The Jason Calacanis Weblog

Best DRM cracking software for iTunes/iPod on Windows?

Jason Calacanis — 2006-07-09T07:31:00+00:00

If I had like five computers and six ipods--let's say--and I need to get songs I *paid* for off one and on to the others what software could I buy to do this?

I can't believe that I've bought over 10 ipods in my life, and spents thousands on music, only to have to jump through hoops to move my music around--it's a disaster. This DRM stuff hurts the best paying cusomters most... I wish Steve Jobs would just un-DRM the whole darn thing and let me move my music around.

I just want to back stuff up and I'm finding when I turn off my old comuters and move my iPods around the whole library is out of synch. Ugh, ugh, ugh... I hate you ipod. Well, I love you when you work... I just hate you for all this DRM stuff!

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MacBook Pro Wifi Problems

Jason Calacanis — 2006-06-18T01:13:00+00:00

Filed under: Hardware

Why does wifi suck on my brand new, $3,000, dual boot MacBook Pro? I've been on five or six different wifi networks and most of them can't connect and go from fast to slow in some random pattern.

You'll sit there waiting for five tabs to load in Firefox for 90 seconds and nothing... then BANG! they all load in four seconds.

I see there is a long thread over at Apple support about it... what is the story!??! How could apple ship a new product like this--with a huge price tag--and have the wifi suck?!

Very frustrating to have a Ferrari that stalls half the time... Steve Jobs where are you!?!?

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Bill Gates @ the D Conference

Jason Calacanis — 2006-05-31T11:22:00+00:00

Filed under: Business, Hardware, Software

I'm at the amazing D conference in SoCal this week. It's an amazing conference... you never know who you're going to bump into. Last night I was talking to a friend and bumped into someone and we both turned around it was Bill Gates. Sorry Bill! I didn't try to get any face time with Bill this year (last year we talked twice).

Gates was the opening interview last night and he demoed a very cool version of Office that had a very clean--but still packed--GUI. One thing I noticed while the demo was going on was that Gates was smiling like a kid on Christmas. As the audience oooed and ahhhhed you could see him get more excited and smile more. I thought to myself, "wow, this guys been building the same pieces of software for over 20 years and he is still excited about it--that's pretty cool."

Someone speculated to me that since Gates got married and started a family he's become less aggressive and happier. He does seem very happy and at peace. I think the world looking at him as the personification of Evil for so long has turned around. Microsoft is playing nice in the ecosystem, and when Walt and Kara dogged him about not gaining marketshare vs. iTunes and Google search he sort shruged and said "we'll get there." He's clearly not happy that search has not grown for them, but he said it was a five year race--which is true.

One attendee told me Gates seemed upset by every question Walt and Kara asked him, which was true. It wasn't that they asked bad questions, but Gates has this habit of shaking his head and rolling his eyes ever time they ask him a question. After he does that he rephrases their question, and admittedly, makes the question better. I guess that's what life is like when you're that brilliant.

My big takeaways:

1. He's defiantly building an iPod killer (sorry, viable co-exister) into the XBOX platform. Gates is very easy to read, unlike Jobs who last year told me to my face "Jason, no one wants to watch video on their iPod" only to annouce the product shortly after. When Gates is asked about a product he smiles and moves on, when Steve Jobs is asked a question he gets a kick out bluffing you. I'd love to play poker with one of them. BTW: are we playing poker tonight or what?!?

2. He sees the closed hardware system model (Apple's model) as attractive in some places--like XBOX. When Walt told him the XBOX group was more like Apple he responded by saying something to the effect of a "very, very big Apple." That got a laugh. I could see Microsoft doing more hardware based on what he said. Not a PC, but I could see him doing the iPod thing and maybe some other stuff (they do keyboards and they used to do routers I believe).

3. He dismissed the web-based office concept, which I thought was in-authentic. Clearly for some folks--perhaps most--a web-based solution is better. However, their earnings are based on Office so I can understand his position.
4. This was the big one for me: Microsoft is gonna built free and paid storage in the sky and synch them with their applications/OS.

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GCAL/Blackberry synch?

Jason Calacanis — 2006-05-29T07:32:00+00:00

Filed under: Hardware, Software

Is there a tool to synch Google Calendar and my Blackberry out there yet?

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Nintendo Wii Press Conference at E3--live!

Jason Calacanis — 2006-05-09T11:37:00+00:00

Filed under: AOL, Weblogs, Inc., Hardware

OK, drop everything... Engadget/Joystiq live press conference coverage is starting!

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Mobile versions of our blogs--what should we do?

Jason Calacanis — 2006-03-02T05:38:00+00:00

Filed under: Business, Weblogs, Inc., Hardware, Software

I've had a number of mobile companies pitch us on creating "mobile" versions of our sites over the past year. The business model started at "promote our service so we can get your content to readers!" to "we'll pay you a bounty for each user you send us." So, that's a start.

However, I'm wondering if these companies that sit between publishers and phones are even necessary given the fact that a) people have better and better browsers on their phones and b) people will soon have RSS readers on their phones.

What would you do if you were us?

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New iPod Video?

Jason Calacanis — 2006-02-23T04:07:00+00:00

Filed under: Weblogs, Inc., Hardware

Whoa.... this is gonna be very cool--if true!

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The Joystiq Network goes long tail...

Jason Calacanis — 2006-02-20T09:32:00+00:00

Filed under: Weblogs, Inc., Hardware, Software

The Joystiq Network is on fire. It's been two months since we did our first spinoff sites and in January the Joystiq spinoffs did about ~25% of the traffic of Joysitq.com itself! All six Sitemeter charts after the jump. Next month I think it will hit 50%, and by the summer I think the spinoffs from Joystiq will surpass the main blog--long tail style. :-)

Joystiq.com

XBOX360fanboy.com

PSPFanboy.com

WoWInsider.com

DSFanboy.com

RevolutionFanboy.com (just launched)

PS3Fanboy.com (new!)

http://www.nintendowiifanboy.com/

Monthly
http://www.nintendowiifanboy.com/

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Engadget Mobile daily phone give away continues

Jason Calacanis — 2006-02-20T01:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Weblogs, Inc., Hardware

This week Engadget Mobile is giving away a Verizon XV6700, Cingular 8125, Sprint PPC-6700, or T-Mobile MDA--every day (you can enter once a day by just posting a comment--like a one word comment is fine!).

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