Marketing Genius

Once again, Eminem shows why he’s one of the best marketing geniuses in the business. Some new lyrics:

“F–k money. I don’t rap for dead presidents.
I’d rather see the president dead.
It’s never been said,
but I set precedents and the standards
and they can’t stand it. …
We as Americans. Us as a citizen.
We’ve got to protect ourselves …”

Here’s more on the story.

iTunes Review

I downloaded it for my PC, out of curiousity, and I still have mixed feelings on it. It’s great at some things – like ripping/burning CDs, and the layout and useablilty are great. However, it takes forever to add a directory of songs to the library (as compared to loading a directory in Winamp 2.x) and this is an inconvenience for me, since my collection is always in flux.

I suppose I could use the iTunes Library, where it catalogs them automatically and sticks them in directories, based on the id3 tags, but this sometimes makes music harder to find when i need it in other applications. I’ll contemplate this move for a while before I do it, that’s for sure…

The other really nice feature is that it automatically finds people with iTunes on my school’s network, and lets me view and stream anything in their collection (well, anything that wasn’t purchased at the iTunes music store). This is nice, because I can look for new music to d/l or just play some new stuff while I work.

Overall, I give it a solid B+. I’m still debating between it and my old, dependable Winamp 2.x

Technical Difficulties

Hrmmmm… It seems that my Winamp plugin hasn’t been updating the page properly. According to it, I’ve been listening to “Bombs Over Baghdad” for a week straight.

I mean, I like Outkast and all, but not THAT much…

UPDATE: Fixed it. :)

So here’s the background on

So here’s the background on this one. I walk into work today, for the first time this semester, and log in like usual. I’m greeted by the usual “do not infringe copyright” message, but something new catches my eye. Part of it now states that: “MP3 files cannot be stored on TLTC equipment”.

I work in a multimedia lab, where there are all kinds of legitimate uses for MP3s, so I draft a letter to my boss, explaining why I think the policy sucks (in slightly more eloquent terms). This is how it goes:

To whom it may concern:

I’m writing because I’m a bit confused. I recently noticed that there is a new policy that prohibits storing files with the MP3 extension on TLTC equipment. I’m assuming that this ban is a result of concerns about copyright violations. Well, I feel the need to point out that illegally downloaded music can just as easily be stored in formats like WAV, AIFF, and WMV, or burned onto an audio CD. To effectively ensure that no illegal music files are being used in the lab, you’d pretty much have to ban all music files, in all formats.

Obviously, such a ban would stifle creativity in the lab, as there are many legitimate uses for music files in the lab. They can be used in iMovies, edited in Deck, and played behind Powerpoint presentations. If I make MP3s as backups of my audio CDs, then use them in these ways, there’s nothing illegal about it. In fact, there are literally hundreds of ways that I can utilize MP3 files while adhering to all applicable copyright laws. So why exactly am i being told that i can’t use them in the lab?

With this new policy, you’re overlooking the fact that MP3 is nothing more than file format standard, just like DOC, PDF, or ZIP. These other file formats can just as easily contain copyrighted information – a cracked e-book is a PDF file, a stolen research paper can be in the DOC format, and any other copyrighted material can be contained within a ZIP file. So why are MP3s being singled out in the TLTC?

Giving into the hype and hysteria surrounding MP3s not only stifles legal academic expression and creativity, but is just plain silly. Please consider revising your policy. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this matter.

Sincerely,
Chris Miller
TLTC Staff

I can’t decide whether I want this to stir up a lot of shit or not. I enjoy arguing legal stuff, but I don’t want to argue to the point that i lose my job either… Guess I’ll see.

Old Lyrics

I was going through stuff in my room while packing for school, when I found an old notebook. It’s at least 3-4 years old, and I used to jot down interesting stuff in it. So here are some (unfinished) lyrics that I wrote on a long train ride. It’s set to pieces of Ben Fold Five’s “Best Imitation of Myself”, and the theme is pretty much the same.

When I go out with my friends,
You know that I can pretend,
I’m a master thespian at his best

You see, the problems arise
When I remove my disguise
and there’s no one left for me to impress

No matter what facade you see
It’s just a wall hiding me
and though I’d like to reveal
to you the me that is real
I can’t until I find out myself.