Spotify Cancellation

This is what I wrote in the box marked 'other' for why I was cancelling my spotify account.

I love the Spotify desktop application and the iPhone app works just fine for listening to music. However, as a busy professional, the only time I have to search for new music and/or make playlists is while I am on buses, trains or planes; at which time I have my iPad not my PC.

I got excited toward the end of last year when you said an iPad app is coming soon. I decided to wait it out and thought that finally yesterday you would have listened to your customers and release an iPad app. You can imagine my disappointment when you announced a partnership with a unhealthy sugary drink company that I don't even like. I have yet to figure out why I should possibly care about this.

I'm not delusional enough to tell you how to do business, but I will be taking mine elsewhere.

The New iPad

I'm in Texas spending time with my mother as she recovers from back surgery. I am kicked out of the room during shift change and I usually pass the time by walking to the gigantic mall across the street to feed my burgeoning sock buying obsession. Yesterday I went in to the Apple Store to check out the new iPad. First observation was "holy shit they are pushing this thing hard." The store was about 75% iPads, and it was a gigantic (everything's bigger in Te...) store.

I am on a pretty strict "every other iOS device" rotation which so far has worked out just fine, so I had no plans to buy the new one. I suppose I could break my buying pattern if I was knocked off of my feet by a new device.

So, I looked at one.

The retina display is nice, no doubt. But I have never felt the display on my iPad 2 is what is lacking. Im typing this right now on my iPad 2, and the text is rendered beautifully. I think the retina display is a fantastic upgrade, but in no way warrants trading in my current iPad.

What would warrant that for me?

Easy, better input for drawing. I use Sketchbook Pro, Penultimate and a few other apps that are really good, but it doesn't change the fact that the iPad just isn't that great for drawing. Though I love books, there are a million ways that reading on my iPad is better than reading a traditional book. However, drawing on the iPad is like using an oversize crayon to do a technical drawing. I've tried a fancy stylus, I've tried my finger; it's decent (at best) for sketching out an idea. I assume Apple is working on this, but I would definitely have preferred upgrades on the creation side over the consumption. The iPad is already the best device for consumption that has ever existed.

It's getting better as a design tool, but still has a long way to go.

Meaux-Meaux on the Deck

Rdio

I have been hearing good things about Rdio all week. Evidently something happened at SXSW. I am mostly happy with Spotify, with the exception of one thing that is relatively major to me -- the lack of an iPad app. The only time I really have time to organize my playlists and search for new music is when I am traveling, especially on an airplane. 

I love the social aspect of Spotify, I discover a lot of new music from people who have taste that I respect. I just signed up for a Rdio account and saw that only 2 of my 700-ish FB friends are on Rdio. I'm going to give the free trial a shot and report back.

The two major things that are influencing my potential migration from Spotify to Rdio: 

1. iPad app
2. iPad app

Get on it, Spotify. 

*Update: The trial version doesn't allow me to test the new interface. The current desktop app feels dated and clunky. I also don't like not being able to add entire albums to a playlist. The iPad app is pretty nice, but I'm not sure if that outweighs the clunky interface for me. I think I'll wait until the new Rdio is released to all.

In15 minutes I was unable to find a song that one service had and the other did not, though there are still several that I was unable to find on either.

Simplicity

After weeks of designing and redesigning my personal site, I scrapped everything, pared it down, and here we are. It ended up taking no more than 3 hours. No about page, no portfolio... that will all be on somewheresomething.com, which I assume is going to take far more than 3 hours.