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QNAP + DLNA + NAS = A PS3 and Xbox 360 Media Web Server

The new QNAP TS-109 and TS-209 firmware now supports a built-in phpMyAdmin, and MySQL web server. With the DLNA media playing function of PlayStation3 and Xbox360 users can simply download the new firmware from the QNAP web site and update their system to enjoy these new features.

These new functions include network storage, file server, encrypted FTP server, encrypted remote replication, printer server, etc. The powerful backup software NetBak Replicator is provided for users to back up data on multiple PCs to NAS. QNAP also supports Windows AD service for centralized data management to reduce the data maintenance cost of SMB and corporate users. The built-in digital home theatre functions are supported, e.g., music sharing via iTunes server, and highly compatible DLNA media streaming server for playing videos, music, and photos on TV via streaming from Digital Media Adaptor, PS3, or Xbox360 game consoles.

QNAP TS-209 series was released in August 2007. It is the only 2-bay, RAID 1, hot-swappable NAS model in the current SOHO NAS market. With 12-in-1 functions, the maximum storage capacity supported is 2TB. TS-209 is an ideal large-storage and high security solution for home, SOHO, and SMB users.

All New iPods Are Locked Into iTunes

Not long ago Apple introduced the new iPod touch, and reports have sent in that Apple has also managed to slip in some code that locks all new iPods to only work with iTunes.

After doing some research it looks like Apple has chosen to lock out all other iPod tools by adding “SHA1 hashes” to the iTunesDB file, the database file which keeps track of all items stored on the iPod. The changed code locks the iTunes database to one specific iPod and prevents any modifications to it. If an attempt is made to either change the database file to a different iPod or to modify the file, the iPod reports “0 songs” are stored on the device. What this means is that only iTunes can add or delete content from an iPod.

The most credible reason for locking the iPods to iTunes is that Apple is becoming mindful of other music services. Since more than a few music services are dumping DRM making it easier for music services like Rhapsody to load non-DRM music directly to iPods.

Locking iPods to iTunes successfully stops 3^rd party tools from handling content for iPods. This move also prevents other music services from threatening the iTunes store and to try to maintain Apple’s dominance is the market.

If you have an iPod and don’t run Windows or Mac but run Linux, well your just SOL. Windows users who prefer to use other iPod tools, such as Winamp, will also be required to use iTunes now as well. I have refused to use iTunes from day one and strongly disagree with people telling me what I can and can’t do with the hardware I buy. I use a little program called SharePod, I hope they can find a way around this infringement of my user rights.

Huge iPhone Price Drop

If you just picked up your new iPhone this week please sit down before reading this.

In addition to the new iPods, ringtones for the iPhone and iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store, Apple has announced a price cut for the iPhone.

Apple has dropped the 4GB model from the iPhone lineup. Its sales have been lagging behind the more spacious 8GB model so Apple decided to remove the dead weight. In addition, Apple has cut the price of the 8GB iPhone by $200 – the device will now retail for $399.

Windows Media DRM Cracked…Again

Microsoft Corp. is once again on the defensive against hackers after the launch of a new program that gives average PC users tools to unlock copy-protected digital music and movies. The latest version of the FairUse4M program, which can crack Microsoft’s digital rights management system for Windows Media audio and video files, was published online late Friday. In the past year, Microsoft plugged holes exploited by two earlier versions of the program and filed a federal lawsuit against its anonymous authors. Microsoft dropped the lawsuit after failing to identify them. The third version of FairUse4M has a simple drag-and-drop interface. PC users can turn the protected music files they bought online - either a la carte or as part of a subscription service like Napster - and turn them into DRM-free tunes that can be copied and shared at will, or turned into MP3 files that can play on any type of digital music player.

“We knew at the start that no digital rights management technology is going to be impervious to circumvention,” said Jonathan Usher, a director in Microsoft’s consumer media technology group, in a phone interview. Usher said Microsoft employs a full-time team to combat such breaches, and that the Windows Media DRM system was designed to be quickly modified to shut down this type of attack. He did not say how many songs have been stripped of copy protection, or how long it will take for Microsoft to combat the hack again. But the music industry is aware of the nature of Microsoft’s technology, he said, and added that he does not expect record labels to lose patience with the process.

The Recording Industry Association of America, a trade group, declined to comment. While Usher said Microsoft will remain committed to copy protection, attitudes around the industry are starting to shift.

Apple Inc. has modified its own online store, iTunes, to block similar efforts to break its FairPlay copy protection scheme. But Apple’s chief, Steve Jobs, started calling for an end to digital music-locking earlier this year.

“There are many smart people in the world, some with a lot of time on their hands, who love to discover such secrets and publish a way for everyone to get free (and stolen) music,” Jobs wrote in an online essay in February. “They are often successful in doing just that, so any company trying to protect content using a DRM must frequently update it with new and harder to discover secrets. It is a cat-and-mouse game.”

Apple’s iTunes store started selling DRM-free music from EMI Group PLC’s catalog in May. The same month, Web retailer Amazon.com Inc. said its much-anticipated digital music store will sell tracks in the unprotected MP3 format.

Josh Bernoff, an industry analyst at research group Gartner Inc., said he expects music DRM to fade out in the next couple of years as record companies begin to realize selling unprotected tracks online won’t hurt sales. After all, Bernoff said, the same tracks are already circulating unprotected, copied from CDs and on file-sharing networks.

What Can’t a iPhone do …. Alot!

1. Songs as Ringtones
2. Games
3. Any flash support
4. Instant Messaging
5. Picture messages (MMS)
6. Video recording
7. Voice recognition or voice dialing
8. Wireless Bluetooth Stereo Streaming (A2DP)
9. One-size-fits-all headset jack (May have to buy an adapter for certain headphones)
10. 3G (EV-DO/HSDPA)
11. GPS
12. A real keyboard
13. Removable battery
14. Expandable Storage
15. Direct iTunes Music Store Access (Over Wi-Fi or EDGE)

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Apple and AT&T Announce iPhone Service Plans

Apple and AT&T today announced service plans for iPhone, 4 days before its release in the US at 6pm local time on Friday, June 29. The plans are $59.99/mo for 450 minutes, $79.99 for 900 minutes, and $99.99 for 1350 minutes, and all include unlimited data, 200 SMS messages, rollover minutes, and unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling. Any other standard AT&T service plan may also be used. A two year service plan is required, with a $175 cancellation fee if terminated early. In addition, activations are done via iTunes, so only the hardware is purchased in the store. Interestingly, activation of a contract via iTunes is required to enable the iPod/syncing functionality of the phone as well.