I would like to propose my own bailout plan. My suggestions, listed below, are predicated on the singular and simple belief that the rich must pull themselves up by their own platinum bootstraps. Sorry, fellows, but you drilled it into our heads one too many times: There… is… no… free… lunch.

A must-read proposal.

I mean, ‘Star Whores’… SOLD.

Aspyr announced plans for a online digital-download store back in May 2006. The service, dubbed Gamerhood at the time, was intended to help increase Aspyr’s exposure at a time when retail presence for Mac games was shrinking from what was already small to minuscule (thanks, in part, due to the onslaught of iPod accessories at the Apple store).

Instead of only being able to sell boxed copies of their games, Aspyr would sell their entire catalog online for near instant gratification (as fast as you could download). The hook is convenience of digital delivery and the ability to have a limitless back catalog of older games for in addition to the newest hits.

If this all sounds familiar, it’s because it is, online delivery wasn’t a new idea even back in 2006 as the iTunes music store and Steam, a PC gaming service which allowed for downloads of some big titles like Half-Life 2 on the PC side. Macworld has an interesting interview with Aspyr’s president Michael Rogers where he compares and contrasts the service with Steam and iTunes, and lays out grand plans for Gamerhood and stating “For us it’s about getting the experience right first.”

Ironically, more than 2 years later, Aspyr has done anything but get it right. Though Aspyr does have a GameAgent software program for Macs it seems to be only half functional; it shows the Aspyr catalog of games and can help determine if you machine is compatible with a certain game but that’s about it. A recent update added the ability to check for updates to games in the catalog but, in my limited experience, the program repeatedly recommended the same update but never correctly applied it.

Now, Aspyr has finally launched GameAgent.com as a venue to sell their games but the service itself is run through third-party e-commerce provider DigitalRiver (their logo even appears as the site’s favicon) and not integrated into their GameAgent software. Macworld detailed the arrangement earlier this year and provided some basic information on why the service has taken so long to launch which sites issues with “trademarking the service name, securing a URL and other business-related issues.” (By the way, Aspyr, next time you want to launch a product in less than 2 years, let me know and I can help you secure a domain in 10 minutes.)

However, if Aspyr wanted to ‘get the experience right first’ they would have kept this one under the rug for another few years, because GameAgent.com is a seriously flawed implementation of the original idea. The site only offers two products at launch, the headlining Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare for Mac and a Mac version of the edutainment title futureU. But it’s not the lack of titles that is the problem here, it’s the DRM. Here’s a direct quote from the GameAgent FAQ:

Can I switch to a new machine and still have my games?
Yes, but only if you have purchased the Extended Download Service (EDS). EDS essentially allows you to download your purchase again for up to two (2) years, in the event your computer crashes or the downloaded file becomes damaged or corrupt. It can be thought of as an insurance policy in case anything goes wrong with your computer or the downloaded product. […]
You are also allowed to activate your game up to 3 times with a single serial number.

How will GameAgent.com handle piracy issues?
Each game that you download is, by default, locked to your computer. A game can only be played on the particular computer where it has been authorized.

I’ll summarize: You ‘buy’ a game, but you can only download it once unless you pay $5 per game for ‘insurance’ (which only lasts for 2 years). You can only play it on one computer at a time which must be authorized. You can only authorize 3 computers (or possibly the same machine after a system change) ever.

Might I add, that the price for this convenience, Call of Duty 4 sells for $55. Amazon lists Call of Duty 4 for Mac for $49 at the time of writing.

This kind of BS is just ridiculous. Even Steam, the closest/most-well-known analog to GameAgent offers better terms than these. When you buy a game from Steam, you can download it again whenever and however often you like, for as long as you like. You can play it on any machine you authorize with your account and their prices are usually in line with retail (if not cheaper). There is no download insurance, there are no time limits, there are no activation limits.

GameAgent’s terms are even worse than the recently decried DRM-issues with Spore, which was bombed with 1-star reviews on Amazon for its DRM policy which is tame by comparison. Other companies, like Good Old Games and Stardock are going so far as eliminate DRM from their products and establish a PC Gamer Bill of Rights decrying restrictions such as activations and download limits.

So why, in this time where people are pushing back against DRM so strongly are Mac gamers getting the shaft? I’m not sure. Maybe it’s because they don’t think we’ll notice or know better. Maybe because they just think they can because there’s not that much gaming on the Mac. But, in my mind, policies like this only make the platform weaker. I expected better of Aspyr.

PS: It’s worth noting that there are digital download game stores for Mac, though I am not familiar with specific DRM policies I’ve had good experiences with several. They include MacGameStore.com, Virtual Programing, Ambrosia, and, Blizzard.

We’ve just added comprehensive transit info for the entire New York metro region, encompassing subway, commuter rail, bus and ferry services from the Metropolitan Transit Agency MTA, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, New Jersey Transit and the City of New York.

Finally. I could have used this years ago, but I look forward to using it next time I’m in NYC.

(Via Kottke.)

For years now, they’ve told us that we can’t afford — that the government providing healthcare to all people is just unimaginable; it can’t be done. We don’t have the money to rebuild our infrastructure. We don’t have the money to wipe out poverty. We can’t do it. But all of a sudden, yeah, we do have $700 billion for a bailout of Wall Street.

(Via DF, via µ Slabs, via Democracy Now!)

Mieko on Conan (HD 540p, 80 MB H.264)

I’ve also got the iPod/iPhone compatible clip (35 MB).

Enjoy!

Barack Obama will cut taxes for over 95% of American families (even though more than half of American think he’ll raise their taxes).

Calculate your tax cut at ObamaTaxCut.com

NYC has a ton of Representatives… and not enough Senators…

(Via Swissmiss.)

I also made and iPod/iPhone version for all of you out there (download it for iTunes by saving the target of that link).

Enjoy!

Well, the Mini was released finally today, but it’s a little pricier (starting at $350) than I had hoped for, so I decided to pick up an Acer Aspire One (which is speced better than the $349 Mini for just $329) instead. I’ll be sure to post some comments about it here.

Installed (not that I ever read YouTube comments in any case because they’re so terrible).

(Via DF)

WTF Amazon?  NCAA garden gnomes?  On the front page of your site?  Really?

Buy it now on Amazon or iTunes. See them if you can. You won’t regret it.

Genius.

Edit (9/25): Fixed link after all this time.

Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, the longest-serving Republican senator in United States history and a figure of great influence in Washington as well as in his home state, has been indicted in connection with a federal corruption investigation.

Yes! Lock the man up and get someone non-senile in there instead.

You may remember Stevens from his series of tubes remarks or simply from the fact that he’s the king of pork-barrel politics in the Senate.

Fannie Mae bailout: Taxing America’s poorest citizens to help the richest:

In Roman times the employees of Fannie Mae would be decimated, i.e., they would draw lots and 90 percent of them would beat the unlucky 10 percent to death with clubs. What would be a modern equivalent? At the very least taxpayers should have the satisfaction of seeing the highest paid 100 Fannie Mae employees fired with two weeks of severance pay (it can’t be that hard to find replacements given that the current staff’s primary achievements have been accounting fraud and then insolvency).

It’s like Patton Oswalt’s ‘Dukes of Hazard’ bit: “Ain’t no way they gonna get away with this one! Skup-dup-dubby-doop-do” (Edit: fixed link here, it’s pretty good stuff so take a listen.)

(Via DF)

(Via Kottke)

Best comic book movie of 2009?

Update: If you’re looking for the music from the trailer, it’s a Smashing Pumpkins B-Side called The Beginning is the End is the Beginning. You can pick it up on Amazon’s MP3 store for just 89¢. I could pick out the artist but thanks to inFocus for the tip of the song name.

More info via Cinematical.

(Via Daring Fireball.)

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

C.S. LEWIS: Finally, a utopia ruled by children and populated by talking animals.

THE WITCH: Hi, I’m a sexually mature woman of power and confidence.

C.S. LEWIS: Ah! Kill it, lion Jesus!

(Via Kottke.)

$399 & shipping in September.

(Via Uncrate.)

• All Profiles rental history will be added into the main account rental history
• Your additional Profile Queues will be eliminated. If you would like to keep a copy of each Profile Queue we recommend that you print them out.
• Profiles movie ratings and Profiles Friends connections will no longer be available
• You will not be able to transfer your Profiles data to a separate new account

This seems like a particularly consumer-hostile move from a company that, in the past has had a fairly positive reputation for customer service. As a subscriber and heavy-user of this feature myself, I feel particularly betrayed. The unceremonious termination of my 100+ item queue and 1000+ ratings make it seem like Netflix really doesn’t give a damn about anything but it’s bottom line. As Ars Technica points out, replicating a 4 disc at-a-time account, which costs roughly $24/month, with two 2 disc at-a-time accounts will cost $28/month, or $4/month for Netflix’s bottom line.  Adding insult to injury, Netflix reasons for the change in policy are simply “…to continue to improve the Netflix website for all our customers,” with no other details provided.  This kind of bullshit PR-speak only serves to aggravate customers like myself who are left wondering how eliminating already-in-place features helps improve the site.

There are, unsurprisingly, many upset Netflix customers pouring onto the web to complain about this.  Some resources and petitions they have thrown together include:

• Get Satisfaction: Netflix to break homes by eliminating profiles
• Digg: Netflix Eliminating Profiles
• Hacking Netflix: Netflix Eliminating Account Profiles
• Protest Netflix’s Cancellation of Profiles Petition
• SaveNetflixProfiles.com
• Netflix Community Blog: Profiles feature going away

Even if you’re not a current Netflix subscriber, you should take note of how Netflix responds to this issue. If you are a current subscriber, I encourage you to visit the websites above, sign petitions, and complain to the company about this blatant disregard for the value of their customers.

Update: they came to their senses and decided to keep them after all.

Enjoy.

PS: If anyone out there has the ‘Colin Meloy Sings Morrissey’ tracks please give me a shout in the comments.

If names like David Fincher (director), Eric Roth (screenwriter), F. Scott Fitzgerald (story), and Brad Pitt (title character actor) don’t do it for you… well… you’re in need of some film lessons.

(PS: Whoever is doing Brad Pitt’s makeup is going to win an Oscar. You heard it here first.)

Update 1: Kottke is just as impressed, plus he dug up the Fitzgerald short story (now in the public domain).

Update 2: Unsatisfied with the HTML version of the story I linked to above, I created a PDF with an improved layout. Download it here (80 KB) and share it as you like.

Update 3: Apparently I wasn’t the only one with the idea to make a PDF.  Jonathan McNicol has done even more work on a PDF by fixing up errors in the text and doing an even better job typesetting it on a leaflet style.  He’ll be doing one chapter a day for the next 11 days.  The first chapter is up now.

Need a hint? He’s an iron man.

Sweetness.

Then, while walking home home from work today, I witnessed attendants at the Arco station I buy most of my gas changing the price of regular from $3.98 to $4.02.

Draw your own conclusions…

‘The Slip’ is available in a variety of audio formats completely free of charge.  Multitrack audio files (for remixing) are also available and a traditional physical media release will happen in July.

Two awesome things about the album:

1. It’s released under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share-Alike license so it can be shared and remixed freely.
2. The digital downloads include unique album art and lyrics for each song (which, of course, can be seen on the iPhone).

So far the album hasn’t grabbed me like ‘Year Zero’ or ‘Ghosts I-IV’ did but I’ll give it some time to absorb.

Enjoy.

(Thanks DealNews)

BTW, I’m loving the level of interaction Trent and the band are having with their fans now that they shed their label.

Update: The whole album has now been released for free. Details.

Epson’s site lists the driver as compatible with Leopard but it hasn’t been updated since November 2006, so I wasn’t looking forward to installing old scanner software with some agent that would sit in the background sucking RAM and CPU just to launch the right app when I press the scanner button. Nor did I wish to deal with clunky scanner software with a terrible interface.

Luckily, I don’t have to. The Preview application built into Mac OS can control the scanner (presumably through the standardized TWAIN interface). Here’s a screenshot of the interface which can be accessed through the ‘File’ -> ‘Import Image…’ menu item:

As you can see, it features a nice little suite of controlls and tweaks for scanning and doing basic editing on the image.  Overall I’m quite pleased with the purchase and the built in Mac OS support.  Yay for standards!

Camino has been a favorite browser of mine for a while for a variety of reasons (it was one of the first browsers to have tabs), but in the current market I like the way it combines many of the strengths of Firefox with a true Mac application behaviors and GUI. John Gruber discusses many of these issues in his comparisons (part two) of Safari 3 and the Firefox 3 beta. These differences are significant enough that, though I use Firefox all day on Linux at work and as my default browser on my PC, they bother me when using Firefox on my Mac. Camino takes care of just every one of these ‘Mac behavior’ issues and looks great doing it.

Another big plus for Camino is built in annoyance blocking. Camino has settings to block web advertising and flash animations (two features I consider essential to modern browsers) built right in, while Safari and Firefox require hacks or plug-ins (respectively) to enable these kinds of features. Certainly, I do appreciate the huge library of Firefox plug-ins that are available (I use many of them with Firefox and wish these features were in Camino), but Camino always seems to have just enough features to squash any issues (and the features it does have work great). Safari has always lagged behind on the feature front and continues to do so today; its lack of official plug-in support is particularly hampering.

So downlaod the new Camino and give it a try.