Please don’t support these sites. Not only does software piracy hurt the developers that work hard to build the tools you use everyday, but these sleazy pirates don’t deserve to make a red cent on other people’s hard work.  Most of these software have some catch anyway, i.e., you can’t download updates or some online features won’t work, etc.

Ways you can find out if you’re at risk of downloading improperly licensed software?
1. If it’s a price that’s too good to be true, it’s probably because it isn’t true.
2. If there is no option for them to mail you a copy of the disk/manuals.
3. If there are some ridiculously complicated instructions to install the software.

If you are going to commit software piracy, at least do it for free. The minute you spend any amount of money for anything that has anything to do with software piracy, you are no longer the smart, resourceful netizen and have officially joined the ranks of online chumps.

Thanks for bearing with my rant. And now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

And just like 25 years ago, the rare opportunity was made for a direct comparison… er, I mean compilation of the today’s biggest and best egos… er, I mean talents in the music industry… er, I mean entertainment industry… er, I mean music industry.

Don’t get me wrong.  I am all for the effort by all that put this together and I really wish that I could post this up without taking away from their contribution because what they put together still amounts to a whole lot more than just sitting idle and not lending a helping hand.  Unfortunately, in the end the fruit of their efforts comes off as a haphazardly thrown together representation of today’s pop music and that culture which it represents.

The list of pop culture representatives is quite comprehensive (1) a YouTube success story – Justin Bieber (who by the way was the only kid that needed a lyric sheet for the recording session); (2) an American Idol finalist – Jennifer Hudson; (3) a country music crossover success – Jennifer Nettles; (4) a Disney tweeny bopper – Miley Cyrus; (5) the lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls (they’re a cliche in a league all on their own); (6) auto-tune; and (7) that ever-so-popular out of place, awkward rap bridge.

I must say, though. Littered between the overused cliches and failed vocal imitations, were a few gem performances that remind us of the talented producers who put this together.  To name a few, (1) Jennifer Hudson reprising Stevie Wonder; (2) Jennifer Nettles owning Paul Simon’s part; (3) Mary J. Blige as Tina Turner; and (4) Wyclef Jean turning The Boss’ part into an emotional outcry for the people of Haiti.  I’m not sure how they pulled it off, but I’ll even admit they somehow even managed to make the awkward rap part work.  I’ll just chalk it up as a by product of the talent of LL Cool J and company.

That being said, I’m glad that over 70 celebrities who I’m sure could have easily said they had other things to do were able to get together and jump on the Haiti bandwagon.  In the end, the right people end up benefiting from their efforts and that’s what counts.

So get out there and download the complete album from iTunes.  Your purchase will go toward supporting those in need in Haiti.

The rumor mills were grinding stories including annoucement of a new 4th generation iPhone, the next OS release for the iPhone/iPod, an announcement about carrier partnerships for the iPhone and the biggest one, Apple’s new tablet device.  There were pictures popping up all around the web of alleged prototypes, office pools going as to what Apple was going to name it and even well known tech reporters spreading false rumors in jest because of all the hype.

Unfortunately, no matter how eloquent Steve Jobs was when he introduced us all to the new Apple iPad, it didn’t take enough attention away from the fact that the new product did not really bring anything new to the table.  And that’s what everyone has come to expect from Apple. From the introduction of the first neon color CRT iMacs in 1998 on through the iPhone 3GS last June, Apple has stepped up to the plate and scored on almost (let’s not forget about the Mac Cube) every product they’ve created.

The iPad after all the confetti has fallen is just an overgrown iPod touch.  No one was anticipating Apple to make a direct attempt to compete with the Kindle. Because the Kindle already does what it does well.They were expecting an amazing innovative product that does all the cool stuff that stands alone as an Apple product, that also happens to be just as convenient as a Kindle, so they could get rid of or never bother buying a Kindle eReader.

They weren’t expecting an Apple netbook either.  Everyone says they want to see a budget Mac that everyone can afford, but nobody really expects to ever see Apple make one.  That’s because most Mac users feel like they are a part of an elite club for owning one. It’s a phenomenon that occurs when consumers knowingly spend more money on a product than they know they really had to.  Macs are purchased and used as a personal computer in much the same way as a Louis Vitton purse is, or a BMW. Owners feel a sense of ownership pride.  That sense of elitism is a large part of their willingness to spend that extra dollar.  Apple has established that as their product image and should protect that image at all costs.  Diminishing the value of the brand as a whole will weaken the perceived value of their products, thus making it impossible for them to maintain high product standards and price accordingly.

I believe Apple’s attempt to price the new iPad close to the Kindle and other eReaders was the reason for the iPad lacking key features that many expected it to have. For example, it has no camera.  The iPad is a PERFECT device for video chatting while lounging on your couch over a wifi connection.  Another missing element: proper GPS hardware. How much extra would that have cost?  What about multi-tasking? Everyone knows a big gripe about the iPhone/iPod touch is the lack of multi-tasking and apps running in the background.  They couldn’t make that possible? With a large screen, users will undoubtedly want to use multiple applications concurrently.

These are all weaknesses that could be overlooked when you are talking about a mobile device such as a phone.  It would be unreasonable to expect a small cell phone to have the computing power of a full personal computer. The iPad isn’t a small mobile device. If it were, you could stick it in your pocket. The perception is that the list of compromises should stop at “It can’t fit in your pocket.”  Since it won’t fit in your pocket, it better do everything just as well or better than that netbook you gave to your little nephew since you bought yourself a new iPad.

Unfortunately, on your new iPad, the list of compromises continues – no hardware keyboard, no multi-tasking, no webcam and no file system browsing to name a few.

Don’t get me wrong. Steve Jobs is right that the iPad represents a new era in mobile computing.  Imagine waitresses walking around taking orders on an iPad, Doctors and nurses reviewing and updating your medical chart bedside on their iPads, public events where anyone with an iPad can view the slideshow from their own iPad instead of straining to see the projection screen over the guy with the big afro sitting in the next row, personal video chats while laying in bed or lounging on a couch.  The iPad form factor will evolve into a really cool device. But what they’ve got today… was it really worth the big media event? They should have just introduced it at CES and let the public enjoy watching it evolve into an entirely new market of devices.  People wouldn’t have been so critical about it.

Nevertheless, the PSHB community has been very welcoming and gracious and the  services that do support it have been well documented and pretty easy to work with.

I am now in the process of building a simple app that will perform as a subscriber in the Pubsubhubbub scenario. I was surprised that there aren’t very many publicly available services that utilize PSHB. Well, the protocol gets my vote and I hope that more and more services choose to adopt it.