So, I don’t want to give everyone the idea that I’m obsessed with iTunes or the iTunes store. In all honesty, I HATE the iTunes store for a bunch of reasons, but the merits of the iTunes software far outweigh the problems. The reason I love iTunes is because of one simple feature that makes my life of digital addiction so much easier: the “Keep iTunes Folder Organized” option (found in the Advanced Preferences menu).The reason I love this is because it eliminates a large portion of the time it takes me to add new media to my archives. I have a very specific location for all the the media that iTunes accesses, and by simply dragging files onto the iTunes interface I can automatically move them to the directory, rename each individual file, create a new folder for the individual albums and artists, and now I can also download the album art as long as I have the artist and album named properly.
To me, it is pretty great to have software that does all of the file archiving and organization for me. Why is this so cool? It’s cool because I don’t have to waste an average of 15 minutes renaming all of my song titles, creating appropriate folders for each artist and then each album for each artist. I also don’t have to try and find the album art somewhere online and then point each individual song file to that image. This saves a ton of time, especially if you’re adding a whole slew of media to your iTunes browser at one time.The main reason I bring this up is because I just recently downloaded Picasa (see their website) and it does not meet all of my expectations and wildest dreams.
I guess Apple has me a little spoiled by the way iTunes is designed, but why can’t other software houses develop stuff that works this well? The interface that Picasa uses looks like it would be very conducive to the same types of folder organization that iTunes 
can do, but either I have yet to find the ability to do it or it simply is a mirage of potential. I have over 2000 images on my computer that I would like to archive and keep organized. Picasa does an amazing job of letting me do some minor edits really quickly, and has a pretty nice interface for uploading all sorts of NEW images from a scanner or digital camera, but what about my older images from the days of high school and pre-mission mayhem?I know I may be asking a little much of all of the software jedis out there (My favorite being THE Software Jedi), but when you’re building software that is used for media manipulation and display you should really consider adding a bit of code that will properly archive my stuff. Obviously it needs to be a non-default option (since you’ll make a ton of people, including myself, angry at you for moving stuff before asking), but I think it should be a very important and standard thing to include. Though Picasa lets me do some of the little things that I find helpful, the most helpful thing it could do is help me archive my files. Even if it allowed proper drag/drop capabilities I would be pretty happy, but it does not properly (at least with my noob experience) let you do this very effectively.
It sounds pretty funny to read me go over something as strange as a specific feature in software, but for those who don’t know me well, I definitely have an interest in how software is developed. I’ve been trying to get my foot in the door as a program manager at Microsoft, and hopefully my general thoughts on things like this will help me wrap my mind around the different aspects of software design.
Howdy folks, welcome to Jeff’s Blog 2.0. Hopefully this one is a little less sophomoric and a little more content driven. Having said that, I’m sure I’ll go off on some of my classic rants though I plan on leaving out anything about girls unless I’m seriously dating someone and it becomes a consistent part of my life.I’ve been watching one of the coolest shows I’ve ever come across recently, and it really has changed the way I look at what’s going on in the world. For those of you who haven’t watched Glenn Beck on CNN, you should take a look at what he’s doing. If you’d like a more extensive background you can always check www.glennbeck.com for some particulars, but basically he is a Mormon convert that was hoped up on drugs and alcohol for a long time. He’s a conservative, which isn’t necessarily why I like him, but he’s a very family and religion based person.
Recently he has been doing a segment on Porn: America’s Addiction, and I have found it to be amazingly straight forward about the terror that is pornography. There is no mincing words here, Glenn Beck is basically on a mission to get the point out that this is a major concern that should not be ignored. Since Glenn is LDS, I can only imagine that he really trying to heed the words of the Prophet about the evils of pornography and is trying to educate the masses a little more. There has been some interesting dialog (not to mention the great interaction between Glenn and a pornographer during an interview today) that has really tried to put some of this in a more realistic perspective. The basic story is that pornography can ruin marriages, families, and the lives of those who become addicted.
Though I don’t necessarily want to get into a full blown editorial on pornography and the destruction it can cause, I do think it is very admirable that someone is taking the time to try and educate the masses about what a destructive force it can be. If you’re looking for some information on how you can help stop the spread and easy access of pornography on the internet, please take a look at the CP80 Foundation’s website to learn about some great uses of technology that can limit the ability of pornographers to spread their filth to those who want nothing to do with it.On a lighter note, I’m excited for our ASM activity on Thursday night (for more info on ASM, see my links in the sidebar). We’re having an Oktoberfest with a ton of root beer, brats and such from J Dawgs, and a lot of games and food! It should be a blast . If you’d like to come, shoot me an email and I’ll send you details. The entrance fee will be $3 if you’re not an ASM member, but that will basically cover 1/2 of what you’ll eat. :)
