Recent Comments:
Phosphor E Ink watch giveaway (part 3) {Engadget}
Dec 22nd 2007 1:36PM Timex SR920SW that has been going strong for 7 years, through 3 different batteries. Pretty please?
Passive Technologies intros Blu-ray / HD-DVD combo media center {Engadget}
Dec 19th 2007 10:55AM I'll start to get excited when someone makes a player that is cheaper than buying two players separately.
Man files antitrust lawsuit over printer ink {Engadget}
Dec 19th 2007 10:51AM The last straw for me happened a couple of years ago. I bought myself a really nice Epson for doing photo printing. I had just bought a brand new $35.00 black cartridge and went to print a text-only document. The driver refused to allow the page to be printed because I was out of yellow. Yellow, not black. I was so pissed off I threw it straight in the trash and bought a Konica-Minolta printer for a hundred dollars. That cheap little thing will print on anything I throw at it, including weird plastic-based stock for wedding invitations.
At work we have Lexmark Z55 and Z53 printers and these things are horrible. The feed path is so poorly engineered they'll actually pull already printed pages from the output tray back into the printer and jam. On any computer that is using that printer for the first time it'll nag you to do a head alignment every time you print. Unless you tell it otherwise, the drivers will automatically drench the paper in precious ink and take forever to do it. Draft mode is perfectly acceptible for text but you have to change the setting on every boot for every program.
In the end, this is what I do. I use my trusty laser for document printing, my wife prints her university assignments on it as well. An inkjet will never be able to compete with a laser for text. Photos get uploaded to Wallgreen's and I pick them up in 30 minutes. The price per print is embarrassingly cheap and the quality is outstanding. I will never buy another inkjet printer as long as I live and I tell as many people as I can to do the same. They are an environmental scourge since it's cheaper to buy a new printer than new ink. They have been a scam for years
Belkin intros n52te SpeedPad gaming keyboard {Engadget}
Oct 4th 2007 4:24PM That is freakin great. I had to leave my trust n52 behind when I went to Vista since they won't make Vista drivers for it.
Can't wait.
Sony BMG's head lawyer says ripping CDs is "stealing" {Engadget}
Oct 4th 2007 11:03AM Well, this is a classic example of treating the symptom instead of the disease. It's also a logical fallacy on several levels.
Effect: Sales of CDs are down.
Cause (as expressed by record labels):People are stealing the music that they would normally be buying.
Could be, but I doubt it. There are other possible causes that they won't admit to.
Maybe the product sucks. Outside of Chris Crocker who really wants another paint-by-numbers art-by-committee album by Britney Spears? Labels are unwilling to take chances on unproven talent. They'd rather just rehash a proven formula. Same goes for movies - Die Harderestist? Same goes for video games. How many GTA sequels do we really need?
Are the numbers that they're quoting taking into account electronic music sales? I know that they don't weigh the numbers properly.
Another problem and the reason why piracy is still as widespread as it is, is that buying the product and living with its limitations is more difficult that just stealing it. If I buy an album from iTunes or Zune Marketplace I can't drop the song into my WM6 smartphone or burn more than one CD of it. If I steal it I can do anything I want to it. Imagine that buying a loaf of bread means that you are only allowed to eat it in the store. You can't leave with it or transport it to your house. You are not allowed to make sandwiches or French Toast. You can't butter a slice and hand it to your friend. If I steal it I can do anything I want. I can make stuffing or bread pudding or feed it to birds.
I can't help but think that all this crying about piracy is just lip service to the shareholders. They simply can't admit that the quality if the product is in a downward trend and that people are hungering for new and different music that they can play free of stupid restrictions and enjoy as ART, not a commodity.
I'm sorry record companies and movie studios, I don't believe you.
Zune 2 leaks out in three flavors {Engadget}
Oct 2nd 2007 10:52AM Nothing like a Zune story to bring the A-holes out of the woodwork. Fanboys are bad for both sides.
A note to both Apple and iPhone customers on the v1.1.1 update {Engadget}
Oct 1st 2007 1:21PM Some of us aren't satisfied with a device as it comes from the factory. Some of us see a device that can be improved and made to be what we want.
iPhone trumps HTC Touch, N95 in usability study {Engadget}
Sep 24th 2007 10:59PM Saying the iPhone is better than the touch isn't saying much. Still, I always choose functionality over ease of use since I'm not afraid to read the manual or visit forums. The iPhone is a nice device, but I like something I can play with.
Music industry has another death-spasm, coughs up "ringles" {Engadget Mobile}
Sep 11th 2007 1:51PM No, they come with a rootkit.
This is stupid. What kind of music are they trying to shovel here? Is it something decent with some longevity or is it more paint-by-numbers crap designed by focus group and caterwauled by Avril Levign? If the music industry wants to continue making money, they should consider branching out a little.
Hands-on with Sony's new NWZ-S610 DAPs {Engadget}
Aug 30th 2007 9:39AM Does this MP3 player make me look fat?
