Hey, Napster? Thanks for making it an absolute pain in the ass to cancel our account – yet another reason to abandon your service. I had to call a phone number to tell you that I wanted to quit. Why?

• MTV’s new URGE service is far less problematic. Far less.
• I really like the Clix, and URGE works better with it.
• Napster’s software continues to suck.
• You made me call a number to cancel service. I hate that. Really.
• URGE is the future, Napster is still living in the past.

Windows Media Player 1l… is still far from impressive. Don’t swallow the hype when you see it, please? WMP11 is better than WMP10 – but “less crappy” is not an honorable benchmark. They continue to ignore user interface inconsistencies and feedback from Windows Media’s most ardent supporters – including MVPs, who were seemingly marginalized during 11’s development process.

• Windows Media DRM is Corrupted
• Why DRM Sucks
• iTunes vs Urge vs Rhapsody
• Free Preview of New Weird Al Album
• Zune: Good and Bad
• Microsoft’s Zune Competes with Microsoft
• Record Your Life with AudioBoo
• Wireless Mic Review
• How to Convert Files Using Format Factory
• How to Stream Music to Your XBox with Vuze

Expect to see plugs for Pluggd in the near future: they’re sponsoring our Internet connection on the cruise next week! As it stands, I’ll be checking in at least once a day from the Holland America cruiseliner – text and photos, guaranteed. I’ll post daily audio experiences as well – so long as upload speeds aren’t capped at 2400bps! Drew Olanoff made the cruise connection for us – and for that I’m damn thankful, period. Alex Castro (Pluggd CEO) and I are getting together at Caffe Vita this evening – and I’m bringing the iRiver Clix podcast recording device with me. The audio quality may not be outstanding, but at least it’ll get the job done.

• Catch Me, Ketchikan
• Alaska Vacation Help
• Alaska Photos
• Victoria, Victoria
• The Alaskan Adventure Continues
• Do you know Juneau?
• A Morning on the Cruise
• Alaska, Ho!
• Our Alaska Cruise Schedule
• The Gnome is Cruising Alaska

Don’t count on MP4 playback out of the box in the next version of the Windows Media Player. I filed this “bug” a few months ago, but apparently not supporting MP4 (by default) in WMP11 is a feature: “Spend the money. Pre-install the codec. The PSP relies on it, the iPod relies on it, and Microsoft should have had its hands in one MP4 spec or another. Drop the political bullsh*t and just do it for the sake of your users who don’t know what’s going on.” Their response this morning was simple: “This is currently expected behavior.” Expected behavior? Language barrier. Perhaps Microsoft is hoping that more people install and use iTunes. I’m not sure why? Meanwhile, I’m looking at my iRiver Clix and wondering… why can’t it support the leading video format?

• Speed Up MP4 Video Encoding
• Apple iPod vs Microsoft Zune
• Need for Speed Car Racing Video Game
• The Simpsons iPhone Video Game
• Manage Your iPod Without iTunes
• iTunes Alternative
• Creating Your Own iPhone App
• Son of a Beach
• Quick iPhone OS 3.0 Review
• Mother’s Day iPod