Author: Serkadis

Via EFF comes this rather interesting calculation of the DRM tax of owning an Amazon Kindle. It’s not a definitive number, as it would differ for different people based on what kinds of books they buy, how often and how many of those books they’d like to keep. But it’s a good little thought experiment for those looking to buy a Kindle. The key recognition, of course, is that with a Kindle ebook you’re renting, not buying the books:

There is one other problem with DRM protected books. When the reading device reaches its end of life, you have to assume all the content you purchased will be lost. If, for instance, I went with a Kindle, all of the content I purchase can be used only on devices supported by Amazon.

When, several years later, it comes time to replace that Kindle I may get a new Kindle — but I can’t assume that. Maybe somebody else will have a better device at that time. Or, maybe Amazon went bankrupt or evil or stupid and I need to switch to another vendor. There are any number of reasons I might like to switch my e-reader. If I do, I have to assume I won’t be able to use any of the content I purchased for the Kindle.

Thanks to DRM, when my e-reader reaches its end of life, I will have to pay to acquire replacement books for the material that’s locked out of the new e-reader. I call the amount of that purchase the “DRM tax” — an added cost imposed by DRM restrictions.

He’s quite fair in calculating his own personal DRM tax, noting that he probably wouldn’t want to rebuy all the books, but just a portion of them. He also knows that ebooks are cheaper. But, in the end, he realizes that this DRM tax makes the total cost of ownership of a Kindle much higher for him than just buying the physical books — even if it’s more of a pain to have to sometimes lug them around. In his case, he would use it mainly for technical books, which is a different situation than, say, recreational novel reading, where “ownership” may be less important. Still, he feels that the DRM issue is a problem and a serious hidden cost:

Maybe someday Amazon (and publishers) will realize how much harm they are doing with DRM. If the DRM tax was removed, not only would more people get e-readers, but also, thanks to the low friction of e-book purchasing, they’d buy more e-content.

This is actually a key point. Just the fact that he had to run through this calculation to determine if a Kindle made sense is a serious amount of friction. If Amazon made this calculation easy (i.e., no DRM tax) that would lead to more sales.

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Filed under: Budget, Mercedes-Benz, Smart, Renault, Rumormill

Despite rumors of Daimler and Renault collaborating on a four-door Smart model, no official tie-up between the two companies has been announced. That could change next year when Daimler will reportedly decide who its small-car partner will be. Daimler is getting even more heavily into the development of small cars, both with its Smart brand and the Mercedes-Benz A- and B Class offerings that might one day make it to America.

Renault is planning a line of ultra-cheap small cars and is putting together a range of electric vehicles that will certainly feature new, small platforms. Like Daimler, the French automaker is talking to other companies about joining forces to save money on developing small cars, so a Daimler-Renault alliance isn’t a fait accompli. According to Automotive News, Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche says the company will announce its chosen partner by the middle of 2010.

[Source: Automotive News – sub. req.]

Zetsche reportedly says Daimler to pick new compact car partner by mid-2010 originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 30 Dec 2009 17:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The makeup-lovin’ guidettes from MTV’s reality smash Jersey Shore are going au naturel for a fresh-faced makeunder with In Touch Weekly!

What do you think of the change? Do the “guidettes” look better sans concealer?

Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, Jenni “J-Woww” Farley and Sammi “Sweetheart” Giancola — who swear by eyeliner, bronzer, and lip gloss — ditched their cosmetic masks for the snaps, which arrive on newsstands this week.

Snooki, who sports lots of mascara and signature pouf on the buzzed-about series, uses Avon products that her mother sells. “If I go to a club and I start dancing, it’ll drip down my face, but Avon stays! Some brands don’t stay on that long. She also gets me a lot of bronzer, eyeliner and lip gloss from mark…..”

Filed under: Government/Legal, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, GM

While the job may not be popular at all in terms of public opinion, General Motors departing lobbyist Ken Cole has done a pretty good job of making the automaker a sympathetic figure for those inclined to bend rules and bail out poorly-managed behemoths. Sure, GM’s stature in the public eye is still down there with big tobacco, but Cole managed to keep the automaker’s relationship with governments around the world on a somewhat even keel. No mean feat when you consider how much divestiture underpins the whole of GM’s plan forward.

It might even be said that Cole the individual can’t be replaced by just one person, and Ed Whitacre seemingly agrees. Two of Whitacre’s former AT&T colleagues have been given offices in the company’s Detroit Renaissance Center headquarters as replacements for the departing Ken Cole. John Montford has been given a seat beside Whitacre where he will put government affairs under his purview, a role he honed as AT&T’s Senior Vice President of state legislative affairs. GM’s new Vice President of Government Relations is Bob Ferguson, who was most recently doing public affairs consulting, but he was all over state regulatory affairs at AT&T before that. We may get to see how well these guys can dance come June, when Whitacre has vowed to pay back nearly $7 billion in government loans. Official press release after the jump.

[Source: General Motors]

Continue reading GM hires ex-AT&T execs for lobbying efforts

GM hires ex-AT&T execs for lobbying efforts originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 30 Dec 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The dawning of a new year has brought new love for one former talk show host: Media maven Rosie O’Donnell is romancing artist Tracy Kachtick-Anders, a rep for the star said Wednesday. The news comes just a few months after the mother of four confirmed her split from wife Kelli Carpenter.

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Rosie and Tracy were photographed holding hands while vacationing in Miami on Tuesday. Both women are active on the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender parenting and adoption frontier and Tracy is the adoptive mom of six.

This Jersey Shore Girl is “Snookin’ For Love.”

Breakout MTV reality star Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi — a 21-year-old aspiring vet tech who has gained acclaim as a overtanned drunkard on the controversial new show Jersey Shore — is hoping to continue riding the wave of unscripted success by appearing on a network dating show.

Well hello there, Flavor Flav!

“I want a dating show — Snookin’ For Love,” Snooki says. “I want to find my prince. I’d have 27 guys: guidos and juice heads. That’d be heaven. Every time I’d pick a guy, I’d give them a pickle and we’d eat the pickles at the end.”

According to a report (or rumor) by Fortitude, joining the 2011 Audi A8 sedan at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show will be a new concept.

Quote by Fortitude:

A rumor internally pointed to a second reveal – a concept car that is a showcase for technology… hybrid? electric? hydrogen fuel cell? flux capacitor??? No one would say. They’re still not really saying but a statement coming out of Ingolstadt today giving satellite feed details for their press conference says the following: “Showcar underscores Vorsprung durch Technik, New Audi A8 makes its show premiere”

Click here for more news on the Audi A8.

Refresher: Power for the 2011 Audi A8 comes from a 4.2L FSI direct-injection V8 that mages 372-hp and a maximum torque of 328 lb-ft. Mated to an 8-speed tiptronic automatic transmission, the 2011 A8 will go from 0-62 mph in 5.6 seconds with a top speed of 155 mph.

2011 Audi A8:

– By: Kap Shah

Source: Fortitude

A floral arrangement smacked Lady Gaga right in her “Poker Face” during a live performance in Atlanta Tuesday night. Gaga, 23, was performing her hit single “Poker Face” when an overzealous fan threw a bouquet of flowers onstage and accidentally smacked the singer in the head!

Like a true professional, the Grammy-nominated hitmaker continued her performance without a hitch.

Filed under: SUV, Japan, Crossover, Mitsubishi

Normally when an automaker updates a model, even if it’s just a quick cosmetic change, the earlier version is treated like cheek meat – nobody wants it unless it’s a real good deal, and the dealers just want them gone. Mitsubishi evidently thinks its home-market will be kinder to the compact crossover-ute-thing we know and love as the Outlander.

While a new Evo-esque beak has been grafted onto our Outlander for 2010, the softer, older version will continue to be offered to JDM buyers alongside a more cosmetically aggressive model. To avoid confusion, a country-specific rhinoplasty-enhanced model will be branded Outlander Roadest (note that the fascia and, grille and foglamps are all distinct from the U.S. model), while the older bodywork model will continue on as just plain “Outlander.” Regardless of the looks, both iterations will get a new 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine as standard, good for 148PS (about 146 horsepower). The offal-likeness is in play with pricing as well, with the new-old Outlander selling for just ¥1,995,000 (about $22,000) while the Roadest will command ¥2,475,900 ($27,100).

[Source: Mitsubishi]

Mitsubishi releases updated JDM Outlander Roadest with unique look originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 30 Dec 2009 16:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This Christmas the Amazon.com Gift Card was a popular gift – a gift I gave and one I received as well.  So I thought rather than do an impulse purchase I’d ask everyone what they think we should spend our Amazon dollars on so they will stop burning a hole in our virtual pocket.

What do you think?  Tell me what you’d purchase for yourself or what you think I should purchase for myself.

The new Kia Borrego SUV will not see any upgrades for the 2010 model year. A Kia spokesman tells TheCarConnection that the Borrego “won’t be sold as a 2010 model” and that “the company could not rule out a future return–leaving its fate ‘TBD.’”

The Kia Borrego, which arrived in the U.S. market in 2008, was expected to sell up to 20,000 units annually. However, high gas-prices and the financial crisis have hurt sales. Through the first 11 months of 2009, Kia sold a total of 9,510 Borrego units in the United States. In November 2009, Kia sold 825 units of the SUV.

Prices for the 2009 Kia Borrego start at $26,245. It is available with two engine choices including a 3.8L V6 making 276-hp and a 4.6L V8 making 337-hp.

– By: Kap Shah

Source: TCC

Famous politico-pranksters The Yes Men have a long history of putting forth convincing parody websites that get those they parody to rush around to get the websites offline. Back in 2007, there was the fake ExxonMobil site that got pulled. Earlier this year it was the fake Chamber of Commerce site that the real Chamber issued a DMCA takedown over. The latest prank is based up in Canada, with the Yes Men setting up some parody sites of Canadian government organizations, promising massive greenhouse emissions reductions. This greatly upset the Canadian government who ordered the websites’ service provider to pull them down. However, as Michael Geist points out, in the rush to pull down the sites, the ISP also took down 4,500 other websites. Seems like quite a bit of unnecessary collateral damage. Of course, this is exactly what the Yes Men want. For every takedown, they get another burst of publicity.

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2009 had its fair share of big releases and announcements, but we saw quite a few cancellations as well. The economy seemed to make publishers nervous and pull back on just about anything but the surest successes. So, as another part of our ongoing retrospective, we’re going to take a look at the games you might have been playing or looking forward to right now… if the plug hadn’t been pulled.

The most publicized canceled game this year wasn’t actually canceled at all, though we all thought it was. Duke Nukem Forever suffered a setback when 3D Realms shut its doors, and this was seen as the death knell for the longest-lasting vaporware in the industry. Reasons behind the move were plentiful, but it didn’t take long for 3D Realms to show itself again, pointing out that the studio as a whole wasn’t shut down, and it retained the rights to Duke Nukem Forever. The team working on Duke was let go, but we recently heard CEO Scott Miller state that it “doesn’t correlate to the demise of the project.” So Duke Nukem Forever isn’t dead, but it may well be in a deep coma.

Other canceled projects were only discovered in the aftermath of shuttered studios. When GRIN closed late in the year, it teased an “unreleased masterpiece that we were not allowed to finish.” Less than a week later, sources confirmed that the unfinished game was actually a western-developed Final Fantasy game being worked on with Square Enix. There was plenty of concept artwork to go around (above), but rumors spread that Square hadn’t paid GRIN for the work, instead arranging a deal to pay when the project was finished. That lack of funds may have helped lead to the studio’s closure.

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