PyMusique
Came across an interesting project called PyMusique that claims to be “the fair interface to the iTunes Music Store”. It probably won’t last long (ie., Apple’s pretty aggressive in shutting down projects like this), but the interesting detail to note is that the iTunes music store is actually selling non-DRM tracks — it’s iTunes that applies the DRM after the song is downloaded. Using PyMusique, you’re able to purchase tracks from iTMS (ie., actually pay for them and download them), but you skip the DRM encoding and end up with unlocked AAC files (which is probably what you wanted to buy in the first place.)
As always, redistributing music that you do not own the copyrights for is illegal, but the ability for consumers to choose how and where they listen to music they purchase is a welcome feature.
(via MacRumors.com)
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A few books I'm reading now:
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"Innovation and Entrepreneurship
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A few books I'd recommend:
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Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science
by Charles Wheelan -- A fantastic overview of the field of Economics. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book.
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A Short History of Nearly Everything
by Bill Bryson -- a true tale of scientific thinking throughout history. You'll be amazed by how much we still don't know.
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Freakonomics [Revised and Expanded]: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
by Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner -- a fun read offering a somewhat different way of looking at society. Answers questions like "Why do drug dealers still live with their moms?", and what qualities in a parent matter for the success of a child later in life?
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Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
by David Allen. I'm a bit of a GTD freak since reading this, but productivity == $$ (whether you can simply get more work done in a given time, or work less by focusing on the right tasks.)
Recently read books:
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"JavaScript: The Good Parts
" -- A thin book with some good best-practices, but a little disappointing. Perhaps it's JavaScript's fault, not the author's ;-)
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"Web Form Design: Filling in the Blanks
" -- Good overview of usability issues in designing HTML forms, backed by examples and eye-tracking research. I bought the digital edition, which was slightly cheaper. (You can use code: WFDDE to get an extra 10% off any purchase on the publisher's site.)
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"What Got You Here Won't Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful
" by Marshall Goldsmith -- Discusses interpersonal skills (and how to identify and fix them) that most commonly hold executives back in their career advancement.
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"The Simplicity Survival Handbook: 32 Ways To Do Less And Accomplish More
" -- Lesson: Cut the corporate B.S. and stop wasting your time. Focus only on what matters most.
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"Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High
" -- Lessons on handling tough conversations: firing people, relationship problems, hostage negotiations (well, maybe not that last one.) Wasn't an exciting read, but I've been paying more attention to "turning points" in conversations since reading it.
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"Watchmen
" -- Graphic novel to be released as a feature film in 2009.
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"The Unwritten Laws of Business
" -- Very short. Flip through it at a book store before buying. If you already have corporate work experience you can probably skip this one.
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"How to Win Friends & Influence People"
by Dale Carnegie. -- Classic book on being friendly to people to get your way.
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"The Effective Executive: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done
" -- I really enjoyed this one. It's about the value of picking the right things to work on... the things that matter to your organization, and that fit with your strengths.
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"Practical Django Projects
" -- Lessons in building reusable ("pluggable") Django applications. Assumes you know the basics of Django and Python.
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"Bargaining for Advantage: Negotiation Strategies for Reasonable People 2nd Edition
" -- I really enjoyed this one. Lots of suggestions and strategies for negotiating.