In my last post I discussed at length my love for my iPod. I really do love Charlie the iPod, but I still use CD's in the car. My car (Bertie the Nissan Versa) may be spiffy and new and sport an mp3 jack, but I find that using the iPod in the car, particularly for short trips, is tricky. (Besides, I don't want to leave an iPod in my car, so there's the hassle of trying to fit it in my too-small purse when I get out.)
But, because my car is crammed with far too many features, most of which aren't absolutely (or even partially) necessary, it also sports a 6 disc CD player. This means that I still rely a great deal on CD's for my music while driving. I've burned many a CD in my day (from songs purchased on iTunes) and, until something better comes along, will continue to do so.
I honestly have an incredibly hard time supporting the RIAA in their copyright crusade. They are out for blood, and it doesn't seem like they much care who gets hurt in the process. I don't want to steal music and I'm not a member of a P2P network, but it seems like the RIAA keeps pushing further and further until everything, even things that were once safe, is pushing the bounds of legality.
In their latest bid, the RIAA stated that ripping a CD you personally own (as in purchased yourself) is illegal. I find this just the tiniest bit ridiculous, seeing as it is still legal to burn one copy for yourself of a CD you own. If this newest statement holds up, it would essentially mean that people with a large number of CD's and an iPod would need to repurchase those CD's in via an online store.
But, I'd rather not get in trouble, so...
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Sound #24
*cue theme music*
These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. It's continuing mission, to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilization, to boldly go where no one has gone before!
iHCPL is back and, in true SciFi style, has a new style to it. Fantastic! So without further ado, mp3's.
As I mentioned back in the days of iHCPL 1.0, I have an iPod, fondly referred to as Charlie. I adore Charlie (even if he is so old that he's big in size, light on storage space, and incapable of playing video). I also have a shuffle, lovingly dubbed Colby. He's blue and shiny and clips onto my shirt for an easy, hands-free workout.
I've owned an iPod for several years, so I already feel like a pro at downloading music to it. In fact, just last week I hooked Charlie up to Rodney the MacBook Pro and transferred all of my new music. I believe I've stated this in the past, but Apple owns my soul. It is my goal in life to own one of the spiffy new iPod Touch models. Someday...
Even though I'm a firm believer in the awesome that is iTunes, I explored some of the other sites mentioned - all in the spirit of iHCPL, of course. What annoys me about music downloading sites is that you generally have to set up an account and give out a credit card number to purchase songs. Frankly, I don't want that information stored on three or four different sites when 98% of the time iTunes does the job. Also, Rhapsody, which I've tried to use in the past, operates very slowly on my computer. I'm not sure if it's an operating system issue or just me, but it's not worth the hassle.
I took a peek at music.download.com, and found a few interesting things. For the most part, though, I found the collection limited in scope. It might be interesting to browse through the free downloads list at some point, but it won't be priority.
As for streaming audio, it just isn't my cup of tea. I get easily distracted, particularly if I'm trying to read or write, and having songs with words playing at all times would simply not work. I know so many people who absolutely love Pandora (or something similar), and I've tried so hard to enjoy it...but I just don't. I'd rather listen to some of the 20 gigs of music I already have on my computer.
I did discover that at least one of the radio stations I sometimes listen to, Mix 96.5, has a website with Live Listening. I doubt I'll ever listen to the radio online as I can barely tolerate the radio in the car, but it's handy to know about for when that one song I just can't remember the name of plays.
Yeah, reading back over that it all seems pretty negative. I really do love Charlie the iPod and Colby the Shuffle and iTunes and purchasing songs for 99 cents! Sure, I have to limit my spending to a gift card every now and then, but it all works out in the end!
These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. It's continuing mission, to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilization, to boldly go where no one has gone before!
iHCPL is back and, in true SciFi style, has a new style to it. Fantastic! So without further ado, mp3's.
As I mentioned back in the days of iHCPL 1.0, I have an iPod, fondly referred to as Charlie. I adore Charlie (even if he is so old that he's big in size, light on storage space, and incapable of playing video). I also have a shuffle, lovingly dubbed Colby. He's blue and shiny and clips onto my shirt for an easy, hands-free workout.
I've owned an iPod for several years, so I already feel like a pro at downloading music to it. In fact, just last week I hooked Charlie up to Rodney the MacBook Pro and transferred all of my new music. I believe I've stated this in the past, but Apple owns my soul. It is my goal in life to own one of the spiffy new iPod Touch models. Someday...
Even though I'm a firm believer in the awesome that is iTunes, I explored some of the other sites mentioned - all in the spirit of iHCPL, of course. What annoys me about music downloading sites is that you generally have to set up an account and give out a credit card number to purchase songs. Frankly, I don't want that information stored on three or four different sites when 98% of the time iTunes does the job. Also, Rhapsody, which I've tried to use in the past, operates very slowly on my computer. I'm not sure if it's an operating system issue or just me, but it's not worth the hassle.
I took a peek at music.download.com, and found a few interesting things. For the most part, though, I found the collection limited in scope. It might be interesting to browse through the free downloads list at some point, but it won't be priority.
As for streaming audio, it just isn't my cup of tea. I get easily distracted, particularly if I'm trying to read or write, and having songs with words playing at all times would simply not work. I know so many people who absolutely love Pandora (or something similar), and I've tried so hard to enjoy it...but I just don't. I'd rather listen to some of the 20 gigs of music I already have on my computer.
I did discover that at least one of the radio stations I sometimes listen to, Mix 96.5, has a website with Live Listening. I doubt I'll ever listen to the radio online as I can barely tolerate the radio in the car, but it's handy to know about for when that one song I just can't remember the name of plays.
Yeah, reading back over that it all seems pretty negative. I really do love Charlie the iPod and Colby the Shuffle and iTunes and purchasing songs for 99 cents! Sure, I have to limit my spending to a gift card every now and then, but it all works out in the end!
Thursday, December 13, 2007
il fin
Stick a fork in me, I'm done!
And what an adventure this has been. A fairly new HCPL employee, this was an exciting way to start. It shows a willingness to explore the great unknown, to improve the way of things, and boldly go where no one has gone before.
Er, I meant to say and boldly step into the cyber future. Or something.
Before I say so long (farewell, aufwiedersehn, adieu), a few things:
1. I think I've clearly established in this blog that I'm just the tiniest bit addicted to the 'net. I blog, I youtube, I download, I shop, I surf, I read... I have my technology favorites and they make me happy. I am more than happy to see many of the tools available on the Internet utilized in Library 2.0, if that's what is best for the patrons (and the librarians).
2. However, it also quite clear from this blog that I'm not gung-ho about everything on the 'net. I think I panned a few things. (Podcasts, come to mind, as does Library Elf.) It's not that I think these tools are useless, I just don't see the need for them in my 'net life.
3. BUT, I can see how these tools could be incredibly useful for people. Zoho for the patron who has forgotten everything from a disc to a flash drive. Library Elf for the mom managing several library cards for each kid from different systems. Podcasts for the person who wants to stay informed but doesn't have time to read. Overdrive for the patron on the go.
Library 2.0 is an exciting idea and many of the tools we've learned have a place there. It's been fun, and it's going to get better.
It is going to be an adventure, kids! Prepare yourself, because we are goin' in!
Ciao!
And what an adventure this has been. A fairly new HCPL employee, this was an exciting way to start. It shows a willingness to explore the great unknown, to improve the way of things, and boldly go where no one has gone before.
Er, I meant to say and boldly step into the cyber future. Or something.
Before I say so long (farewell, aufwiedersehn, adieu), a few things:
1. I think I've clearly established in this blog that I'm just the tiniest bit addicted to the 'net. I blog, I youtube, I download, I shop, I surf, I read... I have my technology favorites and they make me happy. I am more than happy to see many of the tools available on the Internet utilized in Library 2.0, if that's what is best for the patrons (and the librarians).
2. However, it also quite clear from this blog that I'm not gung-ho about everything on the 'net. I think I panned a few things. (Podcasts, come to mind, as does Library Elf.) It's not that I think these tools are useless, I just don't see the need for them in my 'net life.
3. BUT, I can see how these tools could be incredibly useful for people. Zoho for the patron who has forgotten everything from a disc to a flash drive. Library Elf for the mom managing several library cards for each kid from different systems. Podcasts for the person who wants to stay informed but doesn't have time to read. Overdrive for the patron on the go.
Library 2.0 is an exciting idea and many of the tools we've learned have a place there. It's been fun, and it's going to get better.
It is going to be an adventure, kids! Prepare yourself, because we are goin' in!
Ciao!
Saturday, December 8, 2007
overdrive
Re: Technology Babble post, I have a Mac and an iPod. This, of course, means that I can't even use OverDrive. So I don't have a lot of experience when it comes to OverDrive for this very reason.
Browsing through OverDrive and the two free sites mentioned in the exercise post, OverDrive is certainly the best. The free books available from the non-library related sites were dated, of poor quality and generally uninteresting. If I were interested in reading a book online or listening to an audio book, OverDrive would be my first choice. (If I could use OverDrive, which I can't, and if I wanted to read a book online, which I don't, or listen to an audio book, which I don't.)
What does this mean? It means that OverDrive is a pretty exciting site, just not for me.
Browsing through OverDrive and the two free sites mentioned in the exercise post, OverDrive is certainly the best. The free books available from the non-library related sites were dated, of poor quality and generally uninteresting. If I were interested in reading a book online or listening to an audio book, OverDrive would be my first choice. (If I could use OverDrive, which I can't, and if I wanted to read a book online, which I don't, or listen to an audio book, which I don't.)
What does this mean? It means that OverDrive is a pretty exciting site, just not for me.
Monday, December 3, 2007
podcasts
So. What's the skinny on podcasts? (In this instance, we're going to pretend "skinny" translates into "my opinion.")
Podcasts are silly, plain and simple. They're basically a blog, only more time intensive for both the creator and the listener. Why worry about microphones and audio editing programs and hosting sites and if you happen to have a sore throat on the day you mean to produce a podcast session when you could simply sit down, open up your chosen blog site and type away? Why listen to someone (who, it is entirely possible is terrible public speaker or has a nasally voice or an annoying laugh) say their piece when you could read it at your own pace (in my case, speedy speedy)?
And here's another thing: As I am an incredibly visual person, my attention wanders during audio-only sessions and I come back to find that the topic has changed or the podcast has ended and I have no idea what was discussed. I just don't find podcasts practical.
What does this all mean? It means that podcasts are not for me. Oh, I can sort of (vaguely) understand why a host of people love them, but outside of this assignment, I will probably never actively search out a podcast to listen to.
(But did I mention how much I love youtube?)
Podcasts are silly, plain and simple. They're basically a blog, only more time intensive for both the creator and the listener. Why worry about microphones and audio editing programs and hosting sites and if you happen to have a sore throat on the day you mean to produce a podcast session when you could simply sit down, open up your chosen blog site and type away? Why listen to someone (who, it is entirely possible is terrible public speaker or has a nasally voice or an annoying laugh) say their piece when you could read it at your own pace (in my case, speedy speedy)?
And here's another thing: As I am an incredibly visual person, my attention wanders during audio-only sessions and I come back to find that the topic has changed or the podcast has ended and I have no idea what was discussed. I just don't find podcasts practical.
What does this all mean? It means that podcasts are not for me. Oh, I can sort of (vaguely) understand why a host of people love them, but outside of this assignment, I will probably never actively search out a podcast to listen to.
(But did I mention how much I love youtube?)
youtube
Psst! Come here.
Closer...
Closer...
*whispers* I'm addicted to youtube.
I really adore youtube. Of course, my love was deeper before Google (the monopoly trying to take over the world, one computer at a time) came along, but that is utterly beside the point.
When there is a bathtub to be scrubbed, dinner to cook, a bed to make, youtube is the perfect procrastination tool. I'll pull up the site to look at one video. But then something in the video will make me laugh so hard that I'll have to watch again. Then, because this is networking and advertising at its best, I'll spot a video in the "related videos" section that I simply must watch. So I will, because that bathtub doesn't really need to be scrubbed, right? Then I'll spot a video that clocks in at a wee minute and half and think, just one more. That just one more becomes 20 just one mores and, before you can say "youtube rules my not-so-spare time" an hour has flown by.
Yeah, I really love that site.
So, here's one of the last videos I watched. David Hewlett's My Favorite Line, where he re-enacts his favorite line as Dr Rodney McKay on Stargate Atlantis. Season 4, Episode 1.
Adorable.
Closer...
Closer...
*whispers* I'm addicted to youtube.
I really adore youtube. Of course, my love was deeper before Google (the monopoly trying to take over the world, one computer at a time) came along, but that is utterly beside the point.
When there is a bathtub to be scrubbed, dinner to cook, a bed to make, youtube is the perfect procrastination tool. I'll pull up the site to look at one video. But then something in the video will make me laugh so hard that I'll have to watch again. Then, because this is networking and advertising at its best, I'll spot a video in the "related videos" section that I simply must watch. So I will, because that bathtub doesn't really need to be scrubbed, right? Then I'll spot a video that clocks in at a wee minute and half and think, just one more. That just one more becomes 20 just one mores and, before you can say "youtube rules my not-so-spare time" an hour has flown by.
Yeah, I really love that site.
So, here's one of the last videos I watched. David Hewlett's My Favorite Line, where he re-enacts his favorite line as Dr Rodney McKay on Stargate Atlantis. Season 4, Episode 1.
Adorable.
Friday, November 9, 2007
zoho? eh...
See, the thing is, I already have Microsoft Office (for Mac, because, re: Techno-babble post, Apple owns my soul). I also own a laptop, a jump drive, an external hard drive, and have access to gmail (even though I hate Google with a passion) from any computer that would also provide access to Zoho. I have no reason to use Zoho. I have no reason at all to familiarize myself with a new word processing platform that is wholly dependent on my Internet connection.
But, for people without the lot I described in that near run-on sentence above, Zoho is a brilliant tool.
I'm just not one of those people.
But, for people without the lot I described in that near run-on sentence above, Zoho is a brilliant tool.
I'm just not one of those people.
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