iTunes: Is It Worth It?

iTunes is one of the most convenient ways to get music. We all know that. It's as simple as getting on your computer and clicking some buttons. Yet, since 2007, Apple has charged up to $1.29 on some songs. The reason behind this is a feature called "iTunes Plus". What iTunes Plus does is raise the bitrate on songs, leading to a higher sound quality. If you have older songs that were not downloaded in the iTunes Plus format, then you can upgrade those songs for as little as 30 cents.

Now this doesn't really sound too bad, but the problem is the songs. This may sound odd, since I just said a bunch of nice things about them, but I don't mean the sound of the songs, I'm talking about the choices. If you go over to the top ten most downloaded songs chart on the iTunes store home page, you will notice that the price of each song is almost always $1.29. However, if you look at the more indie or just unpopular songs, they are usually 99 cents. Well, doesn't this make sense for Apple to do this? If you have something that will make you money, why not try to get the most out of it? Personally, I don't think this is bad at all. If I was the person in charge, I would probably do the same thing. But in the view of the consumer, they may not be getting the best value towards their music.

Most average users assume that since iTunes is meant for iPods, they shouldn't use some other downloading site. Yet, if people explore their options a little more they may find that iTunes isn't the best fit for them. Sites like Rhapsody allow users to download and listen to as much music as they want for a monthly rate. If you listen to a lot of music, maybe you should consider ditching iTunes. 

Being an iTunes user that is considering switching, I also want to hear what you guys have to think! Does anyone reading use Rhapsody or other music downloading sites? If so, leave a comment saying how you like it!

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OPINION: Why do you expect the iPod nano to be anything else other than a music player?

A couple months ago when the sixth-generation iPod nano was released, people were up in arms about all the features that it lacked. Compared to the fifth-generation Nano, the new Nano lost video playback support, video recording, internal speakers, contacts and calendar support, etc. For the life of me, I could never understand why people were so mad about it. Why were they expecting a music player to do anything more than play music? I just didn’t get it and I still don’t.

I think we’ve all been spoiled. The fact is, we shouldn’t expect our music players to do anything more than play music. That’s what they are: Music players. All the extra features like video playback and cameras, pedometers, contacts and calendar support and games? They are extra features that companies like Apple can choose not to implement in later versions if they choose to do so like they did with the iPod nano. Don’t like it? Tough. Buy something else, like the iPod touch or a Zune, if you want all those features, but don’t expect it on a music player. 

I happen to like the iPod nano for what it does: Play my music/Podcast collection, view photos, listen to FM radio, act as a pedometer, and work as a fairly nice watch.

Do you get my point?

AirPort Express: Ideal for a College Dorm Room

I was pondering thoughts and this brilliant idea came across my mind. Let me first say that I do not own an AirPort Express, nor am I a college student. I am currently using a Linksys wireless router and am currently in my Junior year of high school. So, why is the Airport Express ideal for a college dorm room or apartment?

First, the amount of space the thing takes up is so minimal and you can really put it anywhere. Dorm rooms are very tiny, but you will, without a doubt, find room for this tiny 3.7 x 2.95 x 1.12 inch device. It only weighs 7.4 ounces!

Secondly, the main feature of this device, the wireless internet router. Sure, you might be saying, "Why the heck would you need wireless internet in such a small room?" Here's why. College students are usually either lazy or tired, meaning they don't want to bother with all of the wires or having to sit at their desk to be online. Wouldn't they love to be able to relax on their bed and still be able to connect to Facebook? Or maybe they want to watch a movie online and they don't want to watch it at their desk. The point is, is that in a dorm room you don't want to be restricted to one place where you can use the internet.

Thirdly, the capability to print wirelessly. Most know that colleges don't make enough room on the desks for a printer and usually students have to physically pick up the printer and move it when they want to print. With the AirPort Express you can print wirelessly so you don't have to deal with cords not being long enough. It's also quite ridiculous for you and your roommate both to have individual printers in the same room. With the AirPort Express, you can share the same printer with your roommate and possibly even keep the printer under the bed and out of the way. You will also cut down on ink cartridge costs by sharing a printer and splitting the price.

Fourthly, everybody likes listening to music and how awesome would that be to play music from your computer wirelessly! Another cord elimination! Students can just hang around the dorm room playing music from iTunes and streaming it to speakers that can be all the way at the other side of the room. You can also control the music from an iPod touch or iPhone which is another awesome feature.

Fifthly, almost anybody can use it! Whether you are using a Mac or a PC you can still use this amazing device. As long as your computer has a wireless card in it and a somewhat modern operating system you can use the AirPort Express.

Well, I covered some pretty awesome features (if I may say so, myself). You can use internet wirelessly, print wirelessly, listen to music wirelessly, all from this tiny device that almost anybody with an updated computer could use. What do you think? Do you agree that the AirPort Express would be great to have in a dorm room? Let me know!

Cool Use of HTML5

This post was originally published at http://www.tylersmiller.com.  Enjoy!

This has been passed around the Internet the past week, but I wanted to touch on it here.  If you visit the website The Wilderness Downtown using a browser other than Chrome, you are prompted that your experience might be limited on the website.  That being said, you might want to download Chrome JUST for this website.  Let's talk about it in a nutshell.

You go the the site, type in your address and hit Search. Yep, very straightforward.  What you might not realize is that it is then pulling Google Map data for the location you specified.  After a few seconds your video is ready.  It plays a music video, using HTML5 and pops up windows that continue the story line.  Your address is then converted to Google Map data and is shown in some of these windows.  It showcases your address from a satellite standpoint and from a streetview standpoint.  In some cases, you might have to pick a well known place, like the TWiT Cottage in California, to get this to work.  I live in small town Iowa, and of course my house was not on Streetview.  So, I chose to enter in the TWiT Cottage.  (8 Keller Street, Petaluma, CA) The video was amazing.  Me talking about it does not give the site justice, you have to check it out!

So, go get Chrome.  Open Chrome, and type in http://www.thewildernessdowntown.com and type in your address or an address that you are certain is on Streetview.

Let me know what your thoughts are on this project and HTML5 as well.

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MPMan to iPod. Ten Years of Progress.

The MPMan F10. 32 megabytes of storage. It cost me around 200 Irish pounds back in 1999. It was amazing. No CDs, no cassettes. Nothing. It took me a while to get my head around the concept.

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