Revisiting PDAs, One Last Time

Over the years, the countless arguments we've had about PDAs usually focused on specific features: screen resolution (how high is high enough?), Bluetooth (does it suck or not?), multimedia capabilities (who needs 'em?), and so on. But I think we always agreed that that Palm OS platform was largely superior to Pocket PC.

What about now? I still give Palms the edge in terms of simplicity, but I must reluctantly admit to having switched to a Pocket PC--specifically, a Dell Axim X50v. It has the features I want in a PDA, namely Wi-Fi, two expansion slots, a removable battery, and excellent audio/video capabilities. Sure, the new Palm LifeDrive has a 4GB hard drive and Wi-Fi, but it's slow, bulky, and expensive. Plus, it has the same old Palm OS. Where's the innovation?

Napster To Go begs the question: buy music or rent it?

So Napster To Go debuted last week, enabling subscribers to not only stream and download the service's million-plus songs, but also copy them to their portable players. Personally, I hate anything that charges me a monthly fee, but the more time I spent fiddling with NTG, the more I liked it. And it got me thinking... Is this the future of music? Will we subscribe to digital libraries instead of purchasing individual songs and albums? I'm really starting to think we will. (Cue Dave: "Have you been abducted by mind-controlling aliens again?")

Battlestar Galactica Vs. Star Trek Enterprise

As you know, I didn't care much for the Battlestar Galactica mini-series that debuted on the Sci-Fi Channel a few months back. You also know that I have despised Enterprise from the beginning. Having now seen four episodes of the former (now a full-blown series) and nearly four seasons of the latter, I am forced to amend a few opinions.

BG rocks. I'm not saying it's the perfect sci-fi show, but the first few eps have been more compelling, more interesting, and more original than the first four seasons of ENT combined. I think the BG mini-series tried to pack in too much, and came across as a little shallow and disjointed. But the first two eps, "33" and "Water," were truly stellar.

As for ENT, it has certainly improved with time, but not much, and not enough. For me it boils down to the characters; I don't really like any of them because they haven't been sufficiently developed. I continue to watch the show out of some bizarre and misguided sense of loyalty, but it disappoints me almost every week.

Where are the TV show downloads?

If the networks had half a brain between them, they'd start offering downloadable TV shows for around 5 bucks apiece. It'd be free money for them, plus people wouldn't be able to fast-forward the commercials (as they can with TiVo, Replay, etc.). Someday they'll get a clue...