Definition of Irony

In trying to pull up the 'Gift Exchange' ad (the one with the PC guy gifting a C++ GUI Programming Guide to the Mac guy) in QuickTime from the Apple website, my PC crashes.

Every time.

No, I'm not getting a Mac for Christmas.

Don't Expect a Wii for Valentine's Day Either

Video game console shortage could linger into '07

By Lisa Baertlein

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Shoppers are standing in lines to snap up Sony Corp's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s Wii video game consoles as they become available, and some analysts do not expect shortages to ease until March or later.
Shoppers are finding lots of PlayStation 2s and Microsoft
Xbox' Xbox 360s, expected to do well as substitutes for the newest machines that are in short supply.
One employee at a Target store said the retailer issues a memo a couple of days in advance of Wii and PS3 shipments and passes the information on to shoppers, who sometimes stand in line to secure their booty.
As he spoke, shoppers snapped up PlayStation Portables and Apple Computer Inc.(Nasdaq:AAPL - news) iPods.
American Technology Research analyst Paul-Jon McNealy said that since Sony (6758.T)(NYSE:SNE - news) shipment numbers include units in transit or in warehouses, the company's target of 1 million could translate to 600,000 to 800,000 units at retail by year end.
McNealy said investors and game makers tempered their forecasts for the PS3s since initial numbers fell short. He added that the PS3 will likely remain scarce through the June quarter.
"They have to launch in Europe, and they're stretched," said McNealy.
Wii shortages could ease in the March quarter, he said.
Workers at a dozen Southern California stores, including Best Buy (NYSE:BBY - news), GameStop (NYSE:GME - news) and Target (NYSE:TGT - news) outlets, said PS3 shipments were small and sporadic this shopping season, ranging from as few as 1 or 2 to 25, and that shoppers snapped up consoles as they arrived.
"We get 1 or 2 every week to week and a half," said a weary Los Angeles GameStop employee.
Nintendo's (7974.OS) Wii was selling out fast but reaching stores in greater numbers than the PS3, store clerks said.
The $250 Wii, known for its motion-sensitive controller that can be swung like a tennis racquet or a sword, and the high-end $600 PS3 both launched in the United States in mid-November and take on the year-old Microsoft Xbox 360 in the new generation video game console battle.
Sony's PS2, which has sold more than 106 million units globally, is expected to be a top seller this season.
Toys "R" Us said its 587 U.S. stores expected more than 6,000 PS3s, thousands of Wiis and over 30,000 Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT - news) Xbox 360s in the week leading up to Christmas.

Satellite Movie Downloads

(from engadget.com)

DISH Network looking offer movie downloads via IPTV?

Posted Dec 20th 2006 12:07PM by Darren Murph

With all the zany competition going on in the television world, it's not too surprising to see DISH Network hopping on the (quickly growing) movie download bandwagon. Apparently, the satellite provider is readying an IPTV service to offer "SD and HD quality movies, music, adult programs, entertainment news, and other services such as CinemaNow." While some of the content would presumably be free, other things like download-to-keep films would demand a one-time charge, and while the on-demand offerings could be accessed whenever you desire, "certain programs such as international channels and music services will be streamed in real time." Of course, the eventual success (or failure) of the program will likely depend on how zany (or reasonable) the pricing structure ends up being, and if all goes as planned, the service will reportedly go live on February 15th, 2007