November 2005 Archives

Most folks who are reading my blog and my coverage of Sony know about the "rootkit" issue that's made headlines, as well as the problems with the Sony Connect software.

I wasn't aware that the management of Sony-BMG was in such a state.

Gunter Thielen, the chief executive of Bertelsmann, acknowledged recently that there were some problems with the management structure at Sony BMG, where both sides have three seats on the board.

"We have to work a little bit on the question of leadership after the departure of [Chief Operating Officer] Michael Smellie," he was quoted as saying in The Financial Times Deutschland. "The merger of the companies went well; now we have to merge the cultures, which is the most difficult thing."

Since the merger, Sony BMG's position has eroded in many markets.

Don't you just love the understatement in that, "work a little bit on the question of leadership," comment? Basically the whole world knows that the Sony-BMG "company" is not working. Saying that there's a need for a "little bit" of work on leadership is just as bad as when Thomas Hesse, President of Sony-BMG's Global Digital Business was quoted as saying that, "Most people, I think, don't even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care
about it?"

I have friends at Sony-BMG. I hesitate to contact them as I am sure they are busy trying to fix the problems, but with management like this, Sony-BMG doesn't need competitors.

On Top of Talk of Rifts, the Problems Keep Piling Up for Sony-Bertelsmann Venture - New York Times

Could a panel of pro DJs and industry professionals tell the difference between the different compressed audio formats of mp3, AAC, WMA, and Vorbis?

DJmag put five experts to the test through the infamous system at London club Fabric

Fwiw, I've decided for myself that 192 AAC is all that I need. I used to rip things at much higher rates but I just couldnt tell the difference.

If you do a lot of your own ripping, what do you generally choose?

DJ Magazine: Cutting Edge dance music, club culture and DJ technology - DJ Technology

Cool!

What does the Broadband Tuner do exactly?

The installer increases the default values for the size of the TCP send and receive buffers. With larger buffers more data can be in transit at once. A startup configuration file is also updated so that these changes will persist across restarts.

Apple - Support - Downloads - Broadband Tuner 1.0

New Yorker's Seymour Hersh on leaving Iraq. The stuff about Bush is the most disturbing of all.

Bush’s closest advisers have long been aware of the religious nature of his policy commitments. In recent interviews, one former senior official, who served in Bush’s first term, spoke extensively about the connection between the President’s religious faith and his view of the war in Iraq. After the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the former official said, he was told that Bush felt that “God put me here” to deal with the war on terror. The President’s belief was fortified by the Republican sweep in the 2002 congressional elections; Bush saw the victory as a purposeful message from God that “he’s the man,” the former official said. Publicly, Bush depicted his reëlection as a referendum on the war; privately, he spoke of it as another manifestation of divine purpose.
...
“The President is more determined than ever to stay the course,” the former defense official said. “He doesn’t feel any pain. Bush is a believer in the adage ‘People may suffer and die, but the Church advances.’ ” He said that the President had become more detached, leaving more issues to Karl Rove and Vice-President Cheney. “They keep him in the gray world of religious idealism, where he wants to be anyway,” the former defense official said. Bush’s public appearances, for example, are generally scheduled in front of friendly audiences, most often at military bases. Four decades ago, President Lyndon Johnson, who was also confronted with an increasingly unpopular war, was limited to similar public forums. “Johnson knew he was a prisoner in the White House,” the former official said, “but Bush has no idea.”

The New Yorker: UP IN THE AIR
Where is the Iraq war headed next?

A Guy Called Gerald (AGCG) waxes nostalgic about the early days of electro. Gerald asked Greg Wilson, a DJ who influenced Gerald, to create a mix for Samurai FM. You can download that mix from AGCG website.

The people that were into Electro and breakdancing were basically crazy - it was definitely a young movement. We had a kind of careless aggression about things – a Punk attitude - people would be laughing at us for washing the floor and spinning on our heads, but you could see they would never know how to break out of a system. And that's basically what we felt we were doing.

Greg Wilson talks about Legend - a club that was more important to him than The Hacienda, which was a seminal club in Britain for dance music in the 1980s.


Nowadays, people naturally want to talk to me about The Hacienda and how incredible it must have been for me to work there. Given its subsequent worldwide recognition, I can appreciate how difficult it must be for them to fully comprehend that, although I had some great nights at The Hacienda, it couldn't begin to compare with the intensity of what was going on at Legend. The rave scene might have kicked-in some years down the line with The Hacienda at the forefront of the movement, but people were full-on 'raving' at Legend in the early 80's, and this was without the aid of chemicals! It's just that these people were mainly black, at a time when black culture was marginalized in the UK - the style press had yet to catch up with what was happening on the black scene.

No Sell Out Part 1 - Legends / Wigan Pier Electro Retrospective - Mixed by Greg Wilson For A Guy Called Gerald

Fascinating. A survey of 8000+ Japanese people (via their iMode mobile phones) turns up the fact that Sony's brand is still strong with HDD audio players even though a majority of them are purchasing Apple iPods.

iPod winning but Sony still big in Japan 世論 What Japan Thinks

A very nice house set that goes tech, deep, and hard. Not sure how long it will be up here so snag it fast :)

ARTIST - TRACKNAME - LABEL
Harry Peat - Affrodizziac - Alternative Route
Magik Johnson - Cardboard Journey - Nrk
Silver City - Another Dimension 2020 Vision
Paul Woolford - Vertigo - Junior Boys Own
Trentemoller - Beta Boy - Out of Orbit
Holderman - Left Right Switch - Involved
Hardsoul Pres Roog and Greg - Uber - Toolroom Trax
Dean Coleman Feat. Melanie Denard - Remember - SR2 Music
Playmaker - Watch Your Back - Illegal Beats
Bamboola Prod - Goodtime - Promo
Sucker_DJs - Its Gotta Be - Azuli Silver
Dukes of Sluca - Dont Stop Remixes - Fine Tune
Nick Dem Q - Keep it Going - Suburban Tracks

Mike Gowen - October 2005 Promo

It was just a matter of time, but still, very nice implementation.

Num Sum: web spreadsheets

I usually read whatever Paul is writing for a few reasons- he has experience that I don't have that he is willing to share, and he is a good writer. I enjoy reading his writing.

In a long essay on what constitutes Web 2.0, this last bit was the key part for me.

Google was a pioneer in all three components of Web 2.0: their core business sounds crushingly hip when described in Web 2.0 terms, "Don't maltreat users" is a subset of "Don't be evil," and of course Google set off the whole Ajax boom with Google Maps.

Web 2.0 means using the web as it was meant to be used, and Google does. That's their secret. The web naturally has a certain grain, and Google is aligned with it. That's why their success seems so effortless. They're sailing with the wind, instead of sitting becalmed praying for a business model, like the print media, or trying to tack upwind by suing their customers, like Microsoft and the record labels. [7]

Google doesn't try to force things to happen their way. They try to figure out what's going to happen, and arrange to be standing there when it does. That's the way to approach technology-- and as business includes an ever larger technological component, the right way to do business.

This is so true.

Web-native. It's an easy thing to say- but I think that history show that there are far fewer people who are truly web-native. It's something that I strive to be but....

Web 2.0 [paulgraham.com]

Technorati Tags: google, web2.0, yahoo

First- I want to thank everyone who left comments regarding my Sony coverage. I've decided that I will continue to cover Sony because I think it's an important topic wrt Japan and because I worked at Sony for almost 4 years (in the ecommerce group) that I have a unique perspective into the company. I still have friends who work there, but their numbers are quickly dwindling. Every month I'm getting an email from a Sony friend who is announcing that they are leaving the company.

---

On November 10th, I linked to a review of the new Sony Connect software that came with the new Sony Network Walkman players. The short story is that the software does not work.

I've steadily been getting 2-3 comments per day regarding this issue. All of the comments are similar in nature.

I'm now the 3rd result for a google search for "Sony Connect Player" and lots of folks are coming to my site to register their complaints. I want to take a moment to showcase some of the comments because they are the "canaries in the coal mine," i.e. there will be many, many other irate customers who don't google for "Sony Connect Player" and come across my blog and comment.

I do know that some Sony employees read my blog, but sadly they can't do anything about the decision that the executives make.

Gen Kanai weblog: Sony Connect Player 1.0 review

The software however is an absolute joke. The biggest joke of all time. I could probably write something better.
SORT IT OUT SONY.
Posted by: Gareth Coker on November 16, 2005 07:31 PM

Bought the NWA 3000 like the rest at the weekend. Tried to phone sony, line not working. Emailed them 5 times before got a response. Shock horror they can't help. Super Sony!!!
Posted by: simon costello on November 16, 2005 10:23 PM

I'm having exactly the same problems...ripping CDs takes forever and then Connect Player just hangs after each one. After closing down it will not relaunch until the PC has been rebooted. I love the NW-A3000 but the software is a joke!
Posted by: David O'Brien on November 17, 2005 11:29 PM

I am really disappointed with this. The player itself is fantastic, but what use is it if I can't get any music on it?
Posted by: R.Gunn on November 18, 2005 05:21 AM

What a shame. Sony really wanted to compete with the Ipod, but this isnt gonna get anywhere near close until they get professionals to write the software to go with it. How could they release it like that?
Posted by: BILL ODDIE on November 19, 2005 12:39 AM

Trainwreck is probably the most appropriate description. v1.0, simply put, does not work. I'm planning to return my NW-A1000 to the Sony Store in Canada where it was purchased. From my perspective, if the software that supports the hardware (and, in fact, is required in order to utilize the hardware), is defective, then the entire unit is defective.
Return all units and maybe Sony will pay attention.
Posted by: Eric on November 19, 2005 12:10 PM

Im in the same boat as most of you guys. bought the player last week. Great player, and managed to get 4-5 albums on there on the first night , and since then......nothing. Its been a nightmare!
Posted by: Darren Elliott on November 20, 2005 03:27 AM

You can,t scroll in the libary. You can,t see whats in your own libary. You can,t see the progess of the track you are transfering. You can hardly do anything with this awful software
Posted by: David Bevan on November 20, 2005 08:25 PM

Connect is the most useless piece of software I have ever seen because it just doesn't work. I can point out a host of major bugs.
Posted by: Stuart Frost on November 20, 2005 09:16 PM

Love the player, but like Darren the software now crashes my pc everytime I run it.This is both the Connect software and the SonicStage. Cannot even begin to tell you how annoying this is. Can't figure out any other way to transfer music, so it looks like its going back to the shop. Should have stuck with my trusty minidisc!
Posted by: Tasha on November 20, 2005 11:42 PM

I bought the AS3000 for my daughter's birthday. Love the player to bits - best i've seen but it is SOOOOOO let down by the rubbish CONNECT software. I can't believe a household name like Sony has let such utter rubbish software out. It just doesn't work.
Posted by: Paul on November 21, 2005 12:14 AM

This is going to be sent back to the supplier shortly if i have no further luck. What a shame.
Posted by: Bill Oddie on November 21, 2005 05:37 AM

Tried installing / uninstalling three times, AND I tried the 'patch'. Something seriously wrong somewhere! What a joke.
I've just sent it back to the shop and ordered a new ipod. At least that software works.
Posted by: mark moody on November 21, 2005 06:54 AM

I have uninstalled and reinstalled about 5 times, downloaded the upgrade both automatically when installing and manually, still no dice! SONY SORT THIS OUT
Posted by: Sege on November 21, 2005 08:51 AM

Welcome to the club sege. This is enough to make me boycot Sony for life. I see there are plenty of ex users out there who now do the same. I just think it's such a pity.
Posted by: bill oddie on November 21, 2005 08:58 AM

If they don't make the connect Player less CPU intensive - no-one is going to use it. Not everyone has high-end PCs. Basically - people with 128MB of RAM will not be able to use this player.
Posted by: Gareth Coker on November 21, 2005 10:32 AM

I wonder if Sony reads postings like this? I am a product manager for a SW company and what Sony is shipping as relase SW is tragic.
Posted by: John Griffiths on November 21, 2005 07:55 PM

A call to Sony customer service was the last straw. They obviously know there is a problem, as according to the person I spoke to 'Everybody who calls is calling about the same thing.' The only advice was.......Take is back to where is was purchased for a refund. Am doing exactly that!
Posted by: Tasha on November 21, 2005 10:30 PM

Someone really ought to get fired for the software cock up.
Posted by: Gareth Coker on November 21, 2005 11:34 PM

On the plus side, the Connect Player 1.0 CD makes a superb frisbee.
Every cloud, silver lining and all that.
Posted by: Darren Elliott on November 22, 2005 02:12 AM

Probably nothing more can be said that hasn't already. The 1.0 software is just awful. I cannot believe myself when I hear myself say I'd rather have iTunes.
Sony should be embarrassed to release software that completely ruins this wicked hardware.
Posted by: Sk0rch on November 22, 2005 07:41 PM

If Sony founder Akio Morita were alive today, he would be utterly aghast at what has happened to the company that he founded.

The problems with this effort, which should have been a critical lynchpin in the effort to take on the iPod and iTunes, are so numerous as to be worthy of at least a few MBA business cases. With Apple owning 60-70% of the mp3 player market, essentially taking market share from Sony, and after horrendous reviews of Sony's previous music management software (SonicStage), Sony's latest software should have been at least as good as iTunes if not better. How else could Sony have competed?

The fact that the software is unusable is unthinkable.

I find it hard to make an appropriate comparison but perhaps if GM or Ford was to have created a car to compete with the Camry or Accord, and that new car did not run - that's about as close as I could come.

Technorati Tags: Apple, Connect, Japan, ipod, Sony

I'm tired of Sony.

I'm tired of the bad news. The poor sales. The rootkit/DRM fiasco. The Sony Connect fiasco. The poor choice of "Bravia." The mediocre products. The lame excuses. The lack of any vision or action by top management.

Do you still read my blog for my coverage, my rants, on Sony? If you care either way, please leave a comment. If you still read my blog for my Sony thoughts, then I'll be re-energized and will keep the drumbeat going. Without any support, I may drop Sony and cover other stuff instead.

This is from back in March, 2005.

It is said that for all Sony's troubles, it still has huge strengths, including a golden brand name. But the power of the Sony name is slipping too. According to Interbrand, a market-research firm, the value of the Sony brand slipped from $16.4 billion in 2000 to $12.8 billion in 2004, stagnating in the rankings at 20th place, while rivals like Panasonic and especially Samsung of South Korea were gaining fast. In Shanghai, a bellwether city for the booming new consumer market in China, youths "find themselves drawn to Samsung," says Christopher Torrens, cofounder of Access Asia consulting in Shanghai. "Sony has definitely been left behind."

Sony Is Not Japan - Newsweek

This is also back in March 2005.

However dubious the original rationale, the music and movie acquisitions have turned into Sony's brightest, most profitable spot at the moment. It's the portfolio effect you would expect in a classic conglomerate: parts of the business that are doing well cover for those that are not. Of course, the theory assumes that a given unit's difficulties are merely cyclical. But Sir Howard's consumer electronics business, whose DNA only supports premium pricing and lacks the software gene, may not bounce back, ever.

The New York Times > Digital Domain: How the iPod Ran Circles Around the Walkman

Then there is the "I *heart* rootkit" t-shirt....

We don't know about you, but when we buy a music CD we consider it a friendly invitation for complete strangers to come in and make our computer their personal playground. Install hidden software that hijacks basic components of our system? Open us to attack from viruses and hackers? Sounds perfect!

Fortunately Sony BMG is dedicated to making customers' dreams come true by producing CDs which, well, technically aren't—but provide hours of destabilizing entertainment. Remember—only pirates and communists believe in having control over their personal property.

I Heart Rootkit | The T-Shirt

UPDATE:

There are now at least 7 class-action lawsuits in the US against Sony. Here are links to the Texas Attorney General and the Electronic Freedom Foundation, who are moving forward with two separate lawsuits.

Attorney General Abbott Brings First Enforcement Action In Nation Against Sony Bmg For Spyware Violations

EFF Files Class Action Lawsuit Against Sony BMG

What will it take for this company to learn a lesson? Hundreds of millions of dollars in lawsuits and weeks of bad press and angry customers across the globe? Is that enough? Sadly, I would bet that isn't enough.

JamesK provides a great cheat sheet for those of you in Japan who are upgrading to an oogata (400cc+) motorcycle license.

Having recently completed the Oogata license at Samezu I can confirm that they provide bikes for you to do the test on. The bikes they use (for Oogata at Samezu) are late model Honda CB750s (front & rear brakes are not linked).

The test should not present a problem for anyone who is a current and competent rider. Below are a few points to note when taking the test (that I can remember).

1. the test bikes have BIG, protruding crash guards around the engine and the exhaust pipes, so you need to leave extra room when going around the cones, since touching a cone is an automatic fail.

2. you must (looking like a total fool look left and right (turning your head such that the examiner can plainly see) before moving off, and making any turns, etc. basically swing your head in both directions before doing anything, since they can’t fail you for looking more, but you loose 10 points for every time you don’t look both ways. Checking the mirrors DOES NOT count.

3. you must clearly/fully stand on the pegs when going over the railway crossing part of the course, automatic fail if you don’t stand up or don’t get your butt high enough.

4. must completely stop (right foot on the ground) before the bridge maneuver and completely stop once the bike is off the bridge, speed and/or gear choice is up to you. Touching the ground or running off the bridge (which is about 1” off the ground) is an automatic fail.

5. you must stop (your front wheel) before any give way or stop sign/flashing red light, if your wheel crosses the line or even touches the line it’s an automatic fail.

6. you must indicate lane changes and turns (with the blinkers) but have to count off three (3) seconds before changing lanes or making the turn. I am not sure how many points you loose if you don’t wait for 3 seconds, but its’ less then 10 per infraction. You must again (clearly) turn your head in the direction you are going to be moving, before the maneuver.

7. if you loose your way on the course, pull over to the left side and raise your right hand, the examiner will direct you via the PA system there is no penalty for this.

8. you must use both front and rear brakes when braking, the bikes are outfitted with lights to indicate to the examiner which brakes are being activated, you loose some points (less then 10) for not using both brakes.

9. when taking off and stopping you must put your left foot down (since you are supposed to use your right for the rear brake), the same applies to stops at the traffic light(s) and the yield signs, i.e. you have to keep your right foot on the peg and/or rear brake. If you did not manage to down shift into first gear before stopping, you are allowed to (once stationary) put your right foot down to shift into first but should strait away switch back to left on the ground and right on the peg/brake, I think you loose a couple of points for that (no biggie since you’ve got 30 points to play with).

10. on the back straight, you need to reach at least 45 kph before hitting the brakes (both brakes), the bikes are outfitted with a light that will light up once you’ve reached 45 kph. Don’t exceed this speed by too much or you may loose some points for excessive braking… You should also get to at least 3rd gear on the back straight.

11. you are required to use all five fingers when operating the clutch and the brake, you loose 1 or 2 points for any deviations from this.

12. the slalom is setup to be best done in second (2nd) gear (at least on the test bikes), there is no prerequisite speed or time limit for completing any of the maneuvers for gaijin and the test is not timed.

13. the test starts after the first yield sign, i.e. so the section from pulling out of the “pit” to the 1st yield sign is not subject to penalties.

14. you must try to keep around 30 cm from the cones and 1 meter from the left curb at all times while navigating around the course.

The pass grade is 70%, of which you loose 10% for every instance of not turning your head in each direction to check for traffic.

Some other points to note:

1. prior to being allowed to take the Oogata test, you’ll need to convert your foreign license to a Japanese under 400cc license.

a. for this you’ll need a translation of your foreign license from a JAF office.

b. you’ll also need your passport and gaijin card and (I think your foreign license).

c. if your foreign license is from countries like Australia, UK, etc (RH drive) you do not need to take a multiple guess computer course, people holding a license from a LH drive country need to firstly take this computer test.

The paper work outlining the required documents and steps can be obtained from the Samezu office; I have attached some docs I have scanned in previously that may be of use.

FYI, After failing my first time out (on a few stupid technicalities) I took a Koyama 4 hour refresher course to learn all these silly little rules. So if you can ride a motorcycle, all you should need are the above instructions to pass on the first attempt.

I have uploaded a couple of PDFs into the Files are of Tokyo Riders that should help.

1. “AF License Translation Service Info.pdf” – contains the Samezu course outline and various instructions, traffic signs etc.

2. “Japanese Large Size Motorcycle License Test Course and Info.pdf” – describes the steps for using the JAF translation service to obtain a translation of your foreign license.


Good Luck,
JamesK

New BMW R1200S!

Photos and details in the extended.

Holy wow! Still a concept bike, but exisiting competition includes the Aprilia Tuono and the KTM Super Duke.

More info in the extended...

WHO WAS FIRED FOR THIS MESS? WHO?!?!

No one? Right.

November 15, 2005

To Our Valued Customers:

You may be aware of the recent attention given to the First4Internet XCP content protection software included on some SONY BMG CDs. We have learned that the software includes a feature that may make a user’s computer susceptible to a virus written specifically to target the software.

We share the concerns of consumers regarding discs with XCP software, and we are instituting a program that will allow consumers to exchange any CD with XCP software for the same CD without copy protection. We also have asked our retail partners to remove all unsold CDs with XCP software from their store shelves and inventory. We will make further details of this program available shortly.

We deeply regret any inconvenience this may cause our customers and we are committed to making this situation right. It is important to note that the issues regarding these discs exist only when they are played on computers, not on conventional, non-computer-based CD and/or DVD players.

Our new initiatives follow the measures we have already taken, including last week’s voluntary suspension of the manufacture of CDs with the XCP software. In addition, to address security concerns, we provided to major software and anti-virus companies a software update, which also may be downloaded at http://cp.sonybmg.com/xcp/english/updates.html. We will shortly provide a simplified and secure procedure to uninstall the XCP software if it resides on your computer.

Ultimately, the experience of consumers is our primary concern, and our goal is to help bring our artists’ music to as broad an audience as possible. Going forward, we will continue to identify new ways to meet demands for flexibility in how you and other consumers listen to music.

Sony gets no link from me. None.

I hope those artists leave Sony-BMG and find new distribution with labels who don't use DRM. They're the real losers in this saga.

Just wait another 3-6 months when we hear of another DRM issue from another branch of Sony. That company JUST DOESN'T understand that DRM only treats their legitimate customers as pirates wheareas the real pirates ROUTE AROUND the DRM.

Google Base has launched.

Note: don't forget to re-read Paul Ford.

August 2009: How Google beat Amazon and Ebay to the Semantic Web (Ftrain.com)

[via]

I dont have a Mac powerful enough to run Aperture, but one day I will.

When Apple surveyed photographers about their workflows, they found out a surprising fact: The number one tool used by pro digital photographers to manage their files is…no program at all. Interestingly, a majority of photographers still simply drag their images into folders and call it a day. Based on the confusing overlap of programs, the lack of full-blown tools in many apps, and the plethora of shooting styles, this isn’t as shocking as it might seem at first blush.

While the on-site demos at Photo Plus were impressive, it’s only when one sits down with the program that it's clear just how powerful this program really is. Instead of being broken down into modes of operation, photographers are free to jump around between importing, captioning, adjusting and exporting, all with a common set of tools and keyboard commands.

Hands-on with Aperture

Kaneko-san's presenting at the Apple Store Ginza on Nov 24th at 7pm on the topic of folksonomies, del.icio.us, flickr, and blogs. I hope to be there!

11月24日 アップルストア銀座でイベント：Goodpic

Must download for Macintosh lovers :)

On October 21st in the year of '05, ten top Mac developers (primarily indies) from around the USA were invited to the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, IL for an evening of conversation around a broad range of topics: Making a living writing for the Mac, software patents, competing with Apple, digital rights management (DRM), software activation, bugs, Ajax, unit testing, building communities, the x86 transition, and much much more... This was recorded, and the video and audio are now online.

Evening at Adler video download

Just another note in the saga that is the Sony DRM rootkit issue. Microsoft has classified this software as "malware" and will be removing it from any Windows OS via the December 2005 Malicious Software Removal Tool.

If no one at Sony/Sony-BMG has lost a job over this, then Sony needs to re-evaluate their criteria for job termination. This has been a fiasco by any definition of the word

Microsoft will wipe Sony's 'rootkit' | CNET News.com

I've been behind on my blogging as work's been hectic recently. So a recent post by Joi Ito about the state of English speaking in Japan (in a word, horrendous), reminded me of this crazy article in the Asahi last week.

Basically the article is about Japanese scientific researchers and their need to communicate in English, especially at international scientific symposiums, and their general lack of ability, or in some cases active displeasure to do so.

Toshihide Masukawa, 65, a professor at Kyoto Sangyo University, is famous for his research into elementary particles. But he is also known for his dislike of English. "My dream was to write outstanding research papers in Japanese and to make all the researchers in the world read them [IN JAPANESE!!!]. But it seems impossible," he says. "Of course, it's an advantage if you have a good command of English."

Here's another quote from an academic who is clearly out of touch with the rest of the world.

Kiyotaka Tanikawa, 61, an assistant professor at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, is less than thrilled with the trend toward the exclusive use of English. "Simply making the argument that you must write in English to compete with other scientists is insufficient," he says. "Scientists should make greater efforts to translate their papers into Japanese and publish them."

And non-Japanese scientists should translate their papers in Japanese because...the rest of the scientific world reads and speaks Japanese? What a comical thought process. The Japanese government ought not to be funding researchers with this kind of mindset.

Another one:

At another research center, Akira Tonomura, 63, a fellow at Hitachi Ltd.'s Advanced Research Laboratory in Hatoyama, Saitama Prefecture, says those who want to conduct research as part of his team must speak Japanese. Tonomura handles the world's most efficient electron microscope and says he is too busy with his research to spare any time for English.

You know what Masukawa-san? The rest of the world is too busy to read your research if it isn't in English.

asahi.com：Weekend Beat/ LIFESTYLE＆MORE： Japanese scientists use English or get the silent treatment

I am proud of many things in America. However, I am probably most proud about our National Parks and natual areas. I understand the risk of reliance on foreign oil, but drilling in ANWR is not going to solve our problems.

So it was with more than a little relief that I read that the recent election losses by the Republicans means that the House has cancelled the plans for oil drilling in the ANWR.

House Republican leaders were forced to jettison a plan for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska on Wednesday night to save a sweeping spending bill, a concession that came one day after the party suffered significant election loses.

In dropping the drilling plan and a second provision, on coastal exploration, the leadership was trying to win over moderates in the party to enhance the chances of winning initial approval on Thursday of more than $50 billion in spending cuts demanded by House conservatives. But the decision is likely to meet objections from the Senate, where senior lawmakers are insisting on the drilling plan, a priority for President Bush.

C'mon Bush. Bring ANWR drilling to a vote and we'll see you lose AGAIN.

America needs to go on a diet.

An energy diet.

A food diet.

America must invest in renewable energy solutions. Not more concessions to the oil and petroleum lobby.

House Shelves Alaska Drilling in Budget Fight - New York Times

I do not like the man's politics, but I have to admit to being impressed with his candor.

"The buck stops with me," the governor said in a televised news conference at the Capitol in Sacramento, two days after the special election in which his proposals were defeated. "I take full responsibility for this election. I take full responsibility for its failure."
...
"The message we got was very clear," Mr. Schwarzenegger said. "The people want us to take care of the job right here in this building and not go to them if things don't work out."
...
"I should have also listened to my wife, who said don't do this," he said of Maria Shriver.

When was the last time you heard Bush apologize about his failures? Yeah, I don't remember either.

Schwarzenegger Says the Fault Is His - New York Times

Here's another trainwreck about to hit Sony.

A Sony customer at ATRACLife colloquium (a fan site for ATRAC) purchased a Sony Network Walkman NW-A3000 which came with the Sony Connect 1.0 Player software. He shares his review of the software and the device with the community at ATRACLife. Basically, the software doesn't work and the reviewer had to resort to Sonic Stage, an earlier Sony music management software that was roundly derirded for it's unusability.

The first part of the trainwreck is that this device and software was not to be sold until later- it was sold by mistake in advance of the official sale time. Sadly, the store that made this mistake? None other than an official SonyStyle store. It gets worse, a lot worse.

I purchased an NW A3000 on Friday, from a UK Sony Centre, who are the first to have the units available in the UK. The unit came with Connect Player 1.0, which I regret to say after a weekend of perseverance is extremely disappointing. Put simply, I can’t get it to work.

I have 4200 Atrac files in my SonicStage database, which Connect Player offers no easier means to import other than File/Directory import. There does not seem to be any way to import playlists from SonicStage. I made several attempts to import the files all of which were ultimately unsuccessful. The software offers the iTunes style option of manual or sync connection to your device (i.e. the NW A3000) but I found that after transferring 200 or so tracks the process would hang indefinitely. The only way to stop it was to detach the NW A3000, which resulted both in the database on the NW A3000 being corrupted and Connect Player not opening when I tried to reuse the software. The only way to get the program open again was to delete the library folder in the All Users\Application Data\Sony Corporation\Connect Player path, which meant that there were now no tracks imported. Lastly I tried to import the tracks and manually transfer them to the NW A3000, but although Connect Player seemed to import the tracks ok (it takes about 4 hours to do 4200 tracks, far longer than in SonicStage) after closing Connect Player, it took 5 minutes to open again and then froze completely. I simply could’t open it without scrubbing the library again.

It seems to me that Sony have rushed this software out – I can’t believe my problems are due computer compatibility as I am using a month old Vaio. There are some potentially good features in Connect Player – drag and drop, the sync function and a folder watch function, which I presume allows automatic updates of any new tracks added by another program such as SonicStage. But there are major drawbacks, not least that it doesn’t work, but also there is no back up tool, so if your database was damaged or your computer blew up, you would be stuck – I don’t think simply backing up and restoring the oma file folders would work with a new install on another machine. The only way to back up would be to use SonicStage back up tool, but then all tracks would have to be imported/ripped with SonicStage and then either the folder watch function used or the files be imported into Connect Player, which seems crazy.

When this software hits the mainstream public, the backlash will be swift and merciless, mainly because Sony music management software has been horrendously unusable from day one. Heads should roll for this (and I would name names but that's not sporting) but that hasn't happened in the past so I'm not holding my breath.

If you had any hope for the future of Sony Network Walkman software, forget about it. The distance from iTunes to any legitmate competitor is so far that it is a very significant competitive advantage for Apple. Why Sony has yet to understand that is one of many reasons why Sony is in the dire straits that it is in at this time.

ATRACLife Colloquium -> NW-A3000 Connect Player Impressions

Dan Gillmor was in Japan earlier this fall to promote the Japanese-language edition of "We the Media." A few of us got together to arrange for an evening Q&A at the Apple Store in Ginza and then drinks at a bar nearby.

Thank you to Yukawa-san and Tokuriki-san for making the event a good one for friends and fans of Dan in Japan.

Joi Ito's Web: Dan on the cover of Aera

Go Vint!

November 8, 2005

The Honorable Joe Barton
Chairman
Committee on Energy and Commerce
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

The Honorable John D. Dingell
Ranking Member
Committee on Energy and Commerce
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Chairman Barton and Ranking Member Dingell,

I appreciate the inquiries by your staff about my availability to appear before the Committee and to share Google’s views about draft telecommunications legislation and the issues related to "network neutrality." These are matters of great importance to the Internet and Google welcomes the Committee’s hard work and attention. The hearing unfortunately conflicts with another obligation, and I am sorry I will not be able to attend. (Along with my colleague Robert Kahn, I am honored to be receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Wednesday at the White House for our work in creating the Internet protocol TCP/IP.)

Despite my inability to participate in the planned hearing in person, I hope that you will accept some brief observations about this legislation.

The remarkable social impact and economic success of the Internet is in many ways directly attributable to the architectural characteristics that were part of its design. The Internet was designed with no gatekeepers over new content or services. The Internet is based on a layered, end-to-end model that allows people at each level of the network to innovate free of any central control. By placing intelligence at the edges rather than control in the middle of the network, the Internet has created a platform for innovation. This has led to an explosion of offerings – from VOIP to 802.11x wi-fi to blogging – that might never have evolved had central control of the network been required by design.

My fear is that, as written, this bill would do great damage to the Internet as we know it. Enshrining a rule that broadly permits network operators to discriminate in favor of certain kinds of services and to potentially interfere with others would place broadband operators in control of online activity. Allowing broadband providers to segment their IP offerings and reserve huge amounts of bandwidth for their own services will not give consumers the broadband Internet our country and economy need. Many people will have little or no choice among broadband operators for the foreseeable future, implying that such operators will have the power to exercise a great deal of control over any applications placed on the network.

As we move to a broadband environment and eliminate century-old non-discrimination requirements, a lightweight but enforceable neutrality rule is needed to ensure that the Internet continues to thrive. Telephone companies cannot tell consumers who they can call; network operators should not dictate what people can do online.

I am confident that we can build a broadband system that allows users to decide what websites they want to see and what applications they want to use – and that also guarantees high quality service and network security. That network model has and can continue to provide economic benefits to innovators and consumers -- and to the broadband operators who will reap the rewards for providing access to such a valued network.

We appreciate the efforts in your current draft to create at least a starting point for net neutrality principles. Google looks forward to working with you and your staff to draft a bill that will maintain the revolutionary potential of the broadband Internet.

Thank you for your attention and for your efforts on these important issues.

Sincerely,

Vinton Cerf
Chief Internet Evangelist
Google Inc.

Official Google Blog: Vint Cerf speaks out on net neutrality

Good stuff in this Pew Report. Start digging...

Pew Internet & American Life Project Report: Teen Content Creators and Consumers

Watch Clayton Christensen's "Innovator's Dilemma" in action, in Redmond! Take a chair, stay a while. Grab some popcorn for me too.

While Microsoft is not known as an "innovator" (it is best known as a fast-follower or copier) it's interesting to see that even as of 30 Oct. 2005, Microsoft's senior execs are now realizing the importance of Internet services, especially search.

How could these top executives be sending each other memos about "AJAX" in late October of 2005, when Microsoft itself was the primary driver behind the technologies that make up AJAX years earlier?

They point to a variety of threats to Microsoft's Windows and Office franchises, from advertising-supported Internet businesses like those being pursued by Google and Yahoo to, as Mr. Gates notes, a new "grass-roots adoption and popularization model" that has made it easier for start-up companies to reach large audiences at low cost.

The document written by Mr. Ozzie, titled "The Internet Services Disruption," criticizes Microsoft for moving too slowly to capitalize on technologies it developed and for failing to capitalize on industry trends.

He cites Microsoft's failure to adequately pursue a technology known as Ajax - which makes it possible for Internet-based applications to mimic the appearance and responsiveness of desktop PC programs - as a clear case of company sluggishness.

He also noted that the company was slow to move ahead on Internet searching, even after Mr. Gates gave a speech in 1991 predicting "information at your fingertips."

"We knew search would be important," Mr. Ozzie wrote, "but through Google's focus they've gained a tremendously strong position."

This is such a curious piece of news- it's almost incredible for me to believe that these Microsoft execs are this far behind the market at this time. In fact, I wonder if it's some kind of elaborate feint or trick in order to fool their competition into believing that MSFT is farther behind than it really is.

And what of Microsoft Live? all that brouhaha last week about their new Internet initiatives? Dissected in detail, it's a lot of hype and hot air.

Internet Services Crucial, Microsoft Memos Say - New York Times

The title of this article is a bit mis-leading as it says "Yahoo! tightens control in Europe and Asia," when it should have said, "Yahoo! tightens control in Europe and South Korea." What makes this a bit more interesting is that the seller of the stakes in Yahoo!'s affiliates is Yahoo! Japan, better known as Softbank Corp.

Yahoo Tightens Control in Europe and Asia - New York Times

Softbank is making about $500 million by selling off its holdings in Yahoo!UK Ltd, Yahoo!France SAS, Yahoo!Deutschland GmbH and Yahoo!Korea Corp. One wonders what Son-san will do with that new cash infusion. I hope he doesn't buy more networks in Japan- that's a money-losing proposition.

Japan's Softbank, subsidiaries to sell stakes in US Yahoo's affiliates - Forbes.com

My god!

I don't know what's worse; ruining your jeep or having the whole world see how crazy your decision was.

4xForum - big recovery mistake

Mark Russinovich is a Windows expert who recently documented the extent to which Sony DRM software changes users' systems without any indication. There is a EULA, but there is no button to click or approve. Merely by loading the CD into your Windows PC, you are accepting the EULA.

The entire experience was frustrating and irritating. Not only had Sony put software on my system that uses techniques commonly used by malware to mask its presence, the software is poorly written and provides no means for uninstall. Worse, most users that stumble across the cloaked files with a RKR scan will cripple their computer if they attempt the obvious step of deleting the cloaked files.

While I believe in the media industry’s right to use copy protection mechanisms to prevent illegal copying, I don’t think that we’ve found the right balance of fair use and copy protection, yet. This is a clear case of Sony taking DRM too far.

It is crazy to me to think that anyone would let a company install software that would manipulate your Windows OS without any knowledge, and that software would actively hide what changes it made to your system.

If there's any definition of bad and over-reaching DRM, this is it. That Sony-BMG still does this is shameful. I wonder if the artist knew just exactly what their customers were getting when they bought this CD. I have a hard time imagining that the artist would approve of such extreme measures.

Mark's Sysinternals Blog: Sony, Rootkits and Digital Rights Management Gone Too Far

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