Youtube Outage Weakens Trust

October 17, 2018October 17, 2018 Lorin Olsen

Youtube Outage Damages Trust — Youtube Outage

Why do we trust cloud services? That’s simple: We trust cloud service providers because we don’t trust ourselves to build and manage computer services – and we desperately want the new and innovative services that cloud providers are offering. But trust is a fleeting thing. Steve Wozniak may have said it best when he said, “Never trust a computer you can’t throw out a window.” Yet how much of our lives is now based upon trusting key services to distant providers? Last night confirmed this reality for many people; the great Youtube outage of October 16 may have diminished the trust that many people had in cloud services.

A Quiet Evening…

It was chilly last evening. After all, it is October and we do live in Chicago. So neither Cindy nor I were surprised. Because it is becoming cold, we are starting to put on our more sedentary habits. Specifically, we have been having soups and chili. And last night, we had brats in marinara sauce. After dinner, we settled down to watch a little television. Cindy was going to watch “This Is Us” while I wanted to catch up on “Arrow”.

Everything was going serenely.

It had not been so the previous evening. We were having some trouble with one of the new Roku enhanced remotes. These devices use WiFi Direct rather than IR. And my specialized WiFi configuration was causing trouble for the remote. It was nothing serious. But I like things solved. So I spent six (6) hours working on a new RF implementation for my router. [Note: At 0130CST, I abandoned that effort and went back to my ‘last known good’ state on the router.]

…gone terribly wrong!

Yesterday morning brought a new day. I had solved the problems that I had created on Monday evening. Now, everything was working well – until the television stopped working. While I was watching “Arrow” and Cindy was watching “This Is Us”, I started getting errors in the YoutubeTV stream. Then I heard my wife ask the dreaded question: “Is there something wrong with the television?” And my simple response was, “I’ll check.”

At first, I thought that it might have been the new ISP hookup. It wasn’t. Then I wondered if it was something inside the house. Therefore, I started a Plex session on the Roku so that Cindy could watch “Ant-man and the Wasp” while I dug deeper. Of course, that worked well. So I knew that there must have been a different problem occurring. I wondered if YoutubeTV was the problem? So I tried it while disconnected from our network (i.e., on my phone which is on the T-Mobile network). When that didn’t work, I knew that we were part of a larger problem. My disappointment grew because we had just switched from cable TV to streaming YoutubeTV. But it was Google. So I figured it would be solved quickly.

I decided to catch up on a few Youtube channels that I follow. And I couldn’t reach them either. My disappointment grew into astonishment: could Google be having such a widespread problem? Since I had network connectivity, I searched DuckDuckGo and found many links to the outage. And we just happened to use all of the affected services (i.e., Youtube and YoutubeTV). My wife was happy to watch the movie. And I was happy to move onto something else – like Home Assistant.

And Then The Youtube Outage Occurred

As I started to think about this outage, I wondered what might have caused it. And I mentally recited operations protocols that I would use to find the root cause and to implement irreversible corrective actions. But those steps were currently being taken by Google staff. So I focused on what this might mean to end users (like myself). What will I do with this info? First, I can no longer assume that “Google couldn’t be the problem.” In one stroke, years of trust were wiped away. And with the same stroke, days of trust in the YoutubeTV platform were discarded. Unfortunately, Google will be the first thing I check when I go through my problem-solving protocols.

Eventually, I will rebuild that lost trust – if Google is transparent in their communications concerning the Youtube outage. Once I learn what really happened, I can let time heal the trust divide. But if Google is not transparent, then distrust will become mistrust. Here’s hoping that Google doesn’t hide it’s troubles. In the meantime, their customers should demand that Google fully explain what happened.

Switchfoot @ Six Flags St. Louis

September 11, 2011August 22, 2018 Lorin Olsen

The Switchfoot concert I attended yesterday was fantastic.
– Maybe it was fantastic because of the weather: I was blown away when it was raining and sunny and a rainbow spread across the park. We are so blessed by this beautiful world. May we treat this precious gift with the dignity that His generosity demands.
– Maybe it was fantastic because of the spirit of everyone in attendance: I loved it when all the young men and women came together in the center of the venue. The sense of spontaneous and uninhibited joy was palpable. I was reminded why I love working with youth so very much. Lord, please bless me with the ability to always teach people that burn brightly on your behalf.
– Maybe it was fantastic because Jon, Tim and the band were really going with where the Spirit led them. They were fantastic – as always. But it was so intensely cool to watch Jon change up the set list just because he felt led to do so. I don’t know if that was planned or not. But it was staggeringly awesome.
– Maybe it was fantastic because I was there with members of my family. While we didn’t have the full complement of my family there, it was wonderful to be with my children and the people that they love. It was amazingly intimate to be with them – and with a few thousand other people.
– Maybe it was fantastic because God’s Spirit was really present with us. In fact, I can guarantee that God’s intimate Spirit was the reason that yesterday was so fantastic. For me, it was one of the most meaningful concerts that I have ever been able to attend. I can’t tell you how many times I cried during the concert. In fact, I’m crying as I write these words.
Some days you tuck away into your memory because they are so very special. This was one such day for me. When I finally see my Savior face to face, I will be tearfully thanking Him for moments like this.
Thank you, Lord Jesus!

DLNA Difficulties Defy Desires

September 5, 2011August 22, 2018 Lorin Olsen

Over the past couple of days, I’d completed all the chores that needed to be done on this long weekend. So today was a free day. The weather was amazing today. But Cindy and I decided to take care of a few things: Cindy spent the day working on schoolwork while I worked on configuring the new TV to work with the rest of the household network.
My goal was simple: facilitate streaming movies from our media server to the new Samsung TV. I have ripped almost a hundred of our DVD’s into MP4 (i.e., .m4v) file formats. And I’ve used these files on other computers as well as mobile phones. So I assumed that this was going to be rather simple. But simple technology tasks often become very complicated – as was the case today.
The first step of the process was to set up a DLNA server. Since we have a Twonky server already built into our media server (i.e., a Western Digital NAS server), I figured that I would go ahead and use that platform first. But when I attempted to play a movie from the media server, the Samsung TV just displayed an “in progress” graphic. It took almost five minutes before it timed out with an error.
After playing with this for a while, I finally decided that the embedded Twonky server in my WD NAS might be outdated. So I decided to buy a copy of the software for my main system. After a failed transaction through Paypal, I was finally able to purchase and download a current version of Twonky server. After a few minutes of configuration, I was able to try streaming content once again. The results were identical. So I was now out a couple of sawbucks and I was no closer to a solution.
After tasting failure twice, it was time to do some research. First, I found out that I am not the only person who has had this problem. Second, I learned that many of the problems with streaming via Twonky were the result of multiple Twonky servers on the same network. While that didn’t make much sense, it was worth spending the time to reconfigure my systems. Of course, the result was some lost time and no substantial progress towards solving the problem. So it was three strikes – but I wasn’t out.
Next I was coming to the conclusion that the problem might lie with the new Samsung TV and not the streaming server. There are enough references to Samsung TV’s not support every MP4 container type. Indeed, some references even suggested that AVI files solved the problem for them. Of course, I’m not going to convert all of my AVI files on a whim. So I decided to pursue a different short-term course.
I saw quite a few derogatory references to Samsung’s DLNA implementation. So just in case it was the DLNA client built into the TV, I decided to copy one of the MP4 movies to a USB drive. I plugged the drive into the TV (after renaming the file from .m4v to .mp4). After finding out how to browse to a USB connected drive, I was able to successfully watch one of the movies that I couldn’t stream to the TV.
So now I’m left with a quadry: should I convert and/or rip my DVD’s again? I hardly think that this would be worth it. Since I really want this to work via DLNA, I’ll be entering a ticket with Samsung service concerning their DLNA server on the 6-series televisions.
[Note: If you’re wondering why the movie poster from Serenity is attached to this post, it’s because Serenity was the movie that I used to perform my various tests.]

-Roo

A Very Samsung Summer

September 3, 2011August 22, 2018 Lorin Olsen

It’s been a Samsung kind of month here at the castle. First it was the Galaxy Tab. Then we added a Samsung refrigerator. Finally, we ended up buying a second Samsung TV.
Why did we need another TV? Well, our second daughter has started a job in Chanute, Kansas as an assistant basketball coach. She is having a wonderful start to the new school year. But she is obviously moving out of our house and into her own apartment. That is great. We are so proud of her.
But there are two challenges (one practical and one emotional) that this transition brings. The practical challenge is that Dana needed a TV. Cindy and I had talked about putting an LED/LCD screen in our bedroom (to replace a seven-year old tube system). Since there needed to be a +1 purchase somewhere, we chose to give our daughter the older system so we could buy a new system.
The device we chose was a 40″ LED/LCD panel from Samsung. We already had a huge Samsung TV in our main living room. And we have loved that device. So buying another Samsung TV was a natural next step. And this time, I made sure that it would work with the DLNA infrastructure that is now throughout the house.
After getting the TV set up yesterday, I’ve been setting up a robust DLNA complex using Twonky Media. I have used Twonky in the past (with my Western Digital external hard drive). So I just bought and installed the full product on my media PC. Once I set the server up properly, I have been able to stream stuff stored anywhere in the house. And since I’ve stored all my favorite movies in digital form, it is stunningly simple to pull up any of my favorite movies either on the TV, the tablet or my mobile phone.
That took care of the first challenge. The second challenge won’t be as easy to address. Now that Dana is setting up her own apartment, she rightfully wants her own daughter to be with her. I love Dana’s sense of responsibility – and her devotion to Jayden. But it means that Jayden will no longer be living here with Cindy and I. So while we are proud of Dana, I am so terribly saddened that I won’t be seeing Jayden’s beautiful smile or hear her infectious laugh each and every day. I can only imagine the loneliness and loss that Dana felt while she was separated from her daughter for the past two years.
I don’t think that we can solve the second challenge by buying anything or by performing some kind of technical configuration. This one can only be solved with time and with the comforting knowledge that Jayden (and Dana) are starting off on a new and exciting journey – and we will always be along to help and to share in both the burdens and the joy.
-Roo

Using Android to Remotely Control Media Playback

July 26, 2011August 22, 2018 Lorin Olsen

It’s interesting to see how mobile devices can be used for the oddest little tasks. My Android phone can do a lot. It can run all sorts of network apps. And the latest app I’ve picked up is a remote control tool for the VideoLAN VLC media player.
When you think about it, there isn’t a lot of “never been done before” tools in this kind of application. But the folks at VideoLAN have really assembled an innovative package.
An http server is installed on the machine that you want to control. The server accepts incoming web connections and processes these requests as control strings to manage the operation of a VLC media player on the target computer. The server provides content listing and content playback controls via http packets.
A TCP/IP control program on your phone communicates with the web server on your computer. The mobile control program has a nice little GUI that displays the content and allows you to manage the server.

The PC-based server can either send the content to a display attached to your system or the server can stream the ontent to your phone. And I was incredibly surprised at the picture quality when it was streamed to the phone. I wish I could share a picture with you, but ShootMe didn’t get any good screen captures of the Android-based VLC player. I’ll have to try and get these at a later time. But trust me when I say that the streaming quality is good.
So what did this experiment prove?
First, the open nature of the platform breeds this kind of innovative tinkering. People can fiddle and tweak things as much as they like. And you don’t have to go through the app police to get a permit in order to test, to distribute and to operate apps.
Second, the size of the Android developer community is huge. The sheer enormity of the developer base is leading to some very cool innovations.
Finally, it’s great to have lots of choices. But it can get crowded in any given application category. There needs to be a good method for recommendations and curation. The Amazon philosophy of 4/5 star customer ratings is an excellent way to weed through enormous piles of similarly featured tools.
Is this tool cool? It most certainly is cool. Is it an essential tool for home media center management? It most assuredly is not essential. But sometimes cool is enough – at least for tonight.

-Roo

Spotify @ Home

July 18, 2011August 22, 2018 Lorin Olsen

The social networks have been aglow with the news that Spotify has jumped the pond. It is being hailed as the closest thing to the second coming of the musical messiah. Indeed, some predict that Spotify will finally bring profitability to an otherwise flagging digital music market.

I don’t know about all of that. I sure hope that Spotify will prompt people to listen to and purchase even more music. What the world needs is a little more music and a whole lot less hostility. And from my vantage point, I am glad to see the blokes back east sending us some of their social music love.

This spring, I’ve really focused 0n my streaming music experience. Between Amazon Cloud Drive and Google Music, I have been able to stream all of my music wherever I go. I can access my library at home and at work. I even played a bunch of wedding music as we set up the venue for Meredith’s wedding this past May.

And I’ve done a whole lot of cleanup of my digital library. I’ve gone back and purchased a lot of music that I once had in other formats (including vinyl, eight-track and cassette tapes). While I have chaffed at this since I did pay for the music once before, I have decided that I really want my favorite artists to see even more residuals from the music that they gave to me in my youth.

But that’s a different story. I am writing this post to describe what I’ve seen in the most recent tool to hit the American digital music industry: Spotify.

When all of my friends gushed about being able to stream music to their phones, I just yawned as they waxed positively poetic about Spotify. It sure sounded like it could do everything that I was already doing. So when I finally got my Spotify invite last week, I looked long and hard at the mobile experience and the streaming experience. And I quickly confirmed that Spotify wouldn’t offer me anything new in my streaming experience. So I set Spotify aside for a couple of days.

I finally got back to evaluating Spotify late last night. This time, I focused on the social music experience. And I must admit that the social side of Spotify is positively beautiful. You can scrobble to Last. fm. And you can post to Twitter and Facebook. I can’t wait until there is an interface for Goggle+. But until then, I am happily impressed with the ability to share my thoughts on music that I listen to.

Nevertheless, I am fairly confident that the real lynch pin of Spotify’s long-term success is not its basic capabilities. Rather, its success will be due to its ability to create and leverage music communities. Indeed, its playlist sharing capabilities may well be the real reason that Spotify will flourish her in the United States.

I can easily find dozens of playlists for the kind of music that I listen to. And I can easily find related music that is well worth checking out. For example, I found a great site that has all kinds of Christian music playlists. It is SpotifyforLife. This site is dedicated to the very music that I want to listen to. And it is stunningly simple to start listening to great mixes of favored and favorable music. Finally, I can easily connect with other people that truly love the same kinds of music that I love.

As for the Spotify music tool itself, I am singularly unimpressed by the UI. Don’t get me wrong. The UI is crisp and clean. But with dozens of good players already on the market, I can’t get too excited about the player experience.

So what is my summary assessment?

– Player and desktop experience = Acceptable
– Player and mobile experience = Underwhelming
– Streaming capabilities = Acceptable on the desktop but unacceptable (and expensive) on mobile devices
– Social capabiliies = Way above expectations – especially due to the incredibly active user communities that Spotify has spawned

I heartily recommend the free version of the tool. However, I cannot recommend the premium versions because you can get a better streaming experience for free from other products. But if you have become hooked on the social networking promises inherent in digital music, then you will be thrilled by this British import.

-Roo

Platform Pivot Possibilities

June 11, 2011August 22, 2018 Lorin Olsen

Anyone who has read my musings before already knows that I have loved technology for a very long time. You are also aware that I’ve used many different forms and flavors of technology. The list of operating systems is quite long. On the server side, I’ve used: Univac Exec 8, IBM MVS, IBM VM/ESA, IBM MVS/ESA, IBM z/OS, SunOS, Solaris, Irix, DG-UX, HP-UX, IBM AIX, Windows NT, Win2K(x), Linux and a host of other platforms. On the desktop, I’ve used: CPM, UCSD Pascal, HDOS, MS-DOS, PC-DOS, Windows (many flavors), MacOS (many flavors), Xenix, OpenBSD, FreeBSD, Linux (many flavors) and a plethora of experimental OSes.
As you look at this list, you have to be thinking a few things:

Roo is really old,
Roo is fickle,
Roo has been through a lot of tech transitions, and
Roo is really, really old

So why would I recite this list? Am I building a new resume? [No, I’m not.] Am I a preening, arrogant technology elitist? [Yes, I am. But that’s not the reason I recorded the list.] I wrote the list because I’m becoming convinced that it is time for yet another technology pivot.
There are some big trends that are becoming absolutely obvious:

Computing technology is for everyone. So it must necessarily be simple and bullet-proof. Over the past three years, I have deployed more “appliance” devices at home than I have deployed computers. Yes the appliances are computers. But for the average consumer, they are plug and play functionality. This includes: set top boxes, wireless routers, wireless extenders, wireless printers, wireless cameras, wireless phones, wireless monitoring systems, etc.
Everything is becoming mobile. Computers are getting smaller. They are embedded in everything (including my heart). And they are increasingly becoming disconnected from fixed structures (like an office or a home).
We are finally starting to see new user interfaces. Just as the keyboard was displaced by the mouse, the mouse is now being displaced by human touch. Haven’t we had pen computing for almost a decade? Yes, we have. But the iPhone made touch computing ubiquitous. More importantly, touch is not the only new user interface. Speech recognition is becoming ubiquitous as well. I can now talk to my phone and place calls (or write emails). I can now talk to my car (or its GPS) and get driving directions. With speech and touch replacing the hands and fingers that were tethered to a swivel chair, we are accelerating the move towards mobility.
Retail purchasing and provisioning are finally reducing the need to go to the store. It is very possible to sit in your chair at home and order anything for delivery right to your door. I won’t go into the moral impacts of promoting such sedentary lives. But I do think that this change is transforming the way that we live – and the computer systems that we utilize.

These trends (and a few other minor trends) are allowing new competitors to jump into prominent positions. And these changes are putting strains on older competitors.
The big boys do see these trends. Microsoft recognizes these changes. And I think that they are trying to compete in these spaces. But their corporate identity (based on sales pros getting commissions) is becoming outdated. Their corporate ethos allowed them to miss the entire music resurgence that Apple inspired. Sure, Microsoft is now in that business. But not before Apple seized the entire market. The Zune is cool. And the Zune market is feature-complete. But the battle was lost because Microsoft was trying to protect their existing channel model.
The Microsoft phone strategy has been equally anemic. They did indeed recognize the mobility trend. But Windows Mobile was incomplete and clunky. Can WP7 and its successors thrive? Uh, using the number ‘7’ in your name won’t repeat the Windows 7 success. Did Microsoft have a chance? Yes. Can they seize market from both Google and Apple? Sure, but they are taking table scraps from their competitors. And their corporate heritage is holding them back. Android has succeeded because it is repeating Microsoft’s PC success: Google has built an open platform.
Microsoft isn’t the only company at a crossroads. Apple is also at a crossroads. Their model of retail purchase via iTunes and delivery to a desktop device is now under assault. The iTunes infrastructure has always used the desktop as the hub of your music experience. But staying with that model would be like staying with high-end audio equipment. Sure, some audiophiles still have a stylus and all of their other component gear. But component audio was replaced by compact discs and then by PC audio.
The new model is to buy the rights to the music and to store the music remotely. This allows you to access your content anytime and anywhere. You don’t have to be at your desktop. You don’t have to stream from that same desktop. And you don’t have to sync with that desktop. You store your licensed content in the “cloud” and then stream it to wherever you want to play it. For me, this meant that I could stream some cool music to Meredith’s outdoor wedding site while we decorated that site. It also means that I can have my entire library available while I’m at work or in the car or on my bike.
And as of this morning, I’ve now switched all of my podcast content from my desktop (and iTunes) to my mobile device. I’m playing with both Doggcatcher and Google Listen. I haven’t chosen my final podcast catcher, but the choice to push content to my mobile device is now made.
That’s a horribly long setup to the real point of this article: I have finally broken the musical cord that tied me to my desktop computer. And last year, I severed the cord related to web content browsing. For me, this mobility push has been thanks to Google and Android. For others, they are thanking Apple and iOS. But the trend is obvious: cloud-based music is yet another desktop tether that can be severed. And with cloud-based services like file storage (via Google Docs, or Dropbox or any number of other tools), I can snip yet another tether.
Think of a bundle of helium-filled balloons. I’m slowly snipping the strings that hold them down. And I think I may soon be cutting the last of the ties that hold me to my desktop computer. Once I can effectively type on a mobile device, I may be able to come out of the cave where my desktop computer is connected.
The final straw will be whenever I purchase a tablet. And when that happens, I will be free of both Microsoft and Apple. I may end up being dependent upon new vendors (like Google or Amazon). But it is just about time to change things up in my computing ecosystem. I can’t wait for yet another technology transition.
-Roo

A Welcome (And Unexpected) Resolution

June 4, 2011August 22, 2018 Lorin Olsen

Last weekend, I tried to get my Android phone to scrobble the songs that I listened to via Google Music and Amazon Cloud Player. I tried the Last.fm Android client. I loaded the ScrobbleDroid client (which did work with the Android Music app). But I had no success. So I set the problem aside for a few days.
And then things started to work.
I decided to play something at the office. And I noticed that there was a message in the information bar of my phone. The message was simple: my music was being scrobbled to Last.fm (via the Last.fm client). This was great news. But as an analytical geek, I was disappointed because I had no idea which change resulted in the successful outcome I was experiencing.
Unsatisfied with success, I’m now trying to reconstruct my apparent success. The only thing that changed during the time between when it wasn’t working and the time that it began working was that a new version of the Last.fm client was deployed to my phone. [Note: I used passive voice in the last sentence because I didn’t deploy it by choice. I had selected automatic updates for this app. And it got updated. Using active voice, I would say that my phone (and the app market) updated the application.]
Since this is the only change I can identify thus far, I must lean towards this change as being the probable source of my success. But I am not wholly convinced – yet. There is an obvious interaction between Google Music, Last.fm and ScrobbleDroid. And since one of those components did change, then I could just close the book: problem solved. Unfortunately, I haven”t seen the code for any of these components, so I can’t really say which is the root cause for the change in status.
But at this moment, I am going to accept victory as a desirable outcome. I now have one cloud music application that does meet the majority of my listening needs. That system is the Google Music client. I also have one retail music channel that meets my needs. That music channel is Amazon.
On the whole, I have one question: what’s changed? That’s easy. I’ve finally broken the leash that iTunes has on my music library. Now that I am not wholly dependent upon Apple, I can objectively evaluate the iCloud offering whenever it becomes available.
For now, there is peace in the music valley at Chez Roo.
-Roo

Which One Will I Choose?

May 30, 2011August 22, 2018 Lorin Olsen

Over the past several weeks, I’ve spent time and money on assessing a variety of streaming audio solutions. My assessment has considered many factors. But chief among those factors was the mobile experience. When I was at home, I used iTunes. It’s not that iTunes is necessarily the best. Indeed, I’ve used dozens of tools at home. As a general rule, I have always favored things that also provide for metadata management (e.g., MediaMonkey). But iTunes has always been the “gold standard” for both “look and feel” as well as for application compatibility. Everyone is “compatible” with iTunes because it IS the de facto market leader.
But that market may be shifting – at least for me. Over the past few weeks, I’ve assessed two different audio streaming tools: Amazon Cloud Player and Google Music. Both have their pros and cons. Google has much more storage available that is (currently) free of charge. Amazon has a pre-exisiting (and built-in) retail channel that allows for easy (and impulsive) music purchasing. Both have good web clients. And both have good Android clients.
But both suffer from one key problem: I can’t capture and record my listening data on Last.fm. Yes, I can scrobble data from the web client (if I use third-party scripts to do the job). But neither product has any native capability to scrobble from an Android device. There are music players that do scrobble from Android. If you use the Android Music player, you can use tools like ScrobbleDroid. And if you are a fan of Winamp, you can scrobble through the Last.fm Android app. But neither of these players can stream audio from my library. So I was stuck in a quandary. Should I store music on my phone and utilize a player that scrobbles? Or should I use a cloud-based music player and forego the ability to scrobble my music?
The only solution was to either code up my own solution – or use something that already does both. Since I still have another wedding in five weeks,I chose the latter approach. Based upon some searches in Google and Twitter, I decided that I would try out the Audiogalaxy product. Based upon its marketing, the product provides streaming audio (from your home and through their servers) and the product scrobbles via the Last.fm Android app. So I began yet another quest in search of a mythical chalice.
Audiogalaxy is relatively simple to install. The site provides the step-by-step instructions that will get you going. But the basic process is as follows:

Create a free account on the Audiogalaxy site.
Download and install the Audiogalaxy “helper” application.
Point the “helper” application at your music files.
Wait for the helper application to collect metadata and send it to the Audiogalaxy service.
Install the Android app on your phone.
Start listening to your music.

The process is relatively straightforward. And I had no technical issues with the setup. I can now listen to my music library from my phone. And as I listen, my listening habits are recorded at Last.fm.

Unfortunately, Audiogalaxy has the same privacy issues that are present in Amazon’s service and also present in Google’s service: all of your music is streamed through a third-party service. So the architecture of all of these products is an architecture of control, not anonymity.
As I’ve said before, this doesn’t pose a problem for me at this time. After all, my music is positively pedestrian. But what would happen if my musical tastes were more scandalous? Or what would happen if the government decided that rock music was not to be tolerated at all? Then where would I be? I would need to rethink my listening habits. Of course, if something that draconian ever happened, then I would rethink my need to scrobble at all! And for those kinds of over-the-top situations, I might need to assemble a BOB (bug out bag)! 😉
After this exercise, I now have a streaming solution that I can utilize. And I think I know what to look for when it comes to government snooping into my private life. And there is one more option that has to be noted: Apple has not put its offering on the table yet. Maybe that offering will be announced this week. If so, I suspect that my options will grow even broader.
Finally, I really ought to point you to a vey fine comparison of all of these options. David Ruddock (and the folks at AndroidPolice) put together a great comparison of music apps on the Android platform. Check it out for a comprehensive view of all of the Android options.
-Roo

ScrobbleDroid – Closer, But Not Quite There Yet

May 28, 2011August 22, 2018 Lorin Olsen

For many music fans, a key to their listening experience is scrobbling to Last.fm. For those not familiar with the term, it refers to recording the songs that you play. Last.fm has built its unique offering based on the ability to record when and how you listen to music. The process of recording is called scrobbling. For years, whenever you listened to things on iTunes, they could be recorded on Last.fm’s site. Even the Songbird team built scrobling into their basic product offering.
Why is this data important? That’s a great question. People care about this kind of data for a variety of reasons. Some people just want their friends and followers to know more about themselves. Some people like to be considered experts in something (e.g., a band, an album or a community of mutual interests). And some people like to meet and interact with other people that share their interests. Scrobbling collects data that makes all of these things possible. [Note: Scrobbling also lets record companies and bands target their music and their marketing to serious fans.]
Because a large and active community chooses to publicly record their music preferences via scrobbling, most music products have open interfaces and/or direct interfaces to the Last.fm service. Consequently, you can scrobble with almost any PC or Mac-based music player. But this is not the case with mobile phone-based music players.
Because most music players on Android do not provide native support for scrobbling, creative people have built their own scrobbling engines for use on the Android platform. ScrobbleDroid is one such engine. This product was originally a Google Code project. It is now a product that can be obtained from the Android Market. And it is an excellent (and free) tool for scrobbling your listening habits to Last.fm.
Unfortunately, it only works if you use the Android Music application. So it currently supports only music that is stored on your Android phone. But I have high hopes that someday, it will be extended to support both the Google Music platform as well as the Amazon Cloud Drive platform.
In the meantime, if any of you know of a different scrobbling tool that works with streaming music, drop me a note (via comment, email or Twitter).
-Roo