Save For Next Year’s Heart Day

David Bamford gives us pathetic bastards Valentines hints and tips.

One reader enthuses:

I cannot believe you’re giving this advice away for free…

He’s too bloody generous!

P2P Forever And Ever!

Appeerances Can Be Deceiving: What’s that 40-gig hard drive doing inside my Apple TV?

Here is what I think is happening with the Apple TV hard drive. I think sometime this summer Apple will ship a firmware upgrade for the Apple TV and it will suddenly gain an important new capability. That’s when the Apple TV becomes a node on the iTunes peer-to-peer video network.

If the Apple TV is plugged in it is turned on. Did you notice that? That means the hard drive will have at least the capability of running 24/7. Now envision a BitTorrent-like file distribution system that is controlled primarily by iTunes, rather than by you or me. A centrally controlled P2P system is VERY powerful because it allows for the pre-positioning of content.

Say Disney releases Cars 1.5 — a direct-to-DVD release expected to sell millions of copies in its first few days. There is no way iTunes could even hope to participate in a launch like that simply because there isn’t enough bandwidth at a good price — or any price. Even BitTorrent would have troubles handling a small part of such a launch until enough seeds were populated and running. But what if the movie was effectively pre-seeded — loaded over a few days on a distribution tree of thousands of Apple TV boxes which could then deliver the movie locally at high speed if purchased. Or if not purchased the seeded copies could still work together to serve other Apple TVs on the same ISP subnet.

Let’s say this is true. How soon will it be hacked for real P2P?

Sometimes Just A Headline Can Make Me Sick

Oregon woman, 84, pleads guilty in boy’s sex abuse case
–linkswipe from Drudge Report

Wii Maan

Shigeru Miyamoto Talk Asia Interview

SM: I have enjoyed creating something that is unique, something others have not done. I enjoy thinking about ways to create something that other people have not even thought about, something no one has managed to achieve. I often get inspiration from seeing the reaction from users playing games like Super Mario. For instance, I enjoyed making 3D versions of Super Mario 64 or Zelda.

My staff and I are motivated not by trying to out-sell whatever happens to be in the market, but rather trying to develop something that is totally unique. I think it’s important that we enjoy that process. To create a new standard, you have to be up for that challenge and really enjoy it. This is the way we work and have done so many times.

Aw, here I go being cranky even after reading this wonderful interview with this genius of a guy. Palm started out with the above motivation. And it lost, lost, lost it — and continues to do so. Today, such innovation is insanely dismissed as a “fad.”

Icky Creepy

Michael Gartenberg joins Microsoft

I’ve commented there, at the JK on the Run blog. Go see.

I’ll have more to say on the general subject later today.

Some people will not like it, either.

Too bad.