Files, Folder, and Organization
I have used iTunes for several years now and in that time I have become accustomed to managing my music through software as opposed to file explorers. One of the first things I do when I install iTunes is ensure that iTunes is set to “Keep iTunes Folder Organized.” This ensures that my music is kept intact, in nicely organized folders, and that my file names reflect the actual titles of the songs. Zune offers none of this. Absolutely none. You can change the track title, artist, track number, etc through the software, but that song will remain in its original location with its original file name. This makes everything from backing up files to finding the files on the local disk a tiresome process. Consistency is key, and the Zune has absolutely none when it comes to file management.

I should note that when you purchase songs from the Zune Marketplace they are kept in the standard /ARTIST/ALBUM/SONG file format. This proves that the Zune *can* organize files, it just chooses not to organize *your* files.

Also, Zune offers the option to monitor a folder for you, something iTunes doesn’t offer. So if you don’t mind doing some file management, you can set Zune to monitor a specific folder and anything you add to that folder will be added to your collection.

Winner: iTunes.

The Miracle of Meta data
When it comes to managing music files, meta data is key. Everything from album art, to song titles, to albums, to track numbers, to year, is all kept in the meta data. Both iTunes and Zune offer methods of managing meta data, but in different ways and with different approaches.

iTunes: Simply put iTunes offers access to more meta data than the Zune. Going into a song via iTunes grants you access to standard info such as artist, song title, year, album name, and album artist. In addition, it also grants you access to comments, bpm, grouping, and total tracks for that album. That last item I use often as I like knowing I am listing to song 4 of 12 as opposed to simply 4. A small nitpick I know, but an important one to me personally. The Zune offers no access to comments, bpm, grouping or total tracks information.

Zune: Even though the Zune has access to less meta data, updating the meta data you do have access to is a much simpler and complete process. You can still edit individual songs manually via a right-click like iTunes, but Zune takes the entire process one step further by allowing you to update the entire albums meta data with one-click (sort of). Right-clicking on an album allows you to search for album information (meta data). Once you find the album, Zune allows you to pick via a drop-down menu which song goes with which title. Once you’re satisfied, you click finished and the Zune updates all of the meta data for that album including the album art. Nice touch!

The Zune also has an option to automatically find album information and update the meta data. You can set it to add only the missing information, or update all of the information to ensure it is consistent. In my limited experience, this service works extremely well, finding song information, artist information, album information, and album art. iTunes can automatically find album art, but you’re left on your own to ensure the song titles, album artists, track numbers and years are correct.

I also want to note that while the Zune does not allow you to access the meta information Comments or Total Tracks, it does alter this information. As the Zune software is indexing the songs, it removes the total track information and adds a string of odd characters (00000304 000004DC …) to the comments section. This information is edited even if you have opted to NOT have Zune update information automatically.

Winner: Zune.

Dude, I Love this Song!
Another key feature of music management is ratings, and this is one area where the Zune looses with flying colors. While iTunes offers the ability to rate songs on the standard 5 star scale, Zune uses a heart system. What is a heart system you ask? Exactly! Nobody knows what the heart system is and it is NOT intuitive.

I played around with it a bit, and here is what I understand about it. Zune basically has a 3 star system, allowing you to declare that you either 1) Hate a song, 2) have no opinion, or 3) Love a song. That’s it. I find this method insufficient since liking a song does not mean I love the song and I need to be able to differentiate between the two. Similarly there are songs I don’t particularly like but like to listen to every once in a great while, and then there are songs I hate and never want to hear again.

For an example of what I mean, read my post on iTunes Smart-Playlists and how they can help you love your collection even more.

Winner: iTunes.

He who Plays, Wins
For starters, both software packages play music, and both sound good. But I’m not interested in the fact *that* they play music, I want to know *how* they play music.

iTunes: There is a myriad of options for playing back your music via iTunes. You can build smart playlists, build normal playlists, shuffle (from one album to your entire collection), alter the sound (via equalizer), crossfade your music, and have iTunes automatically determine the best level to play it at so your music has a consistent sound.

In addition, iTunes has some added bonuses that I really love. The first is Party Shuffle. The ability to add songs to a queue as well as tell iTunes to shuffle your music based on a smart playlist is a huge benefit. Secondly, iTunes offers the ability to play in full screen mode via cover flow while still offering the ability to rate songs. This last ability is incredibly handy as it prevents your computer’s screen saver from kicking on.

Zune: In comparison to iTunes, when it comes to playback the Zune software is extremely limited. You can play an album, play an artist, shuffle (from one album to your entire collection), but that’s about it. There is no equalizer to change the sound of the music, there is no full screen playback, there is no queue to have a controlled shuffle, there is no option to crossfade songs, nor is there an option to have Zune keep your music sound level consistent. Also, the Zune’s smart playlist feature gives you less options to choose from than iTunes.

I will add that the Zune’s now playing screen is fantastic and a step above what iTunes offers. When you’re playing a song the now playing screen shuffles through different high-res pictures and offers some interesting stats on the artist. Unfortunately, this cannot be played back full-screen and is only available for a short selection of artists (this second point will eventually be a non-issue as they add more information).

Winner: iTunes.

Conclusion
While the Zune is a decent program with class A meta data management, it simply falls short is comparison to iTunes and its top-notch playback options and file management. Fortunately the problems are small and could be easily addressed by the Zune team.

* For the ultra-brave, I’ve noticed that you can use both programs to get everything. You set Zune to monitor your iTunes folder and have it automatically update album information. Zune will perform these actions in the background, and once iTunes attempts to play the song it will read the new meta information and display it in iTunes. However, this is not a fool proof plan so use with extreme caution.

So, to take a peek at some of my favorites, click on over to the Photos. I will still occasionally post photos in the main post, but these will mainly be photos that are decent and that I am OK with eventually disappearing.

Enjoy.

Enter the Canon Rebel XSi. This is my new toy. I’ve only had it for a couple of hours and already I have taken a few hundred shots. Naturally the first few photos were of my fiancee and her ring. I’ll upload more photos as they trickle in. Here are today’s winners:

Not to mention his use of Youtube, Twitter, Myspace, Facebook, and the list just goes on…

GOBAMA!!!

[Link]

[LINK]

The day started out interesting. Ever since I arrived one thing that stood out to me was how close people parallel parked their cars. I had a suspicion that people left their cars in neutral and simply pushed them into place. Today I got my confirmation. That is indeed exactly what happens. It’s crazy. And of course, I had to snap a video. After all, how often do you see someone parallel park their car by pushing it? Enjoy.

After watching the Flinstone powered parking, we ventured back to one of my favorite places in Brazil; Ipanema Beach. Today was different though. Not only was it more crowded than it had been on any other day since my arrival, there were also superheroes on the beach playing soccer … no futbol .. err volleyball. Well, I’m not sure exactly what they were playing, but it sure was entertaining (and simply amazing). I could describe it in words, but that wouldn’t do this sport justice. You have to watch this video. Seriously. This was by far the most impressive thing I saw my entire trip. I was absolutely dumbfounded by the talent/conditioning of some of these people.

After spending a few hours on the beach watching fulleyball (that’s what I’m calling it … back off!), it was time to go pack and get ready for the long trek home. Sad.

Before we boarded our bus however, I was treated to a nice little cake with candles (yeah, I’m still young enough to blow out candles … what?). A birthday in Brazil … now there is something I never thought would happen. I can say this though, I sure am grateful that it did happen and I couldn’t think of a better way to start another year.

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Later that night we took a quick bus ride to Lapa. In short, Lapa is absolutely crazy. Imagine a club. Scratch that, imagine 40 clubs, half of which feature live bands and garage door size openings. Add a few thousand people walking around from one club to another, a few handfuls of beer (per person), and that’s what Lapa is like. Only bigger.

The only bad part of Lapa was that I forgot my camera at home so I couldn’t snap any photos. If you really want to see some more, check out the steps Snoop Dogg is sitting on in his Beautiful video.

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Again, we weren’t supposed to take photos in the Favelas. I asked one gentleman (I hate to sterotype, but he was probably part of the trafico. He was just way to clean cut. And, he was sitting in front of a storage room filled with gas.) to take a photo, but he gave me the no-no wag. Oh well. I managed to snap a few photos in the Favela. I especially like the one of the bricks (these are the bricks a lot of the houses are made of). Interesting.

Once out of the Favela, we ventured to an occupation. The story goes something like this. The government left a few buildings abandoned when they moved the capital. Some lower-class citizens noticed the building was abandoned, and decided that they should live there. It’s a big building, with electricity, water, but no elevator.

The residents pay a monthly fee to the community for food, but everything else is free (water, electricity, rent, etc.). I felt bad for the residents. That was, until we got a tour of a few apartments (they’re basically offices that people sleep in). They had new refrigerators, new dishwashers, new TVs, and computers. The place is not luxury by any means, but the residents are living a decently comfortable life.

To live in the building residents have to make less than a certain salary. However, I couldn’t help but look at a shiny new 36″ flat screen TV and think to myself that some of the residents could move out if they wanted too. But, if I could live rent/mortgage free with free electricity and water, I’d probably do it too.

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Anyway, to get to the top of the mountain you have to take a cable car (two actually). Nothing like being suspended a thousand feet above the ground by cables. And if traveling up mountains by cable wasn’t exciting enough, the wind was blowing something fierce the day we went. It got so bad they actually stopped running the cable cars for about 15min. Oh lucky me…

Once you’re at the top of the mountain, there’s a few things you can do. Shop, eat, look down, go back down the mountain, go to the theater / museum, or catch a helicopter ride for a closeup view of Christ the Redeemer. Other than that, there’s not much up there.

The helicopter ride costs about $200, so that was not an option, and the theater / museum building was closed, so my options consisted of shopping, eating, and looking down. Fortunately for me, the view is absolutely gorgeous. Even better than the view from Corcovado Mountain (in my opinion). Enjoy the photos.

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So while I’m standing there, these guys come and block off an entire intersection. I could explain further what they were doing, but I got a video instead. Enjoy:

Yeah, I thought that was crazy too. Wrong. Wrong! That was nothing, because for their next act they pulled out knives. Go figure:

After the little show by the laundry mat, we walked a couple blocks to “Big Rock” on Ipanema Beach. Big Rock is just that, a big rock. Well, several big rocks. It gives you some great view of Ipanema Beach and the city.

Apparently the sunsets are supposed to be amazing from Big Rock, but no luck on seeing one of those today. We have a futebol game to attend. Futebol!!!

We hopped a bus to the game. Buses are an interesting thing in Rio. Most of them are privately held, there is no schedule. A bus simply shows up when it shows up. Fortunately that tends to be about every 15min or so. Another interesting thing is that the bus loads/unloads wherever convenient. So getting off the bus in the middle lane happens, often.

Once we arrived at the stadium, you could see the craziness. There were folks lined up everywhere. The craziest part, is that we went to a small game. The Flamengo’s (the favorite team in the Ipanema area) were playing against some nobody team whose name I don’t remember. Still, people were out in full Flamengo gear ready for the game.

Inside the stadium is even more interesting than the outside. The seats are old concrete looking seats. You can tell comfort was not a priority when they were built. Fortunately, nobody sits down, ever. People are standing, chanting, and waving flags, the entire time. It is absolutely insane. Well, I thought it was insane. Then they scored. Triple-Insane. Wow:

Side Note: No people were harmed during the making of this video. However, a styrofoam box and at least one shirt was destroyed. Crazy!

On the way home, we traded in the bus for a subway. It took us a good 20min to walk to the subway, since someone kept taking photos (me), people kept stopping to buy jerseys, hats, scarfs, etc., and someone else had to buy a bottle of water to wash the mud off her feet. Wonder who that was?

The subway ride was pretty basic. Hop in at one location, get off at another, wait for another train, rinse and repeat. It did give me an opportunity to take some nice photos though, so no complaints from me.

In conclusion, the futebol game was absolutely amazing. If you ever make it to Rio, you have have have to go to a game. You won’t be sorry you did.

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The lunch in Santa Teresa was ok. The food was excellent, but the service was slow. Extremely slow. The restaurant did have a live band playing, so the wait wasn’t too painful. That and we played some intense games of hangman. Because the food took so long, we didn’t get to see much of the City. Sad.

Getting to the top of Corcovado is an adventure. You buy your ticket, hop in a van, and then zip up the windiest roads ever paved to the top. It feels like a roller coaster ride. Once at the top, you venture up the steepest steps ever built until you get to the man. And he’s big. Scratch that. Enormous. Pictures simply can’t do the size of statue justice.

Side note: The trip down the mountain was insane. We hopped in the van with a bunch of drunk Brazilians, who spent the entire trip singing as loudly as they possibly could. And, the driver got into it a bit, so he started speeding down the mountain, taking corners way faster than necessary. I tried to get a video of the ordeal, but the battery died. Dangit!

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The trip started out ok, with everyone meeting bright and early. Naturally, everyone was running about 15min too late. Once everyone arrived, phone calls were made to ensure it was safe for us to enter (think City of God), and we loaded into the buses; almost.

Unlike most field trips, everyone who could go on this trip wanted to go on this trip. This meant the buses were jammed-packed and there was not spot for yours truly. Luckily, one of the program directors was able to convince a taxi-man to follow the buses. Apparently Favelas are so dangerous that taxis don’t even enter. Go figure. The damage? 25 Reais (about $15). It would have been 50 Reals but my airport partner (the other Seattle-ite) was signed up for the trip, so me and her split the bill. Niiice.

Once we got close to the Favelas, our tour guide came to give us the necessary warnings: don’t wear sunglasses, don’t point, and don’t take pictures. Most importantly, don’t take pictures. So after the taxi-man removed his glasses and rolled his windows down (I guess you have to roll your windows down so the people know you’re not police. That would be bad), we entered.

There’s a lot one could say about Favelas, but the main that comes to mind with me is third-world. One of the first things you notice is that infrastructure is almost non-existent. Some buildings are made of cement, while others are nothing more than a stack of bricks. Most looked like bricks. Many houses don’t have doors or windows, just cutouts where a door or window would be. Some buildings have electricity and water, some don’t, so giant buckets (they look sort of like a backyard swimming pool for kids) are kept on roofs to provide running water. It is simply unbelievable.

The second thing I noticed is that government is completely non-existent. There is no police force, no schools, no garbage pickup, and no public transportation (they do have buses, but these are privately run). The last government sanctioned presence you see is at the entrance. This is where the police sit and do randoms checks on people entering and leaving the Favela.

About 10min into the Favels, we reached our destination; a community center. The center was nice. Really nice. So much so that it looked out of place. We received a tour, quickly looking at the clinic, dental office, futbol field, and pool. Yes, they had a swimming pool. It is amazing what a few motivated people can accomplish.

After the tour, we had the opportunity to play a quick game of futbol with the local team. I could go into details, but I’m sure you know how that ended. Winners? They weren’t American. I will say this, the level of talent in those kids is ridiculous. Every one of them could easily (very easily) be the star athlete on any high school soccer team in the States. Video time:

Once the match was over, and I was out of breath, we ventured back into the center and up to the second floor for a quick demonstration of Capoeira. Amazing. Next they snagged a few of us off the wall (myself included) and gave us a quick and dirty lesson. Next up? A little show. They paired us with one of the locals, and we performed Capoeira for the audience. Video time (again):

After the demonstration, it was time for a Q&A with the tour guide and center administrators. One interesting tidbit we learned was the lack of government presence means the entire Favela is run by the Trafico de Drogas (drug lords). They are the law, they are the jury, they are the police, they are everything. Oddly enough (well, actually it’s not that odd), we were told that for small crime (theft and such) we were safer inside the Favela than we were outside. The reason is that the trafico hands down some harsh punishments to people caught stealing. How harsh? How about losing a hand harsh. Now that’s a deterrent.

Next on our agenda was a quick walk around the corner to take a look at a huge mural that was being painted. The mural was being painted on a huge staircase and consisted of fish swimming down the stairs. We took a trip to the top of the staircase and shot a quick clip of the view. Amazing:

My words can’t do justice for what these people are trying to accomplish and what they have to deal with to accomplish it. Fortunately the painters have a blog: FavelaPainting.com. Go there, after you read this.

After the mural, it was time for a quick bite to eat a local restaurant just outside of Favela territory before heading up-hill to Santa Maria Maior. It’s a church. A huge church. So huge in fact I saw the darn thing from the window while flying in. It sits atop a huge hill and provides some amazing views of Rio. From the looks of things, the church is no longer active and is only a tourist attraction now. I could be wrong about that though. Go figure.

So after walking up 381 (yes, I counted!) stairs to see the church up close, and then back down 381 stairs to get back to the bus, it was time to head home for quick trip to Ipanema Beach before the sun went down. All in all, a great day.

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I left early in the morning on June 1, 2008. Flew to Atlanta, sat in the airport for 8hrs (my apologies to my family in Atlanta for not calling sooner), flew to Rio, sat in the airport waiting on my luggage, and the taxi’d it to the hotel. Total travel time door-to-door? Just a pinch over 24hrs. Wow.

Of those lovely 24hrs, two experiences are worth mentioning. The Atlanta to Rio plane ride, and the drive to the hotel.

Out of all the plane rides I have had, this one by far was the best. To the left of me I had a window. I typically don’t get to take full advantage of the window seat since I fly mostly at night (hey, it’s cheaper). This time however I touched-down in Rio at roughly 8am. The sun was up, the clouds were non-existent, and Rio at a couple thousand feet is an amazing view. Sorry, no photos.

To my front, I had a nice little screen. I’m guessing it was about 7″ or so. Perfect for watching movies. The best part, it was all on-demand and the movie select was pretty current. You could also listen to music, but blah. I used my 10hrs of airtime instead to watch National Treasuer: Book of Secrets (3 stars), The Bucket List (4 stars), and Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2 stars). Not a bad lineup. +1 for Delta.

And to my right, a pretty brazilian local. She had just gotten married to some guy in Atlanta and was heading back home until all the paperwork and such cleared. Oddly enough, she didn’t sound too excited about moving to the States. She liked the States, but she loved Brazil, and it showed. I got the impression that she planned on moving the hubby to Brazil before too long.

Once I arrived in the airport and got my bags it was through immigration and off to the hotel. Immigration is an interesting / nerve-wracking thing. As I sat in line waiting my turn, I wondered what would happen if for some reason they denied me entry. Would I be placed on the very next flight home, or held for two weeks until my purchased departure. These are the odd things I wonder about…

I had the luxury of sharing my taxi with another Seattle-ite. She was coming to visit her husband, who is in the same program as my girlfriend. It made the drive easier as the taxi-man didn’t speak English; Portuguese and Spanish only. I shouldn’t call him a taxi-man though, he was actually a chauffeur. Nothing cooler than arriving somewhere foreign and seeing someone holding a sign with your name. Gotta love it.

The entire ride was pretty interesting. There are lanes on the road, but I would say they are nothing more than recommendations. There were a few stretches of 3-lane road that quickly turned into 4 or 5 lanes. Also, motorcycles are free to ride the white lines. Basically, what I came to understand, is that if you can fit, you can go. Very interesting, and efficient (from what I could tell).

There was also plenty of scenery on the way to the hotel. Unfortunately, I’m not sure what all of it was. Our chauffeur tried his damnedest to explain different parts of the city to us, but mostly to no avail. I have to give him credit though. He was very patient and tried really hard to explain what various buildings were to the stupid Americans who were too lazy to pick up a little Portuguese before visiting. And to think, he was in the car with us for almost an hour. I wish I had patience like that.

Once at the hotel, it was lights-out. I took a few naps during my travels, but sleeping in airports and on airplanes never leaves you feeling refreshed. Time for some serious shut-eye.

. . .

A few hours later and it was time for a quick and dirty introduction to life in Brazil before the sun went down for the day. The hotel (actually it’s a condo, but whatever…) is called Ipanema Sweet and located just a few blocks from the South Atlantic Ocean (click here). Niiiiiice.

The weather was shabby at best, leaving just enough time to grab a bite to eat, snap some photos of the surrounding stores, take a brief trip to the beach, and grab a snack. I think the snack was called a Sugar Apple. It looks weird as can be, but it’s good. Too bad I can’t bring fruit back.

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