Slashdot Mirror


QuickTime 6 Public Beta Available

krugdm writes "Apple has announced that a public beta of QuickTime 6 is now available. MPEG-4 support is there, as well as support for other technologies, such as JPEG2000, and Flash 5. The beta expires in October. An interesting in the FAQ's says that, '... because QuickTime 6 will include royalty-bearing technologies, a new QuickTime Pro key will be required to unlock pro functionality in the final release.'" It is available for Mac OS, Mac OS X, and Windows, and supports AAC audio too. I also wonder why MPEG-4 is ".mp4". ".mp3" isn't for MPEG-3, after all. Flummery!

366 comments

  1. .mp3 IS for mpeg-3 by noda132 · · Score: 0

    .mp3 stands for MPEG-3...

    1. Re:.mp3 IS for mpeg-3 by elzbal · · Score: 0

      Nope. It stands for mpeg layer-3 audio.

    2. Re:.mp3 IS for mpeg-3 by Clue4All · · Score: 2, Informative

      No, it stands for MPEG-1 Layer 3.

      --

      Is your browser retarded?
    3. Re:.mp3 IS for mpeg-3 by pudge · · Score: 2

      No. MP3 is for "MPEG Layer 3", not "MPEG-3".

    4. Re:.mp3 IS for mpeg-3 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Welcome to the 90s!

    5. Re:.mp3 IS for mpeg-3 by Skevos+Mavros · · Score: 1

      noda132 said:

      .mp3 stands for MPEG-3...

      Uh, no. It's short for MPEG1 Layer 3. Honest! Truly!

      :-)

    6. Re:.mp3 IS for mpeg-3 by Unknown+Bovine+Group · · Score: 1

      Oh boy. Prepare to get reamed, luddite.

      Interesting to note, this isn't the first time people have attempted to use the popularity of .mp3 to hijack and "embrace and extend" the .mp4 extension. But I'm too lazy to cite examples. Anyone?

      --
      m00.
    7. Re:.mp3 IS for mpeg-3 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      MPEG-1 Auido Layer 3

    8. Re:.mp3 IS for mpeg-3 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      any .mp# extension is a why to hijack the .mp3 name... or so it seams... Really apple didn't come up with the .mp4 extension... just do a google search for mp4 and see all the apple related links (I suppose the results will change over time).

      It is sad people have to bash apple with accepting the standard file extension of .mp4

      Next people will attack makers of milk chocolate for jumping on the milk bandwagon.

      It is sad people don't have better things to do in life than b*itch over .mp4 the extension name... just one question what else is mp4 a logical use for? MPEG-1 Audio Layer 4?

  2. So... by Clue4All · · Score: 3, Interesting

    It's out for MacOS, MacOS X (BSD), and Windows. Remind me again why we can't have a native Linux version of it?

    --

    Is your browser retarded?
    1. Re:So... by resonator · · Score: 1

      If I had to take a Guess, having no real evidence, maybe it's that Apple wants the Linux crowd to come over to OSX. Well, of course they do, but I'm saying this could be a business tatic more than anything else.

      I complained that I had no hat, til i met a man who had no head.

    2. Re:So... by MouseR · · Score: 2

      Remind me again why we can't have a native Linux version of it?
      because nobody cares writing it?

      It isn't necessarily Apple's job to port their software to every platform known to exist. Rightfully, Linux would be an interesting one, but Apple's first and primary platform if Mac OS X. The Windows port of QT is simply to help QT gain market share.

    3. Re:So... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Easy: there's no money in it. Duh.

    4. Re:So... by foobar104 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It's out for MacOS, MacOS X (BSD), and Windows. Remind me again why we can't have a native Linux version of it?

      Same reason you can't have Photoshop for Linux, or Microsoft Office for Linux: because the vendor wouldn't make any money off of a version of their software for Linux.

      The Windows port of QuickTime is important primarily because of licensing: Apple licenses the technology to companies like Adobe so they can use it in apps like Premiere, which are more popular on Windows than they are on the Mac.

      But Apple knows that Linux users, as a rule, don't buy software. No third party would license QuickTime for Linux, because they couldn't make any money on their product. So there's zero motivation for Apple to port QuickTime to Linux.

    5. Re:So... by zangdesign · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Can you imagine the sheer hell involved with getting licensing payments on Quicktime out of the hardcore Linux crowd? I mean, can you really IMAGINE it?

      Do you think Apple really wants to hear all the pissing and moaning that would accompany a non-free media player?

      You'd have the industry on one side, suing the life out of the company, and Slashdot on the other, dissecting it down to the bits and complaining that the third bit in the eighth word would be more secure if it was open sourced.

      Sheesh!

      Yup. It's a troll. I've got 49 karma and nothing to do with it. Mod away!

      --
      To celebrate the occasion of my 1000th post, I will post no more forever on Slashdot. Goodbye.
    6. Re:So... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And how, exactly, are they making money off the "free" versions they are giving out for all of the other platforms?

    7. Re:So... by MisterBlister · · Score: 1
      The "free" versions are just cut down versions of the full software. A demo, if you will. It costs them very little to produce the "free" versions if they already have the full version available for that platform. Also, there's little reason for the people using the full version to create content to use Quicktime if people need to pay a lot of money to view the content, thus the free version is made available on all supported platforms.

      Linux users are unlikely to pay for the full version, and though there's a lot of Linux users on Slashdot, desktop Linux users don't even register as a blip in the grand scheme of things and thus there's not much sense in doing a port of any of the software to Linux. They'd be very unlikely to recoup any of their development costs and the only thanks they'd get from the Linux crowd is a big "fuck you Apple" for not releasing the source code anyway.

      I won't even get into the issues related to trying to support all versions of Linux because Linux users expect any software they get to run on old kernels they are running on their 486s...

    8. Re:So... by IamTheRealMike · · Score: 4, Insightful
      The Windows port of QuickTime is important primarily because of licensing: Apple licenses the technology to companies like Adobe so they can use it in apps like Premiere, which are more popular on Windows than they are on the Mac.

      Wrong, the QuickTime port is primarily important on Windows because otherwise it'd be a niche technology with no media available in the format. Apple have to pay for most of the cool stuff to be encoded (exclusively) in it anyway.

      But Apple knows that Linux users, as a rule, don't buy software. No third party would license QuickTime for Linux, because they couldn't make any money on their product. So there's zero motivation for Apple to port QuickTime to Linux.

      Apple don't make huge amounts of money from it anyway, why do you think they charge for the player, something unheard of in other media formats. Also I get sick and tired of this Linux users don't pay for anything mantra, this is not true. Many if not most serious Linux users actually pay for their distro, from that point onwards it's pretty cheap because you don't NEED to buy software, not because we won't. As it happens, I wouldn't but QuickTime even if I could (and I could, because I also use Windows), because it's basically just a media player. Why should I buy a copy of Pro when I won't need its features?

      All most people use QuickTime for is playing movie trailors and the occasional "enhanced" CD. To me, that isn't worth any money, especially as the alternatives work just as well for nothing.

    9. Re:So... by jocks · · Score: 1

      I am afraid that you are right. I have been buying my distros for some time now and I have been trying to encourage others to do so. We have to shift the emphasis from "free beer" to "free speech". Cost is not the objective here, freedom is.

      If we want the likes of Apple to release code to linux we have to behave like responsible grown ups, not because we have to but because we can.

    10. Re:So... by foobar104 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      And how, exactly, are they making money off the "free" versions they are giving out for all of the other platforms?

      Hmm. Another sighting of the infamous non-reading anonymous coward.

      Apple gives away the QuickTime Player software for free. This is a neat way to increase awareness of QuickTime technology among Windows and Mac users.

      Apple makes money by licensing QuickTime technology to software companies that want to incorporate it into their own products. You find QuickTime technology in apps like After Effects and Premiere from Adobe, Cinestream from Media 100, and (duh) Final Cut Pro. You can also find QuickTime technology embedded in things like digital cameras.

      Apple has already done extensive work to port the QuickTime libraries to Windows and to Mac OS X from Mac OS Classic, because third party licensees asked for support for those platforms. It seems that nobody is clamoring for QuickTime for Linux except desktop users who aren't going to be buying anything any time soon.

      If you really want QuickTime Player for Linux, offer to buy it from Apple. If you are willing to pay the right price, and lots and lots of other people are also willing to pay, then Apple has a case for doing the port.

    11. Re:So... by IamTheRealMike · · Score: 1

      Strange, Real have managed to produce a Linux version of their player for ages, and Yahoo do a version of Yahoo! Pager for Linux.

    12. Re:So... by Lardmonster · · Score: 1
      But Apple knows that Linux users, as a rule, don't buy software. No third party would license QuickTime for Linux, because they couldn't make any money on their product. So there's zero motivation for Apple to port QuickTime to Linux.

      Ah, but it's not just about making sales to earn revenue. The other real reason for making a linux port available is that is would help them keep their market share. True, we don't have a reputation for buying software - but many of us do have brand-loyalty... especially when well-known Windows products are made freely available (beer-wise) to *nix.

      If a linux version of Quicktime doesn't appear, there's an awful lot of linux users out there who'll just use a competitor's product.

      Come on, Apple - wake up! Real have made a Linux/Unix version available!

      --
      The more advanced the technology, the more open it is to primitive attack
    13. Re:So... by Clue4All · · Score: 1

      It isn't necessarily Apple's job to port their software to every platform known to exist.

      I'm fully aware of that, however my point was that having been ported to OS X, a UNIX in most respects, the port to Linux would be trivial (change a few libraries and a recompile), and certainly they'd be interested in more users, even if those interested would only in the thousands.

      --

      Is your browser retarded?
    14. Re:So... by bsartist · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      Also I get sick and tired of this Linux users don't pay for anything mantra, this is not true.

      Yeah, the folks at Loki are swimming in money they made from selling software for Linux. Not.

      --
      Lost: Sig, white with black letters. No collar. Reward if found!
    15. Re:So... by npietraniec · · Score: 1

      Who the hell modded this as troll?!? It's so true it hurts. If Linux users wouldn't piss and moan about everything on their OS being open source, there might be some more application support. Thank God Nvidia isn't taking Apple's route.

      It's OK to buy software sometimes

    16. Re:So... by softsign · · Score: 2

      They are making money off the people who upgrade to QT Pro, so that they can encode/edit movies. The free download of QT is a player only. Apps like Premiere will bundle QT Pro, which obviously means that Apple gets a cut.

    17. Re:So... by IamTheRealMike · · Score: 1

      Oh please, Loki was riddled with financial fraud and had a stupid business model. People didn't pay for Lokis games usually because they already had a copy. Linux users are just like everybody else, they won't pay for things they already own - would you?

    18. Re:So... by Dephex+Twin · · Score: 4, Informative
      why do you think they charge for the player, something unheard of in other media formats.

      That's funny, I didn't pay for mine. Yes, there is an upgrade to the pro version, which gives you video editing skills, importing features and the ability to watch the exclusive previews of Episode III when they come out.

      Real has a pro version also that you would pay for, so... unheard of? I think not.
      Why should I buy a copy of Pro when I won't need its features?

      I don't know. Who is making you?

      mark
      --

      If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe. -- Carl Sagan
    19. Re:So... by jonabbey · · Score: 2, Insightful

      But Apple knows that Linux users, as a rule, don't buy software. No third party would license QuickTime for Linux, because they couldn't make any money on their product. So there's zero motivation for Apple to port QuickTime to Linux.

      Could we please let this trope die? The fact is, Linux users, as a rule, don't _have_ to buy software, because there is such a vast library of free software out there. Speaking personally, however, I do buy quite a bit of software that is only available commercially, and happily do so.

      If companies want to sell software to Linux users, they should try, um, selling software to Linux users. If they want to make money at it, the software should ideally be substantially different/better than the free software available for the platform. This isn't necessarily easy to do.. no one is going to be able to come out with a basic web server that is so compellingly better than Apache to get large sales on Linux. QuickTime, however, could work, due to the large body of QuickTime-specific content out there.

      It may be that if Apple released QuickTime for Linux, they might not make the porting costs on it, true. But there are more Linux users this year than there were last year, and from all the news reports about new institutional commitments to Linux, I firmly expect there will be more Linux users next year than this year. At some point some brave company will discover that they can make a decent living at selling software on Linux.

      They won't make it, though, if they believe that Linux users are constitutionally allergic to commercial software, when many Linux users are simply allergic to paying more for a piece of software than they have to for the competition, which is just as true in the Windows and Macintosh world.

    20. Re:So... by IamTheRealMike · · Score: 1
      Why should I buy a copy of Pro when I won't need its features? I don't know. Who is making you?
      George Lucas and his best mate Steve Jobs unfortunately.
    21. Re:So... by nguyenhm · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Uh, no. Quicktime relies on a lot of the non-Unix parts of Mac OS X (e.g. the value-added, not-in-Darwin, Mac OS parts that make Mac OS X more than just another Unix).

    22. Re:So... by bsartist · · Score: 2, Interesting

      had a stupid business model.

      Couldn't have said it better myself. Trying to sell software to a community that expects everything to be given away for free is a pretty stupid business model.

      they won't pay for things they already own - would you?

      As a matter of fact, I did. I bought Civ:CTP from Loki, even though I already owned the Windows version.

      --
      Lost: Sig, white with black letters. No collar. Reward if found!
    23. Re:So... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      if linux had decent GFX libraries, yes maybe, but that crappy stuff thats there.... thats certainly more work to port it from carbon or whatever that is to X-Crap

    24. Re:So... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Holy Shit! You mean both the Linux users out there will use a competitor's product? Gee, Apple most not have thought it through.

    25. Re:So... by artemis67 · · Score: 2

      Ah, but it's not just about making sales to earn revenue.

      Silly rabbit. It's always about making sales to earn revenue. Brand loyalty doesn't mean squat if you can't translate that into a positive cash flow.

    26. Re:So... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually, my Coworker spents three times as much money upgrading to the newest SUSE dist when it comes out than me upgrading to the latest Windows version when it comes out.

    27. Re:So... by DarkVein · · Score: 0
      Same reason you can't have Photoshop for Linux, or Microsoft Office for Linux: because the vendor wouldn't make any money off of a version of their software for Linux.

      Yet you can buy Maya for Linux, which costs just a hair more than Photoshop or Microsoft Office. You can buy Star Office, but most people don't, because OpenOffice is nearly the same quality with the definate promise of improvement. There's also Abiword. Gnumeric is a top-notch spreadsheet program that I've come to prefer to excel. There's more like this. There's really very little incentive to buy an office suite when you can get better for free.

      In other fields, the Free alternatives tend to kick the hiney of their commercial counterparts. Let's try a few, okay? Pan, a newsreader based loosley on Agent. Pan is the only newsreader to score perfectly on the GNKSA Evaluations. Compared this to its commercial basis, Agent's score really sucks. Then there's Quanta for HTML editing. VIM is fine for most people, but if you need that Dreamweaver-like crap, Quanta does it without getting in your way. And it's REALLY good. Oh yes, it's Free with a capital "EFF."

      This is a silly arguement to make against "Linux." This is Capitalism 101. Good products offered under better conditions succeed while inferior products do not. Maya is wonderful under Linux, and there is nothing else in its league available on a Unix-ish (OS X, Linux) platform.

      Oh, yes. You can also buy numerous games, of course. Neverwinter Nights in particular will be releasing for all three major platforms in a single box. We'll see what this does for sales.

      --

      I'm as mimsy as the next borogove but your mome raths are completely outgrabe.

    28. Re:So... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      there is an upgrade to the pro version, which gives you video editing skills

      You can buy video editing skills? Who knew!

    29. Re:So... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      LOL! They are not sleeping! They know that linux users whine, bitch, and want everything for free!
      No reason trying to sell something to people that dont want to spend any money :p

    30. Re:So... by Dephex+Twin · · Score: 2
      George Lucas and his best mate Steve Jobs unfortunately.

      Really? Are they threatening the lives of your loved ones as well, or just you personally?

      mark
      --

      If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe. -- Carl Sagan
    31. Re:So... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Could we please let this trope die? The fact is, Linux users, as a rule, don't _have_ to buy software, because there is such a vast library of free software out there.


      Yea, how could Loki expect crap like Quake3 to compete with any of the rogue games...

      Sorry, but free games suck and Linux users wouldn't buy commercial games. You can say what you want about the games being available for Windows first, but the same is true of _every_ application. There is no case where the "free" version is the undisputed "best" version.


      But there are more Linux users this year than there were last year, and from all the news reports about new institutional commitments to Linux, I firmly expect there will be more Linux users next year than this year.


      Believe what you like, but the number of Linux desktop hasn't made any indications that it will grow. Servers sure, but not desktops.

    32. Re:So... by afidel · · Score: 1

      But Apple knows that Linux users, as a rule, don't buy software.

      That's funny since I just got done building a couple linux workstations for software that costs 10's of thousands of dollars per seat! We use linux because it is the best and most supported x86 OS for the kind of work we are doing. The dual athlon and dual xeon workstations blow the sunblade workstation away so even if both pieces of hardware cost the same we would be saving big cash of liscensing. Throw in the fact that our blade with 4GB of ram was about $25,000 and the most expensive of the x86 workstations was way less than half that and we save about $15,000 per seat on average. This may be a different world from the consumer mass market that apple is targeting with a media player, but I don't think it's an exception to any rule. Transgaming does ok on WineX, even though much of their code goes back to the wine project, the crossover plugin seems to be popular, our company is in negotiation for the ximian connector plugin for a several thousand seat liscense etc. I could go on all day, but just because the average hobiest isn't buying any software after they buy their boxed set doesn't mean noone is!

      --
      There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
    33. Re:So... by foobar104 · · Score: 2

      George Lucas and his best mate Steve Jobs unfortunately.

      Gasp! Choke! Those bastards! Asking you to pay them money in return for getting something you want!

      Sounds like it boils down like this. You wanted to watch the Episode II trailers in high resolution, and you got pissed off that you couldn't find a working pirated serial number for QuickTime Pro. Am I close?

    34. Re:So... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Apple is pretty amazing, huh?

    35. Re:So... by foobar104 · · Score: 2

      Ah, but it's not just about making sales to earn revenue. The other real reason for making a linux port available is that is would help them keep their market share.

      According to everything I've read, desktop Linux has an even smaller market share than the 3-5% that goes to desktop Mac users.

      I don't think Apple is quaking in their boots about a mass migration of Mac OS X users to Linux.

    36. Re:So... by bsartist · · Score: 1

      I don't think Apple is quaking in their boots about a mass migration of Mac OS X users to Linux.

      I think the opposite is true. Obviously not every Linux user is a die-hard zealot, but there are quite a few of them, and they're afraid that the rest of us will choose pragmatism over religion and migrate to OS/X.

      --
      Lost: Sig, white with black letters. No collar. Reward if found!
    37. Re:So... by jonabbey · · Score: 2

      Yea, how could Loki expect crap like Quake3 to compete with any of the rogue games...

      I bought 10 games from Loki, what are you talking about?

      Sorry, but free games suck and Linux users wouldn't buy commercial games. You can say what you want about the games being available for Windows first,

      The big knock on Loki was that they were selling games that dual-booters already had for Windows. I wouldn't know, I don't dual-boot, but apparently a lot of people do. If you're a part-time Windows user, then sure, it makes a lot of sense to buy your games for Windows up front rather than waiting for months (years?) for the Linux version.

      Of course, you're then a Linux user buying commercial software, you're just buying it on Windows. ;-)

      but the same is true of _every_ application. There is no case where the "free" version is the undisputed "best" version.

      Other than Apache, you mean? ;-)

      The free version doesn't have to be the _undisputed_ best version to cause real problems for the commercial versions.. just look at IE on Windows for evidence of that. The free version has to just be good enough to make the customer think twice before pulling his wallet for the commercial stuff.

    38. Re:So... by BigBir3d · · Score: 1

      I don't know about you, but I don't have a "Windows 98 machine for games." Those Loki games I bought, or friends of mine that bought games, was because they wanted the game, and did not have a copy already.

      As for QuickTime 6, sounds pretty cool to me. Apple is a relatively small niche, and Linux is much smaller. Apple charges for QuickTime because they can; Mac users are more willing to pay for quality software than most other users I have ever known. I would presume that Apple makes more money selling QuickTime for Windows than they do for the Mac, based soley on the number of Windows machines versus anything else.

    39. Re:So... by foobar104 · · Score: 2

      Yet you can buy Maya for Linux, which costs just a hair more than Photoshop or Microsoft Office.

      I can speak to this. Are you aware that, according to insider information from Alias|Wavefront, Maya for Linux has lost more money for Alias than it has made? It cost more to port Maya to Linux than it has ever made back in sales.

      It goes right back to what I said. People who use Linux-- as a gross but useful generalization-- don't buy commercial software. People who buy commercial software-- again, a useful generalization-- will not use desktop Linux.

      As for the other items you mentioned, I reject your assertion that free software "kicks the hiney of its commercial counterparts." But that's an argument for another thread.

    40. Re:So... by foobar104 · · Score: 2

      That's funny since I just got done building a couple linux workstations for software that costs 10's of thousands of dollars per seat!

      If your alternative was to buy Sun workstations with 4 GB of RAM, then you're clearly not a typical computer user, are you? You have built, in your words, "a couple" of workstations. "A couple" does not a market make.

      Sorry. You're a niche.

    41. Re:So... by bsartist · · Score: 0, Troll

      Who the hell modded this as troll?!? It's so true it hurts.

      You must be new here. Criticism of Linux always gets modded down - especially if it's true.

      --
      Lost: Sig, white with black letters. No collar. Reward if found!
    42. Re:So... by foobar104 · · Score: 2

      I think the opposite is true. Obviously not every Linux user is a die-hard zealot, but there are quite a few of them, and they're afraid that the rest of us will choose pragmatism over religion and migrate to OS/X.

      I was trying to think of a way to say that very thing when I posted. Anecdotal evidence indicates that there's a lot of momentum behind Mac OS X in the fringes. People who reject Windows on religious grounds used to flock to Linux because it was the only appealing alternative: BSD is too mature (read "slow moving"), BeOS is marginalized to the point of irrelevance, and Mac OS Classic just wasn't that great. But Mac OS X is truly wonderful, and it sounds like lots of Linux users are coming to realize this.

      Apple's even marketing OS X to UNIX users directly, in some of their print ads. They're well aware of the possibility of turning Linux or other UNIX users to Mac OS X.

      So thanks for saying what I wanted to say, only better. ;-)

    43. Re:So... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      with all CGI houses switching to linux on backend and many switching workstations too this seams wiered.

    44. Re:So... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I suppose you have an convenient explanation for Corel's abysmal failure in the Linux market too.

    45. Re:So... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You mean "less" than just another unix.

    46. Re:So... by groman · · Score: 1

      Somehow I'd imagine there were more Linux/BSD users than MacOS users (sans the stuff that apple gave/sold-at-a-loss to schools labs)

    47. Re:So... by DarkVein · · Score: 1
      Are you aware that, according to insider information from Alias|Wavefront, Maya for Linux has lost more money for Alias than it has made? It cost more to port Maya to Linux than it has ever made back in sales.

      You're going to have to back that up for me to believe you, I'm afraid. Alias|Wavefront have more than a few customers. Dreamworks has been busy replacing their aging SGI IRIX animation workstations with x86 Linux animation workstations, for instance.

      As for the other items you mentioned, I reject your assertion that free software "kicks the hiney of its commercial counterparts." But that's an argument for another thread.

      You reject three paragraphs of example and evidence without any counterclaim? You're better than Bush, Hollings, and Gates. :/

      --

      I'm as mimsy as the next borogove but your mome raths are completely outgrabe.

    48. Re:So... by Sycraft-fu · · Score: 2

      Unfortunately at this point in time, history seems to support the fact that Linux users by and large will not pay for software. The best receant examples are Quake 3 and Loki. Loki was dedicated to bringing games to Linux, and they couldn't make enough money to survive. Quake 3 had a simeltanious 3 platform release adn the Linux relerase did abysmal.

      Now there are other factors involved here, however to an exec who is making money based decisions, this strongly indicates taht Linux users are not willing to pay for thier software.

    49. Re:So... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Good Luck..

      Believe it or not a Linux Warez scene is starting to erupt offering pirated Crossover/WineX/Win4Lin / Star Office 6.0 ....

      Marketwise Office for Linux would not sell well ( we all blindly hate Windows right?.. even though we are slaves to counter strike running on win 2k with nvidia drivers since you can't netplay using winex thanks to Counter Strike Release 1.4 =/ ) nor would Adobe Photoshop (rumor has it adobe is making a linux port btw).

    50. Re:So... by adewolf · · Score: 0

      I don't think that one company's demise is an indication of the entire industry. IMHO, a lot of Loki's problems were caused by lack of exposure to the general public. Isn't this what cause a lot of the DOTCOM bust, spending all the money on development/parties but not making sure that product was being sold or that income was being established?

      Alex DeWolf

      --
      "The Brady Bunch is back...working homicide"
    51. Re:So... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But he's not criticizing Linux. He's criticizing the majority of Linux users.

    52. Re:So... by afidel · · Score: 1

      wow way to latch on to one point and ignore everything else I said! I think that as far as the amount of $ to be made on software that the enterprise user is a much large revenue pie then the DIY athlon building slackware loving geek (btw, that's me at home). People that make solutions that are geared towards the hobiest are not going to make $ on linux, the people that make tools that are valuable to corporations will. Quicktime could potentially be usefull to a corporation as a multimedia delivery tool, and I therefore think that apple could potentially make $ off of a linux offering.

      --
      There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
    53. Re:So... by stripes · · Score: 3, Informative
      Apple don't make huge amounts of money from it anyway, why do you think they charge for the player, something unheard of in other media formats

      You only pay for the "pro" version of the player which is heard of in other formats ("Real" for example). Apple doesn't charge an arm and a leg for the streaming server (they may not charge for it at all in many cases!).

      As far as I can tell they made the most money off of QT by buying stock in Akami :-) one would assume that unless they sold that stock though they ended up not making out so well...

      All most people use QuickTime for is playing movie trailors and the occasional "enhanced" CD. To me, that isn't worth any money, especially as the alternatives work just as well for nothing.

      The only content that I have seen that needs the "for pay" QT is the larger movie trailers. Everything else has been available with the free one. Heck, with a little work you can force feed iMovie the streams and not only play but edit them....

      I have seen QT used for other things though, on the Mac it is pretty easy to put QT stuff in your own programs, so animated elements are frequently QT working for you. Even stills sometimes...

    54. Re:So... by foobar104 · · Score: 2

      You're going to have to back that up for me to believe you, I'm afraid.

      Can't do it. As I said, my information comes from inside sources within Alias|Wavefront. Since I can't back it up without getting myself or somebody else in trouble, I'll just retract my statement. My bad.

      You reject three paragraphs of example and evidence without any counterclaim? You're better than Bush, Hollings, and Gates. :/

      I'm just not all that interested in covering a subject that's off topic, and that's already been beaten to death elsewhere. With very few exceptions-- exceptions whose origins are mostly historical or marginal-- open source software is not as good as similar commercial software. Your examples are neither interesting nor significant, so I just don't feel like rehashing this old argument with you over them.

    55. Re:So... by foobar104 · · Score: 2

      wow way to latch on to one point and ignore everything else I said!

      That's because the rest of what you said is irrelevant to the subject at hand. You are an exception, a data point way outside the normal curve. So what you do with your computers isn't representative of what most people do with them. What's your point?

      Quicktime could potentially be usefull to a corporation as a multimedia delivery tool, and I therefore think that apple could potentially make $ off of a linux offering.

      There you go again, making that leap between one isolated data point and the rest of the distribution. Yes, QuickTime is a useful intranet media delivery tool for corporations. But corporations do not typically deploy Linux on the desktop. Period. So jumping to the conclusion that Apple should port QuickTime to Linux for corporate customers just doesn't make any sense at all.

    56. Re:So... by afidel · · Score: 2

      I am telling you and repeated stories have shown that enterprises ARE deploying linux on the desktop, in fact right now we have about 5,000 desktops running linux, true that is compared to about 45,000 running either win2k or solaris, but it is still quite a few seats! Oracle is moving their entire business onto linux, that is a lot of seats. These may be tech companies that are the first wave, but once the business cases get hashed out and the studies done that prove the cost savings I think more and more companies will jump on the bandwagon.

      --
      There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
    57. Re:So... by Graymalkin · · Score: 2

      That is a retarded argument. Loki didn't die because of lack of public exposure. Who gives a fuck about what the general public knows, the Linux customers that existed didn't buy their software. The general public wasn't going to help matters much. If you installed a Linux distro it had the obligitory link to all of the places you could get software for Linux, including Loki's website.

      --
      I'm a loner Dottie, a Rebel.
    58. Re:So... by foobar104 · · Score: 2

      I am telling you and repeated stories have shown that enterprises ARE deploying linux on the desktop, in fact right now we have about 5,000 desktops running linux, true that is compared to about 45,000 running either win2k or solaris, but it is still quite a few seats!

      You seem to be ignoring one important fact that most people seem to have realized: Linux on the desktop does not work. If the desktop experience itself were acceptable-- it isn't-- then you'd run into the application gap. If it weren't for the application gap, you'd run into the untold thousands of compatibility and consistency problems.

      The fact that your company-- whatever it is; you seem to have neglected to mention-- is experimenting with Linux on the desktop simply means that you folks haven't yet realized the error of your ways.

    59. Re:So... by IamTheRealMike · · Score: 2
      As a matter of fact, I did. I bought Civ:CTP from Loki, even though I already owned the Windows version.

      Most didn't. And didn't you just contradict yourself: Linux users expect everything to be free, yet I was/am a Linux user and paid for something. ??

    60. Re:So... by IamTheRealMike · · Score: 2
      Gasp! Choke! Those bastards! Asking you to pay them money in return for getting something you want!

      Not at all, I just think it's rather pathetic that Apple feels they have to pay people to use QuickTime in order to prop up sales of QT Pro. Being denied content, because I don't care to pay Apple (not Lucas bear in mind, Apple) is something that I don't like.

      Sounds like it boils down like this. You wanted to watch the Episode II trailers in high resolution, and you got pissed off that you couldn't find a working pirated serial number for QuickTime Pro. Am I close?

      Wrong again actually, I love the way you jump to conclusions. I don't like being asked to pay for an advert, ergo I must be a failed software pirate.

      One - I am a modem user. Downloading the high res version would have taken way too long anyway.

      Two - I prefer watching trailers at the cinema.

      Three - I have never used QuickTime Pro because I have never needed/wanted to create QuickTime content. Therefore being asked to pay for features I don't want, because Apple paid off LucasFilm, just in order to see a promotional video pisses me off.

    61. Re:So... by bsartist · · Score: 1

      And didn't you just contradict yourself: Linux users expect everything to be free, yet I was/am a Linux user and paid for something. ?

      Not really. All the evidence I've seen indicates that, for the most part, commercial software for Linux doesn't sell very well. That seems to indicate that Linux users as a group don't like to buy software. Of course there are individuals within that group who are exceptions - I never claimed otherwise.

      --
      Lost: Sig, white with black letters. No collar. Reward if found!
    62. Re:So... by foobar104 · · Score: 2

      One - I am a modem user. Downloading the high res version would have taken way too long anyway.

      Two - I prefer watching trailers at the cinema.

      Therefore being asked to pay for features I don't want, because Apple paid off LucasFilm, just in order to see a promotional video pisses me off.

      First of all, do you have any evidence to back up that "Apple paid off LucasFilm" assertion? PPOR.

      Aside from that, you (1) can't and (2) wouldn't watch the high-res trailers at home, but you're all offended that you've been asked to pay for them. Sounds like your opinion on this subject doesn't really matter very much. Apple isn't asking you to pay for anything, since you're not interested in watching the high-res trailers on the web site anyway.

      So why are you all up-in-arms, again? Is it just about the principle of the thing? Angels and ministers of grace, defend us from a Slashdotter with his back up against a principle.

    63. Re:So... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sounds like it boils down like this. You wanted to watch the Episode II trailers in high resolution, and you got pissed off that you couldn't find a working pirated serial number for QuickTime Pro. Am I close?

      QT for Windows is junk. Installing the demo version is bad enough. Granted the format itself is good, but the viewer for Windows is just total shit I can't imagine paying money to use it. And screw the trailers, that's what movie theaters are for. Ep II trailers were gay anyways, why would you want waste your bandwidth to download them?

    64. Re:So... by IamTheRealMike · · Score: 2
      So what you're saying is, my opinion doesn't matter, because I'm commenting on something that doesn't directly affect me? If everyone thought like that, slashdot wouldn't exist.

      And you seem to be missing the point - I'm offended and annoyed because I'm being asked to pay Apple for a trailer being produced by LucasFilm. Why is this? Do I have to buy three pints of milk before I'm allowed orange juice? Do I have to pay for new vacuum cleaner if I want to change my door locks? No, I don't, because they are not related.

      So when LucasFilm announce that they're abandoning their policy of making trailers available in several different formats, and is taking the unique move of going Apple only, it annoys me, because it means I am excluded. Steve Jobs then goes and rants on about how great this is, as if forcing people to use QuickTime to view an arbitrary piece of video is progress. It's no better than Microsoft locking people out of MSN unless they use IE. Everybody condemned it, even though they are unlikely to use MSN themselves.

      And finally, although LucasFilm have never admitted being paid off, they have never denied it either, only saying that "they work extremely closely with Apple". Strange though that they should restrict an -advert-, ie something they WANT people to see to drum up enthusiasm for the film, to a certain select group of people who have bought another companies product.

      So finally, yes it is about principles. When all's said and done, it doesn't affect me, and probably never will as I don't use QuickTime. But you've got to have principles, otherwise a few years from now we'll wake up and find QuickTime's got a monopoly and that if we want to watch movies on our computer, we have to pay a tax to Apple. It's already happened with Microsoft, and I'm sure Apple would love to be in the same situation.

    65. Re:So... by adewolf · · Score: 0

      What a retarted reply. Which distro has the "obligitory link" that you talk of? Where is it in Mandrake 8.2?
      BTW, it is the public that uses software not just us geeks and their numbers makes or breaks commercial software companies.

      --
      "The Brady Bunch is back...working homicide"
    66. Re:So... by zangdesign · · Score: 3, Informative

      I'm criticizing the majority of Linux users who want every piece of software to be free (I love it when people keep trying to put spin on what write - there's no spin, just opinion).

      Look, it's not a rational position in today's world. Far be it from me to always adopt a rational position, but at times it get's a little shrill here.

      Fact is - somebody has to get paid to produce software for the masses. Open Source (with a few notable exceptions) concentrates software development efforts on producing tools for a technical elite. This can be attributed to a lesser marketshare and thus a lower reward for producing good, universal tools (even for free), but very few people seem interested.

      Widespread acceptance demands that the bulk of software written be simple to use (and no, the command line won't cut it) and designed to the expectations of an extraordinarily wide range of user capability.

      For better or worse, Apple and Microsoft do produce those tools, and as faulty as their products may be, they have put extensive research into making their products as user-friendly as possible. The overall complexity of their software is a combination of legacy requirements, desire of users for new capabilities, and of a need for the company to market their products.

      The common attitudes around here are:
      1. MS is bad and deserves to be destroyed.
      2. Commercial software is bad and deserves to be destroyed.
      3. Anything not written for Linux (preferably exclusively) is bad and deserves to be destroyed.
      4. Stallman is either good or bad, but should be worshipped as a god (preferably an elder god, apparently).
      5. Jon Katz is bad and deserves to be destroyed (I can't figure that one out, so I just ignore him).

      Does it come as so much of a shock to anyone that someone would play Devil's Advocate? And no, I may not be particularly good at it, but I'm working on it.

      So that's my two cents. Mod it as a troll or whine or whatever. Personally, I prefer the term nerdality-impaired, but go figure.

      --
      To celebrate the occasion of my 1000th post, I will post no more forever on Slashdot. Goodbye.
    67. Re:So... by Tempura_Roll · · Score: 1

      Somehow I'd imagine there were more Linux/BSD users than MacOS users (sans the stuff that apple gave/sold-at-a-loss to schools labs)

      I'd like to think that, but I don't think its true. You've got Macs being sold at many major computer/electronics stores. Sure Linux and BSD may be sold there as well, but not preloaded on PCs.

    68. Re:So... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The fact that your company [...]
      is experimenting with Linux on the desktop
      simply means that you folks haven't yet realized the error of your ways.

      ROFL! Methinks any company rolling out 5000 (five thousand!) Linux desktops without finding out what you discovered by mere logical thinking inside your head, deserves to go bust tomorrow :-)
      Could it be that they actually know what they are doing? And that those 5000 people are of a use profile for which linux is the platform of choice? Think science, engineering. Or even movie making. Or selling financial services. Or... as Linux and its software base matures and broadens, don't you think more and more corporate users will find the proposition a sound one?

      Just asking.

    69. Re:So... by IamTheRealMike · · Score: 3, Insightful
      Well to a certain extent you're right, but it's causal: using Linux doesn't mean you're cheap, sometimes you're using Linux because you are cheap. For instance - me. I'm a classic case of this. I don't own any commercial Linux software other than my distro, because being a student I'm constantly poor. I want to be able to do lots of things with my computer, but I can't afford Photoshop/OfficeXP/WindowsXP etc. So part of the attraction of Linux was that it'd free up my meagre funds for non-computer related stuff. There were plenty of other attractions of course, but that was one of them.

      On the other hand, as Linux gains wider acceptance, becomes higher quality etc, the people using it just because it costs nothing will become an ever decreasing minority. I would be quite happy to buy software for Linux, but it'd have to be really good, something I really needed and was much better than the free version (or there was no free version). Because commercial software is relatively new to Linux though, that often isn't the case.

      That'll change as Linux becomes more mainstream of course, then maybe Apple would be able to make a profit selling QuickTime Pro - but really I'd love to see their sales figures for that software. I've never actually met anyone who has it, although I've met many people who use the standard QuickTime. Considering that most people are not content creators, it seems the market for it would be fairly limited anyway.

    70. Re:So... by nullard · · Score: 1

      Not at all, I just think it's rather pathetic that Apple feels they have to pay people to use QuickTime in order to prop up sales of QT Pro. Being denied content, because I don't care to pay Apple (not Lucas bear in mind, Apple) is something that I don't like.

      I may be mistake, but if I recall correctly, the pro version of QuickTime comes with a decoder that Apple has to pay a per-user fee for.

      The hi-res trailers use that encoding to reduce the size of the stream. Apple pays for the decoder license with the money you pay for the pro version of QuickTime.

      This doesn't seem shady at all. All companies pass their costs along to their customers.

      --


      t'nera semordnilap
    71. Re:So... by foobar104 · · Score: 2

      Man, you're really bothered about this. I think you're being silly.

      I'm offended and annoyed because I'm being asked to pay Apple for a trailer being produced by LucasFilm. Why is this? Do I have to buy three pints of milk before I'm allowed orange juice? Do I have to pay for new vacuum cleaner if I want to change my door locks? No, I don't, because they are not related.

      First of all, you don't have to pay Apple a dime. I have two Macs-- a laptop and a desktop-- and I watch movie trailers in QuickTime on both. Because I don't have a QuickTime Pro license for the laptop, I watch only the lower resolution versions. I still get to watch the trailers for free, and you could, too. Apple doesn't charge a penny.

      Even if Apple did charge for the privilege of watching the Star Wars trailers, they'd be completely within their rights to do so. LucasFilm produced them, but Apple distributes them, and they're free to charge a fee for that distribution if they want to. You might as well be asking why you have to pay the grocery store for the milk, when they don't own the cow.

      So when LucasFilm announce that they're abandoning their policy of making trailers available in several different formats, and is taking the unique move of going Apple only, it annoys me, because it means I am excluded.

      You are no more or less excluded than people who have no computers at all. Just like people who own no television are excluded from seeing Buffy the Vampire Slayer. If you want to see the content, get a Mac or a PC and watch all you want. Poof. Problem solved.

      And finally, although LucasFilm have never admitted being paid off, they have never denied it either, only saying that "they work extremely closely with Apple".

      Oh, well then it must be true. Sheesh.

      But you've got to have principles, otherwise a few years from now we'll wake up and find QuickTime's got a monopoly and that if we want to watch movies on our computer, we have to pay a tax to Apple.

      Have you so little faith in free market economics? If what you say had even the slightest grain of truth to it-- if the slippery slope were anything less than a rhetorical trick to play upon the weak-minded-- then we'd all have been prisoners of monopoly after monopoly long ago. It just doesn't work that way, dude.

    72. Re:So... by rjung2k · · Score: 1

      Being denied content, because I don't care to pay Apple (not Lucas bear in mind, Apple) is something that I don't like.

      Yes, how dare the cable company require me to pay them just because I want to watch their programs!

    73. Re:So... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sorry, I've never seen anything showing Linux to be near the market of MacOS. What's probably more important than the number of Linux machines is their use: almost all Linux machines are servers; almost all MacOS machines are desktops...

      Really, the number of Linux users who would buy a QuickTime viewer probably wouldn't be enough to pay an Apple engineer to type "make" (assuming that's all it took, which certainly isn't a valid assumption)

    74. Re:So... by bsartist · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I understand that there are a variety of reasons for commercial software's relative lack of success in the Linux market. Some people are cheapskates, some are poor, some see commercial software as morally wrong, etc., etc.

      The point I think you're missing here is that bean counters don't care about any of that. They're not making value judgments about Linux users, they're simply adding up the numbers. For the sake of argument, let's say it cost VaporWare, Inc. $x to produce a Linux version of their Foo application, and it made $y. A Linux version of Foo II will only see the light of day if y is a larger number than x.

      I just don't see a good business case to be made for Apple porting QT to Linux. It would be a huge effort with a minimal return on investment.

      --
      Lost: Sig, white with black letters. No collar. Reward if found!
    75. Re:So... by IamTheRealMike · · Score: 2

      You're right about the bean counter issue, but I'm not sure it'd be a huge effort. Presumably QuickTime is already a largely cross platform product as there are Mac and Windows versions available. Perhaps (hopefully) there won't even be a need for it, as Apple will make it a fully open format allowing open sourced software to read Quicktime files, in which case it all becomes something of a moot point anyway. Whether that'll happen or not I don't know, historically this hasn't been made very easy by Apple. Maybe the fact that they dropped the proprietary codecs will make the difference.

    76. Re:So... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      I bought 10 games from Loki, what are you talking about?

      I bought a couple too, but obviously not enough people did to keep Loki in business.


      The big knock on Loki was that they were selling games that dual-booters already had for Windows.

      Like I said though, that's a problem for all desktop applications. Look at it this way: If you've bought 10 games and 3 applications for Windows are you going to buy the 4th application for Linux and start dual-booting or will you buy the Windows version? Users don't want to make their systems more complicated to use and they don't want to throw away an investment they've already made.

      You're right about Apache though. It may not be quite the best but there's no way I'd spend money on a webserver instead of just downloading Apache :) I've got to say though server and desktop are very different markets.

    77. Re:So... by IamTheRealMike · · Score: 2
      Man, you're really bothered about this. I think you're being silly.

      And I think you're not bothered enough. The laissez-faire attitude is fine when things are going well, but the who-gives-a-damn attitude is why Windows now dominates the market, and IE hasn't significantly improved for a whole generation. First of all, you don't have to pay Apple a dime. I have two Macs-- a laptop and a desktop-- and I watch movie trailers in QuickTime on both. Because I don't have a QuickTime Pro license for the laptop, I watch only the lower resolution versions. I still get to watch the trailers for free, and you could, too. Apple doesn't charge a penny.

      Sure that's the case now.. but it sets the precedant: who's to say that Apple won't decide that if you want to watch any res of trailer at all, you need to buy the Pro version. They probably won't because of the negative PR, but they're already treading that path. You are no more or less excluded than people who have no computers at all. Just like people who own no television are excluded from seeing Buffy the Vampire Slayer. If you want to see the content, get a Mac or a PC and watch all you want. Poof. Problem solved.

      The difference is that televisions are made by more than one company, and are based on open standards. Maybe now QuickTime has finally dropped the dependancy on proprietary codeces it'll be a fully open format and we'll start seeing other companies/organisations produce quicktime players. That hasn't happened yet though. Have you so little faith in free market economics? If what you say had even the slightest grain of truth to it-- if the slippery slope were anything less than a rhetorical trick to play upon the weak-minded-- then we'd all have been prisoners of monopoly after monopoly long ago. It just doesn't work that way, dude.

      Funny - tell the 90% of people who use Windows because that they're not prisoners of a monopoly. I think you'll find that difficult to argue. The slope is very slippery indeed, which is why platform companies go to such lengths to try and lock people in to their own products. Most people believe (and for many quite rightly) that in order to use their computer, they must have Windows. I'd state that makes Windows roughly equivalent to a tax. It could so easily become the same for video.

    78. Re:So... by renderhead · · Score: 1
      tell the 90% of people who use Windows because that they're not prisoners of a monopoly. I think you'll find that difficult to argue. What you're overlooking is that Quicktime is NOT the dominant media format or player. You see many more .avi and .mpeg movies than you see .mov files almost anywhere you look.

      The difference is that televisions are made by more than one company, and are based on open standards.
      Do you complain that, in order to use a Zip disk, you have to pay for a drive manufactured by Iomega? This is not the only example of a single company controlling a medium. If Quicktime ever becomes a pay-only product, then it will lose market share as its free competitors proliferate. Fewer people will install Quicktime, fewer producers of content will want to create in quicktime. I already don't use quicktime to produce movies for the web because I know Linux users can't view them.

      There is no problem here, except for the large number of people determined to find problems everywhere. Oh wait, that's what slashdot is for, isn't it?

      --
      I wish that my inferiority complex were as good as yours.

      -RenderHead

    79. Re:So... by foobar104 · · Score: 2

      ...IE hasn't significantly improved for a whole generation.

      That kind of hyperbole just makes you sound like a moron. IE hasn't existed, in any form, for anywhere near a generation. You should know better.

      Sure that's the case now.. but it sets the precedant: who's to say that Apple won't decide that if you want to watch any res of trailer at all, you need to buy the Pro version.

      Oh, that would just be terrible! You'd have to pay somebody to get something in return! You'd have to choose between giving them money, and going without! Agony!

      Funny - tell the 90% of people who use Windows because that they're not prisoners of a monopoly.

      Okay, genius, please describe for us your vision of the perfect world. It's wrong for Apple to charge for QuickTime, evidently, so would you say that they should just give it away instead? Where is the line? At what point, and under what circumstances, does it become okay for a company to charge for its products?

      Let's see what you really have to say.

    80. Re:So... by Joe+Tie. · · Score: 1

      All the evidence I've seen indicates that, for the most part, commercial software for Linux doesn't sell very well. That seems to indicate that Linux users as a group don't like to buy software.

      Hm, All the evidence I've seen indicates that, for the most part, commercial software for Linux does sell very well. That seems to indicate that Linux users as a group like to buy software.

      --
      Everything will be taken away from you.
    81. Re:So... by Dephex+Twin · · Score: 1, Flamebait

      Yes, "gay"... good point, Sir Dumbfuck.

      --

      If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe. -- Carl Sagan
    82. Re:So... by Joe+Tie. · · Score: 1

      You seem to be ignoring one important fact that most people seem to have realized: Linux on the desktop does not work.

      Who are you to say whether it's working for him or not? I run Linux on my desktop, and I don't have any of the problems you've mentioned. What exactly is unacceptable about the desktop experience with Linux? The so called aplication gap is pretty much non existant for the average user at this point. And untold thousands of compatibility and consistency problems? What, you mean the fact that I can't plunk down a precompiled binary in some cases and have to "gasp" click once on an srpm? Or the terrible horror of on occasion having to type ./configure make make install?

      simply means that you folks haven't yet realized the error of your ways.

      I think you're getting religion mixed in with computer use here. An operating system is just a tool, it's not some faith you have to evangelise with blind statements. You'd have about as strong arguments by saying "If you use Linux, God will hate you. He told me a couple days ago.".

      --
      Everything will be taken away from you.
    83. Re:So... by bsartist · · Score: 2, Informative

      What are you, a parrot?

      There's plenty of evidence that indicates that Linux software just doesn't sell well enough to justify the investment. Loki tried it, and failed. Corel tried it, and failed. Even WordPerfect failed to sell, despite the fact that Linux users are screaming for a viable replacement for MS Word.

      Sure, most of these titles sold a few copies; I didn't claim otherwise. But none of them sold well enough to justify their continued development - that's why they're gone.

      You and your l33t h@x0r friends may have bought every game that Loki produced, but that isn't evidence that Linux software sells well. A financial report from a company that sells software for Linux, and makes a profit doing it, would be.

      --
      Lost: Sig, white with black letters. No collar. Reward if found!
    84. Re:So... by Vicegrip · · Score: 2

      Your two examples:
      A company with fraud & management problems.(Loki)
      A company with fraud & management problems.(Corel)

      These fine examples are why you have concluded that you can't sell software to people who use Linux?

      Excuse me while I go and laugh my head off.

      --
      Do not spread "09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0" over the internet, thank you.
    85. Re:So... by curmi · · Score: 1

      >Also I get sick and tired of this Linux users don't pay for anything mantra, this is not true.

      hmmm. Talk to Adobe about FrameMaker and ask them (based on their survey of FrameMaker beta users) how many Linux users were willing to pay for that port...

    86. Re:So... by bsartist · · Score: 1

      Okay, here's another example: id. A well-run company by most accounts, with a solid business plan, a huge fan base, and a history of excellent products. Do they make money from their Linux versions? No, they don't - they've admitted as much. They make Linux versions of their games available as a gift to the community, because John Carmack is a fan of Linux and free software in general.

      Instead of just laughing, how about providing a counter example? Can you name a single company that makes money selling packaged software for Linux?

      --
      Lost: Sig, white with black letters. No collar. Reward if found!
    87. Re:So... by diverman · · Score: 1

      I agree... Solution.... buy a Mac! *evilgrin*

      Actually, I went the way of the Mac about a year ago because of OS X. Worth it for a lot more reasons than QT. :)

      -Alex

    88. Re:So... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Also I get sick and tired of this Linux users don't pay for anything mantra, this is not true. Many if not most serious Linux users actually pay for their distro, from that point onwards it's pretty cheap because you don't NEED to buy software, not because we won't. As it happens, I wouldn't but QuickTime even if I could (and I could, because I also use Windows), because it's basically just a media player. Why should I buy a copy of Pro when I won't need its features?
      "


      Aren't you contradicting yourself? You are tired of "dont pay for anything mantra", but yet you believe you should not have to pay for anything else because you bought your distro.

    89. Re:So... by Drishmung · · Score: 1
      Well, Jordan Hubbard claimed that With the release of OS X, Apple will literally be the largest Unix vendor on the planet.

      Whether this has been substantiated post the release of Mac OS X, and how that relates to Linux as a whole, I don't know. Does Apple ship more Unix than:

      • RedHat?
      • Redhat+Debian combined?
      • Linux + FreeBSD + NetBSD + OpenBSD combined?

      Or not?

      BTW, since Mac OS X is a BSD variant by at least some measures, Linux/BSD users>Mac OS X users for all Linux users1

      --
      Protoplasm. Quiet Protoplasm. I like quiet protoplasm.
    90. Re:So... by BitGeek · · Score: 2



      Some facts about Quicktime people don't seem to know:

      1) Quicktime doesn't have a "Pro" version-- the PLAYER has one, but quicktime itself comes in only one version for multiple platforms.

      If you didn't want to pay for the pro player, all you had to do was write your own player-- which, since quicktime provides really high level APIs-- is like a dozen lines of code. I've done it in 6 lines of code.

      2) Apple makes money on Quiktime by driving media professionals to the Mac OS Platform. That is why its not in their best interest to spend the hundreds of millions of dollars to license sorenson or MPEG4 video or other codecs in order to ship a free linux player.

      If Linux users were willing to pay the money necessary, someone could easily port Quicktime to Linux and would have apple blessing. They just aren't going to spend the hundreds of millions to pay the license fees and give a free player out-- and the person who did this port would have to pay licensing fees themselves and therefore charge for the Quicktime Linux ... and then you'd complain about that.

      It really is simple-- if you want a technology and don't have it, create it or join a project to help create it. If it is availible but you have to pay for it and don't want to, then create your own or join a project to create your own.

      IF the effort of helping to create it is too much for you, but you sitll don't want to pay for it, then you DON'T really want it.

      Otherwise what you are asking for is something for nothing. Unless you're a communist (and therefore intend to get your something for nothing using a gun-- ie a looter) then you're a hypocrite when you complain that someone hasn't paid your way to have something you aren't even motivated enough to help create yourself.

      --
      Yeah, and you guys panned the ipod too: http://apple.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=01/10/23/ 1816257
    91. Re:So... by festers · · Score: 1

      Does it come as so much of a shock to anyone that someone would play Devil's Advocate? And no, I may not be particularly good at it, but I'm working on it.

      We already have plenty of WinTrolls here at Slashdot, we don't need anymore, thanks.

      --


      -------
      "Every artist is a cannibal, every poet is a thief."
    92. Re:So... by mbbac · · Score: 1

      If Linux users really want QuickTime for Linux they should put their money where their mouth is. Create a QuickTime for Linux petition and escrow account and have users that want to sign the petition, also put $29.99 (the standard fee for QuickTime Pro) in the escrow account which will be turned over to Apple once the product is released. Apple would then give product keys to everyone that signed the petition.

      --

      mbbac

    93. Re:So... by JohnMunsch · · Score: 1

      Not to intrude on this wonderful flamewar, but I think he meant a browser generation. For example, IE 5 to IE 6 where there was not much of any difference other than someone at Microsoft typing a six instead of a five into the dialog box. I'm confident he didn't mean a human generation.

      His observation that innovation in the browser at Microsoft has come to a full halt is, in my opinion, quite correct. They've cornered the market and unless enough of us switch to Mozilla or the AOL-TimeWarner switch makes them come back to life, it seems likely that they won't be doing anything new there for the forseeable future.

      --
      Sigs are for people who started using the net _after_ '86.
    94. Re:So... by TheCrazyFinn · · Score: 1

      Actually, last time I checked, they were going to Mayo on OS X with Xserve's in the backend. The linux experiment was useful in bridging the gap between the ageing SGI's and the Macs that are now starting to replace SGI (At least in the Sub-$100,000 market)

      the Crazy Finn

      --
      "You've got an invalid haircut" -Warren Zevon - Life'll Kill Ya
  3. How much better is AAC, anyway? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I think it's great that QT6 supports AAC, a "next generation" audio format, but is it significantly better than mp3? Anyone know how much better the compression technology is?

    I hope Apple hasn't confused "next generation" (i.e., "released later") with "superior technology". They know about WMA, right?

    1. Re:How much better is AAC, anyway? by nguyenhm · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Apparently, AAC is the Cadillac of lossy encoding, with the highest quality for a given bitrate you can get. Developed by Bell Labs or something like that.

    2. Re:How much better is AAC, anyway? by benwaggoner · · Score: 2

      AAC is Advanced Audio Coding. it was actually created by Dolby Labs, with help from Sony, AT&T, and Fraunhofer.

      And yes, it is really quite excellent. I'd say a 64 Kbps AAC is typically comparable to a 128 Kbps MP3, although it is somewhat dependent on content. I really, really hope that a future version of the iPod and other mobile devices support it.

    3. Re:How much better is AAC, anyway? by shunnicutt · · Score: 1

      I took a 5 MB MP3 file encoded at 160k and exported it to MP4, which uses AAC for the audio encoding.

      The file sounds the same to me and has been reduced to 3.1 MB.

    4. Re:How much better is AAC, anyway? by Snover · · Score: 1

      Listening to that on one of those teenie Mac speakers, of COURSE it's not going to sound any different. ;) While I can't entirely vouch for the quality of AAC, from what I've heard, it's really fitting to be alongside MPEG-4 video -- MPEG-4 video was designed for Internet viewing, and IIRC, AAC was designed for the same purpose.

      Really, it comes down to this:

      In the beginning, there was MPEG-1 and MPEG-1 Layer 1,2,3 audio. Big deal, koz they were all more-or-less firsts in semi-quality video compression.
      Then came (in no particular order) MPEG-2 and MPEG-4. MPEG-2 was a format designed for DVDs and other high-resolution media, and AC3, its companion, designed for high-quality audio. MPEG-4 was designed for Internet viewing, and, as I said, AAC was (is) its companion.

      That said, there is a lot of crossing over within the formats. Personally, I encode DivX video with MPEG-1 Layer 3 audio (VBR, which is against the AVI standard, bad me, but oh well).

      I don't mean to get off on a rant here, but the largest problem I see with MP3 is that people aren't using VBR. It's an EXCELLENT thing: take bits from places where they aren't needed and put them where more bandwidth is needed. You can have a "CD-quality" MP3 file using VBR -- at lower filesizes -- that you would need 320Kbps CBR to achieve.
      Well, that, and people are still using Xing. stop it! Use LAME + EAC to rip and encode your CDs. Honestly.

      And now, the obligatory plug. For more information on MP3 encoding, visit r3mix.net. Of course, these are facts, not opinions; I couldn't be wrong.

      --

      [insert witty comment here]
  4. any upgrade plans? by valmont · · Score: 2
    I recently bought QT5 Pro. Will i be able to get a QT6 Pro key for free or cheaper?

    1. Re:any upgrade plans? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "I recently bought QT5 Pro. Will i be able to get a QT6 Pro key for free or cheaper?"

      Cheaper. Apple is planning to not only give away QT6, but to pay the users hard cash to do so!

      You'll love it.

    2. Re:any upgrade plans? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you fucking moron. why buy it when you can get it for free? because you're too fucking stupid, thats why.

    3. Re:any upgrade plans? by MacGod · · Score: 1

      Not positive, but I would guess not. IIRC, there was no real upgrade path from version 3/4 Pro which used the same serial numbers to v 5 Pro, whivh used new ones. So my guess is that other than *possibly* a time-of-purchase rebate (which, if you bought recently, you might well qualify for), there will be no upgrade path.

      --
      "Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one " -Albert Einstein
  5. No-Wait Streaming by shmert · · Score: 5, Interesting

    One of the coolest things they demoed for Quicktime 6 was no-wait streaming, where there's no pause while the frames get buffered. You can even scrub back and forth over the timeline, streaming. Combined with an Xserve dishing out >500 simultaneous DVD-quality quicktime streams, Quicktime is looking pretty sweet. Now why don't more sites start using it?

    --
    You drank my drink, you drunk!
    1. Re:No-Wait Streaming by foobar104 · · Score: 2

      Combined with an Xserve dishing out >500 simultaneous DVD-quality quicktime streams....

      You can't be serious. I've never even seen a DVD-quality stream-- 5-8 megabits per second, that is.

      Surely you mean something around or less than 1 megabit per second.

    2. Re:No-Wait Streaming by ictatha · · Score: 1

      "Combined with an Xserve dishing out >500 simultaneous DVD-quality quicktime streams..."

      Assuming you're referring to the demo they did at the Xserve release, you probably mean DSL-quality. A pretty big difference. DVD-quality would be cool though...

      --
      "... the advance of civilization is nothing but an exercise in the limiting of privacy" - Janov Pelorat
    3. Re:No-Wait Streaming by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      One of the coolest things they demoed for Quicktime 6 was no-wait streaming, where there's no pause while the frames get buffered. You can even scrub back and forth over the timeline, streaming. Combined with an Xserve dishing out >500 simultaneous DVD-quality quicktime streams, Quicktime is looking pretty sweet. Now why don't more sites start using it?

      Probably because no matter what they demoed, this version definitely does not do that under normal conditions. Perhaps if you're on a LAN with the stream server you can get all of that. Here, I get a 'loading...' message and then when the stream is started (I have to hit play to get it to start playing, but that's a different issue), I definitely can not skip ahead to an unbuffered part of the stream. Don't even think about resizing the video while it's playing, either.

    4. Re:No-Wait Streaming by IamTheRealMike · · Score: 2
      One of the coolest things they demoed for Quicktime 6 was no-wait streaming, where there's no pause while the frames get buffered.

      Huh? All streaming players support this to some extent, you just switch the buffering time to be very low, or zero. Are you sure you're not getting confused with very fast streaming, over a LAN? That would look like no wait.

      Combined with an Xserve dishing out >500 simultaneous DVD-quality quicktime streams, Quicktime is looking pretty sweet. Now why don't more sites start using it?

      That situation would require approximately 5 gigabits of outgoing bandwidth (a DVD uses about 10mbit/s of bandwidth). Are you insane? Nobody apart from people in large corporations or universities could watch that. QuickTime doesn't really have any major advantages over other technologies as far as I can tell, other than it being made by Apple and therefore given lots of marketing. Why should I choose QuickTime over Real, or Windows Media, or hell even standard MPEG?

    5. Re:No-Wait Streaming by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      5-8 megabits per second of MPEG2, not MPEG4.

    6. Re:No-Wait Streaming by schwatoo · · Score: 1

      I definately DON'T get a loading message. Running Mac OS X 10.1.4 with QT6. Go to the "Instant On" sample page here. The streams play instantly and you can instantly skip to any part of the stream. Very impressive. Especially because I'm testing on a very congested RoadRunner cable modem...

      --
      I have trouble with passwords among other things.
    7. Re:No-Wait Streaming by schwatoo · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Huh? All streaming players support this to some extent, you just switch the buffering time to be very low, or zero. Are you sure you're not getting confused with very fast streaming, over a LAN?

      No. I've been playing around with QT6's "Instant On" streaming all morning. It's very impressive. It isn't just a case of having a low buffer time. Try it, you might be impressed too.

      --
      I have trouble with passwords among other things.
    8. Re:No-Wait Streaming by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Why should I choose QuickTime over Real, or Windows Media, or hell even standard MPEG?"

      How about Real's exorbitant licensing fees? Or their draconian, anti-consumer installer? Or their spyware? Or WMP's bloatware/spyware? Or WMP's lack of features like frame-by-frame advance, or non-contiguous frame skipping?

      You get my vote for biggest know-nothing-about-online-vieo.

    9. Re:No-Wait Streaming by shmert · · Score: 1

      Right you are, sir! Apologies for the exaggeration.

      --
      You drank my drink, you drunk!
    10. Re:No-Wait Streaming by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Why more use WMP and Real... simple... QuickTime is only for the Mac more people use windows anyway... thats the respose you will get...

      My radio stations who stream now use hiWire Which dosn't support anything other than window 2000 and XP... why? No its not what the radio stations say "isten Live doesn't currently work on Windows NT4 or on a Mac. We apologize for this, however, in order to deliver the system in a way that made financial sense we needed to limit the platform." but "There was a ruling in favor of AFTRA , the actor's union, that states that commercials made for Radio can not be re-broadcast onto the Internet without payment of huge fines. Therefore, if you want to stream your radio station on the Internet you need to remove the commercials. Our software enables us to automate the process of removing radio commercials and replacing them with Internet safe ads on Windows platforms." Which really means hiWire is scared to try something non MSish and they are to dumb to come up with a real solution.


      Real what is so hard blocking ads? Not a thing. personally I hate Real and WMP is fair... QT in my mind is far better.

    11. Re:No-Wait Streaming by marmoset · · Score: 1

      Damn, that's cool.

      Works great, even on a G3.

    12. Re:No-Wait Streaming by Trogre · · Score: 1

      Now why don't more sites start using it?

      Possibly due to it being a proprietry, CLOSED FORMAT!

      --
      "Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
    13. Re:No-Wait Streaming by SmittyTheBold · · Score: 1

      ..and because Windows Media and Real are open, free solutions? Yeah, right.

      Fuckwit.

      --
      ± 29 dB
    14. Re:No-Wait Streaming by Trogre · · Score: 1

      Who said anything about Windows Media player or Real Player? Of course they're no more open.

      I'm talking about FILE formats, not players, if you can comprehend that.
      Have a look at DivX sometime, or MPEG-4. File formats that don't require you to own a particular player by a particular vendor to play or create them.

      --
      "Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
    15. Re:No-Wait Streaming by BitGeek · · Score: 2

      QuickTime doesn't really have any major advantages over other technologies as far as I can tell

      Because you're ignoring them. The technology for instant on streaming isn't setting the buffer to zero. It involves a lot of things, an it was quite amazing when I saw it. Like bending light- it seemed to violate the laws of physics. but it does work and it wasn't a hack.

      But according to you, they just didn't buffer. Funny, that's why the stream kept playing when steve pulled the cable connecting the boxes? (And before someone jumps in and says "SEE! LAN LAN! They cheated!" a 100kbit stream is still a 100kbit stream even when its going over a 100mbit cable.

      Sheesh.

      --
      Yeah, and you guys panned the ipod too: http://apple.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=01/10/23/ 1816257
    16. Re:No-Wait Streaming by SmittyTheBold · · Score: 2

      BUT you gave the non-open nature of the product as the reason for its lack of popularity. WMV/WMA and Real are both proprietary, but they're both rather popular.

      (I haven't looked at the stats lately, but my guess is actually that MS's formats are in the lead, while QT and Real are probably about even these days.)

      --
      ± 29 dB
  6. Significance?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Even if I used MacOS/Windows, why is this news? Clearly I've missed the point here, and I'm probably not alone. Someone enlighten me ...

  7. Not flummory, marketing... wait... by danro · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I also wonder why MPEG-4 is ".mp4". ".mp3" isn't for MPEG-3, after all. Flummory!

    Obviously they are trying to get MPEG-4 off the ground by riding on the popularity of the widly known ".mp3" file extention.
    They are using a familiar "brand name" name, and mp3 is the "Coca Cola" of computers.
    Just another marketing trick...
    ...not supposed to make any sense, just to give people that warm fuzzy feeling inside and get the royalties flowin.

    --

    "First lesson," Jon said. "Stick them with the pointy end."
    1. Re:Not flummory, marketing... wait... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Uh... MP3 (as in music) *is* MPEG layer 3. So it would follow that MPEG-4 might be .mp4

    2. Re:Not flummory, marketing... wait... by Dephex+Twin · · Score: 3, Informative

      Actually .mp3 is the one that is not really fully logical. MP3 is MPEG-2 layer 3. It should be .mp2, or something. MPEG-4 -> .mp4 makes total and complete sense.

      mark

      --

      If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe. -- Carl Sagan
    3. Re:Not flummory, marketing... wait... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      mp3 = MPEG-1, Layer 3 Dumbass....

    4. Re:Not flummory, marketing... wait... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 files are .mpg or .mpeg, so it makes more sense that MPEG-4 would still use the same extension.

      Of course, we've already got MPEG-4 files under the extension .avi and a form of MPEG-4 as WMV, so what's another extension? As long as my player can figure it out I'm fine. What I think is really funny is the description for MP3 in the QT6 options, as if there's video in layer 3...

    5. Re:Not flummory, marketing... wait... by Coyote · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Quoting the MPEG site,on MPEG-4 at http://mpeg.telecomitalialab.com/standards/mpeg-4/ mpeg-4.htm

      "MPEG-4, with formal as its ISO/IEC designation 'ISO/IEC 14496', was finalized in October 1998 and became an International Standard in the first months of 1999. The fully backward compatible extensions under the title of MPEG-4 Version 2 were frozen at the end of 1999, to acquire the formal International Standard Status early in 2000."

      So MPEG is trying to capitalize on themselves?

      --
      My metamoderation cancels your moderation
    6. Re:Not flummory, marketing... wait... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      No no no! mp3 is MPEG 1 Layer 3 (audio).

    7. Re:Not flummory, marketing... wait... by Krach42 · · Score: 1

      Well, considering you can just use "magic" values to locate the type of the data, we shouldn't even need extentions at all. Just name them all blank, and assign their "Open With Application" correctly... Oh... that's right, not everyone uses a Mac...

      --

      I am unamerican, and proud of it!
    8. Re:Not flummory, marketing... wait... by danro · · Score: 2

      "magic" values

      Like MIME types?
      To determin file type by the extension is getting a little old IMHO.

      --

      "First lesson," Jon said. "Stick them with the pointy end."
    9. Re:Not flummory, marketing... wait... by Dephex+Twin · · Score: 2

      Well, I guess my point was more that .mp4 wasn't obviously just cashing in on .mp3 in some way... the extensions are pretty dang confusing overall.

      mark

      --

      If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe. -- Carl Sagan
    10. Re:Not flummory, marketing... wait... by Dephex+Twin · · Score: 2

      Yeah, sorry...

      I don't know. I guess more than three letters are needed to distinguish all of these.

      mark

      --

      If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe. -- Carl Sagan
    11. Re:Not flummory, marketing... wait... by L.+VeGas · · Score: 3, Funny

      When I bought my Apex, there was a big sticker on the box that said "Plays MPEG-3!"

      That was kind of funny, but it was even funnier trying to explain it to the Circuit City salesman. Kind of like trying to teach my dog geometry.

    12. Re:Not flummory, marketing... wait... by DennyK · · Score: 2

      To determin file type by the extension is getting a little old IMHO

      Old? I think it's a perfectly logical method, myself, although I don't neccesarily like the way Windows locks application associations to file extensions instead of actual file types. (I get tired of jumping through hoops to open plain ASCII .doc files in Notepad instead of Word...) An extension, however, is an excellent tool for telling at a glance what kind of a file you are looking at, especially in a CLI. How else do you propose looking at a long, unfamiliar directory listing and picking out the HTML files from the text files, or the audio tracks from the video clips?

      Extensions are handy markers, but I do prefer the way they're implemented on *nix...allowed and easy to use, but not required, and not really used by the OS itself.

      DennyK

    13. Re:Not flummory, marketing... wait... by benwaggoner · · Score: 3, Informative

      Actually, MP3 is MPEG-1 Layer III. Ironically, MP3 was never used for MPEG-1 files because of the licensing issues that later affected MP3.

      I expect the big reason for ".mp4" instead of ".mpeg4" is for compatibility with 8.3 filename filesystems. Bear in mind that the MPEG-4 process was started BEFORE Windows 95 shipped.

    14. Re:Not flummory, marketing... wait... by MacGod · · Score: 1

      Well, Apple remember long ago invented a more-robust method of ID'ing files. Every Mac file has a hidden type and creator code-each four characters long, using any ASCII character. The advantage of this (other than having more combinations that a 3-character extension) is that you can have, for example, 5 different JPG files, each opened by a different app. So, if you don't need to open Photoshop (which takes longer to load), you can just load Preview. Easy-peasy.

      Of course, with OS X's UNIX underpinnings, extensions are gaining much more importance and dominance. Sigh.

      --
      "Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one " -Albert Einstein
    15. Re:Not flummory, marketing... wait... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, MP3 is MPEG 1 Layer 3

    16. Re:Not flummory, marketing... wait... by damiam · · Score: 1

      Yes.

      --
      It's hard to be religious when certain people are never incinerated by bolts of lightning.
    17. Re:Not flummory, marketing... wait... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Score: (-1, Redundant)

    18. Re:Not flummory, marketing... wait... by Krach42 · · Score: 1

      OSX still tracks all the same information, and you can not use extentions as much as in OS9... thing is though that they have extentions just kinda sit there most of the time. Something nice is that you can actually set all of a specific extention to open with a different application.

      --

      I am unamerican, and proud of it!
  8. BROADCASTER is the cool part... by Steve+Cowan · · Score: 4, Informative
    In my opinion even more exciting: check out QuickTime Broadcaster at http://www.apple.com/quicktime/preview/broadcaster / (only for Mac OS X)...

    Quote from the site:

    Welcome to the Public Preview of QuickTime Broadcaster, Apple's live encoding software that lets you produce professional-quality live events for online delivery--quickly, easily and affordably.

    QuickTime Broadcaster takes full advantage of QuickTime, the most powerful digital media technology on the Internet. The combination QuickTime Broadcaster, QuickTime Streaming Server 4 and QuickTime 6 provides the industry's first end-to-end MPEG-4-based Internet broadcasting system. Whether you are a novice or a professional, QuickTime Broadcaster is designed to meet your needs.

    Wow, Apple's coming out with some cool stuff lately! :)

    - Steve

    1. Re:BROADCASTER is the cool part... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      For a minute there I was expecting to read "Steve Jobs" under the subject. I guess you're just really enthusiastic :>

    2. Re:BROADCASTER is the cool part... by Steve+Cowan · · Score: 1

      hahaha that's kinda scary - i guess you're right... but i'm just a canadian creative guy / mac junkie, and i just keep watching in awe as apple keeps on introducing new stuff / improving existing stuff:

      XServe
      QT 6 Broadcaster
      FC Pro 3
      hi-res Cinema HD 23" display
      hi-res PowerBook G4
      Quartz Extreme
      "Rendezvous"
      S-video out on iBook

      I know it's geeky, but I just find all these product introductions and enhancements exciting.

  9. click here by super-flex-o-matic · · Score: 0

    if you want to upgrade to quicktime pro?

    please crack me, i have the nastiest nag-screen of the world.

  10. Rant about Naming by newt_sd · · Score: 1

    Ok I know we are all the tech people of the world (us slashdot readers that is) but geesh why do these companies continue to name things in order to confuse. You won't convince me that Apple isn't trying to ride the coat-tails of popularity and press that .mp3 gets. These poor computer users that don't live the life like we do, how on earth can they expect to keep up???? If anyone has an answer i would love to hear it And if you think I am full of it you have never worked a day in the life of a tech support person we (the all knowing are definately in the minority)

    --
    ***I GOT NUTHIN***
    1. Re:Rant about Naming by bsartist · · Score: 1

      You won't convince me that Apple isn't trying to ride the coat-tails of popularity and press that .mp3 gets.

      I won't try to. All I have to say is, so what if they are?

      These poor computer users that don't live the life like we do, how on earth can they expect to keep up?

      Keep up? Keep up with what? Download an .mp4, double-click it, and up pops the Quicktime player. What is there to keep up with?

      --
      Lost: Sig, white with black letters. No collar. Reward if found!
    2. Re:Rant about Naming by eXtro · · Score: 1

      What were they supposed to name it? It's MPEG 4, so .mp4 seems appropriate, more appropriate than .mp3 was for MPEG 1, layer 3 incidentally. It's a standard that will be used by a number of companies, so calling it by a "proprietary" file extension would be inappropriate. The .mp4 extension predates Apple's adoption incidently.

    3. Re:Rant about Naming by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      These poor computer users that don't live the life like we do, how on earth can they expect to keep up???? If anyone has an answer i would love to hear it And if you think I am full of it you have never worked a day in the life of a tech support person we (the all knowing are definately in the minority)

      Personally, I think the MP4 file naming convention is possibly better than what's being used for existing MPEG-4 content used on the predominantly Windows players. Getting people to understand that they need a new codec to play an avi file because it's actually an MPEG-4 file is probably more confusing than saying they need a player for MP4 files, especially if they got in on MP3 before all of the players supported it as a format.

    4. Re:Rant about Naming by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My in-law told me MP4s are fantastic! I'm gonna upgrade my Geforce3 to a Geforce4 ASAP now! yay!

    5. Re:Rant about Naming by blibbler · · Score: 1

      I conccur. But beyond that, what else _can_ they call it?
      MPEG1 had .mpg, even MPEG2 doesn't have a general extension (except perhaps .mpg too) some mpeg extensions that I have encountered recently include:
      m1v (mpeg1 video)
      m1a (mpeg1 audio)
      m2v (mpeg2 video)
      m2a (mpeg2 audio)
      mpv (I saw it as an mpeg2 video, but I am sure that it could also be a mpeg1 video)
      not to mention .vob

      I am sure that there are plenty more where those came from... So what could mpeg4 use?

      m4v? sounds like it is just the video.. remember, unlike any preivous mpeg format, the .mp4 format is very very broad, and can handle lots of different types of media.
      mg4? 4mg? they are all kinda dumb.

      I am sure that .mp4 will create some confusion, but it is the only sensible option.

      Blibbler

    6. Re:Rant about Naming by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Do a search on Google for mp4 what do you get? Now look on the page for how many times Apple or QuickTime appear... 0. Seems to me Apple isn't the one rushing to name MPEG-4 mp4.

      So what do you have to say for yourself.

    7. Re:Rant about Naming by damiam · · Score: 1

      How about .mpeg4?

      --
      It's hard to be religious when certain people are never incinerated by bolts of lightning.
  11. Why this matters, especially to *nix folks by frankie · · Score: 5, Informative
    Quoted blatantly from Apple's site:
    MPEG-4 File Format (.mp4): Since the QuickTime file format is at the foundation of MPEG-4, QuickTime 6 supports .mp4 files as first-class citizens. So with QuickTime 6, you can author professional-quality, ISO-compliant MPEG-4 audio and video files that can be played back not only by QuickTime 6, but by any other MPEG-4-compliant player. Learn more about MPEG-4.


    In other words, this has the ability to kill all the crap about "you need FOO player to see this video".
    1. Re:Why this matters, especially to *nix folks by Lysander+Luddite · · Score: 2

      Unless of course the video is in Real or WiMP format.

    2. Re:Why this matters, especially to *nix folks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No it doesn't. You still need Real to play .ra files and WMP for .wmas. This fixes nothing for UNIX. Quicktime was available for Linux before QT6, and it still will be with QT6.

    3. Re:Why this matters, especially to *nix folks by jonabbey · · Score: 2

      In other words, this has the ability to kill all the crap about "you need FOO player to see this video".

      Would that this were so, but the only thing that MPEG-4 took from Quicktime is the media wrapper, IIRC. The extremely low-bit-rate, high compression codec wasn't Apple's.

      The fact that Apple's QuickTime 6 tools can produce MPEG-4 files doesn't mean that Apple is going to put its proprietary Sorenson codecs to bed, and as long as those codecs are used, the files won't be viewable on Linux without some sort of emulator or convertor.

    4. Re:Why this matters, especially to *nix folks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh yeah, and UNIX also does not benefit from QT6 because of all the already existing Sorenson encoded QuickTime files and streams, which continue to require Windows or Mac.

    5. Re:Why this matters, especially to *nix folks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      In other words, this has the ability to kill all the crap about "you need FOO player to see this video".

      Sure it does. And pigs will fly over the skies, and hell freezes over.

      The MPEG-4 file format is just a wrapper. The video and audio is still encoded by some codec. In the case of Apple, it is the Sorenson codec that has no player for UNIX architectures (you can have some luck with WINE, although flawless performance seems only to come by paying for Crossover).

      The problem with playability NEVER came from file formats - it ALWAYS came from patent protected codecs. The patents in question have over a decade before expiration, so it seems likely there will never be a UNIX player for Quicktime movies made with the Sorenson codec.

      The ball is entirely in Apple's court too - they have exclusive licensing rights over the patents in question.

    6. Re:Why this matters, especially to *nix folks by frankie · · Score: 2
      just a wrapper. The video and audio is still encoded by some codec. In the case of Apple, it is the Sorenson codec

      That would be correct, except for this little tidbit:

      Apple developed its own ISO-compliant MPEG-4 video codec to provide the highest quality results across a wide spectrum of data rates - from narrowband to broadband and beyond. This revolutionary codec offers compression times and video quality that rival those of the best proprietary codecs available, yet it provides true interoperability with other MPEG-4 players and devices.

      Yes, *nix players will still be locked out if content producers choose to use Sorenson. But now Apple is saying that there's a decent alternative.

      Has anyone done side-by-side tests of Sorenson/Apple MP4/Divx/etc?

    7. Re:Why this matters, especially to *nix folks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The idea is that Real and Microsoft will join Apple and obsolete their proprietary codecs and file formats.

      Just like MPEG-2 obsoleted the early proprietary formats from MS and Apple - harhar. There's going to be something proprietary and better out in about 5 minutes.

    8. Re:Why this matters, especially to *nix folks by TellarHK · · Score: 2

      Hrm. Maybe someone in the Open Source community ought to take a cue from this kind of thing and propose a new kind of media playback method. Codec-included video. Considering video files are just friggin' huge, it wouldn't hurt at all to embed 1-200K of codec information at the beginning of every file. Maybe this is the kind of standard that needs to be brought into existence in order to help avoid problems with backwards compatibility in the future as well.

      The way I figure it, design a player system that loads codecs from the data file/stream, as well as having the basics included in it. This way you get the flexibility of the player you need, Open Sourced and you can still have proprietary decoding mechanisms that'll play on any system with the player.

      Encode it with commercial software, or Open Source if you want, and it'll play on anything.

      Sounds logical to me.

    9. Re:Why this matters, especially to *nix folks by benwaggoner · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Er? Not even close.

      MPEG-4 uses a Profile@Level structure, which strictly defines what codecs and parameters a given file can use. For example, QuickTime can export a compliant ISMA Profile 1 MPEG-1 file. This mandates the MPEG-4 Advanced Simple Video codec, either ACELP or AAC audio, maximum 352x288 resolution, and certain data rate limits.

      ANY MPEG-4 player which claims to be ISMA compliant needs to be able to play this file, and QuickTime needs to be able to play an ISMA compatible MPEG-4 file created by a different vendor.

      The whole point of MPEG-4 is interoperability - if that doesn't work, than the technology won't either.

      For the Linux crowd, this means a MPEG-4 file will be as easy to play as a MPEG-1 is today, but with much, much improved quality at a given data rate, and support for real-time streaming. You can stop yelling at Apple about porting QuickTime, since you'll just use someone else's MPEG-4 player with their content, and it'll just work.

      The risk is that support for Profile@Level combinations will vary. Certainly, a lot of cell phones use ISMA Profile 0, which means 176x144 maximum resolution, the Simple instead of Advanced Simple codec, etcetera. And there are more advanced codecs coming down the pike that improve quality, but won't work with today's ISMA profiles.

      But hey, nothing that folks who deal with RPMs all day don't know about.

    10. Re:Why this matters, especially to *nix folks by daviddennis · · Score: 2

      I thought a codec was a program which did encoding and decoding, so it would have to be compatible with the host operating system, different for each computing platform.

      So much for a cross-platform player :-(.

      Or am I missing something?

      D

    11. Re:Why this matters, especially to *nix folks by bsartist · · Score: 1

      The way I figure it, design a player system that loads codecs from the data file/stream

      ...and within a week, there will be a Star Wars trailer circulating around the 'net with a virus "codec" embedded in it.

      --
      Lost: Sig, white with black letters. No collar. Reward if found!
    12. Re:Why this matters, especially to *nix folks by tricorn · · Score: 1

      And that codec would be written in what, Java bytecode? C source? IA-64? IA-32? 68K? Alpha? PPC? Sparc? MIPS? ARM? Z80? 6502? PDP-11? Cyber? 4004? C# bytecode? Lisp? Tcl? Guile? I know, just send them all!

    13. Re:Why this matters, especially to *nix folks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ANY MPEG-4 player which claims to be ISMA compliant needs to be able to play this file, and QuickTime needs to be able to play an ISMA compatible MPEG-4 file created by a different vendor.

      Look - this is just doublespeak, and end-runs around the truth. The truth is that Microsoft and REAL are not committed to MPEG-4, and that MPEG-4 is bound up by a few dozen patents covering just about anything you can think of related to streaming video and motion compensation. They haven't decided yet how to make money off it (probably a per-use streaming fee on streaming video), but they will. And, because they have patents behind them, they can decide to change their business plan whenever they like.

      This is not some new panacea. MPEG-4 players will be able to play any ISMA compliant MPEG-4 video, but that doesn't mean it will be broadly used, or that players will exist on multiple platforms. The technology is still patent protected and intended to generate a revenue stream, and not backed by the largest video streaming producers on the web (Microsoft and REAL). Apple has already shown a strong reluctance to even allow viable video playing on linux by no porting or allowing a port of Quicktime. It seems really unlikely they will change their tune now.

      I think the reality is that MPEG-4 will become like the next generation Quicktime, and that MPEG-4 ISMA compliance is just a clever marketing ploy. Until a truly open and royalty free streaming alternative exists, Apple will screw open source users when it comes to multimedia playback.

    14. Re:Why this matters, especially to *nix folks by jafuser · · Score: 2

      This could be possible with a generalized instruction set or virtual machine, however then our data files could be more prone to hosting viruii :)

      --
      Please consider making an automatic monthly recurring donation to the EFF
    15. Re:Why this matters, especially to *nix folks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Unless of course the video is in Real or WiMP format.
      Gah, how many times do people have to be told? MPlayer will now support nearly all Windows Media Files, and can even communicate with mms:// servers to download them.

    16. Re:Why this matters, especially to *nix folks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, *nix players will still be locked out if content producers choose to use Sorenson. But now Apple is saying that there's a decent alternative.

      Has anyone done side-by-side tests of Sorenson/Apple MP4/Divx/etc?


      It won't matter. If you thought Sorenson codec patents were a problem, meet MPEG-4. There are literally dozens of shared patents from MPEG-4 corporations - exluding Microsoft and REAL who haven't gotten on board yet. And may never get on board.

      Whether there will be a linux player for MPEG-4 is pie in the sky. The file format is open and readable, but decoding the contents WILL require patent licensing. Whether Apple will allow a native linux player is kinda like asking whether Apple will allow a player that uses Sorenson. I am not holding my breath.

    17. Re:Why this matters, especially to *nix folks by daviddennis · · Score: 2

      Every virtual machine I know of is turtle slow, and it strikes me that high-speed performance is just about the most important thing about a codec. No joy for the virtual machine, then.

      You're right about virii, though, although a sandbox limiting functionality might be able to control that problem, and of course using binary code would make things even worse, as MS has found with ActiveX.

      D

    18. Re:Why this matters, especially to *nix folks by SideshowBob · · Score: 2

      MPEG-4 includes a video codec, and any system which purports to support MPEG-4 support had better be able to decode the standard codec bitstream.

      Ergo, no, the .mp4 files should be just as standard as .mpg and .mp2 files.

    19. Re:Why this matters, especially to *nix folks by P.+Legba · · Score: 1

      The problem with playability NEVER came from file formats - it ALWAYS came from patent protected codecs. The patents in question have over a decade before expiration, so it seems likely there will never be a UNIX player for Quicktime movies made with the Sorenson codec.

      The ball is entirely in Apple's court too - they have exclusive licensing rights over the patents in question.


      And if Apple relinquished its exclusive claim to those rights, you'd still need to depend upon Sorenson to license its IP to someone else. Don't think they won't charge for that...someone is going to own the top-notch codecs until the open source world gets off its ass and develops the top-notch codecs itself. Ogg Vorbis is promising for audio...that's what I mean.

      Do it yourself, instead of whining because someone owns what you want.

      P.

    20. Re:Why this matters, especially to *nix folks by BitGeek · · Score: 2

      The fact that Apple's QuickTime 6 tools can produce MPEG-4 files doesn't mean that Apple is going to put its proprietary Sorenson codecs to bed

      Right. Its hte fact that the MP4 video codec is really superior thats going to put the Sorenson codec to bed.

      Remember, the Sorenson codec isn't Apples "proprietaryness"! ITs a shame that all this hatred goes Apples way for licensing someone elses codec and giving it away for free! That's silly!

      Quicktime has always, from the beginning, supported multiple codecs. As a content producer, you could create content in any codec you wanted and ship it, and if Quicktime didn't come natively with that codec, you could have licensed it to Apple and they would have shipped it. IT ships with a grab bag of codecs and always has-- leaving it up to the content producer which codec they would use, and attempting to support all the codecs they could for consumers.

      The reason Sorenson was so popular was that the content producers CHOSE IT, not because Apple "made" anyone use it!

      MPEG4, however, has better licensing terms (its just as proprietary as Sorenson! Exactly as "proprietary to Apple").

      Yet, notice that Apple has threatened to withhold its support for MPEG4 unless these licensing issues are resolved-- and as the largest supplier of consumer playback software in the world, Apple's throwing a lot of weight around (100M Quicktime shipped last year compared ot 90M for Real)

      So, once again, Apple fights the good fight, and you guys bash them.

      --
      Yeah, and you guys panned the ipod too: http://apple.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=01/10/23/ 1816257
    21. Re:Why this matters, especially to *nix folks by BitGeek · · Score: 2

      Look - this is just doublespeak, and end-runs around the truth. The truth is that Microsoft and REAL are not committed to MPEG-4,

      Is this why Real has licensed MPEG4 and is a member of the IMSA? (A major MPEG4 streaming group.)

      They haven't decided yet how to make money off it (probably a per-use streaming fee on streaming video), but they will. And, because they have patents behind them, they can decide to change their business plan whenever they like.

      Of course this isn't true. Once the licensing terms are set, they can't change them. That's part of the standardization process.

      --
      Yeah, and you guys panned the ipod too: http://apple.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=01/10/23/ 1816257
    22. Re:Why this matters, especially to *nix folks by BitGeek · · Score: 2

      Whether Apple will allow a native linux player is kinda like asking whether Apple will allow a player that uses Sorenson.

      This is just plain bigotry on your part.

      First off, Apple doesn't own the patents on the MPEG4 video stream. Apple does own the Quicktime file format, and that they have opened.

      so as far as technology Apple does own, they have opened it widely on free licensing terms. So your position is proven false.

      As to the video codecs, which Apple, AGAIN, does not own, Apple has been throwing its weight around to get better licensing-- the current scheme calls for a 2 cents per hour streaming content fee if you serve an MP4 video stream. Apple has threatened not to ship QT6 with MP4 if this cost is in the final license... and has had QT6 complete for 3 months waiting for this to be resolved.

      So, in fact, Apple is doing the opposite of what you claim. Why the bigotry?

      --
      Yeah, and you guys panned the ipod too: http://apple.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=01/10/23/ 1816257
    23. Re:Why this matters, especially to *nix folks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is just plain bigotry on your part.

      Why ? Apple has exclusive licensing rights to Sorenson codecs used in Quicktime and make them the default of their movie creation software. Yet I cannot play these same videos using a native linux player b/c Apple will not allow it.

      Plain and simple. This is obviously an intentional move by Apple to hurt linux's chances as a desktop operating system.

      Now we have the MPEG-4 group, led by Apple, and backed by patents they and others have. I would only assume that Apple will maintain their stance that linux will not be allowed a native player.

      And before you go getting all high and mighty about how nice it is that Apple opens their file formats, consider how irrelevant it is to the bottom line. The money, the research, and the patents, are in the codecs right now. Neither Apple nor Microsoft nor REAL offers any decent open free codecs, although dozens exist on the web sites of academics doing research on wavelets and video motion compensation. A free open solution exists, but no one will even allow it to ship.

      This is quite simply the MPEG-4 group positioning themselves to rip off consumers for decades to come. And the bottom line is that online streaming video will continue to be fragmented, poorly decoded, and poorly supported.

      Yeah MPEG-4 group - our saviors !!!

    24. Re:Why this matters, especially to *nix folks by Lysander+Luddite · · Score: 2

      Hey, great. Guess what? I don't use MPlayer. I use Macs. I can't even get WiMP for Mac to install due to their crappy install script. Nevertheless, MS has specifically stated in the same article IIRC that their next generation Corona media will NOT play on the Mac. Will MPlayer play that?

  12. It's simple, really. by tswinzig · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I also wonder why MPEG-4 is ".mp4". ".mp3" isn't for MPEG-3, after all.

    That's because geeks at some hoighty-toighty European institute created the MPEG-2 Layer 3 format and file extension, while Steve Jobs wrote Quicktime 6 and it's file extension, all by himself, "out of one, solid block of wood."

    Or it could be because .mp4 for MPEG-4 makes much more sense than .mp3 for MPEG-2 Layer 3, in hindsight. (How many .mp2 files do you have laying around?)

    --

    "And like that ... he's gone."
    1. Re:It's simple, really. by 13Echo · · Score: 1

      You mean MPEG-1 Layer 3?

      For that reason, there is not MPEG-3, and we jumped directly to MPEG-4.

    2. Re:It's simple, really. by lfourrier · · Score: 1

      How many .mp2 files do you have laying around?
      I have some. it is a little less quality than layer 3, but it is in the VCD standard. And, with them, you can have an audio VCD playable on quite every DVD player with a longer playing time that a regular audio cd.

      .MP4 is, in my opinion, a vestigal remnant of an old operating system (or sold as such) where filename were in 8+3.
      Obviously, such a shame of an OS should be forgotten by now.

    3. Re:It's simple, really. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      .MP4 is, in my opinion, a vestigal remnant of an old operating system (or sold as such) where filename were in 8+3.
      Obviously, such a shame of an OS should be forgotten by now.


      Both Windows and OS X use 3 character file extensions as one (of a couple) method for determining file type. Considering that the player was only built for these systems, it makes sense to have it create files with a 3 character extension.

    4. Re:It's simple, really. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Neither Windows nor OS X are limited to 3 character extensions.

    5. Re:It's simple, really. by medscaper · · Score: 0, Troll

      What the hell does Quicktime 6 have to do with MPEG-4? No offense, but MPEG-4 has been around a lot longer than Apple has been in the mix. They've jumped on the MPEG-4 standard bandwagon at the "last minute" for licensing fears, and now that's their big selling point for QT6. They act like they invented it.

      And people are starting to beLIEVE they invented it. That's the scary part.

      --
      Any sufficiently well-organized Government is indistinguishable from bullshit.
    6. Re:It's simple, really. by benwaggoner · · Score: 2

      I have have plenty of .mp2 files lying around, downloaded from the paleolithic music web site Addicted to Noise, back before MP3 took off. .mp2 files are normally MPEG-1 Layer II audio, like used in most MPEG-1 files.

      I've also seen some MPEG-2 video files using that extension as well.

      Three characters really aren't enough for meaningful extensions, eh?

    7. Re:It's simple, really. by gid · · Score: 1

      [gid@pimpbot:~] locate .mp2 |wc -l
      3

      Heh.... it does make a whole lot more sense to name mpeg4 files .mp4, end users don't really care what the compression scheme is anyway, they just wanna play em, so as long as everyone uses .mp4 things will be fine. I just hope we don't see crap like .mp4, .mpg4, .mpeg4, etc.

      On the other hand, I kinda like like the mpeg2 file extentions that people have been using, they're much more descriptive.

      .m2v mpeg 2 video
      .m2a mpeg 2 audio (haven't seen this, but it makes sense)

      That way you can tell a little more about the file than just, "it's media".

      On the other hand, if everything is .mp4 then we only have to register one file extention. :)

    8. Re:It's simple, really. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      wasn't the quicktime file format (or somesuch) used in the development of the mpeg-4 standards?

    9. Re:It's simple, really. by extra88 · · Score: 2

      Now I really have to question your claim that "your" company has had an end-to-end MPEG4 system for a year. First you don't name the company and just say "search Google." Now you claim that Apple has come into MPEG4 late which just isn't so. The MPEG-4 file format is based on QuickTime's file format which was decided at least 3 years ago.

      MPEG-4 Overview from the MPEG working group

      "The file format is designed to be independent of any particular delivery protocol while enabling efficient support for delivery in general. The design is based on the QuickTime® format from Apple Computer Inc."

    10. Re:It's simple, really. by delus10n0 · · Score: 1

      Most MP3's out there are MPEG 1.0, Layer 3, not MPEG 2.0, Layer 3.

      --
      Not All Who Wander Are Lost
  13. Animated Reply Movie by QuonsetTheHut · · Score: 5, Funny

    [Extremely relevant multimedia reply - Requires Slashdot Pro to read. Please submit your Visa number....]

    --
    "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly"
  14. Other Big News: eMac by SpamJunkie · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Of course the other big news is that the eMac is now available to everyone, not just education customers. The price isn't that bad - really good for a G4 system actually.

    I still wish it was possible to get a geforce4 MX and a DVD drive (read: not a combo drive) but otherwise the eMac is exactly what I want. I think I'll be getting one too, and soon.

    1. Re:Other Big News: eMac by Bob+McCown · · Score: 5, Funny
      Of course the other big news is that the eMac is now available to everyone

      Yea, but I'm a vi kind of guy...

    2. Re:Other Big News: eMac by rufo · · Score: 1

      You mean the viMac?

      --
      My English teacher once told me that two positives don't make a negative. Two words for her: Yeah, right.
    3. Re:Other Big News: eMac by dumpster_d · · Score: 1

      Yea, but I'm a vi kind of guy...

      Then QuickTime VI is player for you!

      !rimshot

  15. Time to Encode my new videos for QT6! by thedanceman · · Score: 1

    Time to rid my site of Micro$oft asf files!

    1. Re:Time to Encode my new videos for QT6! by Servo5678 · · Score: 1
      Please consider all of us out there who, like myself, have Win98 machines that choke on QT for some reason.

      Spare the ASFs! Won't someone please think of the QT-impaired!

    2. Re:Time to Encode my new videos for QT6! by tomdarch · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Frankly, why care? You chose Win98 knowing that it is insecure and buggy. MacOS users get little sympathy when they ask for kindness because of limited availability of apps caused (supposedly) by their small market share. If you can afford to pay M$FT, you can afford to deal with this problem. Actually, maybe you should get yourself a Mac! Now with ROOT!

    3. Re:Time to Encode my new videos for QT6! by Servo5678 · · Score: 1
      Not everyone has money to kick around on new hardware and OSes (Yes, yes, Linux is free yadda yadda yadda). I stick with Win98 because I already have it, it's paid for, and even with all its flaws it's stable (that's right, no crashes in a long time).

      Frankly, it just bugs me when something new comes out and everyone converts to the new system right away, leaving everyone who can't handle the upgrade out of luck.

      Do unto other users as you'd have them do unto you, right?

    4. Re:Time to Encode my new videos for QT6! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My machine at work (typing from now) is Win98 (entire office except for the NT 4.0 file server). It crashes every day, although it usually is due to MS Office, specifically Outlook.

      My machine at home is Mandrake 8.2, and is not so stable, for linux. It has only been up for 23 or 24 days now.

      Besides, for little money you could have a new peecee. A new mac? Not likely.

      The problem with using Win98 is this; it is next on the list of "no longer supported" OS's from Microsoft. That bothers me.

      My Mandrake machine? Compile a new kernel (thanks for the help Rob), and I am good to go. Now, if I can get a better handle on wget and urpmi, I could have kde 3.

      QuickTime is nice, and so is Crossover.

  16. Someone has to say it.... by delphi125 · · Score: 0, Offtopic
    Instant-On: Instant-On means instant gratification for broadband users.

    Euuw! Oh well, a dirty mind is a joy forever.

  17. .mpeg4 by distributed.karma · · Score: 1
    What about .mpeg4? It's not like these files will be used on systems with 8.3 character filenames.

    Hmm, come to think of it, they did mention Windows where the file type is determined from its 3-character suffix... :-/

    --

    --
    If you moderate this, then your children will be next.

  18. Kudos to trolltech by stud9920 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Now Qt 6 is released, the KDE team can start working on KDE 6 !

  19. mp4 by yawnmoth · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I also wonder why MPEG-4 is ".mp4". ".mp3" isn't for MPEG-3, after all.

    this is nothing new. The people over at DivXNetworks have been using the mp4 extionsion for mpeg-4 for just about as long as they've been around. it has less restrictions than the avi file format does.

    I just wonder if they are as "ISO compliant" as Apple's gonna be, heh.

    1. Re:mp4 by blibbler · · Score: 1

      DivX networks have only recently addopted .mp4 ... Its standard output is not .mp4 compliant though. I think that it can output true mpeg4 video, but it does not do it by default.

      Blibbler

  20. Did you mean: flummery ? by Pauly · · Score: 5, Funny

    Flummory!

    Hey Pudge, did you mean flummery?

    flummery (flm-r) n. pl. flummeries

    1. Meaningless or deceptive language; humbug.
      1. Any of several soft, sweet, bland foods, such as custard.
      2. A sweet gelatinous pudding made by straining boiled oatmeal or flour.
      3. A soft dessert of stewed, thickened fruit, often mixed with a grain such as rice.

    I'm pretty sure you did...

    1. Re:Did you mean: flummery ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      oh shut up.

  21. Disappointing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    As a mac user, i'm glad they FINALLY let this thing out the door.. however, i am saddened they appear to be backing down on their claim they would not release MPEG-4 support until the per-play licensing bullshit was dropped.

    Too bad, since apple is one of maybe two groups in the entire world capable of putting pressure on the ivory tower of the MPEG-4 patent holders.. and i was *REALLY, REALLY* looking forward to using MPEG-4, since i really hate divx. But, it looks now like we won't get to see .mp4s all over those file sharing services, and divx will continue to slowly take over as the average man's codec of choice..

    Why the hell did the MPEG4 people have to go and kill their own format this way??

    1. Re:Disappointing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I like Divx
      I can play it on linux
      divx has a divx player for it!

  22. Re:EVEN AC'S CAN GET FIRST POSTS ON TROLL TUESDAY! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Weird! h0wd joo do that?

  23. I'm person ~4 to say "MP3 = MPEG-1 Layer III" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    [No one else put it in the Subject. I figured I'd put it there to say people the effort of reading any of these actual comments...]

  24. CrossOver by xanadu-xtroot.com · · Score: 5, Informative

    Hey! It appears to work fine with CodeWeaver's CrossOver Plugin for Linux.

    I just installed and ran it.

    --
    I'm not a prophet or a stone-age man,
    I'm just a mortal with potential of a super man.
    1. Re:CrossOver by Conspire · · Score: 1

      You know, that is GREAT that it will run under Code Weaver's CrossOver Plugin, and just goes to show how utterly stupid Apple's business model is. I mean, they are in a great position to launch a great media player for linux, which could actually help turn some linux users over to OS X.

      But instead they are just plain Steve Jobs clones, fixed forever on their hardware / OS mix and still under the thumb of Microsoft Office and IE support promises. Get a life Steve, you are way too poor an actor to even be Bill's puppet, as we all see through it all.

      --
      Real men don't need signitures!!!
    2. Re:CrossOver by Che+Guevarra · · Score: 1



      You know, that is GREAT that it will run under Code Weaver's CrossOver Plugin, and just goes to show how utterly stupid Apple's business model is. I mean, they are in a great position to launch a great media player for linux, which could actually help turn some linux users over to OS X.

      Why would developing a media player for Linux move Linux users to OSX? If the desperate desire for a quality media player is a factor, then they should already be looking at OSX as it offers a great one.

      But instead they are just plain Steve Jobs clones, fixed forever on their hardware / OS mix and still under the thumb of Microsoft Office and IE support promises.

      I can tell by your frustration at the lack of quality media players and MS compatibility in office suites for your OS that you'd kill to be under that thumb.

      Get a life Steve, you are way too poor an actor to even be Bill's puppet, as we all see through it all.

      Thanks alot. Steve is a very nice but often misunderstood man and now it's going to take us an hour to talk him out from under his desk.

    3. Re:CrossOver by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think I'll be ready for Linux zealots to tell me about business models when they can find one of their own... and after I slam my head in a door a dozen or so times.

    4. Re:CrossOver by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Slam your head in the door three dozen times, just so we'll have one less anti-Linux crank to worry about. Thanks!

    5. Re:CrossOver by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Business model? Easy.

      1. Knock off Microsoft and achieve monopoly market share so that you can sell operating system licenses to a captive market.
      2. Rake in license revenue
      3. Profit!

      That is, after all, the only known workable model for making money with a desktop OS. And no one other than Microsoft (or Apple on Mac hardware) has ever done it. OS/2 certainly didn't, and they had a perfectly conventional business model.

    6. Re:CrossOver by sirtimbly · · Score: 1

      Are we all missing the point that Linux, at its heart, isn't meant for making money. You don't make money by selling Linux, you make money by using Linux in your existing business. The very realm that Linux exists in is more socialist than capitalist, that's what's so captivating about it.

      --
      Sir Timbly of Cannatuna, offical Knight of the Heptagonal Table
  25. A little dissappointment in a great improvement by DarkVein · · Score: 3, Informative

    This is great. Quicktime should now be able to play XviD and DivX video. XviD especially. That's nice.

    I was really hoping Apple would move more towards Free formats, however. AAC has good quality, but it's a nightmare of licensing restrictions. It looks like I'll still have to go to the QuickTime Components Project for Ogg Vorbis and exa-mozilla MNG support. All of my music is in Vorbis, and my movies convereted to OGM from AVI and MOV containers. OGM is a really nice container. No sync or seek problems at all. You can embed XML streams, for whatever purpose you'd like.

    Even more importantly, QuickTime still doesn't have a lossless audio compression codec. Some FLAC would be nice. It really looks like FLAC might be moving closer to the Ogg project.

    I mean, hey, unless Apple is going to make a car stereo system, this is probably the best component to plug into an OS X "digital hub." It does FLAC, with the new firmware.

    Still, the ability to play XviD (valid MPEG-4 video) is a great step in the right direction. Kudos.

    --

    I'm as mimsy as the next borogove but your mome raths are completely outgrabe.

    1. Re:A little dissappointment in a great improvement by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What's the point of converting files from AVI to OGM? Garbage-In-Garbage-Out.

      I would like to see a comparision between OGM and the (open-spec) QT format though. Anything's better than AVI, but I haven't quite figured out why there needs to be a new format.

    2. Re:A little dissappointment in a great improvement by Vince · · Score: 1

      FLAC is a documented codec, Ogg isn't. I'd say Ogg is still trying to move towards FLAC.

  26. Is pudge a fat homo? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A name like pudge, must be a fat pasty faggot. A real lard ass with pimples.

  27. Divx 5's .mp4 doesn't seem to work by spotter · · Score: 2

    so I figured that I would try to see if we could get Divx 5 to work in QuickTime now, as both claim to be ISO compliant.

    well, first I had to use virtual dub to remove the audio from my Shawshank rip (Divx 5's avi->mp4 convertor doesn't seem to like files with audio) then I was able to convert it to mp4. However, when "run" in quicktime it gets the timing correct, but doesn't display anything (much like audio playing) it doesn't even display a blank window of correct size like it does with avi's it doesn't know the codec for.

    oh well.

    1. Re:Divx 5's .mp4 doesn't seem to work by CynicTheHedgehog · · Score: 2

      I've been trying like hell this weekend to get some of my divx files to play on my new iBook. By and large the most prevalent problem is seeing a correctly timed video stream, but having the audio cut off a few seconds in. I think this is because the audio stream is encoded using veriable bit rate MP3, which QT can't handle. The best solution I've found is to run the divx files through DivX Doctor (available at VersionTracker) and using the 3ivx codec (also available at VersionTracker) to play them. You can set up DivX doctor to be the default application for running, say, .divx or .avi files and have it automatically play them in QuickTime when it's done doing it's magic. Works pretty well, other than the 30 second processing time up front.

    2. Re:Divx 5's .mp4 doesn't seem to work by CynicTheHedgehog · · Score: 2

      Oh, forgot to mention: QT6b doesn't work any better than QT5 did, so I'm back with DivX Doctor and 3ivx for now.

    3. Re:Divx 5's .mp4 doesn't seem to work by frankie · · Score: 3, Informative
      get Divx 5 to work in QuickTime now, as both claim to be ISO compliant.

      Yet Another Quote from Apple:

      Other technologies that report to be MPEG-4 compliant, yet are not contained in an .mp4 file, will not interoperate with QuickTime 6 or other MPEG-4 players. Divx and MPEG-4 from Microsoft are common examples.

      Divx might be a valid MPEG-4 codec, but they apparently don't use the MPEG-4 file format.

    4. Re:Divx 5's .mp4 doesn't seem to work by benwaggoner · · Score: 2

      A .Divx file made by Divx 5.xis structurally an AVI file, with MPEG-4 Simple or Advanced Simple video and normally MP3 audio.

      QuickTime 6 knows how to read AVI files, MPEG-4 video, and MP3 audio, so hopefully it could play the file. I'll check once it's downloaded and installed.

      Note earlier versions of Divx were based on proprietary Microsoft binaries, so those wouldn't ever run under QuickTime.

      Divx 5.0.2 does have a command-line option to make a .mp4 file. However, I don't think it knows how to make MPEG-4 audio (either AAC or CELP).

    5. Re:Divx 5's .mp4 doesn't seem to work by bnenning · · Score: 2

      Another alternative for Mac OS X is vlc. It seems to play most DivX files unmodified, and as a bonus also plays DVDs without the screen capture restrictions that Apple was forced to build into their player.

      --
      How to solve most of our problems: 1.Lots of nuclear plants. 2.Cure aging.
    6. Re:Divx 5's .mp4 doesn't seem to work by frankie · · Score: 2

      Actually, Quicktime supports VBR as of version 4.1 or higher.

    7. Re:Divx 5's .mp4 doesn't seem to work by spotter · · Score: 2

      Divx 5 has the capablity to make mp4s (hence the subject line). It's no wonder that the .avi didn't work, but one might have thought that the mp4 would have worked.

    8. Re:Divx 5's .mp4 doesn't seem to work by LordRPI · · Score: 1

      From the Mac DivX Lord at the DivX.com forums... It's funny though, DivX .mp4 files play on most Media Players for Windows. Other than that, a filehandler for QT6 would not be too difficult to create...

    9. Re:Divx 5's .mp4 doesn't seem to work by robertchin · · Score: 2

      VBR yes, but it does not support VBR MP3s when they exist inside of AVIs. It's been a long time bug that apple never fixed.

  28. Not to mention... by artemis67 · · Score: 2

    that comercially mass-marketed consumer-level software, by and large, has yet to really succeed in Linux. Loki Games just recent went belly up, and Quake III for Linux was a giant sucking hole on id's cash flow statement.

    Considering that Apple's marketing plan for QT is to give away the base player for free and hope that a small percentage of those users will pay for registration, is there really any hope that they can recover their investment on the Linux side?

  29. Will it run on by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    BSD? As in Net/Free/OpenBSD?

    1. Re:Will it run on by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, it will not run on superior operating systems.

  30. Please ignore this plug. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I guess they'll really be able to use that at Coastal Creative.

  31. Really needed? by Isldeur · · Score: 1, Troll


    You know, I wonder if this really matters. I've recently discovered mencoder (part of mplayer) and it's libavcodec. It's absolutely amazing. I can compress ~5G mpeg to about 1.5G without really any loss in quality. Does QT add anything except compatibility with a popular format? If you're encoding on your own, try mencoder

  32. MP4 - why? by Bigboote66 · · Score: 1

    Please excuse my ignorance in advance, but why bother with 3 character extensions - would it kill anyone to call it .mpeg4? Are there even browsers out there that only support 3CE's? I'm sure that nobody's writing any 16 bit editors/players for this format, so why worry about backwards compatibility to Win3.1?

    -BbT

    1. Re:MP4 - why? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Because it's easier to type? .mp4? .mpeg4? Who cares.

  33. mpeg-4 by simpl3x · · Score: 2, Interesting

    i believe that this is in reference to the compression quality of mpeg-4. the licensing issues have made apple quite frustrated, since qt6 will be the first mpeg-4 capable media player available. i am not sure of the number of "dvd quality" streams that qt6 can handle, but the rumors are that it will be a great media server. we'll all believe 500 streams when we see it though.

    1. Re:mpeg-4 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      since qt6 will be the first mpeg-4 capable media player available

      Guess I'd better remove my mpeg-4 codecs for WMP and the various other players I've downloaded to do comparisons with the mpeg-4 files I've downloaded, since QT6 will be the first media player capable of viewing these files.

    2. Re:mpeg-4 by benwaggoner · · Score: 2

      Fast start is actually a result of better managing the buffer between the streaming server and the client. What it does is tell the player to start playing as soon as the first frame has been transmitted, instead of waiting for the usual few seconds of buffering. This only works if you have significantly more bandwidth available than the stream requires, so it won't help with modem stuff much. It works with any codec, not just MPEG-4.

      Also, RealONE already supports the Envivio plug-in for MPEG-4 playback. PacketVideo and Philips also have MPEG-4 players available.

      QuickTime 6 does represents the first mass-market MPEG-4 authoring, distribution, and playback system. This is a Good Thing.

    3. Re:mpeg-4 by frankie · · Score: 2

      mpeg-4 codecs for WMP

      Not MPEG-4 compliant. They use selected bits and pieces of draft versions of the standard, plus proprietary stuff. Kinda like the difference between MSIE6 and Mozilla.

  34. Secure format by WebMasterJoe · · Score: 2
    From Apple's site:
    While other formats and versions come and go, MPEG-4 will safeguard multimedia content for a secure future.

    My first reaction to this is, MPEG-4 will probably also come and go, unless it is the holy grail of video compression - we'll be able to improve it in the future. Secondly, it looks like they're quietly mentioning some DRM stuff being thrown in, which may or may not be a good thing.

    The Internet Media Streaming Alliance, which is apparently located in Tuvalu, has a decent, fairly trustworthy collection of "Sponsor Members," including Apple, Cisco, IBM, Philips, and Sun Microsystems. I'd much rather trust DRM technology to these companies than Microsoft, Real, the RIAA, the MPAA, Fritz Hollings, or AOL-Time-Warner-Netscape-HBO-CNN (even though that last one is a "Participant Member"). It looks as if this latest scheme will focus on quality, while quietly adding in DRM - which is the only way it's going to work in the current climate. And I think it would be acceptable to the public: If you put out a product that is superior enough in quality, consumers are willing to sacrifice some of their time-shifting and space-shifting rights. If the balance isn't quite right, then the technology will have to be adjusted. The same thing happened with DVDs and the DivX format (the Circuit City thing) - Quality was higher, and even though the average user couldn't record DVDs and retain the same quality, consumers are increasily accepting the new techology. DivX didn't balance our fair use rights properly and failed.

    I hope MPEG4 gets the balance right, so we can finally get a popularly-accepted standard for digital video. It's nice to have free video files available on P2P networks but the quality isn't there, and most of us would be willing to pay the right price to get a high-quality video file. If not, there's still regular old TV.

    --
    I really hate signatures, but go to my website.
    1. Re:Secure format by bsartist · · Score: 1

      it looks like they're quietly mentioning some DRM stuff being thrown in

      That's the second time I've heard this; they must have been very, very quiet about it, because I seem to have missed it. Where is it mentioned again?

      which may or may not be a good thing.

      I guess that would depend on whether they've separated the DRM mechanism from policy. If independent authors can set the protection bits on their own work without having to have a license to do so from some industry cartel, and if authors can also choose to allow free distribution of their work, it would be a good thing. It would put independent authors on a level playing field, as far as DRM goes, with the big studios.

      On the other hand, if a DRM mechanism is licensed under terms that basically just enforce the media cartel's policies, then it's a bad thing. In that case, DRM does nothing to protect the author's rights; it's merely another mechanism to help preserve the cartel's exclusive hold on distribution.

      In that respect, DRM is just like any other technology, from simple things like matches all the way up to nuclear power. In itself, the technology is amoral; it's up to the user to decide whether to use it for good or for evil.

      --
      Lost: Sig, white with black letters. No collar. Reward if found!
    2. Re:Secure format by WebMasterJoe · · Score: 2
      That's the second time I've heard this; they must have been very, very quiet about it, because I seem to have missed it. Where is it mentioned again?

      12th paragraph, last sentence on this page - under the section Everyone's a Winner. All they say is that it's a secure format, no real details are given. (if somebody finds any, please post them!)

      --
      I really hate signatures, but go to my website.
    3. Re:Secure format by bsartist · · Score: 1
      Here's the paragraph you pointed out to me:
      Media companies save time and resources by encoding material once for playback everywhere. No longer will content providers need to encode, host, and store media in multiple formats. Instead, a single format can reach a broad audience equipped with playback devices from not one, but a multitude of companies across a wide array of platforms. Finally, content creators have a format that will reach a global audience and will stand the test of time. While other formats and versions come and go, MPEG-4 will safeguard multimedia content for a secure future.
      There's nothing in that about DRM or copy protection. The "secure future" mentioned here is simply referring to the fact that MPEG-4 is an open standard, and thus is not vulnerable to the whims of proprietary players who want you to upgrade to their latest version.

      Not everyone who uses the word "secure" is part of a global conspiracy to undermine your fair use rights, you know. The word has other uses, too. :-)
      --
      Lost: Sig, white with black letters. No collar. Reward if found!
    4. Re:Secure format by pod · · Score: 1
      The Internet Media Streaming Alliance, which is apparently located in Tuvalu

      If you took a 10 second look at the site you'd know that they are 'apparently not' in Tuvalu. Their contact page says Mountain View, CA: http://ism-alliance.tv/html/about/contactus.shtml

      --
      "Hot lesbian witches! It's fucking genius!"
    5. Re:Secure format by WebMasterJoe · · Score: 2
      If you took a 10 second look at the site you'd know that they are 'apparently not' in Tuvalu. Their contact page says Mountain View, CA: http://ism-alliance.tv/html/about/contactus.shtml
      But if you look at their domain name, you'd see it ends in .tv, the official suffix for Tuvalu. I was being sarcastic - if their domain was .uk, wouldn't you expect them to be in the UK?

      I know they're not really located in Tuvalu - it's a small Polynesian country with no resources and only 10K or so people. Prior to the internet, their biggest revenue was letting foreign countries license their phone lines (mostly for porn I believe). In 1998, Tuvalu licensed their .tv domain since it was so desirable to those foreign people with internet access.

      The .tv domain (like Tonga's .to domain) was originally meant for citizens of that country. These bastardized domains also carry a slight stigma since it's not a .com or .net, and since they falsely represent the nationality of the company, I make sarcastic comments.

      --
      I really hate signatures, but go to my website.
  35. "out of one, solid block of wood." by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Not how it happened...

    Steve "Lobey" Jobs kidnapped "Normadaeus" Abramson and coerced him into carving Quicktime 6 "out of one solid block of wood" in order to further his own quest for world domination.

  36. Yes, but... by artemis67 · · Score: 2

    Real sells their servers while Apple gives QT Server away. Real's business model probably has the Linux server income subsidizing most or all of the expense of porting the player.

    1. Re:Yes, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And Yahoo! Pager sells advertisements, not subscriptions.

    2. Re:Yes, but... by artemis67 · · Score: 2

      And Yahoo! Pager sells advertisements, not subscriptions.

      So Apple should completely rework their QT business model just to finance a Linux player of dubious financial value?

      You have to understand though, Yahoo has a significant portion of their business in online advertising. Apple doesn't, and probably doesn't want to be in that business.

      To my knowledge, Apple has only had one foray into online advertising, and that was with the Sherlock web search utility. For whatever reason, it was short-lived; the banner ad is still there, but now it's all Apple.com ads. I'm guessing one of two things happened: a) they found that the expense in setting up an advertising department was more than the potential revenue, or b) decided that the advertising business was not the business they were in, nor did they want to be in it, which is great; they should focus on the stuff they know how to do, and leave stuff they don't know how to do to everyone else.

    3. Re:Yes, but... by astrodawg · · Score: 2, Informative

      Apple wasn't selling those ads in Sherlock. When Apple first introduced Sherlock, the search engine people were upset because people would get search results and not the ads that they depend on for revenue. So, Apple put the ads in so that the search engines could send their ads to users.

  37. That's funny... by sterno · · Score: 2

    So apple, deciding they cannot make money on it, does not realease anything for Linux. Then codeweavers releases the crossover plugin and does :). Anybody who says money can't be made selling to Linux users should take a look at how they are going about it.

    I'll admit to the fact that one of the reasons I use Linux is because I dont have to pay for it. Having said that, I have paid for a copy of the crossover plugin, and I have also paid for RedHat's little subscription up2date service. The thing that's nice about Linux, is that to get into the game, you can do it for free. If you are willing to pay you can get enhancements, increased convenience, etc. I'm not forced into it like I would be if I ran Windows.

    --
    This sig has been temporarily disconnected or is no longer in service
    1. Re:That's funny... by foobar104 · · Score: 2

      So apple, deciding they cannot make money on it, does not realease anything for Linux. Then codeweavers releases the crossover plugin and does :).

      I guess you missed the part in the middle, about third-party licensees. Apple doesn't consider QuickTime Pro licenses to be a significant revenue source. The revenue from QuickTime comes from third parties, which license QuickTime for use in their own commercial products.

      Since nobody is asking to license QuickTime for Linux for commercial use, Apple has no motivation to port QuickTime to Linux.

      Ta-da.

  38. Brushed Metal Hell by Dan+Crash · · Score: 1, Troll

    Before I install anything Quicktime related again, Apple is going to have to win me back with a much better interface and functionality. I used to enjoy Quicktime, back when you could fullscreen videos without registering, back when the controls were usable and ergonomic, back when there wasn't a constant nag screen, back when there wasn't some overpaid designer's faux brushed metal skin cluttering up the window.

    To anyone who's installed the new beta: Have these issues been fixed at all? Since OSX, Apple has been getting things right again, and I'd love to see them make Quicktime function like it did in the past. As it is now, I even choose (gack!) RealMedia before Quicktime.

    --
    He who refuses to do arithmetic is doomed to talk nonsense.
    1. Re:Brushed Metal Hell by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      yea im with you, i wont install another copy of QT until theyve done away with that rediculous interface.

      this is the same reason i wont install realplayer anymore, for crying out loud i dont want a damn browser & tons of ads built into my player, i just want a friggin player.

      sadly enough, MS media player is still the best there is out there.

    2. Re:Brushed Metal Hell by MochaMan · · Score: 1

      Since QT5, the stupid thumbwheel knob has been gone. Same with the pullout tray that nobody knew about because it was so unintuitive. It's definitely less clunky than Windows Media Player. The brushed metal is still there, but if you can ignore that, it's perfectly fine. The Windows version doesn't have the stupid floating menubar anymore either (again, as of 5). QT4 had a horrific user interface. QT5 is better and QT6 isn't much of a change from QT5.

    3. Re:Brushed Metal Hell by stripes · · Score: 2
      some overpaid designer's faux brushed metal skin cluttering up the window

      Rumor has it in OS X 10.2 the "metal look" is available to 3rd parties (boo!), and can apparently be disabled as well (yeah!). I may not be looking forward to iChat, but I am looking forward to a metal-less iTunes!

    4. Re:Brushed Metal Hell by bsartist · · Score: 1

      I am looking forward to a metal-less iTunes!

      Not me! If iTunes won't play my Machine Head rips, I'm gonna be mighty pissed!

      --
      Lost: Sig, white with black letters. No collar. Reward if found!
  39. MPEG-4 Royalties by jwilcox154 · · Score: 0

    I Don't think MPEG-4 will be too widely used due to the fact of a PER-Minute, Per-User FEE,
    on top of a 25-cent licensing fee for each personal-use MPEG-4 encoder or decoder.

    1. Re:MPEG-4 Royalties by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Mod this parent up!

  40. Not quite... it's much worse than this. by pyite69 · · Score: 0, Flamebait


    > But Apple knows that Linux users, as a rule,
    > don't buy software. No third party would
    > license QuickTime for Linux, because they
    > couldn't make any money on their product. So
    > there's zero motivation for Apple to port
    > QuickTime to Linux.

    If it were simple dis-interest on Apple's part,
    we would have Linux support. However, Apple
    contractually will not allow Sorenson to
    release even a binary version of their codec
    to Linux developers.

    I am fairly certain that Microsoft is the
    reason - one part of their support of Apple,
    financially and by producine IE and Office,
    is that Apple must do whatever they can to
    not support Linux.

    If not actually true, then it is a chilling
    effect - Apple knows that they are dependent
    on MS completely, so they must not do anything
    to piss them off.

    1. Re:Not quite... it's much worse than this. by bsartist · · Score: 1

      Do you have any evidence to back up these claims, or are they just paranoid conspiracy theories?

      --
      Lost: Sig, white with black letters. No collar. Reward if found!
    2. Re:Not quite... it's much worse than this. by foobar104 · · Score: 2

      I am fairly certain that Microsoft is the
      reason - one part of their support of Apple,
      financially and by producine IE and Office,
      is that Apple must do whatever they can to
      not support Linux.


      This doesn't sound right. Microsoft entered into their agreement with Apple years ago, before Linux was even on anybody's radar. Doesn't sound to me like such a clause is very likely to exist.

      Even if this were true, Microsoft's agreement with Apple has expired. The field is wide open now.

  41. Why kill MPEG4 by zenyu · · Score: 2


    Why the hell did the MPEG4 people have to go and kill their own format this way??


    They probably don't care so much about computer playback of video. I think the MPEG video codecs were mostly aimed at television sets. They think of the television model where the $5 for the decoding patents pales in comparison to the cost of the hardware. The computer market is a jucy secondary market, but they don't want to canabalize the TV market. This assumes HDTV in most countries will adopt MPEG4. They are also looking at the cost of developing the technology and thinking, we don't have a plan for profiting here...

    MPEG4 is chock full of computer file formats too so if it takes off at all there will be a lot of partial MPEG4 support, and no single player that supports everything. Some will use patented tech, some not, at least with MPEG4 the competitor can pay the patent holder a royalty and try to compete.

  42. Why this will fail by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It isnt preinstalled with the largest user base. Why should I download something extra, or even worse buy something extra to watch your video content? My site uses wmv and mpeg for the windows impaired. Quicktime is irrelevent.

  43. Re:Wide Pages? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hopefully lying in a ditch somewhere

  44. Not true by pyite69 · · Score: 1


    > In other words, this has the ability to kill
    > all the crap about "you need FOO player to
    > see this video".

    Actually, this makes the situation a lot worse.
    Welcome to codec hell. MPEG4 is the Tower of
    Babel - it guarantees that unless you use
    Windows, you will never have support for the
    latest codecs. MPEG4 is a complete
    ANTI-standard.

    The only way to make something a standard is
    to limit the codecs in use. Downloadable
    codecs are a nightmare.

  45. Here is an MPEG-4 site on apple to test... by ruiner13 · · Score: 1
    If you want to test MPEG-4 compliance, go to this page: http://www.apple.com/quicktime/preview/mpeg4_galle ry/ on Apple's website.

    Curious if Linux users can get it to work! Post here if you do.

    -M

    --

    today is spelling optional day.

  46. You should have removed them long ago. by SHEENmaster · · Score: 1

    M$ formats are so %#@ing proprietary and obscure.

    --
    You can't judge a book by the way it wears its hair.
  47. Official: humans responsible for global warming by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    In stunning news the White House has officially acknowledged that the greenhouse effect is real and that the climate is warming up because of human activities!

    This piece of news, which the rest of the world has known for almost a decade already, has been suspiciously ignored by the conservative US media and the right wing Slashdot editors (where's the article!?).

    The only exception is Rush Limbaugh who hasn't been able to keep quiet. His rants, however, are well worth reading since they offer a great insight into the mind of these "money and profit come first, earth and life distant second" conservatives.

  48. First End-to-End? Yeah, right. by medscaper · · Score: 1

    I work for a company that's had an end-to-end MP4 solution on the market for over a year. Check Google.

    Get with it, Apple. Sheesh.

    --
    Any sufficiently well-organized Government is indistinguishable from bullshit.
    1. Re:First End-to-End? Yeah, right. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But is is consumer-level? I've looked at a lot of Web sites touting MPEG-4 encoders, but none of them had "buy now" or "download now" links. They all say stuff like "call us to find out how our solutions can work for you". I don't want nebulous "solutions", I want software that's cheap and easy to get. That's what Apple has delivered today.

    2. Re:First End-to-End? Yeah, right. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Whats your maket share? Why not flaunt your company and get some PR...

    3. Re:First End-to-End? Yeah, right. by adamsc · · Score: 1

      Laid-off divxnetworks employee, right?

  49. Quicktime Broadcaster, too. by greygent · · Score: 3, Informative

    While this is great news, also note that a Public Preview of Quicktime Broadcaster is out.
    This allows you to encode video (for free) for delivery to a streaming server.

    http://www.apple.com/quicktime/preview/broadcast er

  50. Good by associations... by Grip3n · · Score: 1

    Fantastic, so by "support for other technologies, such as JPEG2000, and Flash 5" I presume you mean "Quicktime will take over other formats on your computer like JPEG2000 and Flash 5 wether you like it or not". Quicktime is notorious for aggressively taking over associations, I'm dreading seeing it take over even more.

    --
    To make a pun demonstrates the highest understanding of a language
    1. Re:Good by associations... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think Real and MediaPlayer are "notorious for aggressively taking over associations" not QT...

    2. Re:Good by associations... by Warlock7 · · Score: 1

      This may have everything to do with why Real Networks still haven't ported their software to OS X. Aside from the attempts to run Quicktime files in their Flash software.

  51. About "instant-on" (Re:No-Wait Streaming) by e271828 · · Score: 5, Insightful
    All streaming players support this to some extent, you just switch the buffering time to be very low, or zero.

    "Instant-on" is not quite the same thing as setting your buffer size to zero. Typically, setting the buffer size to zero in a player means that there is no buffering for the entire duration of the program. This means that if you want to watch without interruptions, the available bandwidth between the server and you must exceed the bit rate of the stream at all times; since the encoding is at a variable bit rate, you will often see peaks in the bit rate which need really high bandwidth to sustain the stream.

    However with "instant-on", the playback begins immediately, but the buffer continues to build. This means that you need a fairly high bandwidth initially in order to start the playback and build up the buffer, but--after that initial period--the buffer prevents interruptions which would otherwise have been caused by the peak rate of the stream going beyond the available bandwidth. So "instant-on" is not the same as setting your buffer to a fixed size of zero. Now this isn't really revolutionary; to researchers in the field the question is why everyone hasn't been doing this all along.

    As an aside, the "skip protection" feature of Quicktime streaming is simply over-buffering; i.e. using the available bandwidth to build up the client buffer as much as possible instead of maintaining a fixed size buffer.

    QuickTime doesn't really have any major advantages over other technologies as far as I can tell, other than it being made by Apple and therefore given lots of marketing. Why should I choose QuickTime over Real, or Windows Media, or hell even standard MPEG?

    Quicktime streaming has an advantage to broadcasters: the server is open-source and free as in beer. You can download the latest snapshot via CVS, and contributions to the source from the public are welcome. The streaming protocols are all standards based (RTP/RTSP). Of course, you could always encode the data with a proprietary codec, but if you used an open codec, then the streams could be played back by any standards compliant player, not just Quicktime Player.

    Finally, although ideas like "skip-protection" and "instant-on" are fairly obvious to anyone who spends some time thinking about these issues, the fact remains that only Apple seems to be taking the initiative to incorporate these into its servers and clients. What new features (from a streaming perspective) have Real and Microsoft offered in the new releases of their products? While Apple does have a big marketing push, that does not take away from the fact that there is solid work going on behind the scenes.

  52. Still no MPEG-2 support :-( by berniecase · · Score: 1

    Oh, how long will I have to wait for MPEG-2 video support from Quicktime? Please tell me it'll be there come "late summer."

  53. Quicktime 6 is actually benefits Linux users by Aqua+OS+X · · Score: 2

    Remember folks, although the QuickTime player does not run on Linux, Apple is still pushing very very hard for the adoption of ISO-compliant MPEG 4 media (and other types of cross platfrom media). This means you will not have to worry about which media player you have residing on your desktop. Once these royalty issues clear up (which they may have), most media players should be supporting mpeg4 by the year's end.

    So, seriously, who cares if this media player can't run on Linux. Ya I guess being able to have the sorenson codec would be nice, but I think a lot of web developers are going to favor content which plays any place on anything. I know I will. It'll be nice not to save content in multiple formats or write dumb java scripts which check media players.

    --
    "Things are more moderner than before- bigger, and yet smaller- it's computers-- San Dimas High School football RULES!"
  54. dvd quality by chocolatetrumpet · · Score: 1

    It's DVD quality in the same vein that mp3 is cd quality.

    --
    Spoon not. Fork, or fork not. There is no spoon.
    1. Re:dvd quality by foobar104 · · Score: 2

      It's DVD quality in the same vein that mp3 is cd quality.

      Oh. You mean it's DVD quality in the sense that it's not.

      Just to clarify the point here, DVDs are encoded with MPEG-2 at variable bit rates that average between five and eight megabits per second, depending on the disc.

      A Sorensen or MPEG-4 stream encoded at between one and two megabits per second is not, and cannot be considered, "DVD quality."

    2. Re:dvd quality by BitGeek · · Score: 2

      A Sorensen or MPEG-4 stream encoded at between one and two megabits per second is not, and cannot be considered, "DVD quality."


      This statement is the logical equivilent of saying "A Yugo or Mercedies that goes 60 MPH is not , and cannot be considered "Buick Quality".

      No. MPEG4 is not "DVD Quality" Its FAR SUPERIOR to DVD. MPEG2 is pretty ugly to my eye, and an MPEG4 stream a 1megabits compared to a 5-8megabit MPEG2 stream is no comparison-- the MPEG4 looks MUCH BETTER THAN DVD QUALITY.

      Excuse me for all capsing, but sheesh, this is a new technology. Recognize that.

      --
      Yeah, and you guys panned the ipod too: http://apple.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=01/10/23/ 1816257
    3. Re:dvd quality by foobar104 · · Score: 3, Informative

      No. MPEG4 is not "DVD Quality" Its FAR SUPERIOR to DVD.

      I don't think that's really a very accurate statement, in any frame of reference.

      There exist some extremely high quality MPEG-2 encoders. Some of them are used to produce DVDs-- particularly of the Superbit variety-- and some are used to compress over-the-air HDTV. These are a far cry from the software encoders some people use to generate movies on their PCs.

      MPEG-4 is still very immature. It's impossible to fairly compare MPEG-4 encoding to MPEG-2 encoding in any meaningful way. Especially when you fail to control for data rates.

      The only remotely objective comparisons of MPEG-4 to MPEG-2 I've seen to date have taken MPEG-2 source material (usually from DVD) and re-encoded it with MPEG-4. That doesn't really tell you anything. I haven't had the time, or the gear, to take uncompressed reference material and pass it through MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 encoders. That's a test I'd like to see.

      What it sounds like you're saying is that bad MPEG-4 encoding is superior to bad MPEG-2 encoding. I won't argue with you there. But that's not sound basis for making a blanket judgment like yours.

  55. No MPEG2 by Betaman · · Score: 1

    It still can't play MPEG2 files though (at least in my OSX QT6 vers). I was hoping for at least that in the new release. MPEG2 is being used more and more at work and macs are getting passed over because of this limitation. How hard could it be to implement MPEG2?? VLC and MPlayerOSX can play MPEG2. Argh!

    1. Re:No MPEG2 by Betaman · · Score: 1

      Know what is funny I mentioned that vlc played MPEG2... now that I have installed QT6 it does not play MPEG2 video anymore. Blarg! I do hope they implement it in Jaguar that would be sweet!

    2. Re:No MPEG2 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm having the same problem! do you know if there is any way to downgrade back to QT5? I miss my svcds....

      thanks!

  56. Re: I recommend.... by Ahaldra · · Score: 2, Informative
    Hi,

    Apple will never port QuickTime to Linux in the near future, for pure political reasons. Luckily Quicktime is a fairly open standard so to everyone interested in an open and free implementation of QuickTime I strongly recommend to visit the OpenQuickTime Site on SourceForge. There are more links available there.

    So, no need to buy anything :)

    --
    Code is Speech. No to Censorship.
  57. Re: I recommend.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    UH it doesn't have the Sorenson codec which is the hole point of Running quicktime.

    Anyway just use the Crossover Plugin from codeweavers.org. It runs quite nice and helped out watching all the bootleg trailers for star wars. =)

  58. It's all about the licensing by MotownAvi · · Score: 1
    It's not because it's hard, it's because of licensing. MPEG2 costs money to license, and Apple's being cheap here.

    I was talking to a QuickTime guy at WWDC, and he said that QT6 will do MPEG2, but it will be doing it by leveraging the existing MPEG2 code in the DVD decoder. That way it can fall under the same license.

    It looks like they haven't done that work for this preview release. QT6 in Jaguar does do MPEG2, though. Hopefully the final version of QT6 will do it. Or maybe Jaguar will have shipped by then.

    Avi

  59. Beta testing results by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Strange. I got it, tried it from my Linux box, doesn't play .mp3 songs even if I am not a console freak. I have also installed the OSX port for Linux, called X. Nothing happened. I think that this bug report should be forwarded to Bill Gates, Apple's real boss. Heads will fall. Everyone knows, that Bill doesn't like buggy software!

  60. What a load of crap by Vicegrip · · Score: 2

    "But Apple knows that Linux users, as a rule, don't buy software. No third party would license QuickTime for Linux, because they couldn't make any money on their product. So there's zero motivation for Apple to port QuickTime to Linux."

    I am a professional. If I need a tool, I evaluate the pros and cons of each solution offered; price is only a factor. Every other professional I know does this too. That is all.

    I've bought a number of Linux software products and in each case it was because I felt the commercial solution matched my requirements best.

    This comment is just FUD.

    --
    Do not spread "09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0" over the internet, thank you.
  61. That's quite correct. by thumperward · · Score: 1

    It's quite rare to expect to have to pay to see an advertisement for something. High-res or not, it's an advert.

    Not that it particularly matters to me, because Ep 2 was the worst yet, and the only thing I'm paying for as regards to the next one is my newsgroup access.

    - Chris

  62. .mp4 on an iPod ? by alienappliance · · Score: 1

    Any guesses as to when .mp4 playback comes to the iPod? It seems like such a logical next step that I'm almost ashamed to post about it. Does anyone know of any reason it couldn't happen? Soon that 1000 song toting iPod could carry a lot more music. Any idea how much more?

    Keep up the nice work, Apple!
    ---

    --
    The harder you try, the luckier you are.
  63. Still no AVI with vbr audio support by cryptochrome · · Score: 5, Informative

    Contrary to popular perception, the primary problem with DivX support on macs is not lack of the proper codecs. There are actually three different DivX codecs for mac (the 3ivx, DivX, and ffmpeg projects - however windows media audio, which some files use, is only indirectly supported via DivX doctor). The real problem is quicktime's inability to read AVI files with variable bitrate audio encoded into them (vbr support was not part of the original official spec, and microsoft has since declared the format "obsolete" in favor of windows media). This has been a problem with quicktime for years, and they STILL haven't fixed it in QT6 preview, despite rumors to the contrary. The only solution is to extract the audio and video tracks and stick them together in quicktime format, using one of a variety of tools (see the sites above). DivX.com claims to have come up with an elegant hack around the issue, but they have yet to release it. Video LAN client claims to be able to play back DivX avis without doctoring, but doesn't work well at all yet.

    The good news is you can play back just about any DivX file out there. The bad news is you're going to have to do a little more work than just downloading Quicktime and expecting it to play - You have to go get and install the DivX codecs yourself, and turn all your DivX AVIs into MOVs with the proper tools. I can only assume the Quicktime crew could have fixed this vbr AVI problem if they wanted to a long time ago, and possibly did - but for undisclosed reasons, they choose not to or aren't allowed to release or work on it.

    --

    ---If you can't trust a nerd, who can you trust?

    1. Re:Still no AVI with vbr audio support by berniecase · · Score: 1

      FWIW, VideoLAN does support MPEG-2 files (I've had no problems playing movies from archive.org/movies) and has played some of my non-doctored DivX movies pretty well. CPU usage is good and framerate's good as well.

      I just don't understand why Quicktime still doesn't have MPEG-2 support. I do understand the limitations with respect to AVI audio, however. That's just a fact of life.

  64. Actually, several by sirtimbly · · Score: 1

    I remember when the Iomega Zip drive came bundled with softtware to rip CD's to .mp2's, seems like they were around 30MB for a standard lengths song.

    --
    Sir Timbly of Cannatuna, offical Knight of the Heptagonal Table
  65. Show me one reason to use it. by Jacek+Poplawski · · Score: 3, Interesting

    It's not open source (DivX _is_ - libavcodec). There is no Linux version. Why should I care?

    1. Re:Show me one reason to use it. by greygent · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Are you supposed to care?

      Do you have to care?

      Are we supposed to care?

      Does every single Slashdot reader love and run Linux?

      Should Slashdot abolish any noteworthy topics, and just post about Linux?

      I know, it's moronic of me, this being posted on APPLE.slashdot.org and all!

      Grow up, and go outside, it's almost summer time for fuck's sake. Time to tear down that RMS poster, and toss the Tux penguin you sleep with every night...

    2. Re:Show me one reason to use it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Why should I care you use Linux? Why must everything be open source to be good? Do only eat at open recipe restaurants? Do you only eat open recipe foods?

      Just becasue you can't use it dosn't mean it isn't important. Please leave your self centered world.

  66. It depends on the sample rate by yerricde · · Score: 1

    mp3 is MPEG 1 Layer 3 (audio).

    The ".mp3" format can be MPEG-1 audio layer 3 for 32 kHz, 44.1 kHz, and 48 kHz sample rates, or MPEG-2 audio layer 3 for lower sample rates.

    --
    Will I retire or break 10K?
  67. Informative? You decide. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    But click on those links before you moderate.

  68. Why there's no "MPEG-3" by yerricde · · Score: 1

    [Because of MPEG audio layer 3], there is not MPEG-3, and we jumped directly to MPEG-4.

    Actually, it wasn't because of the naming of the audio codec at all. The MPEG-3 committee actually found that what they wanted to accomplish could be done with MPEG-2.

    --
    Will I retire or break 10K?
  69. Re:So...You don't need Quicktime!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The big point of Quicktime 6 is Apple now using a format that almost anyone who has a player that can play MPEG4 video and AAC audio can play. So now content created with Quicktime (streaming video and such) is available to all MPEG4 players regardless of platform.

    So stop screaming at Apple for not porting Quicktime to Linux, they made it so their media standard is not strapped to one media player.

  70. Why poor students chose Windows ME by yerricde · · Score: 1

    You chose Win98 knowing that it is insecure and buggy.

    I chose Windows ME (also called Win98 Third Edition) because my computer vendor didn't have Windows 2000 available at a price I could justify to the purchasing department (i.e. my parents). Not everybody is physically old enough to have graduated from college and found a job yet.

    --
    Will I retire or break 10K?
  71. Mac OS X uses nine-character extensions by yerricde · · Score: 1

    Both Windows and OS X use 3 character file extensions

    Sure, Mac OS X has ".app" extensions on programs (compare Windows's ".exe"), but instead of ".dll" for libraries, Mac OS X uses ".framework", a nine-character extension.

    --
    Will I retire or break 10K?
  72. .m3v is taken by yerricde · · Score: 1

    .m2v mpeg 2 video, .m2a mpeg 2 audio

    Except .m3v refers to MPEG-2 Layer 3 audio (sample rate 11 kHz, encoding frequencies to 8 kHz) with high-frequency information in the PlusV encoding based on a mostly-noise model of the frequencies between 8 kHz and 16 kHz.

    --
    Will I retire or break 10K?
  73. Wouldn't MP3 audio work? by yerricde · · Score: 1

    However, I don't think it knows how to make MPEG-4 audio (either AAC or CELP).

    Both AAC (MPEG-2 advanced audio codec) and MP3 (MPEG-1 layer 3 audio codec) worked in MPEG-2; I can't see why MP3 wouldn't work within the MPEG-4 framework.

    But then, I haven't read the standard.

    --
    Will I retire or break 10K?
  74. huh? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    you're not paying much attention, are you?

  75. MPEG-1 Audio Layer-3 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Actually, it's "MPEG-1 Audio Layer-3"

    1. Re:MPEG-1 Audio Layer-3 by nr · · Score: 1

      Finaly someone who knows his stuff, there is also MPEG-1 Audio Layer 2 which are used by many MPEG-1 video files for audio, it was also common to distribute music in the "mp2" before the mp3 encoding technology was invented by Fraunhofer Institute in Germany.

  76. Disturbing ... by WCityMike · · Score: 0

    I'm a bit disturbed with Apple, in that the QuickTime upgrades have lately marched in lockstep with system upgrades.

    If you had upgraded to Mac OS X, QuickTime 5 was part of that new system. QTPro v4 users found their v4 keys worthless as a result of the OS upgrade, but they didn't have much choice unless they wanted to stay with OS 9.

    Now, we have Jaguar around the bend. QT 6 will no doubt automatically be installed when people upgrade their OS to Jaguar. It will be interesting to see if users have a mechanism for not installing QT6, or for reinstalling QTPro v5.

    Users shouldn't be forced to not upgrade their OS if they don't want to lose functionality they paid for, several times over, now.

    Apple is being as bad as CESoft with their upgrade policy ... :(

    1. Re:Disturbing ... by Warlock7 · · Score: 1

      Nobody "forced" you to do anything. Your v4 keys aren't worthless if you stayed with v4 of Quicktime under OS9. Why do you seem to believe that considerable upgrades to software should be free? Your QtPro v4 under OS9 works just fine if you didn't upgrade to v5 for OS9. What exactly are you complaining about? Because you don't really make any sense. Unless your point is that you feel that you somehow deserve free upgrades to existing software. Sort of like demanding a 2003 BMW for free to replace your 2002 BMW because you already paid for it once. If you're going to complain why not make a valid complaint, at least.

  77. Funny... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Funny that Steve Jobs called OS9 "dead" and "we don't develop software for it anymore" yet still releases QT6 for OS9.

    1. Re:Funny... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      QT6 was done and demoed the first week of February. Steve said that about OS9 the first week of May. You see, time is linear, and "any more" implies that it may well have happened at an earlier time. Oh, I guess I should clarify, February is before May.

  78. Re:Source code IS NOT HERE here by gd23ka · · Score: 1

    These links don't work. I doubt it very much that apple would publish their sources and even if they did they'd make you sign up for their "developer connection" site first before they'd let you have them. Oh and it's developer.apple.com, not developers.apple.com.

  79. Doesn't work by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    #:/home/derek# apt-get install quicktime
    Reading Package Lists... Done
    Building Dependency Tree... Done
    E: Couldn't find package quicktime
    #:/home/derek# apt-get install quicktime6
    Reading Package Lists... Done
    Building Dependency Tree... Done
    E: Couldn't find package quicktime6

    I support by purchase debian distribution vendors. I am willing to spend money on software. But what do I get if I purchase quicktime6? I am forced to use platforms I don't like or use. I have to contend with all the trash that happens when two competing data format vendors try to get the upperhand. I need a lawyer to read my rights and privileges granted to me. Bah! Never again.

    I don't care about 'business models'. I care about doing what I want to do with what I have. I am a consumer, not a slave of these companies.

    Derek

    1. Re:Doesn't work by BitGeek · · Score: 2


      Funny, QT6 is free. You can download it now from www.apple.com/quicktime.

      Oh, and before you start calling other people slaves, you might look at the ideology you are advocating, and that of the people you support. RMS's communism made more slaves than capitalism ever had.

      People say those who work for companies are "slaves" to them, but they ignore the fact that those employees could leave any time they wanted- but in the socialist paradises they advocate, leaving your job means death.

      Lets stop with the doublespeak. If you want QT then help make such technology for Linux.

      Or buy it. IF you don't then stop complaining.

      Or do you think you have the right to something for nothing? Thats you're business model? Historically, it never works.

      --
      Yeah, and you guys panned the ipod too: http://apple.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=01/10/23/ 1816257
  80. Arrogance by gidds · · Score: 2
    Not all /.ers use Linux, any more than all internet users use Windows – another arrogant misconception.

    Some use Mac OS X. (I'm one.) We're pleased to hear about this. It was posted in the Apple section, which you can opt not to view. No-one's forcing you to read this story, to use the software, or even to care about it.

    This site isn't just for things you personally care about. (Thank goodness!)

    --

    Ceterum censeo subscriptionem esse delendam.

  81. More choice for developers (Re:So...) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You mean "less" than just another unix.

    No: more. Why would the choice of more APIs mean less than another UNIX?

    Choice is good:

    Fink
    GNU-Darwin
    Cocoa(AKA NeXTStep 5.0)
    Carbon
    Java
    alternatives like Tcl/Tk, Qt, raw X11R6...

  82. More choice for developers (Re:So...) by mah! · · Score: 1

    You mean "less" than just another unix.

    No: more. Why would the choice of more APIs mean less than another UNIX?

    Choice is good:

    Fink
    GNU-Darwin
    Cocoa(AKA NeXTStep 5.0)
    Carbon
    Java
    alternatives like Tcl/Tk, Qt, raw X11R6...

  83. QT for Java (Re:So...) by mah! · · Score: 1
    having been ported to OS X, a UNIX in most respects, the port to Linux would be trivial (change a few libraries and a recompile)

    Wrong: as posted elsewhere, QuickTime relies on much more than the UNIX APIs of Mac OS X.

    There's even QuickTime for Java, but that does not mean that you can use QuickTime on any platform which runs Java...

  84. Not a beta... by DarkRecluse · · Score: 1

    The Quicktime 6 Apple released is not a Beta...but rather a PREVIEW...it might seem like semantics if we weren't aware that Apple completing the software in February, and has been unable to fully release it, due to licensing issues. Being a Beta would imply that it is less stable than and not tested enough to be general release...if anything, its been tested more than a GM.

    --
    --"It's Bradford Company, slash your last name, dot your first name"
  85. Quicktime Full Screen? by andrewski · · Score: 2, Informative

    I just bought a TiBook, and was pissed that there was no way to play full-screen video. I have been urged to "Go Pro!" but I am NOT paying 29.99 extra just to have full-screen!

    So, I got Cellulo (available from versiontracker) which is a superb Free Quicktime player, and watch video fullscreen - without paying Apple MORE money!

    P.S. To those who say that it's my duty to "Support Apple!" I urge you to look on my desk - a new Powerbook is certainly support enough in my opinion.

    P.P.S. To get rid of those annoying Quicktime Pro nag screens, use this trick:

    1. Before you ever launch Quicktime, set your clock to some point in the distant future (I used 2020).

    2. Run Quicktime, and when you are asked if you want to "Go Pro!" hit the "Later" button.

    3. Set your clock back to the correct time and date.

    4. Enjoy no more nag screens until after the date you set in the control panel!

    1. Re:Quicktime Full Screen? by robertchin · · Score: 3, Informative

      You can create an Applescript applet which will set movies to full screen mode. Then all you need to do is drop the quicktime movie onto the applescript. I believe apple has written this applescript themselves, it should be available somewhere on their quicktime or applescript areas.

  86. It's all about MPEG-4 profiles by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You folks just don't seem to get it. It's not about "when is someone going to port Quicktime to Linux." It's not about Sorenson, or any other proprietary codec. It's not about is DivX better, or is WM better, or is Real better.
    Quicktime 6 supports, among other things, encoding and decoding of multimedia content that meets ISMA standards for MPEG-4 Advanced Simple Profile content. That means, you don't need Quicktime to read these files. You don't need Quicktime to encode these files either. The specs for this standard are out there, for anyone to write an encoder or decoder. Real announced at Streaming Media West that their latest player will support Advanced Simple Profile MPEG-4.
    If I am a content developer, and I can encode in three proprietary formats (or more) (or less and alienate users), why would I go to all that trouble when I can encode to the open standard profile and let the end user use whatever player they choose? So there's no Quicktime 6 for Linux ... well stop whining and go out and write a decoder that will handle MPEG-4 Advanced Simple Profile files. ISMA has information about what standards you need to support.
    But there is a problem here. Now, these standards are based on certain patents, and the people who own those patents think they should get compensation when someone uses their intellectual property. They do have that right, but MPEG-4 will NOT advance if it requires content developers to pay a per-user or per-minute fee to encode content. The purpose of this public preview, I believe, is to get more people out there to see and use profile-based MPEG-4, and to see how great it is, and to turn up the heat on the MPEG-LA to come to their senses. This is preview software, not to be used in production, so Apple is safe from paying the licensing at this point. I certainly hope this works ... I think MEPG-LA is meeting again at the end of June, and we may see some good resolution to this.

  87. QT6 and Flash by CaptTrips · · Score: 0

    It still can't play SWF files properly. When you pause play, nested movies that contain animation continue playing. QT4 was the last version that played SWF files perfectly. I keep a copy of 4 on my machine to get true playback. I say bring back the SWF playback features of 4 and drop them into 6.

    --

    grep >= ! == $your
  88. You are amazingly stupid by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You used just about every logical fallacy possible, although it seems your favorite is a slippery slope. You are essentially constructing a trend using one data point. I do not expect you to understand what I am talking about, because you are exceedingly stupid.

    Maybe you can ponder this though:

    Have you ever heard of promotions occurring elsewhere in the history of products?

    Should we cry foul when we have to buy General Mills cereal in order to get exclusive Topps baseball cards?

    Should we be mad that in order to watch the Simpsons, we have to tune into a Fox network affiliate?

    Did you realize several comments back that you were being a little foolish but were too stubborn and foolish to let it go?

    If you are this upset about one size of a Star Wars trailer being Quicktime Pro only, just wait till you find out things that are *really* wrong in the world.

  89. no, you shut up by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    slow down there chubby, you're not on the moon yet!

  90. beta? by gol64738 · · Score: 2

    quicktime 6 is now in beta? windows, too?
    when did quicktime 5 ever leave beta? i never did get quicktime 5 in windows to work without being crashy/buggy.

    quicktime on the mac is a really decent product. i wish they would completely overhaul the windows version from the ground up though...(oh, and a linux version too, please!)

    1. Re:beta? by donglekey · · Score: 2

      very true, half my crashes in IE 6 (I use mozilla now baby) were from quicktime, and that is saying something. Oh well, its about fuckin time jpeg2000 got through the door.

  91. Look, the $30 pays for... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The encoders! Apple still has to pay Sorenson, MPEG-LA, QDESIGN, etc. They give apple the decoders for free (hence QT without paying) but the encoders cost apple. The 30 dollars allows you to encode in these formats, and somewhat evens out the cost to license the codecs.If you want to encode, buy it. If you don't, don't. You can still watch content, you just can't make it. And 30 dollars is a bargain for Sorenson 2, Sorenson 3, Qdesign Music 2, MPEG-4, AAC, and Quallcomm Purevoice, and more. Granted, some of the codecs included are free, but others cost Apple. That is the real reason for the price.

  92. The reason QT Pro is $30... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Is that it costs apple to pay for the codecs! Apple has to pay royalties to Sorenson Media, MPEG-LA, Qdesign, etc. for the encoders. The decoders are free, and thus are free in QuickTime Player (unregistered). In order to unlock the encoding capablilities, you must pay for the encoders. Do you think apple really profits from this 30 dollars? Of course not, it costs much more to make than they will receive in registrations. This fee is to offset the costs to pay for the encoders. If you need the encoders, pay the 30 dollars. If you don't, don't. You can still watch your movie trailers.
    -Eric

  93. I keep getting ".mp2" files by Clith · · Score: 1

    It's funny, when I download an mp3 using Mozilla on MacOS X, the default file extension is always ".mp3.mp2", and the file format popup says "MPEG 2", so someone obviously agrees with you!

    --
    [ReidNews]
  94. How about all the Aqua mods? by 2nd+Post! · · Score: 2

    How about every single thing Apple develops that Linux folk appropriate or use?

    I'm not saying it's right or wrong...

    But Aqua widgets and Platinum themes and the modern WiMP paradigm and, gee, laser printers, TrueType fonts, PostScript fonts, multi-monitor setups, sound on PCs, wysiwyg, etc.

    To put it another way, Apple is going to popularize MPEG4 where Microsoft would as soon abandon it in favor of WMF, an in popularizing MPEG4 increase the number of files you can view in .mp4 format.

    Imagine if there were no .mpg videos for you to watch? A world of *only* Quicktime or AVI files?

    And now you ask, "Why should I care?"

  95. Red Green quote: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    > Funny - tell the 90% of people who use Windows because that they're not prisoners of a monopoly.

    "I'm a man.
    I can change.
    If I have to.
    I guess."

  96. Know your MPEGs. by n6mod · · Score: 2

    I also wonder why MPEG-4 is ".mp4". ".mp3" isn't for MPEG-3, after all. Flummery!

    Umm, because .mp2 is for mpeg2 (though .m2v and .m2a more common for elementary streams)

    .mp3 is a mutant. It stands for MPEG-[1|2] Layer III. MPEG-1 defined the standard, and MPEG-2 allowed a wider range of bitrates, so MPEG-2 Layer III is pedantically correct, but MPEG-1 Layer III is probably not incorrect. Further, Layer II (which you sometimes also see as .mp2, and is also called "Musicam" for historical reasons) works better for many encoders at high bitrates.

    But the real confusion here is that MPEG-3 doesn't exist. It was reserved for an HDTV standard, but ATSC and friends decided that MP@HL MPEG-2 works just fine. ATSC, like NTSC DVD's use AC3 audio. (Even though most players are perfectly happy with it, MPEG-2 audio is not legal for NTSC DVDs, only PAL).

    Now, as to what MPEG is thinking with the next standards (-7 and -21), who knows...

    -Z

    --
    You have violated Robot's Rules of Order and will be asked to leave the future immediately.
  97. Re:Source code IS NOT HERE here by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That's because they have spaces in the URLs. You need to remove the spaces before trying to load the TGZs.

    And developers.apple.com is the FTP site. Every Apple developer knows that!

  98. Twice as much? by babymac · · Score: 1

    I downloaded and installed the Quicktime 6 Preview for OS X last night. My main reason for doing so was to preview the AAC audio codec (which is of course placed into an MP4 (MPEG4) file format. I had read that 64kbps AAC files were comparable to uncompressed CD audio. I created test audio files at three different bitrates: 16, 64, and 96.

    The 16kbps file was created just so I could hear what AAC artifacting sounded like. Yes, it sounded bad but the good news was that there was no ONE thing you could point to as an obvious red flag. That and the entire 2:45 song totaled up to less than 350 KB!

    The 64kbps was decent I will admit. However, the compression was too obvious for my tastes. I would compare it to a 128 kbps MP3 file. I discarded it as being unacceptable.

    The 96kbps version was pretty heavenly. It sounds just as good as my 192kbps MP3...if not BETTER.

    Bottom line, if this codec is supported by the iPod, I'll be able to get 1600 songs on it at a good quality, instead of my current 800+.

    --
    "War makes me sad." - Me
  99. mpeg4, 7 & 21, and AAC by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A quick education for those in the dark, and some of you are! Stop with the Apple taking advantage of .mp3. It's a joke, get off your soap box, you don't know what you're talking about. Sit and read, and shut it.

    -Quicktime was/is designed for content creators. Revealed in a dark room at the American Film Institute in Hollywood in 1991. Designed less for a stand alone playback, though nice, but instead a common format amoungst creators to share data with each other from various creative tools. You can fill those Apps ranging from Maya, Renderman, StudioMax, to Avid Media Composer, After Effects, Flash, Combusition, Final Cut Pro, Premiere, Media100, Cleaner, Lightwave, Shake, etc. etc., etc. Let's just say if you want to create media you can export to Quicktime. That's the true strength of QT.

    - MP3 is MPEG 1 Layer 3.

    - MPEG1 VCD, MPEG2 DVD, MPEG3 never adopted as far as I know, MPEG4 Digital TV, Interactive Graphic Application, Interactive Multimedia, and WWW.

    -MPEG4 is backward compaitable and reads MPEG1 & 2.

    -MPEG4 is based on Apple's Quicktime Technology. It's the bottom layer in the cake folks, the foundation!

    -MS Media Player is not ISO(International Standards Organization) as it applies to MPEG4. MS uses their own tech, MS are the only "major" company pushing a different standard to that of MPEG4. MPEG4 is precieved as the Open Standard in the industry. Check sometime this fall for MS's great news on the future of Media on Planet Earth - according to Bill of course. ;)

    - AAC (Advanced Audio Coding), Part of MPEG4- For iPod users soon you can use ACC encoded audio tracks at 128kb and have near uncompressed CD Quality.(That's your music CD quality). I'm not great at math, but I think that's like around 4500 songs on 5gigs.

    - Real Netwrok will adopt MPEG4 as there standard media format.

    -MPEG4 can be seen as representing objects, ie. still image, a song, etc. MPEG7 describes those objects. MPEG7 does more than the Metadata tags embedded with each player format. MPEG7 is based on XML. I'm not sure how this will play out amoungst the various Media Players, QT, Real etc. To the consumer kind of cool to search based on the media within the file. MPEG7 is not intended to replace MPEG4, it is meant to compliment it.

    MPEG21 is the holy grail, save your project as a .mpeg21 and you can play it on any device that is ISO happy mpeg licensed. Regardless of who made the player, phone, pda, whatever. They meet this June to begin the project. I think if everyone sticks with MPEG4 we have no problem, but then we have MS don't we who owns the desktop, pushing into the living room- XBox, on your PDA, wanting to get into your cable box, your cellphone and your washer and dryer. Yet, MS is not with the rest of the global community regarding the future of media as we know it. MPEG4 by the way is Layer 7 of MPEG21. We need an engineer to sort of the various layers of MPEG21 when we get to it.

    Hope that helps.