"And the last tidbit from Macworld today: the Burton Amp, a jacket from Apple and Burton Snowboards that comes with built-in iPod controls on the sleeve. Just make sure not land on the volume button when you wipe out." [Gizmodo]

This is great, because whenever I show this slide during my presentations, I usually get disbelieving laughter. If I had an iPod, I'd get one of these just to be able to wear it and show folks that intelligent clothing is closer than we think.

Music Biz: Compromise Is Key

"As digital file sharing, webcasting and other new technologies proliferate, artists and industry officials meeting here said the music business is in jeopardy unless artists, record companies and consumers stop fighting and start compromising.

'People are always looking for what side to be on, and there isn't just one side,' said Jenny Toomey, executive director of the Future of Music Coalition, which sponsored this week's policy summit....

John Flansburgh of They Might Be Giants said although record labels are fun to bash, they help filter music. Now consumers must do much of that work themselves.

'It's ironic that we'll miss the majors when they are gone,' Flansburgh said....

'If we don't address the quality and character of music, people will continue to steal it because they don't want to buy it,' said music attorney Londell McMillan....

Others, however, said sanctioned downloading and burning is on the rise, suggesting the Internet could more than make up the gap created by closed retail outlets.

Already, Listen.com offers song downloads for 99 cents each -- the lowest price the labels will allow.

'It should be 50 cents, if not 25 cents, per burn,' said Tim Quirk, Listen.com's director of editorial/music programming, noting that internal surveys suggest sales would increase 400 percent at those levels. 'Within the next year, you're going to see these prices come down.' " [Wired News]

Emphasis above is mine.

I'm posting this article because 1) I'll link to anything that quotes a TMBG John, and 2) the last paragraph of the article is what I consider to be the lead. I'm a big part of that potential 400 percent market that's waiting to be served. I want to pay for downloads of my choice that I can use however I see fit for personal use. If you're going to refuse to give that to me, then stop your whining.