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About That New Playlist Default Screen
Betalogue's post, iTunes 9: About that new ‘Playlist’ screen, may be a bit hypercritical but on target. Being an iTunes user since it was SoundJam I definitely find the In-Case-You're-A-Total-N00b aspect of it unnecessary. After seeing it, maybe, three times it's become just plain annoying. A preference to shut the thing off would be great.
More on Rosetta Optional Install
Macworld's Jason Snell has written up a great review of Snow Leopard. With Regard to the Rosetta installation I mentioned earlier he opines: "I can only assume that making Rosetta optional is an attempt by Apple to goad users to upgrade their apps and to shame developers who still haven’t recompiled their apps to run on Intel chips. But given that most everyday users have no idea which of their apps are Intel-native and which are PowerPC, this seems unnecessarily harsh."
Version Tracker?
I offer several of my scripts and applications through Version Tracker, the veritable software listing/tracking site. But lately, good ol' VT has been a disappointment. Strangely, I haven't seen a lot written about this, however this blog post by Ohanaware, the makers of an app called Funtastic Photos, pretty much sums up my feelings. Essentially, VT was purchased by CNET not too long ago and ever since its seems as if it is experiencing a chronic illness. Most frustrating to me is that I am no longer able to post updates to my software listings (I get far more downloads from my own site than software sites anyway, so it's not really a big whoop). I also understand that users of Version Tracker Pro software are not seeing regular updates. Additionally, there seem to be fewer and fewer actual listings. If you compare VT's newest additions to those at MacUpdate there's an obvious deficit.
VT has blogged about ongoing maintenance but info has been sparse and, judging by the comments, unsatisfactory. It would be a shame if VT, once the most authoritative Mac software listing site, were to be annexed--and therefore virtually euthanized--by CNET.
Go Figure
I normally don't comment on (or care much about) Apple business news and analysis, but how can these two stories, which both appeared today, be reconciled?
- "Apple's iPod Problem: With fewer iPod users upgrading, the days of explosive growth are over. And that leaves iPhones and Macs picking up the slack" - BusinessWeek
- "Apple iPod sales surprise analyst: Analyst reports shortages of Apple's iPod as sales remain strong amid tough economy" - Associated Press
Huh?
Buy These
I mentioned previously that we moved and I had to set up My Stuff in a new place. We're apartment renters and we are now on a second floor. Having been a first floor-er for thirteen years I know how unintentionally noisy the second floor people can be (although the guy who was compelled to pace back and forth while on the phone Must Die). In order to ensure as little noise as possible from my studio gets downstairs I have been investigating speaker isolation materials. I highly recommend these Auralex MoPADS babies whether you have sound encroachment problems or not. They will totally isolate your speakers from whatever you have them in contact with. Not only do they isolate your speakers from reverberating through the floorboards, wallboards, studs, rafters, and so on, they will improve the sound of your speakers. I use Behringer TRUTH B2031A as studio monitors and using the Auralex MoPADS not only reduces acoustical coupling but the damn things sound incredible--almost as if they were suspended from the ceiling, which is what we did at radio station studios. So, go to.
HBO Shows On iTunes
This is huge.
Balk all you want about the $2.99. The thing is that Apple has negotiated a variable pricing structure. And the structure is this (take note NBC); some shows are $1.99 and some very well produced and high-quality programs are $2.99. Does NBC have anything on its roster matching the quality of HBO's $2.99 product? Laffs on you, NBC. You want to come back, your shows are only worth 1.99, take it or leave it.
Plays For Sure Sure Won't
I am not a fan of subscription services, if only because the idea of paying and paying for music just doesn't make any sense to me. I just can't get over that hump, like Dan Frakes and Chris Breen have, for example.
Well now the chickens have come home to roost.
"Microsoft ends support for tracks purchased from MSN Music - Microsoft is once again causing problems for its customers, closing down support for tracks purchased under its failed 'PlaysForSure' campaign.
The company is warning customers - who paid good money for music using the now defunct MSN Music service - that it will no longer supply authorisation keys for the tracks they bought.
What this means is that after 31 August, music fans who want to shift their sounds from one computer to another will be blocked from doing so. It also means that once all five Windows PCs a user can have authorised for music playback have failed, they will lose their music."
Explain to me, without using the phrase "yeah, but", how any subscription service can work in perpetuity without either failing or costing its subscribers a boat-load of money.
Sides
So I purchased "More Songs About Buildings And Food" by Talking Heads from the iTS today. This is an album we listened to in the dorm as An Actual vinyl LP back in 1978. I was reminded that "Found A Job" (track 6 of 11) has a long fade. This is because it was the last track on Side 1 of the original LP. Back in the day, the least-high person would run to the phonograph and flip the LP over. Then we'd all get ready for the anxious opening of "Artists Only"--and arguably the darker Side of the LP. Oh well. No one would never know now. Why not? How can we figure this out? How can we denote the Sides of an original LP which--no doubt--were mastered based on start/end of LP sides?
Make The Loser Sing!!!
We love it at my house when someone gets booted from (the-campy-and-we-oh-so-love-to-hate) American Idol and then they have to sing. Make The Loser Sing! Sing, Loser! Sing!
