May You Rest In Peace, Michael

This picture is courtesy of Fishpond.com.au.

Mum woke me up on Friday morning with the very sad news that singer Michael Jackson died of a heart attack.  I could not believe what I was hearing.

I still feel shocked with the sad, sad news and yet part of me doesn’t want to believe he is actually dead.  Michael Jackson has been one of my favourite singers for many years, it is just a shame he had do die so young and just days before his final concerts in London as well.  Michael Jackson will be missed by many people the world over.  I feel sorry for Michael’s family, especially even more for his 3 kids; Prince Michael, Paris and Prince Michael II, just imagine how devastated they would be to know their dad will never be there for them again.

I remember when I was much younger, my brothers and my sister watched a video of Michael Jackson’s Bucharest concert back in 1992 and I remember Michelle, Beau and Reece would learn Michael’s dance routines while watching that concert!  Aaahhhh, the good ol’ days!  My first ever Michael Jackson CD was his single “You Are Not Alone”, but my first ever full CD of songs was his HIStory double CD set.  Since then I started getting some more CDs of him, but I’ve still got more to get (the CD pictured above, Visionary: The Video Singles is just one of them)!  Right now while I’m writing this, I’ve got my iPod Classic 80GB shuffling through Michael’s albums and compilations I have put on it.  I don't have one favourite song.....instead I have many and all his hits are among them.  Michael’s video clips are all pretty good too, especially the Thriller one.  Michael didn’t like to call them video clips, he called them films.

I've watching the news reports and tributes for most of the day. It is still very hard to believe, especially when Michael had a lot more years ahead of him.  Michael was and always be a great legend!  From what I read earlier on in the year, Michael Jackson was working on an album, but time will tell if that album was completed or not, because if it was completed, we can expect it to be released, otherwise if it isn’t, Invincible will be Michael’s final studio album.  I really enjoyed Michael’s dancing, especially in concert (even though I’ve only seen him on TV).  Michael’s music will forever be an inspiration and he had a great talent that no one can beat.

MICHAEL, WE WILL MISS YOU GREATLY, BUT YOUR MUSIC WILL LIVE ON FOREVER!

Digital Radio Excitement!

First of all, I just want to express my excitement about Australia becoming the latest country to get Digital Radio!  I’m not talking about the DAB format that other countries are using, which uses the MPEG2 audio codec, nor the format the US is using (I can’t think offhand what that one is), but we are using the DAB+ format, which uses the AAC+ audio codec, similar to the one used in iTunes!  I am hoping to get my very first digital radio sometime either this week or next week!  I’m really looking forward to it, mainly because I’m sick and tired of having AM stations go all distorted on me when I’m trying to listen to a good song on my clock radio.

Right now while I’m writing this, I’m listening to my favourite AM radio station called 4KQ and they’re playing Eric Clapton’s MTV Unplugged version of Layla!  I love that version of Layla better than the rockier version, but I can’t enjoy it at the moment because of the distortion, and the only place I can sit my old clock radio is under my bed for the best sound, and even that isn’t good enough.

For me, Digital Radio has come at a great time!  I’m looking forward to enjoying tuning by station name instead of frequency and being able to find out the name of a song I like instead of having to ring a number or SMS a word to a number I can’t even access, not to mention the crystal clear sound compared to analogue radio distortion!  For anyone who wants to know more about digital radio and the technology it is using, just go to the Digital Radio Plus website.  That website even has a list of digital radios to check out!  Brisbane got Digital Radio switched on Monday, May 25 while Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide got it a week or two before!

Sydney was supposed to have Digital Radio on May 30th, but thanks to the weather situation, will now be delayed until June 10th, unless there are further delays again.  Once Sydney has Digital Radio switched on, then all the major capital cities of Australia will have it.  From what I’ve read on the Digital Radio Plus website, they could be getting rural parts of Australia to go digital as well!  The good thing is no one is being forced to hurry up and get a digital radio yet as normal analogue AM and FM will still be around for some years yet!  That is a good thing because as Digital Radio is still new in Australia, the cheapest radio you can get is at least $130 in Australian Dollars, which in a way is annoying, but then considering the technology going into them, I kind of think it is worth it!

Stay tuned for a review of my Digital Radio experience some time in the coming weeks!

Elton John Deluxe Editions Reviews

 
This picture is courtesy of Fishpond.com.au.  Click image to purchase at Fishpond.

Today I have a review of 2 Elton John albums which must be on their 4th re-release now!  The first one is the self-titled Elton John Deluxe Edition, followed by Tumbleweed Connection Deluxe Edition!  The reason I say that this must be their 4th re-release is because they were originally released in 1970 on LP records, then when CDs first came out in the 80s, they were re-released then onto CD, but with nothing special about them and (from what I’ve read) very poor quality, but then in 1995, they got re-released  with 10 other Elton albums under the series name of Elton John - The Classic Years!  This time they weren't the same as the original CDs of the 80s, they were digitally re-mastered and re-packaged with bonus tracks and sleeve notes done by John Tobler.  After 13 years, in 2008, the Elton John and Tumbleweed Connection albums were re-released yet again, but this time as Deluxe Editions and it is this reissue of those two albums that I am reviewing here!

I think the CDs were released here in Australia back in June or July 2008 and I think earlier in 2008 for other countries.  Anyway, I got the Deluxe Editions of the Elton John and Tumbleweed Connection albums on the week of my birthday in August 2008!  Being a huge Elton fan, I could not wait to get them home to listen to!  I'm going to start with the Elton John Deluxe Edition CD!

The Elton John Deluxe Edition is a double CD packed with many great treats to listen to!  First, Disc One contains the entire track listing for the original album the way it was in 1970 without extra tracks.  My favourite songs from Disc One would have to be Your Song, I Need You To Turn To, Take Me To The Pilot (even though no one knows the meaning of it), Border Song, The Greatest Discovery and No Shoe Strings On Louise!  The first CD of the set contains the following songs:

1. Your Song
2. I Need You To Turn To
3. Take Me To The Pilot
4. No Shoe Strings On Louise
5. First Episode At Hienton
6. Sixty Years On
7. Border Song
8. The Greatest Discovery
9. The Cage
10. The King Must Die

CD Two, the Bonus Disc of the set is the most exciting thing about the Deluxe Edition of the Elton John album!  Leading off Disc Two is the Demo Version of Your Song!  I have to admit when I bought Elton's To Be Continued... 4 CD box set off e-Bay a few years ago, I never thought they'd bring the Demo of Your Song out any other way.  That is where this great CD set proved me wrong!  I think the Your Song demo on this set is so much better quality than the one on the above mentioned box set!  In fact, Your Song isn't the only demo on the Deluxe Edition, there is a demo version of every song off the original album except First Episode At Hienton and Border Song, which makes me wonder if those two songs don't have demo versions or whether they're holding them off for another future release of the Elton John album.  All the demos of album songs appear in the order they do on the first CD of the set, which is the way the original album was!  I have to say that I like pretty much all the demos made of the album songs although The Greatest Discovery has a bit of a glitch in it where at one part of the song, the tape must have gone a bit wobbly, but then that was the only part and it only lasted for less than a second!  I like how Elton even sings the part that the strings section of an orchestra is supposed to do!

The Piano Demo of Rock And Roll Madonna is, IMO, better than the finished version!  Next is 3 rare and unheard of demos of great songs called Thank You Mama, All The Way Down To El Paso and I'm Going Home!  I think All The Way Down To El Paso and I'm Going Home could have been great album songs had they've been finished with the band, but I like them the way they appear on the set as just demos!  Anyway, what if they did try to finish the songs and the band kind of spoiled the songs?  They wouldn’t be as good then!  Next is the Piano Demo of Grey Seal, which, to be honest, I do like better than the eventually finished 1970 version of the song!  After the Grey Seal Piano Demo is yet another version of Rock And Roll Madonna, but this time it is the Incomplete Band Demo, which I also like better than the version that was eventually put out on a single B-side!  There is someone laughing at the end of the band demo of the song, which I'm sure could have been Elton, but I really don't know!

Next comes the 3 songs that were added as bonus tracks on The Classic Years version of the CD!  Bad Side Of The Moon, Grey Seal and Rock And Roll Madonna (the finished version) got moved onto the 2nd disc of the set!  I love Bad Side Of The Moon, but as I've said above, the Demo versions of Rock And Roll Madonna and Grey Seal are so much better than the finished versions!  The last 3 songs on the bonus CD are from BBC sessions, well, two of them are, but one of them, Your Song, is just the studio version with the orchestra taken out, listen closely and you’ll still hear some orchestra instruments playing.  The other two songs from the BBC sessions are Border Song and Take Me To The Pilot!  Border Song's BBC session version features a group called Hookfoot, who helped Elton out at the time!  Now that I'm finished giving you the rundown on what I think of all the songs on the Elton John Deluxe Edition CD, I thought I'd put the track listing for that CD as well, so here we go, the track listing for CD Two!

1. Your Song - Demo Version
2. I Need You To Turn To – Piano Demo
3. Take Me To The Pilot - Piano Demo
4. No Shoe Strings On Louise - Piano Demo
5. Sixty Years On - Piano Demo
6. The Greatest Discovery - Piano Demo
7. The Cage - Demo
8. The King Must Die - Piano Demo
9. Rock And Roll Madonna - Piano Demo
10. Thank You Mama - Piano Demo
11. All The Way Down To El Paso - Piano Demo
12. I'm Going Home - Piano Demo
13. Grey Seal - Piano Demo
14. Rock And Roll Madonna - Incomplete Band Demo
15. Bad Side Of The Moon
16. Grey Seal
17. Rock And Roll Madonna
18. Border Song - BBC Session (with Hookfoot)
19. Your Song - BBC Session
20. Take Me To The Pilot - BBC Session

 
This picture is courtesy of Fishpond.com.au.  Click image to purchase at Fishpond

The next album I'm reviewing, as you see from the image above, is Elton John's Tumbleweed Connection Deluxe Edition!  Another great re-release packed with many great treasures!  Like the Elton John Deluxe Edition, the Tumbleweed Connection Deluxe Edition is a double CD set and, like the Elton John Deluxe Edition, this one has the full, original album on Disc One with no added bonus tracks like The Classic Years version does, this one is just the full album and the songs that were bonus tracks on The Classic Years re-master have been moved onto Disc Two along with other great songs!

Now, I love the fact of being able to play the original album on Disc One, but I also feel a bit sad in a way because from what I've read in the Hercules International Elton John Fan Club forums, people were disappointed that there are some songs missing off the Tumbleweed Connection Deluxe Edition Bonus CD, and even a review for the CD at amazon.com was disappointed with the CD as well.  Apparently there are supposed to be really good demo versions of Bern Down The Mission, Amoreena and Where To Now St. Peter and a demo song that isn't on there called Rolling Western Union, which is rather sad, but lets get to the good things about it!

My favourite songs from the Tumbleweed Connection original album (Disc One on the Deluxe Edition) are Come Down In Time, Country Comfort, Son OF Your Father, My Father's Gun, Love Song, Amoreena and Burn Down The Mission.  All the other songs on the album are great too, but these are my absolute favourites!  I love the way Bernie Taupin can get images into your head when you listen to the words of the songs.   The song I like the least is Talking Old Soldiers.  Here is the track listing for CD One of Tumbleweed Connection Deluxe Edition;

1. Ballad Of A Well-Known Gun
2. Come Down In Time
3. Country Comfort
4. Son Of Your Father
5. My Father’s Gun
6. Where To Now St. Peter?
7. Love Song
8. Amoreena
9. Talking Old Soldiers
10. Burn Down The Mission

The Bonus CD of Tumbleweed Connection’s Deluxe Edition is pretty good and, like the album above, all the treasures are on the bonus CD!  The first 5 songs on Disc Two (the bonus disc) are demo versions of some of the album songs!  One song that has had a name change when the album was released is Ballad Of A Well-Known Gun, which has a piano demo on Disc Two, but under the name of There Goes A Well Known Gun!  I like There Goes A Well Known Gun better than the album version as it has more of a Country-Rock feeling to it!  Come Down In Time is a piano demo of the same track on Disc One and the same can be said about Country Comfort, Son OF Your Father and Talking Old Soldiers.  I love the demo versions of just as much as the original album versions except Talking Old Soldiers, which I prefer the demo for some reason.  Next in line after the piano demo version of Talking Old Soldiers is the piano demo version of Into The Old Man’s Shoes!  That song wasn’t included on the original album, but I think it was the B-side of the Your Song single in 1970 or 1971 and the finished track was included on the 1992 double Rare Masters CD of rare Elton songs, then again in 1995 on The Classic Years re-master of Tumbleweed Connection as a bonus track!

The piano demo of Into The Old Man’s Shoes is followed by a great song called Sisters Of The Cross, a song that must have been recorded during the album sessions, but never finished, therefore we’re treated to the piano demo of the song on Tumbleweed Connection Deluxe Edition, but it hasn’t been officially released, just on bootleg CDs!  I think it is a pretty good song!  That is followed by the original version of Madman Across The Water which is the title track to the follow-up studio album (this excludes a live album and a soundtrack to a movie) after Tumbleweed Connection.  The version of the song on the Madman Across The Water album was done with guitarist Chris Spedding and Davey Johnstone, but this original version was done with Mick Ronson and I think the reason it was included on the Tumbleweed Connection Deluxe Edition and The Classic Years re-master of that album is probably because it must have been recorded during the sessions of Tumbleweed Connection instead of the Madman Across The Water sessions. Even though I do like both of the versions, I prefer the final version on the Madman Across The Water album better than this version as, IMO, it sounds so much nicer !  Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention that this original version of Madman Across The Water was also included on the double CD set called Rare Masters!

The original version of Madman Across The Water is followed on the Tumbleweed Connection Deluxe Edition by the final, finished version of Into The Old Man’s Shoes!  I like both the final and demo versions of Into The Old Man’s Shoes, it is a pretty good song!  In fact, the final version of Into The Old Man’s Shoes and the original version of Madman Across The Water were on The Classic Years re-master of Tumbleweed Connection in 1995 as bonus tracks on the single CD!  I was amazed that they weren’t on the first disc of the set like they are on the 1995 release, but they obviously must have liked the idea of putting no tracks after the original album, which is understandable, but then they probably would have been able to add 2 or 3 more songs on (depending on how short they are), but I still like the way it is now!

Into The Old Man’s Shoes is followed up nicely by 4 songs from the BBC Sessions and they are My Father’s Gun (a pretty good version of the song), Ballad Of A Well-Known Gun (similar to the album version, but not entirely the same, but good!  I think I like this version better), Burn Down The Mission (well, it’s a great song anyway, I like this one and the studio version on the album) and Amoreena (still a great song)!  All four songs from the BBC session are pretty good!  All in all, the bonus disc of the Tumbleweed Connection Deluxe Edition is definitely worth the listen!  Here is the track listing for Disc Two of Tumbleweed Connection’s Deluxe Edition:

Into The Old Man’s Shoes is followed up nicely by 4 songs from the BBC Sessions and they are My Father’s Gun (a pretty good version of the song), Ballad Of A Well-Known Gun (similar to the album version, but not entirely the same, but good!  I think I like this version better), Burn Down The Mission (well, it’s a great song anyway, I like this one and the studio version on the album) and Amoreena (still a great song)!  All four songs from the BBC session are pretty good!  All in all, the bonus disc of the Tumbleweed Connection Deluxe Edition is definitely worth the listen!  Here is the track listing for Disc Two of Tumbleweed Connection’s Deluxe Edition:

1. There Goes A Well Known Gun – Previously Unreleased
2. Come Down In Time – Piano Demo, Previously Unreleased
3. Country Comfort – Piano Demo, Previously Unreleased
4. Son Of Your Father – Previously Unreleased
5. Talking Old Soldiers – Piano Demo, Previously Unreleased
6. Into The Old Man’s Shoes – Piano Demo, Previously Unreleased
7. Sisters Of The Cross – Piano Demo, Previously Unreleased
8. Madman Across The Water - Original Version
9. Into The Old Man’s Shoes
10. My Father’s Gun – BBC Session
11. Ballad Of A Well-Known Gun – BBC Session, Previously Unreleased
12. Burn Down The Mission – BBC Session, Previously Unreleased
13. Amoreena – BBC Session, Previously Unreleased

Overall, I think the Tumbleweed Connection Deluxe Edition is a fantastic CD re-release of the great album, even better than the 1995 version included in The Classic Years series.  Even the notes in the booklet have a few extra paragraphs and sentences added in here and there, though they are pretty much the exact same notes that are included in The Classic Years re-master and I think even the notes in the CDs of The Classic Years are copied from John Tobler’s Elton book called 25 Years In The Charts.  Likewise, the Elton John Deluxe Edition's booklet is pretty much the same as The Classic Years version's booklet except with a few sentences and paragraphs added here and there, I'm talking about the notes, not the booklet as a whole, at least the booklets of both editions have different layouts and pictures than the original 1995 re-masters!

The Tumbleweed Connection Deluxe Editions doesn’t have a normal ordinary CD jewel case, it is in a cardboard case, pretty much designed similar to the old vinyl version with gatefold sleeves (well, I’ve never actually seen the original LP or its case, so I don’t really know what it is like), but it has plastic CD trays for both discs and the booklet slides into a slot at one side of the opened out case.  The Deluxe Edition of the Elton John album is exactly the same CD case layout, some people call them digipacks for some reason, but that doesn’t matter, I don’t care about that!  Both Deluxe Editions look so good!  I just hope they both don’t go the same way my Elton John Greatest Hits 1970 – 2002 3CD set went with its cardboard case (I think it has something to do with air bubbles or something between the CD trays and  the cardboard), but I’m keeping them in their Deluxe Edition labelled plastic, which is tight, so hopefully it’ll stop that from happening, and also the fact that I’ve got them on my computer to listen to means I don’t have to keep taking the CDs out of the cases and eventually wrecking them!

If you are new to Elton’s music and you’re deciding between the Deluxe Editions of these two great albums or the re-masters in The Classic Years, I strongly recommend you buy the Deluxe Editions (although The Classic Years ones are just as good, just not as much bonus tracks), but if you’re an all-time Elton fan and have already got the ones from The Classic Years, it is up to you; the Deluxe Editions definitely have more to offer, but if you’re wanting me to tell you the difference between quality of sound of the Deluxe Editions and The Classic Years versions, I’m afraid I can not help you there.  As I’ve said before, I’m hearing impaired, so I may not be as good at picking up differences in sound quality.  I may be able to notice the difference between the sound of the original CD versions of these albums compared to The Classic Years versions, but that’s because they were both made differently and Gus Dudgeon fixed the problems that existed on the original 1980s releases of the albums for the ones included in The Classic Years re-masters, but that is all.  I give both of these Deluxe Editions 5 stars out of 5 because they are both really, really good to listen to!

I’ve still got a few more Deluxe Edition Elton John CDs to buy, not to mention I’ve still got some of The Classic Years (the 1998 series, just 3 more to get) and Digitally Re-mastered (the 2003 series, only 2 more to go) CD series to finish buying!  From what I’ve read on the Internet, we can expect a Madman Across The Water Deluxe Edition this year too, as well as a box set with duets and other songs and also the other big news for this year is Elton John may bring another album out at the end of this year!  Yikes!!  All these CDs I have to buy is amazing!  One day I will have them all in my collection!

Do We Really Need To Buy Our Software?

I don't know if many people know this, but there is actually more than 3 types of software to choose from so it is your choice.  We all know about commercial software, or retail software as it is more commonly known, the type that you buy over the counter at a store or via an online Internet store.  The next one is Shareware, which is a little different because it allows you to trial the software before you buy.   While I like the idea of being able to trial the software rather than having to buy the program, take it home, and then realise it isn't for you, the down side is that many programs (software) limit you to certain features.  You may find some features are disabled and, sometimes, a message will appear when you click on a feature telling you to buy the program if you want to access that particular feature.  Another reason I don't like Shareware is that many (not all) have adware and/or spyware built into them that connects to a server and brings up ads whenever you open the program or it sends details about your computing habits that allow ads to be sent to you.   It's great when you can trial a program before buying it, but when you see there are ads in the program, that's when it is best to avoid using that type of software.

The next type of software is Freeware software.  Freeware is great in that it is free, or free, but also with certain features disabled.  In this case, usually software companies have bigger and better versions of the program available.  Take, for example, NoteTab Light, which is a Freeware program.  NoteTab Pro and NoteTab Std are the two bigger brothers of NoteTab Light because you get more features when you use them, those features are only available in NoteTab Light for a month only, but you get the option to have them or not.  The worst thing about Freeware is that, like Shareware, you're subjecting yourself and your computer to adware and spyware, except some Freeware software is so full of adware and spyware, it's not good to use them at all.  Freeware software is also more vulnerable for viruses as well.  Unfortunately, no software you get, whether commercial, shareware or Freeware is safe from viruses.  If you buy a computer magazine from your local store or newsagent, or a book from the book shop and that mag or book comes with a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM.  You'd think there would be no viruses on a CD or DVD of software that you bought with a book or magazine, unfortunately that is not the case at all.  The Australian PC User magazine which comes with a DVD-ROM states that even though they've tested the DVD for viruses and it comes up clear, you never know if it's going to be the same on all computers using different anti-virus software.  That's why they advise people to scan the DVD through their own Anti-Virus software before using it.  Whether you plan to use commercial, shareware, or freeware software, or even the software I mention below, you can never be 100% safe from viruses because your Anti-Virus software may miss a threat that another Anti-Virus program will find and vise versa.

The next two types of software you can get are my favourite type and I much prefer them to the ones mentioned above. The first one is Open Source software.  The benefit of Open Source software is that you can use the software, modify it and even improve the software to make it better.  You can even redistribute existing software whether you've modified it or not.  The benefit of Open Source over the above mentioned software types is that Open Source allows you to view the source code of the program and you can literally do what ever you want with it as long as it follows the Open Source Definition!  Some people might think Open Source means free software, but even though it is pretty much free, it doesn't give you as much freedom as the next type of software I'm about to mention. In my view, Free Software is an even better in a way than Open Source.  Do not get Free software confused with Freeware because they are both very different types of software.  Free software allows you, as long as you have the source code, to modify the software to the way you want it too.  You can even improve it, and redistribute the software, just so long as you give the other people who want the software the source code as well either, via the software, or linked to a web site.   Free Software is supported by the Free Software Foundation and is true free software compared to any of the above mentioned types.  Open Source, according to the Free Software Foundation on the GNU website in this article, was actually part of the Free Software movement but because people didn't agree with the goals of Free Software, they broke away and formed Open Source. This explains why Free Software and Open Source software are so similar but with some differences.

So......why should we pay for our software when there are free or Open Source alternatives available?  Instead of forking out money for every new version of Windows, why not get a computer that has a version of GNU/Linux on it? Ubuntu is a great Open Source GNU/Linux Operating System and gNewSense is a great "free" GNU/Linux Operating System.  Or rather than buying a computer with a GNU/Linux Operating System on, why not download image files from the Internet and burn them onto blank CD-R/RW or DVD-R/RW discs and create "Live CD" versions of the GNU/Linux OS (Operating System)?  At least that way you can try it before installing it!  How about ditching the expensive Adobe PhotoShop CS software and start using The GIMP instead and rather than paying heaps of money for Microsoft Office, Microsoft Works, WordPerfect or the Lotus programs, why not use OpenOffice.org instead?  How about using Firefox for your web browsing, or Thunderbird for your email, or if you want to go the totally free way, browse the Internet using Epiphany and check your email using Evolution?  IMO, they're better alternatives!  I've said to Mum several times that if it wasn't for the software we use in Windows (especially since I've paid for one of the programs), I'd switch over to Ubuntu Linux tomorrow and ditch Windows all together.  Even better, I'd switch to gNewSense instead as, unlike Ubuntu which is Open Source, gNewSense is a pure free operating system of GNU/Linux!

Another thing that makes me want to get rid of Windows is the fact that I can no longer trust what is being installed onto my computer by Microsoft, I don't like the fact that Microsoft and other companies are trying to control our computers.  Do you think you can trust your computer to obey you instead of Microsoft or other commercial companies?  If you want to know why I'm so against what Microsoft and other companies are up to, I strongly recommend you read an article by Richard Stallman called Can You Trust Your Computer?  I would if I used GNU/Linux!  In that article, Stallman gives software made by Microsoft and other commercial companies the name of "Proprietary" software. I tell you one thing, The GIMP may not be as easy to use as PhotoShop or Paint Shop Pro, but the more people who help make The GIMP a better program, the more like PhotoShop and Paint Shop Pro it will become.  That goes for any Free or Open Source alternatives to retail/commercial software.  If you think the Free or Open Source alternative isn't good enough, why not make suggestions to the creators yourself, or even better, become one of the developers and make the software better and more user friendly!

By the way, if you feel like I do after reading that article by Richard Stallman, then I strongly recommend you go to GNU's website and watch the video by Stephen Fry about Free Software and GNU's birthday (that is, if your favourite media player can open .ogg files).  You will find the link under the Freedom Fry heading on their home page.  He'll explain it much better than I ever will and I also encourage you to read some or all the documents listed in the GNU website's Philosophy section as, then you'll see my point.  You can also go to the GNU site to get more information on what Free Software is! The site is well worth the read IMO!

If I had to choose between Open Source and Free Software (not to be confused with Freeware), I'd choose the latter. In fact, if you want to see what Free Software is available, go to the Free Software Directory and browse their range!  When I get my new computer, I'm going to have a dual boot system with Windows on one hard drive and Ubuntu and gNewSense on the 2nd one and I'm looking forward to trying them without running them on the LiveCDs I have of them!  When I do get my computer, watch this space for full reviews on 2 GNU/Linux operating systems called Ubuntu and gNewSense!  I'm looking forward to comparing them!

So, which would you choose, commercial/retail (buy over the counter), Shareware (try before you buy though some programs have ads and limited access), Freeware (free but with limitations and/or adware or spyware), Open Source or Free Software?  I know what I would choose!

Reach Out (I'll Be There) - Music of the Four Tops

This picture of The Four Tops courtesy of wikipedia.org

 

As I write this blog post, I'm listening to songs by the group that this post is all about, The Four Tops.  I know that I'm three months late in saying it, but I was very shocked one weekend when I heard that Levi Stubbs, founder and lead vocalist of The Four Tops died in his sleep on October 17, 2008.  I'm sure all fans of The Four Tops were shocked and sad when they heard the news.  The Four Tops, with Levi Stubbs as lead vocalist, had many great hits for Motown back in the 60's, which include the hits "Bernadette", "Standing In The Shadows Of Love", "Ask The Lonely" and so on.

 

My favourite songs by The Four Tops have to be "Baby I Need Your Loving", "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)", "It's The Same Old Song" and "Reach Out (I'll Be There)", but they have so many other great songs.  I've yet to own a Greatest Hits or Best Of compilation, but I will get there eventually.  I've got some of their songs scattered over different CDs, some Motown CDs and some Classic Hits Radio CDs made here in Australia.  For years I have wondered who sang "Baby I Need Your Loving" because for as long as I can remember, I've been listening to a radio station here in Brisbane called 4KQ (I mentioned them in my last post about Elton John), then I eventually found out it was The Four Tops.  I eventually found out they done a lot of other songs I really like (see my list of favourite songs)!

 

I was surprised when I read on a Wikipedia page that Levi Stubbs actually had a baritone voice and that Holland-Dozier-Holland, Motown's songwriting team, wrote The Four Tops' songs so that Levi had to sing in a tenor voice instead of baritone because they wanted him to sound like there is a sense of urgency in the songs.  I thought that was a pretty good idea because that's how we've come to know so many great songs by this great group, and the sad thing is that there is apparently only one surviving member left from the original Four Tops lineup, but I forgot what his name is.  Another great song I really like is the Four Tops and the Supremes duet of "River Deep Mountain High", it is so much different to Ike & Tina Turner's and Celine Dion's versions!

 

In my opinion, The Four Tops' songs are emotionally driven with great music and melodies, fantastic lyrics and amazing vocals and harmonies.  In fact, one of Australia's famous groups, Human Nature, has made 3 albums full of Motown classics, including some of The Four Tops' great music and I do feel they do these songs justice, they are just as good as the originals!  Actually, I've actually been to a Human Nature concert where they have done the whole concert of Motown songs (well...actually, Human Nature did sing some of their own songs, but only acoustically and short versions), which was fantastic, they even got the audience to participate as well, which I thought was great!  I've actually got plans to buy Human Nature's box set containing their 3 Motown covers album and a live concert DVD of the Motown songs in concert!  The box set is called The Motor City Collection!  All I can say here is well done to Human Nature for doing such a great job at covering all those fantastic Motown artists and their songs!

 

It's a shame that many of the members of the Four Tops are no longer with us, but as long as we keep introducing their music to younger generations to come, I don't think their music will ever be forgotten!  Hopefully the music of the 60's, 70's and 80's will be remembered for many years and decades to come, from generation to generation, it's a nice thought to think of!

Blurry Web Font Problem in Internet Explorer 7

This afternoon, I helped Mum out with a problem she was having in Internet Explorer 7.  While Mum was checking over her latest blog post, she noticed all the apostrophes in her posts were looking like they were coloured blue.  I had installed Internet Explorer 7 on Mum's computer on yesterday and she really liked it, but she told me that, apart from the apostrophes being a blue colour, she has also noticed the font on most sites appeared blurry.  Having a visual impairment, I had never noticed it and, being that I'm mainly a Mozilla Firefox user and rarely go into IE 7 apart from when I need to, it's never been a problem for me.

 

After comparing the differences on both of our computers using IE7 (they looked the same, but when you zoom anywhere above 100%, the apostrophes looked like normal black, but when we put it back to 100%, it looked blue.  I figured it was the blurry font Mum was on about, so I did a Google search on "Blurry text in Internet Explorer 7" and it showed me a link to a Microsoft Support page explaining what to do.  I followed the instructions on my own computer and Mum's computer and when I restarted IE 7, Mum didn't have the blue apostrophes any more and web fonts were no longer blurry.  A huge thanks to Google for making it sooooo easy to solve problems!!!!

 

Anyway, in case you're interested, I've noted the fix below.  Apparently, it's all because of ClearType technology.  I don't exactly know what it is, but all I know is that it makes text on LCD screens look much more smoother with no jagged edges (well, it's supposed to do that).

 

In Internet Explorer 7, click on the Tools menu (if the menu bar is hidden, there should be a Tools option with an arrow beside it under the Search box)

 

1. Click on Internet Options,
2. Click on the Advanced tab,
3. Under Multimedia (in the section that allows you to check/uncheck options), uncheck the option marked Always Use ClearType for HTML,
4. Click OK, that won't change anything yet,
5. Close and restart Internet Explorer 7.  You should notice a BIG difference!

 

I do hope you find this information handy, it really helped me and Mum out!  Don't you just hate it when you come across an annoying problem with computers?  I'm sure most people do.

Book Review: Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

This picture is courtesy of Fishpond.com.au

 

Well everyone, last month, I have managed to finish reading a book that my sister, Michelle, and her boyfriend, Alex, got me for my birthday in August!  The book is called Inkheart and written by Cornelia Funke and, I can tell you now, I'm as big a fan of it as I am of The Chronicles Of Narnia and Harry Potter!  In case many of you have never read the book before, I won't spoil it for you because, lets face it, we all hate it when someone tells us the story in the books before we read it......it's a spoiler for me because it takes away the excitement of not knowing.

 

Even though I can't tell you about what the book contains, I'll just tell you enough to get you interested if you have never heard of it.  The story is about a girl named Meggie and her father called Mo.  Both Meggie and Mo love reading books, but Mo has never read aloud to Meggie since her mother disappeared years ago in a mysterious way.  One night, a stranger shows up at their house and gives Mo a warning, which gives Mo no choice but to reveal a secret to Meggie, and it is that secret that will change their lives forever!  Something happens when Mo reads aloud, see if you can guess what it is before Mo tells Meggie, that is, if you do read the story!

 

Inkheart is the first book in the Inkheart Trilogy and I have to say I really enjoyed every bit of the book.  I enjoyed it so much, I rate it 5 stars on a scale from 1 to 5!  The thing I love about my copy of Inkheart is that at the end of the main story, it contains two sneak preview chapters from the next book in the series, which is Inkspell and I can tell you now, after reading those two chapters, I want to get Inkspell very badly, I can't wait to read it!  The third book in the Trilogy, Inkdeath, got released on Monday, October 6!

 

Hey, I almost forgot to mention that Inkheart has been made into a movie!  How great is that?  I can't wait to see it, I reckon it's going to be pretty good, but I don't think it'll be as good as the book.  I think it's being released in January 2009 in the US, but I don't know about the UK or Australian release, I hope it'll be around the same time as the US release.  If you'd like to see the trailer for the movie, head over to the Inkheart movie site and you'll find it there!  You'll find other Inkheart related sites in my links bar at the side!   I strongly recommend Inkheart and you can watch this space for my reviews of Inkspell and Inkdeath, the two remaining books in the series, which I just recently purchased!