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Amazon takes on Apple with DRM-free music.

I’ve used iTunes since it was first released in 2001. When music was first sold via iTunes, I bought into the idea right away and stopped buying CDs altogether. I didn’t care about DRM and I didn’t care about bit-rates. When they started selling TV shows, I didn’t hesitate to buy shows like Heroes, Lost, South Park and Lil’ Bush. When they started selling iTunes Plus tracks, I bought those too. The idea of paying a little more for better quality, unprotected music made sense to me.

Then Amazon started offering DRM-free tracks, and they started offering them for less than copy-protected, lower-quality tracks on iTunes were selling for. Initially, I resisted. I told myself that nothing could work as well as iTunes. But then I tried AmazonMP3. Yeah, there’s a couple of extra steps involved in buying and downloading a track, but it’s worth the extra quality and cost savings.

I haven’t bought from iTunes since. It’s still my player of choice, and I still get TV shows from it fairly often, but now that there’s a viable alternative for buying music, I’m not sure I can go back.

Safari 3.1 Released - new version has limited support for HTML5, embedded fonts via CSS and more. It’s a pretty solid release, but much more needs to be done to reduce the memory footprint of the app on Windows.

So… in order to get functionality that probably should have been included with the iPod touch to begin with… you’re going to charge me $20 for it. Are you out of your effing gourd, Apple?

This is in bad form, especially considering this product is only around four months old, and today’s update was software only and available for free to people who buy the iPod touch today.

I can only hope that the decision to charge for these wasn’t Apple’s idea. After all, if you had an iPod that could almost everything the iPhone could, what motivation would people have to get get the iPhone?

Bought an iPhone? Get your Apple Store Credit. Given that they’re using SMS for this… I wonder if people that have used hacks to liberate the iPhone from AT&T will be able to receive the rebate…

Today marks the start of my fourth week of walking with Nike+. Here are some stats so far:

• Number of Workouts: 11
• Total Time: 5.8 hours
• Total Calories: 5845
• Total Distance: 15.35 mi
• Average Pace: 23′06″/mi
• Farthest Workout: 2.56 mi
• Fastest 1-Mile: 20′51″/mi

I have not been tracking weight loss, though I should. (I’m hoping to buy a scale here in the next month or so.) So far though, I am really pleased with my progress. I feel better. My pace is quickening with each walk. I’ve logged some fairly long walks, and each is helping to build my stamina more and more.

I set several goals for myself after my first walk with Nike+. This morning I accomplished one of my goals: burning 5000 calories in four weeks. I succeeded with 8 days to spare. My next caloric goal is to burn 6000 calories in four weeks. It’s a little more aggressive, but not impossible. As far as my other two goals are concerned:

• Walk 50 times in 16 weeks: I have walked 10 times. I am current 1 walk ahead of my target.
• Walk 100 miles in 16 weeks: I have logged a total of 13.3 miles towards this goal. I am 5.1 miles behind my target, but I’m confident that I’ll be able to regain momentum in this area by walking more frequently. I’ve been averaging around 3 walks a week. This week I’ve walked four times, and plan on walking at least two additional times this week. If I can bump my average to around 6 walks a week, logging at least 1.1 miles per walk, I should be able to reach this goal without a problem.

Walking has become a game of sorts for me. Yes, there are obvious health benefits that come with exercise, but right now I am enjoying the improved walk times, pace, distance, etc. AND getting exercise. It doesn’t feel like work or a chore, because I am having fun with it.

RunnerPlus has been invaluable with keeping track of my daily progress. Look for another update in the coming weeks.