Probstisms

Tim Probst
Tim Probst
@Tim@www.timprobst.com

Early adopting super geek, musician, father, resident tech guru.

1,101 posts
9 followers

Category: Music

  • If I knew that all I had to do was write a blog post about Apple Music’s absence from AAOS to actually get Apple Music on AAOS, I would have done it a year ago!

    Seriously, folks. The same day I wrote this post, Apple Music app was sitting there waiting for me when I hopped in the car.

    I’ve only used it a couple days, but it is already clear that Apple Music is the best software I have used on AAOS so far. It embraces all of the AAOS standards (Material Design), and actually has the features I would expect in a music app in a car.

    Lesson for the young folks out there. Details and humane interface designs matter.

    Fediverse Reactions

  • Google Built-in Is Out of Tune

    It’s been about a year since we purchased a car with Google Built-in, and I have done my best to embrace the capabilities of Android Automotive OS (AAOS) and the apps available in Google Play. Note that my mobile phone is an iPhone, and I have used CarPlay for many years.

    There are several features in AAOS that have impressed me very much. I am very impressed with the Google Maps integration and the ability to send trips from my phone before we leave for our destination. The layout of the dashboard incorporating the map and directions is efficient and effective (and beautiful). The ability to access other apps while still seeing the map on the dashboard is a great user experience. I also find it very helpful to adjust comfort settings using Gemini without ever having to reach away from the steering wheel.

    As a software product professional, what has shocked me is how consistently horrible 3rd party apps are from a user experience perspective. Most music apps are borderline unusable which makes zero sense to me. Music is one of the main use cases for a great driving experience. You need to know the status of your car, you need to know where you’re going, and you need great tunes. It all seems pretty simple to me. Music services need to invest in their AAOS experiences significantly and thoroughly embrace the capabilities of the operating system. Drivers deserve a great music experience, and it really shouldn’t take much effort to make this happen. And for crying out loud, where is the Apple Music app?

    Honestly, I don’t want to have to use CarPlay, but until the user experience of music apps on AAOS are exponentially better, I’ll be connecting my phone and using well-designed apps.

  • Wouldn’t it be amazing if Pandora built an API and MCP Server on top of the Pandora Genome? Imagine the joyous music solutions a person could create with access to that kind of music knowledge and information?

    The reality is Pandora’s algorithm is so much more powerful and accurate than any other music service. Instead of joining forces with Sirius XM, they should have licensed their Genome to every music service on the planet.

    Perhaps it’s not too late.

  • The Smashing Pumpkins

    My college-aged son and many of his friends have discovered The Smashing Pumpkins. They’re going through their Smashing Pumpkins phase much like I and many of my friends went through a Led Zeppelin phase at some point in middle or high school. You know the “phase.” It’s the journey of discovering a band from before we were born and thinking, at least for a brief time, that it may be the greatest band of all time.

    I have to admit, I have been thoroughly enjoying this moment. The Smashing Pumpkins is one of my favorite bands, and I distinctly remember listening to their albums non-stop in my college dorm and apartments in the ’90s. There was something about their music that spoke to me and my friends at the time. Perhaps my son and his friends are experiencing the same thing now. Perhaps it is the age or the environment that makes college the best time to get into the Pumpkins, or maybe it is just really good music.

    My son asked about my favorite albums and songs, and of course I mentioned Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. But then I pulled out a wild card – Mary Star of the Sea.

    You might be thinking – Tim, that’s not a Pumpkins album, and you would be correct. It’s an album that came out in 2003 by a band named Zwan after the Pumpkins broke up the first time. Zwan included Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin and was basically just another version of The Smashing Pumpkins with a few other musicians. If you are lucky enough to have the CD (or ripped it back in the 2000’s like I did), you have my third favorite Smashing Pumpkins album in your library. Hopefully, Mary Star of the Sea and other Zwan content will be released on digital platforms soon. I suspect all of the 20-somethings discovering The Smashing Pumpkins would immediately take to Zwan at the same time.

    Rock on!

  • The Jack White halftime show during the Packers-Lions game was fantastic. And then Eminem came out of the floor and blew the roof off the place!

    This is what a rock show looks and sounds like. Now, just imagine 3 hours of that kind of intensity!

  • Those of us of a certain age will remember thumbing through records, cassettes, and ultimately CDs at stores like Musicland in the ‘80’s.

    I distinctly remember these hearings and eventually seeing the labels on CDs at the store. I can confirm that the labels stopped no one from buying an album they wanted. I can also confirm that none of our parents were at Musicland with us.

    Interestingly, as an adult, I actively seek out the Explicit version of albums because I know that is how the artist intended. I suppose that means the labels finally have a good purpose.

    Tipper Gore, Twisted Sister and the fight to put warning labels on music

  • Thanks to the wonders of the interwebs, I happened to be listening to WXRT earlier today even though I live in a radio wasteland here n St. Louis. The DJ (yeah, they actually still have those) played an incredible new song by Mavis Staples called Chicago. I am so excited to hear the rest of the album when it comes out in November!

    I had the privilege to see Mavis earlier this year, and make no mistake, she still has a lot to say with that voice! Do not miss the opportunity to see her perform live.

  • Something tells me I am going to have this album on repeat for the foreseeable future.

  • Here’s an easy to understand example of how Trump’s inhumane policies are directly impacting our country’s youth.

    I know first hand the amount of work these young musicians put in to perfect their craft and the amount of stress and anxiety involved in auditioning for a high-level musical opportunity like this.

    These kids deserve so much better, and I hope members of the band decide to participate in some way on a personal level despite their commander’s racist leanings. wapo.st

  • Looking forward to watching Questlove’s latest creation about Sly Stone on Hulu! www.npr.org