GeekSugar

Best Websites For Listening to Music at Work

GeekSugar — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 09:05:40 -0700

Music can help you fight through a case of the Mondays and amp you up for tedious tasks, but not every workplace is designed for letting the beat build over speakers. If you don't have iTunes set up on your work computer, but your work allows streaming, join the 84 percent of geeksugar readers who use Internet radio. These discreet work-friendly sites will let you get your jam on for free (or a minimal fee if you want access to certain songs). Chic headphones not included.

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Are Music Subscriptions a Good Idea?

GeekSugar — Tue, 19 May 2009 15:44:57 -0700

I had a good guffaw this morning with my co-workers over the old Columbia House deal from back in the day when you'd get 10 CDs for a penny, and agreed to buy a certain amount of CDs for a certain amount of time. At 14, the deal seemed like I was getting away with something crazy, but I realized later that I was in my first music subscription. It was also my last music subscription.

One of the cool things about the Zune is its subscription service - but for me, I like to own my music, not rent it, and sometimes I just don't keep up enough to make sure I'm getting my money's worth. That's how I feel about a subscription service in general, and not just the Zune's, which I have been thinking about since Microsoft tried to make it seem like having an iPod was a financial drain.

Not only that, Napster is offering a $5 a month deal for access to their entire music collection, and rumors of an iTunes subscription plan still persist.

Personally, the only thing I like to subscribe to are my Netflix discs and my magazines - other than that, I prefer to just pay once for what I'm getting and be done with it. What about you?

Geek Tip: 3 Ways to Make Your Friends the Party DJ

GeekSugar — Mon, 04 May 2009 15:40:16 -0700

Every good host knows you can't throw a party without good music, starting with crafting a great playlist. Once you have that, though, people still might have song requests, so let them be the DJ without having to keep getting on your playlist to change the song. Here are some fun ways to create a jukebox using the gadgets you may already have:

Download the free Fluid Tunes (pictured above) for the easiest and most fun iTunes DJ - it uses your computer's camera so that all your guests need to do is gesture - literally, wave their hands - to change the song.

For two more fun jukebox options, just read more.

If your friends have iPhones, have them download the Remote App, which lets them connect to your iTunes via your network.
Got an Apple TV? It's a great party tool; play music from it and leave the remote on the table so everyone can pick their favorite songs.

What's Your Online Resource For Paid, Digital Music?

GeekSugar — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 16:35:12 -0700

That fallout was quick: Billboard reports that due to last week's raise in iTunes prices for popular songs to $1.29, many of those popular songs have dropped in download ranking (that's one way to get them back down to 99 cents!).

Personally, the only time I download single songs from iTunes is for popular songs (you know, the ones you can't get out of your head and need to have now), but I'm annoyed by the price jump, so I may go somewhere else. Considering the majority of you said you bought music online the last time I asked, tell me, where do you go for your paid music downloads?

Source

Geek Tip: Use TuneUp to Clean Up Your iTunes

GeekSugar — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 14:25:11 -0700

If you have an iTunes library that's missing a few beats (you know, like artist info, track names, and album cover art), then you must head over to TuneUp. 'Cause not only is it a drag to spend hours loading up your iTunes library with all your vintage (read: oh-so-early millennium) CDs that you just can't let go of (or albums that you've had burned to discs), but it's even worse to have to go back and enter all the track names and artist info. Now, TuneUp does all that work for you.

For a limited, free membership, you can have TuneUp whip 100 songs and 50 album covers into proper shape. But if your library is pretty expansive, you can do a yearly or lifetime membership for $20 or $30 and let TuneUp analyze and enter your music's data for life. But that's not all that TuneUp does. Find out about a cool bonus feature when you read more.

Besides filling in the blanks, TuneUp gives you concert alerts and reminders based on your music library, so you never miss a show by one of your favorite artists. And guess what? Alerts come free.

Download of the Day: TuneLyrics

GeekSugar — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 14:25:36 -0800

It's pretty embarrassing to find out you've been singing the wrong lyrics to a song (marmoset instead of 'mama says', for example), but the download TuneLyrics can save you.

As a companion to iTunes, TuneLyrics populates the words to each song you listen to as the songs change in a separate window.

If it happens to not know the lyrics to a particular track, it lets you know and suggests a Google Search, with a button just for that presented to you. Rad, right?

To learn how to post your favorite downloads to the Download of the Day group, read more

I know that this long list looks scary, but trust me, once you get the hang of it, it'll be a snap the second time around.

First of all, join the Download of the Day group
Click "Create and Share!" on the left hand side
Choose "Blog"
Give your photo a Title
Leave the category as "general"
Change the channel to "technology and gadgets"
Add keyword(s) (for example mine for this photo was "Download of the Day")
Click on the "Add Image" link below the "body" box
A popup window will happen - click on "Browse" to find your image on your computer
Once you have the image chosen, click "Submit"
The popup will show you your image, choose size: "normal" - if you want, you can give it a title (which will show up as a caption)
Click "Insert" and the popup will go away
Your "body" box will now have some text in it. Leave it as is. If you want to add some text before the picture telling me why you love the download, do it before the code that has appeared.
Click Submit

So join the Download of the Day group and share information about all your favorite downloads! Yours just might end up on the geeksugar homepage!

Do You Still Own CDs, or Have You Digitized?

GeekSugar — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 13:13:42 -0700

Times, they are a changin'. I used to shop for the most stylish CD shelves, now the only storage I look for for music is on a hard drive.

I don't miss having to find a creative way to keep all my plastic boxes, but I do miss shopping in a record store for new music.

But since I'm all about de-cluttering these days, I've sold back all my CDs (except for a couple discs, for sentimental value) and am almost totally digital.

What about you?

Are You Impressed by iTunes Genius?

GeekSugar — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 10:00:29 -0700

At last week's Let's Rock event, a little thing Steve announced was overshadowed by stuff like new iPods and a fix-all iPhone update: Genius! Part of the iTunes 8 update, Genius is a fun new feature for iTunes and iPods, which, I admit, didn't impress me at all when I was first hearing about it.

How silly I was! A week later, I'm obsessed with Genius. Why? Getting suggestions of music to buy is OK, but I really took the perk of having automatically-made playlists for granted. As someone who listens to my whole library on random at work and with the iPod on my iPhone, Genius brilliantly puts together stuff that sounds great together and somehow matches my mood. How does it know, based on one song, exactly what I want to hear next? I guess that's why they call it "genius."
Seriously, sometimes I get so blasé about new technology and gadgets, wanting to see bigger faster and stronger all the time that when something comes along that's so simple, I forget how much little things can make a difference.

So tell me, are you impressed by the little Genius like I am? Or is it just another thing that makes you go 'hmmm'?

Music Site Gives You Money Back for Buying Songs? Whaa?

GeekSugar — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 09:00:56 -0700

I'm a little ashamed to tell you how much I spend on music every month - iTunes and my credit card are now BFFs. So if there were a way for me to get some money back just for buying songs, you know I'd be totally down with that. Enter Popcuts – a new music site that rewards you every time another customer buys the same song you did.

Stocked with emerging indie artists from around the globe, Popcuts knows you like to be on the cutting edge of music and rewards you with credits for buying songs, so the artists get some much needed bankroll, while you eventually get your music for free – sort of. To see how Popcuts works, just read more.

So you search through Popcuts' library of 700 songs (from about 200 artists), and find one you really like. You make a purchase for $.99 cents and call it a day. Where does the credit come in? Well, every time another Popcuts user buys the same song you did, you get a share of the profits. So if you're a music connoisseur and can spot the upcoming trends, you may just bank up a nice amount. Right now, Popcuts offers digital credits, but hopefully soon, can offer to cut you a check for some real dough.

Do You Download Media From Questionable Sources?

GeekSugar — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 10:02:42 -0700

The debate about downloading movies and music from certain file-sharing sites becomes hairier every year. Making files available is not always illegal, but we all know the music industry has sued people who download pirated songs and that the film industry does not take stealing movies lightly.

I have friends who are die-hard iTunes fanatics and have never even looked at other download sites, and I have friends who are all about file sharing instead of file shopping. Have you ever downloaded media from questionable sources?