daverea.com

Jason Perlow, a blogger for ZDNet who’s been writing about Linux for almost as long as I’ve been running it, has noticed something about the new Ubuntu Linux. For those not inclined to tune into such announcements, or those who just don’t care, the crew over at Ubuntu just released their latest and greatest flavor of Linux: version 8.04LTS, “Hardy Heron”.

Naturally, with untold thousands of folks downloading the newly-minted operating system, the pipes did get a little clogged. Mr. Perlow’s analogy to the Chinese Restaurant episode of Seinfeld was certainly apropos. Even though a sizable chunk of the burden of initial downloads of the Ubuntu software is shouldered by Bittorrent, the Ubuntu (err, Canonical) repository servers still take the full brunt of the bandwidth load for security updates and downloads of newly-installed software titles.

The demand was so great this past week, that Ubuntu’s 20-gigabit pipe to the Internet was reportedly swamped, resulting in delays for those installing packages and retrieving patches. Perlow’s solution? We should buy some bandwidth! Even though Canonical is funded from, among other places, the deep pockets of Mark Shuttleworth, our ZDNet blogging friend admits that buying bandwidth from the notorious (and conspicuously Microsoft-funded) Akamai might be a tad on the spendy side for a [still somewhat] grassroots operating system that’s got plenty of better places to send its checks.

Meanwhile, the spirit of innovation in which Ubuntu (and the vast majority of other open-source software) was built offers a decidedly different approach. Why was it only updates and patches that brought the repository’s Internet pipe to its knees? Because Bittorrent – a totally-free, high-performance, world-wide distribution network – took on the burden. While asking for handouts might be one solution, innovating our way through the problem is far more in-line with the history of this crowd.

The people who created Linux, and Ubuntu, and the myriad other open-source offerings that enrich my digital life and so many others, are very smart folks. They’ve coded some amazing things, and any ability to contribute on my part is purely the stuff of daydreams or project-induced insomnia. Even still, I can envision – and in the realm of the present discussion, I can envision a plugin for Ubuntu’s apt packaging system that could fall back to package distribution by Bittorrent should the main repository server encounter another pesky clog. I don’t imagine it would require too many late-night, Jolt-cola-powered coding sessions to achieve, and when you weigh it against the costs (in dollars or in favors) of the proprietary alternatives, it seems – at least to this geek – to be a much more attractive option…

For as long as big companies with fat wallets have always been brute-forcing problems, the little guys have been innovating their way around these sorts of bumps in the road. Sure, Ubuntu could spent millions (yes, with an m) on bandwidth for the updates and packages that help make their software great, they could also spend that money sponsoring projects and paying developers to make the software even greater. While they could look for a handout from Google (it wouldn’t be the first), they could also leverage Google’s generosity to the free software world to achieve grand things – things well beyond the mundanity of hosting patches.

After looking back over the last few months’ worth of Saturday Morning Tuneage installments, it occurs to me that I’ve done you a bit of a disservice. Ever since late September, I’ve been telling you about music I’ve discovered and managed to enjoy – and as a result, I’ve had a lot of good things to say.

This week, it’s time to give you the whole picture – because the truth is, not everything that hits my headphones ends up on my good side. And sometimes, the reasons are anything but what you’d expect…

In the April 12th edition of Saturday Morning Tuneage, I mentioned that I was looking forward to the release of The Weepies’ new album, Hideaway. The day after it hit eMusic, I managed to squeeze in a few minutes of music procurement time, and downloaded the 14 tracks. Honestly, I enjoyed what songs I managed to play on a first-listen: the melodies were catchy, the lyrics made sense, the performances were enjoyable – vocals and instrumentals alike – and nearly everything that attracted me to Say I am You was present and accounted-for.

But the music – as a whole – was just … lacking something. Despite how good the content was, it left me unsatisfied when I finally set down my Grados and padded my way to bed. It had been a long day … maybe it would sound better after a good night’s sleep?

After giving Hideaway a good second listen, I think I’ve found the culprit. I’ve scoured the web – from the Weepies’ site, to Wikipedia, to Amazon to Gracenote – but I can’t find his name. Maybe you can though: his name will be immediately preceded by the words “Produced by”.

Hideaway really is beautiful. Honestly. The emotion that permeates every sound on the album just makes you feel warm. Deb and Steve’s voices are gorgeously complimentary – and they just sound awesome together. It must have been an absolute spectacle to hear when it was recorded … but sadly, that’s where it seems to have ended. The recording is flat and un-detailed. Coming through the little ear buds that came with your iPod, I’m sure this wouldn’t distract too much. But listening on a system with any sort of fidelity, it’s hard not to notice just how downright boring Hideaway’s sound is. There’s a bit of dimension to the guitars, but the vocals, bass and percussion have a flat, monaural sound that belies the wonderful work that Nettwerk has done with other artists (not the least of whom is the truly-beyond-criticism-of-any-kind Sarah MacLachlan). It might be this disparity that’s most disappointing about many of Hideaway’s songs – you get excited, hearing some detail and staging as the guitars begin, but as soon as the vocals start, you’re plunged promptly back into disappointment.

Hideaway will certainly hold onto a long-time spot in my music collection. It’ll make wonderful background music, and I’m sure it’ll be enjoyable when my iPod meets my Sennheiser HD202s. But if the Grados or the B&W 602s in our living room are in the picture, I think I’ll be sticking with Sarah. And, despite its technical shortcomings, Hideaway is still well worth buying. You can do so DRM-free at Amazon MP3 or eMusic.

If you’re a fan of logic, as I am, then the term causality will certainly be familiar to you. It’s the end-all yardstick of relatedness, so as logical constructs go it’s a pretty powerful concept. If I smile, it might be because I’ve just seen something funny. But since you could take away the source of my amusement, and plenty of other smile-inducing stimuli are still out there, the relationship between the aforementioned humor and my smile is not causal. On the flip side, true causality would mean that the result always follows the cause, and never occurs without it.

Apple Computer seems to be learning (we hope) a thing or two about how openness relates to causality. They’re not big fans of openness. In fact, their business model is tied fast to choking off openness at every opportunity. Most music purchased through iTunes is not open – it’s full of DRM that restricts how customers can use it. New iPod players are not open – they’re (unsuccessfully) locked using code intended to prevent management of the owner’s music collection with any software other than Apple’s iTunes. I won’t even start on OS X, Safari or Aperture – though there’s plenty to say.

Now, it seems one of Apple’s business models – keeping their much-beloved iPhone locked in to specific cell providers (a-la their exclusive agreement with AT&T in the US) is causing them some heartburn overseas. Evidently, while the American sheeple are happy to drink Apple’s kool-aid here in the US, folks over in Europe actually want unlocked phones. They’re demanding choice – the choice of which mobile provider to use with their iPhone.

Evidently, it’s not working out all that well for Apple. The networks they’ve contracted with are getting tired of the Cupertino Gang’s tactics, and they want to give their customers what they truly deserve: an open (a.k.a. unlocked) phone and the freedom to take their business where they see fit. Nonetheless, Apple is clinging to its model of closedness, demanding exorbitant prices for unlocked phones (even then only after being forced to by the courts) and restricting choice wherever possible.

Which brings us back to causality. It’s one thing for me to claim that openness relieves a whole lot of pressure points, both for businesses and customers. It’s one thing to claim that open systems are more reliable, more secure and more flexible. It’s one thing for me to claim that freedom and choice make me a happier consumer. But unless all those things go away when openness leaves the equation, I haven’t established a causal link.

Fortunately, Apple seems to be doing most of the heavy lifting for me in that department! (Microsoft can help too, if they want to bring their malware-ridden, blue-screen-laden, decidedly not-open products to the table!)

…at least after tonight’s democrat presidential debate, you know where Hillary and Barack stand on legal ownership of firearms by law-abiding citizens. I’ve got a flood of comments on what little of their commentary I did hear before running for the bathroom to lose my lunch, but if you read this blog you already know how I feel about the issue – and you can probably surmise what my take is. Tonight, there’s something much more important to discuss.

I’m not writing this to talk about gun laws or Left and Lefter’s stance on them. I’d much rather talk about tastelessness, which is what the debate moderators and the candidates displayed en-masse tonight. They decided to dredge the political waters around gun ownership, in the same breath calling for draconian anti-gun measures while claiming to support law-abiding gun owners, on the first anniversary of 2007’s Virginia Tech murders.

I’ve never been too big on annual remembrances, given that 365 days is a little too arbitrary a demarcation outside the realm of birthdays and anniversaries (of the wedding variety), but I’m a decided minority in a culture that values bringing things up annually. Given that sensitivity – the fact that most folks feel yearly anniversaries should be set aside for respectful recollection, or even mourning – I think the democrats’ timing couldn’t be worse. What they appear to see as an open sore to poke in order to advance their political agendas is actually deeply personal to a lot of people.

We already knew that Hillary and Barack have no respect for the constitution. We already knew how they feel about guns and gun laws. And maybe in the back of our minds we already knew that nothing is sacred where matters inside the beltway are concerned. But what I, at least, have learned from tonight is that [at least these] politicians know no bounds when it comes to decency (or the lack thereof) in the face of national tragedy. If VT, or 9/11, or Oklahoma City, or [you name it] had happened with one of these two people at the helm of our nation, would they have waited for the dust to settle and the smoke to clear before dragging out their soap box to assign blame and propose knee-jerk legislation?

It’s been a while since we’ve posted an edition of Saturday Morning Tuneage here at daverea.com, so I thought it might be nice to play a little catch-up.

With more and more labels (and thus artists) appearing on Amazon MP3 by the day, and a newly-renewed membership to the DRM-free eMusic service burning a hole in my pocket, there’s been plenty of new music floating around the Rea home…

Leading the pack has been Counting Crows, with their new (and looooong-awaited) album Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings – which I actually picked up on a real CD! (Yes, that’s how much I like the Counting Crows!) Much as the Crows’ blog and multiple critics predicted, the album is a juxtaposition between the raucous, hard-driving songs of the “Saturday Nights” half, and the quiet, contemplative, sad tracks that clearly comprise “Sunday Mornings”. My favorite track by far is Washington Square, but my iPod’s playcounts are up for When I Dream of Michaelangelo and Hanging Tree too. Cowboys is great for driving and working, both times when syncopated beats, the Crows’ rhythmic variety and their bass-driven melodies help keep the momentum maximized. On the inward-looking tracks, soulful acoustic guitar is frequently overlaid with a piano that’s woefully underrepresented in the Crows’ earlier albums, and it’s a blend I can’t say enough good things about.

Thanks to Kelly’s parents, a copy of Dan in Real Life now graces our DVD collection – and this inevitably prompted the addition of some tracks from Sondre Lerche to our music collection. This Norwegian folk/pop artist handcrafted (no exaggeration) all of the music for the movie, and after checking out his albums, it’s immediately clear that the songs on the soundtrack are just the tip of the iceberg. From the Norah-Jonesesque chillout vibe that permeates Hell No (a genius collaboration with Regina Spektor) to the out-and-out 3:4 time fun of Human Hands, Lerche delivers tunes that are just plain enjoyable to listen to. While he’s brilliant on the acoustic guitar, he pulls off plugged-in magnificently on the foot-tapping Phantom Punch, and blends in a few nice strings in I Wanna Call it Love.

What else is seeing airtime around the Rea household (not to mention our cars)? The Weepies’ 2006 album Say I Am You is a good start, and it’s definitely got us interested enough to download their new album Hideaway once it hits eMusic on the 22nd. 2007’s Those Things from Miguel Migs, shallow as its lyrics may be, is still going to make for some good background tuneage as spring goes into full-swing and barbecue plans start floating around the kitchen. And Amazon’s latest free tracks – from a little twangy honky-tonk by Hayes Carll, to the stark acoustic honesty of Kathleen Edwards with Asking for Flowers – are sure to at least find their way to my Grados once or twice too…

As an aside, Amazon MP3 gets a golf clap for finally releasing the Linux version of their “MP3 downloader” software. Between this and the seemingly weekly announcements from assorted media companies, wireless carriers and others in the content biz that they’re offering some new spin on DRM-free music, the future is looking bright for entertainment freedom!