This latest Apple event was rumored to be a big deal, to the extent that even Apple representatives had been spreading the word: pay attention because we unveil hot stuff.
I suspect some will be dissatisfied with the actual event.
So what exactly was released? In a nutshell Apple updated almost the entire iPod lineup, including cosmetic and under-the-hood changes. They reverted the nano back to the 2nd generation tall look. (I have always been suspecting that the square design was a bit of a fiasco, since my own tall black nano have always felt naturally fitting into my palm.) The iPod touch got the look and feel of the new iPhone, along with its new features, including some really cool-looking games.
This all was more or less predicted.
The envisioned iTunes 8 changes have also made it into the release: HD TV shows are a logical step up (too bad most of us humans don't live in the US...) and the new visualisation was a surprise to only a few.
So what then is that aforementioned big deal?
In my opinion, behind all the rainbow-coloured magic, it's the Genius Playlist. No, not the fact that it puts similar tracks in a playlist based on some algorithm. For us who knew about Pandora or Last.fm's recommendations this is old news. I believe the most important fact about this whole genius business is somewhat shrouded by the hype around the feature. Nevertheless, after updating their iTunes all those iTunes Music Store shoppers will turn on the Genius Playlists and will provide Apple with a sea of invaluable statistics about their listening habits.
After all for the new feature to work Apple gathers all the play counts, playlist orders and whatnot. Anonymous it may be, it's still an extremely valuable asset to know all these. Up until now Apple could only bargain with studios and labels with their "retail" stats: who bought what? if they bought this did they buy that too? etc. Now they will have a whole new set of information: who listens to what? how often? I'm sure you can all come up with a dozen questions like that. Questions the answers for which, incidentally, most people in the music business would die to know. And since this data is continuously collected Apple will not only have a snapshot but will be able to deduct trends.
After all they are the largest music retailer in the US. Now imagine, they will have the listening statistics of all those people around the world who just use iTunes as a music player.
Even I, a Ferrari supporter, think this is too much. Naturally I was upset about the results of the Belgian race, Kimi trashing his car the way he did on the penultimate lap, nevertheless penalising Hamilton with extra time after the race is lacking in aesthetic judgement. While every other time a (non-McLaren) driver made a mistake the judges opted for penalty fees, this time they decided to alter the very results. How can one take the races seriously after these decisions?
I don't think I'm alone with the opinion anyway, that F1 got way too entangled in obscure regulations which are against the essence of competition. While I agree that rules must be laid down to keep oder and safety on the track, lately not even the teams seem to remember and apply them all. Also the decisions when to inflict a penalty and what kind seem quite arbitrary to me.
I wouldn't want to win a race like Massa won this one either. If he eventually manages to win the championship I'm sure no-one will forget how today's Grand Prix helped him to it.
Almost midnight here and I woke up to the sound of music. Our second neighbour is throwing a party apparently. And the music... well it's a clear sign of redneck equivalence: nuptial techno. The term may sound clumsy for which please accept my deepest apologies. The genre is called lakodalmas techno in Hungarian, and it basically consists of well-known folk song lyrics sang to very simple but catchy electronic music. Originally such music was played during the parties after wedding ceremonies, hence the name. The cost of making such a record is minimal, albeit with guaranteed success. A majority of the tracks contain rap intermezzos for contemporaneity...
Considering how long I've been running, it's not that big of a deal. But still it proves that I've been running for a while now and haven't stopped when the Sport Kit was no longer something new and exciting.
Nevertheless I'm far from satisfied. Lately I'm not in the shape I'd like to be. I run out of air even on short distances and gone are the days when I could just run 10-15k without any considerable extra effort. I also gained some weight, which - I suspect - is party the cause of my slowing down and stamina issues.
The only thing I'm sure of is I will not stop. I'm addicted.
For those people who grumbled about reading American Gods online, here's Neverwhere. You can read it online, and it's also downloadable. That's the good news.
The bad news is you don't get to keep it forever. It's yours for thirty days from download, and then the pdf file returns to its electrons. But if you've ever wondered about Neverwhere or wanted to read it for free, now is your chance. And free is free...
As I'm writing this my brother is trying to log in to his university information system without any luck. His attempts just land him back to the same login screen.
This - I'm sure - is no news for anyone currently enrolled in an institution of higher education in Hungary. Every registration and exam registration period is a nightmare for university students.
Last week I kept vigil with BH because for some reason her registration for sports classes commenced at midnight. (Could be some university employee's idea of a practical joke: let the students sit up late before their first day...) Naturally, when the clock struck twelve no-one could log in anymore: the servers couldn't handle the hordes of students desperately trying to get into one of the classes. Because it's also important to know that there are never enough spots for everyone. She managed to catch the last spot available even though the system kicked her out halfway. Just under 18 minutes every single class was full.
My bother has his own horror stories of registration. He told me his first year anatomy exams for the first week all filled in a minute. And of course every time he tried he got disconnected or just stuck at the login screen.
I remember during my own short but fruitless career as a Hungarian university student the system wasn't any different. We even had an older version of the software they use now. Ours used ActiveX controls to remotely connect to the server. The modern ones are based on a .NET system (as far as I can tell). The reason why we never managed to have a good atmosphere in our classes was partially the fault of the registration. Even though we were sorted into groups we never managed to get into the same classes as our group mates or friends. Rather, we were happy if we managed to sign up for what we wanted to at all. This way of course there were usually only totally unknown faces and different people in every single class we had.
It's understandable that it's an IT nightmare to build an information system for universities: it has to be able to (in theory) stand the assault of throngs of students during registration period, while other times there's barely (if any) use of it. At least this is how I see it.
Still, in Japan I had a completely different experience of registration. Most importantly there are no limits set for classes. There are - most of the time - no fixed number of spots. Registration goes for a couple of weeks, during which we can go to any class we want to and observe. Then when we made our decisions what to take (based on real classroom experience not just the syllabus) we can sign up for everything even on the last day of registration. The professors and the office know what to expect and when needed they just adjust the classrooms to the number of students. No-one remembers registration periods as constant headaches and ceaseless worrying. Concerns like "what if I can't take enough credits" or "please God let there be enough spots left in class X" never existed.
I can truly feel for anyone who's a victim of the Hungarian madness. It must be positively infuriating when issues possibly affecting people's entire future are completely out of their hands. I simply refuse to believe that this is the only way - the best way - to handle these situations. And what makes it even worse students can't hope to receive any help whatsoever from the university office employees. It's usually regarded the student's own petty problem if he/she couldn't register for an important compulsory class or an exam. Tough luck, so to say.
I think it should be recognised that higher education is a kind of a service. It's the students who could make a certain university great, and it's not the institute's job to crush them but to help them develop. I think the often heard comment, that this is what young people should expect from life and they better get used to it, is utter bollocks in most cases. Sure it's not all pink Hello Kitty world out there, but life's what we make of it. And what can we expect from young adults getting out of universities completely frustrated?
Apparently I was wrong. I saw my mother today with a yellow plastic bag, which turned out to be for used papers. Apparently our waste disposal company started to distribute these bags for selective collection of materials. We also received a calendar that lists the days on which the trucks pick up the plastic bags of the specific colours.
Looks like my woes about the Japanese system weren't justifiable. We're basically adopting their methods after all. I suppose I'm simply too lazy and faux rebellious to follow stringent orders as to how to dispose of rubbish...
Still here, posting. Not about the Sziget yet. Have to work on that laziness first...
But you get a preview of sorts. This photo of me at the HammerWorld Stage wouldn't have worked at a higher resolution anyway, it's way too blurry. Yes, that's a Nightwish - Once tee.
In other news: the mosquitos - laughing in the face of the chemicals they were supposed to die of - are happily increasing in number and they're bolder than ever. The simple process of getting into the car is now an extreme sport: I can't open and close the door without a dozen of them getting in.
BH went home yesterday. I almost died during a laughable 3k run again - really have to work on that stamina. The stupidity of people doesn't cease to amaze me in WoW. And parents are coming back from their UK/Paris trip tomorrow.
I found out that blogging is a lonely occupation. I mean ever since I arrived home I'm constantly surrounded by people, and - as you can see - I haven't gotten around to write.
Also my parents are in the UK, so it's my brother and I who have to take care of the house. The main issue being the scorching sun and its effect on plants: our garden has to be watered every morning and evening. And boy is it a big garden... One never notices until one has to pull and tug the hosepipe around the whole thing.
I wouldn't mind the gardening however, if it weren't for the throngs of mosquitos. A splash of water to any bushy plant released an angry cloud of bloodsuckers. I had poor BH pick the remainder of the peas and as soon as she disappeared behind the fence of towering corns all I could hear was very innovative and perpetual swearing. (I did some watering this morning, the bastards are still there, and in bigger numbers than ever.)
There was some airplane circling around, supposedly killing the mosquitos, but it proved to be as useful as a screen-door on a submarine.
Funny thing is ever since I got home I'm sneezing incessantly. Apparently the unbearably hot and humid Japanese summer has its perks after all: it soothes my allergy. I got used to not having to blow my nose every other minute, and now I have to admit it's quite annoying. I hope it's just the change in climate and I'll adapt to my new environment soon enough. In the meantime I should remind myself to have a handkerchief on me every time I leave the house...
