Andrew Knight

Consumerism has hit me hard recently, making me get on my knees and grovel for a popular materialistic item, the iPod Touch - 2nd Edition. Even with our current economic situation with world debt being increasingly high and money dropping in value by the hour, the iPod is still referred to as an liability due to the fact it’s not making me any money and posesses the possibility of breaking down in some way.

I have lost some money surplus by giving in to my feelings which has been invoked by multiple things like incredible marketing. Not to mention, my own desire to hold something which has been beautifully crafted to perfection, with a sleek steel case and a 480×320 touch screen - it’s pure all over.

Pushing that aside, I will now be adding money to a personal fund, details I can’t exactly disclose however I can assure you it’s beneficial to my future and will secure profitable ventures - exciting! I will be removing my saving bar and replacing it with a new bar representing the money added to the fund, named “Success Fund”.

Apple has just released the latest version of iTunes which is now currently available for download. iTunes 8  includes a few new funky features that will surely help provide a unique experience when playing your loved music, over and over again. Looking to the right, the new look of the “Music” tab is introduced. Keeping everything very simplistic as always, Apple have used black, grey and white to introduce a very focused look. Everyone has different tastes and favourite colours but my assumption is they are trying to target the younger generation with this 2.0 look rather then the wise.

Genius

Genius is a new implementation by Apple which has two parts attached. Firstly is the Genius Playlists which helps save time by creating new playlists based on your song selection. You pick a song, hit the Genius button and voilà!, you have a playlist with all your songs that go together well with your current song selection - neat.

How iTunes Genius Works

The second part is the Genius Sidebar which will recommend songs based on your current playing song. Basically, it introduces new songs which are almost identical with your selected song. It won’t recommend songs that are already in your library. As you can see on the left hand side, (Click to view full image) you choose a song, hit the genius button and it will automatically find you related songs whether that be in your library or available for download through the iTunes store. I would have to say that this is a great marketing tool, allowing different artists to be heard depending on people’s tastes. It doesn’t force you to purchase the song, but it gives you incentive due to it’s relational to what you’re playing. Working on emotion/feelings - smart.

To read more about iTunes 8 new features, visit their website by clicking here and/or to download iTunes 8, click here.

iTunes Store Blocked by China

Stumbling across an article from SlashDot, I discovered that over the billion who inhabit China, they are now unable to browse and download songs from the iTunes network. This came in effect due to an album “Songs for Tibet” was downloaded over 40 times from Olympic athletes who are supporting Tibets cause. The album also included songs criticising China’s internet firewall - a.ka the “Great Firewall of China“, which ironically, was the only thing disallowing access to the iTunes network in the first place.

I don’t personally use iTunes to download and purchase music, however I do use it to listen to all of my favourite songs and I find it much easier then most music players. Regarding purchasing music, I prefer to buy an album, upload it to my computer and organise it the way I want to.

If China wishes to keep carrying on this charade of criticising people who support Tibet, they will, without a doubt fall hard and flat on their face.

“People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people.” -V (From the movie: V for Vendetta)

I don’t take sides generally, but when it comes to government and power, China should really consult their position and begin thinking about the long-term effects of their actions.