Frank Z

DivX On The PS3: Is Sony Selling Consoles or Sabotaging HD-DVD?

Well the hopeful part of me was thinking that Sony has finally realized that video on physical disc is a ridiculous antiquated format that won't be relevant in the not so distant future. DivX is one of the best purely digital formats out there. It's video as it should be... a bunch of bit and bytes on a hard drive. There is no need for a physical disc and unnecessary packaging. It's stupid and wasteful. Hopefully both sides will realize this and end this silly "war".

Steve Jobs: We're Ready To End DRM Now

It's obvious to me that Apple plans on cutting out the middle man and becoming its own music label. Jobs open letter is just giving the record companies an opportunity to get in before Apple does it itself. Even if Apple doesn't become its own label, the first company that agrees to DRM free music will kill the rest. But by refusing to free the DRM, they're giving Apple cover against and fair trade complaints that come when the record companies get pummeled. It's a very smart move on Jobs' part.

Apple’s Jobs to Music Industry: Let's End DRM

It's obvious to me that Apple plans on cutting out the middle man and becoming its own music label. Jobs open letter is just giving the record companies an opportunity to get in before Apple does it itself. Even if Apple doesn't become its own label, the first company that agrees to DRM free music will kill the rest. But by refusing to free the DRM, they're giving Apple cover against and fair trade complaints that come when the record companies get pummeled. It's a very smart move on Jobs' part.

DRM-free Music: The Difference Between Apple and Microsoft

It's obvious to me that Apple plans on cutting out the middle man and becoming its own music label. Jobs open letter is just giving the record companies an opportunity to get in before Apple does it itself. Even if Apple doesn't become its own label, the first company that agrees to DRM free music will kill the rest. But by refusing to free the DRM, they're giving Apple cover against and fair trade complaints that come when the record companies get pummeled. It's a very smart move on Jobs' part.

Can DiVX Build Consumer Awareness?

Their only hope is hardware because the customer service for their software is horrible!

Sirius: What's All the Fuss About Howard Stern’s $83 Million Bonus?

What happens is people see the $500 million and say "WOW! That's a big number!" without thinking about the math behind the 5 year contract. $500 million divided by five is $100 million. That $100 million is basically the cost. By air date they gained 1.5 million subscribers. Multiplying that by an average price of $10 and you get $15 million per year. Multiply that by 12 and you get $180 million. Which means if they stayed at 2 million subscriber, Howard would have paid for himself. By end of year Sirius had 6.1 million subscribers. So in the overall scheme of things, they got Howard cheap!

Why I'm Disappointed By The iPhone

I hate to break it to you, but it's not Apple's fault that cell phones aren't open. As far as margins... that has never been a problem as they charge a premium on everything they sell.

Why Steve Jobs Should Resign

Come on, be serious. Steve Jobs stepping down will be the second death of Apple. Apple needs to do whatever they can to keep Jobs in place. Steve Jobs is the Teflon God of Apple. People still love him regardless. You seem to think this isn't common practice throughout the industry. Puhlease!

The Dirty Truth About Sirius Satellite Radio

Also, it's amazing that the same people that love the Sopranos on HBO are supposedly suddenly offended by Howard's profanity. I'm not buying it!

The Dirty Truth About Sirius Satellite Radio

Key quote "They are still outperforming XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. (XMSR), who lost 528,000 subscribers in Q2 alone". That's all that matters. Believe me, if he was watered down, the deactivations would be higher not lower. No one is going to pay for something you can get on free radio.

Gizmodo: Apple to Announce iPhone on Monday

The Apple iPhone is about as real as Santa Claus. Keep dreaming. There is no iPod phone!

Apple's Macworld Secret This Year May Be TiVo Partnership

Why not just iTunes on TiVo? That would be the killer app! Plus they'd have to do away with the subscription fees. If TiVo was so hell bent on not being taken over, they should have made their own iTunes for TiVo a long time ago. But again it takes Steve Jobs to show people how to make money in this world of game-shifting technology! TiVo is such an obvious content distribution platform and not one person there could think of it?

Sirius and XMSR: Merger, Apple Buyout Among the Possibilities

No way. If Apple buys anyone, they're buying DivX. If they go into video, they're going in a big way and not looking back to pick up the scraps of audio when their audio platform has it all....

Microsoft's Trojan Horse Will Own Your Living Room

Yaaaaaawn! They couldn't even put TiVo out of business. Only TiVo was successful in driving itself into the ground. If Media Center is any hint, the usefulness and user-friendliness of it will come nowhere near anything that Apple will produce. And therein lies the rub. Microsoft needs to decide if they want to compete with Apple (media distribution) or Sony (gaming). Trying to both in the same product will only lead to brand confusion and poor product.

By the way, HD is going to be driven more by a DivX type solution than the high bandwidth solution these companies are trying to show down our throats.

Apple Apparently Loses Its Mind, Claims Ownership Of Word 'Podcast'

I have to agree. This about one of the dumbest stunts they've ever pulled. I'm actually surprised that the company that basically made itself on marketing and brand would do something to ruin their brand. The word podcast keeps iPod in people's minds. A good marketing stunt by Microsoft would be to openly allow people to use the word Zunecast!