The Problem Of Digital Detritus

Apple Mulls Launching Spotify Rival, Android App as Downloads Decline (Sources)

… so far this year, U.S. digital album sales are down 13 percent for the week ended March 9, and digital track sales are down 11 percent from last year, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Even as download sales have deteriorated, revenue from streaming services have grown, according to two reports released on March 18. The first, from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), showed that streaming services such as Spotify, Pandora and YouTube generated $1.4 billion in subscription, advertising and licensing revenues in the U.S. last year, up 39 percent from 2012, while downloads revenue were down 3.2 percent to $2.9 billion. The second report, from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), painted a similar picture, albeit on a global scale. Streaming music revenue grew 51 percent worldwide, while downloads slipped 2.1 percent.

It was in 2009 that I first heard about a thing called Spotify, from Bob Lefsetz.

When Will This Winter Die?

A ‘Nor’Easter Bomb’ Might Be Heading To The East Coast

While the National Weather Service is understandably skittish about making snowfall predictions when the storm is still five days away, thanks to the wonders of technology, we can get a sneak peak of what the totals might be.

Another model, the GGEM (created by the Canadian Meteorological Centre), has a snow forecast that would rank as one of the biggest the New York City area has ever seen—more than two feet by Wednesday.

Now, the GGEM is more than likely wrong—the New York City office of the National Weather service conservatively noted the double-barreled center the GGEM is currently showing is probably unrealistic—but barring big changes in the forecast, there’s an increasingly strong line of evidence that someone’s going to get walloped on that order somewhere along the East Coast.

Boldfaced emphasis added by me.

We don’t need this. I’m still not used to the sidewalks and streets being finally clear of all the snow we’ve already had.

If we get a massive snowfall along the lines of that prediction, it will be a disaster.

iambillbil Locks His Retina-Class iFive Mini 3 Review

I am seething.

All this time I’ve been looking forward to the Chinese forum posts about the Retina-class iFive Mini 3 from tablet wonk iambillbil. He tests a lot of tablets so he has a vast knowledge when it comes to writing about them.

Today, his posts appeared at both 5Fans [Google Translate: one, two, three] and IMP3Net [Google Translate: one, two, three].

And they are mostly blocked off to most people!

Retina-Class iFive Mini 3: Three More Videos

Two videos are from middlemen resellers, one from a magazine.

After this, I won’t be posting more videos unless they contain substantially more information than just the basics. I think most people can get enough of an idea of the tablet from all the videos that have been posted here and the only thing that remains is to see some specific apps or functions highlighted in videos.

Middleman Fraud

A site I won’t link to. I was thinking of buying from them, but not after this:

Click = big

Blue highlighting added by me.

“Reg. Price: USD 378.59 You save: USD 198.60” — just who the hell are they trying to kid with that?

It’s never been US$378.59.

This is contemptible.

If you treat potential customers as stupid, just how honest a service can you be running?

USD 99 Allwinner: A Prophetic Blog

Via a pingback, I became aware of an extraordinary blog that’s focused on the ascendancy of Allwinner’s CPU.

The blog is called USD 99 Allwinner. But its subtitle is telling: A lethal threat to the world of Intel, Apple, Microsoft, Qualcomm and the rest.

And he called it on November 30, 2012:

If this scenario will happen on the market, or even a scenario which is worse than that from Windows point of view, then for both Microsoft and Intel it will mean that they should give up their premium pricing strategy, i.e.
– introduce sub $50 (or even deeply sub $50) per unit fees (versions) for large volumes both in Windows 8 licenses and Intel SoCs instead of the current dominance of the ~$100 unit fees;
– and introduce that extremely fast.

Boldfaced and red text in the original.

And what’s happened since is exactly what he said had to come to pass.