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No App Store For Microsoft's Zune HD
Xerfas writes 'Microsoft's Zune HD, set to go on sale Tuesday, will not feature an open application store like its competitor the iPod Touch. It will come with some unique features, though, like an HD radio tuner, and with software that has been well-received by users. Those capabilities will determine whether the ZuneHD sells well — and whether Microsoft decides to keep selling its own music player, said Matt Rosoff, an analyst at Directions on Microsoft.' The Zune marketing manager was quoted in the Seattle Times on whether the Zune would open up for 3rd-party apps, and he gave a response of such mind-numbing PR-speak that John Gruber of Daring Fireball was moved to provide this English translation: "No, because our mobile strategy is a convoluted mess."
It's ironic that the "HD" in "HD radio" stands for high definition, when current digital, especially with lossy comression, has a LOWER definition than the old analog vinyl did.
A few things:
1) It's a good thing the HD in HD Radio doesn't stand for "High Definition" then. It's "Hybrid Digital".
2) HD Radio is higher fidelity than FM, and that's what it's being compared to. ("Definition" doesn't really work with audio, anyway)
3) Vinyl may have a higher theoretical accuracy, but CDs have a far lower noise floor, which in practice makes them far more accurate.
I guess that's why they changed it from "High Fidelity" to "High Definition, because at today's low sampling rates and especially lossy compression, the fidelity just isn't there.
Again, they didn't change it. And at the recording studio, they're using higher sampling rates and less compression than ever. The fact that the music you buy from iTunes is more compressed (And the fact that CDs in the "Loudness War" are clipped) is irrelevant.
From the HD Digital Radio FAQ
Q : WHAT DOES THE HD IN HD RADIO MEAN?
A: The 'HD' in 'HD Radio' is part of iBiquity Digital's brand name for its digital AM and FM radio technology. It does not mean either hybrid digital or high definition, it is simply the branding language for this new technology.
They are simply riding the wave of video High Definition hype nothing more.
"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K