Old vs New

I have a little more testing to do ...

The old laptop got opened up today, for what must be the first time since I got everything copied across to the new one. I'm actually quite shocked by the difference between the two. You only really appreciate improvements in technology levels when you go back to old stuff after getting used to the new toys. Where my last laptop really suffers now is in the memory department ... 448Mb (512 total, 64 of that taken by graphics) isn't really enough for Windows XP, especially when you have 6 or 7 utility applications that insist on updating themselves as soon as you turn the machine on.

There's more changes too that I've gotten used to. The bigger size is a pain in terms of getting a bag but now that I'm used to it, I don't think the 4:3 screen in the last one would work for me. I get very used to spreading windows out all over the place, having them overlapping. It lets me keep an eye on things like which box of my email the message came into, whether to anticipate something in the MSN conversation and at the same time, I can keep an eye on the bar saying how much of the iTunes track is left.

Anyway - where's the testing ... I've tried the iTunes to Airport link over 3 machines now and haven't been able to reproduce that stuttering playback thing. I suspect I know why :-) But when I go back to my mum's & dad's place I'll have a little tinker at that.

Bit more old vs new :-) I've been buying things again ... Nooo - nothing really expensive, just cd's.

One of them involves an artist I grew up with :-) When I was a teenager, I listened to a lot of All About Eve. I also read a lot of Anne McCaffrey's Dragon books set on the world of Pern. They're a good read to go with excellent music, although they're both let down a little by how they evolved. The Dragon books ran out of steam after a bit of revisionism crept in and AAE's Ultraviolet album was just plain horrible. Either that or I acquired a copy that was distorted and unlistenable.

Heh heh heh - I'm digressing again :-) I tend to associate what I'm listening to with what I'm doing. Somehow the game HalfLife has got associated with Alisha's Attic music (probably because the latter half of their Alisha Rules The World album has similar music) but the big association is Julianne Regan with the character Menolly. When reading the songs by the character Menolly, I'm hearing Julianne Regan's voice singing those words. I guess that's the way my mind works when reading :-)

That's the first of the albums I've bought most recently, a collaboration between Julianne Regan and Mice. They only got one album out but it's a decent one. Combines Julianne Regan's voice with some very quirky backing. I think I'll be enjoying that one a fair bit in the future. Here's a Youtube link to Blue Sonic Boy, which is one of my favourites for the album.

What else ? Evanescence's The Open Door is a good one, although the band make up changed a little. There's still Amy Lee's vocals on show here and it tends to be the vocals which really determines a bands character. From Tori Amos's primal nature, to Arctic Monkey's CheekyTeenager to the dirge of a Knopfler (I like him, honest!) and finally to the range on show in a Kate Bush album.

Not sure if I'll be going for more from Gabriella Cilmi. I bought her album on the strength of Sweet About Me but to be painfully honest, her voice doesn't do that much for me. People who were near a telly through the Xmas period may recognise Warm This Winter, which got adopted for an advert ... I recognised the song but couldn't remember what it was for :-)

Avril Lavigne's Under My Skin is the last one - lots of angst on show. I've got two Avril Lavigne albums now and I get the feeling more will be on the way ;-)

PS Ow.
PS2 Must figure out permanent fix to chair that doesn't involve hitting it with a hammer every couple of days.
PS3 Picture of offending article coming later in the week.