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Take your top 20 artists. For each of these artists, collect the top 5 similar artists. The resulting number of unique artists is your eclectic score. If the score is small (extreme = 5) your musical preferences are very limited, and if it is large (larger than 80, extreme = 100), then you have an eclectic musical preference. You can compute your own score at http://anthony.liekens.net/pub/scripts/last.fm/eclectic.php

My eclectic score is currently




The 93 related artists for my profile are 1000 Homo DJs, :wumpscut:, After Forever, Agua de Annique, Aimee Mann, Anal Cunt, Anal Massaker, Anathema, Andy Bowers, Antimatter, Apoptygma Berzerk, Arena, Assemblage 23, Bauhaus, Beatbox Giant Productions, LLC, Beulah, Black Tape for a Blue Girl, Buffalo Tom, Christian Death, Ciccone Youth, Circulatory System, Coal Chamber, Covenant, Detente, Dinosaur Jr., Distorted Reality, Dropkick Murphys, Emmylou Harris, Faith and the Muse, Fields of the Nephilim, Fish, Funker Vogt, Genesis, Grendel, Human Drama, Icon of Coil, Iris DeMent, KMFDM, Kathleen Edwards, Kittie, Last Days of Humanity, Lawn, Leo Laporte and the TWiTs, Lisa Loeb, Lucinda Williams, Luscious Jackson, Mudvayne, Mushroomhead, My Bloody Valentine, My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, My Ruin, NPR, Neuroticfish, New Order, Pale Forest, Peter Murphy, Porcupine Tree, Screaming Trees, Sebadoh, Sheryl Crow, Sister Machine Gun, Sore Throat, Spock's Beard, Stochastic Theory, Suicide Commando, Suspiria, Swamp Terrorists, Switchblade Symphony, The 3rd and the Mortal, The Apples in Stereo, The Bloody Irish Boys, The Cure, The Essex Green, The Gathering, The Jesus Lizard, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Lemonheads, The Mahones, The Merry Thoughts, The Mission, The Olivia Tremor Control, The Parallel Project, The Real McKenzies, The Shroud, The Sisterhood, The Smiths, The Tossers, This Ascension, Thurston Moore, Uncle Tupelo, VH1, Veruca Salt, Bôa

Warning: This entry has nothing to do with music!

I listen to audio books. I listen to short stories in audio format. I listen to podcasts. I did listend to This Week In Tech (TWiT). I will listen to TWiT no more.

TWiT is a IT technology weekly podcast that tends to be light on content and heavy on cranky rants. I did found it mostly entertaining and some time informative, and Cory Doctorow was a guest panelist more then once, so they can't be all bad.

However, episode 97 was the last one I would listen to. On this one Leo Laporte gave a plug for audible.com.

I have no problem with Leo making a living, and I am happy he can find sponsors to support his netcast (Leo's term for podcast). I understand and tolerate the ads he inserts into the file.

I have, however a problem with the way Leo presented the promotion. He weave that into the podcast, as if it was his own recommendation, and only when it was all done he said, "hey, that was our ad".

So I went to the URL he gave, but on a hunch, before giving away my e-mail address, started poking around. It was not obvious but reading through the site, I have discovered to my shagrinn that audible.com is a DRM scheme.

Here what I told them:
Although I am an audience for audio books, and willing to pay for a quality product, I refuse to support any DRM encumbered product. It seems that you are aware that DRM is not desired by your customers, so you try to hide this fact, or at least not present it clearly. I have figured out that you require your customers to use DRM from the system requirements and by drilling down in your help system.

I will not give up my freedom and rights that easily. You will not have my business until you fix this issue, and abolish this anti consumer technology. Until that time your product is defective by design, and I will have no part in it.

I understand that there is stupidity and evil in the world. If there wasn't DRM would have never been conceived. However I have placed my trust with Leo. I know Leo know about DRM. After all he has spoke with Cory Doctorow. Leo said more then once that he think DRM is not smart, but when he suggested I will use the services of audible.com, he didn't say, "Oh, by the way, this is a DRM shop".

So the ad he sold was very effective, however, he spent all his woofie on it. So, for me the TWiT mantra for "Netcast you love from people you trust" is no longer true.

Thanks for reading,
Cheers,
-- Chen.

P.S.
I would have loved to say this directly to Leo instead of bloggin about it, but it seems that I need to jump through too many hoops just to be able to post it on TWiT, so I use this journal as my soap box.

Links:
Leo Laporte
Leo Laporte and the TWiTs

Take your top 20 artists. For each of these artists, collect the top 5 similar artists. The resulting number of unique artists is your eclectic score. If the score is small (extreme = 5) your musical preferences are very limited, and if it is large (larger than 80, extreme = 100), then you have an eclectic musical preference. You can compute your own score at http://anthony.liekens.net/pub/scripts/last.fm/eclectic.php


My eclectic score is currently





The 79 related artists for my profile are AFI Andy Bowers Anti-Flag Bad Religion (2) Bear vs. Shark Beatbox Giant Productions, LLC Beck Belle and Sebastian (2) Brand New Bright Eyes (2) Broken Social Scene Cat Power Catch 22 Colin Meloy Cursive David Bowie Death Cab for Cutie (2) Desaparecidos Devendra Banhart Dropkick Murphys Elliott Smith Eskimo Joe Fall Out Boy (2) George W. Bush Grinspoon I Am the Avalanche I Can Make a Mess Like Nobody's Business Iron & Wine (2) Jimmy Eat World Joanna Newsom Joy Division Lagwagon (2) Leo Laporte and the TWiTs Less Than Jake Limbeck Mae mewithoutYou Minus the Bear (2) Modest Mouse My Chemical Romance Neutral Milk Hotel (2) NOFX (2) NPR of Montreal Okkervil River Pennywise Pinback Pixies Powderfinger Radiohead (2) Rancid (2) Reel Big Fish (2) Regurgitator Rilo Kiley Rise Against Rogue Wave Saves the Day Something Corporate Spoon Sufjan Stevens (3) Taking Back Sunday (2) The All-American Rejects The Arcade Fire The Beatles The Blood Brothers The Decemberists (3) The Early November The Faint The Format The Good Life The Microphones The Mountain Goats The Postal Service (2) The Shins (3) The Smiths The Starting Line The Used The Whitlams Weezer

Take your top 20 artists. For each of these artists, collect the top 5 similar artists. The resulting number of unique artists is your eclectic score. If the score is small (extreme = 5) your musical preferences are very limited, and if it is large (larger than 80, extreme = 100), then you have an eclectic musical preference. You can compute your own score at http://anthony.liekens.net/pub/scripts/last.fm/eclectic.php

My eclectic score is currently



The 81 related artists for my profile are "Weird Al" Yankovic (2) 3 Doors Down Andy Bowers Apocalyptica Avril Lavigne Barenaked Ladies (4) Beatbox Giant Productions, LLC Beatsteaks Ben Folds Five Black 47 Bloodhound Gang Blue Rodeo Bob Dylan (2) Bruce Springsteen CAKE Carbon Leaf Catch 22 (2) Counting Crows Dave Matthews Band Dido Die Toten Hosen Enter the Haggis Everclear Farin Urlaub Flogging Molly Gaelic Storm (2) George W. Bush Goldfinger Great Big Sea (2) Green Day In Flames Jimi Hendrix John Williams Jonathan Coulton Kotiteollisuus KoЯn Lacuna Coil Led Zeppelin (2) Leo Laporte and the TWiTs Less Than Jake (2) Linkin Park Madonna Marilyn Manson Matchbox Twenty Metallica Monty Python Moxy Früvous (3) Mustard Plug Neil Young Nickelback Nightwish (2) NPR Pink Floyd Radiohead (2) Rammstein Reel Big Fish Seven Nations Sonata Arctica (2) South Park Spirit of the West Sportfreunde Stiller Stam1na Streetlight Manifesto (2) System of a Down t.A.T.u. Tenacious D The Band The Beatles (2) The Doors The Mighty Mighty Bosstones The Rolling Stones The Tragically Hip They Might Be Giants (2) Third Eye Blind Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie (2) Van Morrison Vanessa-Mae Weezer Within Temptation WIZO Wolfstone