More Control for Labels

This post probably will end up being shorter than normal since my parents' computer totally blows and cannot handle much multitasking. I went to the grand opening of the outdoor portion of the Aquatic Complex today and it was so cool to be one of the first regular students (as in non-RecSports employed) to walk out there. It was so awe-inspiring and gorgeous that I couldn't stop smiling. I may even go for a dip there next week, who knows. I urge all UT students to swing by there, but you won't get the free food and shirts we did, unfortunately. Onto more important matters though: Joel Splosky has put up one of his best entries better (I think) about the possible truth behind the new proposed flexible iTunes pricing. What these record labels really want is more control, and they get by setting prices because they essentially become the ones who decide what's more valuable, not market forces of supply and demand. If one song is priced less than another then you're naturally going to think that it's not as good and it won't sell as well. This also means that the artists get screwed over because they're at the mercy of these labels, and we'll get fancier version of the other words (that is, we'll be forcefed what they want to sell better). It's a scary prospect, isn't it? I would hope that Steve Jobs is strong enough to fight it, and it would hurt him since then iTunes wouldn't have the clout that they used to by promoting artists on the front page. The problem is, maybe the record labels would take their business to MSN Music or some other competitor instead. It's quite a pickle, and I can provide no resolution I'm afraid.

If you think you may have a rootkit CD then Sony has set up an exchange program for you to get the music on a clean CD. I wonder how much this is costing them? NBC Universal is planning on distributing selected movies online (for a price, of course) through P2P as well as uncensored episodes of some shows, but the system doesn't sound all that great. It'll be available for viewing for 24 hours after the download, and then it'll stay on your computer for 30 days so you can help distribute it to other people. Try again, NBC. Microsoft is toying with the idea of making their software free or low cost with advertisements to support it, and that article actually gives a lot of good reasons why it would make sense for them. However, how long before some hackers end up cracking it? Lastly, our armed forces are developing a technology that would allow American soldiers to have their speech automatically translated to Arabic, which would keep translators out of harm's way. It's still relatively early in development, but I don't think it'll replace a translator anyway. It'll more likely be used in dangerous situations I'd think.

Why is it that Penelope Cruz looks so damn sexy there? Does anyone else agree? You know you want to see more pictures of her and Salma Hayek in Bandidas, so click here. There's a new lackluster poster for Match Point, and I say that because half of it is white! If you're interested in seeing some teaser art for King Kong instead though, then JoBlo has the goods. They're actually failed posters that became billboards, but they look really neat. If you're not sure whether to see Walk the Line then AICN has a couple of well-balanced reviews that may tip the scale for you. I'll probably end up renting, but I would see it myself if I could. Lastly, IGN has a good analysis of the new Superman Returns teaser trailer if you don't know what to make of it. They even pointed out a few things I didn't notice in the few times I watched it.

Now for the Friday's Feast meme:

Appetizer
When do you feel impatient?
When people don't try to do their work and expect me to bail them out. If you try and have trouble that's alright, but if you just don't care then I hate when people come to me. I also get a little impatient around people who have computer problems and when I help them don't remember my advice and keep having the same problems again and again.

Salad
How many times in your life have you had a broken heart?
I'm going to estimate three. Maybe four, but I think three is probably more accurate and less pessimistic.

Soup
Name a book you would like to see made into a movie.
I would say The Golden Compass, but I think they're already in talks over that one. Maybe Siddartha?

Main Course
If you could thank one teacher for what they taught you, who would it be and what would you thank them for?
I would thank David Johnson, my old debate coach, who taught me the value of a good argument. I'm sure a lot of people who went to my high school would make fun of me for that, but he was really cool to me. He even yelled at my speech pathologist because he didn't think she was helping me (she really wasn't).

Dessert
What is your favorite kind of pie?
I've had a good chocolate pie before, but I'm going to go with pumpkin pie. Once again, just thinking of it is making me hungry.