About Stephen Pate

Sales, marketing and computer consultant, journalist, musician, songwriter, social activist and lifetime tech geek.

Foo Fighters clean up at Grammy 2012 with Walk video

Off Grammy performance of Walk shows band firmly in control of rock and roll and two of their 4 Grammy wins

Nothing beats a good, head-banging, rock and roll rave up. Wasting Light won Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song at the 2012 Grammys. Continue reading

Rise Against Ballad of Hollis Brown video

Punk cover of Bob Dylan song from Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan Honoring 50 Years of Amnesty International

Rise Against’s video of The Ballad of Hollis Brown shouts the anger of the poverty in America. Dylan understated the message. Rise Against hits you in the face.
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Miley Cyrus video Bob Dylan You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go

Part of Chimes of Freedom The Songs of Bob Dylan Honoring 50 Years of Amnesty International

OK I’m not a Miley Cyrus fan but she does acquit herself nicely on the 4 CD set honoring Dylan and Amnesty International. The 4-CD set of Dylan covers grows on you.
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Apple Will Lose Tablet Market in 2012

Android and Blackberry have already made deep in roads in the iPad’s presumed invincibility

Blackberry Playbook (image RIM)

Last May, the media was calling Apple’s iPad the unbeatable market leader. In less than a year Apple has lost major market share to Android and RIM.

RIM quietly gained 15% of the tablet market in Canada by dropping the entry-level price to $199 and aggressively selling through its own channel. Top corporate and government accounts could purchase Blackberry Playbooks at Christmas for as little as $99.  Continue reading

Don’t Wait Get Windows 8 Now

The Developer Preview of Windows 8 works and gets you started

Windows 8 main screen

The computer world is abuzz with Windows 8 preview news. You can get the last beta release today by downloading the developer preview at no cost.

That will give you a two week jump on the crowd in learning about Windows 8 and how it works on your computer. Continue reading

Review : Paul McCartney Kisses on the Bottom

Apple iTunes free streaming of studio sessions with Diana Krall and Joe Walsh won’t last much longer

Paul McCartney and Diana Krall in Capital Studio for Kisses on the Bottom sessions (image from iTunes)

Sir Paul McCartney’s new Kisses on the Bottom CD makes a happy and enjoyable addition to the recorded works of one of the world’s greatest song-smiths.

He sings some of the songs, mostly old, that influenced his musical tastes.  Continue reading

Grammys 2012 Paul McCartney Golden Slumbers Carry That Weight The End

Sir Paul McCartney rocks out The End of the 2012 Grammy’s with a little help from his friends plus My Valentine


UPDATED – the video is back! The Grammy Awards 2012 went out with a bang as Sir Paul McCartney sang The Beatles Medley from the famous album Abbey Road. It’s the set piece of his road tours lately. He was joined on stage by Bruce Springsteen, Joe Walsh of The Eagles and just Joe Walsh, and Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters.  Continue reading

Taylor Swift performs Mean on Grammy Awards video

Depression era wardrobe didn’t spoil Taylor Swift’s musical and fresh performance


Mean by Taylor Swift
212212213725 by YardieGoals

Proving that Bob Lefsetz was dead wrong, Taylor Swift wowed the audience and this viewer with spot-on sassy singing, banjo strumming, and choreography on Mean. She’s just so darn good at her performance and good looking to boot. Continue reading

DNT+ takes back your online privacy for free

Free IE or Firefox plugin blocks advertising tracking site

DNT+, short for Do Not Track, is free browser plugin that stops advertising and online behavioral sites from tracking your every move on the web.

The software is from Abine The Online Privacy Company. You can download it free. If you use several browsers like Firefox and Internet Explorer 9, visit the site with each browser and a browser specific version is downloaded and installed.   Continue reading