Digital Impulses

An iPod for iSa

This afternoon after work, my sister came by the house and we drove to Verizon to have her exchange her ear piece for her cell phone.  She bought another one and HATED IT immediately.  She decided to return it right then and there and we ended up spending more time on it than she wanted.  Isa left the Verizon store very frustrated.

Dinner at Islands
After Verizon, we drove over to Islands to have dinner.  The food was OK, but the service was so,so, with my sister's chicken sandwich not being cooked to her specifications.  The ensuing complaints and mini drama was par for the course.

A visit to the Apple Store: Isa get a Nano
After dinner at Islands, we walked over to the Apple Store to look at the iPod Nanos. After a little shopping , my sister decided on the green 8 GB iPod Nano and I took it up to the front to pay for it.  Now it's a matter of setting up the iPod for my sister and introducing her to the world of iTunes, the iTunes music store, rented movies, tv shows and other media.

Arturo Sandoval in concert: A Review

So this evening my Mom picked me up at home around 1730 and we drove over to the Cerritos Center for the Performing Art and met up with Pete and Patricia to see Arturo Sandoval in concert.

What an Experience!

Truly at a loss for words, for two hours last night, I was about 200 feet from pure genius. I knew a little about Sandoval, I knew he wasa jazz musician of great renown, but other than that, not much.

Wow.  Arturo Sandoval is truly a wonderful, masterful Latin jazz virtuoso.  The band he had playing with him was nothing than the very best of the very best.  The drummer, the percussionist, the bassist, the piano player... all of them were absolutely awesome.  The concert lasted 2 hours and it was an absolute delightful assault on the senses.

It's evident that the people on stage are the best of the best and they played like it.

Arturo Sandoval and his band are a great live act and I will be sure to see him the next time he comes to this neck of the woods.  Highly recommended.

Steve Jobs: Thoughts on Music

Steve Jobs has posted a long treatise on the current state of Music on the Internet over at the Apple website.  In it he explains that Apple sells DRM-laden music only because it is forced to do so by the "Big Four" music companies: Universal, Sony BMG, Warner and EMI.

Incredibly, Jobs is advocating the abolishment of DRM.  To quote Jobs:

"...Much of the concern over DRM systems has arisen in European countries.  Perhaps those unhappy with the current situation should redirect their energies towards persuading the music companies to sell their music DRM-free.  For Europeans, two and a half of the big four music companies are located right in their backyard.  The largest, Universal, is 100% owned by Vivendi, a French company.  EMI is a British company, and Sony BMG is 50% owned by Bertelsmann, a German company.  Convincing them to license their music to Apple and others DRM-free will create a truly interoperable music marketplace.  Apple will embrace this wholeheartedly..."

Very interesting read. We certainly do live in interesting times, indeed.

Gnomedex Day # 1: Dave Dederer

Dave Dederer is on stage talking about business models that work. He is a founding member (not with them anymore) of the Presidents of the United States of America.

Audience members explaining Monetization of their business models. 

Discussion Notes:

• Guy from Dogster.com and Catster.com
• Market Share for artists
• Taking advantage of the Music on the Internet and selling it
• Artists that sell on the Internet are not in the music business but moreso in the “on-line business”
• Small Passionate commuinities are centered around different subjects will make this space successful
• Cory from Iota represents independant artists.  They help artisits get paid
• Her site is Promonet
• You can LEGALLY PLAY MP3 files on your Podcast if you get them from Promonet.
• Eric Rice played a Nat King Cole song on his Podcast and it was OK ‘cause he got it from Promonet
• Brian from Eventful is speaking
• Wil Wheaton is a huge fan of Eventful
• Alex Williams from the Podcast Hotel
• Marc Canter from People Aggregator is speaking
• Senator John Edwards is late.  Dave Dederer is riffing to make time…

Tired Feet, Bone-Thugs-N-Harmony, and Happy Teenagers

Very much against my will, I drove 50 mins. to the corner of La Cienega and Sunset to a place called the House of Blues.

Why? Because my son and his friends wanted to see a RAP concert. We arrived 2 hours early and had to wait about 75 minutes in line and were finally let in. After passing security, we walked inside the club to find that they really meant it when they said “Standing Only”.

I left my son and his friends near the front of the stage and tried in vain to find somewhere to sit. A very pretty waitress took pity on me and let me sit towards the back in a section of the club that was supposed to be cordoned off for “VIP’s”.

I sat there for about 10 minutes, until a dickhead security guard came and asked me to leave the seat. Unfortunately, there really was no where else to sit, so I ended up on my feet, pretty much from 5:30 to about 11:00 P.M.

The music was loud, the crowd was rowdy and it was *crowded*. There was a lot of security and they were fearless. They dealt with the few disturbances that broke out quickly and efficiently and no one seemed to worse for wear. Most importantly, at the end of the night, my son and his friends emerged from the scrum at the front of the stage completely exhausted but also completely and thoroughly happy and fulfilled. They were hoarse from screaming and tired from dancing, but boy were they pleased.

In the end, it was all about my son enjoying himself and since that took place, I guess I have very little room to gripe.