Why the cheaper PS3 is still a ripoff

Earlier this week, Sony announced it was going to sell a slimmed down and cheaper version of the PS3,just before the holiday rush.  The new version of the PS3 will contain a 40GB hard drive and less USB ports. 

And as enticing as this may sound for some gamers and parents to buy over the holiday, I would advise against it.

The problem is not the smaller hard drive.  I mean, let’s be honest, if you really need more than 40 GB on a gaming system you should probably evaluate your gaming habits.

The major problem with this ready-for-the-holidays version is the fact that the smaller version will not be backwards compatible.  In other words, say good-bye to your PS2 or have it ready to be hooked-up if you want to play any of the old games.  Definitely leave it unpacked as you may find yourself wanting to play some of the classic games.

In today’s gaming market, reverse compatibility has always felt like an agreement between developers and buyers.  The developers can  push out improved versions at their leisure but not at the cost of having to completely switch out and rebuild a gamers’ library.  Reverse compatibility only requires an emulator or synthesizer be built/downloaded into the console, it is not a particularly expensive or cumbersome program.

Think about this; the Nintendo Wii is still the cheapest of consoles and, at $150 less than the smaller PS3 version.  The Wii does not contain a hard drive to speak of and still has the ability to be compatible with its predecessors.

Something tells me that if the PS3-40 fails to takeoff, its inability to play PS2 games will be seen as a major reason.  Gamers like the ability to go backwards, play the original versions of games, but as much gamers love the advancement of gaming, they really despise complete obsoleteness. 

And something else tells me that if the PS3-Lite (as some reviewers are calling it) takeoff doesn’t happen, it might also be time to throw in the towel on your beloved system at any hard drive size.

I am Napster’s B*tch

I feel like such a chump.  I feel like I just went back into an unhealthy relationship and, despite my hopes that things will be better this time around, I know it will all be the same.

I went back to Napster.  I’m giving them a second chance…

I know, I know what you are going to say to me.  You left Napster eight months ago because of the way it treated you!  They’re going to treat me the same as before.  Napster is still going to put those programs into my computer and mp3 player.  It is still going to pseudo-forbid me from using players b/c it likes to be controlling.  It’s still going to make me link to it once a week, because Napster always wants to know what I am doing (it is jealous of me using other programs).

But, can’t you see that Napster was good to me price-wise?!

And I’ve tried to break the habit.  I’ve used other music programs and, although friendly at first, all they really wanted to do was get deeper into my pockets.  I even tried buying individual albums, but that only made me realize how much money I was spending and how much I was still missing out.

I’m sorry, but I had to go back for something that was going to offer me better financial stability.  If not for me, for the children… Christmas and Birthdays are coming up for crying out loud.  Do you want me to get them nothing!?

So, okay Napster, you got me back.  I hope you are happy.  You will see me linking my mp3 player to you and letting watch who I’m listening to, but that doesn’t mean I love you!

Librarian 2.0- The new librarian or the responsible one?

 

 

Reading the Librairan 2.0 Manifesto was both an inspiring and frustrating read.  Inspiring because it iterates goals that make me love my profession.  I love outreach, I love working online and I love sharing new web 2.0 finds with peers and patrons. But frustating too because I was left wondering how we got to a point in our profession where some of the goals needed to be written.  Take the following examples: 

• I will not fear Google or related services, but rather will take advantage of these services to benefit users while also providing excellent library services that users need.  
• I will let go of previous practices if there is a better way to do things now, even if these practices once seemed so great.
• I will recognize that the universe of information culture is changing fast and that libraries need to respond positively to these changes to provide resources and services that users need and want. 

These are new goals for our profession!?  We actually had to put in goals that state we need to be open to efficiency, convenience and we need to provide resources our patrons need and want?  As public servants in information resources, it would almost seem as if these goals were a mandatory.  And yet, I can also see why we needed to specify these goals; there are quite a few among our profession that need to be reminded.

But how did we get to this stage?  Why do we have professional librarians who refuse to keep up with the professional and technological requirements?  How did we reach a point where the patrons’ needs were less important than the traditional way of doing things? All along, the job of a reference librarian has been to find the information patrons need.  We are in the business of connecting people to the information they require… so why care about the format that information is found in? 

Although traditionalists’ argue the Internet is 90% junk, it was originally built as a means to convey information and expedite the communication process between people.  Even among the copious amounts of junk found on the web, legitimate information has rooted itself firmly in cyberspace as well.  For some reason or another some in our profession dismissed this technology as non-important, despite the visibly growing applications and use among our patrons.  And because of this lackadaisical and rejective approach we are left with professionals so far behind the curve that waiting for retirement is as an easier path than training.

And so I grow frustrated when I read the goals and responsibilities of the 2.0 Librarian, it should’ve been part of our profession all along. 

 

The day the music went silent

Yesterday, June 26th, many of the webcast music sites are going silent in protest of a recently passed bill by the Copyright Royalty Board.  The purpose was to raise awareness about the aforementioned bill, which will double to triple the royalty costs for webcast radio stations, essentially bankrupting the small to medium players in the industry.

But likely forcing free sites to have to start charging.

But there would be more profits for music companies (don’t forget, most musicians make their money in ticket sales and merchandise).

The bill also contains a retroactive clause that makes webcasts have to pay for any music played in the last six months.  In other words, those who want to get out before they go bankrupt will likely go bankrupt anyway.

This silent protest was observed by webcasts of all sizes and even included sites like YahooLaunch and Pandora.

Why you still need to proofread

 

 

Two mini miss takes

 

 

gut threw

 

 

Spill chucker

 

 

MySpace to give up list of sex offenders…

Man, this is a tough one.  My many sides are really battling each other.

The librarian side of me screams about the rights of privacy and shuns them for giving in.

My business side wonders if it was necessary in order to keep the website alive… one too many lawyers to hire and enough bad publicity. 

My researcher side of me tells me that underage children are lying about their identities on the site as well.

My educator side agrees and says we need to teach or children about digital ethics and how not to invite trouble into your life.

My logical side agrees and knows that this wont stop unregistered pedifiles from getting to our children.

Which leads to my rational side of me wondering if there are better ways of creating profiles that help avoid these problems on Myspace.

And through all this, the parent in me says damned straight!  It is amazing how strong that voice became when my wife gave birth to our child.

All in all, I really don’t know how to think of this.  Yeah, in a way I feel that they are convicts and deserve what they get now; but they are still citizens and therefore have all the rights of any other citizens despite their past actions… and some people do reform and have the right to a normal life.

 I simply don’t know… anyone else?

Bloglines Going Bye Bye?

As a blogger, I am always curious to see who is looking at my blog but as a techie, I also want to know what resources they are using to find me.  Hey, it’s not just old fashion narcissism, folks!

As I was looking at the Feeds source for subscribers, I’ve noticed that Bloglines has slowly been disappearing off the feed chart.  Personally, I left Bloglines for Google Feedfetcher… have others joined in this exodus?

Is Accessing Open Wi-Fi Illegal?

In Palmer, Alaska, Brian Tanner was arrested for using the public library’s wi-fi in their parking when the library was closed. Local police had tired of chasing Tanner from various locations where he was accessing open ended wi-fi and arrested him. They confiscated his laptop to see what files Tanner had downloaded as well.

Is this really a legal issue or the responsibility of the people who hold the access points? All wi-fi hardware/software allow their owners to create password protected access so that only selected users may take advantage of it. If an owner fails to opt for this protection, does it mean they can still say “no, you can’t use it” and be legally binding?

We really haven’t set up ethical rules for the digital age yet. We still argue over ideas like privacy for users in public settings, rights applied to digital information, what can/cannot be written over emails and whether we should have some sort of program in place to restrict content to certain users on public computers.

Our computers are designed to find hotspots now and even default to open wi-fi networks when available. My Nintendo Wii has actually picked up two other open networks near my house along with my own wireless system. If an upgrade was placed into the program to access the fastest network or default to another open network when my wireless went down, would it make me criminally liable?

It seems this is more of an ethical question over a legal one. I certainly wouldn’t argue that Tanner seems to have a lack in ethics and common sense but it also seems that there were protective measures the library could take to prevent his access as well.

In the physical world we have many different legal words for the various types of theft as it is not simply a black and white issue. Are we going to find ourselves at a point where we need to do the same for the digital world as well?

On a semi-tangent; is his being chased from point to point really enough evidence to confiscate the laptop?

Cyberbullying and Libraries

There is often a really fine line between what is funny, what is offensive and to what degree someone is offended. 

Make no mistake, there is some joy to be had in bullying.  It is about empowerment, positioning, status, hierarchy and the pleasure is the solidification of one’s place through the bullying act.  In other words, it is largely about attention and acceptance.

And if someone is looking for attention, then the Internet is a heaven for their needs.

As much as I am a fan for social networks and social technologies I can understand peoples’ concern about its bullying potential.  Text messages, Instant messages, photoshops, podcasts and blogs (forgive me if I left a few tactics out) don’t just make a myriad of methods to bully with, but also encourage the creativity of the bully… and the reward is the hundreds to thousands of hits their post may receive.

Example?  Check out Ghyslain Raza, better known as the Star Wars Kid.  He filmed a solo light saber sequence as part of a school project but when some of his classmates got a hold of the film, Ghyslain became an overnight cyber-celebrity.  When the Canadian news source, National Post, asked him how he felt about all the ‘attention,’ he responsed “I want my life back.”

A hell for Gyshlain but incredible empowerment for the kids who posted it!

Rather than make this post solely about cyberbullying, lets think about what it could mean for libraries.  Certain states have made blanket anti-bullying policies that go as strict as zero-tolerance.  As sites like Myspace gain notoriety more for their negative aspects, and stories about unfortunate cyberbullying and suicide become more popularized, there is a possibility that state and federal legislature may push through DOPA-esque policies.

But before we go down that slippery slope, I’d like to ask some more some questions for us to think about:

-If we market our library as a “Safe Zone,” how safe are our teens within the library’s cyber-walls?  Do we, or should we, take this into account of a Safe Zone policy?

-What will happen when someone can confirm the cyberbullying took place inside of the library?

-What, if any, measures should libraries take in order to prevent cyberbullying?

-What proactive steps can we take against cyberbullying right now?

-If we consider ourselves as a cultural center, does that mean that we consider excessive bullying as part of our culture?   This one if for the Sociologists out there!

As much as I am an advocate for Freedom of Information and Freedom of Speech, I also spent many years working with teens who have been greatly affected by bullying, physically and mentally.  And because I have worked with teens in a counseling setting before I became a librarian, I greatly struggle with where the line is drawn in a library.

To an extent, being bullied is a part of growing up.  For some, they grow up and walk away unscathed; for others, they live an entire life around it’s effects.  So where do we, as libraries, take our stand in the issue?

Sad to say… this is what I think about at 2a.m. when I can’t sleep.

Bye bye Napster, hello any other method…

When I got my mp3 player, I decided to go ahead with the free trial of Napster that came with it.  At first, I was pretty happy; unlimited downloads for most music (some was still purchase only), free streams, and an easy but slow audio-to-device transfer software.  So when my free trial was over, the $20 per month fee seemed a good deal and I kept the membership.

Then the updates came.

Actually, the recommended update was meta-data that helped Napster keep track of what was on my mp3 player.  If I did not link my device once a week, my device would give me a message saying I needed to synch the device to Napster and then refused to play the music.  So, if I didn’t pay attention to when I last synched my device, I would find myself on a trip with all the desired music and no way to play it.

 My kingdom for a horse…

But I figured, what the hell, it’s still a good price and I just had to condition myself to make a habit of synching my device. 

Then the transfer device went funky, dinosaur slow too.  It would take 5 minutes to load an album and only one album per logon!  I couldn’t tell if it was a software problem but Napster’s support center didn’t seem to have any more clue than I did.  So, I had to log out after each album if I wanted to download more than one.

But it was still cheaper than buying each individual albuml, so I stuck with it.

And then they installed more meta-programs.  If I wanted to play one of my music files on a different, better sounding, software than Napster’s player, a prompt would pull up asking if I wanted to check for user rights to play the song…  it would pop up after every song!  So, there was no point in trying to play an album on anything other than their player as they took away the convenience.

It was the final straw, I called them up and told them I was finished with their product.  The representative asked me why I wanted to end my contract with them and the answer was long, but simple. 

I paid for the music, it was legal.  However, it seemed that anytime I tried to listen to the music I was being prompted, blocked or checked up on; almost like I was on some sort of parol.  Sure, I could listen to music but it was under their terms as trying to listen with other products, while still being legal, were made to be extremely inconvenient.  The inconvenience that came with the service was not worth the price, no matter how seemingly cheap it was.  Music is about fun and feeling, not user rights, legal obligations or checkups.

And some wonder why people choose to download music illegally.  At least the only time you get hassled is if you get caught.