Lotzothoughtz

I am incredibly tired of hearing from older people how technology is destroying the world.  You know the common refrains: video games make kids violent, music corrupts with sex and bass, the internet breeds dull drones.  Give me a break. 

Technology is a singularly complete mode through people can learn, communicate, listen, watch, be. For the sake of this argument let’s limit this to the internet. The internet strives to be a parallel universe to our everyday world and for the most part it succeeds brilliantly. And most people over age 30 don’t really understand it nor do they try.

The internet is the world in micro. It is music, videos, still images, interactive combinations. Plus these aspects in addition to worlds and objects live within their own worlds with their own physics. We are making the internet the world we wish we could have.

This dynamic, multimedia mix is unlike anything ever seen before. Accordingly there are those who will abuse this new world, pervert it for their own purposes. The most obvious example of this is the world of porn online. The sheer quantity of it and accessibility of it leads a lot of people into a lot of long, lonely nights. That is the easiest trap people seem to fall into. Aside form the sexualized abuses, there are tons of places people can abuse the internet. Abusing people via IM, message boards, blog postings, myspace posts, etc. But the people who abuse the internet, I would argue, are a very small minority when compared to the millions of people who use it without every committing any abuse.

This mixed up world has a little bit of everything for everyone. If you love music, u can browse huge catalogs of it, buy it, listen to it, talk about it. If you love some stupid anime show I guarantee there is a blog, website, forum, or social network niche for you to get your fix. That is the beauty of this multimedia driven universe, not only is it a place to find media, enjoy it, but its also a place where you can interact with people. And not just people sitting across the street, the internet brings together people with no geographical link who may or may not have the same interests, likes, dislikes, and passions.

What the hell is the point of all of this? To many older people the internet is a scary place, where if you download a single file you will destroy your entire computer (that thinking is soooo 1995). But in reality the universe that is the internet and its disparate worlds that inhabit it, are a rich and amazing place. Yeah like any society it has its fringe elements, its devious types that ruin the fun for everyone. But in the end the internet is an amazing mix that everyone can enjoy and should.

Not in terms of search market share (yet) but in terms of rolling out an centralized, personalize Health Management system.  You probably heard about and saw the screen shots of the much ballyhooed Google Health, a product that has never seen the light of day - even one of Google’s eternal Betas.  Microsoft has beaten them to the punch with HealthVault, which is pretty much what it sounds like, a super secure site in which you record your medical history, maintain records, and link them up with other people in your family as well as being able to share it with selected people (Say your doctor).

While it is still in beta HealthVault clearly shows you it wants to be to health what Microsoft Money is to your budget.  If your doctor uses e-prescriptions, it can track those, it can receive faxed copies of your data to store online, you can of course directly input data, you can hook it up with third party machines and their companies to record and monitor your health information (think heart rate monitor), and of course from within its interface you can search for health related sites, articles, well you get the idea.  MS’s HealthVault seeks to be your centralized place for your health care history and health information in general.

It’s not good that Microsoft got this product out before Google managed to get Google Health out, I think it might be a portent of things to come.  Microsoft’s Live Search is moving quickly, producing Google-like beta projects on the side, while increasingly trying to refine their search features.  Microsoft has money and by extension money, I hate to say it but Google might be underestimating MS.  However Google tends to be much more nimble than Microsoft but so far it’s success at Microsoft’s expense has simply been because Microsoft has been slow to react taking its time to study it’s new web-based competition.  Ultimately I think it’s going to be a draw between the two.

So, what have we learned from Microsoft’s announcement regarding the new Zune media players?

1. Microsoft isn’t going after Apple just yet, rather they are going after it’s main competitors: Sandisk, Creative, and Sony.  See MS  wants to pick off the little guys first by offering up devices with just enough extras to steer people over to the Zune.
2. Microsoft can make pretty things.
3. They listened to their users, the new feature list sounds like the wish list of every Zune user: Wireless Sync, Podcast abilities,
4. Enhanced Zune to Zune wireless sharing, they’ve changed the rules now you can keep a shared song on your Zune for up to three plays but it wont vanish after three days it will stay indefinitely as long as the three plays aren’t met.
5. Integration with TV show recorded on your Windows Vista Media center.
6. Improved UI and desktop software.

Watch, this is Microsoft ramping itself up.   The next version of the Zune will go after Apple, which I think it could be argued is on a somewhat slippery slope as of late.

As anticipated MS announced their new Zune media players last night, to be release in November.  The update includes an 80 gig HDD player and a 4 and 8 gig flash based player (they’re the little ones in the pic).  Additionally the Zune Marketplace will be updated as will the Zune’s interface, even the original Zune’s will receive the redesigned interface.  In a bit to tie together the Zune’s "social" aspects MS is also creating a social network for Zune users. 

More on all of this later today when I umm…oh yeah get home from work.

Tomorrow Microsoft is rumored to make a "big" announcement for it’s Zune division, the release of the 2nd generation Zune media players.  Today the FCC leaked some blueprint sketches of some of the new devices.  The sketches show the long anticipated flash based Zune offering up the player in 4 and 8 gigs, nothing spectacular but typical capacities for entry level players.  These devices will retain the Wifi abilities that were so disappointing in the original Zune players.  Microsoft will also release a new HDD based player probably at 80 gigs bringing the HDD model into line with what is now the industry standard capacity for HDD players.  Granted all of this is based on rumor, buzz, and the FCC

Aside from a slightly redesigned Zune MS will release a 2.1 update to the Zune Firmware, here is where I hope they make the most ripples.  O and all UI/Firmware updates better also be applied to the 1st generation Zunes.

Here’s what I want in an improvement to the firmware:

• Ability to put videos in folders (or albums) just like you can pictures and of course music.
• Eh maybe some games?  Like the iPod, just some silly little Tetris deal?
• Wifi Zune Marketplace?  Meaning I could buy music on the fly that would be nice.
• Enhanced wifi abilities.  I know I can’t be the first one to want to be able to get on the web with my media player.  And I do realize this feature is not likely at all to be on the device .  I’m not asking iPod Touch/Safari level browsing but wouldn’t it be awesome if MS used its new mobile browser to give the Zune a basic web surfing ability at free Wifi spots?

Aside from that Microsoft better update their Zune Marketplace to include DRM-free music as well as a video store, I mean come on what’s the point of having that big ‘ole screen if you can’t easily (I stress easily) buy music videos, TV shows, and movies.

I can’t wait to see what Microsoft reveals tonight and/or tomorrow.

What do you guys thing of the new theme I’ve applied to the blog?  It maintains the colors of the previous one (White, Blue, Green) but its a little more traditional in format.

Roanoke has always been lacking a presence on the internet, no I’m not talking about the city site (which despite a confusing layout has someone garnered some praise) or the multiple (and annoying) big media supported sites (myhometownjobs.com).  What I am talking about are the creators, the innovators, people who aren’t big business trying to make their splash online.

I have yet to see an entirely online based business in Roanoke that wasn’t dedicated to providing services or content to businesses.

And yes what I am talking about isn’t clearly defined because that is the nature of the online world. What online business model will win in Roanoke? I don’t know. Will it be a locally grown social network? Will it be some kind of cult of personality site, with the draw being the opinions or life of a person blogging and such? I don’t know.

But I can’t wait to find out. I feel like Roanoke and the whole SW VA area is on the verge of getting a new crop of local internet innovators.

Dear Creative Labs,

I’m so sorry, I strayed from the Creative pack. I strayed from the way of wide format playability, relative low cost, and sexy stylish player designs. I was seduced by a reduced price hard-drive based player in a time of need; it took advantage of me, I swear. There it was, a 30 gig Zune media player, looking kind of cool in black with a light blue double shot giving it a blue aura. It’s big screen, nicely reduced price, and 30 gig capacity drove me to do the unthinkable: buy it and enter into a DRM controlled universe. What did I do?

Creative, you gotta believe me. My computer at the time was having hard-drive issues, sometimes not turning on, I didn’t want to lose my entire music and video collection again. I could’ve gotten an external hard-drive, this I know, but why not get a dedicated music/video hard-drive with a nifty user interface? Well that and the Zune was cheap, at the time it was just above $200 bux, can you really blame me? I’m so sorry Creative, I didn’t know what I was doing.

Now I’m trapped in a one way relationship. It only let’s me me use the Zune software to load music and videos on to it; all it does is boss me around. Yeah it has a nice screen and a nice interface but in the end if you can’t play a wide variety of music and video formats, if we just can’t get a long then what is the point? Well that and Creative, between you and me, the Zune is a bit heavy in the hand if you know what I mean. There is nothing sleek or elegant about the thing, you put the Zune in your pocket and it weighs down your pants and then the children…they start to taunt you.

It’s true, I had grown unhappy with the limited storage capabilities of my 4 gig Creative Zen V Plus but I should have waited…I should have known you’d have a new product in line for the holidays. And now you do, you have created what I had been looking for: the Creative Zen, a flashed based media player with up to 16 gigs of storage and an SD slot giving it substantial expandability. O Creative, I should have waited. I should have known better than to leave you like that, after our two years of bliss….the Zen Nano Plus, the Zen V Plus, my god they were nothing but good to me.

I’ll make it up to you Creative, I’m promise,

Sincerely,

ATL

Since last week’s iPhone release there has been a trinkle of rumors and speculation as to what the new iPods will be like and when they might be unleashed.  Following some comments made by Steve Jobs last Friday at a company-wide peptalk the new iPods are going to have an OS X operating system, rather than the traditional system used on current iPods (which interestingly was not developed by Apple).    This makes one think that Apple will use the same technology as it used in the iPhone, meaning the new iPods might very well be without buttons, with its classic clickwheel.  Think of an iPhone with perhaps more refined music and video controls and you very well might have the next generation of iPods.  They say these things might begin being released in November, in time for the holiday season. I can’t wait to see what happens. :)