My iPod really understands me! Is the Random feature on the iPod really random?

Why do we have to wait for mobile operators (aka "the man") to roll out cool shit like the Musikube iCapture music identification application!?! I've got a smartphone, I'm a music junkie, and I've got an all-you-can-eat wireless data plan - just let me install it on my own and start pumping bits across your network. Oh, I get it... you want me to pay an additional $2.99/month for that privilege. Ridiculous. Power to the people.

Which do you think is better? iPod vs. The Cassette

Pokia retro phone... this is dorky but getting lots of popular media coverage. The Pokia is an old-fashioned phone handset that connects to a modern cell phone. Not handsfree, but no Bluetooth required. According to the "inventor" it's a great way to pick up women. I'm sure.

Voodoo Music Festival in New Orleans... great line-up: Beastie Boys, The Pixies, Green Day, Sonic Youth, Cypress Hill, BRMC, The Killers, and many more.

Apple iTunes for Motorola phones... the limited storage capacity of the current generation of phones really limits them as compelling portable music players imho, but I'd love to see this on the next Windows Mobile-based Motorola phone!

This is by far the geekiest undertaking I've heard about in awhile...iPod as Universal Infrared Remote Control... impressive. PT never ceases to amaze me.

Props to the power of the Internet and fast, high-quality customer service...

All of a sudden one day last week my Tivo stopped changing channels on my cable box, which was annoying while watching live TV and caused the Tivo to record the wrong programs the rest of the time. I double-checked the Tivo settings just to make sure nothing had changed (it hadn't), then lived with it for a few days because I dreaded having to crawl behind my entertainment center after a long day at work.

Tonight I finally got around to looking up the problem on the Internet, and quickly came across a post on the Tivo forums that described the problem was due to a Comcast update that disabled the serial port on the cable box. I called up Comcast customer service as suggested in the forum, and within two minutes the problem was fixed. I was even able to verify that channel changing worked again while still on the phone with the cust serv rep.

Thanks Tivo users! Thanks Comcast!

Apple and BMW partner to deliver a better in-car iPod experience. You store your iPod in the glove compartment and control playback using controls on the steering wheel. Seems like kind of a bummer that you have to create special playlists and that song information isn't displayed on the dash - not to mention having to purchase a BMW. Apparently Alpine will soon be releasing a new iPod-compatible receiver that will enable much better integration and should work with most any car make/model. The Alpine receiver displays song information and can be used to control playback, and it sounds like you won't have to create special playlists. Can't wait for the day when there's a standard hardware/software interface that makes it seamless to plug your portable music player of choice (be it a dedicated device like an iPod or a multi-purpose device like a mobile phone, handheld, or something else that hasn't been dreamed up yet) into your car.

Got a Gmail account today... without even asking or begging. I know someone who works with someone at Google. I told the person I know about Gmail a few weeks back, she asked her Google colleague for an account and got one, and today the person I know sent me an invite. Of course, logging in to write this note I see that as a Blogger user I could have requested my own account. Whatever.