When we last checked in, we had come to the conclusion that the two “winners,” Spotify and Amazon, were the two services I kept subscriptions to. Both offered excellent coverage, deep catalogs (more on this later), and quality apps for computers and my iPhone (presumably for Android too).
I will admit that I have been listening more to Spotify. Their “Daily Mix,” personalized for my tastes, are outstanding. 6 playlists, that are fresh, and quite appropriate to my preferences. Spot on.
Amazon’s radio stations are pretty solid too, but they are a bit weak on the mix. Listen for 3 hours or so, and you begin to hear songs repeat. But, they are good.
However, Amazon, in their rush to Alexa-ifying everything, now has their application integrated with Alexa. I of course don’t use it. However, I have noticed that on both the Windows app, and the Mac app suddenly, uh, suck. As in consuming heinous amounts of CPU cycles. Nailing a core to 100%. All the time. Even when it isn’t playing any music.
I can’t seem to find a way to turn off the Alexa feature. I guess that for now, I am down to one music service.
And the vague comment earlier about the library? Amazon seems to have things pop in, and pop off the available. I expect that this is similar to the Prime library, where license agreements come and go. I think the two best libraries are Spotify, and Apple. Too bad that Apple’s streaming performance still sucks.
I haven’t been posting often here lately. That is because I have a new dog, Lizzie, and if you want to read about her, head on over to Greytbros to see the fun of a rescue hound from Kauai.
