August 18, 2005, 5:03 PM PDT
According to Al, "Rhapsody rocks!"
Posted by: William O'Neal

It's interesting, but there are some products that at first viewing you just don't get. That's how it was with me and Real Rhapsody. The first time I saw it, I thought it was silly. I have about 30GB of digital music on my computer, and I'm pretty happy with my music collection. Furthermore, the idea of paying $9.99 for Rhapsody Unlimited (which gives you unlimited streams and downloads but no transfers to portable devices) or $14.99 a month for Rhapsody To Go (which lets you transfer your downloads to a portable device) made no sense at all. Of course, being one of the curious ones, I decided to give it whirl. You know, just to see what the hype was about. That was the biggest mistake I think I've ever made. I freakin' love it! Whether hanging out at my apartment, at work, or at my mom's house, the ability to have all the music that I want to hear available at the other end of a broadband connection (any broadband connection) is truly amazing. But it's worse than that. I'm spreading my addiction to my friends. A month or so ago, I was hanging out with my buddy Al, who was still dabbling in the unstable world of P2P networks. I told him that he needed to grow up and starting paying for stuff. With that in mind, I fired up Rhapsody, and he, like me, seemed skeptical. I told him to put together a playlist and just have some fun with it. So here I am sitting in my office a month later when a text message appears on my cell phone from Al that simply reads, "Rhapsody rocks!" Another one bites the dust.

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August 18, 2005, 2:52 PM PDT
Will MMORPGs take over the world?
Posted by: Robert Dubbin

This article [via kottke.org] thinks so, noting that the population of Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game-ers has doubled every two years while showing no signs of slowing down. It's a compelling argument, especially when you consider some of the gaudy numbers thrown out by the author. To wit: "There are more people playing World of Warcraft in the U.S. today (two million) than had indoor plumbing 100 years ago." And since most everyone has indoor plumbing today, it makes sense to assume that in a matter of decades we'll all be hammer-wielding paladins with animal companions and magical shields.

Well, wait a minute. While it's a credit to Blizzard, ArenaNet, and Cryptic Studios that World of Warcraft, Guild Wars, and City of Heroes provide such immersively persistent gaming experiences, it would be folly not to admit that the genre's explosive progress is largely tied to advances in hardware. Now, before you flame, I know that MUDs have existed longer than I have; I, too, have racked up hundred-dollar phone bills while combing the text-only dungeons of Gemstone III. But these days, mainstream gamers demand immersive graphics, which require cutting-edge hardware, which in turn requires disposable income. And there's the rub: while there's no doubting that the PlayStation 3 will offer jaw-dropping visuals, its rumored $400-level price tag may prevent it from achieving household ubiquity. And while I'd like to believe, as this article's author states, that one day "there will be a branch of government to rule the virtual world," my guess is that the rising cost of gaming hardware will cap the genre's growth before we need a Department of Azerothian Security.

What do you think? Am I merely dismissing the inevitable? Hit me with your talkbacks.

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August 18, 2005, 11:11 AM PDT
Surprise! Another IE flaw found
Posted by: Robert Vamosi

Barely one week after Microsoft patched several flaws in its Internet Explorer browser, a French research team has found yet another. Worse, an exploit (often a precursor to a virus, a worm, or a criminal hacker attack) already exists, so the clock is ticking. The flaw involves MSDDS.DLL, which stands for Microsoft Design Tools Diagram Surface and is part of Microsoft Visual Studio, however you don't have to have that software installed to have the .dll on your system. A variety of other products, including Microsoft Office 2000 through XP, .Net, and Visio install MSDDS.DLL. Microsoft currently does not have a patch available, so users are advised to disable ActiveX or consult this Internet Storm Center page for more workaround suggestions.

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August 18, 2005, 11:07 AM PDT
Yahoo Music Unlimited officially live
Posted by: James Kim

Yahoo Music Unlimited, the latest prime-time music download and subscription service, is finally out of beta. Along with an improved interface (read: dark blue looks much better than white) and drag-and-drop simplicity, Yahoo promises that the performance glitches from the beta version are history.

We are currently updating our review to reflect these changes, but we'll tell you that it still takes a a couple of seconds between pages when browsing, and we still don't know why there aren't related artists on album pages.

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August 18, 2005, 9:19 AM PDT
Large gorilla enters VoIP arena
Posted by: Molly Wood

Yahoo is planning to become a full-time VoIP provider, with a new product in the next two weeks, according to analysts. Those same analysts say Yahoo's move could be "disruptive" to existing providers such as Skype and Vonage. If by "disruptive," you mean "terrifying," then, yes. We agree.

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August 18, 2005, 9:14 AM PDT
Crime can get you anywhere
Posted by: Molly Wood

A Japanese man has been arrested for using bots to violently mug characters in the online game Lineage II. He stole their goods and, because the world is totally weird, was able to sell them for actual money. And now, he's probably headed for actual jail.

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August 18, 2005, 9:07 AM PDT
Google needs more money
Posted by: Molly Wood

Google says it would like to sell 14.2 million additional shares of its high-flying stock, in order to raise money for "general corporate purchases" (foosball tables?). Google also said it expects revenues to decline because of increased competition. (But internally, it still plans to take over the world.)

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