The Square Card Reader

Have you seen the commercials for the Square Card Reader?  If you had any sort of reaction like mine, you were excited, impressed, and a bit skeptical.  Most technological advances seem like a good idea when you first see them, but when you visit the website and read the fine print, it normally turns out to be more hassle than its worth.  This is how I felt when I saw Square, swiping numerous cards, all coming out of the headphone jack of an iPhone.  I had to know what this thing was about.

http://www.pcworld.com/product/693414/square_card_reader.html

First off, let me state that this card reader is attractive for its function.  It sits nicely on any phone, and the minuscule size of it is astonishing.  Tomorrow, I'll be picking up keys to a studio spot that I plan on using for a business.  The thought of accepting credit cards was completely out of the picture, at least until I saw the commercial.  I didn't want to setup typical negotiations with card reader companies, and the rates are less than favorable for small businesses.  That is why the Square Card Reader is even more attractive.  Every purchase takes the same rate of 2.75%, and all major credit cards are accepted.  That means anyone using a Visa, Discover, American Express, or MasterCard will have no issues.

Square takes things a step further with the Square Register.  This converts your iPad into a fully functional credit card register.  The application is customizable, so business owners can incorporate photos and change the register layout.  What does this mean for you?  Let's say you own a coffee shop, and want to speed up the amount of time a typical customer takes from the moment they come through the door, to the moment they leave.  Instead of forming the typical line and shuffling people through like cattle, they can seat themselves the moment they walk through the door.  One of your waiter or waitresses can take the whole order on the iPad, and swipe right at the table.

This has been the most exciting way to collect money that I've seen yet.  We've all worked somewhere and used an old school card reader, but have you done this on your phone?  There have been other phone readers in the past, but none as simplistic and attractive as Square.  So what does this mean for the studio I'll be building over the next couple months?  Well, for those who do use my business, there is another payment option, so missing the ATM on the way isn't a problem.

Mastering for iTunes: Good Idea?

I recently learned of Apple’s ‘new’ encoding standard for iTunes and was initially very interested.  What they are now offering for the online ‘iTunes Plus’ store are AAC encoded files at twice the bitrate to their previous catalog.  When Apple initially launched the iTunes store, songs were encoded using AAC at 128 kbps.  After artists submit their high quality masters, Apple pushes the songs through a 32-bit float point AAC encoder, converting them into a salable online download.  

iTunes wants to improve audio quality?  I’m immediately on board because I am an audio quality freak.  My music library is slowly being switched to lossless audio, which is a digital file that makes an exact copy of the original.  While most people may not hear or understand the difference between a lossless digital file and an mp3, there is something comforting in the thought that I possess the exact same copies as the songs on the CD.  I am one of those people who can hear a difference, and there’s nothing worse for me than getting a demo from someone who exported the whole album in mp3.  You want me to hear how good you sound?  Don’t give me crap quality!

In my opinion, there is an up and downside to Apple’s improved file format.  The positive is that Apple is taking the initiative to move digital music into the right direction.  Also, they are informing engineers to submit the highest quality masters they possess, which means the song will provide the best quality it can for an AAC encoded file.  The downside is that this may be a ‘jump the gun’ scenario for iTunes.  While the new audio files will be superior to those previously offered, Apple cannot account for the future desires of their customers.  By the time this whole process is rolled out, it could be possible that customers of iTunes will demand lossless.

I think Apple should’ve considered waiting a bit longer so that storage space could become cheaper, Internet could become faster, and online lossless purchasing could become the norm.  Here is the reason: when everyone IS demanding lossless, Apple will have to start over again and re-encode all their masters with a lossless encoder.  They could’ve waited 5 years to rollout iTunes Plus, then release the highest quality possible, and even charge an extra fifty cents per song, just for the improvement.  While I commend Apple for taking a step into the right direction, I must say that someone working there was thinking too much in the ‘now’ and not focusing on what this decision meant for the future of iTunes.