verizon customers, in the interest of disclosure).

Kohl has asked for a response by October 6th. Some experts feel the increases may be a reflection of the decrease in competition as the four major players absorb smaller regional providers.

We look forward to hearing the response from the providers and hope it sparks some sort of change. The current system is ridiculous.

Published on September 14, 2008
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Does Home Depot Really Recycle CFLs?

Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs are one of those simple things we’re now encouraged to do to save money. However, they contain mercury and must be recycled. Until recently, in most municipalities, it was not easy to do that.

Then Home Depot came along and announced they would accept these lightbulbs for recycling. Happy day. Except the last two times we’ve delivered old bulbs to Home Depot, no one seems to know the procedure. We went to their desk, and the clerks there just took the bulb and left it there. We worry they are just dumping it in their garbage. We’d feel better if we at least saw a bin.

Does anyone have any evidence the agents at these stores are recycling these items? The same goes for Staples and other stores which take in spent batteries. and electronics. We’ll just wait for someone to do an expose.

Published on September 9, 2008
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Why You Should Switch To Linux

We were recently reading Lifehacker and found an article on Why its Readers Switched to Linux. We thought we might put our two cents in.

  • Dislike of Microsoft and Windows – We certainly got fed up with them. We admit to being primarily a Linux using now(this blog was built on open-source). Every few years you have to get the new Microsoft whatsis or you’ll be left behind. And, using Vista as an example, the new whatsis isn’t always an improvement.
  • Speed – A lot of the built-ins to Windows slow down the computer. It is why Linux runs faster on older hardware as well as newer hardware. It has background processes and programs just like any other system, but the overhead is usually much less.
  • Customization – This may be a pro or a con. Nothing is so configurable as Linux, with dozens of different packages to expand, change, or customize your experience for most standard functions. Of course, such choice can be be overwhelming to some. In which case you can stick to the defaults. No harm, no foul.
  • Price – 99% of things for Linux are 100% free. There are some commercial license Linux programs, as well as ones that ask for your donation in assisting them. You can forego them, or you can contribute to the community.
  • It’s Just Better – Not a great argument, we know. But our frustration level is way down. We can’t adopt the philosophy that change is impossible because Microsoft won’t let us. If enough people want a change to a piece of software, it happens. And if it doesn’t, if you are a programmer, you can hack it in yourself.

So try out your friendly neighborhood Linux distribution today. We recommend you consider Fedora or Ubuntu. Both have a reputation for being new user friendly and easy for those who have no Linux knowledge to use even if they don’t want to delve into the guts behind the graphical interface. You can even download bootable CD versions to try out before deciding if you want to switch.

For information on Linux distributions and their estimated popularity, visit Distrowatch.

Published on September 7, 2008
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Ikea Laptop Workstation

Ikea Laptop Workstation
Ikea Laptop Workstation

We just love the look of this thing the Unclutterer turned us onto. It is available in white or red and is perfect for places like a guest room or a kitchen. Current list price at IKEA is $59.99.

 

Update (2014) – The IKEA PS Workstation has been discontinued. The closest Ikea product if you are interested in a fold down workstation is the Ikea Bjursta(Product Link), images below.

Ikea Bjursta folds down into a shelf

Ikea Bjursta in the upright position
Published on August 27, 2008
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