Russian download site does shuffling act

Controversial Russian music downloading site allofmp3.com (404 error) has closed it's doors only to reappear as mp3Sparks.com. allofmp3 was subject of much debate especially during the World Trade Organizations talks regarding Russia's potential membership into the organization. The parent company of allofmp3, MediaServices, was subject of a number of lawsuits brought on by recording companies and their associations while the Russian government was being attacked for allowing it to operate. MediaServices has maintained that it pays royalties to a Russian licensing body and that it warns users from other countries to heed their local laws. The move to close down allofmp3 is being considered as a minor victory but one that holds little meaning if the service is able to resurface under a new name. BBC News story here.

BC schools to offer masters program in digital media

Housed in Vancouver and jointly accredited by the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design and British Columbia Institute of Technology, a new Masters Degree in Digital Media will begin with 35 students this fall. British Columbia, home to 1,100 digital media companies, most notably Electronic Arts Inc., sees the move as an attempt to maintain it's position in a global market that is heating up. The provincial government has contributed $40.5 million dollars to the program with support also coming from the private sector. The Globe and Mail has more here.

Google dangles carrot in front of gadget developers

In this release last week, Google has upped the ante on gadget development by offering developers an opportunity to tap into some cash for their efforts. Google Gadget Ventures is a program offering $5000 grants to developers who already receive at least 250,000 page views from the gadget and seed investment of $100,000 dollars to previous grant winners. To apply for a grant developers are asked to submit 1 page proposals while those interested in the seed money must submit business plans. Google says "Our hope for Google Gadget Ventures is to enable developers to grow and diversify the universe of gadgets in a profitable and sustainable way." Nothing motivates a developer more than cash... except maybe food and/or caffeine!

Small time philanthropy, power of the people

Here is an interesting clip on the Globe and Mail's site regarding the power of social networking in a philanthropic way. Sites are emerging to allow everyday folk to band together for larger causes, nothing terribly new here but interesting none the less.

Debating the iPhone

This weeks TWIT podcast debates "The Good, The Bad, the iPhone". If you are considering purchasing the new must-have device, you might want to listen. Leo Laporte and guests, Veronica Belmont (Buzz Out Load), Cali Lewis (geekbrief), Ryan Block (engadget), and Richard Baguley (wirelessinfo) all discuss their experiences in line waiting to purchase and then give their reviews the device. It's over an hour long... and the experiences were mixed.

XBox 360 owners beware of Forza 2

G4TV is reporting that the new Forza 2 game for XBox 360 could be trashing the game consoles! Apparently many users are experiencing multiple crashes when playing the game and some have claimed it has "bricked" their machines, causing the dreaded ring of death (referring to the red led ring that appears when the system goes down) G4TV is suggesting that you shelve the game until there is a statement from either Microsoft of the developer Turn 10.

Minority report type ads coming to the web?

Yahoo! has announced a new service called SmartAds which promises a more targeted approach to serving up advertisements on the web. As this news.com article explains, rather than offering up a generic advertisement the service will be able to provide ads that are relevant to the surfers gender, location and online activities. Ads for your local Toyota dealer would appear rather than the more generic manufactures ad, for instance. Up to the minute pricing can appear in the ad, combining Yahoo's demographic, geographic and behavioral targeting capabilities the advertising will be customized to each individual surfer. I'll reserve comment until I see how well it works but I like the localization aspect of the approach, living in a small town I'm not so sure they'll find advertisers who are really relevant to my location but we'll see.

Free CD from the artist currently known as Prince

If you live in the U.K. and you pick up the newspaper "Mail" today, there will be a gift in it from Prince, the musician not the British monarch. Prince is giving away his new album "Planet Earth" with today's addition, the 10 track CD goes on sale July 24th. Looks like old media is trying to play catch up with the Internet crowd...

Opportunity knocking?

NASA has green lighted the decent of the Martian Rover 'Opportunity' into a large crater dubbed Victoria. The go ahead was given when it was determined that the scientific returns out weighed the risk to the rover. Opportunity and it's sister, 'Spirit', have been roving the Martian landscape since January of 2004, in what was to be a 90 day mission. Victoria is said to have been formed as the result of a collision with a meteor and is some 200 to 230 feet deep. Opportunity will first edge its way up to the rim of the crater and then back away to see how it performs, if it is determined to go forward the first target will be a ring about 10 feet down which represents the pre-impact surface of the planet, perhaps billions of years ago. Good luck little rover! CNN story here.

http://www.nasa.gov/rovers

Got stuff?

We all own things, and if you are like me you probably don't have an updated inventory of your stuff. Ever wonder what your stuff is worth? Wish you could sell your stuff or donate it to a good cause? MyThings is a web site that allows you, for free, to safely store information about your belongings, all in one place and accessible from anywhere you have Internet connectivity. Make your things visible for others to see or keep them private. Keep information about your stuff, such as when was it purchased, how much you paid, when the warranty runs out. Let MyThings know that your vintage baseball card collection has been stolen and they'll scan new items being added by others to see if it shows up in someone else's inventory. Looking for some idea of what your grandmother's doll collection is worth, ask for a valuation and other MyThing users will offer their opinions. It's a neat service and worth checking out if you have stuff!