Apple Music and Tablets?

Stitch, check out the link:

Tablet Music

I think it is long overdue to bundle some goodies with online albums! It was a big loss when music began to go online - minimal album art, liner notes, lyrics, extras, etc. I think it's a great idea to take the album concept to the same level and beyond for online music! When I listen to music on the iPod Touch, I absolutely love to see the cool album cover, and I think additional materials you could leaf through on the Touch would be a kick butt idea! I hope they make it happen.

Speaking of awesome ideas done right, how about the much rumored Mac tablet idea? There have been a lot of patents surfacing about a possible tablet idea. I still remember that right before the iPhone was released, there were a lot of patents surfacing which hinted strongly at what was to come. I feel the same thing is happening now. Instead of a clunky, heavy half baked tablet idea from MS, how about a polished, well implemented Apple version! Think about the Macbook Air with only one side! If anyone can do it right, Apple can. Then watch the Microsofts jump on the bandwagon again!

Microsoft Stores

Stitch, what do you think of the Microsoft retail stores?

MStores

It just amazes me that MS for the most part has no innovative ideas. They truly just copy what Apple does. In this case, it is 8 or so years after the fact.

MS claims Apple called to ask them to stop their TV commercials

A Microsoft executive in a presentation said that he received a call from Apple attorneys asking MS to stop the MS ads which claim that MS PC's are a better value. Right. I'm sure that is what happened. On MacNN they had a pic of the executive who happens to be bald and very nerdy looking. Someone in the comments section asked, "Are all MS execs bald and stupid?". I had to laugh.

Apple still running strong

The Q2 earnings are out and Apple continues to grow even during a severe recession. iPhone sales were up 600% from last year! Some of that is because of the transition last year to 3G causing a temporary slump in sales. But still, WOW. I see Apple has said they predict iPod sales to continue to drop over time. But what really is an iPod anymore. Does an iTouch count as an iPod? Does an iPhone too? Not too shabby under the current economic climate we are in.

A proud? owner of an AppleTV

Yes I have kicked the satellite dish out of my home. I figured when more than half of the stations are either infomercial stations like QVC or digital music stations with really bad music. And then since we are on the west coast, many stations go off the air early and show infomercials. I'm done.
I am setting up an over the air DVR on my PC which will add the shows to iTunes to stream to the main TV with AppleTV. You got to love the interface with ATV. I like watching previews of movies by streaming them directly to ATV. But the prices are still too high, $3.99 for a non HD version. I still just use Netflix for DVD's. A better value, even if you have to wait a couple of days. For me, there is a lot of HD science content on the Podcasts. Sure beats the Science channel which actually have a show where a cowboy hunts down people in the woods. What this has to do with Science I have no idea. Its like Shark week on Discovery channel. At least that is less of a stretch.
I like the favorites for ATV. When you find a podcast you like you can add it to favorites. But these don't get backed up as far as I know. So if you reboot the ATV, then you might loose your favorites. I had a little trouble with iTunes not finding the ATV. It would work for a bit then disappear. I ended up having to wipe my ATV clean and start over. Now it seems to be working fine. Too PC like for me though, with the restart deal.
It is cool to have all your pictures streamed to ATV with Ken Burns effects and songs from you iTunes library. There are actually podcast HD shows which are 20 min long. The full program. I like the station Current. I think it is an up and coming network. They are also on cable and dish. I will update this review after I have ATV a while more.
I don't know why there isn't more advertising in Podcasts even from the big networks. I don't mind short ads if it generates revenue and better content. There are a couple that do and you can see that the quality of the broadcast is better than most. Hey they need a revenue source. I have not downloaded any TV shows yet. $1.99 an episode seems a bit much for something I would only watch once. Hey 50 cents a show, or add some short ads. Oh well. ATV has potential, the on demand stuff of the latest version is good. Blurry youtube videos are also available, but why?