Just had to post a little note to the world to note the passing of the Lala.com online music service. It was a fun relationship while it lasted. The low cost unlimited web listens of songs without signing up for a monthly subscription were truly a treat. If I had known Lala couldn’t last that way, I would have signed up too. What I liked most was that I was introduced to new-to-me music artists and could test drive a FULL SONG before purchasing it for download.
Alas, good things that challenge the establishment seem always at risk. Lala.com was no exception. Yes, proof of its success is that it is now owned by iTunes – if you can’t beat the competition, join them. Or, in the case of Lala.com, purchase the competition and then shut it down.
But, when one door closes, another one opens. This month, I decided to upgrade to the newest release of the Ubuntu Linux operating system. Lo, and behold, Ubuntu has a new online music store included in the new system! Check out Ubuntu One.
Hurray! Now, my operating system is complete. Since, iTunes refused to be compatible with Linux operating systems, we’ve felt compelled to keep an old Windows operating system around on the family computer. Yes, it was full of viruses, cumbersome and slow, but what could we do. We owned iPods and were “stuck” with iTunes to manage our music.
Had Lala.com not been bought out by iTunes and then shut down, I might not have known of this new freedom. Are you wondering just what this Ubuntu thing is? What does it mean?
Well, for my family, it means six-year-old laptops bogged down in slow, virus plagued Windows operating systems received new life and agility – for FREE! It means a desktop computer that despite the expensive virus subscription, seemed ready for the recycle center, now hums along like a charm quickly booting to new life with it’s Linux OS.
Are you tired of your computing experience seeming like an endless money pit to purchase the latest operating system upgrade, software upgrades, and virus subscriptions? Are you ready to enter a world where computing is for the people, by the people? If so, you are ready to test drive Ubuntu today. Or, stay tuned here to learn more in my next post.
