You are currently browsing the monthly archive for May, 2007.
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“Look, NBC just doesn’t value the NHL. Since it doesn’t pay a rights fee to broadcast the games – it shares advertising revenue with the league – why would it value the NHL?”
The iTunes Plus files I bought sound great in Foobar2000 and gapless playback between connected tracks (Rocket/Disarm, for example) works splendidly. I transcoded the tracks into LAME -v2 –vbr-new and used them in FB2K as well. Gapless playback continued to work fine and I couldn’t A/B them against the original AAC files. I figured a single-generational transcode of a 256kbps AAC file would be transparent, and at this point I believe it is.
I’ve seen a lot of people online bringing up the fact that Apple includes information about the purchaser in the iTunes Plus AAC files and implying it’s a bad thing. Unless you plan on giving your files to someone you don’t know, why would you care if the files are personalized? I don’t have a problem with it at all.
I’ve purchased the iTunes Plus version of The Smashing Pumpkins’ Siamese Dream (an album I dig but never got around to purchasing) to show my support for the initiative launched today. I’ve never purchased anything from iTunes before. It was a pretty painless experience.
Of course, the first thing I did with the music files was to copy them off into my Foobar2000 library, calculate ReplayGain (ahh… the good old early ’90s: -4.94dB), and listen to them there. They worked!
At $7.99 for the album, I think the purchase was a great compromise versus buying the CD new. I don’t think I’d buy anything but iTunes Plus albums, though. They’re a much better deal than individual tracks. And I’m a lover of albums vs. singles, although I love to shuffle tracks around.
I’ll comment on audio quality (both native and transcoded) later.
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“CBS understands the Last.fm vision, the importance we place on putting the listener in charge, the vibrant and vocal community, the obsession with music stats, and our determination to offer every song ever recorded.”
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EMI and Apple make good on their promise for high-res unprotected AAC content.
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“As a means of protest, Bolesta decided to pay the $114 [Best Buy] bill using 57 crisp, new $2 bills. [..] “She [cashier] looked at the $2 bills and told me, ‘I don’t have to take these if I don’t want to.’”"
I was a big BeOS fan in the mid-to-late 90s and ran it on a hand-built dual P2-300 computer. I don’t know how many CPUs it supported back then, but its architecture built around pervasive multi-threading (so as to take advantage of multiple CPU cores) hasn’t been completely forgotten in this multi-core world:
Ars Technica: Microsoft exec: Future versions of Windows to be “fundamentally redesigned”
Back in 1991 when ex-Apple executive Jean-Louis Gassée was starting development of a new operating system called BeOS, its designers tried to make the entire operating system “pervasively multithreaded” in anticipation that multiple CPUs would be much more common in the future. This ensured that any one window that became unresponsive would not interfere with any other windows, although the forced multithreaded programming model increased the risk of programming errors such as race conditions and deadlocks.
CYGNET is now powered by both my Airport Express and my new Buffalo WHR-G54S running DD-WRT, and I’ve upgraded from WEP to WPA2 encryption. I’m hugely impressed by DD-WRT and I’m barely scratching the surface of its capabilities since it’s not acting as my Internet router, just an access point. I now have pretty decent wireless speeds on the first and second floors, and in the basement if it isn’t speedy enough I have a little GigE switch I can plug into.
Now, if that Foobar2000-to-Airport-Express gap could be filled I’d be an even happier camper…
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Purchasing a cheap router to play with this.
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I agree that Landis’ team’s conduct towards Greg LeMond is despicable. I’d like to think Floyd didn’t cheat to win the Tour, but I have to admit I don’t really care too much now.
Star Wars is one of the first movies I think I can recall seeing in a movie theater. I think I first saw it sometime in early 1978, when I was 7, but I can’t be sure. I have a much clearer memory of seeing epidodes V and VI in theaters, after seeing episode IV. In any case, I was a Star Wars nut as a kid and collected a lot of the toys, only to sell the lot of them to an adult collector when I was 11 or 12. They got a lot of use.
I’ve enjoyed the original trilogy as it’s aged, and still prefer it to the prequel trilogy. R2D2 is my favorite character; a mini R2 sits under my monitor at work and keeps me company throughout the day. :) The Empire Strikes Back is probably still my favorite Star Wars movie, but obviously it wouldn’t have come to be without the excellence and success of the original. Long live Star Wars!
Today I imported the content from cygweb circa July 2002 - December 2006 from alexharden.org/blog to this blog. Some linked content will still be dependent on the old site, but I’m not too worried about that. It’s nice to have my blog history all in one place.
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Congrats to Scott and family!
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Check your dishwasher! Ours is subject to this recall. GE private-labels Eterna, Hotpoint, and Sears/Kenmore brands as well.
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DT at UB: one of my favorite bands plays at my Alma Mater. I saw both of DT’s Buffalo shows on the Images and Words tour.
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Like Colin Edwin of Porcupine Tree, John Myung of Dream Theater is now playing a Music Man Bongo Bass. JM’s had a Yamaha custom bass for years; I’m interested in seeing if he uses the Bongo on tour.
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Still looking forward to Barcelona.
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“The patent was original, it was innovative, and it was still shameful.”
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If a tree like Microsoft falls in a forest of software patents, it shouldn’t make a sound.
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“Webcasters will either go out of business trying to pony up the 3 percent to 20 percent pay hikes (up to $110 per online listener each year based on these calculations) or they’ll ruin themselves trying.”
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“downloading intentions also had no direct relationship to either compact disc purchases or to subscriptions to online paid music services.”
We had a very eventful weekend at Harrisburg Hospital, beginning with our arrival in the wee hours of Friday morning. Melissa’s wishes were granted; labor started and progressed naturally, and she had a healthy baby! Mom and Zachary passed all their tests in the hospital and we came home yesterday afternoon. My Mom and Dad were in town to watch Ryan and they kept him and the house happy. Melissa and I had a nap-filled night last night as Zachary kept us on our toes. It’s nice to be back home!
Zachary Franklin Harden, born at 9:16am on May 11, 2007. Weight: 7 lb 8.8 oz; length: 19.5 in.
Zachary Franklin Harden, originally uploaded by aharden.
Mom and baby worked hard last night! Welcome Zachary!
Rush is back. The big hair, fake falsetto heavy metal group that made the 1980s so irrelevant musically sold 84,000 copies for Atlantic Records last week with a new album called “Snakes & Arrows.” Never underestimate the low standards of the buying public, I guess. Journey, Poison, shoulder pads and perms shouldn’t be too far behind at this rate.
What the hell is this guy on? I was out at this page reading one of PsychoPhil’s links. Normally I don’t touch Fox News on the web or on TV. Mr. Friedman is reminding me why. Someone send him a Geddy nose and ponytail, please!
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“The new KING’S X [album] is finished. Ty [Tabor, guitar/vocals] is mastering it now. The release date is tenative right now. It’s called ‘Go Tell Somebody’, so if you like what you hear, then go tell somebody”
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You heard it on the BDFL podcast first, last season. Don’t say Scott didn’t warn you!
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Courtesy of a nudge from Andy Bolin. Lost will run three more 16-episode seasons after the current one. Looking forward to the ride.
Now that I’ve listened to Rush’s new Snakes & Arrows several times since writing my pre-review, I can safely stand behind it. On first two trips through, I didn’t hear massive riffage and many of the songs seemed bland. However, once my ears dug a bit deeper and I began digesting the hooks and looking forward to them, it really opened up to me.
“Far Cry” is the heaviest track to my ears, and “Spindrift” is heavy as well. I guess that’s why they’ve been tapped as singles. The tastiest riff on the album has the be the heavy lead line that’s played several times in the first of three instrumentals, “The Main Monkey Business”. When I start playing this album on bass, that’ll probably be one of the first songs I try to cop. Saying “when I start playing this album on bass” is significant for me; I was so turned off by the engineering on Vapor Trails that I was never inspired to learn how to play the album as I had done with previous Rush records.
Speaking of the engineering, this album is definitely mastered loud, but not as egregiously as the contemporary competition. To my ears it sounds vastly superior to VT, although I don’t think the comparisons I’ve seen to the Permanent Waves sound is warranted. Perhaps it compares to the remastered version of PeW, but I wouldn’t know. I still have all my orignal-pressing Rush CDs (plus the MFSL Moving Pictures and Signals discs) and love their dynamic range.
Back to S&A’s songs: if you’ve ready any of Neil Peart’s books, you shouldn’t be surprised by the lyrical content of this album. My favorite lyrics are probably “Far Cry”, “The Larger Bowl” and “Bravest Face”. The overall theme of the album is somewhat forlorn, but I think the last track “We Hold On” is slightly optimistic.
Two things that stick out musically to me on this album are the plentiful acoustic guitars and vocal overdubs. It’ll be interesting to see how those are replicated live, especially on a song like “Bravest Face”. Will we see the return of the Omega Concern acoustic guitar stand, or will Alex use piezo pickups and processing on his electric guitars? In many places I think the vocals are layered too much. Geddy’s lead vocals are strong enough, especially in the register he’s singing in, to stand on their own. It would be nice to hear some Rush tunes that don’t mandate recorded backing tracks to perform live.
Overall, the album goes a long way towards making up for the miscues I perceived with Vapor Trails, and it’ll be a welcome addition to my Rush collection. I’ve preorded the DVD Album Limited Edition, which may require a review of its own since it’s a new format. The album is a great deal; you get more than 60 minutes of new Rush tunes. Highly recommended.
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“In Florida, [..] stores would be required to thumb-print customers selling used CDs, and acquire a copy of state-issued identity documents such as a driver’s license.”
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Many thought this would happen, but I’m surprised it’s happening this soon. Good for Yahoo!
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Via Bruce Schneier. “Back in 1985, Wim Van Eck proved it was possible to tune into the radio emissions produced by electromagentic coils in a CRT display and then reconstruct the image.”
Melissa’s due next Wednesday, May 9th, and she’s doing great. We’re heading into the final stretch here. The new infant seat and bases have been installed in the cars, the bags are just about packed, and the room is stocked and ready. Within the next two weeks I expect to be holding our new little boy. More news as it happens!
Inspired by Don.
Go to IMDB.com and look up 10 of your favorite movies.
- Post three official IMDB “Plot Keywords” for these 10 picks.
- Have your friends guess the movie titles.
Try to guess mine:
End Of The Millenium, Virtual Reality, BetrayalStrange Days (Phil)Bodyguard, Liquid Metal, TruckTerminator 2: Judgment Day (Don)Wizard, Death Of Hero, InvisibilityLOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring (Don)Drug Addict, Accidental Death, Jeri Curl HairstylePulp Fiction (Don)
Stuttering, Barrister, Run Over By A SteamrollerA Fish Called Wanda (Don)Amnesia, Superhuman Speed, Hot Air BalloonThe Adventures of Baron Munchausen (Phil)Stranded, Mind Control, SpacecraftStar Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan (Phil)- Ocean, No Opening Credits, Hidden Civilization
Telephone Box, Time Travel, SocratesBill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure (Don)Cucumber, Heavy Metal, StonehengeThis is Spinal Tap (Don)
Update (5/6): C’mon, I didn’t make them that hard, did I? One more day and I give Don more answers…
Update (5/7): Four more left!
Update (5/9): Phil got three. One more left.
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“I am a strong believer in the importance of copyright, especially in a digital age. But there is no reason that this particular class of content needs the protection.”
A great new interview with Steven Wilson is up at Caerllysi Music. It’s one of the best FoaBP-related ones I’ve read so far. In it, he shares his reasons for mastering the new Porcupine Tree album:
Do you master your CD’s and what do you feel about the problem today that most CD’s sound the same because of the similar technique used in mastering? Do you miss the demo sound?
I have gradually taken over all the mastering of my projects and this is the first PT album that I have mastered because I was not happy with the way that professional mastering houses were mastering it. There is a tendency to make everything very loud, to try and get volume at the sacrifice of dynamics and too much treble and too much bass and not enough of that warmth in the middle. You know the pressure has been there from record companies to make CD’s sound louder because they notionally sound more exciting that way. But over a period of 50-60 mins it really does start to tire your ears out, and that has been a problem with this CD generation, basically your ears get tired quicker.
It’s refreshing for me to hear that at least some artists “get it” with regards to dynamic range and are taking positive steps to improve the sonic quality of their recordings. Thanks, Steven, it’s much appreciated!
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I actively participated in the beta and look forward to implementing WSUS 3.0 in production. It’s not that I like patching Windows Servers, but this tool allows it to be done with a minimum of pain and plenty of control.
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Snakes and Arrows is out today! Go get it!
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