Today is my first day back at work after a wonderful 12-month sabbatical. I accomplished my project objectives, and I managed to relax and enjoy myself along the way. I'm refreshed and excited to be back at work. I look forward to applying at least some of what I learned at WOU.
For those interested in learning more about my project, here's my official sabbatical report.
Maybe I'm way behind the times, but just yesterday I discovered a really cool online music service called Last.fm
Based in London, UK, Last.fm markets itself as a music social networking site. You can sign up for a free account (optional to listen to music, but necessary to take advantage of many site features), and then listen to complete music tracks from several major labels for free. You can develop customized playlists and "radio" stations, tag tracks with your own keywords, and find other people to discuss music with. If you sign up for an account and download their special (free) software, the service will learn what types of music you like and recommend similar tracks. It does this based on what you listen to at the Last.fm site and, if you allow it, also what you listen to through other music software (such as iTunes or Windows Media Player) or on your iPod.
Unlike similar services, such as Pandora, you get more control over the music that you hear, and you get links to album and artist information, as well as links to purchase MP3 downloads from retailers such as Amazon.com. This makes the service really nice, like iTunes combined with a customizable online radio station.
Are there other services like this out there?
