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Articles at the intersection of computers and life

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• MACWORLD: Why the iTunes Store succeeded - 4/28/13
  MACWORLD: Why the iTunes Store succeeded - 4/28/13

  The history of music retailing goes something like this. Throughout the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s the LP (Long Play album) was the long-form audio format du jour. If you wanted to purchase just a single song, you bought a 45-rpm disc, a smaller record that featured a hit song on side A and a lesser-known song on the B side. As tape players began to show up in homes and cars, 8-track tapes and cassettes became popular. You could purchase cassette singles, though they weren’t terribly popular.
  
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• ARS TECHNICA: Five ways Congress should improve the copyright system - 4/28/13
  ARS TECHNICA: Five ways Congress should improve the copyright system - 4/28/13

  In a Wednesday speech, Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) announced plans for a "comprehensive review" of copyright law. The announcement is significant because Goodlatte chairs the House Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over copyright issues. "I am announcing today that the House Judiciary Committee will hold a comprehensive series of hearings on US copyright law in the months ahead," Goodlatte said. "The goal of these hearings will be to determine whether the laws are still working in the digital age. I welcome all interested parties to submit their views and concerns to the Committee."
  
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• ARS TECHNICA: 78-minute Steve Jobs comedy film iSteve now online - 4/28/13
  ARS TECHNICA: 78-minute Steve Jobs comedy film iSteve now online - 4/28/13

  Comedy site FunnyorDie has released its comedic Steve Jobs film, iSteve, on its website, the first of a handful of Jobs films planned for release this year. The 78-minute film was slated for release on April 15, but FunnyorDie delayed it for two days following the Boston Marathon bombing on Monday. It's now available in its full glory on FunnyorDie's website, starring "Get a Mac" actor Justin Long as Steve Jobs.
  
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• ARS TECHNICA: Where’s my Knight Rider 2000? A MyFord Touch owner’s lament - 3/18/13
  ARS TECHNICA: Where’s my Knight Rider 2000? A MyFord Touch owner’s lament - 3/18/13

  In early February, I bought a 2013 Ford Escape equipped with MyFord Touch. In many ways, the system, which was developed jointly by Ford and Microsoft, is a driver's best friend. But best friends can be idiosyncratic sometimes, and they occasionally drive you nuts—especially when they argue with your other best friends (like your smart phone). These friends occasionally stop talking to each other, and one might even interrupt calls to your mom because they've decided it's time to perform "routine maintenance."
  
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• TidBITS: Thoughts on — and of — a Computer Science Major - 3/6/13
  TidBITS: Thoughts on — and of — a Computer Science Major - 3/6/13

  Like many others, I entered college from a high school where students were rewarded with good grades for memorizing and regurgitating the correct answers. I was great at that and always received above-average grades. I learned what was required from textbooks and was tested on it. There was no guessing as to what resources or subject matter to study. Alas, while my grades may have helped me get into college, high school otherwise didn’t do much to prepare me for the University of Virginia.
  
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