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Mighty Seek - Web Application Security Podcast and Blog » Blog Archive » Apple owns the term “pod”?

The link above is from MightySeek.  They’re the folks that make PodPress.  That’s the plugin for wordpress that allows the Digital RV to easily create Podcasts at both the Digital RV Podcast site and Gadget’s Airstream Chronicles as well.

Looks like Apple has some time on their hands.  They want to pull the word “pod” in house and make it their own.  In my opinion that’s an odd move.  Sure, many businesses have started incorporating “pod” into their products.  But hey, only because the IPod was a big hit, and people are producing products for it.

Are they going to start licensing the use of the word “pod”.  Does that mean I’ll get sued if I say, “They’re like two peas in a pod.”  I’ve got to wonder if their legal department is extremely bored, or if they feel like spending a ton of cash for no reason.  If it’s the ton of cash argument, send me some and mark it up as a loss for the year.

It’s been a while since I’ve written on the Kyocera KR1 and Verizon’s Wireless Data service. Today I put together a podcast on mobile internet, and thought I’d also post further on my experiences.

It’s been a little over 6 months of “Full-Timing” in my Airstream. During that time I’ve gotten a ton of use out of Verizon’s Wireless Data network, and my KR1. Both have done extremely well!

During my travels I’ve found myself without appropriate network coverage less than 2 weeks total. What does that mean? That means less than 14 days out of 6 months I haven’t had Verizon coverage, or a roaming partner’s coverage, that allowed me access to a wireless data network. So, 1/12th of my travel time I had issues with Verizon’s coverage for data. Put another way, 91% of my time on the road I was able to use my Verizon card. I’m not complaining at all.

While using the card, it was almost always running out of the KR1. The one outstanding glitch with the KR1 came when I updated the firmware on the system many months ago, and found myself with a dead KR1. Once the replacement arrived I’ve had smooth sailing.

Has everything been perfect with the equipment? Pretty much, yes! Has everything been perfect with the network coverage? Are you kidding me? No, not at all. But what do you expect. Running off of a “digital cellular network” is going to have issues. If there are no towers, there will be no service. Not all the towers have been converted to high speed network. Often I found myself getting between 100 & 200 Kbps. Not super fast, but better than dial up.

Now the big question….Would I change anything today if I could? Sure, if someone gave me a satellite setup I’d start using it. But if I had to choose between satellite and my current setup today, I’d still pick what I have. Why? Price first off. Secondly, while satellite download speeds can beat my wireless card, satellite upload speeds aren’t much better. With that in mind, the gains do not out weigh the costs (for me at least).

Months ago I walked my friend Rich Luhr into the Reno Apple store. He was in need of some more hard drive space. More importantly, he was in need of backing up some of his work.

We looked at LaCie drives, Fire Lites, and Video IPods. Of course, I egged him on and suggested a Video IPod given his initial backup needs. Long story short, he walked away from the Apple Store with an IPod (wish I got a cut of each Apple sale I’ve initiated). But he didn’t leave the shop with everything he needed.

Before we left I suggested he check out the IPod cases. He didn’t want to spring for a case at the time, and said he’d be careful with the IPod. Famous last words.

By the time we got to International Rally in Salem, OR he’d put a scratch on the window of the new IPod, and it didn’t seem so new any longer. Meanwhile, my IPod was safely tucked inside a Countour IPod Case, and looked as new as the day I got it. The case on the other hand looked thoroughly abused.

At about the same time I was contacted by the makers of Invisible Shield regarding their IPod protection product. They don’t make cases, but instead a clear film product that is supposed to protect your IPod. The big thing you really need to protect on the latest IPods is the screen, as Video IPods get used for Video after all. Who wants to watch an episode of Lost with a giant scratch through the scenery?

When I got into Cortez Colorado this summer I got my hands on an Invisible Shield for my IPod Video. So I popped my Ipod out of its Countour case and applied the Invisible Shield to it. Then I crossed my fingers. Experimenting with your own personal hardware, and a favorite item no less, can sometimes be a little unnerving.

The product provided, The Video IPod Full Body Shield, came with several sheets of sticky transparent material. It also came with an applicator spray, and a little piece of plastic to help push bubbles out of the sheet once applied to the IPod. You might think that’s a little over kill, but I’ve applied other IPod screen protectors, and left a bubble under the sheet every time. This time I actually didn’t.

With the kit I protected the front of the IPod, the selector wheel (be sure to use the wheel protector), and the back and sides as well. The sheet for the back and sides was a little harder to handle. Keep in mind, I’m one of those kids who failed cut and paste in first grade.

I’ve now traveled cross country from East to West, and then West to East. My IPod has remained “factory new” the entire way. And it’s been used heavily every day. Taking it out of the Countour case made me a little nervous, but as I’ve found from Colorado to Florida, the Invisible Shield actually protects my Video IPod fine.

This is one of the first times I’ve been contacted by a manufacturer directly. Usually I contact them, and let you know when I’ve been given something for review. 9 times out of 10 I write about what I’ve personally purchased. While the Invisible Shield wasn’t a purchase I made, it is an item that I’d recomend. It works, and it really sticks to my IPod.

I’ve had other Invisible Shield like products. Walk into any Apple Store and you’ll see several sticky clear film products that go over the face and sometimes back of your IPod. I’ve tried several. The reason I’ve tried several is they usually stop sticking in a few months and fall off. So far in about 3,000 miles of road abuse, and now Florida humidity, the Shield has stayed on.

This is definitely a recomended product. If you don’t like walling your IPod off in a heavy awkward case, or you need to be able to drop it into other devices quickly (which you can’t do when it’s in a case), check out the Invisible Shield.

My one regret when I first talked to the folks at Invisible Shield…..I should have asked more questions about what else they made the product for. They’ve got protective film for Laptops, PDA’s, Cell Phones, etc. My cell phone has taken a lot of abuse over the past few months of traveling. And my laptop has been used round the clock daily. They could both use some additional protection. I suppose if I ask nice, maybe I’ll get to review their MacBook Pro Full Body Shield.

That’s right, my Delphi Roady has apparently stopped working. Sometime over the weekend the radio unit itself started reporting No Signal.

Fortunately I have a second antenna, so I made sure this morning that it wasn’t the antenna. It certainly wasn’t.

What does that mean? Am I unhappy with XM or Delphi? Nope. Prices on the actual receivers are so low this isn’t a big deal. I spent a few moments on the phone with XM Customer Care. I can transfer the time I’ve purchased with XM to a new radio. So later today I’ll be going off to a Best Buy and picking up a replacement to my receiver.

My expectation for any small portable device is that it should last 3 - 4 years. I’d always like to see more, but let’s face it, these things don’t last forever. When you can get one of these devices for under $50, it’s not a huge hit to the pocket book, especially for the amount of entertainment they provide.

In a future post I’ll talk some about protecting your digital devices. I’ve come across several cool items that help protect your gadgets, but nothing to protect my XM.

Several weeks ago I posted information regarding ripping DVD’s with Handbrake onto a Macintosh computer. That was a good start to get readers thinking about a space savings technique where you still can bring all of your entertainment with you, without consuming any additional space.

And only a few days ago, the first demo posting on ripping DVDs to hard drives was put up on The Digital RV Podcast. That demonstration took Mac owners through what I consider to be an extremely simple program, Handbrake.

Finally, today another video post has been put up at the Digital RV’s podcast site. The newest video demonstrates AOA DVD Ripper for Windows (see folks, I do use Windows too).

Now readers and viewers can see for themselves, DVD ripping is possible, and in many cases can save you a fair amount of space.

Personal Assesment on Ripping DVD’s and the available software today

Pulling video off of a DVD and popping it on your hard drive is pretty simple. It’s exceedingly simple on Macintosh, and not quite as simple on Windows. There’s no two ways about it, and that does not imply a bias toward Mac on this author’s part. I’ll get more into that whole concept in an upcoming post. In a relatively short amount of time, any user with basic computer skills can begin ripping DVDs and making a “soft copy library” of their favorite movies.

For Mac users, the choice is crystal clear. Go download a copy of Handbrake and have at it folks! You don’t need to search around for the perfect ripping software. It’s Handbrake. Why is Handbrake just so darned cool?

• It’s FREE
• Easy to use (watch the tutorial)
• Doesn’t choke on DVD lock codes.
• Formats the video for viewing on an IPod, but the video can still be displayed full screen on your Mac.
• It compresses the video very well, and if done right you can get a video to 1/10th the original size! Space savings indeed.

In the Windows world it’s not that straightforward. There are many software packages out there that can rip or copy DVD’s. Some will not function on DVDs with certain copyright codes. Others will function and rip the DVD, but their compression stinks and you’ll fill up your hard drive fast. Finally, others like AOA DVD Ripper do the job, and have other tools that you can use to further compress the video.

Several months ago I worked with a client who was trying to rip his DVD collection to his windows machine. He’d purchased a product at Best Buy, and paid over $100 for the package. In the end, the software went back to the store, as it kept choking on copyright codes on the DVDs. Well, didn’t work with all DVDs at all! That product was InterVideo DVD Copy 4. It claimed to copy DVDs to new DVDs, or to your hard drive. Well, apparently not all DVDs.

For readers of this site, I request your recomendations on your favorite ripping software. I could spend a fortune going through the “pay for products” that don’t do a great job ripping. So, if you know a great one, let me know and I’ll try it out and post a demo on the podcast site.

In the meantime, AOA DVD Ripper was a pretty decent ripper. I didn’t like the fact that IPod / PSP / MP4 features weren’t integrated into it. AOA does supply another product that will support that functionality, but wouldn’t it be nice to have all the features in one program?

Oh, wait, there is such a program. Handbrake for Mac….and it costs a whopping $0. Haven’t found anything comparable for Windows, even spending over $100.

The software is out there folks, help me find the best one available to pass along to readers and viewers everywhere.