Boo Foo! Boo-hoo two-

Today is a collection of bitchings.

First off, I need to call Foo Fighters onto my carpet for some bitching. Being a fair and responsible member of society, I went to a local store and purchased their latest release "In Your Honor". Now, I'm a big fan of MP3 players, especially those using Flash memory (no skipping!) so my plan was to rip the tracks and load them onto my player. Except one small problem, the Fookers have gone overboard with copyright protection. In a CD player, no problem. In a computer, it installs software to manage copyrights, loads "keys" from an unknown source, initially plays using Media Player (garbage, people!) and does that in an annoying full screen mode complete with the Foo boys smiling at you from a large picture. It doesn't stop here, for the CD will not play on your PC unless you load the copyright software, and the licensing language (as well as the language used on a support website) is confusing to say the least about what information may be gathered, and how it is reported.

It gets worse: the software allows the music to be ripped, (in fact, the intrusive full-screen interface makes it easy to do) but it only rips to WMA files and not MP3, so it isn't guaranteed to work with ALL players. In my opinion, WMA is an inferior format. To top it all off, the software seemingly only allows you to put 3 tracks onto your player. This is from a readme file on the CD:

• "The Standard "Check-In - Check-Out" Process: With Cd3 Technology, you have the functionality to easily access your new digital tracks for enjoyment on your portable digital devices. You have the capability to "check-out" up to three tracks at a time. Simply "check back in" the tracks you have out to make 3 more selections available. Thank you for your purchase of this "expanded experience" CD. We hope you have as much fun playing it as we had putting it together for you."

What kind of bullshit is that? Just because I choose to listen to the CD I purchased through a smaller device, they're going to tell me I can only put 3 songs on it at a time?!? And I will have to check songs in and out like I'm at a friggin' library? They can kiss my a$$, for that's all they're after it it's gone too far. On top of that, The Best of You is the only agreeable song I've heard (although I haven't completely listened to the 2nd CD yet.) So I'm out $14, and for a crappy one-hit piece of junk. F[_]CK YOU, FOO! Who are you kidding? Are you telling me that as burnouts in the 80s you didn't copy tapes, tape off the radio, etc. in order to make your own compilations? How does today's technology change that? The speed is immaterial, I've paid for the music, and should be able to listen to it in whatever format/method that I choose. This is my first FOO purchase, and will be my last. FOOls.

Next up: My old MP3 player is missing in action. It was a smaller unit (256MB)but it had one great feature, a Mic In port which allowed you to record whatever you wanted (perhaps clips from your favorite movie?) Even though we have a larger unit, it doesn't have the ability to record on the fly. I've looked everywhere I can think of, do you have it??

Finally, this summer is a scorcher and I am ready for the heat to back off. Flame on!