You guys are right. I see that they are also looking for someone to create a version of iTunes for Windows also. (Maybe some of you out of workers can apply.)
What's the logic in making this Mac only? Hell, at least if they make it "Windows" capable -- I can choose or not choose to install a Windows OS on my Intel based machine. (Heck, most people less fanatical than me already have a Windows partition....) If only 5% of computer users have Mac's than are they not only making about 5% of the money that they could with this service?
The last mile is always the hardest and less likely to appear. You as a content provider may have the pipes to deliver to set locations (the middle man) -- but pumping live video on demand into everyones living room at a high percentage will be a big hurdle.
Is not VOD vs. DVD kind of apples and oranges? Maybe VOD can be compared to PPV the (Pay Per View) service that is offered by many cable companies. I am not kidding -- how can you compare something you can purchase and own to do with what you like to something that you have to rent and either pay for each viewing or for a set time period? I think I would be more than broke on those disney movies my kids watch hundreds of times. (Every time a new one comes out it is "stuck" in the DVD player for weeks...Even at a quarter per viewing, I would be in the poor house soon -- and what about 6 months down the road when it becomes the hot thing again.)
Re:quality(wma)quality(mp3); //The truth hurts
on
AAC vs. OGG vs. MP3
·
· Score: 1
I hate to admit it -- but back in the day when I was "limited" to 64 megs of Compact Flash in my player -- I tended to encode to 64K WMA because it did sound better (to me) and produce smaller files. However, I was ashamed and have gone back to MP3 since I have a 20G "portable" nowdays.
I'm sure that in a few years or so, most devices will feature upgradable codecs.
Only problem with this theory is the life expectancy of any player. Other than the Ipod and to some degree the Archos units -- I have yet to see any of these devices have a long enough life cycle to where support is even available 10 months from introduction let alone firmware updates. They are usually only supported until something newer comes out -- or the company goes under. So -- even if they can be "upgraded to support future formats" they stand about as much chance as Doom III getting ported to DOS and OS/2. I thing the buzz term should be changed to: "firmware updatedable to future formats, as long as the decoder chips can support future formats -- and the parent company still gives a shit after 4 or 5 months in the market."
PNG and OGG share a similar fate. Superior formats that are crippled by lack of support on the (to use a computer term) client side. OGG is virtually not available in the portable music digital player market. (I am sorry but a PDA does not count) -- no matter how long we have heard that popular marketing term "Firmware Upgradable to Future Formats such as Ogg Vorbis" -- we have yet to see it play out in the real world.....Which must mean that the chips on these things just can't decode OGG. As far as PNG being a standard, I hate to say it but IE does seem to have upwards of 90% of the browser market -- and just happens to only support the PNG format about 10%, goes to show why you can right click on the/. logo above you and see a.gif extension -- even on a site such as this one that should be supporting PNG before the mainstream. (Hell, even/. does not dare use PNG).
I only care about the quality of formats that actually play on all of my devices.
a. computer
b. Portable CF player
c. Portable CD Type player
d. HD Based player
e. DVD Home player
Last time I checked MP3 is the only format that fit the bill as far as being platyable in all. So to me it does not make a bit of difference if AAC? or OGG or WMA sound as good as sitting in Symphony Hall. The same way that it did not matter if BETA was actually better than VHS -- I could not get those little buggers to play in my VCR no matter how hard I tried.
I am sure that there is stuff out there I would like, but I am instead fed the tripe that the average teeny-bopper and idiot consumer will swallow. Instead, I am going over my 300+ CD collection and rediscovering music that I "own". Hey RIAA - up yours.
You are not alone. Everytime I get frustrated that my friends at the RIAA or Radio or MTV or whatever can't "fuel my fire" like they did in years past (many years ago) -- I take solace in my 300+ CD's, 500+ Cassettes, and 100+ LP's. Based on the above numbers you can see that I am not afraid to play the "eager" consumer route -- and I am far from hard to impress....But man the stuff shoved down our throats nowadays is just garbage. When the majority of kids today say: Why should I buy an album for 1 good song -- I say why does an album only have one good song. I can't image buying 1 or 2 songs from "Dark Side Of The Moon" or "Appetite For Destruction" -- you need the whole product to fully appreciate. So NO -- I really don't want a solution to "burn" 1 or 2 songs -- I am a potential paying customer that wants the signed artists to remember what making a "good" ALBUM is all about.
The best bridge between brick and mortar and online I have ever seen was when mp3.com had partnered with online music sites that allowed you to purchase a CD and then listen to/download the MP3's from mp3.com while you were waiting for your purchase to arrive.
I thought it was a Win/Win situation -- the customer got the mp3's and the record company got a confirmed sale. Plus it was huge to me because I tend to be really impatient when I make a purchase, I want to enjoy in real time; rather than waiting for the UPS man or USPS. However, I don't think the RIAA was to keen on the idea and they (and their lawyers) made it go away. At least for me, that killed many future purchases.
My question is this: At the point of this service dying (the RIAA putting the stranglehold on a value added service that actually improved the movement of product) -- was there some sort of revelation that if this did not fly, then what would?
If you are willing to work for less money, and have the education -- you could always go to India and get your old job back.
Other than that -- the only safe bet is to become a doctor or mortition. (Those jobs seem pretty steady.) An air conditioner repairman in Arizona would seem ok to I guess.
Does the little guy feel it get warmer? If they can't kill the makers of the weapon -- they will now turn their resources to the people pulling the trigger. I personally think that the last good music sharing system died with Audio Galaxy. (*nix client anyone). I wont get caught dead using Kazzaa. (Not because I think using Kazzaa is wrong, but rather the OS that it runs on is against my perverted rule set.) And since AG and Napster went down, any client audio/video sharing available for *nix does not have enough users or mass to go beyond top 40. I personally was more interested in music that never made it to CD in the US, and the imports were to expensive or not in the Catalog anymore.
Further Discussion
on
Linus on DRM
·
· Score: 3, Insightful
DRM is like the discussion on gun control. (Guns don't kill people, people kill people.) And putting a nice fat elk on the dinner table is always a good thing for us meat eaters. DRM is the same way -- Linus is talking (in my opinion) about a useful purpose for something (that in the wrong hands) can cause a lot of damage.
I was one of the "first 1000" to sign up with Netflix. If I remember right they had the "Lifetime membership for $9.99 a month" type thing going on. I loved the service -- until they started charging my credit card "$14.95" a month because they were a little optimistic during the whole:
1. Send out unlimited DVD's for 10 bucks a month and let the user keep 4 at any time -- for any length of time (pick up all shipping costs).
2. ???
3. Profit
I was burned that the price kept going up -- and I don't take nicely to automated withdrawls from my accounts going up anytime the source decides to reinvent their business logic. I should either have to sign up again at the higher price, or sign a document authorizing the higher price.
It's just another browser based on gecko. I think all of these offshoots should be named with some string of numbers that is the sum of RAM required + the amount of diskspace in K) + version nbr / the square root of the number of text editors for Linux * the number of failed office suites + 1.
The biggest problem is that the closer and closer the web gets to the traditional client UI, the farther and farther it gets away from true platform independence. I could show you 500 implementation items using DHTML/Javascript that work in IE and not Netscape or Mozilla based browsers (not that a little extra work for the developers could hammer out a solution that would work on both.)
This is a bigger problem in Intranets where the chosen browser is IE, and we do not even bother to test against anything else because of a install base of IE on 99.9% of our desktops....Or take the extra time to make it work on both.
Maybe not a sure sign of success, but a symptom of success would seem to be inclusion into a commercial distribution like RedHat or Suse. Then again, now that we have 5 or 6 CD's of "extras" that syptom might be multi layered based on if your app was included on one of the "Required" CD's or one of the "Optional/Extra" CD's.
That was partially my point. (I am not a businessman) However, it does not take a businessman to understand the adage of not letting ones reach extend ones grasp. Their has to be some way (business model) for niche companies to provide products to smaller markets. Why does every technology company spend themseleves at the level that it would take the same kind of market penetration as TV's and Toasters in order to break even? Maybe the model would be to crank these things out of a "garage" until one can produce enough honest profit to deserve the amenities given to a proven company with a proven product. (Like I said -- I am not a businessman, but I do know software development for fortune 500 companies -- and we learned years ago that the "If we build it, they will come" is a very risky approach.
Does someone have a link to a story that explains why SonicBLue could not keep there heads above water? To me it looks like they had won the battle of getting their products (portable Mp3's and CD based Mp3's) on just above every available shelf of every willing retail shop (Circuit City, Best Buy, CompUSA, etc.) Which considering a lot of high quality, sometimes obscure, sometimes better priced competitive products never even got in the door. And considering that most buyers do not want to go through the hassle of ordering the alternatives from some fly by night japanese web site and waiting 6-8 weeks for delivery if they ever deliver it all, requiring a credit card, some shady Ebay megadealer and all the other pitfalls of ordering online VS. walking into a brick and morter in any of the lower 48. Bottom line -- is it a weakness in the end user market that caused the downfall, is it the fact that the market is not as wide spread as conventional CD players, or DVD players, or TV's??? It is just hard for me to comprehend as to why a company that had such a monopolistic foothold in the brick and mortars could not at least break even.......
If the linked page requires Japanese text support, the chances of ever seeing these puppies on American soil, let alone your local Best Buy is slim to none.
That will teach me to take a vacation from my computer. Come back and they have shuffled all the names around. What's next? -- I vote for Text Editors renamed to fighter planes from around the world. %s/Emacs/B52/g and %s/vim/F16/g.
If a quality, free, open audio compression framework (ogg vorbis) has failed to dent the mp3 stranglehold on the consumer market or radar (portables, DVD players that play mp3's, toasters that play audio, car players, etc....) how in the hell will the closed, crappy, M$ born WMA stand a chance?
Slashdot Mirror
Spike Maybe. I was thinking reuinion of the "4 Of A Kind" lineup....A little more mainstraim -- but still a punk edge.
You guys are right. I see that they are also looking for someone to create a version of iTunes for Windows also. (Maybe some of you out of workers can apply.)
What's the logic in making this Mac only? Hell, at least if they make it "Windows" capable -- I can choose or not choose to install a Windows OS on my Intel based machine. (Heck, most people less fanatical than me already have a Windows partition....) If only 5% of computer users have Mac's than are they not only making about 5% of the money that they could with this service?
The last mile is always the hardest and less likely to appear. You as a content provider may have the pipes to deliver to set locations (the middle man) -- but pumping live video on demand into everyones living room at a high percentage will be a big hurdle.
Is not VOD vs. DVD kind of apples and oranges? Maybe VOD can be compared to PPV the (Pay Per View) service that is offered by many cable companies. I am not kidding -- how can you compare something you can purchase and own to do with what you like to something that you have to rent and either pay for each viewing or for a set time period? I think I would be more than broke on those disney movies my kids watch hundreds of times. (Every time a new one comes out it is "stuck" in the DVD player for weeks...Even at a quarter per viewing, I would be in the poor house soon -- and what about 6 months down the road when it becomes the hot thing again.)
I hate to admit it -- but back in the day when I was "limited" to 64 megs of Compact Flash in my player -- I tended to encode to 64K WMA because it did sound better (to me) and produce smaller files. However, I was ashamed and have gone back to MP3 since I have a 20G "portable" nowdays.
I'm sure that in a few years or so, most devices will feature upgradable codecs. Only problem with this theory is the life expectancy of any player. Other than the Ipod and to some degree the Archos units -- I have yet to see any of these devices have a long enough life cycle to where support is even available 10 months from introduction let alone firmware updates. They are usually only supported until something newer comes out -- or the company goes under. So -- even if they can be "upgraded to support future formats" they stand about as much chance as Doom III getting ported to DOS and OS/2. I thing the buzz term should be changed to: "firmware updatedable to future formats, as long as the decoder chips can support future formats -- and the parent company still gives a shit after 4 or 5 months in the market."
PNG and OGG share a similar fate. Superior formats that are crippled by lack of support on the (to use a computer term) client side. OGG is virtually not available in the portable music digital player market. (I am sorry but a PDA does not count) -- no matter how long we have heard that popular marketing term "Firmware Upgradable to Future Formats such as Ogg Vorbis" -- we have yet to see it play out in the real world.....Which must mean that the chips on these things just can't decode OGG. As far as PNG being a standard, I hate to say it but IE does seem to have upwards of 90% of the browser market -- and just happens to only support the PNG format about 10%, goes to show why you can right click on the /. logo above you and see a .gif extension -- even on a site such as this one that should be supporting PNG before the mainstream. (Hell, even /. does not dare use PNG).
I only care about the quality of formats that actually play on all of my devices.
a. computer
b. Portable CF player
c. Portable CD Type player
d. HD Based player
e. DVD Home player
Last time I checked MP3 is the only format that fit the bill as far as being platyable in all. So to me it does not make a bit of difference if AAC? or OGG or WMA sound as good as sitting in Symphony Hall. The same way that it did not matter if BETA was actually better than VHS -- I could not get those little buggers to play in my VCR no matter how hard I tried.
I am sure that there is stuff out there I would like, but I am instead fed the tripe that the average teeny-bopper and idiot consumer will swallow. Instead, I am going over my 300+ CD collection and rediscovering music that I "own". Hey RIAA - up yours.
You are not alone. Everytime I get frustrated that my friends at the RIAA or Radio or MTV or whatever can't "fuel my fire" like they did in years past (many years ago) -- I take solace in my 300+ CD's, 500+ Cassettes, and 100+ LP's. Based on the above numbers you can see that I am not afraid to play the "eager" consumer route -- and I am far from hard to impress....But man the stuff shoved down our throats nowadays is just garbage. When the majority of kids today say: Why should I buy an album for 1 good song -- I say why does an album only have one good song. I can't image buying 1 or 2 songs from "Dark Side Of The Moon" or "Appetite For Destruction" -- you need the whole product to fully appreciate. So NO -- I really don't want a solution to "burn" 1 or 2 songs -- I am a potential paying customer that wants the signed artists to remember what making a "good" ALBUM is all about.
The best bridge between brick and mortar and online I have ever seen was when mp3.com had partnered with online music sites that allowed you to purchase a CD and then listen to/download the MP3's from mp3.com while you were waiting for your purchase to arrive.
I thought it was a Win/Win situation -- the customer got the mp3's and the record company got a confirmed sale. Plus it was huge to me because I tend to be really impatient when I make a purchase, I want to enjoy in real time; rather than waiting for the UPS man or USPS. However, I don't think the RIAA was to keen on the idea and they (and their lawyers) made it go away. At least for me, that killed many future purchases.
My question is this: At the point of this service dying (the RIAA putting the stranglehold on a value added service that actually improved the movement of product) -- was there some sort of revelation that if this did not fly, then what would?
If you are willing to work for less money, and have the education -- you could always go to India and get your old job back.
Other than that -- the only safe bet is to become a doctor or mortition. (Those jobs seem pretty steady.) An air conditioner repairman in Arizona would seem ok to I guess.
Thank you. That sums up what audiogalaxy was all about. I know that with the huge/diverse user base , I was not the only one to miss AG.
Does the little guy feel it get warmer? If they can't kill the makers of the weapon -- they will now turn their resources to the people pulling the trigger. I personally think that the last good music sharing system died with Audio Galaxy. (*nix client anyone). I wont get caught dead using Kazzaa. (Not because I think using Kazzaa is wrong, but rather the OS that it runs on is against my perverted rule set.) And since AG and Napster went down, any client audio/video sharing available for *nix does not have enough users or mass to go beyond top 40. I personally was more interested in music that never made it to CD in the US, and the imports were to expensive or not in the Catalog anymore.
DRM is like the discussion on gun control. (Guns don't kill people, people kill people.) And putting a nice fat elk on the dinner table is always a good thing for us meat eaters. DRM is the same way -- Linus is talking (in my opinion) about a useful purpose for something (that in the wrong hands) can cause a lot of damage.
I was one of the "first 1000" to sign up with Netflix. If I remember right they had the "Lifetime membership for $9.99 a month" type thing going on. I loved the service -- until they started charging my credit card "$14.95" a month because they were a little optimistic during the whole:
1. Send out unlimited DVD's for 10 bucks a month and let the user keep 4 at any time -- for any length of time (pick up all shipping costs).
2. ???
3. Profit
I was burned that the price kept going up -- and I don't take nicely to automated withdrawls from my accounts going up anytime the source decides to reinvent their business logic. I should either have to sign up again at the higher price, or sign a document authorizing the higher price.
It's just another browser based on gecko. I think all of these offshoots should be named with some string of numbers that is the sum of RAM required + the amount of diskspace in K) + version nbr / the square root of the number of text editors for Linux * the number of failed office suites + 1.
The biggest problem is that the closer and closer the web gets to the traditional client UI, the farther and farther it gets away from true platform independence. I could show you 500 implementation items using DHTML/Javascript that work in IE and not Netscape or Mozilla based browsers (not that a little extra work for the developers could hammer out a solution that would work on both.)
This is a bigger problem in Intranets where the chosen browser is IE, and we do not even bother to test against anything else because of a install base of IE on 99.9% of our desktops....Or take the extra time to make it work on both.
Maybe not a sure sign of success, but a symptom of success would seem to be inclusion into a commercial distribution like RedHat or Suse. Then again, now that we have 5 or 6 CD's of "extras" that syptom might be multi layered based on if your app was included on one of the "Required" CD's or one of the "Optional/Extra" CD's.
That was partially my point. (I am not a businessman) However, it does not take a businessman to understand the adage of not letting ones reach extend ones grasp. Their has to be some way (business model) for niche companies to provide products to smaller markets. Why does every technology company spend themseleves at the level that it would take the same kind of market penetration as TV's and Toasters in order to break even? Maybe the model would be to crank these things out of a "garage" until one can produce enough honest profit to deserve the amenities given to a proven company with a proven product. (Like I said -- I am not a businessman, but I do know software development for fortune 500 companies -- and we learned years ago that the "If we build it, they will come" is a very risky approach.
Does someone have a link to a story that explains why SonicBLue could not keep there heads above water? To me it looks like they had won the battle of getting their products (portable Mp3's and CD based Mp3's) on just above every available shelf of every willing retail shop (Circuit City, Best Buy, CompUSA, etc.) Which considering a lot of high quality, sometimes obscure, sometimes better priced competitive products never even got in the door. And considering that most buyers do not want to go through the hassle of ordering the alternatives from some fly by night japanese web site and waiting 6-8 weeks for delivery if they ever deliver it all, requiring a credit card, some shady Ebay megadealer and all the other pitfalls of ordering online VS. walking into a brick and morter in any of the lower 48. Bottom line -- is it a weakness in the end user market that caused the downfall, is it the fact that the market is not as wide spread as conventional CD players, or DVD players, or TV's??? It is just hard for me to comprehend as to why a company that had such a monopolistic foothold in the brick and mortars could not at least break even.......
If the linked page requires Japanese text support, the chances of ever seeing these puppies on American soil, let alone your local Best Buy is slim to none.
Galeon and Skipstone?
Are they now Chevette and Deloreon?
That will teach me to take a vacation from my computer. Come back and they have shuffled all the names around. What's next? -- I vote for Text Editors renamed to fighter planes from around the world. %s/Emacs/B52/g and %s/vim/F16/g.
Damn internet. I can't read asian text...And whats with this blue puzzle piece that all of these sites are using?
If a quality, free, open audio compression framework (ogg vorbis) has failed to dent the mp3 stranglehold on the consumer market or radar (portables, DVD players that play mp3's, toasters that play audio, car players, etc....) how in the hell will the closed, crappy, M$ born WMA stand a chance?