Unlocking your iPod's potential and building life skills with free software

Managing your iPod with free software

In the end of December of 2006, I wrote my first article for Free Software Magazine. It was accepted, and it was published today in Issue 16.

While iTunes is a powerful application, it does have its limitations, mostly stemming from both Digital Rights Management (DRM) restrictions and the Recording Industry Association of America’s (RIAA) interest in preventing unauthorized copying of music, regardless of fair use and personal flexibility. The free software community believes that the ability to freely copy content you own between your iPod and a computer is a right, not a privilege. I discuss how to fully manage the content on your iPod using completely free software in Managing your iPod without iTunes.

Using free software to build professional and life skills

I've found that many of the skills I've developed using free software and just plain "doing it myself" has been useful in my professional endeavors. This week at FSM, I considered some of the more abstract fringe benefits of using free software in Using free software to build professional and life skills.

Pikmin 2

I've been looking for good games for the GameCube, and this week I've discovered that Pikmin 2 is a joy to play. You play as two tiny aliens followed by a a crowd of eager-to-please creatures that look and act like friendly carrots. You're on Earth, trying to search out objects that can be used to pay back a loan and save your company. As your company is trying to market the objects, they come up with marketing names, such as "Sunseed Berry" for a strawberry, "Director of Destiny" for a compass, and "Quenching Emblem" for a 7-up bottle cap. The difficulty and learning curve ramp up very appropriately, and overall it's just fun.

Now, if I can wrap my head around Killer 7...