Update: More on Brad Delp's passing...

It was reveled this past Wednesday that Brad Delp took his own life by means of charcoal-burning suicide in the bathroom his home. He left a series of notes, one clipped to his collar that read "Mr. Brad Delp. J'ai une ame solitaire. I am a lonely soul.", another on the door to his home warning anyone that would enter that carbon monoxide was present in the home, and the last explaining that had carbon monoxide poising not worked that "Plan B was to asphyxiate [himself] in [his] car." where police found hosing from the dryer found attatched to the exhaust pipe.

It a truly sad story. He was one of the nicest guys in the business and it's a true loss for the fans and his family. Even his last written words were kind as he warned loved ones and authorities of the hazardous fumes.

The past week, I've been listening to tons of Botson, pulled out the old CD's, copying the one's I hadn't already ripped to my iPod. Thinking I might even looking into the songs and CD from his side projects.

I hope that Boston still tours this summer with Fran Cosmo, lead vocalist on the Walk On album. It'd be a great way for the fans and the band to remember Brad. I know I'd be there!!

'Boston' front man, Brad Delp, has died at age 55

So sad...I was really looking forward to seeing him and the band once again on their 2007 Summer tour.

Boston lead singer found dead in his home
March 10, 2007
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Brad Delp, the lead singer of the 1970s and '80s rock band Boston was found dead at his home in southern New Hampshire on Friday, local police said.

Delp, 55, apparently was home alone and there was no indication of foul play, Atkinson, New Hampshire, police said.

With Delp's big, high-register voice, Boston scored hits with "More Than a Feeling," "Long Time," and "Peace of Mind."

The band's popularity peaked in the late 1970s, but it remained active off and on, producing its last album "Corporate America" in 2002.

Delp was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and bought his first guitar at age 13 after seeing the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show, according to his Web site. Since 1994, he spent his spare time working in a tribute band called Beatle Juice, the band's Web site said.

The band's Web site carried a statement, "We've just lost the nicest guy in rock and roll."

SOURCE:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Music/03/09/delp.dead.reut/index.html

Something I'm podering...

So, I'm watching The King of Queens and the side story of Aurthur has him trying to become Customer of the Month of a 'Starbucks-like' coffee house. Then I see a few of the new commercials for McDonald's pushing their new cold coffee's and custom cup coffee, and something hit me:

I think McDonald's is taking on Starbucks. Not just a 'lets do what they do' type fashion, but I believe McDonald's is aspiring to be a serious competitor.

I see it like this: Both McDonald's and Starbucks are by far the leaders in their respective markets. Their closest leaders, Burger King and Tully's, are so far behind, the two company's have no one to complete with but themselves. I think McDonald's has realized this, and decided to make a bold move to take on Starbucks.

Here's what McDonald's has done thus far:
- They've re-modeled nearly every corporate owned restaurant and many of the franchises. These re-models have given McDonald's a more elegent, comfertable, 'Starbucks-like' feel that makes you want to stay. Isn't the point of a fast food restaurant turn-over? Why make attempts to keep people in their seats? Jack-in-the-Box has the right idea, their new stores have seats harder then rocks! The new re-models have re-vamped the image from a fun-loving kids magnet full of bright yellow and red colors into a quite, comfortable location for adults full of dark, relaxing, and warm browns and private walls separating tables.
- The new coffee offerings. First, they started with the new coffee options, where they add the sugar and cream for you, they way you want it.
- The attempt at creating a buzz about the new iced coffee. You all probably saw the billboards that read: Cold Is Coming. How many knew that was a McDonald's ad? Now their pushing it hard via commercials. These new coffees are available with different flavors. They are slowing inching their way into the Starbucks market.

The only other thing I can think of that McDonald's may be trying to do is, Starbucks, I believe, owns Seattle's Best Coffee, the coffee McDonald's brews. So could is also be possible that Starbucks is trying to penetrate the fast food industry? Or mabey trying to create a their own competition?

Just something I started thinking about! Kinda dumb, but interesting!

Introducing the Book

What it might have been like during the upgrade from scrolls to books.
My grandfather showed me this today, it's very funny!

Introducing the Book

Apple+DRM: Steve Jobs sets the record straight

In obvious light of recent issues with DRM and iTunes in some oversees markets, Jobs makes some key points in reference to why FairPlay must exist, and that without FairPlay, there would be no iTunes. Jobs points the fingers in the right direction: If there was no DRM, there would be no FairPlay. People must remember, DRM is forced upon us, and companies like Apple, by the record companies. And companies like Apple are forced to comply with the record industry when they want to sell their music.

Steve Jobs' "Thoughts on Music" - A Call To End DRM
2007-02-06

Today, Steve Jobs responded to calls for Apple to open up FairPlay, the digital rights management (DRM) technology the company created for use in the iTunes Store, by posting his thoughts on DRM, the industry, and Apple's future in music sales in a document entitled "Thoughts on Music" at Apple.com.

Within, Jobs explains, to those unaware, that the iPod and iTunes are quite capable of playing open, unprotected music and reveals that, in fact, only 3% of the music (on average) on each of the more than 90 million iPods out there is DRM protected.

Jobs goes on to describe what he sees as the three potential paths to Apple's future in the music arena:

1) "...to continue on the current course, with each manufacturer competing freely with their own 'top to bottom' proprietary systems for selling, playing and protecting music."''

2) "...for Apple to license its FairPlay DRM technology to current and future competitors with the goal of achieving interoperability between different company’s players and music stores." However, "the most serious problem is that licensing a DRM involves disclosing some of its secrets to many people in many companies, and history tells us that inevitably these secrets will leak. .... Apple has concluded that if it licenses FairPlay to others, it can no longer guarantee to protect the music it licenses from the big four music companies"

3) "...to abolish DRMs entirely...any player can play music purchased from any store, and any store can sell music which is playable on all players...clearly the best alternative for consumers...Apple would embrace it in a heartbeat..." if the big-four labels would agree to DRM-free music.

The Apple CEO points out that while 2 billion DRM-protected songs were sold worldwide in online music stores, over 20 billion songs were sold completely devoid of DRM on CDs. Jobs questions the urgent need felt by the labels to so strongly protect just 10% of their music sales at the price of open flexibility for the listener. He calls out for those unhappy with the current situation to persuade the big lables to sell their music DRM-free.

SOURCE: iPodHACKS.com

Hide a plasma under your bed...

....and speakers in the wall, projector screens in the ceiling, LCD's in pop-up cabinets.

Be sure to check out the videos too.
http://www.mk1studio.com/www.mk1studio.com/LIft%20pics.html

You can literally cruise the Vista

"You can literally cruise the Vista!"
- Red Foreman, 'That 70s Show'

That right! Today is the day, Microsoft released Vista to the public. You can run out right now and grab yourself a copy of one of the many available versions. I will shortly be getting my copy of Vista Ultimate and Office 2007 Pro the good ol' fashion Seattlite way: through relatives that happen to be M$ employees! :-)
(I love living literally 10 minuets from the Redmond campus M$ Company store!)

I'm looking most forward to using Office 2007. I never was able to get a beta copy. (even though I paid my $3!! Never got an e-mail with the download link or key. ;( Oh well!) But I'm very excited to play with the the new ribbon feature.

I have been running Vista on this laptop for about 4 months, and on my desktop for maybe 8 months. (Although about a month ago I switched back to XP on my desktop...Vista's demands are just far too high, and I fell victim to the Windows Update bug and couldn't connect to Windows Update. The 'nag' screens bugged me.)

But I still look forward to Vista RTM. And I'm really looking forward to see what Ultimate Extras has in store!