Links of the Day

Apple DRM's Headphones - People make fun of Microsoft but at least they don't try to lock down the use of headphones. Apple officially has with the new Shuffle which requires either a chip or an Apple dongle to use third party headphones on the device. Considering that any new headphones would require a built in remote, it’s not entirely unfair. The problem though is that this means at least an extra $10 surcharge on any headphones on top of the $80 for the shuffle itself. So if you want to use something other than the rob me white headphones that come with the device you are looking at least a $30 if not more additional charge.

Weekend Box Office - Sadly it is official, Watchmen is dead on arrival with a whopping 67% decline which means bad word of mouth scuttled the film. While I thought it was good, fandom’s overall rejection along with mainstream mostly indifference to the film did it no favors. Sadly this means the lesson Hollywood has learned is don't listen to fandom. It is impossible to please them so don't even bother, just go for the more mainstream pleasing solution. It is a shame too as this experiment with comics will unlikely to ever be repeated and would have been if the film had succeeded. Anyway top three: 1) Race to Witch Mountain ($25M), 2) Watchmen ($18.1M), 3) Last House on the Left ($14.7M)

Aviary.com - Don't know much about the site, but its Terms of Use should be the new standard in readability. On one side is the legalese and on the other is a bullet point summary in laymen terms so you know exactly what you are agreeing to. Very smart.

MacGyver: The Movie - The 1985-1992 series may get a revival on the big screen, probably without original star Richard Dean Anderson. New Line has signed on to do the film with the De Laurentiis family and series creator Lee Zlotoff. There is no script, no budget, and no cast, just a general plan to try and do the movie. Time will tell if they will succeed but I hope they do.

"Sci-Fi Channel Changes Name To A Typo" - Love that very true title. Yep the Sci-Fi Channel is becoming the SyFy Channel with the slogan of "Imagine Greater". I am sure there is lot of corporate doublespeak for why but it comes down to ownership. The network can't trademark Sci-Fi but they can SyFy. From that can come branding on DVDs, toys and plethora of other things mostly free and clear of any legal entanglements.