Three stories caught my eye today. 2 related to technology and 1 that deals with my “lawyer” side.
It’s more news concerning the iPhone. Apple said today that the iPhone would support 8 hours of talk time, 7 hours of video playback, 6 hours of internet use, 24 hours of music playback and 10 days of standby time. For those of you who know me, I’m sure you’re picturing a look of disbelieve on my face right now. As the girl who lives off one gadget (my Treo 700p) for all digital media [OK, it’s been hard, trust me on this one…], I suffer the pains of the battery drain more than anyone else. So I’m some what skeptical that actual battery life will be very good on the iPhone. But I hope to be proven wrong…
In other technology news, Blockbuster was announced today that it will rent high-definition DVD’s only in Sony’s Blu-ray format in its 1450 stores. Obviously, a blow for the rival HD DVD format. This likely has to do with the fact that the majority of the movie studios are releasing in Blu-ray DVD (except for Universal, owned by GE, is releasing in HD). But of course, as I discussed with my ODM co-hosts, because of the Sony “blackballing” of the use of blu-ray for porn, the porn industry is backing the HD DVD standard. The porn industry is lucrative and porn DVD is big business. That may support the HD DVD standard even without Walt Disney’s support. This Blockbuster announcement is yet another punch in the high definition DVD fight.
Finally, just a tidbit for my friends out there who are lawyers. That company that we love to hate. Yes, you know who, BAR/BRI! More than 20 lawyers have filed objections to the $49 million dollar settlement made by BAR/BRI. That settlement, dispersed among a class of 300,000 claimants, would result in about $125 in individual settlements. I laughed, because I thought about all the stressed of studying for the New York bar exam and my fear of not passing. The thought of having that money back seemed in consequential. But for the more militant lawyers (and non-lawyers – i.e. those who didn’t‘ pass…), perhaps it’s pure justice. When that money comes, I think I’ll put that towards my new iPhone…
Technorati Tags: Chia-Lin Simmons, On Digital Media, iPhone, Apple, HD DVD, blu-ray, DVD standard, BAR/BRI, class action lawsuit, class action settlement