Technology Liberation Front has a good article up about how eMusic might represent “The Future of Music.” I found this article via Kareem’s blog, and normally it would just be a headline link here, as it was on reemer.com.

It’s not a headline post because, coincidently, Atrios has been plugging eMusic for a few days and I went ahead and gave it a try because of the 50 free MP3 trial offer. So far, I’ve found some cool Indian-influenced music that I wouldn’t have found otherwise. On the whole, though, I’ve found the whole thing quite daunting. It’s a very big catalog of less-than-well-known music and, because of that, it’s very, very hard to navigate it all. I use the same approach as I do with iTunes, relying on top sales lists, but previewing clips is too complicated on the Mac.

That’s probably the biggest problem I have. The site offers .m3u files (MP3 playlists) for previews. It’s all nicely standards based, but the default behavior on the Mac is to play the .m3u file in iTunes. That means that I have a clutter of random streaming MP3 clips stuck in iTunes that I don’t really want. I tried switching to just using Quicktime for .m3u files, but then it downloads the file to my disk, where I have to double-click it (or the icon in he download center) to play the file. In the end, I stayed with this system, previewing entire albums so I would only have to do it once per album.

I’m open to any suggestions people have with using eMusic on the Mac.

The article is a good read, by the way. You should check it out.

OK, if they just had a Phillies or Eagles one, I’d be right there. The Red Sox case is tempting, though…

Update: A good list of iPod Nano cases is here. My favorite so far is the iGuy.

For anyone who wasn’t aware, Apple has released new iPods with video capabilities. I’m not a huge fan of these new iPods personally; the screens are too small and I think that I can go out into the world for a few hours without video content. What I think is most interesting is that ABC is willing to sell some of their hit shows 24 hours after they air. Unfortunately, these aren’t shows that I want to watch, but I like the idea.

I like that the TV industry is starting to to look towards electronic distribution. TiVo has proven that people want and will embrace an easy way to watch their favorite shows when they can’t be home. Sure, I know that VCRs have been around for years, but I don’t think anyone thinks that DVRs and VCRs are in the same league. Electronic, on demand distribution is the wave of the future. The cable companies have recognized this and are starting to take advantage of it. Anyone who has used “On Demand” knows the simplicity and convenience of it: what you want, when you want it. I’m not home on a consistant schedule, so I like the ability to watch certain shows when I want them.

What I’m worried about is that as an experiment, the ABC-Apple partnership is going to fail. How many people who are “Lost” enthusiasts are going to miss an episode, or will miss recording that episode? Sure, there will be some, but I’m not sure how many will then pony up $2 to catch it. There will be a few, no doubt, but will it look like a good business model? And the network affiliates are resisting the concept. They pay huge bucks to get these shows and make their money off advertising. They will resist any move that risks reducing the number of eyeballs stuck to the screen. And a few shorts from Pixar does not a movie distributor make.

The real power in digital distribution is in all those millions of hours of video that is sitting in TV vaults. I’ve started to see a few of my favortie TV shows from childhood available on DVD, but those are few an far between. While some do get released, the runs aren’t big and they can become unavailable very quickly (such as “Transformers,” f.e.). With digital distribution, the marginal cost of making them available is almost nothing. There is no DVD costs, no inventory and no distribution costs.

The problem is that I’ve heard this all before. The same things were said about the music industry. From what I have heard, less than 10% of what record labels actually have is available for distribution. Digital distribution systems like iTunes were supposed to fix that and increase choice. As far as I can tell, the vaults haven’t been opened. Instead, the RIAA has fought digital tooth and nail. I’m not sure the Motion Picture and Television industry are going to be any better. Without a clear reason to buy TV shows, I’m not sure that people will pay for what is available for free.

Then again, I could be wrong. People have been buying the complete seasons of TV programs when they come out. Star Trek: TNG was a fairly large seller and it is still in reruns on Spike!. So it might work. Time will tell. The next question is will they really watch them on their iPod? That is a whole ‘nother question.

One more thing: anyone notice that there was no mention of Powerbooks? It has been 8 months since the last update. Mine is over 2 years old and the current models don’t offer that much over what I have. There is an Apple event next month and I hope that they have some good update, for the last few have been lack luster. I’m not expecting G5s or anything, but I’d like to see something that offers a really serious performance improvement (like dual core G4s). Or super long battery life, like the Intel mobiles. Frankly, for Job’s recognition of “The Year of the Laptop,” their product line is starting to stifle. Come on Apple. I sure hope that we don’t have to wait until Apple goes to Intel for that bump. (BTW Apple, I really want a computer the size of the tiny Sony Vio, but running OS X. Can we work on that?). There is a new annoucement this coming week…I hope it is good.

I have to admit that this week’s announcement from Apple (while impressive) left me disappointed on one major front. I was really expecting Apple to do something clever with the form factor of the iPod Video in order to get a larger screen on there. Yes, I know it’s physically larger than the standard iPod Photo screen, but I’m talking another inch or so each way, perhaps in a widescreen orientation.

I expected I would be envious of the new iPod when I compared it to my PSP, but the screen size is so important to me that I don’t regret having the PSP at all. The device can play games and music, I have an iPod anyway to carry the bulk of my music collection, and I know how to take DVD films and dump them to the PSP. Apple also wasn’t able to seal a deal for movies beyond the Pixar shorts that they got. If they’re able to do that, I’ll reevaluate, but without a legal, legit, and easy way to get mainstream films onto the iPod, it’s not quite good enough. Movies for the PSP (on their UMD format) may be a little overpriced, but the availability of titles makes it easy to grab a movie for a trip.

Which leads me to the next point for this post, a review of how the PSP did on my trip out to California last week. I had a number of movies on UMD and movies from my DVD collection with me on the trip. I ended up watching several on the trip. Overall, the PSP was a great portable video player. I was able to watch nearly two whole movies without running out of juice on both trips. The only reason I wasn’t able to finish the second movie was that the flight was too short. My only major complaint is that the sound level on the recordings was too low. The PSP has a UMD volume feature that boosts the audio to compensate, but it wasn’t enough. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the sound level on DVDs are also set very low. I’m not sure why that is, but it’s universal enough to make me believe that it offers some advantage in dynamic range or something. The UMDs seem similarly “quiet.” Games, on the other hand, are nice and loud. I actually had the captioning on so I could understand some of the quieter dialog. It’s just a problem on planes, really. When I used it while camping, it was perfectly loud enough.

I mostly watched movies I had already seen, but I did get one movie for my birthday from Heidi that I hadn’t watched yet. Based on a recommendation from my sister, she got me Crash. I really liked this movie. The ensemble cast delivers great performances across the board. The story is pretty simple. As the events unfold, we start seeing how racism plays into the lives of all of the characters (good and bad). It’s the story that makes this a great movie. Good actors and a good story… funny how that makes for a good movie.

If you liked Traffic, you’ll like this movie. Like Traffic, the writer has worked in some portions that just kick you in the gut. It’s not a happy movie, really. I think that’s part of what makes me like it. It’s not a happy ending. There’s some authenticity in that and not in a contrived way.

Rating: 8/10

Apple unveiled the video iPod today. More importantly, though:

With the new version of iTunes, consumers will be able to buy TV shows, in addition to music. Shows available for purchase one day after their initial broadcast will include ABC television offerings “Lost” and “Desperate Housewives” and the Disney Channel’s “That’s So Raven.” It will take 10 to 20 minutes to download an episode, said Jobs. Each will cost $1.99 and will be ad-free. Users can also download six short films from Pixar Animation Studios for $1.99 each.

We had heard rumblings of this internally a few weeks ago, but for obvious reasons no one could or would confirm it. This is a great thing, though. The video is good enough to play through a TV, meaning that you could literally skip the Tivo and take your shows with you to the gym. No more watching whatever happens to be on while you’re there.

The NYT has an article up about how the print medium needs an “iPod moment.”

The newspaper business is in a horrible state. It’s not that papers don’t make money. They make plenty. But not many people, or at least not many on Wall Street, see a future in them. In an attempt to leave the forest of dead trees and reach the high plains of digital media, every paper in the country is struggling mightily to digitize its content with Web sites, blogs, video and podcasts.

And they are half right. Putting print on the grid is a necessity, because the grid is where America lives. But what the newspaper industry really needs is an iPod moment.

The article stands by itself, I think, but it reminded me of my post earlier about whether there was more to do with text. I mentioned the adoption of podcasts then but didn’t really emphasize one of the points this article mentions, that most mediums are more multitasking friendly. In other words, you can’t read a newspaper while typing up a letter or writing code. Audio, though, works really well. Video works well when you don’t have to watch (essentially audio). But text… too much mental focus. I’d argue that’s it’s a first order attention activity, while listening to a podcast or a video soundtrack is a second order attention activity.

So perhaps my real question is how do you make text a second order activity (screen readers?) or perhaps make it more valuable as a first order activity…

I’ll have more thoughts about this later, but Apple just released the very slick and unbelievably small iPod Nano. 2 and 4GB sizes, thin as a pencil, with a screen. Damn. Car integration… out today with BMW, Mercedes, Scion, Volvo, and Mini cars (no Toyota, dammit!).

Must. Remember. Wedding. Coming.

Update: Imagine the Motorola Razr glued onto this… hmmm.

Bram passed along a video detailing the latest in Apple innovation. I almost want one. And, I think that Apple should prototype one of that size that’s functional just for kicks.