What would be an ideal summer night for me?

When I was a lot younger, my friends would pick me up at home then we would go to this very popular ice cream shop in Port Credit in Mississauga. That place used to be so crowded during summer nights; it is still crowded these days. The ice cream place is called "Dairy Cream". After getting our ice cream, we would then drive towards the lake shore, find a nice spot to sit (usually on top of some big rocks since the lake shore was mostly rocks in that area) and enjoy our delicious ice cream. We would then talk for hours. After finishing up our ice cream, most of the time, we would then head towards downtown Toronto to go clubbing, usually at the now defunct Boots, our favourite club.

Now that is my ideal summer night. I really miss doing this with my friends. Unfortunately we all parted ways now. I guess that is prone to happen as we grow older. I really wish I kept in touch with them. I blame myself for letting that happen.

I will try to write something everday even if it is short. I will use this site to give me an idea what to write about.

OK... so I decided to not use Serato DJ on today's show... so this meant that I did not do my usual routine of using my Pioneer DDJ-SX2 and Serato DJ and instead, used solely my entry level Pioneer CDJ-350/DJM-350 White Edition (the first DJ equipment I have ever owned) with tracks saved in USB memory sticks... The show was OK but it just involved more work for me and so I did not have so much chance chatting with my listeners on 'com' (SDF's internal chat program). It was nice DJing without the help of a DJ software but I feel that I have been moving backward instead of forward. There's no point of denying it --- DJ software like Serato DJ, Rekordbox DJ, Traktor, etc. are the future of DJing. Playing tracks saved in USB sticks does not really make a lot of sense. Why copy them from your computer into USB sticks while you can play them directly from your computer???... I do however still play tracks from CDs and that's when these CDJs become very useful... also in my situation, Pioneer DDJ-SX2 is a big step up from my Pioneer CDJ-350/DJM-350... 2011 versus 2016... plus I have more flexibility and I can be more creative with the DJ controller... 4 channels versus 2 channels... sample pads versus none... I learned DJing from these CDJs/mixer without the aid of a DJ software except of course for Rekordbox for organizing my music for copying to USB sticks. After about a year, I realized how DJ controllers and DJ software could simplify and make DJing more efficient and so that was when I decided to 'upgrade' to the DDJ-SX2/Serato. I keep forgetting this somehow.

So... going back to the original topic --- what triggered me for trying to ditch Serato DJ you might ask? I have recently had some 'unsatisfactory' dealings with the Serato DJ software and Serato technical support. Serato DJ was failing on me about 2-3 weeks ago on at least 2 occasions while doing my show live. I was not very happy with it. I contacted Serato technical support and we had been exchanging emails -- I mean a lot of emails --- mostly coming from me --- because Serato technical support has not been responding to my emails. They have been emailing me asking me if I have sent this Shaun technical support guy the files he was asking for even though I have already sent them to him (I ended up sending them twice to him).... and then Serato would send me email telling me that they would close the ticket if I did not respond... At the end, I gave them a not-so-good feedback and a couple of not-so-nice emails because I was really annoyed of their email mismanagement and disorganization.... and thought of selling my DDJ-SX2 so I did not have to use Serato ever again. I have figured out the problem myself -- I realized that the Serato DJ I was using was .1 version older... so I upgraded Serato DJ and the problem has not occurred again... so far...

... but after today's show (I have always used my DDJ-SX2 for my live shows... I have only used the CDJs/mixer-only maybe 2-3 times during my entire time on aNONradio), I thought --- well, I can always continue using Serato DJ and the Pioneer DDJ-SX2 because of its convenience. It's also hard to recreate the playlist to post it on to the aNONradio site and mine. Keeping track of playlists and history are so smooth and seemless with Serato DJ -- less time for housecleaning, more time for creativity I suppose?

SO, I have decided it's time to stop resisting new technology. Old technology is nice but it's not always the best... I have decided to continue using Serato DJ... I just have to make sure that I remember to update my software at all times. I will never ever contact Serato technical support again. I will always just try to figure out issues by myself with the help of my old friend the Web.

I also would like to mention -- Serato DJ is actually not a very bad DJ software... It's been great with me in the past 3 years, going 4 now. I have had occasional hiccups but most of the time they had something to do with my computer. It's COMPUTER so expect FAILS!!! Computers are never perfect... and so am I... and so is Serato Technical Support!

... one more thing (LOL when will this end??) --- I have read from the web that compared to other DJ software companies, Serato DJ actually offered the best support. They actually contact you if not the same day, the next day... and they follow up with you regarding your issues... except they followed up too much because they were either not reading my emails or their email management system is really bad... again, no one is perfect.

... and finally (this is it -- I promise!), what's important is how you deliver the show, how creative you are, and how you make your listeners happy... most of them do not care what DJ equipment you use --- it's how good the music is and how well you interact with your listeners that count. This is what I need to put more focus on. Only other DJs pay attention to what equipment you use --- and some of them would look down on you for using a dj controller... but I try not to care about what they think...

Hey 'old skool DJ'... it's time to stop being pretentious... ditch your obsolete uncool equipment, move on, embrace technology and evolve, or face extinction!

... sorry for the long rant.