Buying legal videos?

I don't use iTunes. I just don't. If I buy music, I should be able to do what I want with it, burn it to a CD, put it on any mp3 player, etc. Luckily, I have decent legal alternatives now. I can use Amazon mp3 or a subscription service. Or I can just get CDs from Amazon, my local library, or Barnes & Noble, and rip those.

Unfortunately, there are no easy ways to get video for one's computer or non-iPod mp3 player with video playback capability, especially if PlaysForSure is not supported. The iTunes store is the only 'store' around that offers such a wide selection of legal video downloads, for fine prices, too.

DVD ripping is somewhat difficult and slow, especially when ripping things like TV show DVDs. It is nothing like the ease of CD ripping. One can buy videos from Amazon Unbox but I've heard it is slow and laden with restriction. My (well, my brother's. But I use it every day, and he uses it maybe once a month) Sansa does not have PlaysForSure support, as far as I can tell, so unbox is out.

There are the alternatives like Limewire, but I want to stick with the legal stuff.

So please. Where's my a la carte video download service? Without providing a good, legal alternative to Bittorents, the industry only hurts sales. Why did people buy their music from iTunes when Napster(the old one) was already around? Because we're willing to pay for stuff, to keep it legal, to support artists. While people are always trying to save money (well, some people), we are willing to pay for things we enjoy, and to stay on the right side of the law.

Becomes difficult when there's no good service, though, eh?

Future Technology

Today, I got a tour of the home of the future at Microsoft, through the IGNITE program.

I really enjoyed the tour, and was enthralled by all of the technology. I did sign a non-disclosure agreement, so I don't know what I can and can't say. But you can find some information here, here, here, and here. The ideas definitely have a 'wow' factor, and I was imprsessed by my tur gide's answer to my question of how much of the technology in the home was actually technology be implemented and how much was a simulation.

"About 50/50." He said. Wow. That's actually a heck of a lot.

but once you get past the flashy stuff, you see that there is a true lack of innovation or new ideas, just taking our current technology further. There was nothing that actually started the wheels turning. It's just a sci-fi thing, really. Yeah, with a little work we could do x and y and z. They are definitely within the reach of our technology. But they aren't really necessary. I'd rather invent n, a radical new way of doing things that would stretch the limits and change our everyday lives.

But that was all my reaction. I was incredibly surprised by reactions from my classmates, other high school girls. They were a bit creeped out by the way that you were always surrounded by technology, just a spoken word could do anything.

"I think there'd be a point that I'd just want to, like, turn it off." I remember a girl saying.
"I don't want to be totally available and traceable. Teens need to be able to break the rules, sneak away, to teach them consequences." Another said.
"We need to learn to think for ourselves, to get up and walk around and do stuff. If technology does everything for us, we'll be in trouble." Was another reaction.

I think I understand them. I can especially understand the third. We still have to remember our good old-fashioned values (I feel OLD writing this). We can't lose ethics and skills like work, responsibility, organization, and thinking. It'll destroy us as people. I could see a future where 90% of the world lounges around on a couch and watches the additional 10% do stuff as entertainment. I can see a world where it is the exception to the rule to think. And I don't like that world.

...and that's the world that's being portrayed in the home of the future. So please, take note. As we all saw in 2001, we're in trouble when technology gets too smart.

Umm...I Lied?

So I mentioned new sites in the works. Well, today I went through and did a sketch of how I would like two new freebie sites to look. I plan to get one done, looking like the one for the free nintendo DS, for an iPod nano, Wii, zune, Desktop Computer, and Laptop Computer.

Here's what I'm planning to change

• domains. I'm getting domains, at which point the contact email addresses on the bottom will work. I've got some picked out but haven't actually bought them yet, hence the fact that I haven't posted them.
• banners. I made some base images for the top banners. Those can be found here.
• finish the offer list. It's rather incomplete, as you can see on my free stuff page.

I'm using google pages right now. I'll find a host soon, but in the meantime, I can see everything easily by using a WYSIWYG.

So. MY two pages: free nintendo DS and free stuff. Enjoy, and please comment suggestions.

The End of Freebies.

This blog is new, uncentered, unfocused. Kind of like me. I will focus it on something in time, I know that. But that something will not be freebies. That's not the purpose of this, even though that's what I've been thinking about a lot recently. I'm working on a small freebie help website, where of course I will post freebie news and such. I'm excited about that, but it'll be a lot of work and take a lot of time, something I don't have right now. Until then, tell me what you want to know, what you want to learn. Ask me questions. I'll answer pretty much anything as long as it doesn't have to do with personal details. My first post ever will answer what you need to know. Post a question as a comment to this post. I'll keep an eye peeled.

No Stank You

So, in the unlikely case that you are reading this and are a teen who lives in Washington State, I found a halfway decent freebie today for very little work. No Stank You offers free t-shirts - you can submit your own designs, rate designs, etc. When you get 3 different points (each point has to be from a different activity) you can order your free no stank you t-shirt. It's got huge smoking prevention labels, but hey! It's free. Good for wearing to soccer practice or on weekends. Here's the way you can earn points:

• Refer a Friend Just get them to create an account - they don't have to jump through any hoops, complete any offers, or really do anything.
• Rate a Design This one's the easiest - just look at one of the designs 9most of them suck) and rate it, 1-5. One click, and you're one third of the way to a T.
• Submit a picture of yourself wearing your no stank your T. Not possible for your first T, but easy for those after that.
• Submit a design: doesn't matter if it's MS Paint crap, you still get a point reguardless of quality.