My Experience with Ubuntu

Current Mood: contemplative

BG Music: The constant tapping of keyboard keys, the sleep-inducing sound of the AC unit sang by ICS PCLAB CFNR

I remember way back during my new freshman years, I took PSY1 and learned one very interesting concept about memories. This concept is called retrospective memory, which can be defined as memories that a person remembers in the past that somehow affects a his or her behavior in the present.This is exactly what I had experienced when I first used Ubuntu. 

I've been so used to Microsoft Windows that I subconsciously tried to compare it with Ubuntu. I expected taskbar buttons to be at the bottom, but instead I found them at the top. I search for a "Start" button, where all programs can be easily located, but there wasn't one. I got confused where the shutdown button is. I searched for a "My Computer" icon on the desktop, sadly there wasn't one. Everything was so new to me. All of a sudden, I turned into my grandmother.

I understand that Ubuntu is free and that it is open-source. From what I understand, open source means that you can modify the software settings of Ubuntu whenever you want. The settings are accessible and you don't have to ask permission from Linux if you want to configure it.

Being a not-so-techie kind of person, I really won't get anything from that feature of Ubuntu. What I will of course most benefit from is the fact that it is free. Although being a gamer (ie. Starcraft, Warcraft, Dota, CS, Diablo), Ubuntu definitely won't be a top choice in my list of best Operating Systems.

I guess Ubuntu is best for schools and offices, so that students and office personnel will really do their job. Plus, it will save school administrations and companies big amounts of money.

But what I very much like about Ubuntu is their built-in picture-editing software called Gimp. I actually have it on my PC at home. I couldn't afford Photoshop, so I had to resort to it. The software is less complicated compared to PS, because some of the effects are already preset. You don't have to key in figures or adjust settings just to achieve a desired effect. It's amateurish, but the results can sometimes be much better than when edited with PS.

So to conclude, I'm not saying that I like Ubuntu; I don't hate it either. I just won't benefit from it that much that's all. I think it's great that a community (of geeks, most probably) was able to bring Ubuntu to life. They very much contributed to the development of man.

There are a lot of great minds out there. In the current generation, the youth is even more technologically innovative than highly educated professionals. And the creator of Facebook can very much attest to that.

Maybe I've underestimated Ubuntu now. Who knows that maybe in the next years to come, Ubuntu might just beat Mac OS or Microsoft Windows.

 

My Top 10 List of Best Female Contemporary Pianists of 2010

Greetings! Miggy is my name and music is my game :) I play the piano, and I've been playing it for almost 8 years now. I'm very attracted to female contemporary pianists. I know a lot of them and now I am going to make my top ten list of best female contemporary pianists as of 2010. I hope you enjoy. I've included short descriptions of the artists and attached pictures and links to their websites if you would like to check them out and experience their mesmerizing music, and hopefully you'll enjoy listening to them as much as I do.

Disclaimer: the webmaster of this blog did not take the pictures below. They belong to their respective owners.

10. Christina Grimmie- www.facebook.com/christinaxgrimmie

- Christina Grimmie is really beautiful and very talented. She's actually a YouTube sensation. She's the very first piano-playing female YouTube personality I've ever encountered. I got really amazed because almost everyone who wants to gain musical fame on YouTube usually use the guitar. Christina is very unique. She covers a lot of pop songs including songs by Beyonce, Charice, Alicia Keys, among others. She also writes her own songs.

9. Tarja Turunen - www.tarjaturunen.com

Her name pronounced as "tar-ya too-roo-nen." She is the ex-vocalist of the Symphonic Power Metal band Nightwish. She's currently pursuing a solo career. She's a lyric soprana; very powerful voice. I thought then that she was just a singer, but it really surpised me that she plays the piano too. Not a lot of opera singers can do this kind of feat.

8. Amanda Palmer- www.amandaplamer.net

- Amanda Palmer rocks, period :) She has a very big contribution to music because she is one of the artists to bring back the genre known as "Punk Cabaret" or "Dark Cabaret." What's very amazing about her is that she used the piano to play Punk music,  which is very unique considering that Punk music is always dominated by heavily distorted, fast-paced guitar riffs. Because of her, the piano can also dominate not only pop music, but also Punk music

7. Stefani Germanotta- www.ladygaga.com

- Ahh yes, Stefani Germanotta is what who she was before transforming into the pop diva Lady Gaga. Despite criticism of her being weird, intersex or whatever, I actually like her. I bet Britney Spears, Rihanna or the Pussycat Dolls can't sit down on the piano and play their songs. She makes her own music, a very very interesting quality of a pop musician. Other pop stars just pay other people in order to make songs for them, but Lady Gaga's songs came from her own heart. I suggest watching her perform before she became Lady Gaga. You won't find a hint of obscenity anywhere.

6. Sara Bareilles- www.sarabmusic.com

-She's a very passionate pianist and singer. I really like her. She combines soul and jazz music. The combination of which will send shivers down your spine. She's definitely something.

5. Regina Spektor- www.reginaspektor.com

- She's very cute. She was the one who introduced me to the genre known as "Antifolk." Her piano arrangements are simple, compared to other arrangements made by other pianists, but the one thing that propels her music to the highest level is her very poetic and passionate lyrics.

4. Vanessa Carlton- www.vanessacarlton.com

-She's actually the reason why I play the piano in the first place. I was just a kid back then, and I saw this girl on TV playing a piano, which was moving like a car. I dreamed of playing that song myself. I really wished she did more songs like "A Thousand Miles." Sadly, I think she's being a bit low profile now.

3. Alicia Keys- www.aliciakeys.com

-Soul, rnb, jazz. Genres you would expect from African-American pianist and singer-songwriter Alicia Keys. Next to "A Thousand Miles," "If I Ain't Got You" was the next song I had an LSS on. Her lyrics need a bit more poetry make-over though, but her extremely sublime piano arrangements are what propels her music.

2. Amy Lee- www.evanescence.com

-The goddess of Gothic Metal. She is the lead singer and pianist in the rock band Evanescence (ie. My Immortal, Bring me To Life). Her voice and lyrics are extremely beautiful. I simply could not describe how artistic she is. She writes her own music. It comes from her own heart. They will really touch you even though you can't really relate to it personally. She introduced me to the piano in the concept of Metal music, my most favorite genre of all time. You will never see a rockstar up on stage playing a piano. You will always see long-haired men, headbanging with their guitars. But Amy Lee headbangs with her piano. And I think that's very cool.

And the best-est-- the TOP ONE in my list of best female contemporary pianists of 2010 is non other than...

*drumroll*

1. Tori Amos- www.toriamos.com

- The Queen of Contemporary Piano for me. I see myself in her. She is a spontaneous pianist. She proves that you don't have to be an accomplished sight-reader (ie. playing music by reading from a score or sheet music eventhough you don't know how the song or piece sounds yet) in order to make good music. She is one of the few artists you used the piano to play Alternative Rock songs. At concerts, you will never see her stand up. She will always be sitting on a piano, or if not a piano, a keyboard or a harmonium or harpsichord. Sometimes she is not contented with playing only one keyboard instrument, but she sometimes plays two keyboard instruments with separate hands while singing all at the same time. She is truly legendary.