Tag: Tech

Google, Music, Spotify and Being Behind Knowledge-Wise

Carl Setzer

So, my family watched quite a bit of YouTube. Everything from Rick Steves to vloggers to geek stuff. I’ve learned so much more about the extended Star Wars universe than I ever thought possible. I consider myself a great master of Jedi lore and wisdom, until YouTubers instilled great humility in me. 

Seemed a good idea to pony up for YouTube Red: I hate commercials. HATE! Clearly I failed to read my terms clearly enough as, just today I discovered that I had full access to Google music. So my Spotify account was a bit redundant. 

I spent today exploring it. Quite happy so far. I like the interface, and that it’s not a resource hog like Spotify. Plus I seem to have better access to artists like Peter Gabriel. Oh, they have podcasts in there (yeah, Spotify does, too) and my favorite podcast, Radio Free Burrito is in there, too. No sign of Design Matters with Debbie Millman, but I guess we can’t have everything. Hopefully we’ll get them in Google, too.

I’m leaning heavily towards dropping Spotify and getting a family plan for YouTube Red. I’ve not sure what my metrics are for making the shift. Music selection is a big one, and resource use. I’d like to see how they compare regarding artist compensation, too. 

Now here’s my weird Seattle connection. Years ago, one of the first streaming services was Real Networks, headquartered in downtown Seattle. I explored them for awhile before launching into iTunes and streaming radio. And evolution has evolved us, so, here we are. 

What are you using? I’d love to hear. Also, if you could give a “like”, share, it helps support the site. And follow us! We’d love to stay in touch. 

Some Recommended Regional Real Estate Reading

Carl Setzer

Here are few articles that feature important information about the greater Seattle area:

My weird brain, sci-fi and technology 

Carl Setzer

​My love of things geek manifests in strange ways at times. A huge fan of Ghost in the Shell, I wonder about Wi-Fi protocols and data throughput when people “think” at each other.

Or how many servers are on the Death Star? RAID drives? How much email gets sent daily? What kind of data connection is needed for holographic communications?

What about the Rebel Alliance’s security chief? I’d be wondering, loudly, why you’d throw someone with as much critical detail regarding the Alliance as Leia into operations with a high likelihood of capture and exposure to, um, enhanced techniques.

Imagining Rebel IT. I’m picturing Hoth. When we see Vader enter the base, all the equipment looks rather operational. I would’ve, at least run some kind of worm that destroys everything. I’d rather pull the hard drives, and bring them with us on the evacuation craft. Or manually destroy them.

So, that’s how my brain works…at night, when I’m weary.

Another Reorganization At Microsoft

Carl Setzer

As a former Microsoftie with many friends still there in Redmond, I follow these news stories with intent.

We’ve had a few stories hit the wire the past couple of days:

Some thoughts:

  • I can’t imagine that dramatic of a re-org will happen without layoffs.
  • With that, it’s hard to see through the fog in the crystal ball on this one, at least as far as layoffs go. I’ve seen Microsoft layoff plenty of people, who then get hired on in other business groups over time. How many of those folks will actually collect unemployment (if any) is hard to gauge.
  • It’s nice to see what was called “services” when I worked there getting serious attention.

So, I hope that the drama of this announcement creates little-to-no stress for you, dear reader.

Some considerations on the “Driving Under the Influence of Electronics Act”

Carl Setzer

So, I read this article “Driving Under the Influence of Electronics Act” over at KNKX and have a few concerns.

Mainly, we do so much more with our phones than just call/text. Will this bill make using GPS illegal? What about radios? I often use my phone to play music. Where does that fall?

Now I haven’t had a chance to look into this deeper, and it might be simply too late to really impact the legislation. However, I still see value in bringing up the concerns.

I do see the value in what they’re trying to do. Just need to make sure it’s thought through enough so that it doesn’t cause too much “unintended consequences”.

I guess we’ll see what comes of it.

 

Some thoughts on the current state of the Streaming Music Business

Carl Setzer

Earlier today I read this piece from my friends at Geekwire: “Music service Rhapsody posts record $35M net loss even as revenues climb to $202M“. I’m not simply concerned about a long-standing Seattle tech company struggling, but also that entities like Spotify are also bleeding cash to keep their market share. The losses are not sustainable long-term. I’m really not a streaming-music industry analyst, so I can’t really speak to the timeline of the issue, and that’s really not my point or concern.

I’m wondering about the sustainability of the music business. Not simply Spotify, et al; actually, even more my focus is on musicians. I’ve heard from many sources (most notably Taylor Swift) about how Spotify is not providing a livable income. Now, if Apple, Google, etc, can pay more than Spotify or Rhapsody, that’s a particular issue. However, I think this is larger. It’s ultimately about the consumers, about me and you as music lovers. Perhaps $10/mo is not enough to for artists to make music and eat. And if that’s the case, maybe we need to think about more $$$.

There are many tools that individual artists are leveraging well. Kickstarter and Patreon come to mind first. There are several tools, though, that help. Many artists I admire, such as Amanda Palmer and Zoe Keating leverage these tools to good effect. However, they spend a lot of time managing their audience. It seems, for them, that they get a lot of positive energy from us. Which will certainly make it more pleasant. Of course, emails, blog posts, Instagram updates and all that take away from producing their art. Or, maybe, that’s part of their art.

Anyway, there’s much to consider with this. So, as a mediation, I’ll leave you with Zoe Keating’s closing at the 2016 Word Economic Forum meeting in Davos. She’s carved an amazing niche for herself. As a fan myself, and love interacting with her other fans.

2015 Year In Review via WordPress

Carl Setzer

I’ve been using the Jetpack WordPress toolbox (my name for it) for a couple of years now. I like their tools and customization options. And then I got this email a week or so ago, and found it fun.

 

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 3,100 times in 2015. If it were a cable car, it would take about 52 trips to carry that many people.

The busiest day of the year was September 10th with 57 views. The most popular post that day was About Me.

 

These came from the 2015 year in blogging report that Jetpack produces. Check it out for more details.

And 2016 is in full swing, so more to write about soon.

Spotify, Apple Music, And The Masses Of Online Music Choices

Carl Setzer

A few months back, I gave the new Apple Music a go. As a long time Spotify user, I was mainly compelled by access to Apple’s library, with the expectation that the service would have access to the full catalog. Well, that’s not the case. With that, it’s not quite clear when a song is available for streaming vs. only for download. Well, at least that’s how I found it. Ultimately, I found the whole experience underwhelming. Particularly sad considering Apple’s aura as masters of design. Another compelling piece was the price of the family plan. Spotify has been making some noise of matching that plan, though. That would make the Apple benefit small, very small. Lastly, there’s the bit where Spotify’s been arguing with artists over pay. I need to agree that the public discourse Spotify launched was very defensive and, to sound like Wil Wheaton, “dickish”. However, as I dug around the internet for data, I didn’t find much to support that artists are making more with Apple, or that the Apple Music service was going to make them able to subsist.

I cancelled the renewal of Apple music. However, I’m not entirely convinced that Spotify is the best. There are so damn many of these services out there and I’ve only scraped the surface. And, as a Seattle guy, I need to consider to home-spun entries into the space: Real Network’s Rhapsody, probably the oldest streaming service out there.  Then there’s Microsoft’s Groove. As a former Microsoftie, I feel compelled to give my chums in Redmond a fair shake.

My next steps need to include giving some thought to what constitutes “the best”. I know I want access to a large library, one that includes great jazz and classical content besides the latest pop hits. I want to work with a company that’s working hard to ensure their artists are compensated fairly. The interface needs to be clean and intuitive. And music discovery is critical. I want a family plan, so the three of us can all use it with independent accounts. Oh, and it needs to excel across platforms. Any given day I’ll be on Windows 7, 8, Mac, and Android.

So check in and see where this leads. And let me know what you’ve discovered, what you recommend, what pitfalls I should be considering. Your wisdom is what I value you most.

Capitalist Based Issues with Tech Tools

Carl Setzer

I hate, hate, hate feeling beholden to one entity. That feeling of helplessness; ugh! When it comes to tech tools for the business world, Microsoft and Adobe created great tools. However we’re stuck with whatever price they want charge. Take a look at the current shift to a subscription model.  Anyway, I feel a need to find alternatives. I like the thought of open source as well. Software built free of the constrains of corporate agenda. Or, more specifically, the agenda of ONE specific company. Competition is a key element for capitalism to be successful. Breaking free from proprietary technologies is important. Then we’re paying for superior quality and/or innovation, not just to maintain access to our files.

Open-source has some challenges. Many of the tools are hardly “plug-and-play”, and pretty much inaccessible to the average user. Compiling code is outside the skill-set of many users, even power-users. If the goal is to facilitate wholesale adoption, these issues must be dealt with.

So I’ve been building out a list of open-based tools. I’ve tried to find ones that are ready to go for the average user (come as a .exe that you can install like any software you’d buy at Costco or Office Depot/Max/Staples). Hopefully, we can slowly build a suite of affordable yet innovative tools, creating a more accessible marketplace. An ambitious goal, perhaps.

 

Maker Day @ MOHAI: Coding

Carl Setzer
maker day logo

This looks amazing and delightful; what a great way to develop both creativity and technical problem-solving. I plan to get down there!

Maker Day: Coding

Saturday, April 25, 2015, 11:00am – 02:00pm
maker day square.jpg On the last Saturday of the month, come to Maker Day at MOHAI to tinker, experiment and create alongside some of Seattle’s most innovative makers. Drop in any time between 11 am-2 pm; activities are designed for all ages and skill levels and no reservation is necessary!

April 25: Create computer games and animation with Code Fellows
Learn basic software programming concepts from Code Fellows instructors and alumni. We’ll use Scratch to create our own interactive games, stories, and animation! Perfect for all ages and experience.

Cost: Included with museum admission

Location Museum of History & Industry (860 Terry Ave N) Contact  MOHAI Programs | (206) 324-1126 ex. 165 – See more at: http://www.mohai.org/visit-us/mohai-calendar/eventdetail/1052/-/maker-day-coding#sthash.pgamno2H.dpuf