Gerard Leonhard has seen the future of music business - and it's incredibly dull. In this book The Future of Music for the Digital Revolution, co-authored by Dave Kusek, he predicts that music will be consumed exactly like water or any other household utility.
For a monthly subscription fee of, say, $5, anyone will be able to tap into the 'celestial jukebox', a continuously updated collection that spans the history of recorded music. And given the increasing ubiquity if the Internet, the music will flow easily ti listeners, via computer, TV sets, mobile phones and other devices not yet invented. Artists, in turn, will be paid using a subscription pool based on 'pro rata, second' usage. Free from the constraints of having to manufacture and distribute plastic discs, any musician with laptop can release whatever, whenever. This will drive musicians to engage listeners - in terms of both price and quality - as never before. In the process, music will become more of a service and less of a product.
There are signs that the brave new world of subscription music is not that far off. A recent survey found interest in subscription services highest among consumers in the all-important 18-24 age group and those aficionados who spend large sums of money on music each year.
Musician themselves are also adapting to a service model. The key is to build online communities of fans who feel engaged in the creative process, giving 'users' an unprecedented degree of participation in music they listen to. Some famous artists, such as Metallica, Prince and David Bowie, maintain online collections of live concert downloads, exclusive digital-only track, videos, online journals and interactive forums where like-minded fans can meet.
Young listeners, it seems, are increasingly unimpressed with the album format - however cleverly the songs are arranged and attractively designed the cover art is. The album is 'traditional not inevitable' according to William Higham of the Nexi Big Thing, a London-based youth trend consultancy. The next generation of music fans ids growing up in a 'compilation culture', he says, pointing out that the single-track purchases make up a much larger percentage of digital music sales than singles do for 'offline' music purchases.
2016年8月1日星期一
2016年7月29日星期五
The place we should see - Island
The island is beautiful. Don't be dismayed when you get off the plane and find yourself in a large, rather ugly city with a little sense of the old way of life you have read about. Just a short car ride away is the island you have been promised with its small villages and slow pace of life. And there really is anything for everyone. For those that like sunbathing, it has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. If you like walking , the paths take you through some breathtaking scenery. A little other places can match the stunning landscape of this island. For water sports enthusiasts, there are any usual activities such as diving for pearls or turtle spotting, along with a few of the more common sports such as waterskiing or windsurfing. If history is your thing, don't worry. There's so much history round every corner. Ruins from the ancient civilisations that lived here over 3000 years ago are everywhere, and although a lot of people come here just to see the palace, you can find some lesser remains scattered around the surrounding hills.
Visit its a some time of the year and you will not be disappointed. Not many places in the world can offer so much. Not any holiday will ever match this one - our island has got it all.
Visit its a some time of the year and you will not be disappointed. Not many places in the world can offer so much. Not any holiday will ever match this one - our island has got it all.
2016年7月28日星期四
How much sleep do we need? (practice English)
The amount of sleep each person needs depends on few factors, including age. Infant generally require about 16 hours a day. For most adults, seven to eight hours a night appears to be the ideal amount of sleep, although a little people may need a as amount as five hours' sleep or as amount as ten hours's sleep each day. Getting too sichmuch sleep creates a sleep debt, and eventually, your body will demand that the debt be repaid.
A large number of people over 65 have frequent sleeping problems, such as insomnia, and deep sleep stages in many elderly people often become very short or stop completely. Microsleeps, or very brief episodes of sleep in an otherwise awake person, are another mark of sleep deprivation. In many cases, people are not aware that they are experiencing microsleeps. The widespread practice of burning the candle at both ends in western industrialized societies has created so many sleep deprivation that what sleepiness is now almost the norm.
A large number of people over 65 have frequent sleeping problems, such as insomnia, and deep sleep stages in many elderly people often become very short or stop completely. Microsleeps, or very brief episodes of sleep in an otherwise awake person, are another mark of sleep deprivation. In many cases, people are not aware that they are experiencing microsleeps. The widespread practice of burning the candle at both ends in western industrialized societies has created so many sleep deprivation that what sleepiness is now almost the norm.
Dressed to dazzle
As high-tech materials invade high-street fashion, prepare for clothes that are cooler than silk and warmer than wool, keep insects at arm's length, and emit many pinpricks of colored light.
The convergence of fashion and high technology is leading to new kinds of fibres, fabrics and coatings that are imbuing clothing with equally wondrous powers. Corpe Nove, an Italian fashion company,has made a prototype shirt that shortens its sleeves when room temperature rises and can be ironed with a hairdryer. And at Nexia Biotechnology,a Canadian firm, scientists have caused a stir by manufacturing spider silk from the milk of genetically engineered goats. Not surprisingly, some industry analysts think high-tech materials may soon influence fashion more profoundly than any individual designer.
A big impart is already being made at the molecular level, Nano-Tex, a subsidiary of American textiles maker Burlington, markets a portfolio of nanotechnologies that can make fabrics more durable, comfortable, wrinkle-free and stain-resistant. The notion of this technology posing a threat to the future of the clothing industry clearly does not worry popular fashion outlets such as Gap,Levi Strauss and Land's End, all of which employ Nano-Tex's products. Meanwhile, Schoeller Textil in Germany, whose clients include famous designers Donna Karan and Polo Ralph Lauren uses nanotechnology to create fabrics that can store or release heat.
Sensory Perception Technology (SPT) embodies an entirely different application of nanotechnology. Created in 2003 by Quest International, a flavor and fragrance company, and Woolmark, a wool textile organisation, STP is a new technique of embedding chemicals into fabric. Though not the first of this type, STP's durability (evidently the microcapsule containing the chemicals can survive up to 30 washes) suggest an interesting future. Designers could incorporate signature scents into their collections. Sportswear could be impregnated with anti-perspirant. Hayfever sufferers might find relief by pulling on T-shirt, and so on.
The loudest buzz now surrounds polylactic acid (PLA) fibres - and, in particular, one brand-named lngeo. Developed by Cargill Dow, it is the first man-made fibre derived from a 100% annually renewable resource. This is currently maize (corn), though in theory any fermentable plant material, even potato peelings, can be used. In performance terms, the attraction for the 30-plus clothes makers signed up to use lngeo lies in its superiority over polyester (which it was designed to replace).
As Philippa Watkins, a textiles specialist, notes, lngeo is not a visual trend. Unlike nanotechnology, which promises to transform what clothes can do, lngeo's impact on fashion will derive instead from its emphasis on using natural sustainable resources, Could wearing synthetic fabrics made from polluting and non-renewable fossil fuels become as uncool as slipping on a coat made from animal fur? Consumers should expect a much wider choice of 'green' fabrics. Alongside PLA fibres, firm are investigating plants such as bamboo, seaweed, nettles and banana stalks as raw materials for textiles. Soya bean fibre is also gaining ground. Harvested in China and spun in Europe, the fabric is a better absorber and ventilator than silk, and retains heat better than wool.
Elsewhere, fashion houses - among them Ermenegildo Zegna, Paul Smith and DKNY - are combining fashion with electronics. Clunky earlier attempts involved attaching electronic components to the fabrics after the normal weaving process. But companies such as SOFT switch have developed electro-conductive fabrics that behave in similar ways to conventional textiles.
Could electronic garments one day change color or pattern? A hint of what could be achieved is offered by Luminex, a joint venture between Stabio Textile and Caen. Made of woven optical fibres and powered by a small battery, Luminex fabric emits thousands of fabric pinpricks of light, the color of which can be varied. Costumers made of the fabric wowed audiences at a production of the opera Aida in Washington, DC, last year.
Yet this ultimate of ambitions has remained elusive in daily fashion, largely because electronic textliles capable of such wizardry are still too fragile to wear. Margaret Orth, whose firm international Fashion Machines makes a color-changing fabric, believes the capability is a decade or two away. Accessories with this chameleon-like capacity - for instance, a handbag that alters its color - are more likely to appear first.
The convergence of fashion and high technology is leading to new kinds of fibres, fabrics and coatings that are imbuing clothing with equally wondrous powers. Corpe Nove, an Italian fashion company,has made a prototype shirt that shortens its sleeves when room temperature rises and can be ironed with a hairdryer. And at Nexia Biotechnology,a Canadian firm, scientists have caused a stir by manufacturing spider silk from the milk of genetically engineered goats. Not surprisingly, some industry analysts think high-tech materials may soon influence fashion more profoundly than any individual designer.
A big impart is already being made at the molecular level, Nano-Tex, a subsidiary of American textiles maker Burlington, markets a portfolio of nanotechnologies that can make fabrics more durable, comfortable, wrinkle-free and stain-resistant. The notion of this technology posing a threat to the future of the clothing industry clearly does not worry popular fashion outlets such as Gap,Levi Strauss and Land's End, all of which employ Nano-Tex's products. Meanwhile, Schoeller Textil in Germany, whose clients include famous designers Donna Karan and Polo Ralph Lauren uses nanotechnology to create fabrics that can store or release heat.
Sensory Perception Technology (SPT) embodies an entirely different application of nanotechnology. Created in 2003 by Quest International, a flavor and fragrance company, and Woolmark, a wool textile organisation, STP is a new technique of embedding chemicals into fabric. Though not the first of this type, STP's durability (evidently the microcapsule containing the chemicals can survive up to 30 washes) suggest an interesting future. Designers could incorporate signature scents into their collections. Sportswear could be impregnated with anti-perspirant. Hayfever sufferers might find relief by pulling on T-shirt, and so on.
The loudest buzz now surrounds polylactic acid (PLA) fibres - and, in particular, one brand-named lngeo. Developed by Cargill Dow, it is the first man-made fibre derived from a 100% annually renewable resource. This is currently maize (corn), though in theory any fermentable plant material, even potato peelings, can be used. In performance terms, the attraction for the 30-plus clothes makers signed up to use lngeo lies in its superiority over polyester (which it was designed to replace).
As Philippa Watkins, a textiles specialist, notes, lngeo is not a visual trend. Unlike nanotechnology, which promises to transform what clothes can do, lngeo's impact on fashion will derive instead from its emphasis on using natural sustainable resources, Could wearing synthetic fabrics made from polluting and non-renewable fossil fuels become as uncool as slipping on a coat made from animal fur? Consumers should expect a much wider choice of 'green' fabrics. Alongside PLA fibres, firm are investigating plants such as bamboo, seaweed, nettles and banana stalks as raw materials for textiles. Soya bean fibre is also gaining ground. Harvested in China and spun in Europe, the fabric is a better absorber and ventilator than silk, and retains heat better than wool.
Elsewhere, fashion houses - among them Ermenegildo Zegna, Paul Smith and DKNY - are combining fashion with electronics. Clunky earlier attempts involved attaching electronic components to the fabrics after the normal weaving process. But companies such as SOFT switch have developed electro-conductive fabrics that behave in similar ways to conventional textiles.
Could electronic garments one day change color or pattern? A hint of what could be achieved is offered by Luminex, a joint venture between Stabio Textile and Caen. Made of woven optical fibres and powered by a small battery, Luminex fabric emits thousands of fabric pinpricks of light, the color of which can be varied. Costumers made of the fabric wowed audiences at a production of the opera Aida in Washington, DC, last year.
Yet this ultimate of ambitions has remained elusive in daily fashion, largely because electronic textliles capable of such wizardry are still too fragile to wear. Margaret Orth, whose firm international Fashion Machines makes a color-changing fabric, believes the capability is a decade or two away. Accessories with this chameleon-like capacity - for instance, a handbag that alters its color - are more likely to appear first.
2016年7月12日星期二
The Smallest State In The World - Vatican
Vatican is a walled enclave within the city of Rome (Italy), within an area of approximately 110 acres, and a population of 1000, It's smallest state in the world by both area and population.
The highest state functionaries are all catholic clergy of varies national origins, it's distinct from the Holy See, which dates back to early Christianity.
And the land mark of Vatican city there is St.Peter Basilica, also its one of the FIVE great churches in the world.
And the land mark of Vatican city there is St.Peter Basilica, also its one of the FIVE great churches in the world.
They feature of the world's most famous paintings and sculptures. Independence day was 1929 on Feb 11, most of they are Italian, Acres only have 0.17. be in the common use currency is EURO.
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