The Future. December 2, 2007
Posted by adrenjarvi in Philosophy.Tags: Future, ImagineCup, JBJ, Microsoft, Music, Philosophy, SBJ, Tech, Zune
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This is technically my 100th post. I decided I was going to look into the future, and touch on some interesting things that I think will change the way we live. This is a very Steven B. Johnson post, but that is probably because I (finally) sat down and read “Emergence” all the way through.
Lets start.
MUSIC
Lets face it, folks. Music is essentially done- as a corporation. The proliferation of… “Piracy” allows for essentially any music to be downloaded for free.
But there is another fact: People will pay for music. Lets look at the recent Radiohead experiment- where radiohead released their new album , “In Rainbows”, on a pay-what-you-want digital download scheme. At first, this seems like a moronic and truly irresponsible move. How can they make money for giving something away for free? Well, apparently a lot. The cost of the album is only in pre-production; actual recording of content and such. There is no cost for the production of the album as it is digital (maybe peanuts for hosting, webdesign, etc). Now, lets say you are a radiohead fan. Maybe you pay 12 dollars for it. Now here I am, someone who is only loosely affiliated with radiohead. I don’t want to put down any money for it, so I download it. and there are a whole slew of people who paid in-between (the rumored average was 5 dollars). Now, if Radiohead released their new album in a physical form, I would have paid what I paid the first time; Nothing. Here, I got to hear their music, and I’ll tell you, I liked what I saw. So I marched my (virtual) ass back to the website (here) and promptly gave them 5 dollars. That 5 will most likely get a lot less chopped up then the ‘physical 12′, and hopefully the majority will go to the artists. Shocking, I know.
Radiohead’s management ( in a move which undercuts the spirit of this post) said it was only to bolster sales for the real physical album. This doesn’t make sense. But what Radiohead did does; lets imagine a future where physical records are obsolete (save for vinyl, which in a totally odd discordian context is making a comeback). Now, where as the label of yesteryear was a device required to spread music, now we have internet radio shows. The vastness of social networking sites allows users to post music, that music gets shared and viewed. People interested can download at the artists site. This means that big-name artists are famous because, steady your breath: People listen to them.
Brave new world.
Games
In a similar move, they are going to go independent. Big-name studios are not going anywhere, but I envision an open platform coming; Something like an XNA portable. Microsoft announces a portable platform with a big screen, Custom OS, and the use of “XCards” as a proprietary Cartridge system.
Quick note on this; I have noticed that we, as a people, constantly move from circles to squares to circles when it comes to our media. Giant spools of video , move to VHS, move to DVD, move to HDD recording. Music is even more dramatic: Records, Cassettes, Discs, Mp3’s. Meh, whetever. I am weird.
Anyway, this platform uses a proprietary system (integrated with windows) to let users build games in a similar way that their XNA system does now. Users can both build and test games on this platform (slide out qwerty?) and then send them in for certification to Microsoft. Add some brief media functions, an internet browser, an Xbox Originals integration…. you have an interesting evolution.
Me
Really, why else are you here?
I think my little evolution might be over with for now. For those close to me, ever since something happened, I have been on this odd maturity tip. I feel different, and my lifestyles have changed somewhat to address these. Well, this is premature, but I am going to make these creeds now before new years, and do my damndest to stick by them.
I want a game, be it chalkboard warrior or otherwise, under my name before I become a junior.
I need CCSU to recognize my whims, for better or worse.
I will make an impassioned speech in front of a group of individuals, and they will cheer. This will be important.
I will travel.
I will record some ‘rhymes’.
I will go to the imagine cup.
Lofty, yes. But by posting it here, I get to keep all you bastards on my case .
-F9
On Retail November 5, 2007
Posted by adrenjarvi in Best Buy, Geek Squad.Tags: , Apple, Best Buy, Evil, Geek Squad, Tech, Work
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**Update**
Below I lambaste a retail situation, little did I know that Jezebel has a whole series of these stories seen here, called “I work retail.” Read on.
Many people know I work retail, which….. well, it kinda explains things. I work a sorta combination of Customer Service and Tech support, which is essentially aimed squarely at my sanity, driving ever forward to shatter what little I have left. Still, I love my job- if I did not, I wouldn’t stay there a second longer.
Many other people also know I have a certain distaste for Apple products. My arguments have evolved somewhat, gaining some more merit, and in my head I no longer assume that I am simply speaking out of my ass. I have a number of just arguments, but today, I’d like to look at their image in relation to their clients.
Namely; their whole shit is based on being elitist assholes.
Take a look at exhibit A. Read the story, and yes, this particular employee had problems in his life. But check this little quote:
Apple’s supposed to be about customer service, yet they seemed to like he was acting like an a-hole, he said. That pissed him off even more. The hypocrisy. They wanted him to act cool, kind of above it all, it was part of the image. But not crossing the line (whevever it was that week), to the point of terrorizing the customers.
This touches at the core of my thoughts on apple. Apple is a Draconian Dictatorship, who only survives in the minimum. It’s strength is that it is not strong and not popular. People perceive Apple as a godsend from a problem-filled windows world. However, what we find is a perfectly closed system. You go to one store ( although they are apparently getting bold), which sells one OS, controlled by one guy. Lets take a thought experiment and look at it from the opposite; Windows has the diminutive market share, and Mac owns the retail locations. Can Apple sustain that kind of strength? Most likely not, they would certainly license OSX to various manufacturers, which give all sorts differing motherboards, processors, graphics cards…. which creates a fundamentally confused and unavoidably buggy operating system.
The reason macs seem good is because the opposition seems bad. They are the essential underdog, and though their products are worthwhile, their entire business model seems based on being a minority, being an elitist, being an individual… that has one OS, identical machines, and one store to go to, with one attitude.
Think different…. Just like everyone else?
On an odd note, does this make me some sort of reverse trend-follower? Windows is the ruling operating system, ‘hipsters’* likes this quirky abomination, so therefore I am, to quote south park, “being such a non-conformist, I am not going to conform with the rest of you” and purchase windows?
Regardless; retail is a destructive system, if for no other reason than that it takes sleep-deprived college students and makes them blog about this shit late at night.
Sigh-and-a-half.
-F9
* I have brought up with a few colleagues what we call the Hipster paradox, or perhaps the hipster bubble: People aged 18-26 essentially consume what is cool, but it is only cool because they consume it. This bubble is popped on occasion by disruptive trends, with a foundation of elitism. Namely, the Hipsters are ‘ too good’ to be hipsters. These are the lifeblood of Apple, with the occasional Tangents.
The Odd Dance, Or; Why I love Windows. August 10, 2007
Posted by adrenjarvi in Tech.Tags: Geek Squad, Lifehacker, mcchris, Nerdcore, Tech, Ubuntu, Windows
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I was messing around with my laptop- a nice little gateway running windows Vista Premium. I had earlier tried installing Ubuntu on it, with some success, but I soon realized it was just not what I was looking for, so I stopped using it. Of course, I had partitioned my hard drive for the space, which gave me very little time for normal vista applications and data. After searching through the troves of the inter-webs, I came across a neat fact from Lifehacker; windows vista has a full-fledged built in partition manager. This is exactly what I was looking for, and christ, I didn’t even need to reboot! Heaven!
With much haste, I deleted my never-used Ubuntu partition (mostly because the limited graphics capabilities of the lappy would not let me do the pretty Compiz Fusion hotness) along with the minor linux swap. After installing another program, I shut of the computer.
Mistake.
You see, Ubuntu uses the GRUB boot manager, which critically alters the Windows boot system. With No Ubuntu to find, suddenly it came up all dicked- Error 22.
After fevered searches, I saw I needed to produce my xp disc and run recovery console. Oh, whats that? Vista uses a different administrator password system, rendering it useless? Well, call me fucked then. I remember I have a recovery partition, so i’ll just install XP and access it later, somehow.
Well, mid-xp install, I realize too late that i had knocked out the cord on the laptop, and it’s battery life was just… about…to….
Well, you can get it.
Needless to say, “Defeated” would have been a good way to describe my feelings at that point. I booted the computer, no- disc.
And suddenly, the windows loading screen came up.
Gateway recovery services.
Full system restore?
Done in twenty minutes.
This tale would send chills down the spine of the average user. Of course, the average user wouldn’t be installing ubuntu, but that is besides the point. I have spent all night researching, experimenting, and finally succeeding in the correct interface with this device. Many people would consider this a wound on Window’s reputation.
No, ladies and gentlemen;
This is a battle scar. I have won a battle, and now me and my computer seem… closer. And to quote the High-Pitched MC:
I’ve got battle scars,
But it means I’ve survived.
-F9
