Free Music for All, All for Free Music!

Of course life isn't as simple as it once was when anyone could grab Limewire and download whatever tracks they want. Ah, those were the days. While it is still possible, it is a little more difficult. That isn't the point those. Online radios, I love them. The only effort I have to make is deciding what I want to listen to. The options are unlimited, and it is beautiful.

Everyone knows about it. Some people like it, others don't. It has some good features. The one thing I really like about it is I type in a band I like, and the station plays a song and I am like F@#!, I forgot about this song! I do use Pandora because it is what is on my Blu Ray. Like the song to the right, I am listening to Matchbox 20 radio. I haven't heard that song in forever, and I am thoroughly enjoying it as I type. Another great thing is that a lot of the songs have lyrics with them, about the band, and similar artists. Pandora has a really simple user interface. My 3 year old cousin could use it if he were able to read and write or type. Good and bad go together like Thanksgiving and pumpkin pie though. The ads are obnoxiously annoying, and constant. Your music also quits playing if you aren't active on the website. The only way to get around it is upgrading to Pandora One for $36 a year. Who wants to pay for their music though?

The first profoundly annoying thing that I found about spotify was that you HAD to log in before listening to any music. The second annoying thing is that it wouldn't let me log in with Facebook. I am currently not a big fan. 

At this point I am in. As The Beatles said, "It is getting better all the time." The first thing I noticed, well I guess you couldn't help but notice, is it gives me suggestions of what is popular in my area, and on spotify. This could be good, I like hearing new things. Maybe this isn't going to be so bad after all. I choose to listen to OneRepublic. A sidebar popped up from the right with the music player. I like that that there is a desktop version available. There is a desktop version as well, and it is free. That is something that could be convenient. Pandora only offers a desktop version with its paid service.  It almost puts me in the mind of iTunes. I didn't download it just because my computer doesn't need any more stuff on it. Spotify has some potential. 

I love Slacker! I think I may have had it on my BlackBerry before I regrettably ditch it a few years ago. Regardless, for this blog post, I am going the first play list I see, I will probably regret that. Top 40 it is though. When I go to Slacker I feel like there is something for anything that I am doing. Whether it is driving, cleaning, doing homework, ect. It almost reminds me of XM radio. Because of the different categories show like ESPN, CBS, genres, and specials. XM radio was my thing until I got a job and became to cheap for it.

Possibly one of my favorite features of Slacker is "My Vibe" Tab. Right now I am playing catch up, so I definitely do not want anything to wind me down. So I am going to choice hump day, just because I am trying so hard to make it to my day off Sunday. Hump Day provided me with a list of options including Nasty Hip Hop, Down and Dirty Rock, Siren Songs, Freak Me, and One-Night Stands. Interesting, to say the least. Dirty Hip Hop it is. I did check out the Siren Songs first, but I had no clue what any of it was. I do have to say, it isn't all that bad. I don't particularly Luv Dem Strippers like the song below, but I am feeling Slacker Radio.

Grooveshark, I am not that big of a fan. You get unlimited skips which is kinda cool. You also get to add songs to a queue. However, when I want to listen to some in particular I go to youtube and play it. So I want to move on to the broadcasts. 

If I were going to use Grooveshark, the only way would be to use the broadcasts. You essentially pick what you wanna listen to base on the genres and choose a broadcast. Its pretty easy to use. I dont really like the way it looks. It reminds me of something that would be on Facebook. There isn't anything really fancy about it. Its just looks like it is lacking.

Google Changes Lives

Fifteen years, one month, and some odd days since Google's "official birthday." How many days do you go without Google-ing something? How often do you check your Gmail account? Do you ever use YouTube? Are Google Maps essential to your travels? If it weren't for Google you wouldn't be utilizing any of these helpful tools and many more not mentioned, including reading this blog. Google has a mass impact on our lives daily. I can't think of a day I do not use at least one product powered by Google. How did Google manage to change our lives, the internet, and the way we think?

The other day I was talking to a friend about writing this blog for class, and she told me about the quote above from Boy Meets World. It made me really think about how Google really has changed the was we live. If you hand me a dictionary or an encyclopedia, I can use it. Anyone with some common sense should be able to. However, why should I look up what a word means in a dictionary when I can type it into a search bar? I can cut the time taken to find the word in half the time. A book is more than less a waste of time if we utilize the technologies in front of use in the right way. You don't even know how to spell it properly and Google can still find it!

This also leads me to another thought. Many of us take for granted the technologies and conveniences Google has laid in front of us. Imagine it taking six months thirsty for just ONE book. It took Google 0.28 seconds to find that quote above for me. To me that is completely mind blowing. I wonder how long it takes the average person to sit down and look something up in an encyclopedia or dictionary. More than likely more time than someone would be willing to give. I think it is amazing.

I have heard many older people use the phrase, "It's a small world." In all reality, the world isn't so small with over 7 billion people. What makes the world so small? One thing I know that has made the world smaller is YoutTube. There is an limitless amount of videos on YouTube which will teach you about and how to do nearly anything. At one point you could read for days about how someone lived, or maybe go to lessons and learn how to play an instrument. What would be better than hearing about a culture and all involved than coming directly from that person experiencing it everyday. With YouTube you can also get that guitar lesson for free. YouTube is good for recreational purposes. There is also so much knowledge to be gained through many of the resources offered to you from Google!

There isn't a thing in the world that is better than a family vacation where you almost make it there but not quite. You can't quite make it there because you have the navigator in the passenger seat who can't read the over-sized map, or the driver who is refusing to stop and ask for directions. Imagine a world where there are written directions provided including any planned stops. Also including traffic and weather. Tell me how Google Maps haven't changed the was we travel. I never leave the house when I do not know where I am going without Google Maps.

Google to me is essential to everyday life. There is so much offered on the web and Google helps you utilize it all. You need Google for nearly everything you do. Searching, communicating, learning, watching, entertaining, and many more features. It is unlimited. Think about it every time you search on Google, and be thankful for what all is offered to you, so quickly and free of use. Google is amazing it what it has given us, utilize it every way possible.

The best things in life are free..

Ok so maybe not the best, but some things can be damn near close to it. As you can guess this is a blog about some sort of software. However, this isn't about your regular overly priced software. This is FREE!! What is better than that? I am going to introduce to you a few free software products that are pretty useful to me. So lets get started!

Tweet Deck

So to start off I am really not all that big of a fan of twitter. I like the idea, I just feel like the user interface sucks. That being said, that's why I never really use my account anymore than occasionally. I think I may have found away to possibly make me enjoy Twitter a little more. This is because of Tweet Deck.

Why can Tweet Deck make Twitter better? I like it just because everything is there in one screen. I can see what is going on in the timeline feed on the left. In the middle, I can see conversations I am having with other people. Lastly, on the right I can see what others are doing. Twitter still is not by any means my favorite still yet, but this is an improvement to it. 

Click Here to Download

µTorrent

uTorrent is essentially peer-2-peer downloading client, in which you can download large files. It works by others seeding the files. When using bittorrents you are basically downloading different parts of the file from different people. Now the question is why use uTorrent over another p2p clients? It downloads large files in no time. Also, it is very small, hence the µ, which means micro- in Greek. It doesn't offer a pretty user interface or internal search such as a bittorrent program like Vuze. It comes down to what is more important to you. 

Click Here to Download

The PC Decrapifier

Best thing since sliced bread, almost. I have been meaning to uninstall a bunch of crap that I never use for quite some time now. When is a better time than now? The PC Decrapifier makes it so easy. All I had to do was select what I wanted to uninstall and click next. It did the majority of the work for me. Beautiful! I now have no reason to be so damn lazy. 

Click Here to Download

Open Office vs Libre Office

I have never used either Open Office or Libre Office, but my first impression when I opened them both was essentially what is the difference? Both of them look nearly identical at start up. So why choose one over the other? They both have the same applications and options with different icons, which are as well similar, to represent them. There purpose in life is to be a much, much cheaper alternative to Microsoft Office which is free. The Text Document, Spreadsheet, Presentation, and Database are all pretty well the same as in an older version of Microsoft Office. However, there is two different application that I wanted to check out: Drawing and Formula.

Text Document

As you can see both are pretty much the same. Because of this it is hard for me to choose which one I would prefer to use. Actually, I would prefer to use Microsoft Office just because of the familiarity with the newer lines of programs. But for a free product, these are pretty good.

Spreadsheet

I actually like the Spreadsheet application in these two programs better than Excel in Microsoft office. There is less features which makes it easy to use for me. I don't really think of any instances when I need anything fancy for a spreadsheet. Sometimes simple is better.

Presentation

There are some minor differences in the two presentation applications. You have a few different opens that are more convention to get to in the side bar on the right. Still yet, they both are again simple to use and free so who can complain?

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Those are the three main applications that I have used in the previous years, only I used them in Microsoft Office. They did add two application that is not included in Microsoft Office called Drawing and Formula. From what I can understand Drawing is basically what it says a drawing tool, and Formula is essentially a math tool. I haven't had a chance to play with either, but they could be useful. Two extra applications for free, I'll take that. All in all, if you can't get your hands on a copy of Microsoft Office, either one of these would be a great alternative.