Mahoning Valley Forum

Youngstown & The Mahoning Valley => Youngstown in General => Topic started by: Towntalk on October 11, 2012, 08:05:33 PM

Title: Curious Question For Curious People
Post by: Towntalk on October 11, 2012, 08:05:33 PM
I've been inundated with eMails proclaiming the death of desktop PC's, so I ask this question ... just how powerful are the new fangled toys that are being called the wave of the future.

On any given day I can open up one of my OTR folders, click on play all, and walk away from my computer for the rest of the day and listen to old radio shows for the rest of the day, and if I'm in the mood for music, I simply open up one of my music folders and bingo 24 hours worth of music without having to shut down to charge a battery.

What new fangle device would allow me to do that?

One of my favorite OTR folders is the Jack Benny Show ... if I had the mind to, by one click I can spend the next Five days listening to that folder non-stop.

What new fangle toy will allow me to do that?

Now I know that most folks wouldn't think of doing that, but then I'm not like most folks. (Thank goodness).

Also if I've a mind to, I can go on-line to surf the internet and still have these audio files running.

Title: Re: Curious Question For Curious People
Post by: Rick Rowlands on October 11, 2012, 11:38:24 PM
I guess the modern equivalent is that I go to Youtube and play my favorite videos in my playlist on the laptop.

If by newfangled toys you are referring to smart phones, ipads and iphones, I have a smart phone and its nice, but it is for keeping tabs on email and doing rudimentary Google searches when I am out of the office.  to do real work I need the laptop and probably always will.
Title: Re: Curious Question For Curious People
Post by: Youngstownshrimp on October 12, 2012, 07:41:08 AM
I've always believed in More's law.  I was waiting for the state-of-the-art leading to the cell phone.  Yes, my smart phone is taking over my laptop use.
Title: Re: Curious Question For Curious People
Post by: jay on October 12, 2012, 09:19:44 AM
One city councilman looks and types on his i-pad during city council meetings.  I doubt that he is giving full attention to a citizen who is speaking before council or to his fellow councilmen during the meeting.  Maybe this is why he often makes mistakes when trying to follow council's procedures.
Title: Re: Curious Question For Curious People
Post by: iwasthere on October 12, 2012, 10:29:30 AM
my frd tt, computer technology is like buying a new car, once you drive it out of the showrm. it is a yr behind the new options. my opinion of computer tech, if your computer works for you, why fix it.
Title: Re: Curious Question For Curious People
Post by: Towntalk on October 12, 2012, 12:54:47 PM
iwasthere my friend, I couldn't agree with you more.

By the way, here is a link to a very huge library of FREE music with the biggests stars in music history ... Frank Sinatra ... Sammy Davis Jr. ... Dean Martin and on and on and on.

This is a great link and simple to use NO SIGNING UP ... totally free ... all you have to do is: (1) type in a one time three letter code ... Pick the artist you want or the name of the song then you're good to go. So far I've added 100 songs to my library from this site ... quality is 100% good on all the music.

http://abmp3.com/artist/a/1 (http://abmp3.com/artist/a/1)

Title: Re: Curious Question For Curious People
Post by: Rick Rowlands on October 12, 2012, 02:43:59 PM
That really is a fallacy iwasntthere.  As computer technology advances, a machine bought today might be obsolete when compared to one purchased six months from now, but who really makes that comparison?  When a machine is purchased, it is evaluated by its ability to do the job that is required of it.  I know some people who won't buy a computer because of this very excuse.  They claim that as soon as they buy it, it becomes obsolete.  Well when a machine becomes "obsolete", as compared to the latest model, it still has all the functionality as it did the day it was purchased.


Title: Re: Curious Question For Curious People
Post by: Towntalk on October 12, 2012, 04:13:08 PM
I understand that electronics companies have to be innovative and keep coming up with newer devices ... that's a given, but what chaps my hide is that the computer publications and their writers go to extremes pushing the newer technology with little or no concern for the ultimate consumer. Not everyone needs a tablet. We also know the problems centered around texting while driving, or even walking.

I'll bet that were you to go down on one of those days when recycling is taking computers and you were allowed to boot some of them up, you'd find that they work just fine, the only difference being that they are older models.

Now I realize that computers like Commodore 64 and the early Apples are worthless in that even as game machines they might work for 5 year olds, but beyond that they're useless, and the same is true for early 90's computers which can only be expanded so far and are useless on today's internet, but my desktop is only 5 years old, it functions fine on the internet, it's running on an average of 12 hours a day 7 days a week, and with the tons of files I have on it, I've only used up half of its total capacity, it's never crashed on me, the only time I've ever lost files are through my own error, and the only change I've made is to replace my read/write disk drive, and got a new led monitor, and I suspect that I'm no exception.

Because I use dial up on the internet speed in downloading is not as fast as I would like it, but still I've been able to download almost 6000 audio files, so I'm not complaining about that.

Oh by the way one good advantage about dial-up is that I don't get a lot of  calls trying to sell me something, and that is great.

Do I plan to buy a new computer any time soon? Not until I've totally worn the one I have out.
Title: Re: Curious Question For Curious People
Post by: northside lurker on October 12, 2012, 09:31:44 PM
I got a new smart phone late last winter, and I find I use it a lot more than I thought I would, considering my poor eye sight makes it difficult to see the screen. :)  Originally, I just wanted a better built-in camera, and something that I could listen to music with.  But I find that I also do a lot of web/facebook surfing while I have some down time. (great for passing time while waiting for something: bus, doctor's office, etc.)

I only have about 107 hours of music on my home PC, but I've never bothered to copy any of it to the phone. (although I originally planned to do just that)  Instead, I use Pandora. (also free)  I've never just listened to music from a full charge to empty, so I couldn't tell you how long it would last.  But I have listened to it for hours, without it going dead.

In the end, would the phone replace my PC?  No.  But, I'm definitely glad I have it.  And, if I were more tech savvy, and had a need, I could dump my PC's internet connection, and use my phone's network capabilities through the PC.
Title: Re: Curious Question For Curious People
Post by: Towntalk on October 13, 2012, 12:13:10 AM
westsider what kind of music do you prefer? My tastes go from easy listening to music from motion pictures and broadway. Just this evening I downloaded music from the broadway version of Phantom Of The Opera -original cast album. and last night I downloaded a Frank Sanatra - Dean Martin At The Sabre Club in Chicago soundtrack (17 tracks).

Title: Re: Curious Question For Curious People
Post by: northside lurker on October 14, 2012, 09:38:16 AM
I can't really narrow it down.  I listen to:
- folk music, (blues, bluegrass, etc., not so much "contemporary folk" music, although I do have a Simon and Garfunkel CD)
- oldies from the 50s and early 60s, (I don't care for much RnR after 1964)
- some big band,
- some jazz (yes, I occasionally listen to WYSU for this, don't like "smooth jazz" aka elevator music, and WYSU doesn't play that kind)
- finger-picking acoustic guitar music, (mostly Leo Kottke, but there are a lot of great artists out there)
- when listening to modern music, I stick to alternative rock that sometimes--but not always--has a "retro" feel.
There is more, but this is what comes to mind at the moment.
Title: Re: Curious Question For Curious People
Post by: Towntalk on October 14, 2012, 09:59:50 AM
If in your free time you would want to build up your library here are the two main sites I use and they have a huge catalogue of music and artists that you can download for free. Try them out and let me know what you think.


http://abmp3.com/artist/a/1 (http://abmp3.com/artist/a/1)


http://www.downloads.nl/local/en/ (http://www.downloads.nl/local/en/)



Title: Re: Curious Question For Curious People
Post by: Towntalk on October 23, 2012, 12:02:25 AM
The whole beauty of music is that with not too much effort we can find the sort of music that is pleasing to us and there's no need for controversy or feuding over which is best.

For my part, my age is a factor in my choice of music ... I detest 99.999% of the music that is played on the radio ... Hip Hop ... rap ... grunge ... etc. I was born in the big band era ... jazz ... swing ... my parents taught me to appreciate classical music and every Saturday Metropolitan Opera was a must in our home. I enjoy music many refer to as elevator music, some country, and certain classical works.
Title: Re: Curious Question For Curious People
Post by: iwasthere on October 23, 2012, 09:37:35 AM
as a teacher i must listen to the contempary music so i can relate to this generation. i am condoning today's music because this music lacks depth in creativity thru usage of words. i tell the stds the music you listen to gives the indication how you want to be treated as an individal. i do liie some hip hop songs. i love teahing because it keeps me grded to the earth, plus i receive my best material from stds. one time i told the stds to turn off lady gaga. they were surprised that i knew her. they asked mr. t how do you know lg? i told them i knew lg because i am not dead. yet.   
Title: Re: Curious Question For Curious People
Post by: Towntalk on October 23, 2012, 09:54:55 AM
Point well taken.

When I was a student at West Junior High the music teacher was Ron Richards ... a super teacher with credentials that were five miles long and reached from Off Broadway, to NBC, to music director at WFMJ radio, to church choir director, and finally music teacher at West. Funny, students were lined up to take his class and be in the school choir, but when it came time for us to go to Chaney most of them didn't want to take choir because of the teacher. They just didn't like her for some reason.
Title: Re: Curious Question For Curious People
Post by: iwasthere on October 24, 2012, 08:23:28 PM
i agree with tt. it is 5o % of a teacher approach with the subject. the other half deals with parents and stds participation in a subject matter. i bet both teachers were excellent but they had different views on handling stds.
Title: Re: Curious Question For Curious People
Post by: iwasthere on October 24, 2012, 08:23:50 PM
i agree with tt. it is 5o % of a teacher approach with the subject. the other half deals with parents and stds participation in a subject matter. i bet both teachers were excellent but they had different views on handling stds.
Title: Re: Curious Question For Curious People
Post by: Towntalk on October 24, 2012, 08:45:46 PM
Before moving to the west side, I went to Hayes and our music teacher formerly worked for Fred Waring and his orchestra and chorus and like Mr. Richards she brought her professional experience to her class which meant that we were doing music that was arranged for professionals at the time and the choir numbered 40 students.

Actually I felt bad for Mrs. Holden because basically she was a nice teacher, but she didn't have the credentials that Mr. Richards possessed. A number of the students that sang in the West choir were really talented and had great voices and she had hopes of having them in the Chaney choir, but they chose not to join it.
Title: Re: Curious Question For Curious People
Post by: iwasthere on October 24, 2012, 09:45:49 PM
if you worked with fred waring and the penn. you were on top of your game like if you worked barry manilow as his musical arranger as of today.
Title: Re: Curious Question For Curious People
Post by: Towntalk on October 24, 2012, 10:29:45 PM
Miss Williams had a wonderful voice, and an equally wonderful personality. It was a voice you'd never forget once you heard her sing.
Title: Re: Curious Question For Curious People
Post by: Towntalk on October 24, 2012, 11:33:09 PM
Oh and by the way ... as I recall, Miss Williams had a large picture of Waring hung on the wall of her classroom, and all the music we used were Fred Waring arrangements.

By the same token, the music that Mr. Richards used were professional arrangements as opposed to a lot of the music that you found in the schools of the day.
Title: Re: Curious Question For Curious People
Post by: iwasthere on October 25, 2012, 07:05:29 AM
tt you had teachers that were on top of their game because they lived their profession as well as they taught their in their profession. i had a teacher in hs named dave bailey who taught english as well as he was the drama advisor. db had conections in broadway and also he was involved at the ytown playhouse. db one reguirement for the thespians that we had to usher at the playhouse one time during their theater season to see the operation in frt of the house and as well as in the back of the house. this was one way to put the theater bug in us, thespians. it worked with me.
Title: Re: Curious Question For Curious People
Post by: Towntalk on October 25, 2012, 11:14:59 AM
Without the least amount of questioning, there are many wonderful dedecated teachers in the school systems today, and they should be honored, and even prized for their efforts.

At West I had an English teacher who during the day taught at West, and in the evenings taught at what was then Youngstown College ... now that's dedecation to her profession, and one of my high school teachers who truely inspired me went on to establish a company that trained teachers in specialized teaching skills.

I could go on and on about the teachers that played an important role in my life, but I would like to hear from others about teachers that played a role in their life.
Title: Re: Curious Question For Curious People
Post by: iwasthere on October 25, 2012, 02:21:16 PM
my teachers came from the rel sec and pol professions. they left an impression with me that its the smile on the faces  of the stds when they understood the subject matter, not the dollar bills in their pockets.