The Last Candle

Today’s theme:

I’ve cheated my way to a trio of free iTunes. It’s probably lucky for my checking balance that I don’t have access to a credit card to buy music. Instead, I have to peer underneath a bunch of soda bottle caps in the supermarket like some deranged paranoid in order to get my fix — which actually costs 41 cents more than just buying the song directly from the iTunes music store. Alas. <p/> The iTunes music store has hardly any power metal, much to my displeasure. (Kamelot’s Karma, but not Epica? Sad. But it’s something, at least.) My bet’s on something to do with the label my fav’ artists are under aren’t legislated by the RIAA. But, whatever. The problem remains when I plug in “Blind Guardian” and punch Search and get ZERO HITS. Not acceptable. <p/> The good part about iTunes? It is easy to use. It is strangely fun. MacOS X isn’t in my weekly usage (monthly, yes), but the iPod and now iTunes are, and Apple sure does have a knack for an intuitive interface. In the case of the iPod, during the early days I found that if I needed an action, the first button I pushed usually did that action. The idea before moving the finger was “hmm, that just feels right” — intuition. And bingo, it worked. Of course, competitor Rio Karma only has one button other than the play controls, and it’s nice and red. Nobody’s talking about the intuition of Rio, however, so I suspect it does something single-use or is plain stupid. Update: The Rio Karma does indeed have a second “misc” button, lurking in the upper right of the player. <p/> So the iPod is nice, but with iTunes we’re forced to use the mouse, which leaves the interface to on-screen. Not only interface, but iTunes has to make you want to buy music, which might come down to a few things: convenience, supply, and exposure. It has to be easy. It has to be affordable. No excessive DRM or restrictions, like streaming-only or X listens per song. (The company that introduces that be damned. DAMNED.) I like not only a decent selection of stuff I’m familiar with, but a large selection of everything. Let me browse and sniff and choose to my liking, introducing myself to new corners and facets of the soundscape. This is supply and exposure, the availability of a service. Convenience makes the gettin’ fun or a chore. And iTunes does these things well. <p/> ‘Sblood, I sound like I’m trying to be serious about this stuff. Anyways, I found out today that Target sells prepaid iTunes cards, so I can stop supporting crappy cola and still get my iTunes. Chomp.