Episode 684

Dell heard the supposition that they might have a high rate of returns on solid state drives and came out swinging. Nuh-uh! sums up their response. Amazon once again correctly leaked a product release date. How do they get away with that? And of course the 700 MHz spectrum auction is over. Did you win? Let us know!
==Stories Covered==
Amazon’s right on Vista SP1
FCC Ends 700 MHz Auction
Dell refutes solid state drive failure claims (Thanks Russ960!)
Apple could split device sales with music labels
Adobe CEO says Flash apps coming to iPhone
The reality of the RDF: how Apple motivates us to creativity
Toshiba losing money in HD DVD business
Google Spreadsheets Adds Gadgets, a Directory of Features
Beatles Edition of Guitar Hero Could Be Coming
The US Postal Service wants your useless junk (Thanks Shalin!)
Sci-fi author Arthur C. Clarke is dead
==Voice Mail==
* Loren
: I’m cable TV free!!!
* Chris
: More Cablecard info.
–Jason Cincy also corroborated it with TimeWarner where he lives.
* Lauren Saskatchewan
: When listeners collide
==E-mail==
===Robo dog===
Hey guys,
That robo dog you mentioned yesterday, has been around for a while. I saw a video about this maybe 6-8 months ago. This isn’t a well actually. . .really it brings up a interesting issue with blogging (since you were discussing the validity of bloggers; the problem is that buzz reported on this as though it is news, as in new, and it is not literally new. There are so many blogs that things are missed and then recycled and then misrepresented. just an issue I was thinking about.
Eric
Omaha
===One console future???===
I personally love that there are 3 consoles to choose from. It’s like the computer industry in the 1980’s. However is this the beginning of the end?
First we heard EA talking about how they wanted a one console future: 
Then Dennis Dyack became a very vocal supporter of the one console future: 
Even David Jaffe supported a one console future: 
Then at this years GDC the PC Gaming Alliance was announced. It’s purpose was to save PC gaming. One of it’s members is Activision the largest publisher of video games today. Another member is Acer: 
This week there are rumblings that Acer wants to produce an “open standard” PC based GAMES CONSOLE!!! 
All of this might not amount to anything. HOWEVER, the pieces are there and this industry could be changing. I think Nintendo has opened a lot of eyes this generation that there is HUGE money to be made with casual gaming and many companies have realized that the video gaming pie isn’t as hard to get a slice of as previously believed.
King of All Asia
===Piracy precedents===
It seems the American government has a long history of working with Pirates…
- In 1812 the US declares war against England over a dispute about access to and control of Louisiana
- At the end of 1814 General Andrew Jackson reaches an agreement with the pirate Jean Lafitte leading him and his men to fight for the US in the conflict.
- On January 8 1815 The British invaded and Lafitte and his men were considered a major reason the undermanned US forces were successful in repelling the British.
- On February 6 1815 President James Madison granted Lafitte and his men a full pardon for their previous crimes.
Info taken from “The Most Evil Pirates In History” by Shelley Klein pages 153 - 156.
What lesson do modern day pirates learn from this?
“Mainsheet” Matt
Ann Arbor, MI
===Story suggestion===
I’m catching up on podcasts and I’m about 3 eps behind….but this is a good NEWS story.
http://www.renesys.com/blog/2008/03/you_cant_get_there_from_here_1.shtml
I work for a international backbone provider and I can also state that Turkey pulled a near Pakistan for almost a week :-0 …not to worry, was fixed today. But there was a Turkish court order to block Youtube that resulted in all traffic was dying on it’s way out of the country.
Seems they only broke it for their major carriers…not all…so not talked about so much.
Evidence: China, Pakistan and Turkey are all blocking Youtube, so it must in fact, be the root of all evil.
Cheers,
Emmett (In Italy)
===Check your Directv bill- PPV 24 hrs only===
Message: Recording Pay Per View Movies to your DVR
Effective April 15, 2008, DVR recordings of PPV movies will be available for 24 hours of unlimited viewing after purchase. Major movie studios have required that satellite and cable providers alike may no longer allow their customers to view these recordings for longer than 24 hours. During the 24 hour viewing period, you will continue to enjoy all of your DVR features such as pause and rewind.
JSRoman