Much to say on the topic but I want to blurt the following....
Why does the speedo go to 240kmph?
Whatever the reason, the result is that the kmph range that I'm actually driving in (max 110kmph) is less than half the speedo range, and as a result, it is difficult to tell accurately how fast I'm going.
It really is awful.
If the speedo only went to a sensible maximum speed, like 140kmph for example, the needle would move almost twice as far for the same speed difference.
If I could get a replacement one, I probably would.
That said, I always suspected that the speedo on my old car must have always indicated too fast as when I sat on the limit or even slightly above, I was always passed by traffic. Same thing happens in this car, so either they both have hugely inaccurate speedos, or in general, a lot of people speed.
I could also begin to complain about the massive tachometer (100% pointless in an automatic car) but that's another post.
The car is great though. More on that later. Maybe.
I've been using collectorz.com's Music Collector for the past month and it is perfect. It does almost everything my obsessive little self-made database did and much much more, and it has a great community adding information to their global database. I'm happy enough with it to dump my existing database and start again. I've bought the Pro version, mostly as I want to play with the statistics module.
It actually makes me want to keep accurate information on my music, something my old database, with its terrible interface, never made me do.
I've also bought (on eBay, hopefully it turns up) a USB CueCat barcode scanner to make scanning barcodes that little bit easier. I've had a PS2 CueCat for ages, but it is far too hard to get it working with my USB keyboard.
The other labels have cut wholesale prices in recent times, but none have aimed to get the retail below US$10 until now.
(I don't know if this plan is USA only, or if it is a global directive)
While they plan to reduce CD prices, they don't plan to reduce digital prices. The outcome of this is obvious, as explained in the arstechnica article:
Effectively, what UMG is doing—and what other labels will do if they also decide that lowering prices will prop up dying CD sales—is giving consumers the expectation that albums should cost even less than $9.99. Because once consumers become accustomed to getting a whole album in physical form for $6, you'll have a much harder time convincing them to buy downloaded albums for more money later. Lowering prices on CDs will increase sales in the short term—good for labels because CD sales still account for about 65 percent of their revenue—but it will only slow its demise, and slow the uptake of digital as a primary format.
My main complaint about digital downloads is that the cost is too close to CDs. Why would I spend AUS$12+ on a digital album when the CD can be bought for less than AUS$20? The digital price needs to be much much less than the CD.
Lowering the CD price will only make me want to spend even less on the digital version.
On a related note, on a trip to JB HiFi yesterday I noticed that new "popular" albums these days tend to be priced at AUS$19.95.