When they write the history of how the recording industry botched its transition to digital content distribution, they’ll probably devote a whole chapter to the Diamond Rio.
Ugly as it was, the Rio was the first widely available portable MP3 player. While the appearance of the device indicated a clear demand from […]

I’m a minimalist by nature, which is why it’s so unfortunate that I share office space with the Booksquare lady. I live in fear that a long overdue earthquake will hit Southern California, triggering a catastrophic bookshelf collapse. When that happens, I will almost certainly be crushed to death by Kassia’s “to be read” […]

With the major record labels on the brink of extinction, Warner Music Group CEO Edgar Bronfman has made a shocking confession. Bronfman told a group of mobile phone executives that the music industry was “wrong to go to war with consumers”.
From his remarks, it’s clear that Bronfman isn’t just talking about the RIAA’s […]

This summer I wrote about a new industry conference called TOC — Tools of Change for Publishing. TOC is an O’Reilly Media sponsored event, designed to help the slow moving world of book publishing ease gently into the 21st century. It’s the place to be if you have any interest at all in […]

The World Series may have wrapped up last week, but there’s still plenty of action in the world of baseball. Owners are considering the use of instant replay, A-Rod is looking for a $350 million pay day, and MLB is finding new ways to torture fans with the careless use of DRM.
The off-season […]

One of the problems with digital media is that it is inherently more ephemeral than physical media. It takes a fair amount of abuse to damage a CD beyond repair, but any number of common mishaps can lead to the complete destruction of a large music collection.
Add digital photos and videos to the […]

Was it really just last week that the RIAA won its first major file sharing lawsuit? I think that history will remember the victory as the apex of the industries clever strategy of suing its customers. In the eight long days since the verdict, it’s been nothing but bad news for the major […]

Last June we told you about O’Reilly Media’s inaugural Tools of Change for Publishing conference (TOC), an event designed to expose publishers to a range of new technologies that are transforming their industry.
Planning for the second annual TOC conference is already underway, and O’Reilly has issued a call for participation.

This week the long anticipated Amazon digital music store finally launched. Unlike recent efforts from the likes of Wal-Mart, Amazon’s DRM-free store could pose a substantial long-term challenge to iTunes. While that may sound like bad news for iTunes, it could prove to be a good thing for Apple.
Here’s why I […]

I had every reason to believe that my iPhone experience would be the same as any of the other Apple experiences I’ve ever had. The process has repeated itself through several laptop purchases, and a couple of iPod purchases. Hit the Apple store in Pasadena, buy a product, take it home and […]