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Friday, February 15, 2002 |
I'm so proud of myself - I'm blogging while messaging with Kate and watching the Olympics. See, 15-year olds have nothing on me!
10:19:43 PM 
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One Out of Four Americans Have Downloaded MP3s, Says New Study [at MusicDish]
"Fifty million people, or almost one-quarter (23%) of the American population aged 12 and over, have downloaded a music or mp3 file from of the Net, say findings from a new study examining the influence and effects of online music distribution around the world. By comparison, Napster claimed to have around 40 million users in its heyday, says research firm Ipsos-Reid which conducted the study last November and December. Similar proportions of Americans report having listened to Internet radio (27%) and streamed audio (21%), and over one-third (37%) indicate they have listened to a pre-recorded music CD that was playing in the CD-ROM drive of their PC, Ipsos-Reid found in Tempo: Keeping Pace with Online Music Distribution."
In other words, 50 million Americans realize how inane the record companies are, are tired of being screwed over, and are going elsewhere to get the services they want.
"The firm went on that young Americans continue to lead this Internet music phenomenon, as approximately two-fifths of 12-24-year-olds have downloaded music or MP3 files off of the Internet (44% of 12-17 year-olds, and 42% in the 18-24 age group)."
No surprise there. Think of all that disposable income the record companies are losing....
"Among adults aged 25-34, one-third (35%) have also downloaded music, demonstrating that older age groups are beginning to dabble in the new digital music arena as well. Not only are these individuals trying out music downloading capabilities, they are returning for more, says Ipsos-Reid. Three-fifths of (59%) of Americans who have downloaded a music or MP3 file in the past indicated that they are somewhat, very, or extremely likely to download again in the next 30 days."
Hello, Mr. Record Company, this is your wake-up call.
9:58:22 AM
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Your Phone as Your Wallet, Part 2
"At this time, welcome PayBox, a German company that is establishing itself slowly but surely. To use the system, you register with your bank account and PayBox then acts as a link between your mobile phone and your bank account. If I would like to pay for a cab then I give the driver my mobile phone number, or alias, and he enters it into his system. I then get a phone call and a nice voice tells me that this cab driver is requesting an amount of X EUR. I can then say yes and enter my password and the money is securely deducted from my bank account. For me, the entire system is free. The system is gaining acceptance on the web, at least in Germany, but for paying in stores it is moving along at a slower pace, partly because a POS (point-of-sale) terminal is needed there...."
"Paying for a coke with your VISA card is not really efficient but if you pay with your phone bill then it might work a lot easier. You can already get a coke out of a vending machine with your mobile phone in Finland, and I am sure this will be something that we will be accustomed too fairly soon. An example of this can be what Europolitan Vodafone and TietoEnator are launching a new payment method in Sweden. I also recently learned that you can pay for drinks and subway tokens with your mobile phone in Santiago (Chile)." [InfoSync]
Suh-weet! This is definitely the entry point for micropayments to become widespread. So when can I pay my library overdues using my cell phone?
9:16:36 AM
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"When we bought our house in Amsterdam it had many modern features that I would never think of installing myself, but was always happy to have a fully automatic urinal, bulletproof glass windows, full climate control and fm transmitter for audio, just to name a few of the gadgets. We were also impressed with the Swedish toilets: You sit and the 'odor-fan' kicks in immediately. A button on the side 'irrigates' with warm water, followed by warm air to dry you off. Go ahead and laugh all you want, but now you too can own your own Curry Commode at a fraction of the price! This model straps-on to your existing seat for hours of hygienic fun." [CurryDotCom]
I didn't think I could be jealous of somebody else's toilet, but I am.
8:12:20 AM
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Comments by: YACCS
© Copyright 2002 Jenny Levine.
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