20 Albums That Deserve Surround Mixes According to Steven Wilson

As a big fan of Porcupine Tree and Steven Wilson in particular I read the article that I amplify’d below with a lot of interest. I agree with Steven Wilson on almost every album that he discusses. Especially page 2 of the article looks great, which contains a couple of my favorite bands like Yes with ‘Close to the Edge’, Rush with ‘Moving Pictures’ and Pink Floyd with ‘Animals’.

Surround mixes of albums can be an awesome experience if done right and with good taste. I own a few dozen of these on DVD and the lesser known DVD-A and SACD formats. Especially the 5.1 mixes from Porcupine Tree and Steven Wilson are great and are highly recommended if you like to explore the world of surrond sound.

Continue reading 20 Albums That Deserve Surround Mixes According to Steven Wilson

Not Everyone Is Charmed by Google Instant

Charlie Brooker, a columnist for The Guardian, isn’t exactly charmed by Google Instant. And I think he has a point.

I clipped only three paragraphs here, but it’s best to read the whole thing to get his point completely. He has a clear message about the decrease of attention span and productivity that the majority of computer users suffer from these days.

Amplify’d from www.guardian.co.uk

I’m starting to feel like an unwitting test subject in a global experiment conducted by Google, in which it attempts to discover how much raw information it can inject directly into my hippocampus before I crumple to the floor and start fitting uncontrollably.

That afternoon, it unveiled a new feature called Google Instant. It delivers search results before you’ve finished typing them. So now, if I visit Google and start typing my own name, it shows me links to Craigslist the moment I hit “C”. When I add the “H”, up pops the homepage for Chase online banking. By the time I’ve spelt out “Charlie”, I’m presented with a synopsis and review score for “Charlie St Cloud”, a film starring Zac Efron. Add a “Br” and Charlie Brown gazes back at me.

As the name suggests, this all happens instantly. It’s the internet on fast-forward, and it’s aggressive – like trying to order from a waiter who keeps finishing your sentences while ramming spoonfuls of what he thinks you want directly into your mouth, so you can’t even enjoy your blancmange without chewing a gobful of black pudding first.

Read more at www.guardian.co.uk

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/axh94P

The Power of Music on Our Bodies and Brains

This is an impressive article that describes the power of music on our bodies an brains. Who had ever thought that you can repair brain damage, boost your immune system or prevent seizures with music?

Read all about it, including the scientific explanations, in the following article.

Amplify’d from www.cracked.com

7 Insane Ways Music Affects The Body (According to Science)

The world is chock full of ear hurt that some people willingly refer to as music. The Jonas Brothers, Lady Gaga, Conway Twitty; they all produce high quality records and 8-tracks for our enjoyment whether we like it or not.

But music–even terrible music–has a stunning amount of power over our bodies. For instance science says music can…

Read more at www.cracked.com

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/aAm20r

Mike Portnoy Quits Dream Theater after 25 Years of Service

My heart skipped a beat when I read this news on Mike Portnoy’s forum. And at this moment it feels like a truck hit me on the freeway. I have been listening to and following this band for nearly 20 years and I am stunned.

But let’s look at it in a more positive way. Hopefully this frees the way to more cool projects like a new Transatlantic album. Their last album was called “The Whirlwind” blew me away and their live performance was totally out of this world. The best progressive, symphonic rock band I have ever witnessed playing in my life.

So here’s to Mike, the genius, master of drummers, the hardest working musician in the music business.

Cheers, mate! Good luck on your future endeavors!

Amplify’d from www.mikeportnoy.com

I am about to write something I never imagined I’d ever write:

After 25 years, I have decided to leave Dream Theater….the band I founded, led and truly loved for a quarter of a century.

To many people this will come as a complete shock, and will also likely be misunderstood by some, but please believe me that it is not a hasty decision…it is something I have struggled with for the last year or so….

See more at www.mikeportnoy.com

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/bee7HH

An Impression of the IFA 2010 Trade Show in Berlin

Last weekend I went to the 50th edition of the IFA trade show which took place at the Messe in Berlin. This is one of the biggest trade shows (if not, the biggest) in Europe for consumer electronics and home appliance. Spanning over 160,000 m2 and an interlinked network of 26 fair halls there is an awful lot to see and check out. Needless to say I was able to fill up the better part of two days walking around at the IFA and still did not see everything that was going on at the Messe. In this post I will discuss my highlights of these two days.

Samsung Hall

Visually Stunning Exhibition

The big and most influential brands of course had the biggest booths. Some of these companies even had a complete hall at their disposal. Among them were Samsung, Sony, LG, Phillips and Panasonic. No expense was spared by these big companies to show off their trade in visually stunning ways. I have included a few pictures at the bottom of this post to give you an idea, although I realize they cannot get across what I have seen with my own eyes.

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Oracle Hires Former HP CEO Mark Hurd as President

I feel a song coming up: “That’s What Friends Are For”…

Oracle Corp. announced on Sept. 6 that the database giant has hired former HP CEO Mark Hurd as co-president reporting to Oracle chairman and CEO Larry Ellison.

Oracle announced that Hurd has joined Oracle as president and has been named to Oracle’s Board of Directors. In his new role, Hurd joins Safra Catz as co-presidents under Ellison. Charles Phillips, formerly co-president with Catz, announced his resignation from the company on Sept. 6. Phillips’ departure means Oracle’s office of the president will remain a duopoly rather than a triumvirate.

Hurd resigned from HP in August amid a scandal around an investigation by HP’s board relating to a sexual harassment allegation and reports of fudged expense reports.

Following Hurd’s departure from HP, Ellison, a personal friend of Hurd, criticized the HP board, calling their move ““the worst personnel decision since the idiots on the Apple board fired Steve Jobs many years ago.”

Link : eWeek.com – Oracle Hires Former HP CEO Mark Hurd as President

Apple’s Ping Suffering from Comment Spam

Like the article says, I cannot believe they did not put more effort in preventing this from happening.

Apple gets Ping’d with comment spam – They didn’t see this coming?

Most of the security industry has been pointing out the migration of spam from an email-only venture to blog/forum comments, Facebook, Twitter and other Web 2.0 platforms. But apparently Apple didn’t consider this when designing Ping, as the service implements no spam or URL filtering. It is no big shock that less than 24 hours after launch, Ping is drowning in scams and spams.

Link : Naked Security – Apple gets Ping’d with comment spam

Website Tip: Is It Down for Everyone or Just Me?

Have you ever tried to open a website and couldn’t reach it? You probably have, lots of times.

But what if you wanted to know if the problem is on your end or not? For example: is your own domain unreachable for you because of a firewall issue? Or is your favorite social media site unreachable because it is blocked by your company network?

Here’s a tip: go to “Down for everyone or just me?” at http://downforeveryoneorjustme.com/, enter the domain you are having problems with and click on the link.

Simple or what?

That Tiny Link on Every Page is Your Website’s Achilles Heel

According to Desi Matlock, any link you place on every page of your website is leaking the life blood out of your site. Those are your website’s Achilles heel.

But why you may ask? Visit the URL below to find out why. She explains it very clearly using a real-life business example.

Link : Desi Matlock – That Tiny Link on Every Page is Your Website’s Achilles Heel

Android App Tip: Visual Task Switcher

The following Android app was brought to my attention by Rachid, who maintains the blog DroidDen. Visual Task Switcher is a great app that gives you the ability to switch between running apps by pressing the Home key. Long-pressing an app will (force) stop the application.

Make sure you visit DroidDen for more Android tips and stories.

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Ilse DeLange signeert nieuwe album “Next To Me” bij FAME

Wat een drukte...! (Foto door @susiwan)

Op 26 augustus organiseerde FAME Megastore in Amsterdam een signeersessie met Ilse DeLange om de release van haar nieuwe album “Next To Me” te vieren; een dag voor de officiële release. Ruim drie weken geleden las ik hierover in de nieuwsbrief van FAME die ik in mijn mailbox ontving. Binnen tien minuten had ik mijn aanmelding verstuurd (leve de smartphone met mobiel Internet!) en de volgende dag kreeg ik bericht dat ik met een introducé op de gastenlijst stond. Kijk, daar wordt ik blij van!

Continue reading Ilse DeLange signeert nieuwe album “Next To Me” bij FAME