home of Steven Hodson a cranky old fart and social media un-expert

Currently browsing posts under the tag: MP3.

6
A guilty secret – I want a Zune

Written by: Steven Hodson on November 18, 2008

I know everyone and their brother are iPod fanatics and to them nothing can beat out this epitome of form and function for an MP3 player. I also know that I am probably opening myself up to some demeaning ridicule but the fact is I like the Zune.

I see today that Matt Burns at CrunchGear is announcing that there is going to be a price reduction coming in time for the holiday gift giving season. As nice as those reductions might be that still place this toy at; or near, the bottom of my wish list.

It’s not that I don’t want one because every since my daughter figured she could get more for my ancient iRiver MP3 player at the pawnshop than what it might be worth to me, I have been without any form of mobile MP3 player. Given the amount of walking I do during the week I have really come to miss having my favourite tunes playing to keep me company. The simple fact is that of all the computer or entertainment things I finally want to be able to bring into the house the Zune just isn’t one of them.

But who knows maybe next year things will be a little different and I’ll be able to splurge and get myself one of my favourite MP3 players.

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Category: Odds & Ends

2
Happy to see me or is that your buckle flashing at me?

Written by: Steven Hodson on November 16, 2008

MP3 players are all the rage; heck even I would like to finally have one but I’m sorry there comes a point where form; no mater how cool it looks, does not trump function. Such is the case of this heavy metal biker wannabe belt buckle MP3 player that the manufacturer also claims can be used as a handheld weapon.

Sure whatever you say but the idea that sitting just above my crotch area is a LED flashing light show housed within a skull belt bucket is not only stupid but something that could get you in serious trouble on your next visit to the clubhouse.

And folks give Zune a hard time for their designs – well they have nothing on this silliness.

[hat tip to SlipperyBrick]

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Category: Technology

0
Amazon MP3 might be the cat’s behind but only in the US

Written by: Steven Hodson on June 19, 2008

The Internet is a great thing. Companies are always striving to out do each other in services and prices. In the area of MP3 sales this is evident with the ongoing battle between iTunes and now Amazon MP3 download service. Except there is one big glaring problem with the Amazon service

Amazon MP3 - click ofr larger view

Yup. It’s only good enough for U.S. citizens and the rest of us can go suck a lemon or two.

However nice it is that Amazon provides DRM free MP3’s they are no different than iTunes when it comes to being able to purchase products in that anyone without a credit card or US debit card is left out in the cold.

So really DRM or no DRM doesn’t mean squat when you can’t either download the product or pay for it.

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Category: The Web

2
Are web backup sites legally protected?

Written by: Steven Hodson on April 23, 2008

Virtual safety deposit boxes For those of you not following this it started when EMI sued MP3Tunes.com for the contents of the online storage that the site offered it users to store their MP3 music files. Well according to a post on TechWag MP3Tunes.com has prevailed in the case which means that some 300 TB of files, users names and other related information is free from the prying eyes of EMI and the RIAA.

The argument that was used was that these online storage sites which are password protected and encrypted are no different than when you walk into a bank and sign up for a safety deposit box

MP3tunes strongly objected to EMI’s request, because it was both an invasion of user’s personal storage, and because it would create a huge technical and financial burden, with more than 300 terabytes of files in personal Lockers. Files are not MP3tunes’ possessions any more than the contents of a safety deposit box are owned by the bank that houses them. The storage provided by MP3tunes is the user’s own space. A Locker is empty when someone opens an account and that customer decides what files are placed into their Locker. All files are stored at the request of the user. People who choose to utilize remote storage should be guaranteed the same level of privacy they have for the files stored on their local hard disk.

This argument apparently worked because the New York judge hearing the case has turned down the request by EMI for MP3Tunes.com to turn over all the information. While this was a nice win to see and even though Michael Robertson’s (owner of MP3Tunes.com) statement that .. “At stake is personal ownership and privacy in the digital era – both issues worth fighting for.” strikes me more of good PR I think the sentiment behind it is valid.

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Category: The Web

18
Software Review: Ashampoo Burning Studio 7 – Part One

Written by: Bill on October 20, 2007

Let me tell you, I’ve used quite a number of  CD/DVD burning solutions, including Nero, which in my opinion and experience is overpriced bloatware. I had planned on simply downloading it, testing it’s suitability for a review, then letting the free key run out. After playing with it for a few days, like Crossloop, it’s staying. In addition, for about half the price of the “Industry Leader” (chortle, snort) it’s a bargain.

You can read the whole post over here at WinExtra

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Category: WinExtra Stuff

4
My first Vista WPF program …

Written by: Steven Hodson on November 28, 2006

It’s been interesting getting one’s feet wet developing for the new Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF); formerly known as Avalon, as it really opens some really cool avenues for user interface development. To see how well I could do developing with WPF I decided to start a small project called Pulse.

Pulse is a program that lets you work with your MP3 music files in a number of different ways. The screenshot her displays the opening dialog which acts as the main menu area of the program.

 

 

There are currently four main functions you can use in Pulse:

  • MP3 Tag Editor
  • MP3 Filename Cleaner
  • Playlist Creator
  • Album Art Retrieval

 As with any new way of doing things there was the usual hair pulling and hunting through slim pickings of sample code in order to find out how things are done. In the end though it is worth the effort and not just for the learning exercise but also to see the end product in a new way.

Below are a few more screen captures of the different sections and while there still needs to be some work done Pulse is stable and works well.

MP3 Tag Editor MP3 Filename Cleaner Album Art Retrieval

System Requirements: Vista RC2 (I have not yet been able to test on Vista RTM yet)

Now it should be stated that in theory Pulse should also work on XP IF you have .NET Framework 3.0 install but again I have not been able to test this.

You can also follow any discussion about Pulse from my original forum post here - you will need to register (free) in order to see the screen captures or download from that area.

All in all working with WPF has been fun; and I will continue working on Pulse as ideas come to me or are suggested, and I plan on continuing as well with additional projects down the road.

Download Pulse (54)

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Category: Technology

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