Music: Amazon

Since it’s become unprofitable due to draconian measures taken by RIAA to stop illegal mp3(music) downloading where can you buy music? Well iTunes generally has cornered the market due to it’s popularity of the iPhone and iPod. iTunes generally gets all the press and glory. Music is available through other legitimate sources.

 

Amazon which built it’s empire selling books also sells mp3 music. Though I have used iTunes I actually prefer using Amazon for searching for music to download. Originally started using Amazon due iTunes having DRM(Digital Rights Management ) encoded  in the music. Which meant you had limited rights to play your music on so many devices. Which to was like if you bought a CD of music you could only play it on players made by a certain company. Apple has since changed this and has loosened it’s grip. The other reason is mp3 format versus AAC format. Technically speaking AAC format is the better format, The mp3 format I believe offers more freedom to be used with many more devices. Plus I think I have a bit of rebelliousness towards iTunes and Apples grip in this market so I wanted to try something different.

 

 

Amazon offers a wide variety of music and is well organized in a way that is easy to search through. I’ve rarely searched for something and not found it on Amazon. Prices for albums are generally $9.99 but they frequently have special for albums for $4.99 or less which can have some gems if you search through. Individual songs are anywhere from $.69, $.99 or $1.29. Amazon does have a download helper which is a small download and automatically downloads your purchase and will integrate with iTunes or other media players. It’s fast and easy and you can be listening to your purchase in minutes(depending on your download speed). 

 

This is just my personal preference. If you have an iPod or iPhone I’m sure you’ll go with iTunes. Otherwise Amazon music is a very good choice in my opinion. What is your choice for music download purchases?

Social Networking: Facebook Etiquette

On many social networking sites it seems as if anything goes. Part of Facebook’s appeal I believe that it is a bit more mature or refined than most. Here are a few etiquette tips to help keep your friends and not to annoy them. It may also help your experience on Facebook less of a headache and keep it fun and informative like it should be.

• Will you be my friend? Develop a criteria for accepting friends. Some like to include everyone and others are more selective. Keep in mind that the more “friends” you invite the more activity you’ll encounter on your wall. More quizzes, event invitations, updates about bathroom habits, application invitations, games, chat sessions and so on. Some are fun but they can be annoying to some. I wouldn’t friend someone just out of the blue if you don’t know them. Depending on your privacy settings you could be letting a perfect stranger view your personal information. It’s advisable to think about organizing your friends or contacts and adjusting your personal settings to what they can view about you.
• I just dropped a big one in the ….. Most people don’t want constant updates. Especially ones from the bathroom. Updating your status every two minutes can be annoying to some and may show how little life you have. Depending on your friends will decide your level of class or taste you display. Keep in mind also your boss,parents,clergy members, or spouse may be on your list getting updates of your latest antics. Use common sense.
• Which 2009 song are you? Quizzes are all over the place. Many applications also do this.Almost ask you to share with 10 friends or more. Be a bit choosy in who you pick for this. Sending too many can be very annoying to some. If your friends will be interested then go ahead but, try not to send every quiz to everyone on your list indiscriminately. They can also be on the NSFW( Not Safe For Work) category. Most applications or quizzes will give you an option to skip this step somewhere on the bottom of screen if you wish to opt out.
• Facebook Chat. Just because someone shows up in your chat window means they are willing to strike up a conversation. You can adjust your settings to limit who see’s you online. Be considerate that some may be busy or away from the computer. Send a greeting or ask if they are busy first. Don’t be offended if they don’t respond.

These tips are intended to keep your experience on Facebook positive and fun. Use common sense when using Facebook and don’t annoy others. Yes there is a certain amount of fun and silly stuff that goes on but, try and keep it in moderation and consider who else is viewing your updates. Though I don’t see it as much keep the “Poking” to minimum. Your significant other may not be too pleased.

Source: Print - PC World, August 2009, Page 99

Office 2010: The Movie

“Word.” 

 

This is a hilarious video promo for the new Microsoft Office 2010. We see the grave of Clippy(1997-2004) the annoying office helper. A rogue font has been released over the Internet and Clippy’s old partner must get over his loss to help fight this new threat.

 

Microsoft has struggled to get people to switch from previous Office versions to the newer Office 2007 version. 2007 featured the newer “ribbon” interface. I do have this version and it does take a little getting used to.  I took a computer class last fall which used Office 2003. I had to figure out how to do 2003 stuff on 2007 with the new interface. I loved the “Word” hand sign. Enjoy the video.

Technorati Tags: microsoft,office,2003,2007,2010,the movie,word,parody,video,humor

Source: Tech-Ex

Recycling your PC

Free Geek Providence and New England Tech are teaming up to recycle your old computer equipment. It helps you clean up the environment by keeping old computers from going to the landfill. It also helps you reclaim your closet or basement from old electronics.

The event is to be held at New England Tech, Saturday July 25, 2009.

New England Tech

2500 Post Road,Warwick, RI

9am to 1pm

Blogger vs. Wordpress

Over the last six month’s or so I moved my PC blogging over to YourPCNeeds.info using Wordpress. To be honest it took some work to get the bugs out but, I was able to get it to run. Maybe like yourself you’ve read countless blogs saying Wordpress or others like it are the way to go for serious blogging. This may be true for the serious blogger. I don’t feel it may be right for those starting out on a budget with limited time. To set up Wordpress takes time to figure out and to maintain. Admittedly you’ve have a lot more flexibility and ownership of your site dealing with design and content.

What Blogger does offer a simplicity in design and speed to get you off the ground with only a small learning curve. I believe when your first starting out the last thing you need to do is dealing with Wordpress themes, themes dealing with php., plugins, updates, using ftp. Many of these things do take time to master. Sure it may be simple to many but for someone starting out I believe you can get caught up into dealing with trivial issues when you could be creating content you need.  A blog is nothing without content.

Case in point: Recently I wanted to add some polls to find out what readers wanted. I tried on my Wordpress blog to add plugins to add them. I spent well over an hour dealing with it and in the end the polls still did not appear on my blog. Frustrated I came over to this blog and I had a poll up and running in about 5 minutes. I also started another poll on another blog I have. Pardon the cliche but time is money. I don’t mind spending some time and effort for something thats worth it. Blogger I grant you doesn’t have the fanciest designs or themes but they do offer something that will get you up and running. Also if you want your own domain you can get one through Google Apps(GoDaddy) for $10 that is super simple to setup. I have already done it for another blog mine and I’ll be doing it here soon.  OK that’s the end of my rant. Have a great day!

Please help me help you

I’ve posted a poll here to find out what my visitors are most interested in reading about. This is to help me focus my efforts to better help you and others that come hear. This blog and my other tech blog at yourpcneeds.info has at times, admittedly lacked focus and attention to those most important: my visitors. This is your chance to have a voice in the content here.  Thank you for taking the time to fill out the poll and I highly encourage any constructive  comments you may have to make this blog better serve you and others. Have a great day!