Pandora VS FineTune

Okay. I really was planning on reviewing my new He-man DVD, but I got sick the night after my last post, so much was pushed to the wayside. I'm feeling better now, and my ADD has moved me to bigger and better ideas (the adventures of Orco and Man-At-Arms will have to wait).

I'm a big fan of free music streaming sites. They're a great way to kill time at work and find a few new bands in the process. There's two that I use:

www.pandora.com

No, it's not a porn site. You begin by typing in the name of a band or specific song. Pandora then generates a random playlist that it thinks you will like based on whatever you entered. Each song played can be given a thumbs up or thumbs down. Somehow the Pandora genie takes your vote into account when choosing the next song. The idea is that the more you vote on songs, the more specific your playlist becomes.

Pros:

• Surprisingly, it's pretty accurate. I've had my account for over a year now, and I rarely get the errant song.
• Super easy to use. Once you log into your account you need do is turn on your speakers.
• Pandora has a huge library of songs. All genres, includes rare and live tracks.

Cons

• Pandora isn't perfect - it's good at figuring out what genre you may like, but you still get bands that rub. For example, I have to constantly give thumbs downs to the likes of Sum 41 and Fall Out Boy.
• Users are given the option to skip through songs, which is good (see above), but you can only use this feature so many times per hour. Which is bad.

www.finetune.com

I'm pretty new to this one. It's the same basic idea as Pandora, but much more specific. Instead of entering one song and letting it figure out the rest, users begin by generating a playlist of 45 songs. Think of it as an online mix tape. From there you can add as many more songs as you'd like.

Pros

• No Sum 41 or Blink 182.
• This seems to work better for more eclectic tastes in music since Pandora's song-generating algorithm focuses heavily on genre.

Cons

• You can only have 3 songs per band on your playlist. It makes sense - they don't want people just adding an entire album and playing it over and over. But still.
• I've had some trouble finding songs on Finetune. There's a ton of bands, but not always the entire catalog of songs, so it can be hit or miss.
• Again, you can only skip so many songs in your playlist at a time. This isn't too big of deal since all the songs were specifically placed there.

He-Man, The Beginning

I found this http://www.amazon.com/He-Man-Masters-Universe-Episode-Collectors/dp/B0009HBPHQ in the bargin bin at Walmart. It's a double disk claiming to be comprised of the 10 greatest He-Man episodes ever made. We'll see about that.

Be prepared for a sweet DVD review.

Mobstar

Mobstar seemed like a neat idea - think dungeons and dragons meets James Bond. You begin the game as a lowlife crook and work your way up, striving to one day be a mafia godfather. You can kill people, commit crimes, form gangs, steal cars, smuggle drugs, and do all the other fun things mafia members get to do.

But becoming a mafia member was too good to be true. After spending the last four days playing, I've learned that most of these features are only available to members after the $27 yearly signup fee. So I've wasted my time - because I have better things to spend my money on. Like this.

Student Sample

Blogomaniac

Livejournal was my first glmipse into the world of blogging and web 2.0 culture. I didn't have any interest in collecting friends with sites like friendster or tagworld, and I still don't feel the need to create an account for photo hosting sites like flickr or photobucket. Yes, I was happy with Livejournal - if anything, it was a way to keep in touch with some friends, and occasionally post funny/offensive stuff.

The problem is that LJ is going the way of the buffalo, and I have a hard time letting go. I still use my LJ, yet I feel compelled to keep up with all these new blogging trends. I have a Myspace account, this newly created blog, as well as accounts with social bookmarking sites Digg and de.licio.us.

How many sites and services do I need to expose myself (not literally - like I said, I'm not huge on photo hosting) to the world? If the answer is "one more," then take a look at my newly created Twitter account.

If Tim Armstrong deserves a solo album, so do I.

http://epitaph.com/artists/album/500

OpenOffice and DarkRoom

I found a program the other day that someone made called Dark Room. It's a bare bones writing application designed for those who are easily intimidated by a blank Microsoft Word screen and an ominous blinking cursor. It's a black screen with no menu bars, no tool options, and bright green text. The idea is that it's supposed to get rid of any distractions or anxiety for the procrastinating writer.

I'm a victim of procrastination, so I thought I'd give it a try. I actually found the simple black background more intimidating that a Word document. But it got me thinking about some other possible writing applications.

I've heard a bunch about OpenOffice, but never got around to trying it. It's basically a Microsoft Office clone, but it's free and has loads of extra options. It's also pretty much compatible with its Microsoft counterpart. I just installed it, and although it's still a white screen with a blinking cursor, perhaps the slight change of scenery is just what I need to become more productive.