The Quantum Theory of Data Storage on Websites

First, I plan on updating this later to include links to relevant articles.

I have been noticing recently that many websites are increasing the storage they allow their customers/users to place on their sites (think Gmail, Hotmail, etc.). Some such as Facebook, YouTube, Yahoo Mail even allow unlimited storage. Recently, I have noticed that at least one service, Twitter while it only allows posts of 140 characters has made it difficult to find a history of previous posts (I don't like calling them tweets). I looked at the history that Twistory was able to access and for me it seemed to go back about three weeks. They say that they still have everything stored, but if it is not accessible then it is of no use.

On the other side, up until about two weeks ago if you posted pictures on Facebook it would be saved at a lower resolution. Now that Facebook has made it possible to download all of your data this is even more obvious.I sure hope nobody was relying on them to keep a high-quality copy of their pictures. At the same time Facebook makes it nearly impossible to remove material from the site. Once you have posted something it is as good as engraved in stone (see recent removal of clear chat history option).


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Apple: We Bought Lala So That We Could Dismantle It

Lala is a streaming music service that Apple bought about six months ago. They allowed people to listen to any song (they have a license for) one time for free. If they like it then they can pay 10 cents to listen to the song as much as they want. They could also pay 99 cents to purchase a download of the song or 89 cents if they already paid the 10 cents for streaming rights. I never used the service, but I know of a few people that have used it and loved it.
Last week Apple announce that they will be turning off Lala as of May 31st. This is disheartening news for many Lala customers--though unsurprising as it competes with Apple's iTunes Music Store which charges between 69 cents and $1.29 to purchase a download of a song (in AAC format). There are rumors that Apple will eventually turn it into a site for iTunes, perhaps using itunes.com to allow people to preview and possible purchase music through their web browser instead of Apples iTunes software. This would be a welcome change. Though I would assume one would still need to use iTunes to sync their iPod/iPhone/iPad to get the content onto it. Or maybe they will make an app that allows you to stream music you've bought through iTunes similar to Real Networks' Rhapsody which has an app allowing playlists to be saved to the device and played while offline.

Song of the post: (Don't Fear) The Reaper