The Chiptune

For those who aren't familiar with my tastes in music, I typically listen to music somewhere in between (and including) classical and electronic. I've purposefully left this really vague. My preference for music is eclectic to say the least. I've been introduced to a great collection of music over the past few years, compliments of my friends, and artists like Armin Van Buuren Kaskade, Deadmau5, Daft Punk, Imogen Heap (& Frou Frou), Inna, (et le contraire) Massenet, Vivaldi, Holst, Fauree, etc.

Today, I discovered the classification of this genre of music, and I've become increasingly interested in this music: Chiptune. Summed up, it's video game music for the sake of the music, not the game. It started with Pixel Vision. I actually thought there was a game to go along with it (alas there isn't). The album is available for free (his own doing) here.

Another artist (to whom I credit my 'discovery') is Demoscene Time Machine. The third song on the soundcloud list actually has a video game!

I will definitely be exploring more of what's available in this genre, and I suggest you do too. They even have variants like Chipstep, the logical combination of dubsteb and chiptune.

Into the Cloud

It's been buzzing around for a while, but how applicable is it to the masses?
Thanks to a friend and peer, I've learned a little about the Amazon Cloud. Since I've had limited experience with the cloud services offered by various companies, I'll just be sticking with Amazon.

In my experience, the cloud is quite easy to work with. I used to think the cloud was only for big companies, for heaps of data processing, or hours of video rendering. While it can certainly be used for that, it can also be scaled down so that I can use an instance in the cloud for even the most mundane tasks. While I don't profess to know much, I know enough to make great headway when I have the time. Did I mention that there's a free option?

(From here on, I'll be getting technical. You can smile and nod if it's not your thing)

What skill set do I need to continue?
IMHO, you'll need to know a little something about Linux boxes: ssh, package managers, public and private keys, and other things that go along with whichever linux flavor you choose.

What does the cloud offer me? It's just some huge omniscient computer, right?
There are a myriad things the cloud has to offer you. First, a linux box of this accessibility (anywhere from the web) with such control (root access) is usually not too cheap. Amazon charges a cheap hourly rate (right now 2.5¢/hour micro instance in US-West). Second, even if we're not comparing prices, no other service gives you the ability to change your mind, shut down your virtual machine, or start a new one on a whim. Finally, the cloud community offers a series of pre-configured images for a good quick start.

Here's an example:
VPN's are precious commodity. You'll pay anywhere from $5 to $8 per month for a subscription to have your traffic tunneled to an endpoint. From security over networks (keep people from spying on you) to content filtering bypass, a VPN has a many uses. In less than an hour, I was able to launch an Ubuntu instance, login, install the correct dependencies, configure PPTP, and sign up for and configure DynDNS. Within that time, I was logged in and browsing the web securely (at least more than before).
A shout out to Peter Dikant for his guide on his personal blog. Thanks!

I think the cloud and I are going to get along quite nicely. There are so many more things to explore.

Getting Started

It's time for a new beginning. As I look toward the future, I realize that I want to document my engineering and programming feats for me to share and for others to enjoy. Hopefully, the content on this blog will hover in between casual and semi-professional.

Advise me on any content you like and want to see more of by clicking one of the feedback options one any post you read. Thanks!