So, someone else found out that eMusic is a very good place to buy music online, without DRM-crippling. I am subscribed to their largest plan (90 tracks each month for 20 US$) and I am happy to hear that they are doing fine.

The choice wasn't easy, but a few days ago I ordered my iAudio 6 and it arrived yesterday. In short, it is an mp3-player with 4GB capacity and, judged from the few hours that I have had it, it seems to live up to the expectations. Read on if you want to know why, see pictures and read the full review.

My Gmini 220 is broken in the most ridiculous way: The button to turn it on and off is bust. Well, I was unsatisfied with its quirky interface anyway and I will re-use it's 20GB 1.8"-harddrive in a cheap USB-case.

But this means I need a new MP3-Player, this time one that plays Ogg/Vorbis, too. Other criteria are the lack of proprietary "transfer-software" (USB-Mass-Storage is what counts!), battery life, size (both physically and in capacity) and the ability to act as a USB-host when transferring images from my camera.

I have been eyeing the iAudio X5 for quite a while and I am sure it is very good. Nevertheless, I am sceptical about this button/joystick that is the main device for user-input. It will most probably wear out with time.

In addition, iAudio has just released an attractive new player with a harddrive in the tiny new 0.85"-format. It is called iAudio 6 and holds 4GB which is significantly less than the X5 with its 20, 30 or even 60GB.

Of course, size does matter, but not exclusively. The battery-life is longer for the smaller one, it is physically smaller and uses a touch-sensitive area instead of a joystick. On the other hand, USB-host capability is nearly useless with only 4GB of memory that will partly be filled with music anyway.

Tough decision! :-)

Radio Paradise now has a 192k stream. Enjoy!

I've mentioned it before and now it is here: The Pandora music service is available directly via the Squeezenetwork. Maybe I should shortly explain what the latter is. If you own a Squeezebox (new review) then you can play your local music archive by running a little server-application on your computer that the box can connect to.

If, however, your computer is turned off, you can have your box connect to the Squeezenetwork, operated by the manufacturer. Of course, you cannot listen to your own music then, but I used it frequently for internet radio. Via the same mechanism, you can now have access (90 day trial) to Pandora which allows you to create own "radio stations" which will be automatically filled with music that resembles the one you specified.

After the trial time is over, it costs you 36$ per year to keep it. I am not sure yet, if that will be worth it. Keep in mind that you do not buy music here - its a pure streaming service. I guess it will depend on the size of their archive and how often it does not find the music specified. Also remember that you cannot choose specific songs. Once you created a station with one or several bands or songs, Pandora will play similar stuff and the only influence you have is to give a song a thumbs-up or down.

Anyway, I like that my squeezeboxes (I own two, one at home, one at work) that I already use heavily, have gotten some additional value which may even help spread it. I doubt that Pandora will make me stop listen to Radio Paradise but I will give it a try, nevertheless.

Right now is an especially good time to tune into Radio Paradise which is undoubtedly the best radio station that I've ever listened to (current playlist). They are listener supported (no ads) and since their Februrary fundraiser is over (yes, I contributed), they even decrease their occasional request for support. Tune in to one of their streams.

You might have heard about the rather new online music service called Pandora that gives you a "personal radio station" after you put an artists name. Now guess what: it comes to the Squeezebox. Have to test that out as soon as its available (March 1st).

Ok, I've told you already that I had problems with the harddisks in my computers. A total of three out of six have been replaced, out of which two were at work and one at home. No important data was lost due to my superior backup strategy (using subversion and mirroring) and thanks to powerful linux-tools like dd_rescue, loop device mounting of image-files and so on, I am back on line with everything working. The result: more disk-space, more knowledge, quite some time lost.

Although my Squeezebox allowed me to continue to listen to internet radio, it sure feels good to have it access to the music-archive at home again.

Darf in einem kritischen Artikel ein Link auf die Web-Seite eines in Deutschland illegalen Produktes gesetzt werden, oder nicht? Die Musikindustrie denkt "Nein" und verklagte den Heise Verlag wegen eines Artikels auf der bekannten Nachrichtenseite heise.de. Jetzt hat der Verlag Verfassungsbeschwerde eingelegt gegen gefällte Urteile aus niedrigeren Instanzen. Diese Urteile gaben der Musikindustrie recht und werden jetzt schon verwendet, um Web-Seiten betreiber abzumahen. Links gehören zur Online-Berichterstattung und stellen den Hauptunterschied zu gedruckten medien dar - eine solche rechliche Ungewissheit, im Bezug auf was verlinkt werden darf, würde sicherlich zu einer Verarmung von Inhalten führen, denn wer kann und will denn schon das Risiko einer teuren Abmahnung oder eines Gerichtsverfahrens eingehen. Versuche der Zensur und Einflussnahme auf Inhalte im Internet gibt es wohl immer wieder und deshalb gerade deshalb ist es wichtig, dass der Verlag den Schritt zur höchsten Instanz geht. Ich hoffe sehr, dass das Bundesverfassungsgericht im Sinne der Pressefreiheit entscheidet.

Eine chronologische Zusammenfassung des bisherigen Verlaufs und den Wortlaut der Verfassungsbeschwerde findet man auf http://www.heise.de/heisevsmi/.

Nachtrag: Es scheint, dass nicht nur die Industrie gerne etwas an der Pressefreiheit ändern würde - die Politik macht das auch freiwillig. :-/

Ok, I finally have to mention this: Captain Kirk makes music, and it's not even bad! I like the cover version of Pulp's Common People and some of the other songs are very interesting. Live life like you're gonna die....... 'cos you're gonna!

I have been eyeing the iAudio X5L, which is arguably the best mp3-player on the market right now, for quite a long time to replace my Gmini 220. Apart from many small improvements the most important ones for me would be: 35 hours of playtime instead of 8, 30GB instead of 20, ogg support and therefore no need to convert to mp3, getting rid of the quirky handling of the Gmini. Nevertheless, I have decided that I won't do it. I could afford the new one in principle but its not worth it. The old one works and serves satisfactorily playing music while I bike to the institute and to hold my pictures on occasional trips. One day it will break down and then I will have the opportunity to buy a better one then. Am I a bad customer now, ignoring fancy advertisings and refusing to consume? ;-)

Wohoo, Radio Paradise plays "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" by Pink Floyd right now. I always get Gänsehaut (goose bumps?) when hearing this. *pumping up the volume* :-)

As said previously, we returned to Zosch in the evening, after having barbecue at Christan's ex-girlfriend's place. Zosch's cellar that contained the stage and a rather smallish room for the audience was a comfy place to have a few beers and talk to the people that were performing. First, a guitar player, Ijen Martin, played three or four songs (very enjoyable), and then Kitty Solaris was on. Christian had told me of her before and had given me a copy of the album that he bought from her, so I knew roughly what to expect - and I liked it, too. At last, Emmy Moll played for quite a long time. It was less experimental than what I expected from the flyer that said "Experimental Pop from Hamburg", but very likeable nevertheless. All that for 5 EUR. Unfortunate for the performers, the place was far from being full, but we did not mind.
After the Zosch had closed, we had a look inside the nearby independent art-centre Tacheles, which was an interesting experience, especially the dark bar at the top with an open side towards a huge storefront onto which surreal images were projected. Finally (around half past three in the morning, I guess), we made it to a bar called "Subito" where we had the funniest conversation with Uwe about his bike and a Biedermaier bureau.

Strolling through Berlin yesterday afternoon, we went to a small exhibition by a Finnish photographer which was good but not overwhelming. At Cafe Zosch, where we sat down afterwards, we met the band Emmy Moll which would play in Zosch's cellar in the evening. We helped them push their broken-down band bus aside and promised to come back for their concert. Then we went on to see the Holocaust Memorial, right next to Brandenburger Tor. I took some pictures, too (not sorted yet, though).
OK, we're heading off again. Continuation follows...