Archives for October 2006

The Daily Loper – October 19, 2006

October 19, 2006 by Lopy

The Trees Are Wonderful Conversationalists Edition

Today’s links of interest:

Half of baseball fans hope Bonds falls short of Aaron’s record
Doesn’t that seem a little bit low? For all of the thundering from the press, you’d think that that number would have approached 98%
The Top Pickers vs. the Pack
It’s rough being a genius and the only one who knows about it. Who will rise above the fray in a game of wisdom of crowds?
Web startups may see more mergers
Lots of big-name companies are looking to spend big bucks. Isn’t this how Mark Cuban joined the billionaires club?

The Fall of Allofmp3.com

October 19, 2006 by Jim Connelly

I’ve never actually checked out allofmp3.com, the infamous Russian site that offers a ton of music for prices that are more in line with the non-physicality of digital files. Not for any moral reason, but because I remember the bad old days of the late 1990s, when clicking on dodgy-seeming links looking for an .mp3 caused tons of windows to pop-up or other weird things.

But while I never bothered, I count myself a fan of anything that causes fuming at the RIAA. And a lot of y’all took advantage of their services, so much so that people were saying that it could keep have Russia out of the World Trade Organization.

That’s right. Forget all of that stuff about Putin’s insanity, and all of those unsecured nukes, but let’s go after the people who provide the cheap and 100 percent legal under Russian law downloads. So, the pressure was on, and just the other day, after Visa International suspended credit card service, allofmp3.com cried “ÃÂ´Ã‘ÂÃÂ´Ã‘Å½Ã‘Ë†ÃÂºÃÂ°,” and changed their business model.

The Daily Loper – October 18, 2006

October 18, 2006 by Lopy

Someone’s Trying to be the 21st Century Dick Clark Edition

Today’s links of interest:

Carson Daly’s ‘New Cutting Edge Internet Project’
More Internet madness from Carson Daly. He’s a project-making machine.
Redstone hits FCC indecency rules
Or, do not confuse the media companies. They have enough to worry about.
MySpace Comments May End Clinton-Murdoch Honeymoon
Hillary thinks MySpace is dangerous for kids. We think so, too — exposing the youth of today to so much bad design and technology will surely scar them for life. Also, stop blaming MySpace and start making parents responsible for their children. Thank you.

9 Reasons Digital Media Products Are A Bad Deal For Consumers

October 18, 2006 by Kirk Biglione

The utopian dream of ubiquitous media access is on the verge of becoming a reality. Consumers can watch TV on their iPods, download sports highlights to their cell phones, and take vast libraries of music with them wherever they go. You would think that all of these new digital distribution systems would be a boon for consumers, but that isn’t necessarily the case.

There are signs that media companies are using the transition to digital distribution as an opportunity to redefine consumer expectations about the value of media products, while at the same time eliminating much of what is currently considered to be fair use.

When consumers buy digital music, movies, or television programs from iTunes, Amazon, and most other digital content sources, they are ultimately paying more, getting less, and being forced to make platform decisions with long term implications.

Here are nine reasons why most digital media products are a bad deal for consumers:

The Daily Loper – October 17, 2006

October 17, 2006 by Lopy

Television, The Drug of The Nation Edition

Today’s links of interest:

Does Television Cause Autism?
This would explain a lot, actually.
MPAA: Piracy is the outcome of DRM complications
Looks like someone in the film industry has figured out that DRM frustrates consumers. Combine this with Disney’s recent acknowledgement that Piracy is a form of competition and you have to wonder if Hollywood may finally be comiing to its senses.
New Technology Allows Studios To Quickly And Cheaply Exploit Actors From Any Decade
At the Movie Studio meeting, on their hands — at last – a dead star.

Adventures With The Cable Company

October 17, 2006 by Jim Connelly

SATURDAY
MY APARTMENT

“NOOOOOO!!!!” I screamed into the phone, loud enough that the poor Third Customer Service Rep from The Cable Company probably didn’t need his phone to hear it in Bangalore. But it was nearing 10:30 Saturday morning and I’d just been on anger-building hold for 20 minutes (“Your call will be answered in the order in which it was received”).

“I WILL NOT RESCHEDULE MY APPOINTMENT!!! THIS IS YOURRRRR ISSUE!! YOU NEED TO FIX IT!!” Technically, it really wasn’t the Third Customer Service Rep’s issue, it’s just that he got stuck with me just as my asshole-o-meter had gone to 11. I was trembling with righteous fury, storming around my apartment with the cell phone jammed in my ear. I was as angry as I have ever been, and that’s really saying something.

“Please hold, sir, while I try to see what I can do.”

The Daily Loper – October 16, 2006

October 16, 2006 by Lopy

Off to See The Hold Steady at the Troubadour Edition

Today’s links of interest:

As U.S. Is Reviled Abroad, American TV Charms
Television – the new international language of diplomacy.
RIAA drops file sharing case
The RIAA is clearly not prepared for consumer who fight back.
1097 days and counting…
We’re a little late in acknowledging this, but happy 3rd Birthday to TV Shows on DVD!!

Irrational Exuberance: Wall Street Rediscovers Hollywood

October 16, 2006 by Kassia Krozser

Ah, we have another one for the nostalgia file: the return of Wall Street to Hollywood. Back in the day — when home video was still seen as a risky business — tax law favored investment in movies. A lot of doctors and dentists bought shares in partnerships that invested heavily in the movies. Sure, there were some money-makers, but, as the doctors and dentist learned, sometimes you have to finance a lot of duds before you get to a real winner.

Now the investors are back and more eager than ever to get them some of that Hollywood glitter. In the deals of old, the investors partnered with the studio, sharing the risk based on overall dollars put into the production. The upshot was that there was a solid system behind the movie-making process. You know, studios, sound stages, payroll departments, marketing teams. The downside was that a lot of bad movies were made in the 80s. These days, in an attempt to “bypass” the studios, investors are making deals with producers directly.
[Read more…] about Irrational Exuberance: Wall Street Rediscovers Hollywood

The Weekly ‘Loper – October 15, 2006

October 15, 2006 by Rox

While you were busy watching your team get eliminated from the baseball playoffs, here’s what we were looking at:

Tower Records Is Dead and I Won’t Miss It Much – Kirk takes a look at the downfall of Tower Records, why it hapend and why he won’t miss it.
Turning DRM into a Dirty Word – And when it becomes a dirty word, it won’t nearly be as fun to use as “frack.”
Google’s Bid For World Domination – $1.65 billion? Google could have had Medialoper for half that much.
Report From The Field: Nobody’s Paying Attention – A bit of market research provides interesting results.
That’s What I Like: Postseason Baseball – The constant checking of the cellphone needs to stop, but he’s right. Postseason baseball is slightly addictive.
Requiem For Tower Records – Jim takes a more nostalgic look at the demise of Tower Records. And I’m to believe there’s a 15-year old living inside Jim? I would have guessed it was a 12-year old.

The Daily Loper – October 14, 2006

October 14, 2006 by Lopy

At Least The A’s Made It To The ALCS Edition

Today’s links of interest:

Frak
Tod Goldberg writes one of the most eloquent reviews of the seaon premiere of Battlestar Galactica I’ve read to date…
Your Take Roundup::Facebook Still a Favorite…For Now
MediaShift readers offer their thoughs on the future of Facebook.
Google Nichecasting Networks
Jeff Jarvis writes and videos his take on the Google/YouTube merger.