iTMS-4-ALL: Turns the iTunes Music Store into a normal HTML file structure. (See also: Notes from the script developer)

Music Magic Found in the Shuffle: Random shuffle has become one of the key components of new listening habits ushered in by digital music. Michael Bull noted that most listeners use random shuffle in particular settings, or in certain moods. Sometimes, he said, people can’t decide what to listen to: a problem easily solved by random shuffle.

While people often create playlists for specific activities (walking, driving, commuting, workouts, etc.), they also enjoy giving control to the machine, which can surprise and delight with unexpected selections of tracks, Bull said. The player will sometimes throw up combinations the user would never have dreamed of.

One user interviewed by Bull, for example, said the iPod “colors” one’s surroundings, and random shuffle can significantly change one’s perceptions of a familiar place. Bull said the random selection of tracks allows the user to create unique personal narratives, like a private movie soundtrack, or to use the shuffle feature to bring up surprising memories.

Professor James Kellaris: “Personally, and I believe I speak for many old farts here, I appreciate listening to music, be it an opera or a pop album, in the sequence in which the artist decided to present it.”

Last night a mix tape saved my life: The cassette is 40 years old. And it’s still going strong. James Paul looks back at the little plastic gadget that first let us make our own compilations, record from the radio and take tunes with us wherever we went.

Tetris Dreams: How and when people see pieces from the computer game in their sleep tells of the role dreaming plays in learning. (Both myself and the old lady have been having recurring dreams of Dr. Mario, due to heavy play.)

Pop tunes reborn as marketing: Anyone near a television in recent weeks has been humming Happy Together, the Turtles’ 1967 pop classic. A version of the song has been soaking the airwaves via a commercial for Applebee’s, a midprice restaurant chain based in Kansas. But it’s not about love anymore. It’s about surf and turf.

“Imagine steak and shrimp, or shrimp and steak / Imagine both of these on just one plate.”

You think, either this is a joke or the work of the devil. Then you think that whoever sold out Happy Together to Applebee’s must be strangled. Or, if not strangled, at least asked a series of really annoying questions.

Putting 40,000 Readers, One by One, on a Cover: When the 40,000 subscribers to Reason, the monthly libertarian magazine, receive a copy of the June issue, they will see on the cover a satellite photo of a neighborhood — their own neighborhood. And their house will be graphically circled.

Poshlost on playlists and mix tapes: “Time and time again people bemoan (or perhaps celebrate) technology breaking down old systems of editing and gatekeeping, but ultimately I think we all acknowledge the continued need of something to provide a filter. A mix-tape is a filter that usually has a carefully constructed purpose, and the more and more unmanageable our playlists get, the more we’ll appreciate mixes, maybe even appreciate them in a way we never thought of before.”

Gimme a decaf vanilla latte – and a CD to go: “We’re trying to get people to have the discovery of music be a part of their life again. But you kind of have to find a part of their routine that you can tie it to.”

HDTV: Who Looks Worse, Better?: High-Definition TV is already having an impact on Hollywood. Make-up artists are searching for new techniques to hide the facial imperfections of the stars. Because of HDTV’s incredible picture, skin problems and aging signs are visible to the naked eye despite the best cosmetics. Here is a list of actors who look better (or worse) in HDTV.

Strike out: Examining the revision history and hidden edits in publicly released Microsoft documents (which are ironically part of Microsoft’s “Get The Facts” initiative.)