(T+A #45) Technology and the Arts: 10/8/2008

(T+A #45) Technology and the Arts: 10/8/2008

In this installment of the Technology and the Arts podcast, we share some interesting news, web sites and online resources we have come across recently, including enhancements to TiVo, the Tekzilla podcast, the Netflix set-top box developed by Roku, and a Picasa Web Album update. Plus, we’ll discuss an RIAA setback and some digital music royalty decisions involving Pandora and iTunes. In addition, we discuss John’s recently stolen car…and more! Hosts: Brian Kelley and John LeMasney. File size: 16 MB. Time: 34 min., 45 sec.

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Show Notes for Technology and the Arts Podcast #45

Note: Sorry for the delay in getting these Show Notes online…but better late than never…and Go Phillies!

In this installment of the Technology and the Arts podcast, we share some interesting news, web sites and online resources we have come across recently, including enhancements to TiVo, the Tekzilla podcast, the Netflix set-top box developed by Roku, and a Picasa Web Album update. Plus, we’ll discuss an RIAA setback and some digital music royalty decisions involving Pandora and iTunes. In addition, we discuss John’s recently stolen car…and more! Hosts: Brian Kelley and John LeMasney. File size: 16 MB. Time: 34 min., 45 sec.

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Related Links:

• FriendFeed.com/lemasney – John LeMasney’s FriendFeed profile.
• lemasney.com – John LeMasney’s Web site.
• FriendFeed.com/bktandem – Brian Kelley’s FriendFeed profile.
• Tandem With the Random – Brian Kelley’s blog

Here are some things John talked about:

• Educause – Educause 2008, a conference dedicated to the use of information technology in higher education, will take place in Orlando, Florida, Oct. 28-31, 2008.
• Presidium – An IT help desk solution that John checked out during a recent business trip to Kentucky.
• Bella Vista Beverage – John visited this South Philly beer and soda distributor to help celebrate its grand reopening on Sunday, Oct. 5…
• …and then John had his car stolen while he was there. If anyone sees a 2005 silver Toyota Sienna minivan — possibly still with the New Jersey plates on it — in the South Philly area, please contact us at technology.arts@gmail.com.
• T-Mobile G1 – John talked more about this Google Android-powered phone from T-Mobile.
• Garmin Nuvi – John had a good experience with this GPS device while on his trip to Kentucky.
• The Aleuminati – The “not-so secret” society of beer drinkers.
• Budweiser American Ale – John recently reviewed this latest offering from Budweiser…and he doesn’t think it’s all that bad.
• Avery Brewing – At the other end of the beer spectrum from Bud’s American Ale are Avery’s The Maharaja and Salvation.
• TiVo – John discusses a recent update to this fantastic technology.
• Tekzilla – A Revision3 podcast hosted by Patrick Norton and Veronica Belmont.
• Netflix Player by Roku – John talks about this set-top box that streams Netflix movies directly to your television.
• Picasa 3 – Google has updated its Picasa Web Album and John likes the new features.
• Neat Company – Simple, efficient paper scanning solutions.

Here are some things Brian talked about:

• Philadelphia Phillies – Brian is completely preoccupied by his favorite sports team’s playoff run to the National League Championship Series.
• Christian Beach – Brian plugs some upcoming shows by his friend Christian…October 23 at Triumph Brew Pub in Princeton, N.J.; October 29 at Triumph in Philadelphia, Pa.; and December 5 at Fergie’s Pub in Philly.
• RIAA suffers legal setback – A federal judge in Minnesota threw out a $222,000 verdict against single mother Jammie Thomas, who had convicted of illegally sharing songs on a peer-to-peer file sharing service. The judge ordered a new trial. (Source: Information Week)
• Congress passes webcasting bill – Both houses of Congress passed legislation that will help webcasters like Pandora and Live365 reach a deal on reasonable royalty rates with SoundExchange, the organization charged with collecting royalties from digital music. Read more here and here. (Sources: Pandora, AP via Google)
• Royalty rate unchanged for iTunes, other download services – After Apple threatened to shut down the iTunes Music Store if royalty rates were increased, the Copyright Royalty Board decided to keep mechanical royalty rates (for songwriters and publishers) at 9.1¢ per download. There was speculation that the rate could increase to around 15¢ per download. (Source: Ars Technica)

Congress assists webcasters, SoundExchange as they near deal on royalties

A deal to save Internet radio services like Pandora and Live365 seems imminent and Congress is poised to pass legislation to give both sides time to finalize an agreement.

Here is an excerpt from an Associated Press story:

The two sides have been negotiating new royalty rates following the federal Copyright Royalty Board’s ruling in March 2007 that dramatically increased the rates that Internet radio stations must pay artists and record labels. Internet radio stations say the new rates — which most but not all are paying — would effectively put them out of business.

After months of talks, Webcasters and SoundExchange have recently moved closer to a deal. But because Internet radio companies operate under a government license, any final agreement needs congressional authorization. And with Congress preparing to adjourn at least until after the elections — and possibly until next year — lawmakers probably will not be around to provide approval when an accord is reached.

The House passed legislation on Saturday that would allow webcasters and SoundExchange to continue working on a deal while Congress is out of session, and that any deals struck between the parties would be legally binding until Congress is able to provide final approval.

And here is the latest blog post from Pandora CEO and two-time Technology and the Arts guest Tim Westergren:

We’re thrilled to let everyone know that the House bill passed! Thanks to your incredible support we were able to overcome the NAB’s efforts to derail us. Phone calls rained into the congressional offices over the past 36 hours. Just amazing.

We’re not done. We still need to get the bill through the Senate, which looks like it will be voting on the bill on Monday.

So stay tuned. We want to make sure the Senators know how important it is for them support our resolution. We’ll be reaching out again to ask you for one more push.

Our deepest gratitude.

Tim (Founder)

For those of you interested, NAB is the National Association of Broadcasters, which represents the large terrestrial broadcasters like Clear Channel. Seeing a webcasting deal was close, the NAB launched a lobbying effort to kill the legislation (HR 7084) in order to eliminate some competition. But thanks to a grass-roots effort by fans of Internet radio, that effort was thwarted.

(T+A #44) Technology and the Arts: 9/24/2008

(T+A #44) Technology and the Arts: 9/24/2008

In this installment of the Technology and the Arts podcast, we share some interesting news, web sites and online resources we have come across recently, including Tunecore, a service that helps independent musicians get their songs on iTunes and other online music stores; and a recent conference on digital music analysis held at Drexel University in Philadelphia. Plus, we discuss a new digital media licensing agreement and the G-1 from T-Mobile, the first phone to use Google’s Android mobile operating system…and more! Hosts: Brian Kelley and John LeMasney. File size: 8 MB. Time: 16 min., 52 sec.

Show Notes for Technology and the Arts Podcast #44

Sorry for the delay in getting these show notes posted…been a hectic time for me. – BK

In this installment of the Technology and the Arts podcast, we share some interesting news, web sites and online resources we have come across recently, including Tunecore, a service that helps independent musicians get their songs on iTunes and other online music stores; and a recent conference on digital music analysis held at Drexel University in Philadelphia. Plus, we discuss a new digital media licensing agreement and the G-1 from T-Mobile, the first phone to use Google’s Android mobile operating system…and more! Hosts: Brian Kelley and John LeMasney. File size: 8 MB. Time: 16 min., 52 sec.

• Subscribe to podcast via RSS feed
  
• Subscribe to podcast via iTunes

Related Links:

• FriendFeed.com/lemasney – John LeMasney’s FriendFeed profile.
• lemasney.com – John LeMasney’s Web site.
• FriendFeed.com/bktandem – Brian Kelley’s FriendFeed profile.
• Tandem With the Random – Brian Kelley’s blog

This was a solo podcast by Brian…here are some things he mentioned:

• Hair Apparent – Main Man Records’ tribute to 80s hair bands is available for pre-order at www.mainmanrecords.com. The CD features a bluegrass version of Twisted Sister’s “I Wanna Rock” recorded by Brian’s friend Christian Beach (Brian plays accordion on the track).
• Tunecore – This service allows anyone to put songs for sale on music download stores like iTunes, Amazon, eMusic and more for a rather low price. Read about Tunecore at Ars Technica, and about Tunecore’s movie service for independent filmmakers. (Ars Technica)
• The Digital Media Association (DiMA) has reached a licensing deal for certain models of digital music distribution with organizations representing songwriters and musicians. However, the deal does not affect the staggering royalty rates being faced by Internet radio services like Pandora and Live365. (Ars Technica)
• A recent conference on music information retrieval held at Drexel University in Philadelphia — and featuring former Technology and the Arts guest Ge Wang and the Princeton Laptop Orchestra — looked at ways to harness the power of computers to analyze and manage the world of sound. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• Google and T-Mobile have introduced the G-1, the first phone to run on Google’s open-source Android mobile platform. Here is a first impression. (Yahoo! Tech)

(T+A #42) Technology and the Arts: 8/27/2008

(T+A #42) Technology and the Arts: 8/27/2008

In this installment of the Technology and the Arts podcast, we share some interesting news, web sites and online resources we have come across recently, including spreeder, ma.gnolia’s decision to go open source, and our own John LeMasney’s “prevail whale.” Plus, we discuss some interesting sights on Google Maps Street View and Google Earth and a possible last stand for Pandora and the webcasting industry…and more! Hosts: Brian Kelley and John LeMasney. File size: 17.5 MB. Time: 37 min., 09 sec.

Show Notes for Technology and the Arts Podcast #42

"prevail-whale" by lemasney

In this installment of the Technology and the Arts podcast, we share some interesting news, web sites and online resources we have come across recently, including spreeder, ma.gnolia’s decision to go open source, and our own John LeMasney’s “prevail whale.” Plus, we discuss some interesting sights on Google Maps Street View and Google Earth and a possible last stand for Pandora and the webcasting industry…and more! Hosts: Brian Kelley and John LeMasney. File size: 17.5 MB. Time: 37 min., 09 sec.

• Subscribe to podcast via RSS feed
  
• Subscribe to podcast via iTunes

Related Links:

• FriendFeed.com/lemasney – John LeMasney’s FriendFeed profile.
• lemasney.com – John LeMasney’s Web site.
• FriendFeed.com/bktandem – Brian Kelley’s FriendFeed profile.
• Tandem With the Random – Brian Kelley’s blog

Sorry about the delay in getting the full show notes up…here they are (8/28, 8 p.m. ET):

Here are some things John LeMasney mentioned:

• Spreeder.com – A free online speed reading application.
• FoodGawker.com – A site devoted to beautiful food imagery.
• ma.gnolia.com – A social bookmarking site that announced plans to make the platform open source with the hope to become “the WordPress of social bookmarking.”
• FaceYourManga.com – John refers to “Manga Me” in the podcast, but I believe this is the site he used to create his anime likeness…that’s the one I used after he talked about it. But if John wants to correct any of this, I’m sure he will.
• “prevail-whale” – John took the infamous Twitter “fail-whale” and turned it into a symbol of success (see photo above)…and it got noticed around the Internet.
• John’s Southern Tier Back Burner review – Here is his opinion on this barleywine style ale on one of his side projects, beercritic.wordpress.com.

Here are some things Brian Kelley mentioned

• Grand Welte Cottage Orchestrion – Check out this musical playback device from the early 1900s that Brian saw in action at the Asa Packer Mansion in Jim Thorpe, Pa.
• Classic “Doctor Who” on iTunes – Some episodes of the original “Doctor Who” series from the 1970s and 80s have made their way to iTunes — even for Americans — and some of these are not even available on DVD yet.
• Happy Birthday, iMac! – August 15 marked the 10th anniversary of the release of the original Bondi blue iMac.
• DIY Indie Bands in the Digital Age – Ars Technica reports on how indie bands are using resources available to them in the digital age to make it without help from record labels.
• ScanMyPhotos.com – The New York Times’ David Pogue reviewed this service, which scans your old photographs and puts them onto DVDs, and had good things to say about it.
• Some strange things can be found on Google Maps Street View, like a drunk guy passed out on a curb and a house burning down. Also, check out The Strangest Sights in Google Earth.
• Pandora to pull the plug? – Pandora’s Tim Westergren recently told The Washington Post that the Internet radio service was on the verge of making a “pull-the-plug kind of decision” in the face of increasing royalty rates. Also, check out this story…and this one…and for more on the plight of webcasters, visit SaveNetRadio.org.

Pandora on verge of “pull-the-plug kind of decision”

Save Net Radio!

I guess the battle to save Internet radio being waged in Washington, D.C., proves that common sense — for the most part — doesn’t really exist within the infamous beltway.

Apparently, the efforts by our friends at Pandora and other music webcasters to come to an agreement on lower royalty rates other than those proposed by SoundExchange and approved by the Copyright Royalty Board last year have gone absolutely nowhere.

And it looks as if the end of webcasting is approaching, according to these articles:

Giant of Internet radio nears its ‘last stand’ – Washington Post

Pandora Internet Radio to Go Silent? – I4U News

Web radio is toast – The Inquirer

This basically stinks.

For more about the battle to save Internet radio, visit SaveNetRadio.org.

(T+A #40) Technology and the Arts: 7/30/2008

(T+A #40) Technology and the Arts: 7/30/2008

In this installment of the Technology and the Arts podcast, we share some interesting news, web sites and online resources we have come across recently, including an expanded look at FriendFeed, a video asking Bush or Batman? and Knol, Google’s answer to Wikipedia.nPlus, we discuss the passing of “last lecture” professor Randy Pausch and the emergence of Cuil, the latest search engine to take on Google. Hosts: Brian Kelley and John LeMasney. File size: 19 MB. Time: 39 min., 59 sec.

Show Notes for Technology and the Arts Podcast #40

In this installment of the Technology and the Arts podcast, we share some interesting news, web sites and online resources we have come across recently, including an expanded look at FriendFeed, a video asking Bush or Batman? and Knol, Google’s answer to Wikipedia.nPlus, we discuss the passing of “last lecture” professor Randy Pausch and the emergence of Cuil, the latest search engine to take on Google. Hosts: Brian Kelley and John LeMasney. File size: 19 MB. Time: 39 min., 59 sec.

• Subscribe to podcast via RSS feed
  
• Subscribe to podcast via iTunes

Related Links:

• FriendFeed.com/lemasney – John LeMasney’s tumble log.
• lemasney.com – John LeMasney’s Web site.
• FriendFeed.com/bktandem – Brian Kelley’s tumble log.
• Tandem With the Random – Brian Kelley’s blog
• Here are some things John talked about:

The birth of his second son, David, on May 16

John’s recent Lyme Disease diagnosis

Even after talking about it in the last podcast, John just can’t get enough of FriendFeed and the concept of lifestreaming and brandstreaming (check out John’s FriendFeed).

Cuil, a search engine developed by former Google engineers, launched this week to great fanfare…John and Brian — and quite a few others — aren’t all that impressed.

Meanwhile, John is a bit more pleased about Knol, Google’s answer to Wikipedia.

John recently ran into Oliver Giller, a Rider alumnus who turned John onto open source software. As a result, John wants to thank him for being such a big influence on his life.

A video that asks the age-old question: Bush or Batman? (see above)

Canada’s open-source answer to Twitter: identi.ca.

Streaming video sites ustream.tv and justin.tv.

John is excited about a live-action “Cowboy Bebop” film that is in the works.

John’s other projects: BeerCritic and NJ Dining Review.

Review site Yelp.com.

• Here are some things Brian mentioned:

He will be backing up his friend Christian Beach on a bluegrass version of Twisted Sister’s “I Wanna Rock” for an upcoming Main Man Records tribute to 80s hair metal.

Brian is looking forward to his friend Jason Pester’s upcoming visit to New Jersey in August.

Carnegie Mellon University Professor Randy Pausch, who became famous for delivering a “last lecture” on realizing your childhood dreams after being told he had 3-to-6 months to live, passed away at age 47. His speech became the basis for a best-selling book and the video of the lecture has reportedly been watched by more than 10 million people. Thank you for being an inspiration to so many people, Dr. Pausch. You will be missed. Carnegie Mellon remembers Dr. Pausch.

Our friends at Pandora, the Internet radio service, is looking for video testimonials in support of Internet radio and pushing for fair royalty rates for webcasters. Click on the link to learn more.

Ars Technica reports that Yahoo! Music is pulling the plug on its online music store and taking the digital rights management (DRM) license keys with them. If you purchased music from Yahoo, well, you better stock up on CDs and start burning away to keep your purchases usable on new machines after the license key servers go down September 30. UPDATE: After recording the podcast, Yahoo! announced it would offer refunds to affected customers (CNET) and is looking for a way to provide DRM-free versions of the downloads to customers who would rather have music instead of money. Yahoo! may be down right now, but it’s nice to see the company do the right thing in this case.

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