My research department works on programming computers to analyse music. In this field, researchers like to have some idea of whether a problem is naturally easy or difficult for humans. For example, tapping along with the beat of a musical recording is usually easy, and it's fairly instinctive—you don't need much training to do it.… Continue reading Is music recommendation difficult?
Author: Chris Cannam
End of the laptop line
I realised not long ago that, for my purposes, laptop PCs have stopped improving. It didn't happen recently: it just took me a long time to notice. In fact I reckon it happened about five years ago. My decline and theirs The first laptop I bought with my own money was a Vaio R600MX in… Continue reading End of the laptop line
My first conference paper
With my colleagues Luís and Mark, I've had a paper accepted for the ICASSP 2012 signal-processing conference: http://soundsoftware.ac.uk/icassp-2012-accepted I've previously co-written a journal paper and a couple of posters, and I've done demos, but this is the first conference paper I've ever been the primary author of. (Though it may turn out to be a… Continue reading My first conference paper
Windows 8: Mixed metaphors
I haven't yet paid much attention to the Windows 8 Developer Previews, but having found Windows Phone 7 so likeable I thought I should take a look. It's very disorientating. It's as if two different agencies are at work in designing it, one pushing for radical simplification in the mould of WP7 and the other… Continue reading Windows 8: Mixed metaphors
How come Windows Phone 7 isn’t a big hit?
I’ve read some speculation recently about why Windows Phone 7 hasn’t been more successful. (For example, here by Charlie Kindel and here by MG Siegler.) But they don’t seem to mention the Obvious Reason. The Obvious Reason Above, left: an exciting, vibrant, joyful-looking phone with appealing pictures on the front. Above, right: a grey object… Continue reading How come Windows Phone 7 isn’t a big hit?
The Breakfast Post 