Jan 19, 2007 | blog
More and more lately I’m finding that I work better without distraction. I know that’s kind of a Doh! idea, but I’ve been working for so many years allowing myself to be distracted and interrupted multiple times hourly (forget daily), to the point where its difficult to get back into the “groove” where your focus and attention is solely on what you are working on.
To combat this, I’ve started to listen to music while working on something at my desk. I know there are many who do this already for the exact same purpose, and it seems to really help get a person back into their most productive working mode.
This past week, I have noticed how much more actual work I’ve gotten done when adding this to my work practices. It also has brought home exactly how often I’m interrupted in my tasks. There is a constant stream of people who are stopping by to ask questions – some that they should already know the answers too, but that’s another post – right?
I’ve found listening to tunes is most effective when working on scripts and documentation. There is something about it that helps stimulate the brain to stream the ideas in a more logical, orderly sequence. Strangely, it doesn’t seem to distract me from what I’m doing as I have long believed it would
So I’m really interested, how do you “drown out” the rest of the office to focus on your tasks? What do you do to help foster creativity?
Nov 9, 2006 | blog
Om Malik has a great piece today over on GigaOM. He points out that Microsoft has fallen to the Mafia tactics of the music industry and will pay $1 for every Zune device to Universal Music Group (UMG). At one point, he wonders if this would have happened at Microsoft’s height of dominance.
In this battle of the monopolists, Microsoft blinked and decided to pay up. (Would this have happened a few years ago, when Microsoft ruled the technology planet?) Remember how Jobs stood up to these music industry bullies. Today they are asking $1 a device; what is to stop them from asking for say $10 or $20 per device down the road. This shakedown should result in a serious investigation into the music industry cartel.
The music industry has really lost its marbles, they do believe that their customers are crooks, they do believe that they are being cheated by “fair use”, they do believe that they should get a payment every time one of their songs is heard by anyone anywhere from any media source.
The sad fact is that these once-powerful media companies are crying like children who dropped their candy, and it is obscuring their ability to logically think and plan out a relevant business model in the “new media” world.
Link to GigaOM » Microsoft, Zune & The Music Mafia
Technorati tags: Music Mafia, Microsoft Zune, Universal Music Group
Oct 14, 2006 | blog
As I’ve pointed out before, I’m not a big music person, but… Since I’ve been playing with the generous trial of URGE, I’m sold on the service.
From here on, I’m a convert to the online music subscription point of view.
Jul 2, 2006 | blog
I’m easing my way back… For quite awhile I’ve really shied away from listening to tunes while I work, don’t really know why. One thing I do know is that I’ve been really turned off by the quality and variety of music available in the last decade. I’m not a fan of the current trend of pop music for sure, and I’ve not really spent enough time to dig into other genres of available music, so I’ve really not found anything new for a long time.
The last week or so as I’ve worked on some of my personal projects, I’ve been listening to the archive of music I do have. After all, being a true geek I’ve got everything I’ve ever owned ripped into lossless WMA (a Microsoft geek no less) 🙂 and set up to stream through the Internet via Orb. Its been a nice walk down nostalgia lane – all my favorites!
What I need is to find some new sources, and my initial question is – is that possible? I mean, I’ve not heard anything really good on the radio, I haven’t talked with friends about music much – or coworkers either. Mainly, I just feel out of touch on the subject – growing up in the late 70’s and 80’s that is where my music tastes were formed.
Artists like Van Halen, The Rolling Stones, Journey, Springsteen, Boston, U2, Rush, Aerosmith, Duran Duran, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bon Jovi, AC/DC, Allman Brothers, Cinderella, Dire Straits, The Eagles, Tom Petty, Foreigner, Guns ‘N Roses, Motley Crue, ZZ Top, Poison, The Police, Men At Work, The Wallflowers, The Beatles, Tesla, Damn Yankees have really formed my preferences.
At any rate, I’ve been cueing up the tunes while I write posts and design sites. Not sure if its distracting or if its helping me focus. I’m enjoying it though. So what am I listening to at the moment? Journey’s “Any Way You Want It” just started… Ah… Many memories from this one – too cool. Suggestions?
Jan 5, 2006 | blog
Today, Verizon Wireless announced it is launching the V CAST Music service. Described as “the world’s most comprehensive music service”, V CAST will offer customers the ability to download music directly to their phones “over the air” using the Verizon network. On January 16th, Verizon will give customers immediate access to a wide range of popular titles. The new service will apparently be available as a one-month trial, with a subscription required after that. Below are two phones that will support V CAST Music right away, the LG VX8100 on the left and the Samsung a950 on the right.
