Don't ever make fun of Jools Holland....or Squeeze for that matter. Great music...

Happy Birthday Gadling. How about getting Ember to blog again- loved the series from China.

The critical difference is that Apple Stores are a one stop shop. They can handle software and hardware issues, and I am not talking sales, I am talking service and training. Unless they get approval to work on multiple PC's, I can't see a Microsoft store offering instant service gratification in the way that Apple does. Keep in mind that with the exception of Zune, Microsoft does not make hardware or have to service it or even have to deal with software hardware interface issues. If Microsoft is willing to take walk in problems for software issues for Dells, Gateway, Acer etc. if may work. But I am not holding my breath.

I don't think this is being overly harsh on Microsoft, just the reality of not being a hardware producer as well as a software producer.

Got one last night- they work great. I used them with my iPhone, and while not rated for use with the iPhone, once hooked up, no feedback or interference sounds. Also hooked up to my Airport Express for a test run- worked great.

Correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't the EU have rules that require operators to unlock phones?

Just downloaded a song this AM- seems to take forever and all proof that anything was happening did not exist, no song name appeared in the list- just a two to four minute wait for one song.

I don't recall Verizon being a manufacturer of handsets.

You have made my daily list of "news" and "interest" sites that I visit each and every day. Your retelling of your experiences are great- I have yet to find one that I don't find interesting. When you retrun from your trip, you need to let everyone know when you and your band are playing- if your songwriting and storytelling there are as good as your blog storytelling, it will be well worth a ticket to see you play.

Coachella is one of the most amazing music events that I have ever been to. Each year an array of artists from across the alternative and international music spectrum show up, put on great performances and each year I go back. I have been four times and each year it suprises me with new bands and refreshes interest in old ones.

AOTS on G4TV did a week in Tokyo and showed these and users a couple of times...fairly humorous and the Japanese seem to take the health effects seriously. But come on, the obvious jokes just jump right out at you.