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Filed under: Audio, Internet, News, Web services

SpiralFrog, EMI, and downloads in your cup

This week record label EMI signed a deal with SpiralFrog to provide lyrics (ad-supported) from their artists to SpiralFrog users, and allow free access for US residents to the music available from EMI. Good news for listeners, but something I read in the article on USA Today bothered me a bit. It was the statement by Roger Faxon, EMI'ss co-chief executive, that EMI wants to "recapture consumer demand, which has been hijacked by online piracy." He apparently doesn't quite know what he's talking about. Consumer demand is all but gone not because of online piracy, but because recording companies refuse to give consumers what they want. That is what it comes down to, they are inflexible and still producing CDs when the whole consumer population is moving toward using other avenues to get their music. This is the age of convenience, as mentioned in this story, where people bought and downloaded more songs OTA than expected in the UK. UBC Media got an 83% acceptance rate among users, which surprised them, and isn't bad. Like Blockbuster, recording companies need to get with the program, or they will be wiped out in the near future. The companies with the big lead (like Apple, Napster, rhapsody, others) in the digital music arena will not stand still and wait for the others to catch up, they will (and already do) dominate the market, and will continue to do so. EMI and others need to wake up and smell the downloads.

Filed under: Video, Web services, Google

Google Health maybe next week

GoogleTuesday on USA Today, Google search VP Marissa Mayer was on USA Today and gave some clues about what we'll be seeing next Wednesday at Google's annual Press Day. When asked about moving into other verticals like health, Mayer said, "Health is an interesting one—keep your eye out for that next week." That's all she said on the topic, but rumors about a Google Health site have been bouncing around for months. Mayer also talked a bit about about how Google will be integrating video into search results as well as Google News, saying, "The presentation of search results is going to change a lot in the next couple of years. Video will play a big role. If you search for how to cut up a chicken or how to change a flat tire, video is the right answer."

Featured Time Waster

Forumwarz - a potentially offensive time waster

I pwn UAfter spending the better part of an hour on Forumwarz I still can't decide if it's just sick or if it's kind of fun. It's a bit like a car wreck on the highway. I know I shouldn't be looking but I can't quite turn away.

It's sick, it's twisted, it's the internet on it's worst level and darn it, it's kind of fun. At least for a little while.

Forumwarz is a parody role-playing game that takes place on the internet - or at least the Forumwarz version of it. Your goal is to complete missions that are given to you through a mock up of GoogleTalk called Sentrillion.

Your first "friend" is ShallowEsophagus who begins giving you missions to pwn various forums by being a troll. Depending on the character type you are assigned at start up, you have tools like drooling on the keyboard or bashing your head on the keyboard that you can use to destroy forum threads and eventually, pwn a forum.

Future missions involve buying illegal software from the Russians, pwning more difficult forums and other internet oddness.

Completing missions gives you cash, called Flezz in game, and items that you can pawn or use in other missions. The game is NOT for those easily offended. It's crass, coarse and there are frequent f-bombs in the fake chat sessions.

This is also a game for a more mature audience as it requires you to shop at the Drugs R Fun store to get various concoctions to improve your playing, engage in certain cyber activities to get more Flezz and just generally use a more adult perspective.

If you can get past that, here are the more enjoyable and time-wasting aspects.

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