A “big” announcement from Apple today is that iTunes now has DRM-free music. Basically, you can play the music on non-iPod and multiple devices now without hacking it or having to re-purchase it.
If you want that, you have to pay an extra 30 cents per song, or $1.29
But I’ve been getting DRM-free music in the form of an mp3 for just 99 cents per song at Amazon, which I play on my iPhone, but I could play on any device I want. So, what exactly is the incentive for me to go to Apple? (At least, until Amazon raises their prices.)
I mean, how archaic is this. Back in the day of the CD, you could play the album you purchased in the CD player in your car, your home entertainment system and your personal CD player. It’s about time we do the same with digital music.
Sure, people can share and steal and do uncopyright-ish things with it. But how is that different from the age of the CD?
RottenTomatoes.com is a website that rates movies based on the yays or nays given to a film by movie critics. Since film critics seem to be overwhelmingly negative by nature, this is like rating Christmas by asking Scrooge.
I went to see Bedtime Stories on Christmas Day. I expected it to be a film mostly for the kids. But it was genuinely funny - yes, even for adults. But over at RT, it only got a 22%
Marley and Me, the big hit film this holiday season, only got a 56% rating.
One of the four Starbucks in Dupont Circle. Photo by peterskim
Apple has apparently been turned down three times for their design for a Georgetown store in the nation’s captial. If you’re not familiar, Georgetown is THE shopping district in DC.
But nearby Dupont Circle has a metro stop, a hip night life and plenty of foot traffic. If the design guidelines aren’t too strict, Apple could do something there to make their store a true destination, much like their Fifth Avenue store in Manhattan.
Still, Georgetown is DC’s Fifth Avenue. Apple will want to have a presence there. But they’ll have to cave and fit in with the historic buildings there. And though I’m not big on government telling you what to do, preserving history is pretty important and Georgetown is too well-preserved to let the current hip trend disrupt the row houses.
Burn After Reading was one of the best films of the year and one of the most clever comedies I’ve watched in a long time (save for Tropic Thunder). It finally comes out on DVD today.
It’s a Coen Brothers film that stars George Clooney, Brad Pitt, John Malkovich, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, and JK Simmons.
You’ve never seen Brad Pitt like this before. Warning: The movie and the trailer below are not for the easily offended.
Well I did. I do crazy things like that sometimes. The holidays can bring it out in me.
I had chocolate pudding made with chocolate mint holiday milk which I finally found at a Target Greatland. I also had banana cream pudding made with pumpkin spice holiday milk.
I only had like a spoonful of each with some whipped cream.
The pudding was sugar free and fat free and the whipped cream was lite. Just so you know.
Listen, I know that unemployment rates are higher than we wish. But when I can’t find a parking spot at the mall or I’m waiting in long lines to buy stuff, it doesn’t help me worry about the economy. Plus, I’ve written before about how our “problems” would be luxuries to most of the people of the world.
I’ve been unemployed several times. It’s not fun. And because I have, it’s on my mind almost every day whether or not my husband’s job is secure as well as my freelance work.
That’s one of the reasons I’m making proactive decisions and actions to bring in more income streams. So far, I’ve mostly made mistakes. Thankfully, I still broke even on my Cafepress Holiday store. But I’ve learned from those lessons and will be going headstrong into 2009.
The thing is, no matter who is in the White House or Congress - you’re still responsible for your life. You can sit around like the mice in the new movie Tale of Desperaux, scared and scurrying. Or you can be inspired by stories of courage and honor and pave your own way no matter what anyone else says or does.
Even in the worst of times, say the Holocaust, you have a choice. Watch Life is Beautiful to get inspired (be sure to have the Kleenex handy). Or read <a href=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/080701429X?ie=UTF8&tag=nathaniajohnson-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=080701429X”>Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning</a><img src=”http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=nathaniajohnson-20&l=as2&o=1&a=080701429X” width=”1″ height=”1″ border=”0″ alt=”" style=”border:none !important; margin:0px !important;” /> and read real-life accounts of surviving the Holocaust.
If that doesn’t inspire you, then perhaps you should let the (news about the) recession control you.
was one of the best films of the year and one of the most clever comedies I’ve watched in a long time (save for Tropic Thunder). It finally comes out on DVD today.