Grateful Dead

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if jams such as the one on Dick's 4 were sewn for one complete experience sans interruption.It didn't cross my mind that those receiving the stick could have been afforded this nicety. V72 - lazy? Or practical? Certainly not innovative.

Thanks for the suggestion, but just the digital book is in that file.I will give customer support a call tomorrow. Thank you

I did't get a hard copy of the book as well. I remember reading about. Was it in an email apology that they promised the book?

@Roscoe R Yes. It was in an email (mine came on 11/16/2015). They promised a hard copy of the book to everyone that had purchased the USB.

You were sold digital information as well, your's just came in 83 parts, imprinted on an aluminum discs with an easily damaged exteriors which threaten to make the discs useless without extreme care. While the discs can be backed up or transferred to digital formats easier to archive, the task comes with some considerable effort. Well, at least its housed in some pretty paper. Signed, A younger guy who doesn't get the appeal of cds anymore. P.S. I get the physical thing, and the analog thing, that's why I collect vinyl.

Hey, just got the bolt. I'm trying to put it into iTunes, and it's not going so well. Even though I'm editing the metadata, iTunes is organizing things the way it wants and breaking up shows in some cases. Does anyone recommend an alternative to iTunes for editing the metadata to make it all work? I have a mac. Thanks.

Hey, just got the bolt. I'm trying to put it into iTunes, and it's not going so well. Even though I'm editing the metadata, iTunes is organizing things the way it wants and breaking up shows in some cases. Does anyone recommend an alternative to iTunes for editing the metadata to make it all work? I have a mac. Thanks.

The reason I opted out on the USB is because I have read that the shelf life of files stored on USBs can be anywhere from 10-50+ years depending on the file type and quality and/or manufacturer of the USB device. Others comment on the the read/write cycle of the files deteriorating the data over time, small bits are lost with each read/write cycle, I guess. Just a heads up to do some research about storage and data corruption before anyone goes out creates copies for the next 10 years. CD's are not much better I'm sure, CD-R's claim to have a conservative estimate of 10 years shelf-life but professionally treated CD's stored in the proper method can last many years more. Bottom line if you want to keep these for a lifetime it will take some effort. If you have a USB be frugal with your read/write cycles and make back ups every so often. CD set store in the appropriate humidity, temperature and cases making backups both digitally and CD-R.

mp3tag is a pretty standard choice that is well written, used by many, free, clean, and available for OSX

They used to talk about shelf life of cassettes, I have tapes I wrote in 1980, still play just fine. I think either usb or cd will hold up just fine under normal storage. All my cd's have been ripped to mp3's, the disc themselves are stored in climate controlled closet. If I had a usb, I'd copy that bad boy to hard drive first thing. I'd store bolt somewhere safe and burn music to separate stick for usage. In the end I'll be dead before the data self destructs!

nab, I think you're overstating the quality of the product you purchased. You make it sound like CDs are eggshells and are easily damaged, however, in my experience, CDs have proven to be much more reliable than USB drives. And if you do end up with a broken flash drive, I don't think you're going to be able to get a replacement from dead.net in 5 years. Did the USB drive come with a warranty? From my point of view, by purchasing the CDs, I've eliminated a single point of failure for my product, and diversified it out to 80 components. So I might drop one and scratch it so that it skips. That's not a real concern for me, because I have over 3000 CDs that I've been collecting since 1985, and none of them are scratched beyond listen-ability. I'd be hard pressed to find one that even skips. Other considerations: * Since the Box Set and the USB Drive were the same price, I figured I would go with the medium that gave me more value for my money (I got the cool box with all of the secret hatches and extras - book, gold single, scroll). The box can also be used to house approximately 90 CDs, if you're like me, and you store the individual CDs in white generic paper sleeves (to avoid scratching the CDS like the Road Trips covers do, as well as to protect the cardboard digipaks, which tend to tear with much use). * Age and durability. CDs last longer...I purchased my first one in 1985 and it plays just as good today as it did the day I bought it. On the other hand, it's not unusual for something to happen to a flash drive. Flash drives break all the time (CDs on the other hand are relatively stable - hell, you can run them through the dishwasher and they'll still play - don't try that with your precious USB drive ;-). I work for a software distribution company, and we're constantly replacing flash drive medium software. We also deal in database backups, so while we use flash for non-critical tasks, we also advise avoiding flash for our critical database applications, and this is what we advise customers to be aware of with Flash storage: Internal Points of Connection: There are two important parts within a USB flash drive that are necessary for it to communicate with a computer - the metal connector and the solder points that connect the connector to the main board. The connector parts can be damaged by wear and tear or by accidental overuse of force when mounting / un-mounting. If the solder points go bad, it's a crap shoot whether they can be repaired or not, and if they are repairable, it would be at a cost, and even if the physical device is successfully repaired, the data is often lost. Electrical Components: There are some important components other than the main board: there is a capacitor, a resistor and an oscillator, all of which are necessary for the drive to function. These components are susceptible to power surge; damage to any of them means the drive is dead. Environmental Considerations: Humidity can cause corrosion inside the Flash Drive, which will lead to failure. User Error: Removal of the Flash drive from the computer while files are being read / copied is a major cause of flash drive failure. This can happen during normal operation if the PC or laptop is jostled, or if you just don't know the rule. Dropping the Flash drive is also a common hazard, as damage to the case, USB connector or solder points inside the unit can render it useless. Memory Failure In the event that a USB Flash drive is not destroyed through environmental factors or internal component failure, the device still has a finite number of read/writes. Obviously, you're not going to be writing to your Dead Bolt Flash Drive, but - how many "reads" are these overseas bolt devices rated for? Issues with the Host PC: 1) You can lose your Flash data any time it's plugged into your PC if your PC gets a virus. 2) You can also fry the internal components of the Flash drive if you have a malfunctioning USB port So nab, I get what you're saying - on the surface it may seem like a more compact way to approach your $750 investment, but I would strongly advise you undertake the "considerable effort" you mentioned in your post, and back up your tunes (is it copy protected, so that you can't back it up?) At this point, I know you're probably feeling a little bad about the snark you delivered, but truly I say! The Flash drive is waaaaay more susceptible to absolute data loss (and with zero chance of recourse at dead.net I would bet). Take your own considerable efforts and extreme care, and back your shit up.

So they promised the book in hard copy to all USB purchasers but have not included it in the USB box that shipped. Meaning, they will have to send separately (at a cost to them) or not ship at all despite promise (way more likely). Seriously, who is in charge of things over there?

After all the issues with the USB, I'm happy that I went for this option. It's a cool design, and even though I feel they could have taken this opportunity to make the shows seamless, I'm not complaining. Hope they make this an option for future releases, but just need to get their act together with the logistics. I've just finished uploading everything into iTunes, into correct set order, and can spend the holiday enjoying the music.

According to customer service at dead.net; Rhino will not be sending hard cover books to those like myself who bought the USB.Very disappointing. Not that I am looking for something that I didn't pay for but the broken promise.If they never offered the book, I would have been cool with the delay. Shit happens. I didn't expect the broken promise to happen with a company associated to the dead.

They said hard book and not hardcover. Maybe they were talking about a hard copy on the hard drive. The book we received with the box is not really a hardcover book. Read it enough and it will probably fall apart.

Has the playing order of this show been corrected on the Bolt? It seems to be quite a problem that you have to go back and forward with this show. I'm glad I didn't buy this "thing" as per LoveJerry's and others comments about the fragility of USB drives. I have "corrected" the CD problem by burning 4 CD-Rs of this show and while doing that, I've invested the time to burn CD-Rs for the whole box of discs, including the 45 r.p.m. 7" single vinyl disc, which is filler on disc 3 of 2/21/95. Totally "old-school". 81 CD-Rs. If I still had a cassette player in my car, I'd record the shows to tape to play in my car. Real Old School, totally.

Well I was all in love with the '76 Cobo - Ramble on Rose until I heard them play it 1972-01-02 Winterland, San Fran, CA. Searing!! Jerry's voice sounds very different when you hear them both.

We'll start with the unsolicited moral lesson: "At this point, I know you're probably feeling a little bad about the snark you delivered, but truly I say!" - No, I'm not. The snark in my comment was directed at another bit of snark I was responding to directly. That would probably be more apparent if a reply was posted under a comment, but working with what we have here, I did the best I could by putting "RE:Enjoy, USB guys" in the subject line. That should direct a reader back to "Enjoy, USB guys", the way "RE:nab"lets everyone know I'm speaking to your comment. Now on the the other bits: "I think you're overstating the quality of the product you purchased." - No again. I have not purchased either product and don't have a financial dog in this fight. I can't speak directly to the quality of either product, but I am speaking to the "USB vs. CD" discussion which is interesting to me, especially the generational aspects which were alluded to in the comment I was responding to. That said, I bet that getting a copy of the digital files from the store might be a bit easier than a whole set after the presses haven't been set to print that product for five years. "From my point of view, by purchasing the CDs, I've eliminated a single point of failure for my product,and diversified it out to 80 components." - At first this comment was an interesting take to me. Then I remembered, short of the entire usb failing (and having no other backup of the files) this take applies to data corruption on a drive as well. The data isn't one file but many inside many folders. Yes, a file may corrupt, maybe even a whole folder, but they're not all going to go from the entire usb failing. Just think of that file as the skipping track. The rest are all good. Additionally, you have not eliminated a single point of failure. Natural disaster, theft, any number of things could excise the set from your possession. Maybe you have a digital copy to fall back on, in which case your're really in the same boat as all the other usb users, only now you're talking about your personal data storage system. Maybe you have another physical back up (cd-r or some other disc), but then you're entering into the realm of "considerable effort" I was talking about, and if you don't have the original box, you don't have an investment to speak of. "Since the Box Set and the USB Drive were the same price, I figured I would go with the medium that gave me more value for my money" - From an investment value, I believe you are probably right, but I could care less about the investment value and was speaking only about the storage medium. "Age and durability. CDs last longer..." - There is enough serious debate about this to make declarative statements like this seriously unhelpful to anyone interested in understanding the subject. The rest that follows is anecdotal. The rest: Thanks for the lesson, but I know my way to the Google search bar. To close: Eliminating a single point of failure should not be the most important consideration for buying one product or the other. Both products can fail and multiple backup options exist for both products; it's just easier if the raw material you are working with is a digital file to begin with. While it may be advantageous to choose one product over another from a investment prospective, that isn't a single consideration for purchasing one product over another for all consumers (not to mention that the usb is advertised as a different digital product than the cd). The durability of each product as a storage medium is still a matter of debate without a declarative answer.

....going to the prom with one date ('76 Cobo) and catching a pretty eye and leaving with another (Jan '72 Winterland ) is like playing fire with fire. Who did you pin the corsage to? Cobo. You will long for her once the sparkle of the new apple to your eye fades.... ....kidding. I love 1972 (hence, part of my nametag). Have not heard that show. Maybe my eye (and ears) will wander as well. Good luck. Cobo is indeed a stunner. Proud to have her in the crook of my arm at this time....8.3.82 was fluttering her lashes at me a couple of days ago. Shame on her....slut ...btw nab. Are you arguing with yourself? Awesome! They have self-help classes for that. Lol. Cool comments tho....

I generally agree with nab. I shudder at the thought of a box of 80 CDs. In truth, I would personally have been happy to dispense with the USB as well and take it as a download. I also agree with LoveJerry about archival storage media. The USB has a limited life span. High quality optical media in dead storage (no pun intended), maintained properly can last decades, USB, maybe ten years, with luck. Both the Library of Congress and British Museum have good information on this issue. But the best storage is continuously backing up and copying to whatever happens to be current. I leave indefinite long term archives to the Library of Congress, universities and similar institutions. I bought the USB version for the higher quality files and sparing me the annoyance of yet another stack of CDs. The only physical media that I voluntarily purchase are now blu ray discs. Unfortunately, because of piracy, I doubt we will get those as download files. I take issue with nab on one particular point, and that is the insistence that this is generational. Little doubt that I am in the "older" segment here. It is not a generational issue, it is an esthetic or mindset issue. Some folks enjoy physical media. This is legitimate. I have many LPs purchased decades ago, and a significant number of those have cover art that has value independent of the music on the LP. But from the point of view of the music, higher resolution digital files beat the pants off of LPs and CDs. In that regard, I believe that the transfers done for this set are superb, given the available sources, and I am quite certain that purely considering audio quality, the files on the USB are the best available audio, equal to the sources from which they are derived. It was generous of GDM to make these available, in effect selling us (who bought the USB), the master tapes. I also do not care a bit about investment value. I bought this set for listening, not selling. On that, I am with nab, but this is a personal matter.

Sorry if I was unclear, but I don't think that there is a 1:1 ratio between generation and media preference. I'm only interested in if a correlation exists at all and how that manifests. As far as cd vs. usb goes as a storage medium, the assumption rests on the physical object being the only copy of a given data set. If you control for digital archiving of copies, even without knowing if future systems will be able to read either cds or digital files (a possibility for both mediums), digital files have much more flexibility in respect to both corruptibility and longevity at present. This is especially true when you consider the risk of loosing a particular set of information (from a strictly exists/doesn't exist standpoint and not a product standpoint) can be spread among more users than can be with a physical medium.

The track order is the same as the CD's, which is just plain laziness on their part. I've corrected it when uploading to iTunes, and my back-up contains the original FLAC files along with the book etc. and also my Apple Lossless files in correct set order.

Ziffle said: "I shudder at the thought of a box of 80 CDs. In truth, I would personally have been happy to dispense with the USB as well and take it as a download." I'm with you 100% there. As long as it is tagged and managed out of house. As a rule, the stuff for sale at livedownloads, even the Grateful Dead releases, is a much superior digital product than the digital sets that have been available on this site. Someone is just not "getting it" here when it comes to selling digital products professionally, and it shows. Sort of like the old "I'll put dead air in the tape copy so I have the only good copy" trick from the tape trading days; its easier to fix, though frustrating as they charge for a finished product.

I'd add to nab's comment below this - encoded digital files (be it open source FLAC or otherwise) adds an additional layer of problems. Best to keep everything in original WAV (i.e. PCM). Think this is funny? Back in the days of my youth, the assumption was that if music was stored on open reel tape it would be secure for all eternity, because everyone "knows" that there is no better format than 15 ips open reel. Think digital is immune? Just try and open a WordStar file on a modern computer. Good luck, you will need it (anyone have Kaypro running CP/M handy?).

Listening to Help->Slip!->Franklins from the '91 Trip with the new 'phones and it's fantastic! Phil!It's been absolutely PUKING here for over 11 hours now. May have to revisit this mini-trifecta tomorrow in the white room...... ;)

You are most likely right. I loaded all the Trips show into Google Play and it keeps a listening count. Cobo is at 5 already. I don't think I've listened to any of the other shows more then twice. some 90's stuff I haven't even touched yet. I am having fun being swayed this way and that by each time period. I wasn't really keen on '82 until the 30 Trips release. That 7.31.82 show really knocked my socks off. Hmmm 8.3.82 - I just started but that Franklin's Tower has some friggin energy!! I see some of my girls here as well...Peggy, Althea, Cassidy, Delilah, Stella. and a Let it Grow? sign me up.

Is Fritos your favorite munchies??? Check out the Tighten Up jam in Dancin' and the Santanaesque jam into TOO, not to mention Pig singing It's a Man's World. I'd say that Jam into TOO I've played at least a dozen times, definitely worthy of serious exploration. I still have not progressed beyond 1985, that Healy mix is stopping me in my tracks and I can't wait for Oxford 88 and Boston 94, the two shows from these trips I went to... (Ay yi ya yi I am the Frito Bandito)

Still waiting…….nice to hear basically i am last on the block, poor Californians. "Coming Soon".

I am also waiting for the USB still. Though UPS says today is the day. Add me to the older cohort who just want the music, didn't need the CD's. Saw my first show in person in 1978, so I agree with Ziffle, it isn't generational so much as mindset. Also, while still waiting, I just got a new email from Deadnet, assuming I already received my bolt (um, no, I didn't and no, I am not yet enjoying it). Seems someone there realized they messed up even this final process and sent instructions on using the USB. They even realized they screwed up the numbering by not doing ANYTHING to help us use it in a rational sense vs. the CD's. So they the note tells us to fix the numbering ourselves, and by the way, here is a link so you can figure out what numbering you should use. Just WOW! Tonight, I hope, to listen to some music finally. "Dear customer, We hope by now you are thoroughly enjoying your 30 Trips collection. Here are a few helpful hints to help you along the way. Running the 30 Trips Player / Reader program: On Windows – Navigate to the USB drive and double click the PCStart.exe file to run. On MacOS – Open the GD 30 Trips drive, and double click the MacStart to run. Viewing the digital book: You can either view it within the program that comes on the drive, or by opening the PDF directly. To view the PDF, open the PDF folder on the drive and the USB_bk_spreads_08-31 file within. Selecting the option within your PDF reading application to view as a “single page” might be preferable to viewing as a continuous document. Importing music into iTunes and other library programs: When you import the songs from the USB into your library, the information used to identify the track will likely leave them sorted incorrectly. Please use the song list found here to re-number the songs for each show so that they playback in the correct order. PDF: www.dead.net/sites/default/files/30-trips-songs-in-show-order.pdf.zip Text: www.dead.net/sites/default/files/30-trips-list-of-mp3s.csv.zip (may be helpful if creating a script) Enjoy!"

For those of you who say you don't need 80 discs, you just want the music, I understand. But I think until you gaze at those 80 discs, in their 30 multi-colored sleeves, you may not understand what a thing of real beauty it is. I find myself often just opening the box and ogling the contents. As pretty as any Van Gogh and much more attractive then any Playboy centerfold. It is a thing of rare beauty indeed. Rock on

@across the rio wow, is right. what a lousy/lazy/indifferent?, effort on the usb data? thanks for the 700 dollars we cashed in september. here is your usb in december and here is the track listing when you have go retag those 30 years worth of shows. (oh and yes, san diego is tracked wrong on the usb and also on the "real" track listing pdf we just emailed you. but since you have to retag everything, now is your chance to put the show in correct order by moving the digital files. it won't take long but we decided better for you to do it than us) and on that hard copy of the book we promised, yeah, we are hoping you will forget we promised and just give up, ok? c'mon with this operation. get it together already! jeesh. or to paraphrase suzy on curb your enthusiasm, "when i die, let someone else handle the obit"

As much as I love the box and 30 shows, if I have a choice between my hands on the 30 sleeves and 30 playmates, with all due respect, I'm taking the playmates! The music can play in the background!

When going through my discs I found 2 CDs that don't play correctly. They cut in and out and also don't rip correctly. I saw people on this discussion e-mailing drrhino@rhino.com so I sent that email a message describing the situation. This was Monday of last week so it's been just over a week and I have yet to receive a response. I'll give it some more time as I'm sure they're busy with USBs going on and the holidays but is there another route I should take? I've not had problems with Dead.net before and not sure if calling customer service is a better option. Any advice? Also, it seems like I'm not the only one who has had problems with CDs. Over the years I've purchased literally thousands of CDs. I have never come across a bad one and now I have 2 in one set? With others having problems too I'm left to wonder what they're doing or not doing with this set that is causing so many problems.

OldeEnglish800 - I haven't had the need to contact her , but others on this site have said Marye is a big help. Her email is www.dead.net/member/marye. Hope this helps.

I would have gone USB for $200, but for the same price tag as the physical CDs, Lovejerry is %100 on target - I have 2 flash drives that no longer function for who knows what reason (never dropped or put through dishwasher). I would have risked $200 on the 30 Trips USB if it would save $500 vs the physical CDs. But I also have a couple thousand CDs, many that are 30+ years old, and zero that skip, so it's a no-brainer really. Either product requires a baseline of minimal care; I took no worse care of my dead flash drives than my CDs, yet the fact remains, I have a couple of dead ones. This personal case study is all I need to convince me that CDs last longer, but Lovejerry's "anecdotal" presentation gives it that much more merit, as clearly there are others who have had problems with USB / flash en masse. No need to wait for the longitudinal studies on this one. Another good point was brought up - where can we go 3 years down the road if there is a problem with the USB drive? Along with hhob's comment about the box being a thing of beauty, and the peripherals mentioned by Lovejerry (love the CD holder idea) - that's the appeal of the 30 Trips Box CD vs the 30 Trips USB Flash nab. Not to mention the dick sucking midget in the side compartment. Dammit I've gone too far again....

The Answer is.. almost great, if not more than two months late and metascrooged. ..sorry, I couldn't resist.

A: Take the Bolt, rearrange it in proper order. Label multiple tracks of the same title in one show 1,2,3...(Songs that reappear in the same show) My software asked to ovewrite or skip file, no choice to add again. Copy files to two Hard Drives (very inexpensive these days). Burn 96/24 Hi-Res files to DVD Audio or Blu-Ray Disks Presto, USB to Disc! Go ahead and convert to 16 bit WAV and burn some CDs as well. You know, for when no DVD Audio player is available B: Take each 80 disks rip to Hard drives do the same as above, then instead of burning back to disk copy to inexpensive USBs Now we all have both USB Lightning Bolt is a recording cloning the master. To my ears, a better bass response , greater dynamic range, a higher quality recording. Please my opinion only no need to go back and forth if anyone feels there is no difference between 96/24 and 44.1/16

....I still have the Sgt. Peppers and Dark Side of the Moon original 1987 releases, and they play fine. I would like to solve the puzzle Pat....Conspiracy theory.... ....1987. Was it really that long ago?

They actually took the time send a PDF to number the bolt tracks in proper order, the San Diego tracks remain out of order.

"You were sold digital information as well, your's just came in 83 parts, imprinted on an aluminum discs with an easily damaged exteriors which threaten to make the discs useless without extreme care. While the discs can be backed up or transferred to digital formats easier to archive, the task comes with some considerable effort." Honestly, I think you have it a bit backwards...it takes considerable effort to damage a CD, but ripping CDs to HDD is quite easy. But that's just been my experience...over the past several decades...so what do I know.

....just got uploaded to YouTube via loloyodel. Good job. Second set only, but I ain't complaining....

Set I is there now, too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXDt1qIMtYs

First of all, as I explained in later responses, my comment was purposefully hyperbolic and snarky because it was in response to another comment much much the same tone. If you go back to the comment I was responding to, referenced in the title of my comment, mine might make a little more sense. Secondly, ripping a cd to hd is easy, but ripping a cd to hd correctly (i.e. no bit loss and in an archival format)and tagging the tracks takes time. It approximately 45 mins per disc if there are not imperfections on the disc surface. That's no imperfections, not "ah shucks this still plays in the cd player" condition, but truly pristine quality. Any imperfection adds time to the extraction process, adding to the effort. Now I'm not saying you have to be active the whole 45 mins. Approximately 75% of that time is taken up by the extraction process. But if you want to get it right, your computer's resources will be dedicated mainly to the extraction process. You can get light stuff done, like tagging, so lets bump the time per disc down to 35 mins. You could walk away and forget it I guess, but you have to come back every 35 mins to repeat the process for each disc. Spreading it out over a few nights or weekends lessens the burden of the effort, but not the amount of time it takes. At 35 mins per disc, 83 discs, it works out to about 48.4 hours of time from start to finish. If you want a lossy (mp3) copy for your i-tunes or on the go, you have to add file conversion time to this process which can take 5 to 15 mins per show. The time effort for the USB, product to hd (and in a perfect world where Rhino actually sells a finished product), takes from 90 mins (USB 3.0 connection) to 4-6 hours (USB 2.0 connection) and requires no additional effort. I've estimated the times based on my experience transferring similar amounts of audio data over those connections, since I don't have the USB for a direct measurement. In my several decades of experience (I've lived in 5 different decades after all) 48.4 hours from product to hd, with a break to change the medium every 35 mins while tagging the last fileset, is considerably more effort than 6 hours with no additional effort. YMMV.

Am I reading right, did the bolt NOT come with the big wooden box? Or a book? I thought you were getting everything but the disc. Besides all the file naming problems, THAT would really suck not to have the box. You DID pay the same price and waited a whole lot longer. I know the box is a useless piece of shit, but a neat useless piece.

Anyone have the issue yet that the USB is dead on arrival? Trying not to panic yet, but when i plug it into my pc, it is not even recognized...

Confirmed, no book. We did get a box. A small box, nothing like the one for the CD's. I also thought i was going to get everything but the CD's. My USB doesn't even work yet.

I just wanted to pass on my sincerest wishes to all for a Merry Christmas. I'm going to try not to be such a dick next year when people don't agree with my opinions, and I apologize to anyone I've offended in the past (I've actually gotten a lot better). I do enjoy reading everyone's take on the original and greatest jam band the world has known. Peace to all and God bless you.

Deasons,The Bolt is not auto play. You need to go to your computer where your drives are listed. You should see a lettered drive with the 30 trips Icon. Open that, and there will be a list of folders. Note the high res files are in the Music folder - sub folder flac. The presentation folder is MP3 only. I hope you don't have a "Dead Bolt"

Yes, the first place i checked was "my computer" realizing that it would likely not autoplay. The USB drive just flat out does not show up. Going to try it on my laptop, then reboot the desktop. i just want to upload it to my cloud storage and have a safe copy of the music before i start doing anything with it. Hoping my Dead Bolt isn't Dead!

Somehow, I find myself both mightily impressed yet equally underwhelmed at the same time. The Bolt is a lot smaller than I pictured it and it's made of metal whereas I assumed it would be made from some high-tech miracle plastic. I successfully transferred both the FLAC and MP3 directories to my PC just fine and spot checks of the copied files seem to indicate that everything is in order, technically speaking. But having added the MP3s to iTunes, I am stunned by the amount of time and effort it's gonna take to simply put the Songs in their proper playing order, to say nothing of cleaning up the annotations. I am not looking forward to that EPIC task but hey-- at least I'll have really good Music to listen to while I do it! Regarding the ongoing "Books for BoltHeads" discussion: I sure hope that Dr. Rhino's "promise" is true and not just a mean-spirited Group Punking by some jackass who thought it'd be fun to mess with those of us participating in the "Epic Wait". But assuming that it's true, consider this: by the time that email from Dr. Rhino appeared in this thread, Dead/Rhino were already deep into the Bolt Shipping process and the last thing they'd wanna do is re-tool the packages, delaying receipt even more. Also, the original Print Run for the physical Book would have been only enough to fill the limited edition CD Box Sets and a few extra for promotion and/or "breakage", right? It seems to me that Dr. Rhino is gonna have to place an entirely new Order at the Printer for 1,000 more copies and it's not like they can be produced overnight. I always assumed that if the Book is actually provided to us, it'd come separately and certainly not until well into the new year. In the end though, it's really all about the Music for me and WOWZER!-- this is some AWESOME Music!!!