The secret to a perfect world is having the right music playing at the right time. Thanks to the Internet, perfection is within reach.
Earlier this year, I purchased a device called a Squeezebox (which, of course, immediately appealed to me because of the play on words with the musical instrument with which I've shared five decades of my life). It's made by Logitech, best known for their mice and keyboards. You can purchase one of these devices through Amazon:
Squeezebox accesses Internet radio either directly through an Internet connection or by wireless connection to your PC or Mac. You can easily program your Squeezebox by using the Squeeze Network website. It gives you ready access to hundreds of over-the-air and Internet radio stations around the globe, as well as subscription online services like Last.fm, Rhapsody, and my particular favorite, Pandora.
Pandora is available for free (with ads) or by subscription (for $36 a year, ad-free). The service allows you to create an endless number of "radio channels" based on your preferences for particular artists and songs. Based on elaborate automated analysis of musical artists, songs and styles (they call it the Music Genome Project), and your own thumbs-up/thumbs-down ratings as you hear songs, Pandora learns your preferences (much as Amazon or TiVo) do and populates your channels with songs and artists that meet your preferences.
If your musical tastes are pretty straightforward (alt-rock, pop, jazz, hip-hop, punk, etc.), you can find a large number of pre-assembled stations or to quickly put together several of your own. If your tastes run a broader gamut, it can be more of a challenge. I had great success assembling a Leo Kottke Radio channel that brings together many of my favorite folk-oriented guitarists (Kottke, John Fahey, Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, Jorma Kaukonen, Doc Watson, Norman Blake, and on and on). Pulling together an Africa Radio station was tougher, as only about a third of the artists I searched for are currently available on Pandora. And certain classes of artists (e.g., the ruminative jazz from ECM Records) are thin because of limits on Pandora's ability to license music. In total, I've got nearly 100 radio channels on Pandora, from "Alternative One Radio" (Iron and Wine, Sufjan Stevens, Of Montreal) to "Jazz Ruminations Radio" (Keith Jarrett, Charlie Haden, Bill Evans, Brad Mehldau), from "Jazz Vocal Solos Radio" (Chet Baker, Jamie Cullum, Frank Sinatra, Bob Dorough) to "Sigur Ros Radio" (Sigur Ros, Slaraffenland, Efterklang).
But taken together, the Squeezebox plus Pandora is something close to sonic heaven.
Since I'm a Mac user, I do have one gripe -- while Squeezebox lets me access all the MP3 music in my iTunes directory (whether from discs or downloads), the Apple folks won't let Squeezebox users access their iTunes music downloads... another good reason not to buy from the iTunes Store.
Squeezebox is one a handful of good Internet radio alternatives on the market -- the Sonos system is particularly impressive - but if you already have a good whole-house audio system, or your coverage needs are simpler, the Squeezebox brings the world of Internet radio anywhere in your home at a great price.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Googlife... or, "if you worked here, you'd be home now"
I just had the pleasure of spending two days at the famed Googleplex in Silicon Valley (I think it's actually in Mountain View -- place names don't seem to mean much around there) in connection with a meeting of one of my not-for-profit boards. I was only able to visit the "Crittenden campus," which is a fragment of the 'plex. The Google people were lovely hosts and I thank them for their hospitality. No business observations -- that's not the purpose of this blog -- but a few cultural observations:
* All drink is free. When I first walked into the lobby, I saw a huge case full of Naked brand fruit juices. I took a bottle of Power C and asked where I could pay. The receptionist smiled. During the course of my visit, I probably drank $30 worth of bottled water, juices and coffee.
* All food is free. I had a couple of meals in "Cafe 14," which -- like all Google dining facilities -- features organic, predominantly locally-grown and -raised meats and produce. I enjoyed some gorgeous heirloom tomatoes and a nicely-done shrimp and grits, among other samplings. I skipped the famous desserts.
* Just outside the lobby door of each building, there is a rack of bicycles, and you can borrow without permission to ride anywhere else on campus -- and just inside each door, there's a basket of bicycle helmets. There's also a crate of Google umbrellas to borrow in each lobby. And a place to drop off your dry cleaning.
* All toilet seats are heated. They use the Toto system. I will observe that male Googlers appear to like their seats overheated. I hope my downward adjustments did not discomfort those who followed.
* Dogs are everywhere. They seem to create an informal social bond, as just about every time I saw a Googler with a dog, there was another Googler with a dog. I did not see supplies of plastic pick-up bags around, nor did I see any evidence of doggie leavings, so someone is looking after them.
* There is "useful information" everywhere you turn. While testing the afore-mentioned toilet seats, I found I could read one-page "Learning in the Loo" memos on the wall of the stall -- during my visit, I learned about alternatives to taking meetings (conference calls, webinars, etc.). There were one-pagers on HR practices on the cafeteria tables. There were bulletin boards everywhere. I could hardly find time to look down at my Blackberry.
* It appears that if you stand in one place in the Googleplex, many fascinating people will walk by you. An Eastern European prime minister was on campus while I was there. So too was a who's who of thought leaders for the Google Zeitgeist event, where they ponder where the Web -- and technology in general (e.g., energy) -- are going next.
* A final note: Other than fellow visitors, I saw almost no one else my age on campus. "My age" means anyone who actually saw the Beatles live on The Ed Sullivan Show. I'm sure there are some around the Googleplex -- so I look forward to a return visit where I can join them in Cafe 14 (or one of the 15 others, if my count is correct) for some locally-raised boneless pork chops with organic red cabbage and all the Honest Tea I can drink.
* All drink is free. When I first walked into the lobby, I saw a huge case full of Naked brand fruit juices. I took a bottle of Power C and asked where I could pay. The receptionist smiled. During the course of my visit, I probably drank $30 worth of bottled water, juices and coffee.
* All food is free. I had a couple of meals in "Cafe 14," which -- like all Google dining facilities -- features organic, predominantly locally-grown and -raised meats and produce. I enjoyed some gorgeous heirloom tomatoes and a nicely-done shrimp and grits, among other samplings. I skipped the famous desserts.
* Just outside the lobby door of each building, there is a rack of bicycles, and you can borrow without permission to ride anywhere else on campus -- and just inside each door, there's a basket of bicycle helmets. There's also a crate of Google umbrellas to borrow in each lobby. And a place to drop off your dry cleaning.
* All toilet seats are heated. They use the Toto system. I will observe that male Googlers appear to like their seats overheated. I hope my downward adjustments did not discomfort those who followed.
* Dogs are everywhere. They seem to create an informal social bond, as just about every time I saw a Googler with a dog, there was another Googler with a dog. I did not see supplies of plastic pick-up bags around, nor did I see any evidence of doggie leavings, so someone is looking after them.
* There is "useful information" everywhere you turn. While testing the afore-mentioned toilet seats, I found I could read one-page "Learning in the Loo" memos on the wall of the stall -- during my visit, I learned about alternatives to taking meetings (conference calls, webinars, etc.). There were one-pagers on HR practices on the cafeteria tables. There were bulletin boards everywhere. I could hardly find time to look down at my Blackberry.
* It appears that if you stand in one place in the Googleplex, many fascinating people will walk by you. An Eastern European prime minister was on campus while I was there. So too was a who's who of thought leaders for the Google Zeitgeist event, where they ponder where the Web -- and technology in general (e.g., energy) -- are going next.
* A final note: Other than fellow visitors, I saw almost no one else my age on campus. "My age" means anyone who actually saw the Beatles live on The Ed Sullivan Show. I'm sure there are some around the Googleplex -- so I look forward to a return visit where I can join them in Cafe 14 (or one of the 15 others, if my count is correct) for some locally-raised boneless pork chops with organic red cabbage and all the Honest Tea I can drink.
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