Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Apps That Don't Suck: Pandora
Hey kids, now that iMeem.com has been swallowed whole by the unwashed ass of social networking (MySpace), I have been in search of a streaming music service that doesn't suck and that has an Android app. I finally checked out Pandora.com and the associated Pandora app from the Android Market. I should get the bad out of the way first. Pandora has a license structure that does not allow their users to immediately play a song that they have searched for. Basically you cannot search for "Detroit Rock City" by Kiss and immediately listen to it. After listening to a song you cannot replay that song and there is an hourly limit to the number times an hour that any single artist can be played. All those limitation are based on the licensing that Pandora obtained in order to legally play all this music. In my opinion another way that the RIAA's draconian business model detracts from people who want to consume their product.
Last.fm has some similar issues with their ability to play music and the frequency at which some of us wish to listen to it. The difference between Last.fm and Pandora is that when the former plays music that they think I will like based on previous choices, they are pretty much always wrong. When Pandora plays music based on songs and artists that I have previously chosen, it picks a winner every time (so to speak). If you want a service that varies wildly from your chosen music in order to fuel your lust for musical discovery, maybe Last.fm is for you. If you want a service that will weave more closely in and out of the genres of music that you are looking for, Pandora is the better choice, IMHO.
The best part of Pandora for me is the Android app that is available. Free in the Android Market of course and it actually works without getting in the way of itself. The app works simply, launch it and run whichever station you want to listen to music from. It will run in the background and doesn't render the phone unusable while running. It will also quite easily stream music on Edge/2G, at least it does for me in Pittsburgh. Last.fm died pretty regularly if not on 3G. Most of the web controls are also in the App. You can skip, like and dislike songs. After a week of using the app I have not had a single Force Close. Note that my experience may differ slightly from others since I am using a customized ROM on my phone instead of the stock T-Mobile ROM.
All in all some good stuff from the folks at Pandora. There website does not have a nauseating layout, the registration process is quick and the music quality is decent. My only complaint is that I can't listen to a song 50 times in a row if I want to but I guess that may not be an issue for most folks.
Last.fm has some similar issues with their ability to play music and the frequency at which some of us wish to listen to it. The difference between Last.fm and Pandora is that when the former plays music that they think I will like based on previous choices, they are pretty much always wrong. When Pandora plays music based on songs and artists that I have previously chosen, it picks a winner every time (so to speak). If you want a service that varies wildly from your chosen music in order to fuel your lust for musical discovery, maybe Last.fm is for you. If you want a service that will weave more closely in and out of the genres of music that you are looking for, Pandora is the better choice, IMHO.
The best part of Pandora for me is the Android app that is available. Free in the Android Market of course and it actually works without getting in the way of itself. The app works simply, launch it and run whichever station you want to listen to music from. It will run in the background and doesn't render the phone unusable while running. It will also quite easily stream music on Edge/2G, at least it does for me in Pittsburgh. Last.fm died pretty regularly if not on 3G. Most of the web controls are also in the App. You can skip, like and dislike songs. After a week of using the app I have not had a single Force Close. Note that my experience may differ slightly from others since I am using a customized ROM on my phone instead of the stock T-Mobile ROM.
All in all some good stuff from the folks at Pandora. There website does not have a nauseating layout, the registration process is quick and the music quality is decent. My only complaint is that I can't listen to a song 50 times in a row if I want to but I guess that may not be an issue for most folks.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Microsoft - Giving Up The Beta
I came across this today and I'm still a bit surprised. Microsoft is actually letting anyone download Office 2010 Beta (yes free AND legal). Microsoft is apparently continuing to offer its software to the public in a no hassle beta program a la the Windows 7 Beta. You can find the download page here. The best part? The install is supposed to be valid until next fall.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Will The Economy Follow Big Tech?
Both Google and Apple are making acquisitions this week. Google gets hold of AppJet, the maker of EtherPad, a realtime web based collaborative word processor. There is a post on the EtherPad site that says they will be joining the Google Wave Team.Kinda makes sense to stick those guys together. Both are pushing the real time collaborative thing but my question is, why not shove some of that real time web goodness into Google Docs? Maybe I'm missing the point on the big picture here but I wonder, if Google is really serious about moving Docs into the enterprise, why not start by integrating real time collaboration and target the groupware that is so entrenched and expensive (ie. office and lotus notes). Oh yea, in case you were curious the price is rumored to be in the low 8 figures.
Apple is trying to acquire Lala.com and apparently integrate this into iTunes. Maybe is thinking about transforming iTunes into a streaming type service rather than stay with downloads. I don't really get this one to be honest. Apple already has a stream model for movie rentals and most people are still obsessed with carrying around storage devices for every song and movie they own. Personally, I'd rather just stream it all and not have to worry about managing all that data storage, but then I guess I'm odd.
The real question that I was thinking about at the start was is the economy going to follow Big Tech now that money is getting spent again? Not that I'm a cynic or anything but hearing over the passed couple months from politicians that the economy is recovering, has not inspired me in the least. Apple and Google however seem to be a couple of the most successful companies going right now and the fact that they are buying again tells me one thing. The economy really might be getting ready to grow again and now is the best time to start acquisitions before other companies profits and net worth start going up again. I guess it's all a matter of time either way.
Apple is trying to acquire Lala.com and apparently integrate this into iTunes. Maybe is thinking about transforming iTunes into a streaming type service rather than stay with downloads. I don't really get this one to be honest. Apple already has a stream model for movie rentals and most people are still obsessed with carrying around storage devices for every song and movie they own. Personally, I'd rather just stream it all and not have to worry about managing all that data storage, but then I guess I'm odd.
The real question that I was thinking about at the start was is the economy going to follow Big Tech now that money is getting spent again? Not that I'm a cynic or anything but hearing over the passed couple months from politicians that the economy is recovering, has not inspired me in the least. Apple and Google however seem to be a couple of the most successful companies going right now and the fact that they are buying again tells me one thing. The economy really might be getting ready to grow again and now is the best time to start acquisitions before other companies profits and net worth start going up again. I guess it's all a matter of time either way.
Friday, December 4, 2009
12 Days of Geekmas
Sorry, I am not going to create a geek version of the Bob and Doug Mckenzie 12 days of Christmas. See it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2oPio60mK4 My point here is that it is tough being a geek. It is time consuming. It is expensive. It alienates so many people that come to understand how woefully small their intellect is when compared to that of the average geek (imagine what it's like for me, being an ubergeek and all).
Please don't ask so much from the geek in your life in the weeks following Christmas. A geek needs time to fully engage and absorb every minute aspect of the software/hardware/game/gadget that they received. You did get them something didn't you? You really should go the extra mile on this one because you know damn well that you missed SysAdmin Day altogether. Do some research, spend some time listening to that geek when he/she starts rambling on and on about (insert name of said geek stuff here) and don't just let your eyes glaze over as is normally the case. Check out the geeks Amazon.com wish list. Any geek worth their salt has a list on the internet somewhere and its a pretty safe bet that there is one on Amazon. If you are at the moment not understanding "wishlist" and/or "amazon.com" then please just nod as if you really do know and then search for it on Google.
The days following Xmas are critical. If the geek was able to get a few days off there is a guarantee that they will be called about something or other and will be forced to cut the "vacation" short. Let them have time for themselves. Don't try and make them spend time with you or other loved ones. Don't break their concentration by asking silly things like "Do you want another soda?", just bring them one. Geeks only tend to get time off if the entire office is completely closed down anyway. This might only happen once or twice a year, give them some breathing room. Show your love by buying gift cards that they can use at Newegg.com or Amazon.com. Don't try and make them adhere to your antiquated ideas of tradition or communication. Free them from the bonds of the analog world!
That is all.
Please don't ask so much from the geek in your life in the weeks following Christmas. A geek needs time to fully engage and absorb every minute aspect of the software/hardware/game/gadget that they received. You did get them something didn't you? You really should go the extra mile on this one because you know damn well that you missed SysAdmin Day altogether. Do some research, spend some time listening to that geek when he/she starts rambling on and on about (insert name of said geek stuff here) and don't just let your eyes glaze over as is normally the case. Check out the geeks Amazon.com wish list. Any geek worth their salt has a list on the internet somewhere and its a pretty safe bet that there is one on Amazon. If you are at the moment not understanding "wishlist" and/or "amazon.com" then please just nod as if you really do know and then search for it on Google.
The days following Xmas are critical. If the geek was able to get a few days off there is a guarantee that they will be called about something or other and will be forced to cut the "vacation" short. Let them have time for themselves. Don't try and make them spend time with you or other loved ones. Don't break their concentration by asking silly things like "Do you want another soda?", just bring them one. Geeks only tend to get time off if the entire office is completely closed down anyway. This might only happen once or twice a year, give them some breathing room. Show your love by buying gift cards that they can use at Newegg.com or Amazon.com. Don't try and make them adhere to your antiquated ideas of tradition or communication. Free them from the bonds of the analog world!
That is all.
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