The superpowers of Google and Apple have all the tech geeks in a stir this week with the release of Google's 'Street View' on Google Maps, and the unveiling of iTunes Plus (DRM-free) on Apple's iTunes store.
Google Maps now offers a feature called Street View that allows the user to browse down a street (in only major cities, so far) and see actual storefronts, landmarks, people...The footage is so clear that you can see into some apartments, recognize people, and maybe see some things that people would rather not be seen (like slacking off when they should be at work). My opinion: as a regular user of Google Maps to locate directions and find hotels, restaurants in unfamiliar cities, I think it is very cool. You can actually see the building you are looking for and know when you are driving to look for the big red building on the right hand side of the street, etc. People, relax, your information is not that valuable to strangers, and who really cares if you have a cat that sits in front of your window. I can record anybody's license plate just by walking down the street, and I do not need Google Maps to know that you are a slacker. Google is not spying on you (at least in Maps) and suck it up and enjoy a really cool app that willl prove to be very useful to many.
On the
Apple front, iTunes Plus is a section of iTunes that sells DRM-free music that the entire world has been begging for since the birth of iTunes. DRM-free music essentially gives the user the ability to do whatever they want with their purchased music and put it on any mp3 player. Previously, Apple was restricted to DRM music which coded each track and made it difficult to use on anything except an iPod. DRM music is still available for $.99 and DRM-free tracks are now $1.29/track. Furthermore, DRM-free music is of higher quality (256 ). The problem people have discovered is that even though it is DRM-free, apparently Apple is encoding personal information such as names, email addresses...on each track that you purchase. So, if someone steals your iPod, someone with a lot of time on their hands can dump your music on their computer, do super-duper hacking tricks on each mp3 file, and know your name. Hell, they can even send you an email to let you know that you have horrible taste in music. Please, my only concern would be that I cannot live without an iPod, and I must fast for the month so I can shell out the $349 for a new video iPod. I would only be thinking about how far behind on my podcasts I'd be while saving for a replacement. Embrace DRM-free music and if you are so paranoid, I have a great turntable for sale.
Bottom line: Google and Apple rule our lives and frankly, I don't care. So long as they keep bringing the goodness of products and fun apps on the web, they could have my soul for all I care.
Firefox 3 is in Alpha mode, which means nothing to average folks like me, however, it does mean that a newer version is on the horizon. Ars Technica has an in-depth review of some of the new features of Firefox 3.0, or Gran Paradiso, and speculates that the beta version (for folks like me) could be out in late summer or September.
