New iTom Song

[filkertom]

Regarding today's unpleasantness.

I did a few things different in the mix and mastering of this one, and I'm very curious as to what you think. I do know it's a bit louder than my mixes have been recently.

ETA: Good advice from raven_ap_morgan in comments. Getting away from the mix for a few hours usually helps, and in this case I backed down the vocal and added just a touch of reverb. So, if you'd like, you can download the file again. If you want to keep the old one, name one of them something different.

Comments

[unclelumpy.livejournal.com]

You have captured my sentiment exactly and put it to song.

Bravo, monsieur.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Lump. :)

[palenoue.livejournal.com]

Yes, the hype is out of control. And yes, Apple is exploiting it as much as possible (who wouldn't? great way to grab market share right off the back). But as someone who has struggled with badly designed cell phones and "features" that you can't use without a thick manual in hand, I can understand why so many people are so excited about the prospect of a cell phone that's _EASY_ to use and has the potential for flexible upgrades just by downloading new software.

Also, the last person who snarked so much about runaway hype castigated the iPod as a worthless waste of money for a few months after it came out. He now owns three and bought his first mac last year based on his pleasant experiences with the iPod.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Well, actually, one of the problems with the iPhone wass described by David Pogue of the NYT (http://tinyurl.com/yr5vdt):

Making a call, though, can take as many as six steps: wake the phone, unlock its buttons, summon the Home screen, open the Phone program, view the Recent Calls or speed-dial list, and select a name. Call quality is only average, and depends on the strength of your AT&T signal.

As some readers let PC World Magazine know last year when they did a whole series of gosh-wow phone reviews, wouldn't it be great to have a cell phone that was just a phone? Worked like a phone, had a good strong connection like a phone, no major gimcracks or doodads you may or may not need or want to pay for, just a phone?

Is all I'm sayin'.

[louisadkins.livejournal.com]

That is what I wanted when I went looking for my latest cell phone. I don't need to play games on it, or keep notes, or track sports scores, or record my biometric data, or take over control of foreign satellites. . . so I just went for a Go Phone (http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-service/go-phones/?_requestid=132662).

Of course, my use of the phone is very limited, so it's perfect for me.

[stevemb.livejournal.com]

The other problem that keeps cropping up is that the phones that do have the few doodads I want (e.g. a basic note-keeper for things like "Do we already have King of the Hill Season Three?") insist on piling in the whole kitchen sink. At least I don't have the "not allowed to take a camera to work" problem....

[scruffycritter.livejournal.com]

Damn Skippy. Anyone (like me) whose ever owned a Philips Pronto touch screen remote control will never buy one of these for a phone. Touch screens are nice and infinitely programmable but inherently clumsy for the example you described.

At least the Pronto serves the purpose of eliminating the need for every other remote control you have and every one you will ever have in the future.

And you now have to use iTunes as your contact manager. iTunes is a PIM now! Who knew?!

And don't get me starting on trying to code for it. I looked into that. It only runs webapps. That was new in 2000.

I'm laughing at everyone who is camped out now. It's an iPod that can make calls. For some people, that's worth it.

But here's the real reason it will die: Use my house for an example:

I carry a PocketPCPhone that does everything I need none of them insanely well. If I had N different devices, I'd lose them. I'm willing to accept less than optimal for convenience.

Wife is just the opposite: She has a purse that holds all of the above: a PDA, Phone AND iPod. She's picky and wants a device meant for the purpose.

The iPhone is NONE OF THE ABOVE.

[redaxe.livejournal.com]

wouldn't it be great to have a cell phone that was just a phone?

Reminds me of the man who wished that his computer could be as simple to use as his phone. His wish came true; his phone is now just as complex and incomprehensible as computers can be.

[palenoue.livejournal.com]

I think David Pogue has done the best "Let's be realistic about this" reviews. He points out the flaws as well and pluses speaking as a person who actually uses the iPhone and other smart phones, whereas everybody else seemed to be either tripping over themselves to praise it based entirely on press releases (amazing number of those sames people dissed the iPod and proclaimed it dead on arrival, and they aren't going to make that mistake again) or go out of their way to make the iPhone to be the rip off of the century. My favorites in the latter category are those who only list comparisons in features, such as "the iPhone does X, but so does the DeSade IV" totally ignoring the fact that everybody who owns the other phone complain constantly about that feature not working.

As for the number of steps to make a call, in a later commentary he corrected himself because too many people emailed in saying "Six steps?!?! What a piece of crap!!!" True, it's six steps, but they are easy, intuitive, nearly impossible to miss steps that are much easier to go through than a couple other smart phones that might have only 4 or 5 steps.

And as for "just a phone," I don't need one. I only make about five calls a month, always from home, and I rarely receive more than a couple calls (I communicate with all my friends via email and Skype) so I don't need a phone and won't buy an iPhone because the phone part (two year minimum contract? Ewwww) is too expensive. What I do want is a small, lightweight wifi web browser that can play videos I download on the spur of the moment. I'm hoping Apple comes out with alternate versions of the iPhone so I can get just that. It would be perfect.

[louisadkins.livejournal.com]

While the It looks nifty, I would not buy one. The screen would be covered in skin oil in 5 seconds flat, lol.

[sdelmonte]

Remember when cellphones were just used to make phone calls?

[ashkitty.livejournal.com]

OhmiGOD, yes.

[dbcooper.livejournal.com]

Also, according to hughcasey, The mayor of Philly has camped out for a fraggin' iPhone

Thing is, I'm a self-admitted gadget geek (my lovely and praiseworthy argentee just bought me a Motorola Q, and when FedEx drops it off, I have an appointment with squee), and even I think this whole thing is basically Cabbage Patch Kids for adults.

Except it might conceivably be easier to make a call using a Cabbage Patch Kid.

[fuuberry.livejournal.com]

Your avatar rocks my socks on so, so many levels... You've captured my favorite game and my favorite movie. *tear*

However, my love for today has to go out to Tom. I had to use an iMac in high school for my photoshop class... I got turned off of Apple gadgets right then and there. For as neat and sleek as iPods, iMacs, etc look in their commercials, my experiences with them have been nothing short of clumsy and ackward to navigate, and I doubt the iPhone will be much different.

[dbcooper.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much! I feel much the same way about both the movie and the game. (You know, I bet the rights to a "Princess Bride" game and a "Monkey Island" movie might be affordable even to me...)

As for the love...well, not only is Tom absolutely dead-on as usual, but this is his LJ... ;)

[redaxe.livejournal.com]

I've considered, and held off on buying, an all-in-one pocket gadget (e.g., Treo) for one major reason: If I'm using the thing as an MP3 player, or ebook reader, it's certain that when the absolutely critical Must-Take phone call comes in (or I need to make same), the battery will be flatlining. (Murphy and I have a deal. I don't tempt, and he finds other victims, mostly.) So no iPhone for me, even if I didn't hold Apple (as a monopoly holding consumers for ransom) in contempt only slightly less than that in which I hold Microsoft.

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

[wildcard9.livejournal.com]

I don't even keep a cell phone on me, except when at cons (so the people I am sharing a room with can get ahold of me). When I am at home, it sits turned off in my car's glove compartment. It is an emergency phone, that is why I got it. I don't need to be reachable by phone 24 hours a day, especially when I am at work or commuting (times when I can not talk to people who would be calling that phone).

The mix and mastering work

[raven-ap-morgan.livejournal.com]

You had asked about the sound quality in this track, insofar as the mix and mastering is concerned. I listened to it on both my Windows box's computer speakers and my studio's monitors and thought that you were headed in the right direction, especially in the mastering. The track came out of both sets of speakers very clearly, and the bass had about the right amount of punch. When I listened to the mix in my studio, it seemed to me that the vocals were a touch hot - they could drop back a little in the mix, with a little room reverb (not much), but that's about the only suggestion I'd make.

Regarding the content of the song, my perfect combination would be a phone that sticks to being a phone, and a PDA with wireless capabilities. Failing that, right now I've got a phone with a decent contact list and a couple of useful applications. Would I get an iPhone? If it behaves as well as my Mac does (virtually no downtime, as opposed to my Windows boxes) and can dial out as easily as a regular cell phone would, sure. But I also have a gadget tendency, too...

Raven

Re: The mix and mastering work

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Thanks. Yeah, the vocals are likely a little hot, and I may remix that down just a touch. The chorus on the lead adds to that. And, good ear -- I didn't put any reverb on the overall track. It didn't seem to make much difference on my end, but you likely have way better monitors than I do. :)

[wildcard9.livejournal.com]

I forgot to comment earlier. There is a silent beat during the chorus in the middle of the song, while it has a drum beat at the same points near the end of the song. The silent beat sounded off to me, it sounds much metter with the drum beat added in.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Thanks. That was deliberate, but I've already tweaked the mix today -- who knows what I'll do before I finish iTom 4.0....

Great song!

[moquif.livejournal.com]

Among some other problems with the iPhone is that you can't expand the memory with cards. 8GB is all you can get and who here has a music/video collection LESS than 8GB? It's really only good for portable video watching. Second is that, like the iPod, once the battery goes, that's it. Your expensive iPhone is iDead.

[tomreedtoon.livejournal.com]

Oh, by the way, this was my technical innovation: I will be transferring my TracFone minutes from my ancient and heavy Nokia 5100 phone to a not-quite-so-old Motorola V170. I was going to wait until the year of service ran out until I found out I COULD transfer the minutes.

I got the phone free for buying a year of service card for the Nokia. Hey, why not? Now I'm finding that the Motorola is about a third of the weight, and I can buy a pouch to hold it that actually has BELT LOOPS that will keep the damn thing from falling off, unlike every phone I've ever found that had a clip.

As for the iPhone, I've yelled enough at the tech columnist at salon.com about his falling for the hype and even getting in line to buy one of those white elephants. I won't continue that here.

[palenoue.livejournal.com]

From a friend who got an iPhone last night. He's the only person I know who really _needs_ a smart phone for his job, and has used or tried out almost all of them:

"There was a line but didn't join it. Hype crazed / purpetuating techno junkies everywhere. Must be nice having a product where people generate their own hype while you do so little. Went to see Ratatouille while the frenzy died down. (edit out review of movie where the theme "I can't believe I enjoyed a rat in a kitchen so much" was repeated often) Went back to Apple store seemed like every one in five people in mall had iphone while other four were clustered around trying to look / touch it. Got phone no hassle they had hundreds. IPhone is great / annoying. Much easier to use than I thought - other smart phones will be in trouble when people try this out. I anticipate mad scramble to mimic features while ignorant of ease of use philosophy. Reminds me of using ipod first time after trying several other mp3 players - didn't know others were so awkward until now. Performance is better than other smart phones but it could just be visual impression of the display. 8 gig memory filled up fast. Wish apple sold plug in or bluetooth mini drive today but somebody is going to do that soon and get rich. Phone reception average had some breakup like other cell phones but when reception was good the call quality was great. Video watching excellent. Plastic screen easy to clean. Web browsing will be the big seller after hype dies down. Beats all other smart phones to hell when on the web. I'll be using this for work more than I first thought, quicker / easier than laptop and more portable. Looking forward to future web app widgets or whatever they come up with because lots of potential on the iphone that aren't on other smart phones. Anticipate a herd of clueless Me Too smart phone duds like with iPod copy cats. People will see more in this the longer its out so keep those negative first day reviews on file for blackmail a month or two from now. Its more like a laptop you fit in your pocket that you can make calls from. Wish skype worked on it. Wonder when warcraft will be available for it. Finale analysis -- if you need smart phone get this its better than the rest and worth the price -- if you need web device wait for second generation with lower price / more storage -- if you need video iPod wait for third generation when there are different models -- if you need tiny computer that sometimes makes calls and sometimes webs wait until theres lots of peripherals for customizing."

Just thought you might be interested.