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RIAA Sues AllofMp3.com

Just caught the news off of slashdot. The RIAA is suing MediaServices, owner of AllofMp3. The suit was filed for Wednesday, primarily by Arista Records LLC, Warner Bros. Records Inc., Capitol Records Inc. and UMG Recordings. The language of the litigation was very confrontational; The companies claim the site sells millions of songs without paying them 'a dime'. 'The defendant's entire business ... amounts to nothing more than a massive infringement of plaintiffs' exclusive rights under the Copyright Act and New York law.' AllofMp3 has always maintained that a Russian licensing group makes their business legitimate, while the RIAA here claims the organization has no authority to make such a deal."

It's really unfortunate that it has finally come down to this. I have written about AllofMP3 before, and how much I love the service. There was finally a way for me to get music I wanted, at an affordable price, and no pain in the butt DRM getting in my way. The music I bought can be put on my Zen, or my Girlfriend's iPod.

I was hoping that American services would take notice and imitate them. No such luck. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted.

MP3 Like a truck.

Ever seen one of these beasts before? Ipod cases for those who are truly rough on their technology.

That one on the left there is the Creative Zen Vision, which is currently my player of choice. I'll let you know what I think of it, because I ordered myself one.

i want an MP3 player I can kill someone with.

*Update* Wow, that thing came much faster in the mail than I expected. Good work, yotank!

In the package, you get a small allen wrench, necessary to put on or remove the case, and two extra screws. The lexan screen guard is not attached to the case on arrival, but snaps easily into place. None of the pictures on yotank's website shows it, but the case itself is lined with felt, mostly on the inner back and sides of the case, but the back of the faceplate has some thin strips as well, so there's no fear of the case itself scratching the player.

As you can see, once it is in the case, there's no reason to remove it, as all ports are accessible and usable. The dock connector fits perfectly in the provided hole, and all the headphones I tried had no problems fitting into the headphone jack. There is even a small hole drilled in the side for the microphone, but I don't know if it impedes the function of it, as I never have used the mike on the unit.

There's a few small caveats when using the case. This might just be because my case is new, but if I tighten all the screws down, the buttons will stick, so I have to keep them just barely tight. I suspect that this will go away as the felt breaks in/wears down. Also, pressing the left and right buttons next to the touch strip is a little tricky, I have to use a thumbnail to press it now, as opposed to a fingertip without it.

All in all, a good investment, and good insurance for protecting your MP3 player investment.

Pros:
• Polished Aluminum looks great
• Superior Protection
• Added heft useful for melee
• Player can now stand on edge

Cons:
• Fingerprints Ahoy!
• Wrench required to remove case
• Button cutouts could be a little bigger or differently designed.
• Cost