Let's postulate for a minute here:
What if the App Store had an "Apple Approved" section, and then a "3rd Party" section. Imagine if if you will, that this App store in all of its glory was on all of your Apple devices: Mac, iPad, iPod, iPhone.
Now imagine you purchase a new application for your Mac - maybe it also now comes with a mobile version, and an iPad version! When you sync your iPhone and iPad respectively, these versions are installed to each of your devices.
Imagine if the App Store instead of a gated community protected by Apple, was a quality control service AND a package manager. The ability to shop and acquire applications safely that are approved, as well as distribute them to all your devices would be a boon to users who required the ease of use. This could also be extended to third party apps that are currently unapproved, or pending approvals to the App store if the user chose to enable it (maybe obfuscated by an advanced setting), but would still allow those Apps to still be managed by a centralized system.
A unified app store that could hold any app and intelligently sync the appropriate type of app with the appropriate device, would hugely simplify the process of managing applications across devices (ie, you need to format your computer? The app store could maintain a list of applications you had purchased and downloaded), and also be a sales boost to companies who might look to bundle different versions of their software together, and could distribute them as such.
Just some thoughts on the matter. Feel free to leave yours.
]]>A general update:
Last semester was quite busy - I started a new song with a friend of mine, and pounded the pavement with a fairly solid semester academically. I expect this semester to be somewhat similar of a side-show given the olympics being here, an upcoming film I need to score, and 4 more courses of pain. This semester seemed to get going really quick and I already feel the crunch coming down as midterms begin next week. But now that you're up to date... lets have future posts be more interesting!
]]>I've also been working on scoring a film due to be released next year, here are some photos from the set:
More to come soon, I promise! Computery things are also on the rise, and will be posted here. Finally moved into my new apartment about a month ago and I'm almost all settled in - I ordered two SumoSac Sultans for furniture (hippy style!), so we'll see how they treat me next week when they arrive!
]]>Expect plenty more here in the music department as well as various computer science related projects in the coming months!
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Final Fantasy 3/6 Ending, Orchestrated
And just for fun, put this together quickly: Metroid Brinstair
Both songs above are the property of their respective owners and I make no claim whatsoever that I wrote either of them! These are not to be used commercially and are only for the personal enjoyment of fans.
]]>(breathes deeply)
Listen, I'm going to be more frank than usual here: this is completely idiotic (you'd almost think this belongs on digg, where raging against the machine is all people do). Can anyone give me one good reason why you would be better off switching to Linux instead of Windows? Sure windows costs a bit of money, but most PC's ship with it anyways! Lets examine the out of the box disadvantages of using Linux through the things it CAN'T run (as far as I'm aware):
So with that aside already, I must reiterate - why?? Why waste your time with an operating system that has almost zero support from any industry standard products? What on earth would compel someone whose true focus is the music to waste time trying to forge their PC into a linux workstation? Why create something that will only cause you to spend more time setting up/tinkering/and trouble shooting than you spend producing? Another question to anyone who wants to use linux as their music production machine would be: are you serious about making music? Linux says you're a hobbyist - which is fine if you are, but people should not be convinced that this is a seriously viable option.
Here's a test: name a photographer you know who uses GIMP on Ubuntu to do editing... Can you think of any? I'm betting you can't, and neither can I... That's because there probably aren't any. Serious photographers are all too busy using Photoshop and Lightroom on a Windows PC or a Mac. Again, why? because they are trying to be photographers not IT guys.
To those who believe that audio production on Linux is the way to be, to you I say "good luck". I implore you to not forget that "time is money"., and you will waste plenty of it trying to get support for problems, getting your setup "just right", and acquiring all the tools you need to do the job (which will be hard to dig for, as Linux has far less). It will be a time sink for you on a day to day basis that prohibits you from actually doing what you want to be doing: making music.
I understand that there are a variety of open source products such that make a solid attempt such as Ardour and Rosegarden; both are entirely paled in comparison relative to their Windows and OSX counterparts. For the hobbyist already using Linux, I say: have a good time but don't get too attached, for the serious musician I say: get serious. Linux is an excellent platform for many things, but as an artist, or someone who is creating a product - you are in part at the mercy of your tools as far as productivity is concerned (never blame the tools though, remember). Better tools are going to allow you more clearly express your true creativity as efficiently and effectively as possible. Most of these "better tools" are not available to you on this platform.
One day, Linux may be a platform for audio production - but that day isn't today
]]>However, like a black hole, our filtering system seems to be growing - sucking in all that comes near it. I am almost afraid that by merely mentioning a website - it will vanish from my internets between 9-5. I attempted one day to read a blog that I enjoy to find it blocked, knowing of course that this blog was not "unacceptable" content, I simply went around the filter using an in browser proxy. However by the end of the following day, that proxy had been blocked as well... It's like they're watching me, and I hate it. Way too 1984 for me thanks. Yet still, I decided that it was not worth fighting against, and I would accept and love my new web filtering overlords.
The last straw came yesterday when I attempted to visit XKCD. I was started to discover that it too had been blocked. SonicWall had slapped a "6.Adult/Mature Content, 14.Arts/Entertainment" rating on the website, and was no longer allowing access. No one blocks XCKD. Displeased that a comic about stick folk primarily pertaining to math, computer science, and raptors, would be classified as such - I filled out their "reclassification" form citing XKCD as "47.Humor/Jokes". They would have none of it: XKCD is "Adult/Mature content", and they replied to me via email stating that the review had been made, and no changes were to occur.
Even stranger: web sites that are a playground for time wasting such as Facebook, Digg, Reddit, Flickr, Twitter, are all open! I could waste my whole day browsing and chatting these social network based sites and yet XKCD, for no rhyme or reason, is blocked. It is for this reason that I have decided that the folks at SonicWall are fascists. Like the rest of their ilk, fascists disregard scientific evidence (actually visiting the site?) unless the conclusion supports their existing belief(that XKCD is pron, and for those on the intellectual level of askmen.com readers). Their opinions and viewpoints are deemed the standard, and they will back it up, no matter how trivial, unreliable or discredited their evidence is to support such claims. Only fascists block XKCD, because there is no rational reason to block it, and not the other handful of web sites out there that go unblocked and are a far greater threat to corporate interests.
Either way, I shall continue to read whatever I want on the internet. Thanks FoxyProxy/HotspotShield.
Edit: I wanted to note that this isn't about my employer :) the filtering is a by product of the new firewall we installed and I'm not entirely sure that the intent was to filter content. This was more of a diatribe about how web filtering is fascist, and fascism is wrong!
]]>Anyone think that Apple should include something like this in Mobileme to entice graphic designers alike to love the platform even more?
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