Halloween Nightmare for an iPhone.

It was the worst nightmare the iPhone had ever had. Even worse than Apple Maps!!!

Where I Get My Music From

Back in the days of yor when Napster was the thing I use to get a lot of my music from there. Then Limewire. But then life took a turn when my computer had an epic blue screen of death and I lost all of my data. Since then I have realized there were ways to recover said data, but at the time it was lost and that was it. You live you learn. In either case, I took the crash as a message from the gods of the mystical computer that they were not pleased with the buccaneer-like lifestyle I was leading. That and the fact that I have my own intellectual property I would like to protect. So I put up my eye patch, stuffed parrot, fake hook, and cutlass to never hold them again. Now my music and audiobooks are obtained through hard earned money. The good news is thanks to things like Napster the cost to have music is now very cheap to free depending on how much control you want to have. Here are the options I used.

Pandora

The internet radio Pandora was among the first of its kind and works very well. Personally I think Pandora should transfer its tech over to OTA (Over the Air) radio as well. How awesome would that be to have a radio station or 3 that is set to a specific genre and the playlist dictated by user requests with no obnoxious DJ's ruining my morning run or commute with pointless prattle?!?! But that is for a later date. I list this option first because it is the option with the least amount of control. I don't pay for the service so I do get the occasional commercial which I am fine with because it is less than a real radio station. Still, paying $36 dollars a year for Pandora One to get rid of commercials is a decent enough deal. On the flip side, the control over your music is about the same as a radio station. You can request specific songs and bands, but it is random. The good news is that at least until further notice the basic service is free and includes less commercial interruptions than traditional radio.
As a side note, I am aware that there are other internet radio options out there such as Slacker etc. I am a creature of habit and that habit started with Pandora. Until such a time as I am shown a better option, I am happy with Pandora. But that doesn't mean you should be limited to that. Check you options and try out what you are interested in. I do recommend research before committing, but that is your option.

Amazon MP3

This option is one of my favorites simply because of one reason... cross system compatibility. While the Amazon Cloud player isn't the best mp3 playing system in the world, it works and it works well. Further more, I can play my music via the "Cloud" to almost any device from an Apple to Zune (Yes, I know the Zune is dead, but its a Z people! Give me a break!). If the device doesn't support cloud based services I simply download the MP3 from the unlimited storage for purchased music that Amazon provides and load it to the device or burn it to a CD. All legal. All happy. Furthermore, since I use amazon for shopping any ways I occasionally get a bone thrown my way from Amazon in the form of MP3 credits. In this way I get my music on for a lot cheaper than say Google Play or... dum dum dummmmm, iTunes. Like the other two MP3 purchasing system Amazon offers free music as promotions, but I have noticed that Amazon tends to have more sales than the others. What? Can you say that louder? What about the Artists you ask? Oh, the royalties thing for artists. Well, here's the deal. You see I am a believer in the free market. So long as the artist are getting paid something for their work I am fine with deal shopping. The market adjusts to demand. If more people would deal shop in their music then there would be more deals for music. Furthermore, artist would have more leverage in negotiating with production companies. But this article isn't about the free market. If you're interested in that go look up Free Market on Youtube and watch. I recommend ReasonTV. Still, my point is I have no issue taking a deal offered by Amazon because I am getting the music that I like for a price I can afford that does not compromise my standards of ethics. This is the same reason I recommend shopping around for Android apps. Because if you do you can get a good deal WHILE supporting the creators of those applications. Piracy is a nice ideal, but in reality it harms the creators more than it harms anyone else. And without that creation process we would not have what we have now. So save a life, buy your music, movies, shows, and apps. Or at least use services that get money to the creators. Voting with you money is more powerful than a political vote. Pffffffffewwww! Okay, off my soap box!

The point is Amazon is my first stop for music.

Google Play

I am a user and lover of Android. Sorry iOS fans, I dumped my first love Apple because she kept making life harder. If you don't get what I mean read my article titled Why I Dropped My iPod Like a Hot Rock. So Google Play is my next stop. Mainly because I am shopping for deals. If the price is right it is mine. It helps that Google Play works on my PC's and all of my Android devices, but there is something lacking. Recently Steve Wozniak suggested that Apple extend it's iTunes service to Android so that the could maintain their slipping dominance of the digital music scene. I would like to suggest the same to Google. Why not make it so music, movies, and more are available for purchase and use on all operating systems? Amazon has the right idea. Why not have Google join in? In either case, I can still download my music and use it how I like if the service not not available on the device I am using. Sometimes the Cloud is overrated.

Physical Media

This next step is something I often jump to if I find that the physical media is cheaper than the digital. Why this is the case is often a mystery to me since the music companies pay less to produce and deliver the digital music than a CD, but what ever. Since my number one concern as a person who does not have unlimited funds is getting the best bang for my ever inflating buck then I'll get what is the best price. In this case it is important that you research your options. Often digital offers a couple songs more as and incentive to buy that. If this is of interest to you, buy digital. If it is not, get the physical media. The best part is that both Amazon and Google offer services that are free that allows you to back up you music digitally to their servers. Amazon offers a certain amount of space for free while Google offers 20,000 songs with no limit on storage size. While iOS offers iCloud (which name was stollen without permission from a small company in Arizona), it is limited only to Apple products. So I don't count it because at least with Google you can access your music on Mac or PC. On top of that, you physical media is a great back up in and of itself. Sure if can be lost, stollen, or damage, but so can your devices. Heck a unlucky surge in a server farm could ruin that for you. Life has risk, deal with it.

Why I Don't Use iTunes

It's bloatware! I use to use it all the time until I realized that it took more system resources and time to work with iTunes than with any other system out there. If you like it good for you, but for me the need of special software to load, burn, transfer, or purchase music died many many years ago. Give me the freedom of simple, basic interfaces. This is kind of sad considering that Apple was known for this "innovation". 

Conclusion

So there you have it. This is where I get my music from. It is rather nice. I enjoy it. I save money. I get the tunes I crave and in the case of services like Pandora I get the music exploration I want as well. Thoughts? Comments? Share them below.

Why Steve Woznik is My Tech Hero & Why He Should Be Your Too

Steve Wozniak is like Santa Clause, except Santa wishes he was that cool. No seriously, Wozniak, or The Woz, is such an awesome guy I would invite him to my birthday party even though I've never met him. Here's why. Despite the fact that he hitched his proverbial horse to the Apple cart (pun intended), the Woz is so very chill about different techs and OS's co-existing. Over the years since I've gotten into tech I have heard one major voice that has talked about how great each tech is and how they build off of each other. That was the Woz. While other major "inventors/innovators" such as Steve Jobs mutter threats about going nuclear on the competition, the Woz has consistently said what he likes and dislike about each OS and the celebrates the fact that both exist.

The Woz is essentially like George Takei when George step in between two major stars of the Star Trek and Star Wars genres when they were having you pissing match over which was better. George essentially said its all good. They both have their advantages and disadvantages. He then pointed out the true enemy which is Twilight and its fans. The Woz is essentially try to do the same thing. While Wozniak prefers iOS devices over Android, he still enjoys both because each offers a different take on what personal electronics make.
What I think the Woz has failed to do is point out the true enemy to Android and iOS fans. The true enemy is Patent Trolls. Sadly this enemy has taken root in companies such as Apple and Samsung. The real losers when Patent Trolling happens is us, the end users. If this behavior is allowed to continue the end result will be stagnation in electronics and technology. Apple paved the way with user interface. Google paved the way with availability of smartphones and improved notifications and user control. Both companies have borrowed ideas from each other. The most notable borrowing which has happened is with Apple's release of iOS 6, which borrowed ideas from Android's notification and integration features. Is this bad? NO! Its good! The over all user experience for Apple users has improved. Does this mean I'd go iPhone over Android? No. I've bought into the ecosystem of Android AND I feel like I have more freedom. But that doesn't mean I can't be friends with Apple users. That doesn't mean I have to be a hater. When I trash on any company it is because of patent trolls. If you were to ask me which is better, Android or iOS, I would say Android. I freely admit I am biased. But that does not mean I cannot point how what iOS does better than Android. Heck, there were things WebOS did better than either and that OS is essentially dead because HP screwed up royally. The message of this entire rant is this, the reason I think Steve Wozniak is cooler than Steve Jobs and Bill Gates or any other heavy hitter in tech is because he has talked the talk and walked the walk of a true blue techy. He loves innovation. He loves creativity. He isn't a snob who doesn't want the "little people" to have what he has. He promotes ideas, knowingly or not, that will make the world better. That is why when it comes to tech, despite the fact that I don't agree with him in all things or even because of it, Steve Wozniak is my Tech hero.

For more information on Steve Wozniak's stand on the OS battles, check out this article by the Android Authority.

George Takei (Sulu) in his now famous request for peace between Star Wars and Star Trek fans:

Down with Twilight!!!

Why Microsoft Why?!?!

It was recently announced that Windows 8 will not allow for a computer to boot up to the classic desktop we all know and love by default. Rather it will only allow for the Metro UI silly thing that we can no longer call the Metro User Interface due to poor planning in trade mark and copy right on Microsoft's part to boot up. If you want to go to the classic desktop UI from there you have to manually switch EACH AND EVERY TIME! Seriously?!?! While Microsoft thinks their interface is hip and all, I personally hate it. Okay, so some people like it. And it may be more effective on a touch screen. But why take choice away from users with classic laptop and desktop computers. I was actually considering upgrading from Windows 7 Pro too Windows 8 Pro because of the decreased boot time and increased system preformance, but at this point I'm just going to wait until either there is a work around for this issue or until Microsoft gets their head out of their collective ass. Either way, this makes me glad I dual boot Ubuntu since it has most, if not all, of what I am looking for in my desktop OS. All of that aside, what do you guys thing of the formerly Metro UI? Likes? Dislikes?

The Problem with Mobile (commentary)

       I love the mobile revolution! The software and devices coming out of Apple, Microsoft and Google & friends just makes my inner geek freak out with nerdy, geeky, techy joy! But there is a problem... Mobile is it is MOBILE! Prior to my jump into a tablet, my primary device of choice was a laptop. While not as mobile as a tablet, the laptop worked very nicely for my purposes. I had something like 6 hours of battery life and complementing programs that did what I needed. But the move to a tablet added a lot of things and I am mostly happy with it. But this article is not about what I am happy with. It's about what the mobile experience currently lacks.

True Multi-Tasking

I have played with all of the mobile operating systems that are currently available. From Blackberry to Symbian, from iOS to Android. What I haven't played with I have researched, and the one thing that is lacking in all of these devices is true multi-tasking. Sure some of them run programs in the back ground, but that isn't what I mean. What I refer to is the ability to work two tasks simultaneously without the need to switch between them. I am referring to windows people. OSX, Linux and Windows (which is named for the capability) all have it. I've worked on all three. Each has its advantages and disadvantages, but they all have the mutli-tasking ability I refer to. Now, I understand the limitations of multi-tasking at this level for mobile devices. First, the average phone's screen is way too small. But why should we preclude tablets from the game because phones have small screen space? Second, multi-tasking on such a level can cause a little larger strain on the mobile cpu and os. Still, I feel the primary reason that you can't find an iPad or Android tablet that has "windows" functions on it is laziness. 

The "Window" is Open

Of all the reasons listed above, laziness is the answer in my mind. I have seen that the window function is capable on mobile devices. A perfect example of this is MBFG's products. Things like OverSkreen (a floating web browser), StickIt! (a floating video player), AirCalc (a floating calculator) and AirTerm (a floating terminal). These apps all feature the window floating capability and play nice with other apps as well. What is more, Tablified Apps has released LilyPad Floating IM which does the same thing but for IM clients. Samsung also introduced something like stick it on the Galaxy S III phone. All of these apps can be resized, moved and minimized with little to not fuss. I have even used them on my small Android phone screen. While I am convinced that such a function is somewhat useless on such a small screen, I do feel the function should be available for those who would like to use it. And that is what MBFG does for Android. But that isn't enough! Just because there is some functionality in this area doesn't mean that it is the answer. Why isn't this basic function that has been available in computers since I can remember lacking in the computing devices of the future? Why can't I have a movie playing in one corner while I web browse on the other without having to modify my tablet? Why can't iPad users do this? Why is it that this basic functionality that we all use and take for granted on standard computers lacking in mobile? I would suggest it is because we are not asking for it. Right now, the only mobile tablet that may have this functionality built in is the Microsoft Surface. A device that isn't even released yet! From what I can tell, the Windows 8 & Windows RT maintain the floating windows function without much fuss. This means that Apple and Google could be playing catch-up to Microsoft if people realize that for the same or similar price to Microsoft's competition they can get a mobile device that is more functional. Now, I understand I could be way of base here. Maybe I'm making a big deal out of something everyone else could care less about. So what do you think. Is the floating window function a big deal?