Don't Back Down

The fine folks at Lockergnome are putting on Gnomedex (number 5, if you're counting) in Seattle, Washington. Denise and I just made our reservations for Gnomedex itself, and we'll be making our plans for the actual travel and lodging shortly.

Since I used to live in the Seattle area (though it's been a really long time since I even visited), we're going to make a full trip out of it, hoping to arrive on Saturday the 18th of June, and not depart until the following Sunday - the 26th. Since Gnomedex only runs at the end of the period, we'll be around and looking for something to do.

Anyone else planning to be there early and/or anyone in that area planning to put together any events prior to Gnomedex? If so, let me know and we'll try and make it!

While I really like that iTunes allows you to "share" music with other computers, I really don't like two things about iTunes as a "server". First, that the sharing is limited to the local network (at least, I think it is) and second, that the iTunes application has to run on the other system - that is, the user needs to be signed on and iTunes has to be loaded. This may be different on Macs, but it is definitely the case under Windows.

No longer. While it's been out for a while, and I've even known about it for a while, the ultra-cool Slim Server software from Slim Devices resolves both problems in one fell swoop. Now, my music is on a true server - that is, a system that doesn't require a user to be signed on - and I even have remote access to create all the playlists I'd like, be it from a single artist or all of them.

Using Slim Server (a free download no less), I have a service running on that other PC, and to connect to it I can use my web browser to configure the playlists, and I just connect to the stream using my player of choice. I'm using iTunes at the moment, but there's little reason for that - I just happen to have it up and running.

What's more is that this network-centric model means I can access the music simply by using the IP address, making my music available anywhere I choose to get at it. Dunno if I'll do this or not - but I can. Sweet!

Does anyone else wonder about all the people telling you how you can get the best deal you've ever seen, with little to no effort on your behalf, over and over again? These deals are especially prevalent in real estate it seems, but just about any business has probably seen more than one such huckster.

I have one simple question. If these deals are so lucrative, and this business is so awesome that you never need to worry about money again, how come everyone is out selling you information on how to make such deals, rather than doing them?