Virgin Media to Launch DRM-Free Unlimited Music Service

It looks like Apple's iTunes service is soon to get some real competition, and all I can say is, "It's about time". But here's the unique twist... the service soon to launch isn't by some non-music-related company, but rather Virgin Media and Universal Music, the latter of which is largest music label in the world. And before you say there's going to be an incredible amount of limitations and drawbacks, think again.

It's easier to just quote a portion of the release, "The service - a world first - will enable any Virgin Media broadband customer to both stream and download as many music tracks and albums as they want from Universal Music's entire catalog, in return for a great-value monthly subscription fee." (emphasis ours). Alright, so the downside is that this service is going to be UK-only, and you'll need to be a Virgin Broadband subscriber.

The music will be offered as a service with a monthly fee (~$16 - $24), and with that, you'll be able to download, stream and keep as much of the DRM-free music as you want. Seems a little too good to be true, right? We'll have to wait and see. They certainly won't have the selection that iTunes will, but Universal owns an almost-countless number of sub-labels, so you certainly wouldn't get bored too quickly.

Though there won't be any anti-piracy measures in place, the company did say it would work towards educating their subscribers about the rights and wrongs, and since this runs through Virgin's own broadband service, if people are found to download and share their wares, then the company can suspend their Internet service for a certain amount of time. That seems fair. I'm really, really interested in seeing how this will succeed. If this doesn't, what on earth would?

This will involve implementing a range of different strategies to educate file sharers about online piracy and to raise awareness of legal alternatives. They include, as a last resort for persistent offenders, a temporary suspension of internet access. No customers will be permanently disconnected and the process will not depend on network monitoring or interception of customer traffic by Virgin Media.

Fifteen of the Worst PC Designs

Throughout the long history of computing, many, many foolish mistakes have been made. When you first caught wind of one, the only appropriate response could have been, "What were they thinking?!", and a new article at the Technologizer takes a look at fifteen classic mistakes that we can hope will never reappear in the future. Just how bad can these mistakes be?

Well let me tell you... there's nothing minor here. Take the Apple III, for example. This business-oriented PC had a goal of quiet operation. How was that achieved? By removing the power supply fan! Needless to say, nobody was pleased with warped motherboards, or lackluster Apple II emulation. Then there's the Mattel Aquarius... a PC inside of a keyboard. Nothing new (at least back then), but what made it stand out were its rubber (yes, rubber) keys and built-in PSU adapter cable. Geez.

One of my favorites in the list has to be the IBM PCjr, a PC that offered unique expandability and also the world's first wireless keyboard (it can at least use that at its excuse). This box, using a vast array of proprietary connectors unique to this one machine, offered expandability via "sidecars"... clip-on components that made the machine wider. But the biggest problem was the wireless IR keyboard. Imagine using a wireless keyboard that required you to constantly keep a perfect angle and line-of-sight. Or the $20 add-on cable that turned it into a wired keyboard...

Credit: Steven Stengel

Since the wireless feature on the keyboard turned out to be mostly useless, many users wished they had an old-fashioned, wired keyboard. Surely, one could just plug a regular IBM PC keyboard into the back of the machine and be done with it? Nope, sorry. The IBM PCjr used all non-standard accessory ports, including one for the keyboard. A cable to attach the chiclet keyboard directly to the computer was available for $20 by special order from IBM; it was not included with the system.

ASRock Also Going the 2oz Copper Route?

When Gigabyte first introduced their "2oz copper" motherboard feature last year, many scoffed at their claims of better overclocking, improved power efficiency and lower board temps. ASUS was included in this mockery, and in some cases, I was with them. I failed to understand how twice the copper would improve things, but even to this day, I don't know if there's direct proof of improvements, so it's hard to conclude on anything.

With Gigabyte's recent focus on extreme overclocking, it could be that the 2oz of copper does indeed make a difference, and with a new find made by the folks at BSN*, it looks like there may be some substance to this substance after all. How so? Well, it appears that ASRock, the budget split-off of ASUSTeK, had a motherboard on display at Computex that featured text at the bottom which stated, "2oz Copper PCB". Hah!

This move is a little bizarre given ASUS' hardcore stance against the overuse of copper. So either the company stumbled on a fresh supply of the stuff, or there may really be value in adding twice as much to our motherboards. But, it could also simply be a way to draw some eyes away from the competition. Let's just hope ASRock doesn't have a 32 phase-power board on the horizon...

However, most surprising news is that ASUS seems to be joining its adversaries, so to speak, with its M4A77TD PRO board, introduced last week, during Computex Taipei 2009. The board, which is based on the AMD 770 and SB710 chipset combo, offers support for DDR3 memory and ATI’s CrossFireX technology. These things aside, the board really brings little new to the table. Oh, perhaps we forgot to mention the white letters present at the bottom of the PCB?

European Commission Breaks Windows 7

Oi. It's become no secret that the European Union has had fun slapping Microsoft with pointless lawsuits over the years, but the latest happenings just further proves how asinine their Commission's thought-process is. Take one cranky browser company, Opera, and couple it with the already anti-Microsoft EU, and you have one heck of a story.

In gist, Opera complained to the EU that it's somehow wrong for Microsoft to include only one browser in their OS, and as such, they offered a solution: have Microsoft offer multiple browsers. Yes... they did actually suggest that Microsoft should include competitor offerings within Windows. What's next? Ford offering Toyota flier hand-outs, or an Aion screenshot at the World of Warcraft login screen?

Look... it's simple. Microsoft isn't forcing Internet Explorer on anyone. It's a sub-product of their OS, which people willingly purchase. Nothing stops anyone from downloading another browser of their choice... nothing. If the EU forces this, what's en route? Microsoft being required to offer alternate e-mail clients? Media players? Chat clients? Calculators?

"Rob, chill... what's the big deal?" How about the fact that because due to this pressure, Microsoft will be including no browser at all in the EU version of Windows 7. That means that people will be unable to hop online immediately after installing their OS. Rather, they'd have to install a browser of their choice via alternate means (like a thumb drive), or use the included CD-ROM to install Internet Explorer. Sounds convenient, doesn't it?

Oh, and how about the newly-introduced inability to upgrade from a previous version of Windows? That's right. I'm not sure of the mechanics, but IE is apparently required for a smooth upgrade, and because it's not going to be available in Windows 7 by default for EU users, it simply can't be done. Microsoft could agree to include alternate browsers just to please the EU and Opera, but I don't blame them for their decision. It's their product. If consumers don't like it, they don't have to buy it. It's that simple.

But since it's just a browser, perhaps Microsoft should be a good sport and include a few alternatives. At least that way, the browser-less problem will cease to exist, and customers will be happier. I personally recommend bundling Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome. You guys?

Providing it gets European Commission approval, which looks unlikely based on the Commission's preliminary response, Microsoft will ship the browser-less version of Windows 7, to be known as Windows 7 "E", in all EU member states as well as Croatia and Switzerland. What's more, the browser will also be removed from the Europe-only Windows 7 "N" versions which also have Windows Media Player stripped out - the result of another EU antitrust ruling.

Tech Roundup - June 15, 2009

Motherboards & Processors
• ASUS M4A79 Deluxe - Motherboards.org
• ASUS Rampage II GENE - t-break
• Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3P - Legit Reviews

Displays & Video Cards
• ASUS EN9400GT GeForce 9400GT HDMI - Benchmark Reviews
• NVIDIA CUDA-enabled Applications Roundup - PC Perspective
• GeForce GTX 275 and Radeon HD 4890 Round-Up - HotHardware
• Sapphire Vapor-X Radeon HD4890 1GB - Bigbruin

Memory & Storage
• Seagate BlackArmor NAS 440 - ClubOC
• Seagate BlackArmor NAS 440 - Hardware Logic
• Silicon Power 64GB eSATA / USB Portable SSD - TweakTown

Peripherals & Gadgets
• 7" Axion AXN-8701 Portable Handheld Widescreen LCD Digital TV - TestFreaks

Cooling
• Air vs. Water CPU Cooler Showdown - Tech Report
• Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus CPU Cooler - Overclockers Club
• Cooler Master Hyper TX3 CPU Cooler - FrostyTech
• Cooler Master Notepal D1 Notebook Cooler - CCE Reviews
• Cooler Master V10 Hybrid T.E.C. Cooler - Modders-Inc
• Thermaltake Xaser S1000 Notebook Cooler - Think Computers
• Zalman CNPS9900 LED CPU Cooler - Tech-Reviews
• Zalman CNPS9900 LED CPU Cooler - Pro-Clockers

Chassis & Power Supplies
• Cooler Master Storm Scout Gaming Chassis - OverclockersHQ
• Sunbeamtech Acrylic HTPC Chassis - Technic3D

Competitions, Complete Systems & Et cetera
• Turn an Old PC into a Home Media Server - Digital Trends