They probably don't have infrastructure for that yet and it also might be conscious decision. I've understood that the whole point of Spotify is that it is based on P2P-technology which eases their server load and allows good sound quality for users with fairly low connection speeds.
> and allows good sound quality for users with fairly low connection speeds.
P2P is all about lowering their costs, not about making better sound quality for low connection speeds. It doesn't matter if you're streaming from Spotify's data center or across the street, slow is as slow does. You're not squeezing more bits through a slow connection because of P2P.
You are right, I didn't express myself quite clearly. But if you are in, say, Australia and you're streaming from a server that is in Sweden there is probably some bottleneck along the way that doesn't allow you to get full speed of your connection. But if you're streaming from across the street you probably get more use of your connection. Your connection speed is obviously the upper limit.
I don't know if I expressed myself any more clearly :)
If you're interested in C, one project could be developing GUI for some unix commands. At school we did a project once where we built a GTK app for creating logins on linux. There's many things you get to deal with like file handling and executing commands from code and so on.
One fun thing for learning hacking is trying to implement linux commands such as ls or ps. You get a little more intimate knowledge about the OS and you don't have to come up with specs because you already know what it's supposed to do :)
I second the idea of implementing small utilities. It's also good when you're an experienced programmer and are learning a new language.
OP, besides that I suggest you try and write a simple, text-based chat program before trying to write an IM. For instance, start with a 2-way chat, add error handling, then start adding support for multiple users, chat rooms and irc-like commands.
I have found weight lifting to be the best kind of exercising for me. When I was at studying and working part-time I found that if I went jogging I'd still continue thinking about work and school stuff. When I'm lifting, thats the only thing I'm concerned about. When you have squatted down with heavy weight on your back, you don't stress about anything else than getting back up. Strength training can also help prevent typical physical problems hackers face, such as neck and back pains.
>Now I feel they are back on square one: running around like headless chicken looking for a solution. They should have given their current solution a real chance
They are most likely to continue with their new products and solutions. I believe it is quite common for publically traded companies that have been having problems to switch CEO when things start getting better. The point of that is to restore the trust of the stock holders. Nokia stock gained 5% in Helsinki stock exchange after the news was published. Kallasvuo will even continue at Nokia-Siemens so one might think the change of CEO is mostly cosmetical.
>People think that if they emulate successful people they will be more successful themselves. So it's about a form of fashion.
That's true and there's really nothing wrong with that. Being a hobby guitarist I feel this is very similar to many guitarists and other musicians. A guitarist doesn't want a guitar that's just nice sounding and good quality, it has to look good. If you feel your instrument has a certain "mojo" it can help you get in an inspired mood more easily. If you have instrument you don't like you can't perform at your best. A jazz guitarist might not be happy about playing a guitar that looks like it's made for heavy metal no matter what it sounds like.
Sometimes when you're passionate about something, tools are not just tools. No one needs Armani suit to protect themselves from cold, no one needs a ferrari to get from one place to another and no one needs a Gibson Les Paul to play guitar.
If someone can be more productive because working on a Macbook Pro makes them feel more like a Rock Star Developer than working on a PC with Windows XP, I don't see anything wrong with that.
Also you need to drink beer faster, because it gets warm and stale pretty fast. With scotch (and other strong alcohols) you can take as much time as you want.
I wouldn't necessarily call South Korea "free market", since there seems to be a lot of protectionism. Everyone who has been to Korea has probably noticed that almost everyone drives Korean cars and uses Korean phones. Taking that into consideration it seems quite odd that the government has tied the infrastructure to one vendor(which is not Korean).
"1.35/album * 2,000,000 = 2.7 million"
It should be noted that especially new artists often start getting royalties after the costs of making the record and music videos have been paid. I believe that is a big reason why many one-hit wonders might sell millions world wide and go broke soon after the success fades.
