titan shield - San Marino High School

8
tunify your music
If you’re a music-lover like me, then this
routine might sound a bit too familiar to
you: come home, switch on the computer,
open up your iTunes library, and then rockout
to your favorite songs full blast. While
iTunes is a great music-listening program,
it does have its drawbacks. Every song
in your library has to be located on your
computer’s hard drive, which means if
you switch computers you can’t bring your
library with you.
Starting last July, a new internet music
program has taken the U.S. music industry
by storm and has introduced American
music-listeners to a revolutionary new
way of finding and listening to music
online: Spotify. Like iTunes, Spotify is a
downloadable program that allows you to
easily maintain your own music library
with multiple playlists, has online reviews
of albums, and allows you to browse for
new music online. On the other hand, to
use Spotify one must first create an online
account, which, in my opinion, is extremely
simple and straightforward due to Spotify’s
user-
friendliness.
In fact, Spotify
even automatically
ties your iTunes
library to your
Spotify library,
so every
song you own on iTunes can be listened to
on your Spotify account. There’s a catch,
however: not every song in your iTunes
library may be in Spotify’s database.
While this is not a problem if you’re
using Spotify on the same computer as
your iTunes library, it means that if you
try accessing your Spotify account from
another computer without your main
iTunes library you might discover a
number of songs missing.
There are also a number of
other features of Spotify
that I found particularly
useful and promising.
For
example, one can
connect to his o r
her Facebook a n d
Twitter accounts
through
Spotify in order to easily share
their favorite music with their friends. In
addition, I found that Spotify’s interface is
extremely streamlined and simple to use.
There is just a single search bar on the top
of the screen
with
which one can use to either find music in
his library or search for new music
online, and one could figure out the
basic functions of the program in a
couple minutes.
While Spotify does have its
great benefits, there are a few
restrictions that could bother
some users. One major
limitation is that in order to
access your Spotify library
anywhere, you must have
access to the internet. Without the
internet, you will only be able to listen to the
songs already saved on your hard drive.
So if you were hoping to access your
desktop’s library while on a boat in the
middle of the ocean, you’re out of luck.
Fortunately, most people can find some
way to access the internet through their
computer as long as they’re close to a Wi-
Fi source.
Overall, Spotify is an excellent online
music service that, through its features such
as a library accessible from anywhere and
a selection of free music to add to your
collection, outshines its competitors
like iTunes and Last.fm in multiple
areas. Anyone looking for an
effortless way to listen to their
music library or to simply find
new songs and artists should try
out Spotify.
If you do, one thing’s for sure:
you’ll never look at your iTunes in the
same way ever again.
David Chan//Editor-in-Chief
dchan.titanshield@gmail.com
Hey, seoul sister
SPECTRUM
Welcome!
This year Titan
Shield’s Spectrum
section is opening an
ask box!
We encourage you
guys to e-mail us
something you
are curious about.
Got a realtionship
question? Need
advice for a class?
We are here and
ready to answer your
questions!
Seoul, capital of South Korea is the
largest metropolis of its country, housing
a population of over 10 million people.
Seoul is the New York City of Korea and
is filled with amazing diversity. You can do
anything from singing in a karaoke bar to
relaxing near the pool.
This is a city of indulgence and
merriment, and these traits are captured
perfectly by the Lotte World Amusement
Park and Shopping complex. Lotte World
has the largest indoor amusement park in all
of South Korea. The theme park is deemed
the mystical title of “Magic Island” and is
located on the upper floor of Lotte
World. Magic Island has various
rides, roller-coasters, and game
booths in which both children
and adults may immerse in pure
and innocent fun. Lotte World is
a family-friendly environment
perfect for people of all ages.
The entire amusement
park is located directly
above Lotte World’s ice
skating rink, a radiant
field of ice that serves
to compliment the
wondrous image of
Magic Island. Lotte
World has various
other attractions
such as arcades,
restaurants and an
indoor shooting
range. That’s
right. An actual
shooting
range located
inside of a
mall. For all
of you kids at home that are stuck playing
“Call of Duty,” this might be your chance
to finally feel the recoil of a real loaded
firearm. Lotte World is definitely the
entertainment center of Seoul, as it
caters to the entertainment needs
of the entire family.
My favorite aspect of Korea
is its high quality and diverse
cuisine. Korean BBQ seems to
be a sensation here in the states, so
one can only imagine how exquisite
it would taste in its homeland.
However, for those
of you who aren’t the
biggest fans of the
kimchi staple, Korea has
a variety of restaurants
that are guaranteed to
appease your multicultural
cravings. Korea is known for
their wide variety of cuisines.
My personal favorite is the La
Siene buffet located within
the Lotte Seoul Hotel.
The restaurant features
a breakfast and dinner
assortment containing
American, Japanese,
Chinese, Indian, and
French cuisine.
The restaurant is
elegantly designed
and decorated and
also features a sushi
bar, teppanyaki bar,
and omelet
station. The
food quality is
as good as any
other highend
restaurant and tastes delicious and
mouth-watering.
A major concern of traveling to a
foreign country is the differences
in customs or lifestyle that make
travelers feel ill
suited to the
outlandish
environment.
Contrary to
the stereotypes
of most Asian
countries
in which
everyone
sits around
eating rice and
playing
Starcraft, South
Korea is one of the most Americanized
Asian countries.
In fact, there are almost as many
American franchises in Seoul than in any
city abroad. Walk out of your hotel, you
see a Starbucks. Go around the corner, and
there’s a 7-11. If you look upwards, don’t
be surprised when you see a Mc Donalds
billboard. It is almost impossible to feel
homesick while touring this magnificent
city.
Seoul demonstrates its splendor
through its luxurious hotels, tourist
attractions and entertainment sites. Seoul
is the ideal tourist location and is sure to
provide an entertaining and memorable
experience for everyone who visits there.
Make sure to catch the next flight to Seoul
and be prepared to have a mind-blowing
vacation.
Kyle Ko//Staff Writer
kko.titanshield@gmail.com
So please, don’t
be shy! Ask us
anything! :)
E-mail us at:
tsaskspectrum@
gmail.com
SEPTEMBER 30, 2011
titan shield