Get rid of the security stickers on CDs

I would like to propose an idea to the record industry: I am willing to pay $0.25 to $0.50 more per CD if you quit putting that stupid security sticker across the top of a new CD case. This “security tax” would basically make up for the loss of revenues from theft that the sticker supposedly helps guard against. Removing one customer frustration in the CD-purchasing process might win you some customers.

(Side note: That sticker is sometimes useful, like looking at a row of new CDs from the top and being able to see all the albums’ information at a glance. So maybe the “security tax” might be a temporary campaign where the money raised goes towards funding the research and propagation of a new kind of sticker/system that is still secure, yet easier to be removed.)

Why I am reluctant to try working with interfacing and programming into iTunes

Concerns with Apple’s poor track record of openness/transparency: I have been reluctant to try working with interfacing and programming into iTunes, using things such as the iTunes Link Maker, because it just seems so slapped together, and feels somehow temporary. (Is ax.phobos.apple.com really where it will always live? Why does that seem so odd to me?) Also, they have basically no information for developers, or what is happening behind the scenes (which is what talking to developers is all about). They obviously have this open window, but it appears only partially opened (or perhaps those kind of windows that you can open then lock in place so burglars can’t get in.) Can someone relieve me of my worries? Is it worth bothering to work with it right now, or can I expect it to get a little more open in a little while? Anyone know?

Personal analog-to-digital film developing device

Why does a personal analog-to-digital film developing device not exist? I cannot believe that based on current technology, a device/appliance couldn’t be made that allows a person to drop an APS roll into a device, which then pulls the film strip through an assembly line that develops the film then scans the developed negative and writes the picture to a flash memory card. The only thing I can think of is that it would virtually destroy an entire (and extremely profitable) industry. Thoughts?

New features in the RIAA Radar

New features in the RIAA Radar: Top 10 charts by genre! The new charts (from genres such as alternative rock, country, rap, blues, and everything in between) not only show you the top 10 best-selling albums, but also matches it up with the top 10 best-selling albums that were not released by the RIAA. The charts, along with the new “find similar RIAA-free albums” feature, should leave you with plenty of alternatives and no more excuses. Stop supporting the RIAA!

Sign up early

New business plan for life: Sign up for every community web site and game that comes out, as soon as possible, betting on the idea that some of them will become huge and I can sell my low user numbers. (I’m 2141 on Friendster, and 454 on MetaFilter. If you want to give me a starting push on my new career, feel free to send me a bid!)

New RIAA Radar features

The post-sliced-bread era has arrived!

There have been two new features added to the RIAA Radar. The Amazon Top 100 gives you the RIAA results of Amazon’s top 100 albums by sales rank (useful for realizing just how much the RIAA controls, and finding the diamonds in the rough,) and then there’s the Indie 100: the Billboard chart for smart people. Find good and popular independent artists without having to wade through garbage!

Looking for data

Anyone know where someone could find a free/public XML feed of stock quotes (or even just the major indexes?) E-mail me is you know of one. I’m working on a top (TOP!) secret project, and screen-scraping just isn’t doin’ it for me.

On a similar tangent, if you happen to own a chain of used record stores, and would like to give me the data on your inventory (weekly or quarterly, you pick) for a top secret project, that would be great. Thanks in advance.

Creating a web-only, real-time news broadcast

Seeing this image of Dan Gillmor using iSight and iChat together gave me an idea: Creating a web-only, real-time news broadcast, using something like iSight and iChat to create the generic “anchor desk shot”, complete with infographics! (For example: 1, 2, and 3) The idea is that a second person (the picture-in-picture) would be the “production” computer, which holds the video and photos, and runs the show, switching the focus from computer to computer. When the focus is on the anchor, the production computer shows an infographic, and then when the anchor is done talking, the focus switches to the production computer which then runs a video or displays a photo. This idea may be really raw, and possibly not workable with iSight and iChat specifically, but I think it could be interesting, in a amateur/guerilla/Dogma 95 news kind of way…

It may be possible with iSight and iChat, but it would be sloppy, since that’s not what those programs were made for. My initial instinct would be to point the camera at the production computer’s screen, which would mean you would have to have it done very tightly and exact, or have a program that would display the imagery fullscreen with no loss. This is also not really something I have experience in, and I also don’t own any of these technologies so that I could try out or test such a setup.

Ranks albums by how many people still own them

Data I would love to have: albums sold to used music stores. Even if it was just a few charter stores as sample data. What I want to have is a sort of “staying power” index; a list that ranks albums by how many people still own them, not by how many were originally sold. I am never amazed at how many new albums are in the used bins, because they all contain 1 popular song and 11 other crocks of shit. I want to see what the albums are no one would ever part with. You could use the actual sales data to make a ratio vs. how many were sold back. Anyone run a used record store?

Some blog about some stuff.