Music Industry

So for this final blog, I had to think about what I was really interested in and wanted to write about. I decided to go with the topic of the music industry. I feel that taking some one's music is wrong, even though I know people who do it. The artist had to put a lot of time and effort into creating this music for their fans, and I don't think it is right to just take their music without giving them anything in return.

I have recently been introduced to Pandora Radio. For those of you who don't know what it is, it is a online radio where you get to pick an artist, song, or and album that you like, and then it puts together a list of not only songs by that artist, but also similar sounding songs too. And the best part is: its all free! You have a limit of 40 hours a month, but you could pay some money to get as much free listening as you want. This website has introduced me to a lot of artists and songs that I would have never learned elsewhere. You don't get to keep the song, but it is a free way to enjoy music without stealing from the artist. You are able to get this on a lot of phones now and I do believe the ipod touch.

With this option out there, there is really no need for people to keep downloading music for free. I know that most artists now a days know that they get most of their money from concerts and shows, but that still doesn't mean that taking the songs from them for free is right. It is the property of the artist, so it is like stealing from your best friend, because that is how a lot of us feel towards our favorite artists and songs. The only flaw is that you don't "own" the song, but you get a good mix of songs for no cost at all.

Lack of Space

Frustrated with lack of space on my iPod nano (only 8 GB were offered at the time I bought it), I broke down and bought myself an iPod Touch ("as a graduation present," I told myelf to make myself feel better about the purchase). I bought the 32 GB version to insure myself that I don't run out of space. Sadly enough, it has almost as much space as my laptop computer (which was purchased over 4 years ago). I am running into the same problem with my computer as it continues to tell me that I'm low on disc space. I have to go in and delete programs on my computer that I am no longer using. Therefore, both of these are perfect examples of how quickly technology grows and becomes out of date.

When buying my ipod nano, I thought that 8 GB was plenty of space to last me. I was wrong. Honestly, I never gave any thought to the amount of space I would need on my laptop. With technology growing, how much space do I need? Should I have purchased the 64 GB iPod? I am not one to really go buy the newest technologies just to have them. I just want to have enough space to have the capabilities to do what I need to do. But how much space is that?

Since I just spent a good chunk of money on a new iPod, I can't afford to spend money on buying myself a new laptop right now. So what can I do to solve my hard disk space issues? The major consumers of hardisk space are system restore snapshots and temporary internet files (history). Running the disk clean-up utility can be a real help in finding out what is clogging up your free space. If you are having the same problems as me, try removing temporary internet files, downloaded program files, Windows temporary files, and don't forget to empty out your recycling bin.

Sources:
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/space.htm