Wednesday, April 18, 2007

DISPOSABLE iPODS MotherJones: "These days, the champion of audio obsolescence is Apple, which successfully combined its iPod with a unique digital format (aac). By embracing a non-MP3 format, Apple locked you into its world. Now, when your iPod breaks, you have a library of music that you can't use on other players. You have to buy another iPod. Enjoy your music for as long as your iPods lasts. Apple says that will be for years; for us nitpickers that means about 13 months. Yes, the secret is out. After 13 months of heavy use, the lithium-ion battery of the iPod can lose more than half of its functionality. You'll find that even though you recharge more often, your iPod can fade out by the end of a long day. Simply put, even though an iPod can cost you $350, these digital music players are designed to be disposable." 10:58:37 AM

SECRET PRISONS NYTimes: "The Bush administration's allies in Congress on Monday blocked a bill that would require the White House to disclose the locations of secret prisons run by the Central Intelligence Agency and to reveal the amount spent annually by American intelligence agencies." 10:55:56 AM

BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE NRA IN A THEATRE NEAR YOU This scene is brought to you by the NRA and their stubborn fight for the freedom to kill. After all, guns are used to kill, aren't they? Greg Palast: "He had accomplices. Don't kid yourself: 23-year-old Cho Seung-hui didn't forge his two little pistols in his smithy shop. He had a dealer, a guns-and-bullets pusher-man who put the heat in his hand, took the kid's money and pocketed it with a grin." Remember Columbine? Gun control legislation. 10:51:23 AM

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