EIC podcast: Dell's music plans; Microsoft's Mojave; Broadband wars

First up, Dell floated a trial balloon in the Wall Street Journal today and the general idea is this: Dell is going to try and launch a music player again--this time with software as its big selling point. The general idea is that Dell can be a hub of sorts where consumers can aggregate their music and movies. Both Dan and I were constructive on the idea given that DRM is basically dead. And Dell has improved its design chops so the idea isn't a total stab in the dark. Will Dell threaten Apple? Nope. But hey it's worth a shot.

We also talked about Microsoft's Mojave experiment and how it illustrates Vista's perception problems very well. It also means Microsoft is spending a bundle trying to rehab Vista's reputation. The marketing ploy was one of the big takeaways from Microsoft's financial analyst meeting this week.

And finally, I mull over the broadband wars as Verizon, AT&T and Comcast have all reported earnings. The upshot: No one is exactly winning. In fact, they are all likely to see margins fall as they strive to hold customers and out market rivals. In the end, that state of affairs is promising for consumers.