Look, I love the iTunes store. Have since it first came out. I love having the power to decide what tracks are worthy of purchase, and I don't get stuck with the filler that's included on most releases.

And while the DRM on the iTunes tracks is really lgiht weight, it's still there, and I'd prefer it to be like CD's or cassettes were back in the day: Not there.

So when eMusic, which sells DRM-Free legal music pulls into the #2 spot in digital downloads, I'm happy.

Courtesy of The Unofficial Photoshop Blog, I give you Blue Vertigo, a great list of free/cheap stock photo sites.

Apparently just restricting which browsers and media players can be installed on a Windows box isn't enough for Microsoft.

Now it looks like they want to control PC case design, too.

Eurekster is an interesting idea : Build a social search engine harnesses the power of groups to find the best information out there.

I can see this being REALLY useful in enterprise and small-market search.

Man, I wish I had written that.

I love books. I love the feel of a book as the pine gently bends. I love to hear the soft rustle of pages, and the sense of wonderment as each new one is turned, revealing it's secrets to the reader.

But the book publishing business is in serious trouble in the digital age, clinging onto outdated business models and inadequate supply chains.

Jeff Jarvis knows a thing or publishing, so when he talks books, book publishers better listen.

Ok, some basic grasp of Perl is required, but turning the tables on people freeloading on your network in this way is pretty funny.

Looks like the RIAA picked a fight with the wrong guy this time.

Wired Magazine looks at the chances for Microsoft's Zune player against the iPod.

"But hardware is definitely not its forte. The MSN TV experiment was a bust, Microsoft was quickly forced out of the wireless base station business, and its webcam line isn't anywhere near as popular as offerings from Apple, Creative, Logitech and others."

I'd forgotten all about the lead balloon that was MSN TV. But I will say I think their mice and keyboards are quite nice.

"Through several generations of MP3 players, consumers have consistently chosen the ones that work simply (and simply work), over those that offer advanced features and added complexity."

It. Just. Works. Why is simplicity the hardest thing in the world?

"When a guy in a beer commercial makes better use of on-stage multimedia than most CEOs and executives, it's time to rethink conventional wisdom on what is truly a kick-butt presentation."

Devastating.

Those ads were so good they set off a wave of Canadian national pride, including some notable parodies.

Nikon 's got a teaser up on a new 10.2 megapixel DSLR to replace my beloved D70.

Looks like my wallet may take a hit again soon...

Disk Inventory X, a visual guide to what's on your hard disk.

OS X only.

First, Hotwired goes away.

Now it looks like WebMonkey's going bye-bye.

Darn shame. I remember when Wired was *it*. You had to read it each month to know what's going on. Now it's just the bastard child of a Sharper Image catalogue and Premiere mag. It seems the wired future that looked so attractive in 1994 meant that print magazines about the wired future would themselves become obsolete.

I love Omnigraffle. It does web flow and charting actions quicker and cleaner than Visio can ever hope to, and it's a lot less complex and intimidating.

So I know I'll be hitting Graffletopia a lot in the near future.

I give you one of my favorite childhood memories.

Brrrring! Brrring!

Microsoft vows that Google won't take the enterprise search market away from them.

And I vow not to let Ferrari take the Aston Martin that's sitting in my driveway. :-)

According to Search Engine Watch, it's Autonomy that's the leader in enterprise searches, and Microsoft isn't mentioned at all. But keep dreaming, Microsoft.

There are few sites on the internets that appeal more to geeks than Slashdot, and few that appeal LESS to geeks than MySpace.

So when Slashdot does a story on the Slashdot on MySpace's trip to the top of the internet, things are bound to get interesting.

I used Hotwired as much or more than Yahoo! back in the pre-Google era (which feels like it was in another century. Oh wait, it was...).

And Jeffrey Veen reminds us of those times once again. Will we look back on pre-AJAX sites in 10 years the same way that Lileks looks at '50's cookbooks now?

Probably.

A great interview between Glenn Reynolds, one of the pre-eminent bloggers out there and Chris Anderson of Wired on the future of niche marketing the internet.

iTunes link here.

Ok, so it may be a problem.

But it's not my fault. I was born that way.

Now THIS is an obituary!

Fred, I'll be raising a glass of oatmeal stoat this evening to your memory.

Ok, so it looks like Microsoft, flush with the success of the xBox and blindly ignoring Microsoft Bob, is trying to take on the iPod.

Good luck with that.

Enjoy.

If it's like .Mac, but for free, sign me up! I like what I have with Amazon right now, but Free is Free...

More here.

Girgle - Google Search For Girls!

Mere words cannot describe it.

Bud's "Real Men Of Genius" radio campaign is one of the very few memorable ones out there right now, and this mash-up of it for the blogging world is pretty darn good, too.

While Don's turning his blog into the Monterey Jazz Festival (although, really, there's no such thing as too much Herbie Hancock), I thought I'd post this one depressing musical fact:

It's been longer since Nirvana released Nevermind to now than from Beatlemania to Saturday Night Fever.

I am frinkin' old.

Sigh.

Music, Nirvana, 80's

This is SO much better than the typical smiling, ultra-healthy Stepford Athletes we see in most health club ads.

Better photography, too.

...post a link to a top ten blogging ideas list.

:-)

I have an iBook and iSight, and this is on my Christmas Wish List, so this is actually VERY interesting.

Astralphotography, for cheap.

The Ikea game.

Ikea, Viral+Marketing, Fun

This is more of Jon's territory than mine, but I found this interview with Peter Scoble, Microsoft's most prominent blogger, to be chock full of insight into how blogging can help businesses.

Blogs, Marketing, Web2.0