Is allTunes the new iTunes?

You’ve got to hand it to the Russians, when it comes to music on the net, its bloody cheap! With the iTunes store not exactly available in Ireland until recently (at least not when I had started out in college), some of us went MP3 shopping in Russia through the likes of MP3Search and AllOfMP3 which allows downloads for 10c / 2c p/mb respectively.

Anyway, AllOfMP3 have now released a desktop client, allTunes (via Techcrunch), which allows users to login to AllOfMP3 via their desktop, browse the store, and download their albums at the same cost - a full album working out around $1.50 give or take. Personally I think its great. Digitial downloads shouldn’t be too expensive, otherwise you’d simply go out and buy the CD (including case, quality printing, store charge, markup, vat etc.). Its real jewel in the crown is the back catalog of out of print albums (I picked up Kerbdog’s 1994 release, out of print about 10 years) and its massive selection of international music.

Worth a shot I reckon…

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New Toy For Ken

October 24th I made a post highlighting a phone I was looking at in time for Christmas but never bothered… until today. My P900 which has served me so faithfully for the past 15 months just isn’t cutting it any more, mainly with web and email access that I couldn’t really utilise unless going through a web mail front with expensive GPRS charges

Anywhoo, I’ve decided to splash out and pick up the HP HW6515 Mobile Messenger (running Windows Mobile 2003) to replace the P900 through Komplett, if all was well in the world I’d have it Friday but I’m a patient guy. Being able to pick up WiFi access will be a major plus, but does anyone know if there’s Irish maps available for TomTom or MS Streets?

I’m sure I’ll blog it once I get it…

If anyone had ever considered the phone, the price tag on Komplett is very competitive for the sim free option, almost 70 euro cheaper than Expansys and about the same if you were looking at a secondhand / refursbished model on eBay….

Racketeering Via Skype?

Most of us know that Skype is based upon technology and code created by the two guys behind Kazaa, the infectious (literally) P2P file sharing application that put every major record company into a spin in the last year. Now it looks like their past is catching up with them, only this time through Skype as both Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis are being pulled up in the courts under RICO laws which are usually reserved for those in organised crime… go figure.

The case itself is why the technology behind Kazaa was never sold on to the company (Streamcast) who had “first dibs” on it….

Makes for interesting reading, as always

Got X1? Not any more….

O2 are recalling their X1 handsets because of a potential charging fire hazard, so it seems (via Gizmodo with original story breaking on Mobileburn). Seemingly they’re also going to render all original X1 handsets useless via the handsets IMEI numbers and you’ll be able to get a free upgrade to the X2i by returning your handset. This is affecting users in the UK, no mention of a direct link to Irish mobile users but there’s always the possibility.

First time I’ve heard of this, though anyone I know with an X1 doesn’t have many problems with it. Still, a free phone is surely better than a smoking phone…

Update - O2 Ireland are recalling the handsets as a precaution for all handsets sold between December 2003 and June 2004… more details here

Podcasts, The Open Source Way

Came across this in the morning reading, for those of you interested in grabbing podcasts without going the iTunes way (which I was trying out myself at the weekend). The article points to an open source option for scheduling the download of podcasts once you’ve got the URL you need. Called Juice, the full article is available here including a full tutorial on how to use it!

Its cross platform too, PC and Mac versions available now with a linux version in the offing… and it already comes complete with a directory of thousands of available podcasts!

The download is a nifty 6.29mb as well (windows)…

Orders Rollings for XPS Renegade

Back in January I made a post about Dell readying to launch the XPS Renegade…. well the moment of truth has arrived, and if you’re living in the United States its gonna cost you around $10,000.

Of course you’ll get a 30″ flatpanel monitor thrown into the mix for your money but you’re looking at around 8 grand for the unit sans monitor. Announced today at the Game Developers Conference 2006 (via BusinessWire), Dell are now taking orders on the machine that is set to revolutionise PC gaming.

If you fancy donating one to the Ken McGuire Wannabe PC Gamer Fund you’re most welcome, you’ll find me through the contact page

“At CES Dell was the first to demonstrate the power of NVIDIA(R) Quad-SLI(TM) graphics technology on the XPS 600 Renegade. Customers using four NVIDIA GeForce(R) 7900 processors on two controllers now can play complex 3-D games at the highest video settings, without sacrificing realism or on-screen performance. They can run applications at 2,560 x 1,600 resolution, for example, on the included Dell 3007WFP 30-inch widescreen flat panel monitor for a truly high-definition experience.

Dell also gives gamers the extra speed they crave by overclocking the latest Intel(R) Pentium(R) 965 Extreme Edition processor up to 4.26 GHz, backed by specialized XPS support technicians via phone, e-mail or chat.

For enthusiasts who demand the latest technologies, Dell also today added the physics controller as an option for its XPS 600 gaming and XPS 400 high-end multimedia desktops. Games and applications designed to take advantage of the physics technology are expected to be widely available later this year.”

-quoted from this article

Looks like its going to be quite a year for advancements in PC gaming!

XPS details from Dell here

Vista Delayed - Again

Via BBC…. It seems that we won’t be getting an update to Windows until at least January 2007 as the new breaks this morning of another delay to delivery of Windows Vista - unless you’re a business customer that is.

There will be a corportate edition of the new version of Windows available likely around Thanksgiving weekend in the US with the remaining versions set to ship in the new year (Enterprise, Home Basic, Home Premium, Ultimate and Starter).

Only thinking yesterday as well its nearly 5 years since Internet Explorer had an update, it should be 6 by the time Windows ships, way too big a gap in my mind for any piece of software - never mind Windows itself. Still… the interconnectivity with the XBOX 360 should be fun…

Update: This news article makes more sense for business - they’re not bothered as more major corporations wouldn’t roll out Vista until 07 anyway. It does mean though that Microsoft are going to potentially miss the home computer market for Christmas, possibly the biggest selling time of the year for home computers.

Business Uses Of RSS

If you’re around Cork on Monday evening next, IT@Cork (of which Tom Raftery is involved) is holding an evening on the “business uses of RSS” down in the NSC (National Software Centre).

Fergus Burns (Nooked), Elain Lucey (CSO), Rob Burke and Dave Northey (both Microsoft) will be speaking on the night. Kick off is 6pm with tickets €20 for non-members. Should be some interesting discussion there though!

Update : Via comments from Tom, Elain Lucey won’t be speaking so John Dunne (CSO) will be taking her place…

Upgrade Complete

So I made the upgrade from WP1.5 to WP2.02 this morning, which means I’ve also upgraded the theme ever so slightly. A few tweaks to be made this morning but its making it easier for me to manage the blog. I’ve also added a new contact page for those who have been asking how to get in touch with me.

I didn’t go into any real extensive testing for my old theme on the latest version of WP but if it turns out to be working fine I might well release it to the general public for download as I’ve found myself slipping into the K2 vibe recently. There’ll be some updates during the day or later on this evening.

Questions and comments always appreciated…

Some people might like the fact that the captcha is gone, hmmmm

Firefox 2.0 - Update

Just a little update post on this one. Reading Rob’s blog (Controlled By Remote) at lunchtime, he’s since downloaded and posted his notes on Firefox 2.0a with some screens as well…

Nice one Rob…

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