Tech2

They’re still at it. A recent issue of Stereophile featured a sidebar on “13 Products Julian Hirsch Got Right” — implying, of course, that Hirsch got most products wrong. Poke around audio websites and you’ll probably see his name mentioned, often with scorn. But the man retired as technical editor of Stereo Review (Sound+Vision’s forebear) way back in 1998, and passed away five years later. What did he say so long ago that continues to attract attacks?

Roger Ebert finds a cool infographic on PC people and Mac people. Mac users are hipsters, PC users are...conservatives?

Reverence. That is what I, and most gamers, feel towards Half-Life. Released in 1998, it was revolutionary. More importantly, it was fun.

Playing now, though, is nearly impossible. Not because of any technological limitations (it was ported to Steam), but because the 14-year-old graphics make you want to weep.

At least they have until now.

I’m not sure where to begin. In a Heisenbergian fashion, I can’t describe the game without ruining the game. I can’t really say what it’s about, what goes on, or really, what my feelings are after playing it.

I can only use words like “ethereal,” “haunting,” “absorbing,” even “beautiful.”

Well, maybe I can describe how I feel about it. I think. . . I loved it.

"It's great, I never have to pay for music again!" Such was the exclamation from someone I know in regards to Spotify.

I was baffled at first, but the more I thought about it, the more it annoyed me. Because my acquaintance isn't alone in this thought. It's prevalent among many, and it extends beyond music.

What they're really saying is: "I want you to entertain me, but screw you for trying to make a living at it."

What the what?

It's an interesting thing, this. A tweaky audiophile program that strips away all the junk your computer could be doing while playing back your digital audio files.

The idea is to give each file as good an environment for playback as possible, minimizing jitter and maximizing sound quality.

Well, OK. That could be cool.