A Preface To VoIP Service
March 10, 2010
Science has made a lot of astonishing inventions and discoveries, which were always thought to be impracticable from the Stone Age to this contemporary world of expertise. Particularly in the division of communications, technology has rehabilitated the entire globe into a global village. It is now achievable to communicate with anybody at any corner of the planet without any issues.
VoIP (voice over imp) is another contribution of technology, which has been able to provide incredible services, and has made communications a lot easier and interactive in many ways. Its definition in a scientific language is a transmission protocol that lets voice traffic to travel over IP communications networks such as the internet or packet switched networks.
Traffic on VoIP is transferred by converting them in the form of data packets, and reassembling them as sound at the other end, which is unlike in the traditional pest telephone calls. The foremost benefit of this type of data transmission is the possibility of sending more data, using the same thickness of a wire. The second reason is the transfer of video, and computer data along with the sound.
As per the above mentioned transmission technology, VoIP offers very economical rates on its varied services. Even in some cases, free calls are offered from a VoIP provider between their VoIP customers. It gives a lot of charging options like per second or per thirty second billing. Not only that, services like free minutes can also be easily implemented.
Unlike the old times, when a telephone was used just to listen to the sound of the person on the other line, VoIP has provided various services, which have made the lives of people a lot easier in many ways. Apart from high quality and cheap telephone calls, VoIP offers video conferencing, which is a very important tool, especially in the corporate environment, as it makes representatives, sitting at distant locations, feel as if they are sitting inside the same meeting room.
Besides this, assortments of other constructive services are also obtainable, together with voicemail, which lets you transmit the recipient a voice communication if they are not on hand to pick up your call. Voice blocking service is also presented, which is used to obstruct exasperating, and unnecessary calls. Data transfer and file transfer is yet an additional quite useful application of VoIP, which lets you contribute to significant information without difficulty in an exceedingly modest amount of time.
One of the largely used services is the instant messaging, provided by VoIP in both business, and physical sector. All the way through this service, you can contribute to your undersized messages with just a small number of button presses on your phone. Presence indication is a provision, which informs you if the individual you want to call is accessible or not.
VoIP has proved its usefulness not only in offices but also in our personal lives. Now, you can easily talk to your distant friend or a relative, living in some other corner of the world, with ease and quality.
VOIP service plans are less expensive than traditional phone system costs.
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- Dialing In On Selecting a VoIP Service Provider VoIP service providers convey data transmissions of IP telephony signaling protocols called SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) which are fundamentally used for voice over IP (VoIP) calls. The provider is the main hub between networks which allow land line and VoIP users to connect.Substantial savings from your traditional phone statement......
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Living as Independent Developer
February 17, 2009
Today we interview Andres Martinez, owner of baKno, a game development studio located in Key Biscayne, Florida. They are a group of video game enthusiasts committed to developing new ways to deliver fun, interactive and challenging software.
Living as Independent Developer
Manuel Marino: You declare yourself and your team as “video game enthusiasts”. How much being a “videogames fan” is important in creating games?
Andres Martinez: All companies have their own stories, but in our case, developing and self-publishing our games has been difficult, with low sales during several months at our beginnings, and still low if they get compared to a regular studio. The only reason we have been able to survive is our passion for the art of game creation.
Can we say that the old games of the past were “better”? What can we say to the nostalgic gamers?
20 to 30 years ago the video game space was totally different. Accessibility to video games was very low, the product itself was like an experiment and the assumed audience was reduced, fortunately for us, we fell into that target, and we enjoyed every bit of Space Invaders, Galaga, Pac-Man, etc.
Some may say that it was better for game developers at that time because it was easier to create totally new and different IPs (Intellectual Properties). But the reality is that, they created myriads of games and only a few stood up to catch the public’s attention. Additionally, they were tremendously limited by technology and market penetration.
So, to answer your question, I don’t think old games were better or worst. But I think that our judgement is usually biased by the emotional attachment we have to those old great experiences.
How is the Independent developers world?
If we can name our day to day activities at baKno a “world”, then it is great!. Being able to make a living out of our own game creations is a wonderful feeling. None of us worked in this industry before and we don’t know how it is to distribute games through an experienced third party, maybe sales are much higher, but I suspect that for those particular jobs your independence is quite compromised.
What’s the difference between being “indy” and being “in the industry”?
We don’t consider baKno to be an industry player yet, we are independents as explained before, but it does not excludes the possibility of being an influent member of the gaming industry at the same time.
Videogames are more a “work of art” or a “industry product”?
All baKno games are a “work of art” built upon an “industry product” foundation. This foundation provides a minimum quality, design and support standards, and it becomes the canvas where the artist paint his game creation.
What can be done to make modern games better and innovative?
Creating better games is not that difficult, just use your common sense to take advantage of the ever-growing processing capacity, graphics and audio capabilities and internet bandwidth. As an example, you can enhance a simple old-school cards game with better graphics and effects, and maybe adding a multiplayer option with audio chat capability. Creating quality innovative games is an art, and for that there is no recipe or guideline to follow.
Why is it that I find games from independent developers being more innovative?
Innovation is weapon that cuts both ways. The more you innovate in a game, the higher the chance of being a great hit or a great failure. Established studios have serious economic responsibilities like payroll or rent, and they cannot afford to risk the company viability in a single game. On the other hand, and usually not even knowing about it, independent developers working from home are the risky creators of real innovative game experiences.
Internet can be of help?
Sure. In general, for casual games Internet has been the medium to reach massive audiences by offering free-to-try downloads, something that would have been impossible (very expensive) by mailing free CDs. In particular, baKno relies heavily on the Internet not only as a distribution medium but also as an effective way to communicate with our customers, and also to enhance the game experience with additional online features.
What are your next projects?
We are working now the online gaming for Billiards. We want to create a subscription service before mid-year. And by the end of the year we want to create a game with 100% pure baKno IP.
How do you see the future of videogaming?
As an interesting mixture of platforms, game genres and players’ demographics. Internet is going to be the default distribution medium, there won’t be a single dominant gaming platform, more and more people will embrace video games as an entertainment alternative, and most important: the general public will recognize the cognitive development value provided by video games (most of them).
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Art, Communication, Connectivity Michael Marcus (also known as "Jacques Treatment") is a published author, poet, artist, and game designer; with George McVey, he has been publishing comics as "The Hamtramck Idea Men" on the very sensible grounds that they live in Hamtramck, have many ideas, and they are men. Joint work can be...... -
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Sounds like music and networking
January 4, 2009
Wizzit Magazine interviewed me about Blogging and Social Networking. I have to thank Matti Mattila, the reviewer and open networker. If you remember, Matti wrote A musician story. Here is a short excerpt from the magazine article that you can download here in pdf format.
Sounds like music and networking
Matti Mattila: About blogging, you have an active blog, when did you start writing it?
Manuel Marino: I started ManuelMarino.com in October 2007.
What inspired you to first start blogging?
First of all the idea to freely surf and read everything about anything always fascinated me. I think this is why people love to have many blog feeds to read daily.
Next to this idea is the one to freely write interesting articles for the Internet community. Both gives a kind of freedom that I never felt before.
What is your blog about?
ManuelMarino.com is about music, arts, philosophy, poetry, independent artists, humanities and freedom. I invite experts and sincere professionals and artists to write articles.
I believe very much in freedom, honesty, sincerity and I’m able to feel these when I meet people. There are many good persons in the world, but sometimes we are too much obsessed by everyday life to understand this and find this.
How much time do you spend blogging every week?
Probably I spend too much. I love blogging, read other people’s blogs, surf and find interesting news.
What inspires you to write an entry to your blog?
Usually my ideas about news, culture and art, sometimes my intuition. We need more intuition, people tend to forget the importance of it and uses too much their left brain.
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Reading for fun This is a nice article from Isaac Marion. Isaac has been running the online textual variety show, BurningBuilding.com, since 2003. He lives in Seattle, Washington, where he works various mundane jobs while trying to make his writing/music/art career take off. Reading for fun Recent studies have shown that across the...... -
Phat Funky Road There are many songs named Funky Road. If you search on Internet you'll find so many, but no one is named Phat Funky Road. Why Phat? Because in this new track I blend Funk ideas with Rock and harder rhythms. Well, not so hard, not exactly my style, but I...... -
Music Geek Robin Mookerjee is a songwriter obsessed with music. Is this a good thing? Or a bad thing? I can say he is a real music geek! Read his story and check his website. Music Geek I’m really a fan as much as a songwriter, but a lot of songwriters say...... -
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E-commerce, a cultural fact?
November 1, 2008
E-commerce, online marketing, shopping, globalization, innovation are all linked together. It is becoming a real huge cultural fact, to be studied, to be understood to comprehend our world and where this world is going to in the near future.
E-commerce, a cultural fact?
Global E-Commerce and Online Marketing: Watching the Evolution By Nikhilesh Dholakia is a great book that explains all of this.
Specialists from business and academia present a meticulously researched, compelling examination of the effect that globalization, innovation, and relentless technological competition are having on the development of e-commerce and marketing. The editors offer practical managerial insights, important empirical findings, and new ways to comprehend the intricacies of the fast-morphing world of electronic business.
Another book that really catched me is Cyberpop: Digital Lifestyles and Commodity Culture by Sidney Eve Matrix.
Cyberpop: Digital Lifestyles and Commodity Culture is an analysis of cyberculture and its popular cultural productions. Each chapter focus on a particular cyberfiguration, including Hollywood films (GATTACA, The Matrix), popular literature (William Gibson’s Neuromancer, Scott Westerfeld’s Polymorph), advertising for digital products and services (AT&T’s “mLife” campaign), video games (Tomb Raider). Each close reading illustrates the ways in which representations of digital lifestyles and identities which typically fetishize computers and celebrate a “high tech” aesthetic encourage participation in digital capitalism and commodity cyberculture.
What I’m seeing on Internet and around me is an impressive and crazy explosion of virtual shops, like StreetWear-And-Red.com (also StreetWearAndRed.com). Goal of the shop is providing cool designs for the urban and street fashion along with elegant ideas for the modern gentlemen.
In the same explosion I can put my ebook and also my new CD with Rock and Metal Guitar Solos for Multimedia.
I’ve got just a fear, that all of this is going to result in a soap bubble in the future. How much will we be fascinated by the virtual world and how much can we stay far from reality? (Or virtuality is going to be our new reality?).
- Artists Psychology Here's an interesting exclusive article Roland d’Humières, 56 years old psycho-analyst from Aix en Provence (France) has written for our Weblog. I think it to be a very interesting writing about the artists psychology, or maybe "arts psychology", what's behind an artists mind. Artists Psychology Whatever is his/her Art, painting,......
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Music Biz Marcos Marado wrote this exclusive article about Music Biz. Is the situation really so dramatic as he explains? Leave your comments, this could be our first really important debate on ManuelMarino.com. Music Biz I'm, first of all, a passionate for music. My passion for music before I can recall it,...... -
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Music, Movies and Independent Films
July 30, 2008
In this exclusive interview, Todd Cericola, owner of Clocktower Pictures, talks about his movie studio, about music in movies and about the independent productions world.
Manuel Marino: When did you start your movie studio and how did you have the idea?
Todd Cericola: Clocktower Pictures was started in February of 2008. We are a new company in the Philadelphia area that specializes in independent film. We started it after working on a t.v. sitcom pilot called “Two One Five.” Myself, and my two partners Keelen Monahan and Matt Tomko had all been working individually on producing, directing, and writing and decided to put our efforts into one basket by opening up what would eventually become Clocktower.
How much is difficult to manage a movie studio?
I don’t know that it’s as difficult as it is fun. We are all doing something that we throughly enjoy doing. There is a strong workload, especially since we are a new company, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. We are a very hands on company working directly with our actors on a one on one basis. We try to cater to all of their needs as well as our own.
I’m a music composer, so the question is natural, how much music is important in the production?
As a musician myself, I think that music is one of the most important thing in a film. If you’re trying to paint a picture to set up a scene, background music is key to setting a mood. A good song will always have the scene set perfectly and you may not even notice it in the background, but when you have a bad song you, as the filmgoer, will always notice the mistake of choice.
What is your latest production? Can you tell us something about it?
Right now we are working on a few things. We are working on a feature film called “Describing the Moon,” about a guy in his mid-twenties struggling with trying to please his friends and complete his life’s goal of becoming a script writer. It’s a fantastic script that’s really dialogue driven, and very funny. We will be finishing up auditions for that next weekend, and should begin filming in October. Two One Five is a big priority as well, we are shopping around to try and sell and make an entire season. As well as entering short film and television festivals to get the name out. The entire episode is up on our website for free viewing at Clocktower Pictures. We are also looking into opening up a second branch of the company under the banner Clocktower Music helping to produce local artists and independent musicians. So we have a lot going on.
How we can define an independent movie and why it’s important that indies are supported in their work?
I think independent film is a very important thing because it brings out more creativity in people. When you’re writing without cause and shooting without big budget you’re working harder at making something the way you see it, so you’re getting the original vision of what you’re going for. It’s like an artists painting, you want to express your own ideas in your own way, not someone else. Too many hands in the cookie jar is never a good thing.
Do you think internet can help indies?
I think the internet is a great advantage for people in any area of creative arts. You can reach out to millions of people at the single click of a button for your company, your movie, your art, your music anything you want. I think with the advent of facebook, myspace, mandy, craigslist, and countless others we’re living in an age where getting yourself out to the masses of people is just that much easier, and that much better.
How do you see the future of movie production?
As far as movie production in general goes, I see it bulking up even more. Budget’s for production are getting larger by what seems daily, actors are making more and more money, and the intake is getting outrageous. On a smaller scale, Philadelphia is getting its own studio soon which has already scene production in the city jump up ten fold.
- Independent Games We interview Adrian Grigore, president of Lobstersoft, an independent casual games developer from Fulda, Germany. Their company consists of 2 people, although they have outsourced some parts of the development to freelance graphics and music artists when creating Gemsweeper. Gemsweeper is their latest title, a PC puzzle game. Independent Games......
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A Finnish music story Musician Matti Mattila wrote his story for us, a Finnish music story! Please read also his Finnish blog and check his page at LinkedIn. I named this article "A Finnish music story" because through Matti words we can know an exclusive tale about late 70's and 80's of Finnish music....... -
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Creating Clouds
July 23, 2008
Frank Kane job is very particular… he creates clouds! He can do it through his C++ library for real-time sky and 3D cloud rendering, used worldwide by scores of games and visual simulation applications on the Windows platform.
Its name is SilverLining.
Creating Clouds
Manuel Marino: Your sky and clouds library is impressive :)
Frank Kane: Thanks! SilverLining is a software library that allows real-time computer graphics developers to physically simulate the rendering of the sky, clouds, precipitation, and astronomical objects. You can specify any time at any location for pretty much any weather conditions, and SilverLining will draw what the sky would look like quickly enough for games and flight simulators.
Can we say that creating clouds is a form of Art?
It’s funny, because I didn’t go into this project thinking of it as a form of art at all – in fact it was quite the opposite and based on pure science; we went through almost a century worth of academic research into how light scatters through the atmosphere and clouds, the nature of precipitation, computing the location of the sun, moon, stars… stuff like that – and SilverLining was just meant to be a real-time implementation of the raw physics behind what makes the sky look the way it does.
However, a few months ago, I found myself standing inside New York’s Museum of Modern Art looking at an interactive art exhibit that featured SilverLining as part of it, running on a flat-panel display (this was Jonathan Harris’s and Sep Kemvar’s “I Want You To Want Me” piece. So there’s my sky rendering software, on display in the same building that houses works by Picasso and countless other other Art greats. It was surreal. So yes, Art and technology very much can live together.
Did you receive many requests of your library from game developers?
Yes, many game developers use SilverLining, and it’s even been ported to the XBox. But, we have just as many, if not more customers, in the visual simulation industry or “serious games” – people who create simulators for the military, for example – and also from broadcast video customers. A few people are working on using SilverLining for TV weather reports.
What do you think about the indie scene?
Well, I got my start as an independent game developer myself, so it’s a great way to people to learn and demonstrate that they have the skills and the drive to create something great and something big, if they do want to move on to larger projects. The growth of casual games and things like XBox Live have made it possible for indie game developers to carve out their own niche again, which is great. The world needs more people who are as passionate about their work as indie developers are.
What do you think about how internet became in 2008? What do you think about its future?
It’ll be interesting to see what direction social apps go in the long run. Will the world continue to support a few big social “portals” like Facebook and MySpace, or will a more open, simpler solution take over? Will people stay glued to their iPhones watching people Twitter about what they are doing? I think at some point we’re going to see a big divide between people who are very attached to their technology 24/7 with mobile devices, and people who rebel against the whole thing and become something akin to Luddites. It’ll be interesting to watch.
What do you think about the future of technology in general?
It all hinges on our educational system and the value society places on technology. In the US, we’ve had a real problem with a lack of interest in technology and science in general, and an educational system that does not do a good job at all in math and science.
Fortunately, there are other countries where this is not the case, and unless we see some big reforms here in the US, fewer technological advances will come from here. Already, most good technical workers here come from other countries – and our country’s restrictions on immigration and work visas make it increasingly hard to hire them. Who knows, perhaps the growth of the indie scene will counteract that effect by creating more interest in software engineering within our own country. Right now, it’s just really hard to find good developers, and that limits what the industry is able to create.
What will you develop in the future, new libraries? New projects?
I still have a few plans for making SilverLining even better, so I think that will keep me busy for awhile. Beyond that, I have lots of ideas – some involving computer graphics and some not – so if SilverLining gets to a point where it’s about as good as it can get, well, we’ll see.
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Raymond Thoughts about Games and Arts Today we interview Raymond Jacobs, owner of Ethereal Darkness Interactive. Founded in 2002 Ethereal Darkness Interactive is commited to developing quality indie games with high production values. Raymond talks about his latest project, Morning's Wrath 2, about videogames, Arts and technology. Raymond Thoughts about Games and Arts Manuel Marino: You...... - For game design Andrea Angiolino was born the 27th of April, 1966 in Rome, the city where he still lives. He published many boardgames and books about games, besides developing games for every media. His works appeared in more than a dozen of languages including Korean, Czech and Maltese. He is a game......
- Sounds like music and networking Wizzit Magazine interviewed me about Blogging and Social Networking. I have to thank Matti Mattila, the reviewer and open networker. If you remember, Matti wrote A musician story. Here is a short excerpt from the magazine article that you can download here in pdf format. Sounds like music and......
- Art, Communication, Connectivity Michael Marcus (also known as "Jacques Treatment") is a published author, poet, artist, and game designer; with George McVey, he has been publishing comics as "The Hamtramck Idea Men" on the very sensible grounds that they live in Hamtramck, have many ideas, and they are men. Joint work can be......
- Game Dev Famous Game Dev Vince Desi writes for our Weblog! He will write a series of articles, and this is the Part One of an article about being successful in Independent VideoGame Developer Art! Become a famous Game Dev now! Game Dev (Part One) Part 1. The 3 Essential Elements: I......
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From A Geek’s Geek: Daniel Raffel’s Favorite New Projects, Products and Features of 2009 When Daniel Raffel emailed and asked if we’d be interested in publishing his list of favorite stuff from 2009 we quickly agreed. He has worked on some of the more interesting projects in Silicon Valley over the last couple of years, and has his finger on the pulse of...... - Hiring Iphone Developers an Evergreen Option for Enhancing Quality in Usage Regular innovations in the field of telephonic communication through latest technologically sound mobile phones and other gadgets have brought revolution among users worldwide. These hi-tech mobiles not only used for communication purpose as well as they are feeding users for their diverse needs like entertainment with customized applications, business information......
- Short Game Bible By Dave Pelz Your short game is the key to a good score in golf. No matter how well you can drive, if you can’t chip or wedge your ball onto the right spot on the green, you’ll never be able to improve your score. Many golfers make the mistake of focusing on......
- Commission Blueprint Is Something You Deserve to Get Can Steve Clayton teach you how to use the internet to make money online? Read further to find out my own findings. In my travels I like to find out new things and learn new things. And especially in this putrid economy with the devastating recession still digging its heels......
- Technology needs for elementary school students There are very few computer programs or educational media set up to really work with students and teachers in the elementary classroom. There are plenty of educational resources available, but very few that actually are there to help teachers use technology to teach students. Although it is unreasonable to assume......
Raymond Thoughts about Games and Arts
July 23, 2008
Today we interview Raymond Jacobs, owner of Ethereal Darkness Interactive. Founded in 2002 Ethereal Darkness Interactive is commited to developing quality indie games with high production values. Raymond talks about his latest project, Morning’s Wrath 2, about videogames, Arts and technology.
Raymond Thoughts about Games and Arts
Manuel Marino: You are working on some new features for your next game…
Raymond Jacobs: yes, it is going to be Morning’s Wrath 2, the Sequel to our first game. You would be the first news source to really mention that!! As for the new systems… they are some various forms of internet integration with our new engine (The S3Engine 2.0) (version 2.0 of the engine used to make Malathedra). They will allow players to directly in-game leave comments to the developers about what they think of the game as well as submit any errors encountered via the internet automatically.
This is part of our new ‘internet technologies integration’ initiative as well as trying to know the minds of our target market better so that we can provider better games and faster fixes.
Sounds really innovative! The game reminds me Ultima Online…
Somewhat, though it is a single player game. In MW1 you had to fight off an invading army from taking over your castle along with learning the ways of magic though in doing so you get stricken by a terrible ‘dissease’ since the magical elixer that you use (mana) is by nature poisioned.
MW2 continues with this story, having morning lead her army across the continent to strike back at the invading Ashidian Army; and her search for a cure for her poisioning which is slowly driving her insane. It will likely be done in episodic format, and 3 episodes are currently slated.
Can we say that videogames are a form of Art?
Personally I consider videogames as a major form of Art but I don’t believe that people yet see games as an Art form, at least not the vast majority. They are still mainly an entertainment source however indie developers are definitely causing a movement of games as an Art form.
Flash games in particular have helped further this, allowing many traditional artists with limited programming skills to make simple games, which are avaliable to a wide audience.
As for my company everything we do is first a source of artistic inspiration and second a business endevor. We feel that without the artistic and creative backbone, what we develop isn’t likely to be enjoyable.
How technology fits with creative skills?
We limit ourselves to fairly proven technology, choosing not to push the technological envelope very much; but instead create a platform for creative expression; by creating a limited and finite set of functionality on existing technology it forces us to be creative, rather than to rely on technology to turn heads.
The newest HDR rendering may be very pretty, but beyond that it says nothing about the depth of a particular game, so in short, we use technology as a pedistal from which to express our creativity.
- Game Engine Dr. Roberto Dillon has written this article about his Music-Emotion Driven Game Engine. I think this idea to really have potential. Game Engine In the fast developing world of videogames, sound has traditionally played a less important role than other features, such as graphics. Nonetheless, recently, due to the latest......
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Film transfer, a graphical Art Today we talk about film transfer. Indeed, it's a technical process, so where can we find Art in this procedure? Often it is just a conversion of a Super 8 film to DVD or also 8mm to DVD, but sometimes it involves creative skills in restoring fragile 8mm, Super 8,...... -
Artwork Displayed in Unusual Places Joyce Boncal wrote this exclusive article for us. Artwork Displayed in Unusual Places If you’re young, budding artist, hoping to be discovered, where can you display your artwork? There is always your own web page but I wouldn't recommend it unless you can afford to advertise that web page. This...... - For game design Andrea Angiolino was born the 27th of April, 1966 in Rome, the city where he still lives. He published many boardgames and books about games, besides developing games for every media. His works appeared in more than a dozen of languages including Korean, Czech and Maltese. He is a game......
- Travel Writer This is the beginning of the latest writing by Peter George Mackie. Please contact him if you want to know more about his works. The first chapter of his piece of travel writing "Flowers of Zagreb" can also be downloaded at www.authorsonline.co.uk. Travel Writer Dave was pondering over a map......
- Finally, the Help I Need for Starting an Online Business Setting up my web business start-up has been giving me headaches. I know many of you reading this probably just breezed right through it and are now multi-millionaires but I must admit to having quite a struggle. Let’s be honest about this; everybody encountered some form of difficulty, including yourself.......
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Which Type of Hunting is Right for You? Camping, fishing and hunting are popular outdoor sports. What makes someone want to do any of those instead of just taking a hike through the woods and going home, or taking a stroll through a field to do some bird watching? Many people prefer the sense of them against nature;...... -
Free Alternative to Good Old Games Kotaku posted a story yesterday about the launch of Good Old Games. There's no doubt that I love classic gaming, be it playing NES games on my Wii or old PC games. If the price is right, Good Old Games could definitely make some money serving a niche market. However,...... - Electronic Arts Enters Prepaid Debit Card Business, Is it Good for You? Earlier in December 2009, Electronic Arts gaming company announced it was getting into the prepaid debit card business via its sporting game division. Branded under the Visa debit card umbrella, the card allows you to build up points which you can then use toward acquiring an Electronic Arts sports game.......
- VoIP and Internet Telephone - The Ins and Outs The fact that the Internet opened up a whole new world of communication options has not been lost on those providing telephone service - or on those who spend lots of money on voice communication. The ever-changing technology and emerging market for more cost-effective and better communication is creating......
How Has the Internet Affected the Music Industry?
January 19, 2008
This article is written by web designer Josh Gutteridge who runs Skyte Media. Skyte Media is based in the Midlands (England) and is a professional web design company that specialises in web design and development. Josh would like to receive comments about this article on his blog. But of course you can comment it also here, on ManuelMarino.com!
How Has the Internet Affected the Music Industry?
Music has always been something that has inspired mankind. Sir Thomas Beecham once said ‘a musicologist is a man who can read music but can’t hear it’. The pure beauty of music is that we can all listen to the same notes played by many different instruments, yet make our own individual conclusions with regards to what the music means to us; and nobody can argue.
It is not in the nature of this post to go in depth on musical history. Nonetheless, music has developed rapidly through the ages with the vinyl when it was first really used in 1948 by Columbia Records. Since then the music industry has seen the use of the Audio-Cassette and Compact Disc (CD).
Consequently, since the internet became more widely available it has made music more easily accessed by such means as Online Music Stores. There are thousands of these stores online including three of the most famous: iTunes, Napster and Rhapsody (US only). Let’s focus in on iTunes; an offshoot of the Apple Company.
I refer to iTunes as the ‘pied piper of the 21st century’ lulling people into easily downloading content with minimal hassle. iTunes is a free piece of software developed by the Apple company at Macworld Expo in San Francisco. This allows you to download digital music, music videos, television shows, iPod games, audio books, various pod casts and in the USA feature length films, and ringtones. Downloaded content can then be used to create your own play lists and personalised albums to burn to CD. It can also be transferred onto various different types of iPod including the new iPhone making music more accessible and easy to get hold of.
How does this affect the ordinary person who enjoys listening to their preferred genre(s) of music?
In this case, music has never been so easily manipulated and accessible. We live in a convenience obsessed world with personalised portals such as Last FM where you can listen to any artist known to mankind, you can listen to personalised internet radio with Pandora and also listen to all the music and view the videos on YouTube. It doesn’t take much effort to rip music (ripping is the term for digital audio extraction). The cost of downloading an album from the net is generally cheaper than an album brought in the shops, after all, downloads should cost less as there are less overheads for the record label to pay for: CD sleeve, CD case, CD cost, copying equipment etc.
How does this affect the music industry?
Some artists find the concept of the internet hard to adapt to; however, as they are forced into the mould of technology modern artists tend to embrace the internet as a friend rather than a foe. They view it as a ‘creative and inspiration-enhancing workspace where they can communicate, collaborate, and promote their work’ – Mary Madden (Research Specialist) in her project ‘Artists, Musicians and the Internet’. Sites such as MySpace have helped Artists and Musicians address their target audience rousing more interest in their style of music.
But let’s face it; there will always be people that are looking to find a loophole. I’m talking about those who engage in illegal music downloading. Experts admit that illegal downloads will never be stopped. This messes up the system and makes it unfair for both the artist and the people who are paying for downloads. The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) has joined forces with the Federation of Phonographic Industries (IFPI) to take legal action against internet file-sharers.
How will illegal downloader’s effect record labels? A record label makes, distributes and markets sound recordings; basically at the end of the day they’re out there to make money. The music industry produce mainly alums…how many albums have you brought just because you like one song? I have! We’re forced to buy albums to get the songs we love. As sales figures are falling record labels will be forced to look at the logic. Are people going to buy a whole album or just download one song? What effects do you think this will bring? Might we see a rise in the cost of internet downloads?
So in conclusion we have seen that the music industry has created stronger ties with new technology over the past decades and now can only go forward. We have seen that internet music downloads can be both an advantage and a disadvantage as we see the battle between the illegal downloader and the record companies continues. However, it is safe to conclude people – adapt or die!
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American Music and Vintage Guitars Mark Weakley is an impressive artist; sculptor, painter, musician. He plays guitar, banjo and harmonica, and has recently recorded a CD of his original compositions. In this exclusive article he talks about himself, about his passions, about his father, about traditional american music, about vintage guitars and banjoes, and much...... -
Reflections on some well loved Poets Ziggy Olivier wrote this article. He met Dylan Thomas and spent some of his youth drinking whisky with him. He said me: "Everything you may have read about him was true." Reflections on some well loved Poets Approaching my own demise, I was delighted this Christmas to receive from...... -
Inspired by nature Artist Robert Tucker talks about himself and his artist experience in this exclusive article. Inspired by nature The glorious portal of a new year is again upon me. My mind has wondered since the start of 2008 as to which direction my creative self will take. For me a...... - History of Music and Current Recording Industry Crisis Roger L. Bagula wrote this exclusive article for ManuelMarino.com. History of Music and Current Recording Industry Crisis In a time when the whole future of how music is distributed is in question, maybe we should look at the history of music for a guide. Many of us find music......
- Recording Music Industry This is a post I've received from Julien Bernier-Haineault and he is a music producer from Quebec, Canada. He made several songs for a lot of bands that never really got appreciated to their real value. I can say that trying, failing and trying again, now he absolutely knows a......
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Obama At House Republican Retreat In Baltimore: FULL VIDEO, TEXT [/caption] Video of President Obama's remarks to the House Republican retreat in Baltimore on Friday, Jan. 29, 2010 and Q&A With GOP Lawmakers: Complete transcript of Obama's remarks as recorded by the White House: 12:10 P.M. EST THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Please, everybody be...... -
The Future of P2P Lending - Dusting Off My Crystal Ball Remember the good old days of 1998? The Internet was going to change everything. Analysts predicted that we were going to buy our books, music, pet supplies, and groceries over the Internet. It's ten years later and the analysts were right about the first two and wrong about the last...... -
Critical Mistakes in Keeping Blog Visitors One of the most critical parts of your blog is the section that is visible in the browser window without requiring any scrolling on the behalf of the visitor. What this means, in no uncertain terms, is that the most important and most critical elements need to be in this...... - Essential Info About Earning Money From Home Today there are many people who are interested in different methods that they can make considerably large incomes from home, utilizing the best business model for internet marketing. The internet in general has opened new possibilities for employment. There are plenty of things that you can do though the Internet......
- Internet Telephony - Improvised Conventional Phone Service In today's world, internet is playing a vital role in changing people's thinking and lifestyle. These changes came into existence with the innovation in technology and advancement. Well, credit for this revolution is given to internet. While talking about technology in communication industry, internet has come up with advanced......
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