Category: Columns & Opinion
Bigger is better when it comes to bitrates, right?
Will Head writes… When the CD was introduced, it was widely poo-pooed by the audiophiles of the day for not being as rich or soothing as a well looked after 12 inch piece of vinyl. However it was more convenient,…
Will all players be dual HD DVD/Blu-ray by next year?
Will Head writes… Despite the best efforts of the DVD Forum and the Blu-ray Disc Association to extol the virtues of their respective platform, there's still no consensus on which format will emerge the victor. With the launch of the…
Is it really that bad to borrow someone else's Wi-Fi?
Will Head writes… If you're protective of your internet and live in Worcestershire, then you'll need to keep it locked up after a second person was cautioned for using a Wi-Fi connection without permission. Neighbours in Redditch raised the alarm…
China declares war on MMORPG addiction
Citing concerns about young people plunking themselves in front of computers and not budging, China is using anti-addiction software to limit how much people under age 18 can play certain MMORPGs. After three hours' play, scores just start decreasing….
How green are your gadgets, and do you care?
It was interesting to read yesterday’s story about Greenpeace’s latest chart of how eco-friendly consumer electronics firms are. Lenovo came top, followed by Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Dell, Samsung and Motorola.
EMI goes DRM-free with Apple, but will other record labels follow suit?
Hurrah. So, EMI has announced plans to sell its entire music and video catalogue on iTunes without any DRM protection, from May. I'm assuming this isn't just an Apple thing either, as fellow online music retailer 7digital has already announced…
Why I don't want to Complete My Albums on iTunes
Okay, so Apple has announced its new Complete My Album feature for iTunes, which lets you buy albums that you've previously purchased individual tracks from, without having to pay for those songs again. It effectively takes 79p off the price of the full album for every track that you've already bought…
Why Comic Relief is showing the more charitable side of Web 2.0
It can feel like the world of Web 2.0 is all about numbers sometimes. MySpace has 160 million members, and is getting paid $900 million by Google for the rights to sell advertising on it. YouTube attracted 133.5 million visitors in January, but is getting sued for $1 billion by Viacom for alleged copyright infringement. There are 262,958 pet pooches on Dogster.
Why PlayStation Home for PS3 is a genius idea
Sony’s new PlayStation Home virtual world won’t address the issues that have resulted in pretty-much constant flak for its PS3 console in the last year. Criticisms of the console’s pricing and games line-up are both still valid, not to mention lingering resentment over the PS3’s delayed launch in Europe.
Does the Walkman brand still hit the right notes with consumers?
Stuart Dredge writes… Once upon a time, Sony's Walkman was the most powerful music technology brand in the world. Everyone knew what a Walkman was, it was one of the most desirable and fashionable devices around, and it arguably changed…