Effectively one year since my last post on this blog. Much has happened. In fact too much to even begin to tell. I am in a new place, its a new time, and I’m moving towards a new future. One thing that has recently changed?
I am now a Mac guy. That’s right. See ya later, PC! Just kidding, I still use a variety of different PCs, but my main computer as of late is the new Macbook Pro. Its a small, single frame of brushed aluminum holding a powerhouse processor and plenty of memory to keep me going for a while. The MacBook itself is physically a great machine, but what I really love lies in the manner in which programming has been laid out. A unix based operating system that we all know as Snow Leopard.
Apple has created the most intuitive interface I have experienced to date. Programs are installed in packages! I’m sure most mac and linux users are very used to this. I too have experienced package installs in Ubuntu Intrepid Ibex (the 8.1 release). Apple’s native programs are also exciting to use. I just recently created my first video using iMovie. It took me awhile to get the input file correct but after that creating a movie was smooth as ice. And then it even uploaded to Youtube for me! I’ve installed TweetDeck, Adium, and Firefox so far. I use Mail, iCal, and Address Book to handle all of my work and some of my personal needs. Gmail is still my primary personal communication tool, alongside my phone (which is used for work too). [<-- Sorry for the convoluted sentence]
My goal is to become as fast on my Mac as I am on my PC. So far I am very satisfied and continue to learn more each day.
“It’s impossible to move, to live, to operate at any level without leaving traces, bits, seemingly meaningless fragments of personal information.” – William Gibson
"In a long overdue move, all the major record labels have agreed to allow Apple to sell tracks without the much-maligned DRM software that limits consumers' ability to transfer music.
As of today, iTunes will sell eight million tracks DRM-free; by March, all 10 million tracks in the company's catalogue will be available without the software." – Wendy Davis, The daily Online Examiner, A MediaPost Publication
I've been waiting the entire life of iTunes for this! Now all I need to do is make sure that iTunes included/will include a way to unlock all the currently protected tracks that users own.
Now I can effortlessly share all of mine and my roomate's music on my Linux Music Box over my local network.
Now I can effortlessly take his music on the go without having to worry about reaching the 'Authorized Users Limit' in iTunes.
Now I can sleep easy knowing that the music industry will not crap on me if I decide to share some music.
Now I also know why RIAA stopped prosecuting individual sharers, which makes me wonder if they will also stop ISP limitations.
[References to those topics will come soon. I'm at work and should be working.]
It feels quite righteous to be so close to the end. 4 years of going to school and working to pay the bills is finally culminating with receipt of the coveted Bachelor's Degree!! To be honest, I think I am more excited that I will finally be able to just work. Wierd huh? I know, there are probably a lot of people out there saying, 'He doesn't know what he's in for.' and 'He'll be wishing he was back in college soon enough.' But I am truly excited to just work for awhile. It is so taxing to have to concentrate on school as well as work. The two are very involved and I'd like to devote more energy to one vs the other but when I have to do both its just very difficult. [<--Run on sentence?]
Anyways some new stuff:
Linux is running on an old laptop as my music-box. I move a lot of my music files to that machine when I don't listen to them as much so I can save space on my primary laptop. I have Rhythmbox running a DAAP music server so that I can listen to everything through iTunes. It auto updates as I load stuff onto it. The only downfall so far is that Joe, my roomate, cannot put any of his music on it because its all iTunes protected. That's BS in my opinion, but let's not get into a rant on proprietary music rights.
I'm setting up a local server on Linux so that I can begin work on a Wordpress site. I found that when I used wordpress I was able to retain a lot more knowledge on web development because I was constantly doing it. I want that knowledge back, and I also want the scalability and cost-savings of a wordpress site. So, yes, I will prob
Image via Wikipediaably be transitioning this site over in a few months. I'll let ya'll know my progress as I go. Maybe I'll start a nice little page on my adventures with Linux.
I can't tell you how much of a pain it was for me to just get the linux machine to run a print server. It took me a good week of troubleshooting and talking to Billy, my unofficial Linux techsupport [he is running Ubuntu 8.10 as his main OS on an Acer laptop]. Alas it finally runs smoothly with my computer and Joe's computer.
Its late. I'm tired. Plenty of West Wing and Family Guy to watch. Plenty of books and articles to read. All ready for work in the morning.
Peace readers and Thank you so much for dedicating a few minutes of your day to hear my thoughts.
StandAside Author: Kris Patel
I’m slacking in the process
of learning and experiencing new things that have been released over the last couple years. I think I can attribute this "slack" to working third shift at the bar, while going to school, and trying to get daily errands done. However! Big things are to come for me. I’m always on the lookout for projects I can use as learning tools and as publicity tools. I’ve found one marketing plan project recently that could get me some good experience, helpful contacts, and a few extra bucks in my pocket! I will definitely be spending a good amount of my time on it.
I will also be putting extra time into learning AJAX and FLEX programming markups because I enjoy the AdobeAIR platform which uses both. I’ve been trying out smaller scale applications such as the Spaz twitter desktop client, Twhirl twitter desktop client, the Pownce desktop client, etc. My goal is to take AdobeAIR and use it to develop an efficient contact aggregator. I mean to create an application that will integrate my contacts from various social networks into one place, as well as integrating the different methods of messaging into one place. It is similar to Plaxo, but I just do not like the interface or the few shortcomings with Plaxo. I’ve also thought about working to integrate everything into my Gmail account but I don’t know how well that will go over. In fact, speaking of slacking, that is another area I just have not kept up with- Google’s development section. I talked to a friend at school who has experience programming and he is willing to embark on this project with me.
A computer upgrade is definitely going to happen soon. My old IBM laptop has kept up with me so far, but now that I need more HD space, more memory, and more processor speed… there is not much else it can push out. I don’t have enough to even have the programs I need to be running, such as Dreamweaver, Photoshop, a fully-tabbed Firefox, multiple Word docs. The need for space and speed is dire! I’m looking into Dell for now as well as pulling a Mac into the home for Mac specific projects.
All in all, I miss San Francisco- I need a new computer- I have a LOT to learn this semester!
[Look at that bunch of young guns! 
]
ALRIGHT! Sony BMG will begin selling music that is not DRM [Digital Rights Management] protected.
I like this.
Its another catch22 of our times.
Musicians make music to make a living.
Record companies sell music to give the musicians a living.
We [the digital consumer] digital-ize music and spread it like Atlanta-kudzu.
I still buy music. I still spread music. Most of all, I listen to music and appreciate music.
[How's that for a micro-post?]
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