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Comment: Re:Yes, this is a valid problem (Score 1) 248

by serber (#41132379) Attached to: Will Your Books and Music Die With You?
There was an option to pay (may still be there) to get rid of the DRM (~30c/song), I got rid of most of the DRM that way back in 2008. You haven't been able to pay less for DRM'd music in years though (and the "more for DRM-free" part went away too, replaced by some songs being slightly more expensive, and some old songs being slightly less so). Re-downloading previously purchased content does not require the iTunes Match cloud service, you browse it in the store interface. Match will however happily get you non-DRM'd versions of songs you have that were purchased by other iTunes accounts/countries stores though.

Comment: Re:SpeakToIt Assistant (Score 2) 233

by serber (#38862013) Attached to: Siri Competitor Evi Arrives, But Already Overloaded

Unless this has changed in recent APIs, no it doesn't - the web browser does, but otherwise if you open the url "tel:somenumber" it will just start dialing.

I never tried, but assume if you tried to submit an app that wasn't, say, an address book, it would get rejected if their wasn't a prompt first. Certainly if I'd published an app that did that I would have had a prompt.

Comment: Re:Well, duh (Score 1) 290

by serber (#38854181) Attached to: iPhone 4S's Siri Is a Bandwidth Guzzler
Here's the thing: automatic downloading of music only applies to purchases, and then only happens over 3G if you go in and turn that on. All of the iCloud features that are new (PhotoStream, backups) only go over WiFi. If you're tormenting the 1GB of Rolling Stones then you're using iTunes match which doesn't automatically download to your device, you have to tell it to (either by playing the tracks or tapping download).

Comment: Re:People still boot up? (Score 1) 557

by serber (#37085134) Attached to: The Death of Booting Up
My Windows 7 running netbook puts itself into suspend-to-disk after ~18 hours in standby.

My MacBook Air has a claimed 30 day standby, probably by actually doing something similar (I forget exactly what they do it).

Of course, the Air boots up quickly enough not to need this, and with full-disk(ish)-encryption I really should shut it down instead.

Comment: Re:Jobs isn't betting his platform on it... (Score 1) 483

by serber (#33421550) Attached to: Six Reasons Why Flash Isn't Going Away
Unfortunately the information on the public iPad site is incorrect, but the iPad is most certainly capable of outputting 1280x720. I've seen it do it.

Apologies for the long URL:

"An iPad can now be connected to an external display through a supported cable. Applications can use this connection to present content in addition to the content on the device’s main screen. Depending on the cable, you can output content at up to a 720p (1280 x 720) resolution. A resolution of 1024 by 768 resolution may also be available if you prefer to use that aspect ratio."


by serber (#33298546) Attached to: Six Reasons Why Flash Isn't Going Away
It may not be worth responding to someone uses the word fanboi, but apple do make a component video out adapter, and via both that and the VGA connector it is capable of doing 1280x720, and playing video through that. Quite rankly the A4 + with the h.264 chip most certainly does have the juice to play 720p video. The screen is 1024x768 for whatever commercial reasons Apple have (presumably to get IPS at a given price point), but that has nothing to do with its ability to playback a given resolution video. And down-scaling really doesn't help you out much with h.264. Certainly playing a 1080p file at 720p never made it watchable on my netbook.

+ - Platform 2.0 Beta 1 Released->

Submitted by SF:critternyc
SF:critternyc (1381721) writes " has released the Platform 2.0 Beta 1, making it easier than ever to carry your favorite software with you. This test release adds a number of features including theme switching, custom themes, automatic starting of apps, favorites, app hiding, better performance and more. And, as always, it\'s all open source and completely free. The Suite 2.0 Beta 1 release is available for user to test from the beta forum release announcement. Please post testing-related comments there. Announcement: 2.0 Beta 1 Forum Thread: What is a portable app? Project:"
Link to Original Source
Technology (Apple)

+ - Apple Misinterprets Immersion Sensor Data?->

Submitted by
Gomphos writes "Apple may be erroneously declining warranty coverage due to misinterpreted immersion sensor data. From the article on "Apple indicates that these pastilles [immersion sensors] cannot turn pink without water, which is false after the tests of 3M. The other point is that Apple states that the colour pink also implied an immersion of the pastille and this is also false. Bright red indicates immersion, pink is able to come from ambient humidity. In short, we fear that a too broad interpretation of the color of these pastilles does not lead Apple to cancel guarantees on machines just due to humidity or of condensation, a thing which can always happen, as all the wearers of glasses will testify!""
Link to Original Source
The Internet

+ - Kazaa to return as a legal subscription service->

Submitted by suraj.sun


The company tried recently to ratchet up expectations with a series of vague, and what some considered misguided, press releases.

The site will open with over 1 million tracks. According to the blog TorrentFreak, the new Kazaa will offer unlimited downloads for $20 a month.

CNET News :"

Link to Original Source

+ - Computerized Election Results With No Election 2

Submitted by
_Sharp'r_ writes "According to breaking Spanish language newspaper reports, (translations available, USA Today mention), Honduran authorities have seized 45 computers containing certified election results for the constitutional election Zelaya wanted, but that never took place. The "certified" and detailed electronic records of the non-existent election show Zelaya's side having won overwhelmingly."
