THE iPHONE'S TOUCH TECHNOLOGY

Posted by webmasterLEWAT @ 10:21 AM, 23 JANUARY 2010

I think the iPhone is way ahead of any phones I've used in the past. I've used Microsoft Windows Operated phone (made by HTC) for many years and only switched to the iPhone four Months ago and find it utterly amazing. Something amazing happened yesterday. My friend Bime and I hit the gym in the evening to work out. You can imagine how much one perspires after spending half an hour on the treadmill. It was time to do some crunches so I took off my wet T-Shirt and dropped it on my iPhone. When I picked it up a few minutes later, I saw the pages transition. I was surprised; mainly because I understood how the iphone's touch screen worked (so I thought) and my finger was nowhere close the the screen itself.. Because of its reliance on capacitive material, the iPhone works only if you touch it with your fingertip... it won't work if you use a stylus or wear non-conductive gloves. I know the iPhone's screen detects touch through different methods (which I really don't understand yet). I ran to Bime who was in the next room with my discovery and you can appreciate how excited we were and how astounded he was. We tried a couple of thing including touching the screen with a dry cloth to see what'll happen. The touch-screen did not work which led us to conclude it must have something to do with sweat...human sweat to be precise. I'm sure everyone using the iPhone knows the touch technology has something to do with our skin. I just had to Blog about this so here we go:

As I understand, electronic devices can use lots of different methods to detect a
person's input on a touch-screen. Most of them use sensors and circuitry to monitor changes in a particular state. Many, including the iPhone, monitor changes in electrical current. Others monitor changes in the reflection of waves. These can be sound waves or beams of near-infrared light. A few systems use transducers to measure changes in vibration caused when your finger hits the screen's surface or cameras to monitor changes in light and shadow.

The idea is pretty simple... when you place your finger or a stylus on the screen, it changes the state of the device. In screens that rely on sound or light waves, your finger physically blocks or reflects some of the waves. Capacitive touch-screens use a layer of capacitive material to hold an electrical charge; touching the screen changes the amount of charge at a specific point of contact. In resistive screens, the pressure from your finger causes conductive and resistive layers of circuitry to touch each other, changing the circuits' resistance.

OK, now here's what I know about the iPhone technology...well I think I do. The Apple iPhone is different... many of the elements of its multi-touch user interface require you to touch multiple points on the screen simultaneously. For example, you can zoom in to Web pages or pictures by placing your thumb and finger on the screen and spreading them apart. To zoom back out, you can pinch your thumb and finger together. The iPhone's touch screen is able to respond to both touch points and their movements simultaneously. The iPhone's processor and software are central to correctly interpreting input from the touch-screen. The capacitive material sends raw touch-location data to the iPhone's processor (just like a mouse click on a Computer). The processor uses software located in the iPhone's memory to interpret the raw data as commands and gestures.

So basically,
1. Signals travel from the touch screen to the processor as electrical impulses.
2. The processor uses software to analyse the data and determine the features of each touch.
3. The processor uses its gesture-interpretation software to determine which gesture you made. It combines your physical movement with information about which application you were using and what the application was doing when you touched the screen.
4. The processor relays your instructions to the program in use and sends commands to the iPhone's screen.

Amazing right? This is the very genius process which allows you to access and use all of the iPhone's applications with your fingers.

 

 

WHEN DID YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH HIP-HOP?

Posted by webmasterLEWAT @ 00:33 PM, 10 JANUARY 2010

I just watched the movie Brown Sugar (for the 10^th time or so) and a question popped out of nowhere. I was struggling to remember at what age I listened to my first hip hop track; then the memories came back, so vivid. It was this song called Trapped by 2Pac release in 91’, same year MJ dropped his “Dangerous” album.

Anyways, "I remember the day I fell in love with hip-hop," begins the opening scene of the 2002 romantic comedy "Brown Sugar," where Sanaa Lathan's character Sidney stands, alongside her childhood friend Dre (played by Taye Diggs), mesmerized by the lyrical flow of the young MCs on a New York City neighbourhood basketball court. As Sidney and Dre evolve from adolescence to adulthood, hip-hop, near and dear to their hearts, evolves as well. "Sid," Dre and hip-hop grow in tandem. Hip-hop influences their relationships, both professional and personal, playing a significant role in the defining decisions of their lives, and at the end of the day, i.e. movie, when they choose each other, they also choose hip-bop, accepting their shared fate.

There is a lesson for hip-hop observers in "Brown Sugar," where the music's influence transcends the realm of entertainment, permeating the character's identity and values. Although the film romanticises the relationship, it does speak to a prevailing question that has begun to invade discussions of hip-hop music and culture among its advocates and critics alike--"who's playin' whom?"--that is, to what extent is the music pulling the strings of its fans, or vice versa. The question is being asked by many people (by that I mean ME) and not just by parents deemed "out of touch" with youth culture.

As of yet, the true influence of hip-hop culture on today's youth is circumspect. Soon, however, that will not be the case. At one level, we need to document the genre. On a more sophisticated level, we need to determine how Africans, African American, Asians etc perceive their social identity with respect to hip-hop's content, expressions and context. Take Cameroon for example, we’ve seen an unprecedented number of new artist like Krotal, release hip hop / R & B albums (or at least geared towards the genre) in favour of the traditional Makossa and there’s no need to emphasise the influence of R & B on the Nigerian Afro-Pop genre which has taken the world by storm. Who dares call this misplaced social-identity? Not me for sure.

At the same time, the overwhelming presence of hip-hop culture provides one of those rare opportunities where the academy and popular culture can't help but merge. This has, and is happening everywhere: from Douala to Bamenda, in London, Bamako and from East Coast to West Coast. There is no known culture, now or in the past, that lacks music. I remember watching a documentary once on the discovery channel and it was mentioned that some of the oldest human-made artefacts found at archaeological sites are musical instruments. Could our fascination with music merely be an accidental by-product of our brain’s fascination with sound and pattern? Or has music played a crucial role in the evolution of the human mind? That’s a question for another day but what I do know is that music is good for social bonding, releasing stress, relaxation, defusing interpersonal tensions and even functions as an honest signal of sexual, physical, emotional, and cognitive attraction.

Food for thought:

We evolved our fundamental connection to (or possibly dependence upon) music during a time when the performance of music itself would have been relatively scarce. Are we now glutting ourselves on music because technological advances have allowed it to be abundant to the point of omnipresence? In other words, is music a kind of aural sugar, for which we have evolved a sweet tooth? And, if so, might it (like the excess of refined sugar) actually become completely detached from its evolutionary function? I am not suggesting music makes you fat but I am sure you get the drift. Think about it.

 

 HOW DO I POST AUDIO/MUSIC ON MY BLOG?

Posted by webmasterLEWAT @ 20:00 PM, 07 JANUARY 2010

The Quick Answer

• Choose whether to embed audio/music from a third-party site or to host your own (podcast).
• To podcast, choose a host to store your audio files, then enable 'Link Fields' in your Settings | Formatting tab.
• Use the link field to enclose audio files in your posts.

If you'd like to put music or audio on your blog, there are many options available to you. First you'll have to decide whether you want to host your own audio files or merely embed them from an existing third-party site.

Embedding music/audio from third-party sites

If you'd like to embed a playlist or functionality from a third-party music service such as Last.fm or Imeem, Blogger's layouts feature makes it easy.

1. Visit your Template | Page Elements tab.
2. Create a new widget by clicking "Add a Page Element."
3. Choose the "HTML/Javascript" widget.
4. Enter the HTML code provided by your third-party music service into the content window and click "Save Changes."

If you can't find the necessary code, you may have to contact your third-party music service. Feel free to position the page element wherever you'd like.

There are plenty of services to share and embed music available on the web. Here's a list of a few to get you started. Please keep in mind that these services aren't affiliated with Blogger, but I've tried a few and they’re quite good.

• Last.fm
• Seeqpod
• Imeem
• IODA Promonet
• Hypster
• Streampad
• Splashcast
• Project Playlist
• FineTune
• MyFlashFetish

Podcasting

If you'd like a way to distribute ongoing recordings of your own, you may be interested in using your existing Blogger feed to create a podcast. Podcasts can be used for a variety of purposes, such as syndicating your own weekly internet talk show or mixtapes. They work by using your blog's existing feed to link to audio files you have hosted on the web. RSS Readers (such as Google Reader or Bloglines) then interpret your links as embedded audio files and provide an interface to play them. Note that your audio files will still be available directly on the blog too.

To get started, you'll need a place online to store your recordings. Most Blogger sites do not offer hosting services for audio files at this time; however, there are plenty of providers of online storage space that offer both paid and free hosting services, such as Box.net, MoveDigital, DreamHost, and BlueHost. Once you've uploaded your files to your web host of choice, you'll need to enable enclosure links to link to the file from within a Blogger post. To do so, just go to your Settings | Formatting tab and set the "Show Link fields" option to "Yes." This will add the enclosure link fields to your post editor. When composing a post, you'll then see a field for your enclosures. From there, just enter the URLs of your audio files, and your blog will instantly become a podcast. When viewed with most RSS readers or podcatchers (such as Google Reader, iTunes, or Bloglines), your recordings will appear as embedded music players. It's that easy!

If you'd like to further customize your podcast, you may be interested in checking out FeedBurner. By processing and optimizing your existing Blogger feed, FeedBurner not only offers extensive podcasting options but also the ability to customize, optimize, and monetize your feed and to track the number of listeners subscribed to your podcast.

 

THE CONTEMPORARY BLOGGER.

Posted by webmasterLEWAT @ 16:25 PM, 03 JANUARY 2010

Technology may have made it simple to obtain digital music, but it hasn't provided an easy way to sift through millions of tracks to find the tunes we like. The Internet has, however, connected music fans to a legion of hardcore aficionados who help steer people to new music. Think of Barry, Jack Black's rock-addicted character from the film High Fidelity, with a blog LOL.

The difference is that some of today's most popular music bloggers may someday be worth more than their predecessors ever dreamed of earning. Music blogs (and all sorts) are nearly as old as the Web, but the past year has brought unprecedented growth, influence, and pounds to the sector as people look for help discovering new music. Now, the most popular blogs, such as Dulce Camer and Pitchfork, look less and less like Internet fanzines and more like tech start-ups. Music blogs are organizing concerts, being quoted on television, and releasing independent albums--just like a record label; think of DJ Lewat producing Miss Debra Debs or Kilian Ateh. The changes have spurred some to declare there is no limit to how far the blogs can go. Others fear they might lose their edge if they go corporate.

With success come changes, the way these things normally go is you'll start to generate a lot of attention, and it gets harder to just keep writing a blog. It can become more of a managerial role and less about creativity and finding interesting ways to discover music or upcoming artists. If some bloggers are overwhelmed by success, it's because they never planned for it. Dulce Camer (DC) is a perfect example of how much people need some direction as to new / chart-topping artists, tracks, fashion etc. DC was launched just over a year ago and is now fast becoming the most popular source of information and gossip on all the craziest, sexiest, coolest, trendiest and most fabulous Cameroonians out there doing their thing. They recently released their top 50 list of Cameroonians poised to do great things this year. It’s got everyone talking and some are simply calling DC a REVOLUTION.

The music blogs also didn't try to cater to mass audiences--at least at first. They focused on niches. For example, All Hip Hop.com developed a reputation for being the must-read blog for concert information and new hip hop and R & B releases. Some specialised in covering independent music (pretty much what the Music Lens was initially intended for) whilst some are now famous for spotting new talent (like DC).

Another sign of how far the blogs have come: A year ago, some of the big record companies were sending "cease and desist" letters to blogs that posted unauthorized MP3 files to their sites. Now, many of those same companies plead with the blogs to host their music.

DULCE CAMER'S TOP 50 LIST 2010.

Posted by webmasterLEWAT @ 12:47 PM, 01 december 2009

Earlier this year, Jeune Afrique created a power list that entrenched Cameroon’s reputation as a withering gerontocracy. But Dulce Camer is flipping the script with a record of 50 change agents that they believe are crafting a new and vibrant nation.

Du jamais vu. Inspiring? Yes. Controversial? Of course. Worth seeing? Definitely! Everyone's talking about the DC top 50 power list. Click HERE to see why.

        By Dulce Camer

BANYANGI GIRL said...
What can I say...Amazing Initiative!! Just to show that there are many many Cameroonians both young and old, up and coming men and women doing great things for Cameroon! what a year for DULCE CAMER...and to think its ONLY one year old! Hopefully this will encourage more Cameroonians, to stop being oh so negative, get up and DO something to bring POSITIVE recognition to their country. DC has done its own top 50 list, this is now your chance to do better and be part of this revolution.

        Follow the Revolution HERE

Another Talent is Born. Ladies & Gents, Meet Eddy B'.

Posted by webmasterLEWAT @ 18:39 PM, 04 SEPTEMBER 2009

Hi guys, just moi. Here to introduce another new artist: his name's Eddy B. Growing up together in Douala as kids and attending Sasse college, I never thought for all those years he had such talents so guess how surprised I was when he came out from the blue.

His versatile style, originality and the level of consciousness in his lyrics, combined with his strong passion for music and performing, makes him an all round entertainer. The Cameroonian born R & B artist is currently working on his first Album which will feature the already popular single ‘African girl’. Listen to his songs on my player right here at www.djlewat.co.uk/blog.

When Eddy decides to be entirely original, the results are pure magic! The rendition (well not entirely) of Birthday sex by Jeremih is brilliant, vocally powerful and goes to show how conscious he is of issues affecting humanity. If you want to be noticed, the secret is simple... You've got to give and you'll get which is exactly what he's done on this track: by helping create awareness about HIV Aids.

His songs are very well constructed and full of a certain "je ne sais quoi". 'Ain't I' (another song from his library of more than 20 self produced songs) has a lil comic tone to it (for those who can appreciate it)...It made me laugh for sure. Kind of reminded me of 'lollypop' by Naija Boy.

Eddy B carves his niche in the world of R & B on another track titled 'I wanna rock you 2'. The song flaunts a new level of confidence and "swagger" built from experience writing and singing since the early 2000s. The track is a breath or fresh air and in my opinion, compares too to many contemporary R & B' songs: especially from our Naija comrades.

On the whole, Eddy B is unstoppable, destined to do great things and potentially release some radio hits. He's more interested in pushing the creativity envelope much further than just singing and gliding through a few well produced beats. For y'all ladies, watch out!!! Eddy B's here to unleash a thunder of musical orgasm unto you.

The difference between Rap / Hip Hop / R & B?

Posted by webmasterLEWAT @ 15:25 PM, 09 AuGUST 2009

Most people interprets genres differently. This is a question many of you can seldom answer but taken for granted. I've just had an argument with a friend so I wanna set the record straight.

I look at rap like hardcore hip-hop. Violent lyrics with more of an emphasis on the beat. R&B (Rythm and Blues in case you didn't know) really isn't too much of Rap/hip-hop at all. It's more of a slowed down song that rhymes but sometimes doesn't...Alicia Keys and R Kelly are good examples. I'm sure you've all noticed that R&B songs seem to be a lot calmer and groovier than hip-hop.

This is what I believe:
Rap is the MUSIC with rapping (makes sense doesn't it?)

HIP-HOP is the CULTURE that RAP MUSIC is a part of (stay with me).

R&B is the "urban" genre of modern soul with singing instead of rapping (you feel me?).

There are no other options. The only question I'm gon' let you ponder upon is this: how would you classify a song which is 50% R&B (in terms of the singing) and 50% Rapping? Lemme give you a clue; the answer is in the second paragraph above.
 

Hip Hop is boring?

Posted by webmasterLEWAT @ 20:13 PM, 01 AuGUST 2009

Hello ‘Music-heads’,

Hip hop is boring. That’s what I feel like writing about today. I love hip hop, I am the biggest Fan of Hip hop (some of y’all can say the same…no contention).  It’s BORING. Nothing in 2008 held up and 2009 so far hasn’t produced any ‘bad-ass’ tracks. Maybe I'm too old school. This post is about the evolution of hip hop, but right now, in this moment here, Hip Hop is in an ice age, stagnant as fuck. Maybe I want all my shit to sound 2001 style. Maybe I miss west coast gangster rap. But basically every new release (including underground releases) I checked out in 2008 were bunk. Nothing was innovative. I got sick of everything within two weeks. Somebody please set me straight. Did I miss something? No seriously, somebody tell me wusup. All these underground cats hype up doom, and sure some’ve got nice delivery and some whimsical rhymes, but their shit doesn't hold up. I haven't been excited about an underground artist since 2003. I'm not tryna be funny, but somebody just let me know wusup with the state of hip hop.

I guess what I miss is the excitement of hip hop. Around six years ago, some real shit was coming out; you never knew what was going to be thrown at you next. And like I said, 'm down with hip hop on the roots level & I’m sure most of you are. Hip Hop is not what it used to be, I hope something dope drops before the end of this year: Maybe some New Fugees, Rakim, New Snoop, Nas, Dr Dre, Kurupt, Nate Dogg, DPGC, Ice Cube, Ja Rule, Methodman & Redman, Cypress Hill, XZibit, Warren G, Coolio, and I wouldn’t mind some 2Pac…. Ok so he’s no more…Bless him. I really wish the masters can return to the stage.

Some people have attributed the downfall of hip hop to its preaching by way of lyrics used by some big name artists; I'm talking about the fact that it encourages people to spend their money on shit that looses value the second you buy it... status symbols (Ice, rims, extravagant cars, plasma screens, etc...) and propagate the "divide and conquer" strategy. It teaches the youth to "say fuck you"... "Get mines!... and take yours"... even when "yours" belongs to a struggling neighbour. In the beginning hip hop was conscious... culturally, and politically... Now conscious hip hop is its own genre. All I’m saying is that the 90's where the golden years of hip hop (rap). It had depth and reality...AND I WANT THOSE DAYS BACK. To be honest, I'm so disappointed and uninterested that I don't listen to mainstream rap music as I used to. I enjoyed very few albums in terms of the beats and lyrical content: Lil Wayne - Tha Carter 3, Keri Hilson - In a perfect world, Kanye West - Heartbreak, Snoop Dogg - Ego Trippin, J. Holiday - Back of my lac, Ludacris - Theatre of the mind. Considering the number of artists out there, this is not great.

I was speaking to Miss Debs about this and thinking another possible reason maybe due to the fact that as a DJ, I play predominantly to an African / Cameroonian crowd the majority of the time; most of whom don't appreciate hip hop; this from experience. Whatever the case, I’m happy with my collection  of old skool hip hop tracks and I’ll keep appreciating those until something / someone new comes along.

 

Is Michael Jackson the GREATEST Musician ever?

Posted by webmasterLEWAT @ 13:20 PM, 29 JUNE 2009

So do you think Michael Jackson is the GREATEST musician of all times? I was having a phone conversation with two friends at Lastfm.com and they both had different views on the matter. Personally, I think he's the greatest; the Mohammed Ali of Music or better yet, the Barack Obama of Popular Music. Here're some of the views expressed in our exclusive online forum:

Easily, the fact is , everybody knew MJ, everybody knew his music and anyone could listen to and enjoy his music, that's what makes a musician , not their private life
Darren

He is, truly, the King of pop.
Jasmina

I believe he's the greatest entertainer ever ..... the greatest musician !!! hmmmmmmmm maybe ...
DJ Stokes

I would say people like Mozart, Bach and Rachmaninov deserve more recognition musically but that's just what I prefer.
Michaela

Watching to the numbers of CD's he sold : 700 000 000 CD's in total.
And the number 'Thriller' is still the best sold number in the whole world for like 1 200 000. So I think he's kinda famous, don't you think?
DJ Sam

No Sir Paul McCartney is
Gordon

Not by a long shot, yes he was a great performer but much of his act depended on the use of special effects and gimmicks
Jessica

Some people will say he is...
But i think that nobody can say who the greatest musician is because thats a very subjective statement and not everybody will have the same opinion so nobody can officially say he is.
DJ Xtrakt

He was many things, but not the greatest musician that ever lived. A great innovator,dancer,stylist,performer,singe... etc... I say in his era the most successful, but not the greatest ever. He was known throughout the world and loved as were the Beatles and Elvis. Isn't it's all a matter of taste? Anyway can you call a singer a musician? i don't recall seeing him at the piano or on the guitar.
Troisky

Michael Jackson dies at 50 (The World Mourns)

The STAR the World Could NOT Ignore

Posted by webmasterLEWAT @ 12:27 PM, 26 JUNE 2009.

Michael Jackson has died after a suffering a cardiac arrest at his Los Angeles home. In a career spanning more than four decades, the 50-year-old pop icon enjoyed a level of hero worship on a par with Elvis Presley and the Beatles, before scandal and poor health caused his star to wane.

Total worldwide sales of more than 350 million records over his 40-year career give just a hint of the adoration there was for the "King of Pop." The fact that his death came on the eve of a comeback tour in London will leave his devotees feeling even more bereft. He had had a  history of health problems prior to his sudden and tragic death, and speaking on behalf of the Jackson family, Jermaine said doctors had tried to resuscitate the star for more than an hour without success.

Michael Jackson will be yet another legendary figure who will go down in history immersed in controversy and mystery. His contribution and impact on the world of music is immense, unparalleled and unquestionable. He was an extraordinary talent who touched the hearts and minds of millions of fans internationally. However, details regarding his private life had done much to affect his career and to a great extent, contributed to the deterioration of his health.

Jackson began his career as a child in family group The Jackson 5. He then went on to achieve global fame as a solo artist with smash hits such as Billie Jean and Bad. Thriller, released in 1982, is the biggest-selling album of all time, shifting 65m copies, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. He scored seven UK number ones as a solo artist and won a total of 13 Grammy awards.

"For Michael to be taken away from us so suddenly at such a young age, I just don't have the words," said Quincy Jones, who produced Thriller, Bad and Off The Wall.

The star had three children, Michael Joseph Jackson Jr, Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince Michael Jackson II. He is survived by his mother, Katherine, father, Joseph and eight siblings - including Janet, Randy, Jermaine and La Toya Jackson.

May his Soul rest in Peace.


Music Good for Your Cardiovascular Health

Posted by webmasterLEWAT @ 13:33 PM, 04 JUNE 2009.

This is a follow up to the previous article (The weight of modern music). It seems like every day more and more information is being discovered on the benefits of music to a person’s whole health and body.I was listening to this show on BBC Radio 3 and thought the findings were amazing.

Listening to your favorite music may be good for your cardiovascular system. Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore have shown for the first time that the emotions aroused by joyful music have a healthy effect on blood vessel function.

Music, selected by study participants because it made them feel good and brought them a sense of joy, caused tissue in the inner lining of blood vessels to dilate (or expand) in order to increase blood flow. This healthy response matches what the same researchers found in a 2005 study of laughter. On the other hand, when study volunteers listened to music they perceived as stressful, their blood vessels narrowed, producing a potentially unhealthy response that reduces blood flow.

The results of the study, conducted at the University of Maryland Medical Center, were presented at the Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association, on November 11, 2008, in New Orleans.

Very interesting stuff. I guess I'll keep listening to my sweet Makossa collection.

The Weight of Modern Music

Posted by webmasterLEWAT @ 10:53 PM, 22 MAY 2009.

Nowadays we hear a lot of complaints about modern music. Modern hip hop, R&B, electronic, garage, techno (etc) sounds provoke irritation and indignation among elderly people. They’re often surprised on some people’s choice of music.

Of course as a music lover, I’m used to classical music; they’re well arranged and sound extremely beautiful. And of course nothing so beautiful and pleasant can cause negative influence. Scientists even discovered that classical music had positive impact on the health of people and it was possible to treat awful diseases with its help.

But what about modern music? I’m talking about hard core hip hop, R&B, our traditional Makossa and other African and oriental tracks: Maybe they have some influence on the human body as well. So scientists investigated some of these problems with these results:

- Rock music is able to provoke good feelings, to stimulate active movements, to relax, to eliminate pain, to decrease unpleasant effect of loud and sharp sounds that are present in the environment. This music is also able to provoke tension and cause the dissonance, stress and pain in humans. So basically, rock may be dangerous sometimes.

- Rumba, maranga and Macarena have the "live" rhythms and impulsion that increases the heart beating and makes the breathing frequent and deep. It makes the body move. Samba has the ability to excite and calm down simultaneously. By the way it is a rare ability, not everybody is able to do that.

- Jazz, blues, reggae and other musical and dance forms that have African origins may improve the mood and inspire people releasing joy and decreasing sadness. It brings humor and irony, increases the level of communication.

When Is Downloading Music on the Internet Illegal?
Posted by WEBMASTERLEWAT @ 8:00 PM, 17 MAY 2009.

So your daughter wants the new Britney Spears CD or perhaps you're looking to make a nice music compilation for playing in your car. For many people it is as simple as opening one of many peer-to-peer file share programs, selecting the tracks, downloading and burning to a CD-ROM. What isn't so simple about downloading music is the copyright protection laws that people break everyday by downloading some music tracks off the Internet.

In Canada, for example, downloading copyright music from peer-to-peer networks is legal, but uploading those files is not. Additionally Canada has imposed fees on recording mediums like blank CDs and similar items. These levies are used to fund musicians and songwriters for revenues lost  due to consumer copying. 

The U.K & U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act  is much more strict and deems copying of copyrighted music (with the exception of making a copy for your own use) as illegal. It is considered legal for you to purchase a music CD and record (rip) it to MP3 files for your own use. Uploading these files via peer-to-peer networks would constitute a breach of the law. One of the big issues concerning the music industry is, of course, the revenue loss. It is obvious that the music industry has to be losing some money due to Internet music file sharing, but finding the exact amount lost due to music downloading isn't so simple.

The music industry and even some musicians who feel they are taking a loss due to the sharing of their copy-protected works online have started fighting back, so to speak. In recent months there have been more cases of music piracy heading to the courts. From the creators of peer-to-peer and music sharing program authors, to individual users uploading and sharing copy-protected works online. A most recent case was that of www.thepiratebay.org.

If there are so many lawful issues surrounding the downloading of music, you might wonder why we have such influx of MP3 players, CD burners, and even software that allows users to easily rip music from a CD to their computer. So, do you think downloading will stop??? I mean in the near future.

 

Blick Bassy 

Soulful Cameroonian singer Blick Bassy was born in Yaounde in 1974. During his childhood he lived with his grandparents in Mintaba and was immersed in rural cultural traditions. Back in the capital, his love of international music grew and as a teenager he played jazz, bossa nova and West African music in his popular first band, Jazz Crew. In 1996 he formed Macase which won several national and international awards, including the RFI Prize for World Music in 2001 and Best New African Group by the KORA Awards in 2003. His first solo album, Léman, released in 2009, was recorded at Salif Keita’s studio in Bamako, Mali and in Paris, where Bassy is now based.

Listen to a few of Blick Bassy's songs HERE

 

Gadgets for the boys...& girls

Posted by webmasterLEWAT @ 9:32 pm, 14 MAY 2009.

The New HTC TOUCH HD

HTC has arguably been Apple's closest competitor when it comes to the iPhone. After all the company even managed to sneak out the original Touch before Apple had time to get the first version of the iPhone to market. But now HTC has got even more competition on its hands with the likes of the Blackberry Storm and Samsung's Omnia snapping at it's heels. First things first, the Touch HD looks fantastic. Big, bloody big, is the best way to describe that screen. Packed with an accelerometer, the Touch HD auto rotates when it comes to web surfing and viewing pictures. It you want a Windows Mobile powered iPhone, this is the closest thing yet. Read more here http://www.htc.com/www/product/touchhd/overview.html

Why you should try an electronic cigarette?

 

Microsoft Window 7

Vista didn’t really do Windows brand any justice and Microsoft have responded with promising a release or a new operating system in 2009 -  Microsoft Window 7. There are loads of benefits to this new system and from looking at the Beta it seems to fix a lot of the problems with Vista. Some of the new functions to look out for: find out from Microsoft http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/

 

Strangers into Citizens

Posted by webmasteRLEWAT @ 5:49 pm, 11 MAY 2009.

Strangers into Citizens is a national campaign calling for a one-off regularisation of long-term irregular migrants in the UK. There are an estimated 500,000 irregular migrants in the UK. They face exploitation and uncertainty. They want to work, integrate and be able to contribute to life in the UK as full members of our society. Let’s turn STRANGERS into CITIZENS http://www.strangersintocitizens.org.uk/

Obama to Push Immigration Bill as One Priority"
Obama is 'looking for a path for illegal immigrants to become legal'. Read in the story here http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/09/us/politics/09immig.html?_r=2&th&emc=th

.