Aug

20

Make Your Mac Sing A Silly Song

Post Category: Apple, Blog Posts, Completely Crazy, Technology 

Here’s a fun little trick to impress your friends. If you are on a Mac copy the below text, paste it in your “Terminal” window and hit enter.

If you don’t know where to find Terminal, search for it in spotlight (in the top right-hand corner of your screen).

osascript -e 'say "oh I love Brad Ruggles blog love his blog love his blog oh I love Brad Ruggles blog I read it all the time" using "cellos"'

The opportunities are endless with a fun little geek trick like this. Have fun.

Jul

7

What Would You Pay for Good Music?

Post Category: Blog Posts, Culture, Music Reviews, Technology 

Last week a revolutionary new music download service was launched that, in my opinion, will redefine how independent artists get their music to new listeners. This new service is called NoiseTrade and was started by none other than singer/songwriter Derek Webb who in 2006 gave away over 80,000 downloads of his ‘Mockingbird’ album for free online.

The concept behind NoiseTrade is simple, “A great record is its own best marketing tool,” says Webb. “All the marketing dollars in the world can’t accomplish what one great record can, especially if it’s set free to roam around and connect with the right people.”

NoiseTrade gives you two ways to download music.

  1. Tell 3 friends about NoiseTrade or
  2. Pay what you want

That’s right. This service lets you actually set your own price for what you think the album is worth. Even better, 90% of what you pay goes directly to the artist as opposed to iTunes where well over half what you pay gets split between Apple and the record label (see this article).

Even though this service was launched last week I’ve already seen the catalog of albums offered grow. Even better, there are some excellent artists getting in on this such as Joy Whitlock and Katie Herzig. I’m convinced that this represents a huge paradigm shift in the way that new music is distributed in the future.

What do you think of the NoiseTrade concept?
If you had a choice, would you pay what you thought was fair for good music?
What do you think is fair for a digital album download?

Jul

1

Get Your Grav On

Post Category: Blog Posts, Blogging, Technology 

I just added a feature to my blog that I should have added a LONG time ago. This new feature is called Gravatars, which stand for “Globally Recognized Avatars.” Pull that one out at your next dinner party if you want to impress the socks off someone (or let them know how big of a geek your really are).

In simple terms, Gravatar allows you to associate a small photo of yourself so when you comment on a blog your avatar appears. It’s simple and can be set up in less than 2 minutes.

So what are you waiting for? Go get your Gravatar on! Then come back and leave a comment so we can put a face with a name!

Jun

30

Indulge My Curiosity

Post Category: Blog Posts, Technology 

I always like to learn new things about my readers, but first something you may not know about me. Did you know, I’ve been on the Internet long enough to remember connecting onto Compuserve through a 28.8k modem? Downloading 35k .wav clips, listening to MIDI files and downloading “high res” jpeg images at 800×600! Ahh, those were the days.

I know this is total blog/web/computer geek curiosity but I’m just wondering, what kind of Internet connection do you have now?

Cable?
DSL?
Dial-Up?

Indulge my geeky curiosity.

Jun

24

Rent DVDs Without Returning Them

Post Category: Blog Posts, Technology 

It seems everyone from Kroger to McDonalds is getting in on DVD rentals these days so it didn’t surprise me to see a rack of DVDs to rent at Staples when I was picking up some office supplies. What did surprise me was the sign above the DVDs, “NO RETURN DVD RENTAL!”

That caught my attention.

I picked up a DVD just to check it out for myself and see how it worked. According to Flexplay, the process is as simple as open, watch the movie as many times as you would like during a 48 hour period, and then recycle the disc when you’re done.

Here’s a description of the technology used from Flexplay’s web site:

Like regular DVDs, Flexplay DVDs are made from two pieces of plastic one or both of which have a reflective coating that are glued together. Information on the DVD is read by a laser beam focused on that reflective surface. Precise focus and clear transmission of the laser beam is required for playback of the DVD.

Flexplay DVDs use a proprietary, patented adhesive to glue the plastic disc halves together. Removing the Flexplay DVD from its sealed package exposes the disc to oxygen, triggering a gentle, controlled chemical reaction with the special Flexplay adhesive. After 48 hours, but not sooner, the adhesive begins to interfere with the DVD laser beam’s ability to read the disc. This all happens inside the disc, with no exposed chemicals or coatings. Flexplay DVDs are designed to ensure perfect playback during the entire 2-day viewing period.

It’s a very interesting concept that fills a very niche market. At $4.99 the price point isn’t as good as Blockbuster, Netflix or iTunes for everyday rentals. However, if you’re traveling or are on vacation and want to stick a few movies in your laptop case and not worry about how long you’ve had them and when you’re going to watch them, Flexplay might be an option.

What do you think of No Return DVD Rentals? Would you pay $4.99 for a DVD you didn’t have to return?

May

20

Is Google Making Us Dumb?

Post Category: Blog Posts, Culture, Technology 

Business Week recently ranked Google as the 2nd most innovative company in the US, and for good reason. They have made finding information about absolutely anything as simple as typing in a few keywords.

For example, that piece about Google being in the Business Week Top Innovative Companies list - did did I specifically bookmark that link for this blog post? Nope. Why should I when it takes less than 10 seconds to “Google” it - yes, this generation has turned Google into a verb.

There’s an interesting aspect of Google’s impact on our daily lives. Having so much information available to us so easily has changed the way we remember information.

For example, how many times have you caught yourself typing keywords into Google to get to a specific web site you’ve been to before? I do this all the time no matter how simple the address might be. Even on my blog with a simple web site address like www.bradruggles.com, do you know what my top Google search query is? “Brad Ruggles.” It’s easier for many of my non-RSS readers to Google “Brad Ruggles” than it is to type in my address.

We have subconsciously chosen to remember keywords to type into Google instead of remembering the actual web site we want to go to.

Here’s another quirky Google use. I’ve had a number come up on my caller ID that I don’t recognize and have been able to quickly type the digits into Google and figure out who was calling in time to answer the call.

Not only has this ease of access to information made our lives easier, it’s also made us dependent on it. In this Internet usage survey from 2002, 52% of users said they would go home if their Internet connection died at work.

When was the last time you converted a fraction to decimal without Googling it?

Who bothers to remember information like State or country capitals when it’s a search string away? U.S. Presidents? US to Metrics conversion? Time Zone conversion?

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not calling for the end of easy access to information. Heavens knows that I would be a mess without my Google toolbar, Goog411 or Google SMS. I’m one of the biggest Google fans out there. I’m just curious as to how this will affect the next generation.

There’s no question that Google has allowed us quicker, easier access to information than ever before. But are we really smarter?

What are your thoughts?

May

14

My _________ Sucks Because _________

Post Category: Authenticity, Blog Posts, Church, Church Leadership, Technology, Videos 

Church leaders blame their lack of growth on many things. If only we had more lights, a better sound system, more videos, a better band. Visiting churches like Granger or North Point leaves most Pastors repeating the tenth commandment to themselves (thou shall not covet…thou shall not covet…).

Worship leaders aren’t immune from the “if only…” game either.

Worship Pastor to Senior Pastor: “Pastor, we’re kind of running into a wall. My musicians (it sounds better if someone else is asking) are telling me that if we bought ______________ (new amp, processor, instrument or whatever) we could really take the sound and quality of our worship up another notch.”

As a designer and self-professed geek I’m constantly scanning the horizon for the latest plugin, font, software or upgrade to buy. I try to convince myself that I could be so much more productive with this or that tool.

I remember my Uncle (who is an amazing finish carpenter) telling me about the importance of using the right tool for the job. But he also reminded me that no amount of good tools will make up for bad workmanship. A poor workman always blames his tools.

I was reminded about making the most with what I’ve got when I watched this video at AlphaBlogDesigns yesterday. Bob Staake is an illustrator who creates amazing illustrations for clients like Sony, Target and Hallmark using only Photoshop 3.0! That’s right, the version that I learned on and used back in 1994! I thought I was pretty good in Photoshop CS3 but this guy makes me look like a hack.

Watching videos like that remind me that having the latest _________ or the greatest __________ is not an excuse. In our high-tech society where hundreds of new gadgets or upgrades come out ever day it can be easy to be swept up in the “If only I had…” game.

We can do so much if we only utilize and master what we already have.

Trust me, I’m as guilty of this as anyone.

What about you? What has your excuse been?

Fill in the blank: “If only I had ________ I could ________.”

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