I have to admit that I don’t like CROW, but I am eating it.  I have been a huge complainer about the service I have been getting from Comcast.  I would have switched … except that … Oh yeah!!!  There is no other service available with decent speeds.

To Frank, AJ, Shane, and the rest of the team in my area, many thanks for taking care of me.  It took a while to figure out what the problem was; but they eventually did.  I rely on my service to run a small business.  My internet connection is my life-blood and I cannot provide any customer service with out that connection.

This blog post is the only way I could properly express my thanks!

ironwil

I was listening to a recent netcast, probably MacBreak Weekly #214 or Windows Weekly #176, and they were discussing the USB port on the back of the Apple TV.  I really started to think about that port and and the iTunes software.  I also felt that my iTunes Server could be met with Apple activating that port for external hard drives.  This could make the Apple TV an iTunes Server IF they add the ability to manage Accounts, Purchase Content, and allow iTunes to act as the intermediary.  Personal Profiles would allow one iTunes Account to manage multiple users (or device profiles) with Bonjour running Apple could enable Bluetooth or Wi-Fi Syncing.  This would solve the iTunes Server issue mentioned below.

I have noticed that a few videos and articles have surfaced over the last [thinking] 3 years and they are all pointing to the future of where Apple said it was going in the 80′s.  The Newton was their first attempt at a mobile product that would fill the space of the ‘hand-held communicator’ or Dynabook that was talked about by Alan Kay.  In my recent post, the video shared by TUAW, talks about being able to stream media on the fly.  To have total access to your books, music, movies, and documents no matter where an individual is located … they only need access to the internet.

Today we have 2 ubiquitous internet devices from Apple, the iPad and iPhone.  These two devices deliver the majority of the internet to you on the go.  We know that we can buy, rent, listen, and watch content as long as we are connected to the internet.  Yeah for 3G and GSM!!!  We now know that Apple is working on “The Orchard” a large data center in North Carolina.  Apple has now released the updated Apple TV that delivers all of your iTunes content to your TV plus NetFlix and hopefully much more as they continue to work on this platform.  I have heard some discussion for the Apple TV where we can push Hulu, MLB, or even games to our living room or bedroom TVs via AirPlay (or Apps).

With Apple rolling Apple TV and AirPlay out to their 160 million registered iTunes customers they have an instant [upon purchase] test bed.  To play with and work through all the bugs and legal issues.  They have a willing audience of “Fan Boys” that have already ordered their new Apple TV‘s.  They have users like me that will be purchasing one after they start shipping.

Now, what is missing?  One huge thing I think is missing is an iTunes server.  Yeah, I know that HP’s MediaSmart running Windows Home Server with the plug-in will act in this fashion.  What I am looking for is … think a Mac Mini Server form factor that we can add external hard drives to for increased capacity!  [The one extra cool feature would be that we could add more iTunes Servers and they would span the network.  I am thinking of a Drobo + AirPort Wireless Network Extender + SAN.]  We could stream right from that instead of from the family iMac.  It would function as the iTunes back-up for the whole family, accounts for each user.  This would then be coupled with “The Orchard” so that we have 3 copies of our media and we can then stream anything we own to anywhere! Now hold on and don’t forget that Apple purchased Lala.com and they had a really good balance of being able to push music that you already own for 10¢ each track and the ability to buy new music.

So,  if I have a DVD or digital copy of a movie, then I have to pay the 30¢ licensing fee and Apple drops a copy in my Orchard account.  Then if something happens to our Mac we have a copy of everything in the “Cloud”.  The way I see this service really being delivered is via MobileMe.  I am not sure if it would be 99$ still or if it would be free.  I think that free would ‘force’ people to move their content there because there is no barrier to entry.  I know that I would start right away.  I know that it would cost me; but if I could have the guarantee … I would be compelled to do it right away.  We have 2 Macs and 2 iPhones and it would be a no brainer for my wife and I to jump on that right away.

It is very clear to my mind what this will look like and how it will work.  Unfortunately, I don’t actually know and if I did, I wouldn’t be able to write this.

iron wil

The small wireless carriers are prohibited from getting the better devices because the mobile providers lock the manufacturer into contracts that prevent them from selling to everyone.  Verizon and AT&T said that they would open their services so that customers would be able to bring the device they wanted to their network or move to another.  However, we are still locked into contracts and carriers because of incompatible hardware and exclusivity contracts.

Despite the promises, we currently don’t see a change on the horizon.

In the other article the small or rural carriers ask the FCC to intervene and disrupt the exclusivity contracts.  These issues affect all those that want to take their iPhone to Verizon or another carrier.  This has a larger implementation that just the little guys that want to bring the latest bling to their networks.

The next change in hardware and services should, I hope, see the creation of a 700MHz chipset that will allow the owner of the hardware to migrate to the best provider for the area they live in.  I believe, eventually, that the carriers will become like the internet providers today and who you have won’t matter as much as the quality of service and the device you have.

Who wouldn’t like to have the iPhone in Alaska or Vermont?

iron wil

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Baratunde Thurston, Heather Gold, and John C. Dvorak

Farmville is bigger than Twitter, behind the Crunchpad drama, and is a living room on wheels in your future?

Show Notes

MacBreak Weekly 170: The Bourne Return

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Scott Bourne, and Andy Ihnatko

Apple buys Lala, AT&T sucks, but there’s an app for that, and the new Mac Pros are here…

Show Notes

Security Now 226: Listener Feedback 81

Hosts: Steve Gibson with Leo Laporte

Digital voting goes open source, patch Tuesday news, and Steve answers your questions.

Show Notes

Windows Weekly 134: Prestige Mode

Hosts: Paul Thurrott and Leo Laporte

Can you trust Internet Explorer, the best tech gifts of the year, and Paul Levels up.

Show Notes

TWiG #20: Google Goggles, cloud data portability, EtherPad, Google News, and more.

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Gina Trapani, Jeff Jarvis, and Brian Fitzpatrick

Google Goggles, cloud data portability, EtherPad, Google News, and more.

Show notes

iron wil

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Natali Del Conte, and Jason Calacanis

Natali Del Conte shows off her Droid, Jason Calacanis says tech IPOs are just around the corner, and Patrick Norton fights for a free Internet.

Show Notes

MacBreak Weekly 165: Nudity by Accident

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Alex Lindsay, and Andy Ihnatko

Andy reviews the Droid, Apple rejects the iPhone, and Adobe gets snarky.

Show Notes

Security Now 221: The Elephant In Your Browser

Hosts: Steve Gibson with Leo Laporte

The problem with Javascript and security. Guest John Graham-Cumming says it’s the “elephant in your browser.”

Show Notes

Windows Weekly 129: Hypirony And Ironicracy

Hosts: Paul Thurrott and Leo Laporte

Paul Thurrott and Ed Bott gnaw the Windows 7 upgrade bones and we’ve got a rare Windows 3.11 tip.

Show Notes

This Week In Google 15: Google Throb

Hosts: Leo Laporte, and Gina Trapani, Jeff Jarvis

Gina lust over the Droid, Jeff joins Google’s Data Liberation Front, and all your Google accounts in just one place.

Show Notes

iron wil

Hosts: Paul Thurrott and Leo Laporte

New economics, Gmail goes offline, IE8 RC1, Windows 7 UAC, iTunes Plus, and more.

Do More with Less: How to Survive in Today’s Economic Reality

• A Microsoft marketing mantra becomes a life mantra for all of us
• Stretching PC/technology lifetimes
• Saying no to new gadgets … Every time we peddle something people don’t need, we lose a slice of our soul
• Reassessing what it is you really need to get work done
• Paul’s “28 Days Later” concept: Revisiting things Paul’s reviewed or recommended: Do they stand the test of time?
• Next “Everything Must Go” event: Late February
• Not just about spending less – decrease tech life’s overhead as well
• v. small ex: Paul doesn’t install/configure any Firefox add-ons – 7 less things to do on reinstall

Related: Gmail goes offline: Long expected, but this is a game-changer

Internet Explorer 8 RC1 release

• Near-final, “platform-complete” version of Microsoft’s next browser
• For XP, Vista, 2003/2008 not Windows 7
• A few new functional changes but mostly about performance and fit and finish

Is Windows 7 UAC dangerous … or just useless?

Rafael Rivera and Long Zheng have discovered that the dumbed-down UAC in Windows 7 is easy to bypass and could be used to compromise PC

Also in Windows 7 news…

• Windows 7 public beta set to end February 10
• Rumors of a Netbook SKU

iTunes Plus goes a la carte

• Previously, you had to upgrade your entire collection in order to get DRM-free 256 Kbps AAC tracks. Now you can pick and choose
• iTunes now a first-class choice for online music w/ Amazon MP3 and Zune Marketplace

News: Dell will sell a smartphone based on either Google Android or Windows Mobile. Paul’s advice: Don’t

Tip of the week: More Windows 7 theme packs … many are based on Mac wallpapers

Software of the week: Gladinet

Many readers have recommended this: It lets you access SkyDrive from Windows Explorer (and other things).

Audible picks of the week: The Ultimate Cheapskate’s Road Map to True Riches: Enjoying Life More by Spending Less and Elsewhere, U.S.A.: How We Got From the Affluent Society to the Home Office.

Check out Paul’s blog at the SuperSite for Windows for more information.

get yours here.

iron wil

Hosts: Paul Thurrott and Leo Laporte

Windows 7 M3, Zune 3, Windows Live Wave 3, renaming multiple files, and more.

Audible pick of the week: Hannibal by Thomas Harris. For a free audiobook, visit Audible.com/windows.

Check out Paul’s blog at http://www.internet-nexus.com and the SuperSite for Windows http://winsupersite.com for more information.

get yours here.

iron wil

Note: TWiT has been down, a Raid Array crashed. So, if you can’t get the NetCast, let me know & I will eMail it to you.

Hosts: Paul Thurrott and Leo Laporte

Paul’s trip to the Emerald City, Zune 3, Live Mesh, Windows 7, Microsoft Surface, and the latest Seinfeld ad.

Tips of the week: FolderShare vs. Live Mesh vs. SyncToy, and when to use which.

Software of the week:

• ClearType Tuning Control Panel Applet
• Vixy.net Online Flash video converter

Audible pick of the week: World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks. For a free audiobook, visit Audible.com/windows.

Check out Paul’s blog at http://www.internet-nexus.com and the SuperSite for Windows http://winsupersite.com for more information.

get yours here.

iron wil

Google Chrome, set-top box wars, Xbox 360 price cuts, PicasaWeb, and more.

• Chrome: Google’s full frontal assault on Microsoft
• Xbox 360 price cuts
• Office Live Workspace users reach one million mark; software and services vs. cloud computing
• Battle of the set-top boxes: Apple TV, Media Center Extenders, Roku (Netflix), Popcorn Hour, and New Xbox 360 (60 GB)
• Amazon Video On Demand

Tips of the week:

• Using Chrome for Web applications
• Standalone gMail and Google Calendar (also, PicasaWeb, etc.)

Software of the week:

• Google Picasa 3 Beta (and Picasa Web Albums update)
• Roboform
• Microsoft AutoCollage 2008

Audible pick of the week: All the President’s Men, Unabridged, By Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, Narrated by Richard Poe. For a free audiobook, visit Audible.com/windows.

Check out Paul’s blog at http://www.internet-nexus.com and the SuperSite for Windows http://winsupersite.com for more information.

get yours here.

iron wil

That is crazy awesome! I know it doesn’t even crack the forced IE hold on all those office computers or the anti-tech savvy groups that are moving online everyday. I have to say that I am impressed by the numbers.

I like the look for XP and OS X. I will have to install it on Vista later, when I am back on that system. My only real complaint is that a few of my plug-ins are now busted. I look forward to having Morning Coffee, Tab Mix Plus, Adblock, and Download in Tabs working again.

get it here, and enjoy the new browser.

iron wil

proof I got mine on Download Day.