Those are definitely some valid concerns, and MDs are not for everyone. I think that the fact that MDs are only ~150mbs is a testament to how amazing ATRAC has become. As I mentioned in my first post, even at 2x compression, for the average listener, the fidelity is more than adequate. As for copies of copies, I have never encountered a real need to do this. For people who want to use such a device to trade music, MDs aren't really that useful -- unless you give them the MD and make a second from the original audio source. Another possibility is recording at 1x and recording the tracks as.wavs to make 'masters'. If i bootlegged concerts, that is probably what i would do. Until mp3 players get smaller, more power efficient, real time recording/compressing and much much cheaper (and don't require harddrives), I think MDs are a nice alternative for the average music enthusiast. If i did buy an mp3 player, it'd definitely be a CD based device.
MiniDisc players are a viable alternative to portable mp3 players. The ATRAC compression technology has reached a point where you can store 80/160/320 minutes on a single 80 minute minidisc.
The units themselves are tiny (most of them are in the 80x16x75mm range) and weigh almost nothing (the Sharp MD-MT770 weighs 128g). The discs are infinitely re-recordable and cost about $1.50 each.
Depending on the level of compression you record at, shock protection can be up to 160 seconds. Most units have rechargeable batteries and can also use an extra AA for backup yielding incredible battery life -- the MT770 for example can play up to 49 hours on the highest compression level (35 on the regular SP mode).
One of the coolest advantages they have over mp3 players is that you can record concerts at virtually CD quality sound. Plug a microphone into the in-jack and you can bootleg with ease. Most of the latest recorders feature manually adjustable recording levels (while recording!), automatic 3/5/10 minute timestamping, audio syncing and optical line-in (which means you can optically record mp3s from a computer equipped with optical-out). Some of the Sony recorders (MZ-R700DPC for example) ship with external D/A converter that connects the MD's digital input with your computer's USB port, which makes recording all internet audio formats quite easy.
You can shuffle tracks around on a disc on the fly, delete them, insert new ones and of course there are the usual random/repeat play modes.
You can get an entry-level MDLP (2x/4x recording) player/recorder for around $215. Compared to paying $90 for each 256mb flashcard, they are really cost efficient.
I have a Sharp MD-MT77 which I am quite happy with. I make 5 hour playlists in xmms, plug the recorder into my soundcard's line-out and make mix MDs. 5 hours is a lot of space to work with -- and the quality is quite decent. At 2x (160 minutes), recordings sound virtually like CD quality.
Check out minidisc.org for more information, or minidisco.com for a run-down on most of the available models.
I agree that you can judge southpark harshly.. and that it isn't a children's movie. Standing up for what you believe in is good.. But did you read any of his other reviews? He criticized a lot of socially important movies for their portrayal of violence. On a movie about Vietnam, he basically said that they should have cut out all of the foul language.. just because soldiers may utter profanities in times of stress, that doesn't mean our children should know about it.. Simply, don't take your 8 year old to see a movie targetted at adults - and on the same token, don't try to shelter your children completely, there are things that they are inevitably going to see, and perhaps it is better if you are with them and are able to answer their questions about it instead of having them discover the evils of the world on their own.
Some movies (despite the violence and profanity) are important to see.. and to help remind us of the evils of war, and the holocaust, and..(fill in social cause of your choice here..).
To judge on such a puritanical and syntactical scale is undefendable.
I read most of the reviews on the site, and every single movie (except for "The Apostles" and Mary Poppins) got poor ratings from him on a variety of nitpicky topics. I agree, southpark is not a childrens movie.. but a lot of the other movies he blasted (even ones with important social messages) didn't involve violence to children.
I think I can safely say that most new users to linux used DOS or MacOS previously. And since we aren't generally born with the ability to operate a computer, those same users had to learn DOS or MacOS from scratch, just like everyone else. For those who say that using a mouse is more intuitive than the command line, I disagree. I wanted to play games on DOS, so I learned how to fiddle with autoexec.bat and config.sys to maximize my 640k and even made *gasp* bootdisks as well. This is just how I learned - and there was no GUI to help me, or man pages. I'm sure a lot of you out there started the same way. It isn't about intelligence, it is about being curious and having the motivation to maximize the uses of what you have in front of you. Next came win3.11, and then win95. I learned what I needed with those and then I discovered linux a couple of years ago. Starting out with slackware 1.x and a huge 'Unleashed book, my *father* and I realized our DOS and windows skills weren't really applicable.. but we were able to figure it out, by ourselves. My mom has recently gotten into email and she doesn't bat an eye when going between win32 netscape and netscape on top of KDE -- I don't think she even notices the differences. Do I think she could learn the command line? If she had an interest in it, she definetly could. Linux is for those who don't mind experimentation and are not afraid to learn. And, once they learn the basics, inquisitive minds shouldn't have much trouble figuring out the rest.
Although what you said is probably true, i have a nice pII 350 linux setup right now; even if the kernels stopped coming and everything ground to a halt, i'd *still* have a nice linux setup.
mp3s, netscape, wordperfect, gcc, nice window managers, endless customizability and stability: it's good enough for me.
There will always be hardware available that linux can run on. it's like winmodems.. just avoid them.
Morpheus mumbled something about "fusion" when talking about the energy situation. Which, i suppose, would totally destroy the need for humans. But still, an excellent movie.
.. as for the love thing, i'm sure a lot of the important romantic elements among other things ended up on the cutting room floor to conserve time and make it a standard 2 hour movie.
Doctors aren't generally "morally corrupt". They perform a legal service for women. Write your congressman, petition, offer other alternatives for young, poor mothers.. that's a positive, moral choice. Shooting doctors is obviously not.
I bought a meal at Pizzeria Unos once and it totaled to $14.57. I gave the waitress a $2.25 tip. It was 1.5 miles from Circuit City. I am 19 years old. Coke costs 1.99 at basketball games.
Ironically, I can usually find cheaper computer equipment at the local Sam's Club (a huge store that sells products in bulk).. CD-R's, 17" monitors, and even games. I'm fairly certain that the '$0' sales with the massive rebates are only gimmicks to get people into the store; they probably don't even stock more than 10 items for said sale. Ever since they took out the game machines, things have gone down hill. Buh.
Slashdot Mirror
cheers.
The units themselves are tiny (most of them are in the 80x16x75mm range) and weigh almost nothing (the Sharp MD-MT770 weighs 128g). The discs are infinitely re-recordable and cost about $1.50 each.
Depending on the level of compression you record at, shock protection can be up to 160 seconds. Most units have rechargeable batteries and can also use an extra AA for backup yielding incredible battery life -- the MT770 for example can play up to 49 hours on the highest compression level (35 on the regular SP mode).
One of the coolest advantages they have over mp3 players is that you can record concerts at virtually CD quality sound. Plug a microphone into the in-jack and you can bootleg with ease. Most of the latest recorders feature manually adjustable recording levels (while recording!), automatic 3/5/10 minute timestamping, audio syncing and optical line-in (which means you can optically record mp3s from a computer equipped with optical-out). Some of the Sony recorders (MZ-R700DPC for example) ship with external D/A converter that connects the MD's digital input with your computer's USB port, which makes recording all internet audio formats quite easy.
You can shuffle tracks around on a disc on the fly, delete them, insert new ones and of course there are the usual random/repeat play modes.
You can get an entry-level MDLP (2x/4x recording) player/recorder for around $215. Compared to paying $90 for each 256mb flashcard, they are really cost efficient.
I have a Sharp MD-MT77 which I am quite happy with. I make 5 hour playlists in xmms, plug the recorder into my soundcard's line-out and make mix MDs. 5 hours is a lot of space to work with -- and the quality is quite decent. At 2x (160 minutes), recordings sound virtually like CD quality.
Check out minidisc.org for more information, or minidisco.com for a run-down on most of the available models.
I agree that you can judge southpark harshly .. and that it isn't a children's movie. .. But did you read any of his other reviews? .. just because soldiers may utter profanities in times of stress, that doesn't mean our children should know about it.. Simply, don't take your 8 year old to see a movie targetted at adults - and on the same token, don't try to shelter your children completely, there are things that they are inevitably going to see, and perhaps it is better if you are with them and are able to answer their questions about it instead of having them discover the evils of the world on their own.
.. and to help remind us of the evils of war, and the holocaust, and ..(fill in social cause of your choice here..).
Standing up for what you believe in is good
He criticized a lot of socially important movies for their portrayal of violence. On a movie about Vietnam, he basically said that they should have cut out all of the foul language
Some movies (despite the violence and profanity) are important to see
To judge on such a puritanical and syntactical scale is undefendable.
~ziffie of the schott-key seventh path.
I read most of the reviews on the site, and every single movie (except for "The Apostles" and Mary Poppins) got poor ratings from him on a variety of nitpicky topics. I agree, southpark is not a childrens movie .. but a lot of the other movies he blasted (even ones with important social messages) didn't involve violence to children.
i find that disgusting.
Well, I read most of the reviews on that page and they are very serious.. and I think they really would shutdown southpark if they could..
~ziffie of the schott-key seventh path.
with GreyFauk.
.. but we were able to figure it out, by ourselves.
I think I can safely say that most new users to linux used DOS or MacOS previously. And since we aren't generally born with the ability to operate a computer, those same users had to learn DOS or MacOS from scratch, just like everyone else.
For those who say that using a mouse is more intuitive than the command line, I disagree.
I wanted to play games on DOS, so I learned how to fiddle with autoexec.bat and config.sys to maximize my 640k and even made *gasp* bootdisks as well. This is just how I learned - and there was no GUI to help me, or man pages.
I'm sure a lot of you out there started the same way. It isn't about intelligence, it is about being curious and having the motivation to maximize the uses of what you have in front of you.
Next came win3.11, and then win95. I learned what I needed with those and then I discovered linux a couple of years ago. Starting out with slackware 1.x and a huge 'Unleashed book, my *father* and I realized our DOS and windows skills weren't really applicable
My mom has recently gotten into email and she doesn't bat an eye when going between win32 netscape and netscape on top of KDE -- I don't think she even notices the differences.
Do I think she could learn the command line? If she had an interest in it, she definetly could. Linux is for those who don't mind experimentation and are not afraid to learn. And, once they learn the basics, inquisitive minds shouldn't have much trouble figuring out the rest.
Ziffie.
with Anonymous Coward.
Although what you said is probably true, i have a nice pII 350 linux setup right now; even if the kernels stopped coming and everything ground to a halt, i'd *still* have a nice linux setup.
.. just avoid them.
mp3s, netscape, wordperfect, gcc, nice window managers, endless customizability and stability: it's good enough for me.
There will always be hardware available that linux can run on. it's like winmodems
ziffie.
me: hi. here's the movie i want.
them: that'll be $3. this is due back on tuesday.
me: thanks. bye.
that was tough.
nothing wrong with getting out of your house every once and awhile and actually interacting with people.
Morpheus mumbled something about "fusion" when talking about the energy situation.
Which, i suppose, would totally destroy the need for humans. But still, an excellent movie.
.. as for the love thing, i'm sure a lot of the important romantic elements among other things ended up on the cutting room floor to conserve time and make it a standard 2 hour movie.
You win. Now I will get to send an application in after all.
upisdedowncak.
>The babies would not approve of it either; oh >wait, another one was just butchered, he'll never >have a say will he?
Yeah, but at least he's in heaven, right?
Whee.
upisdedowncak
Doctors aren't generally "morally corrupt". .. that's a positive, moral choice. Shooting doctors is obviously not.
They perform a legal service for women.
Write your congressman, petition, offer other alternatives for young, poor mothers
upisdedowncak
Web porn clogs the internet. Porn sites should have to use some sort of private intranet to market their garbage.
speed.
speed.
speed.
repeat until dead.
I bought a meal at Pizzeria Unos once and it totaled to $14.57.
I gave the waitress a $2.25 tip.
It was 1.5 miles from Circuit City.
I am 19 years old.
Coke costs 1.99 at basketball games.
upisdedowncak
Ironically, I can usually find cheaper computer equipment at the local Sam's Club (a huge store that sells products in bulk) .. CD-R's, 17" monitors, and even games. I'm fairly certain that the '$0' sales with the massive rebates are only gimmicks to get people into the store; they probably don't even stock more than 10 items for said sale. Ever since they took out the game machines, things have gone down hill. Buh.