Adding Music to your Web Site - the good, the bad and the ugly

Grok Headline matches for Adding Music to your Web Site - the good, the bad and the ugly

The good and the ugly

The good and the ugly 11/13/2003 07:42 PM

PHP.net has a new feature on their search page - a really nice implementation of an auto complete text widget in Javascript. Even better, the search page is valid XHTML 1.0 Strict and uses CSS for the layout. Let's hope this is an indication of things to the come for the rest of the site, which still mostly consists of tag soup.

Here's the ugly bit: the javascript for the auto complete function is deliberately obfuscated. Now I know that this decision is completely up to the author of the script, but personally I find it exasperating. PHP is an open source project, and obfuscation in this way is the antithesis of the open source ideal. A big part about open source is that people shouldn't have to invent something twice - why waste duplicated effort when sharing code costs nothing and benefits everyone? I'm sure the author had their reasons for hiding the code in this way but to me it seems like a wasted opportunity to teach site visitors a useful new trick. A bug concerning the obfuscation has already been raised in PHP's bug tracker but was closed without a full explanation.

Obfuscation of client side code such as Javascript is a pretty futile exercise in any case. Most of the effect of the obfuscation can be easily reversed using a tool such as Jesse Ruderman's view variables bookmarklet, which displays all variables on a page (including ones that contain decoded content from obfuscated variables) and pretty-prints functions to make them more readable.

It's impossible to prevent "theft" of your Javascript, but if you really want to stop people from using it the best you can do is to place a copyright notice in the code and ask people to contact you for licensing options. If it's on the web, people can take it. Clear copyright messages are a far more ethical deterrent than ineffective tricks.

CSS: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly

CSS: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly 04/09/2004 04:01 PM
I took pretty aggressive notes during the panel that came after mine. Enjoy! (You can tell I was paying more attention to the two people who were talking about things I hadn't heard much about before; less notes from their...

The good, the bad and the ugly

The good, the bad and the ugly 04/14/2005 12:33 PM
As Tom DeLay continues to get riddled, Trent Lott is shooting from the hip again.

Fingerprints as ID - good, bad, ugly?

Fingerprints as ID - good, bad, ugly? 04/19/2004 12:32 PM
Letters Well, there's an effectiveness:usability trade-off, for starters

EIOffice: The good, the bad, and the
ugly

EIOffice: The good, the bad, and the
ugly 06/02/2004 12:07 PM
Evermore Integrated Office is an extremely promising new Java-based office suite that currently runs on both Linux and Windows, with versions slated for Mac and Solaris. EIOffice is a remarkably faithful clone of Microsoft Office, with a twist -- it provides a level of integration unmatched by any office suite on the market. It's not without problems, though, a couple of which take EIOffice out of the running for some organizations.

Themes: Good, Bad, and Ugly

Themes: Good, Bad, and Ugly 02/10/2004 02:51 AM
MacThemes. net has posted a look at the entries in the OWC/Unsanity Theme Contest. Let's face it: most themes, with a few exceptions, just plain suck.

Panther: The Cool, The Good, The Bad,
And The Ugly

Panther: The Cool, The Good, The Bad,
And The Ugly 10/28/2003 11:06 PM
Panther is certainly interesting and will get better with minor tweaks. (Apple-x.net via MyAppleMenu)

Dealing with the Good, the Bad, and the
Ugly Feeds

Dealing with the Good, the Bad, and the
Ugly Feeds 01/16/2004 01:02 PM

It's amusing to me that so many bright engineers are fighting inside a paperbag over the issue of what to do with bad feeds.  For some reason, probably human nature, they have limited themselves into finding a solution at the spec and parser implementation level when there is no solution there and the discussion has devolved into exchanging “is so“ and “is not“.

The Biased Liberal post offers a solution at the UI level without irritating the user.  The problem can also be solved at marketing and legal level although I favor the UI level solution.

One rather amusing (?) thought I occasionally use to pull myself out of a hole is that the ultimate solution to every problem is world destruction.  All right, it's not funny, but it does shake me out of the box.  As to the implementation, it's easy if you believe a tree falling without an observer makes no sound.

Update:

Looks like the XML-DEV got thrown into the paperbag as well.  There is now a long ongo ing thread on Postel's Law, exceptions, and what to do with bad feeds.  Elliotte Rusty Harold did ment ion my Biased Liberal solution, but XML-DEVers seems to prefer talking about parsers, specs, what the world wants and needs, theories, history, scenarios, etc.  Well, they seem to be enjoying themselves so let's not bother them.

The Good, Bad and Downright Ugly of
Flash Email

The Good, Bad and Downright Ugly of
Flash Email 08/18/2002 04:40 PM
Send Rich Media, Streaming or Flash Email may be all the rage with Marketers and Advertisers alike. But is it as effective as all of the folks trying to sell you on it say it is? Read on for some tips concerning what you should know before you try to send Flash & other Rich Media Email.

Guardian Unlimited | Columnists | Julie
Burchill: Good, bad and ugly

Guardian Unlimited | Columnists | Julie
Burchill: Good, bad and ugly 12/02/2003 12:28 AM

Livewire: the Good, Bad and Ugly -
Plastic Surgery Stories (Reuters)

Livewire: the Good, Bad and Ugly -
Plastic Surgery Stories (Reuters) 05/01/2004 07:51 AM
Reuters - The Internet can't make you beautiful, but it does cater to a host of vanities, from the search for the perfect eye shadow to the ultimate makeover, plastic surgery.

Access music in iTunes without adding to
library

Access music in iTunes without adding to
library 04/13/2005 11:13 AM
I have been trying to find a way to access music in iTunes without adding it to the library for a while now. My library is perfectly organized, and I never like having to add random files that I might only listen to once or t...

Site Maps : Is Good Enough for
Google.com, Good Enough For Me?

Site Maps : Is Good Enough for
Google.com, Good Enough For Me? 10/30/2003 10:22 AM

Comcast adding free music service to its
high-speed Internet

Comcast adding free music service to its
high-speed Internet 01/04/2005 08:47 PM
MENAFN Jan 5 2005 12:47AM GMT

How Good Does Your Web Site Look on
Paper?

How Good Does Your Web Site Look on
Paper? 06/02/2004 08:25 AM
Even in the digital age, pen and paper play a critical role in creating an effective web site.

Governing Good Web Site Design

Governing Good Web Site Design 09/10/2004 03:29 AM
Looking for a means to judge the quality of web design? A good place to start is with the US Federal Government, which provides more than 175 research-based guidelines.

File-Swap Site Folds for Good

File-Swap Site Folds for Good 12/22/2004 01:38 AM
The operators of Suprnova.org apologize to the service's users and quietly pull the plug. The shutdown follows hot on the heels of Hollywood's legal moves against BitTorrent tracker servers.

should old people be exposed to good
music?

should old people be exposed to good
music? 07/02/2004 11:32 AM
NPR's ombudsman ponders the great questions of our time

How Do You Find Good Music Online?

How Do You Find Good Music Online? 12/02/2003 12:14 AM
We've been arguing here for a long time that offering up music for free online is a great (free!) way for musicians to promote themselves. The problem, then, is what happens when lots of musicians follow through on such a plan and there's so much music out there that it's impossible to find what you like? The record labels would have you believe that's why they have A&R guys: to sort through the crap and provide you with the best of the best. Unfortunately, these days, the big labels aren't necessarily looking for the best of the best, but the most marketable to the widest possible audience. The way I find music is that I have a few friends whose musical tastes I trust. They know what I like, and when they say, "hey, you should check out this band," I usually do - and, more often than not, I'm happy I did. Building up those same sorts of "trusted recommender" systems online is possible, but not that easy. Part of the original promise of music sharing networks was that you could find those with similar tastes and look through their collections to find other artists you hadn't heard of - or better yet, communicate with the person directly to see who they might recommend. The record labels, of course, hate this idea, because it takes away their function, and puts promotions into the hands of just about anyone. I like this method much better than the "collaborative filtering" process that's becoming popular again - partly because the record labels can harness it themselves instead of leaving the recommending up to the riff raff. Collaborative filtering looks for all the people who are sort of similar to what you like and looks for other musicians they tend to like, but which you haven't rated yet. The problem here, again, is that it gets watered down. You're only discovering new acts after many others have, and some of the more obscure but great acts may get filtered out. Still, there are some intriguing new collaborative filtering tools that people are gravitating towards. The article discusses the relatively new iRATE radio which has been getting a lot of attention lately. It's basically an online jukebox that uses collaborative filtering to try to hone in on the music you like.

Can You Classify What Makes Music Good?

Can You Classify What Makes Music Good? 12/11/2003 02:29 PM
About the time I was starting Techdirt, a friend of mine started a company called Mongo Music. I remember getting lunch and hanging out in his living room, which was doubling as his office (surrounded by stacks and stacks of CDs) as he explained the concept. He was going to build up a huge database of music, and use people to define all the various characteristics of the song to identify "that thang" that made music catchy. The idea was that this information was objectively identifiable, and if you liked one song, Mongo's database would point out other songs that matched it on all the characteristics that were measured. It was an interesting idea - but I wasn't convinced "that thang" was objectively identifiable. Microsoft disagreed and eventually bought the company - but never really introduced the service Jeremy described to me in his living room that day. Now, it appears that another startup is trying to do the exact same thing. Soundflavor is tryin g to recommend music based on breaking down each song into more than 700 component parts and having human listeners define each and every one to figure out what makes the song sound the way it does. I'm still not convinced what makes music good can be defined in such a calculated way, but it seems that everyone is trying to figure out the best way to recommend new music to people. Of course, I still stick by what I've said in the past. This isn't a problem that is solved by technology and analysis, but by people. Some of the music I enjoy most was recommended to me by friends who know my tastes and can suggest what they know I'll like. For example, I'm now completely hooked on a CD from a band I'd never heard of two weeks ago. But, over Thanksgiving I saw an old friend, who knows my musical tastes, and as we were driving somewhere said "Hey, check out this CD I got. I know you'll like it." He was right, and the next day I went out and bought the CD myself - and now can't stop listening to it. It's the human connection that made this possible. I should also note, by the way, that the CD cost me about $5 and came with not only the CD but a DVD that includes concert footage, interviews and random extras about the band. Whether done on purpose or not, this band gets it. They're offering you something extra of value for buying the CD.

Is music on your older CD's any good

Is music on your older CD's any good 08/08/2004 09:05 PM

Apparently CD's over time are becoming unplayable. This makes me cringe as I have nearly 1000 CD's, and this means I am going to have to start copying the raw tracks to hard-drives. Let's see what that is going to cost me. 1000 x 650,000,000 bytes = 650,000,000,000 bytes Unless I did the math wrong this is going to hurt. [BBC]

For digital-music devotees, a good
battery is key

For digital-music devotees, a good
battery is key 05/25/2004 02:49 PM
ZDNet May 25 2004 7:41PM GMT

Bob Rubenstein: Good Riddance To the
Music Industry

Bob Rubenstein: Good Riddance To the
Music Industry 04/27/2004 07:36 AM
Bob Rubenstein’s “take this job and shove it” letter .. Good Riddance To the Music Industry .. As Gawker reports .. email

gawker.com/topic/bob-rubenstein-good-riddance-to-the-music-ind ustry-015425.php
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Guys, for a break take a look at
monster's site...they've got good solid
stuff

Guys, for a break take a look at
monster's site...they've got good solid
stuff 07/14/2004 10:35 PM
TechTree Jul 15 2004 2:53AM GMT

Weird, but good. Music from the Exotica
Mailing List

Weird, but good. Music from the Exotica
Mailing List 01/07/2004 02:00 PM
Two Zombies Later... "Strange and unusual music from the Exotica Mailing List". Featuring Br. Cleve & His Lush Orchestra playing "Shaken Not Stirred", not to mention the mad stylings of Scotch & Soda covering Herb Albert's lovely "Lonely Bull" — with a tuba and optigan. I'd think "college radio" if it weren't so damn good. And I would probably not post it if the kind folks at Comfort Stand records hadn't been so kind as to have served up the entire two CD collection via lo-fi MP3s — a definite find. : ) [Via GoodExperience]

500Mb of Music for $5.00 at Russian Site

500Mb of Music for $5.00 at Russian Site 04/28/2004 11:32 AM
Ohhh I bet the RIAA is going to turn fiery red over this one and I bet the bandwidth between...

A Music Download Site For Artists Less
Known

A Music Download Site For Artists Less
Known 09/19/2004 09:25 PM
When the new service starts this week, eMusic will look as much like a magazine as an online music service, with an assortment of reviews, recommendations and columns. By Laurie J. Flynn, New York Times (via MyAppleMenu)

Yahoo!'s music site seeks ad dollars

Yahoo!'s music site seeks ad dollars 08/11/2004 09:00 PM
Sydney Morning Herald Aug 12 2004 0:37AM GMT

Dutch Co. Launches Music Download Site
(AP)

Dutch Co. Launches Music Download Site
(AP) 08/11/2004 09:23 PM
AP - In a bid to compete with Apple's iTunes digital music downloading service in Europe, a Dutch record company has launched a web site offering 250,000 tracks from five major record labels.

Music site Napster eyes UK launch

Music site Napster eyes UK launch 05/06/2004 04:39 AM
Music download site Napster unveils a UK partner, the high-street electronics chain Dixons.

Fave music site: Oddio Overplay

Fave music site: Oddio Overplay 09/23/2004 05:19 PM
Mark Frauenfelder: Todd Lappin sez: "The Oddio Overplay website is one of the true jewels of the Interweb. Dedicated to odd, obscure, and out-of-print music, the site is packed with free, downloadable retro-themed mp3s. The special compilations are a hoot, and exploring the links to other free music sites is an activity that's guaranteed to gobble up hours and hours of otherwise productive work time. The latest Oddio find made my day: A downloadable LP of the in-store background music played in S.S. Kresge five-and-dime stores during the early 1960s. It sounds like a perfume counter. And it makes me want to spend money!" Link

Coke music site finally launches

Coke music site finally launches 01/22/2004 03:12 AM
A music download site from Coca-Cola launches after being shut down for much of its first two days.

Music site plea in 'piracy' case

Music site plea in 'piracy' case 02/10/2004 10:39 AM
The Australian owners of online music service Kazaa ask for evidence to be ruled as "inadmissible".

Russian MP3 site sells DRM-free music by
the megabyte

Russian MP3 site sells DRM-free music by
the megabyte 04/28/2004 05:29 PM
esta nota

smh.com.au/articles/2004/04/26/1082831475556.html
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Dutch Company Launches Music Download
Site

Dutch Company Launches Music Download
Site 08/11/2004 12:00 PM
AP via Los Angeles Times Aug 11 2004 4:05PM GMT

Dutch Company Launches Music Download
Site (AP)

Dutch Company Launches Music Download
Site (AP) 08/11/2004 12:03 PM
AP - Hoping to keep up with Apple's iTunes digital music downloading service in Europe, a Dutch record company has launched a Web site offering 250,000 tracks from five major record labels.

Russian 'legal' music site offers songs
for 5¢

Russian 'legal' music site offers songs
for 5¢ 04/28/2004 07:26 AM
Pay per megabyte

"Russian MP3 site sells DRM-free music
by the megabyte"

"Russian MP3 site sells DRM-free music
by the megabyte" 04/30/2004 03:43 AM

Russian Music Site Offering Legal Songs
By The MB

Russian Music Site Offering Legal Songs
By The MB 04/28/2004 07:24 AM

Grok Description matches for Adding Music to your Web Site - the good, the bad and the ugly
GrokA matches for Adding Music to your Web Site - the good, the bad and the ugly

Adding Music to your Web Site - the good, the bad and the ugly

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