Tech Blog

I've spent over 100 hours listening to Monster's Beats Solo headphones and I can say a few things about them: first, the build quality is incredibly high. Secondly, the sound quality matures and settles into an amazing space, and third, they're an excellent choice if you're looking to spend some serious money on headphones. Read more...

I love trying out new software, and I wish I could support software developers even more by purchasing their software, but lets face it, many of us are on a bit of a budget and the idea of dropping $300-$1500 on software makes us cringe. Even $50-$100 can seem like too much for some programs. And what's up with movies costing us $25-$30 a DVD, or many CDs costing close to $20? Do software developers, movie studios and music producers really want us to buy their products? Or are they making it too easy to look elsewhere for it? Read more...

I recently spent the better part of a couple of hours on a Friday night deleting duplicates from my iTunes music player. Some might point to the inherent flaws in iTunes to map only paths to files and not files themselves, I point to the digitization of music. Back in the day, I didn't suddenly end up with 2 copies of a cd if I moved it from my bedroom to my car. Read more...

Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away, as I prognosticated on what today's Apple Preveiw event would hold. Remind me not to get a job as a fortune teller I'm not going to cover all the announcements, but let's see what I missed, where I was wrong, and the few times I hit the mark: Read more...

Every Fall, just after the Labour Day weekend, just as school is ramping up, and just before we start the pre-Christmas holiday shopping season... every Fall Apple has traditionally held a media preview event for iPod and iTunes products. Join me as I step outside my comfort zone and (gasp) make a prediction or two... Read more...

There's nothing I like more than free, and over the last few years I've been fascinated at the free culture that's been developing online. Google gives away free online office suites. OpenOffice.org lets you download their office suite for offline use. Authors and publishers are giving their books away. And now, so is my local library! Read more...

Where in I discuss Kings Of Leon 's recent show in Vancouver, Ingmar Bergman, and Nickelback. Read more...

Some of you may know I'm a recent convert and fan of opera. Yeah I couldn't believe it either, but being engaged to an opera singer tends to do that. Anyway, when you think of opera you don't usually think of Twitter, and yet you should. In fact not only is Vancouver Opera on Twitter (and rather active I must say), but so is the Royal Opera House. Oh did I mention that the ROH is using Twitter to compose and opera? Not sure how that will work out, but how about summarizing the plot of an opera in 140 or fewer? Saturday Afternoon at the Opera is running a contest to do just that. Read more...

The intersection between music and technology has always been a difficult one. Since the heady days of Napster, the "traditional" music industry has been (at best) wary of new technology, and in North America it's been especially difficult. Even when companies have tried to promote downloadable music, outside of iTunes it's usually fallen short. Read more...

Wherein I discuss Bob Dylan, the Christmas season, and cannibalism. Read more...

In which I discuss more Montreal jazz festival concerts, cancer, and accountants. Read more...

In which I discuss more Montreal Jazz Festival concerts, and for some reason, zombies. Read more...

We all buy music online. Occasionally we even pick up a CD now and then. My fiancée pointed out something very interesting to me yesterday that she hasn't had a CD player in years. In fact we don't have a stereo or CD player at home now. So if you don't have a CD player, what can you do? Turns out, lots. Read more...

In which I discuss eating unhealthy amounts of poutine and beer, while watching amazing jazz concerts with thousands of strangers. Read more...

Yes, there are times when getting in line for the latest and greatest gear is a life changing experience - but isn't the old stuff still worthy? The original portable music player, the Sony Walkman, turns 30 this year, and while I'm not suggesting you go all the way back to carrying a brick sized cassette player in your pack to entertain you on your daily commute, sometimes older is just fine when it comes to technology. Read more...