| Thursday, September 17, 2009 |
14:19 - iTunes 9: The SQL
http://finerthingsinmac.com/post/190245902/smart-playlists-in-itunes-9-have-become-s
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Oh hell yeah:
Smart Playlists now get nested rule groups... which database people know as parenthetical clauses.
Where once all we could do was the equivalent of:
SELECT * FROM Music WHERE (A=1 AND B=2 AND C=3);
SELECT * FROM Music WHERE (D=4 OR E=5 OR F=6);
We can now do this:
SELECT * FROM Music WHERE (A=1 AND B=2) OR (C=3 AND (D=4 OR E=5)));
It was always possible to get the same result by making multiple playlists and combining them in an additional playlist with WHERE Playlist=A1 AND Playlist=A2 clauses; but this is far more direct and conducive to the playlist panel's neatness. Granted that this makes Smart Playlists a little less easy and intuitive, but it's implemented in such a way that you can figure it out with a few clicks (the magic's all in the little "..." buttons at right).
I've always loved iTunes as a visualization of a queryable database made as user-friendly as possible, thanks to its fairly monolithic data set and schema (e.g. music). This just further shows that the people behind it still value that aspect of iTunes every bit as much as the flashy glitzy store-type features and gimmicky browsing options.
(Incidentally, between Finer Things in Mac and Adobe UI Gripes, you can get your daily recommended doses both of what to do in software design, and what not to do.)
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05:41 - Aaaahh! She's got a board with a nail in it!
http://www.whptv.com/news/local/story/Woman-fights-back-against-burglar/EErYMx2wYEiv
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But the humans won't stop there. They'll make bigger boards and bigger nails, and soon, they will make a board with a nail so big, it will destroy them all! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! HA ha-ha ha-HA ha ha-ha-ha.
On a tangential note, though: what is it with local news websites that refuse to give any direct statement of where they're located?
One woman in Lancaster County fights back against a burglar after she hits him with a board..
Manheim Township Police said the attempted burglary happened at an apartment complex on Knollwood Drive.
They told CBS 21 News, the woman spotted the burglar in her bedroom..
Lancaster County? There's four of those in the US. Manheim Township? Newport Television LLC? "WHP TV"? C'mon, guys, would it kill you to put Serving southeastern Pennsylvania or something in your banner? Are you unaware that the whole world can come linking in to a local news website if some story becomes widely interesting? Don't make us go digging around through "State News" and various other internal links to try to glean some clues as to your location.
Or is this how the Amish run the Internet? Hyuk hyuk. I kill me.
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| Wednesday, September 16, 2009 |
13:31 - This shouldn't happen to a dog
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1208913/The-poodles-transformed-pandas-horse
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What the crap.
I don't care if the dogs do love it. This is just deranged.
Via Cartoon Brew, which describes this as a "trend", God help us all.
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Brian Tiemann
