Interesting Online/Digital Music News

This is a quick (cheap) post listing some cool music news:

  • Juliana Hatfield is taking the lead of ditching the music label’s pricing schemes by asking for (PayPal) donations based on what you DL and share. Plus, she’s offering her back catalogue for DL from the Web site. They come in 192kbps mp3 files; not bad, but not good.
  • Recognizing that music can, and should, come in many forms, the Official UK Charts Company will now count music video purchases toward the UK Singles Chart.

    • The Tony Blair You (Probably) Didn’t Know

    From the September 2006 issue of Spin:

    “…in [Tony Blair’s] early 20s he was a long-haired London rock promoter fond of fur coats and, as he put it, “the honeys.” Later, as a law student at St. John’s College, Oxford, he became the frontman for a band called the Ugly Rumours (after a hidden message on a Grateful Dead album sleave). A Mick Jagger fanatic, Blair would sweep onstage in elephant flares and a belly shirt, hand on hip, belting out the Rolling Stones’ ‘Live With Me’: ‘Don’tcha think there’s a place for you/In between the sheets?’…”

    Basic Mac Apps

    A friend of mine is the proud new owner of a MacBook. This friend is a PC user and wants me to give him a crash list of software he should snag for the MacBook. I thought the list would be useful to more than just him, and be relevant to my previous post on switching to a Mac.

    These picks are aimed at an advanced user. Advanced means he’s not helpless like a lot of people somehow still are, but he’s no poweruser.

    I assume you can use Google to find the latest and most appropriate version of the software, so I only list the app, it’s purpose, and any quick thoughts I have.

    Handbrake: Great for backing up/ripping DVDs.

    Max: I haven’t tried this yet, but will be using it for backing up/ripping CDs. Alternative is to find the LAME plug in for iTunes.

    VLC: Best video app out there. Tons of codecs included.

    Vienna: Fairly good and free RSS reader for Mac. One of the few RSS readers that doesn’t make me hate RSS.

    Adium: Fantastic IM client. No video, though.

    Firefox: If you don’t use, shame.

    MailUnread: A plugin for Apple Mail that shows, in your menu bar, when you have new e-mail.

    Widgets: Find Apple’s site and go through it and DL all the ones you want.

    Menufela: Shareware I actually paid for. Autohides the menubar.

    Flip4MacWMV: Play WMV on Macs.

    There’s probably more but that’s what I found in a quick search.