99¢ + 99¢ = $1.98? No way!
Thank you, Apple, for doing that math for me. Now let me do some math of my own.
Apple’s iPhone holds songs. Lots of them. Some people would like for those songs to play when they receive a call. And, understandably, many of them would like for the songs to start playing at a certain point when a call comes in.
In the latest version of iTunes, a brilliant piece of software, Apple has added a feature that allows these people to do just that: pick a song and decide where they want it to start playing when they receive a call. However…
Apple charges them a dollar to do so. (Okay, 99¢. Same difference.)
So, basically, these people are paying 99¢ for a software feature. And not just once. Every time they want to use this feature in iTunes, they have to cough up another buck (read: 99¢).
See, you’re not paying for the ringtone. The ringtone is simply a 30-second clip of a song you already own. You’re paying to make it. By yourself. You do the work, then you pay someone else for your work. It’s like spending $10 on a stock photograph, then paying another $10 to crop it. What a load of crap.
Whatever. Custom ringtones are so last year anyways.
One photograph, five color schemes
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Photographs are one of the best sources for color inspiration. Click through Flickr for about five seconds and you’re bound to come across a photo that has the potential to be translated into a different, but related, language: color. Oftentimes, in fact, a photograph will inspire not one color scheme, but many. Such was the case when I came across this striking image, captured by the talented Garrett LeSage.
I realized instantly that by focusing my attention to certain portions of the photo, I could easily pick out a handful of beautiful, organic color combinations. So, without further ado, here they are. Leave a link in the comments if you use one!
40 iPhone Wallpapers
So, I’m finally back from my seven-week journey through Europe. I’m hoping to write a post soon about all the places I visited (two continents, eight countries, around 16 cities), but that will have to wait seeing as I’m off to Los Angeles tomorrow morning to visit my sister, and when I get back move-in will take priority. This will be my last year at the University of Michigan — hard to believe, and very sad to think about.
Anyways, on a happier note, I’ve had a couple days now to play with my new iPhone. Hands down, it is the sleekest, most incredible gadget I’ve ever owned. The screen is gorgeous, rendering photographs beautifully with its 160 pixels per inch. I couldn’t wait to turn a bunch of my photographs into wallpapers, and following in the steps of Greg Storey and Garrett Murray, I decided to make them available to all of you.
40 iPhone wallpapers, each one a photograph, some from years ago, and a lot from my recent trip through Europe and to Turkey. Enjoy.
Auschwitz
Tomorrow morning I am headed to Krakow, Poland where we will be staying for two nights and also visiting the Auschwitz concentration camp. I am grateful that I will have the chance to visit such a place, but also very anxious after having visited Terezin, a smaller camp in the Czech Republic that served a similar purpose. During the visit to Terezin, it felt as if every drop of hope, happiness, had been sucked out of me. The tour guide said that it was a good build up to the Auschwitz experience, which she described as far more “hardcore.” I will be back in Prague Sunday night.
Weird
I love it when stuff like this happens.
So I’m sitting here in my dorm room in Prague, snacking on some Nutella, listening to my “Good Front-to-Back” playlist (albums that I enjoy from the first song ’til the last), and pushing forward with the tedious task of uploading to Flickr photographs that I posted in the past and then editing each of their corresponding entries.
So, I had been at this for a couple hours. Guster’s Lost and Gone Forever and Jason Mraz’s Mr. A-Z had both played in full, and at the exact moment that I opened the entry “Sprout”, from June of 2004, Rachael Yamagata’s Happenstance cues up in iTunes.
So why the fuss? Well, in the entry “Sprout” I wrote: “Just downloaded a new CD: Rachael Yamagata’s Happenstance. I’d say she’s one part Tori Amos, one part Norah Jones, and about one part Fiona Apple. Very relaxing and refreshing. Check her out.” Weird, right?! I literally noticed her name in the entry as she began to sing. Like I said, I love it when stuff like that happens.
Anyways, it’s been three years since I downloaded the album, but it’s still a favorite. Check her out.
From Michigan to Amsterdam to Prague
There has been a lot I’ve wanted to write about this past week, but the blog has had to take a backseat in preparation for my leaving for Prague. After a short layover in Amsterdam, and if everything goes to plan, I should be landing in the Czech Republic on Saturday afternoon.
I’ll be living in Prague through early August, taking two courses at Charles University through a program organized by New York University. One course will concentrate on Czech literature and cinema, and the other on Czech art and architecture. I can’t wait to see the city that I have heard so much about!
I’m still pretty clueless about the internet situation during my stay in Prague, so I can’t be sure when I’ll next be able to update, however, when I do, expect some great stories and loads of photographs!
In the meantime, I’ve got a quick question to which I’m having trouble finding a clear answer: I am bringing my MacBook Pro, iPod, and Nikon D80 — what kind of adapter(s) will I need in order to charge and use these in Prague? I’m terrified of plugging in any of the three and watching them fizzle to death.
Any other suggestions or advice about living and traveling in Prague would be greatly appreciated!
Trailer released for Wall-E, Pixar’s project for 2008
Wow, this was unexpected! I don’t know why I’m always surprised when Pixar has a trailer ready for their upcoming project before their current one, in this case Ratatouille, is even released. However, they always do, usually a teaser, and this is year is no different.
Terra Naomi and the changing music industry
I always get a little rush when I come across a new song that’s so good it instantly makes my “Current #1’s” playlist in iTunes. I get an even better rush when the song is not only musically stimulating, but intellectually stimulating as well. The rush peaks when I discover that the artist behind the music is as intriguing as the music itself.
Case in point: Terra Naomi.
I came across her recently widely-released single “Say It’s Possible” today on the iTunes Music Store and was a fan after one listen of the 30-second preview. Reading through the Customer Reviews it was clear that she already has a strong fanbase, and many of them recommended checking out the video for “Say It’s Possible” on YouTube, so I did.
After watching the video I headed straight back to iTunes and purchased the song. Then, it was back to researching the artist that had created such a great song with a very relevant message. What did I find out?