The Cold Cut

In a move confirmed today by some of Apple's iTunes representatives, the Apple music store will see lower prices for albums across the board. After an announcement yesterday that Universal would not be continuing their partnership with Apple, there must have been some nervousness in the Apple headquarters. It seems the announcement that many albums' prices will be lowered to around 6 dollars could not have come at a better time.

Artists who will be selling cheaper albums include LCD Soundsystem, Peter, Bjorn and John and Hot Chip, and I'm certain we will see many more music labels signing up over the next few weeks. As an added bonus, some of the tracks are iTunes Plus, so there is no DRM. This- and the fact that the albums are cheaper than you would find them in a bargain bin- will only help to close iTunes hold on the internet music market. So if you're contemplating puchasing a new album over the next few weeks, check out iTunes before you head down to your overpriced local record store...

I was recently informed of the very well kept secret that is play.com. Play is an online retailer in the same vein as Amazon.com, which has done extremely well for itself over the last couple of years. But now, excuse the cliché , there's a new kid on the block. Amazon, whilst being convenient, has done far too well due to the fact that it is the online retailer, alongside ebay. Play, which cannot currently compete with Amazon because of its size, still offers a much more efficient and satisfying way to shop online, both in terms of usability and the toll its has on your wallet.

The main reason Play.com can compete is because of its prices; even as a relatively small firm, it consistently undercuts the prices of its competitor's by £2-3. This isn't very much, you might be thinking, but it amounts to a lot after you by 10 CD's or 20 DVD's. And don't forget to counter in the fact that there is free shipping on every item you buy, and this isn't reflected in the prices. There is no silly 'Super Saver' deal, where you have to spend £20 in order to receive free postage which takes a week to arrive. No, at play.com, packages are sent quickly and with care: I received my last order with a day or ordering it.

The basic point of my post today is that I think that there is currently an imbalance in the online shopping world; companies such as Amazon are dominating solely due to the fact that they are there, and have been for many years now. But does this mean that there is no room for competition: i urge you, branch out and have a better look before you buy your next CD or DVD online; you will save money, and will be doing companies such as Play a huge favour...

Second Life is a internet based virtual-world which is the latest 'craze': since its creation in 2004 by Linden Lab, 5 million people have registered and created avatars of themselves, all of which can be customised to look like the user. There are many other things to do in Second Life, but everything costs money. This is an issue.... whenever there is a cost element to something (games in particular), there is likely to be violence. How else can you explain the deaths there have been in Hong Kong because someone has not received the virtual sword they payed for?

I don't think there have been many issues so far with Second Life, and the whole concept seems quite appealing. The only problem is that most people who are members of Second Life don't have any aims: they just wander around, spending their valuable Linden Dollars (350 to each American Dollar). I don't mind those who are making money out of Second Life, such as Anshe Chung (the first Second Life millionaire), but there are many people out there who see Second Life as an alternative to reality. Its really sad that this is the way it is, but many people find it easier to communicate under the guise of an avatar, as they can change the way it looks. Even more so, Linden Lab is making huge amounts of money out of these people, as the registration fee and land prices in Second Life keep rise daily.

I hope you can see that it is ridiculous when a virtual world such as Second Life can have a higher GDP ($600 million) than some small countries. If anyone out there uses it or is interested, I would like to hear about why you use it, and why it appeals to you.

Myspace is dying.... come on, admit it. How many of you out there actually use it any more? Gone are the days when you weren't a succesful band unless you had a myspace page with more than a million plays. Sure, some bands still use it, but as a social networking tool, it is inferior. Many people use facebook, bebo, hi5. My personal favourite is facebook: the happiness i had from finding friends who i haven't thought about in years was amazing. And it was all so easy.

Facebook is superior because of all the wierd groups you can join, and the photo tagging feature. Anyway.... follow this link to join: www.facebook.com

One last question: who uses myspace, and who uses facebook. I want to hear your views if your with me or against me.....