It's all about ME!

Why iTunes and Apple SUCKS MAJOR ASS

Mar3rd
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Michael

I want to get a song. I have talked about it here before. It is available, and it is on an album and able to buy as a single.

So why don’t I get it? That answer is simple. Apple considers ever one of it’s customers to be little idiots that can’t do maths.

The song that I wanted to buy would cost me $1.69 to buy (which is still a rip off, considering the $AU exchange rate… explain that one too Apple…) but if I looked on my iphone through iTunes there and saw the same song through the album, it wanted me to pay $2.19 for it.

So, lets get this straight. I can pay $1.69 for a single song, or if I look at buying an album, I can buy the SAME EXACT SAME SONG FILE for $2.19… or $0,40 more???

Is it just me or does everyone else out there get sick of Apple trying to tell me what I should be paying?  if it’s not bad enough that a single song file that costs $0.99 US costs us in Australia $1.69, even when the $AU is worth $1.06 US…  I can’t see why we should be paying that much.  It’s the  SAME servers, the SAME bandwidth, and the SAME deal that the artirts are getting per song.

Please, can someone from Apple, or anyone at all!!!  Please tell me why we have these inconsistencies. And, why are we paying so much just because we are in Australia?

Apple has recently become the biggest company in the world. Not just in IT, but IN THE WORLD.  they make more then enough money, but stil they pull this shit on their customers.

As a bit of reference, this is what has caused people to go online looking for torrents and P2P downloads.  You charge to much, and you are no better  then any other greedy corporation out there.

It was Mc Lars that said it perfectly…

You know, we just wanted a level playing field.
You’ve overcharged us for music for years, and now we’re
Just trying to find a fair balance. I hate to say it, but:
Welcome to the future.

Music and Entertainment

Another great song.

Mar2nd
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Michael

Yeah, I know I get a bit soft with these things, but this is a great song. :)

Skrillex on YouTube

Music and Entertainment

iPhone Updates – “I’ve lost my calculator!”

Dec20th
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Michael

There seems to be a lot of people having this issue after a recent upgrade. I fell “victim” to it as well. One day the calculator is there, and the next… it’s gone READ MORE »

Everything Else

The new addition to the “family”

Dec2nd
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Michael

Before anyone even thinks it.. It’s NOT a baby. God forbid that at the moment!

What I mean is that I have finally got my new car all sorted out. Now I almost feel a strange sense of relief and joy knowing that it’s just all done. READ MORE »

What's Happening

Bury All Your Secrets In My Skin

Aug20th
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Michael

These are the words to one of my favourite songs.  Ill leave it up t oyou to find out the name of the song, and the artist.  I guess it just sums up a lot of break ups, and how things can “change” dring the process.  For me, a lot of this rings true.

 

Bury all your secrets in my skin
Come away with innocence and leave me with my sins
The air around me still feels like a cage
Love is just a camouflage for what resembles rage again

So if you love me let me go
Run away before I know
My heart is just too dark to care
I can't destroy what isn't there


Deliver me into my fate
If I'm alone I cannot hate
I don't deserve to have you
Ooh, my smile was taken long ago
If I can change I hope I never know

I still press your letters to my lips
And cherish them in parts of me that savor every kiss
I couldm't face a life without your light
But all of that was ripped apart
When you refused to fight

So save your breath, I will not care
I think I made it very clear
You couldn't hate enough to love
Is that supposed to be enough?
I only wish you weren't my friend
Then I could hurt you in the end
I never claimed to be a saint

Ooh, my own was banished long ago
It took the death of hope to let you go

So break yourself against my stones
And spit your pity in my soul
You never needed any help
You sold me out to save yourself
And I won't listen to your shame
You ran away, you're all the same
Angels lie to keep control

Ooh, my love was punished long ago
If you still care don't ever let me know
If you still care don't ever let me know
Everything Else

The Reality of Being Online

Jul29th
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Michael

As bad as it seems, this is what really happens online. Hopefully everyone will see this and understand that most times it’s not just some faceless corporation that’s behind it all.

And, peace out to everyone that already knows.

Everything Else

A Slap In The Face With The Wet Squid Of Reality

Jul29th
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Michael

Now to be honest, there’s really not a lot of point in this post.  The saying that I’ve used for teh title.. “A slap in the face with the wet squid of rality” was a saying that I heard on the Triple J morning show by one of the guys dads to describe the Album Of The Week.  I just thought that it sounded pretty damned good. I do like Tom & Alex in the morings, and it does help that they aren’t working for a commercial radio station. People that know me know that even Triple J is “commercial” for my taste in music.

The biggest thing to remember from this is…  just be cool, and have a  good time.  After all, isn’t that what life is about?

Everything Else

Wild thing, I think I love you…

Jul23rd
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Michael

I’ve found one of my all-time favourite song on Youtube.

It’s the late (and great) Sam Kinison, with his version of ‘Wild Thing’.

Enjoy!!!!Sam Kinison – Wild Thing!

Everything Else

Fixing ‘Wrong Version’ errors with Zend SOAP Server

Feb17th
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Michael

I’ve had this problem a couple of times now. I start a SOAP server in Zend, and try to connect to it with a SOAP client, and I get the dreaded ‘Wrong Version’ error. This is very frustrating, and from what I’ve read out there, it seems that almost no one has any idea about why it’s happening, or how to fix it.

There’s a lot of information around for supposed “bugs” with Zend that give some ideas on how to fix them, or workarounds to try and get things to go, but these mostly relate to older versions, and are really not rlevant any longer.

I have found out where I was going wrong, and it’s a very simple mistake that is (unfortuantely) way to easy to do!  The problem is that I had the URI of the  SOAP server pointing to the servers WSDL file, and not to the actual processing URI. When you try and send the processing to the WSDL of course it’s going to fail.

This might seem like a minor issue, but it had me stumped for a little while

PHP/MySQL

The difference between online and real-life retail

Feb8th
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Michael

There’s a new “band” (I think it’s a band anyway, I haven’t done enough research into it) out that’s got a song on the radi that i like becaue it’s just a bit… well, strange.  The band is Skrillex, and the song is “Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites”.  So, I went looking for it to buy. The EP is released in March, and can be pre-ordered.

I have to say, as much as I like the ocnveniance of iTunes, I am one of those old-school people that likes to have the physical CD/record/whatever instead of a digital file that I’ve downloaded. For single songs it’s not to bad, but for an album, CD, movie or anything else, I would really prefer to buy it for real. Of course, that’s where the pricing comes into it. When you can pay $30 for a CD, but only pay $15 for the same album on iTunes, the online download can start to make a bit more sense.

So I went looking. The EP s on iTunes, and is available to be pre-ordered at $7.99. Not a bad price, and I was almost tempted to order it straight away. Instead I thought that I’d just have a quick look around and see where else it might be.

Then I also found in on the Chaos Music website. I haven’t used them fr ages, but I’ve known about them for a while and it was the first place that I thought of.  On their site, I could pre-order the real CD and get free shipping if I ordered before March. Sounded like a good deal, but I hear you asking “what was the price of the CD there????” Well, I’m happy to report that the price for the real CD, complete with free shipping, was $5.99.

That’s right. It would cost me $2 LESS to buy a real phyisical copy of the EP then it would to be a virtual copy that I had to download.

This is why it always pays to shop around! As much as I do enjoy Apple products and services, it’s instances like this that do leave a bad taste in my mouth. There’s no possible reason that a digital download can be more expensive then a real CD. The artist still gets the same royalties, there’s no CD to master/manufacture/distribute, and (supposedly) no third party markups from distributors around the country.

So the next time that you are looking for some new music, don’t forget your local retailer, and even the local online stores! Not only are you making sure that you get the best deal, you are also helping the little guys. Don’t always trust that the biggest and easiest way is going to be the best, because sometimes it isn’t.

Music and Entertainment
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