"I said, and I quote, "The file extension on those free music files is not mp3." Which is true."
The difference is much more than just the file extension.
"us with your theoretically superior intellect and technological knowledge?..."
No. It does not take a rocket scientist to know that Apple does not deal in MP3 files at all, and that AAC files are not the same as MP3 files.
"as the term mp3s usually equates to music, at least in the common vernacular. "
Are you now making stuff up to cover your earlier mistakes in this? There is a big difference. Or, do you think that "VHS equates to movies", which makes it OK to confuse VHS with DVD?
"However, your apparently small and feeble mind has fixated on the three small letters at the end of the file name."
They are important, and make the statement that Apple gives away MP3's entirely incorrect. Once again you are saying that the only difference in the file formats is the extension on the end. You seem to be unaware of the basic tech issue of different file formats, and the incompatibilities which arise from them. Again and again, you say it is just a matter of the extension, and not the file content itself. Do you actually think that these mp3 files Apple gives away will play on most mp3 players? Since we know that they won't, are you still insisting that it is OK to call these files "mp3" when they won't even work?
"The point you seem unwilling or unable to grasp is that I, like quite a few other people, buy MUSIC, not file formats"
I am perfectly aware of that. However, the original incorrect statement about Apple actually referred to a specific file format, not "music".
"And as long as I have a reasonable expectation of fair use, which FairPlay grants, I could care LESS what format it's in. "
That is an entirely different subject. "FairPlay" does not grant a reasonable expectation of fair use. It is a kludge if I have to burn and re-rip from a CD, or seek out dubious Hymm programs in order to get it to a format that will play on my hardware. If Apple actually DID deal in MP3's, this would not be a problem.
To imply that to change the name of a file from.aac to.mp3 changes the file itself is some sort of file alchemy. Does your amazing talent work with metals? Can you change lead into gold merely by renaming the lead as gold?
Or do you have some sort of super-sophisticated OS we do not know about it that performs such complex apples-to-oranges file conversion operations instantly merely by renaming the files?
Your idea that "an AAC is really an MP3 file with a a non-MP3 extension" is intriguing.
"Forgive me. You're correct. The file extension on those free music files is not mp3... "
Have you ever used a computer? Or an MP3 player? How can anyone in this age think that the only difference between file formats is the extension: "Want to convert your html file to a Word doc? Just rename it from thisfile.html to thisfile.doc !!!"
" distinction that I'm sure is highly significant to you and perhaps five other people."
I'm sure it is much more than 5 million, not 5. Only an idiot newbie would confuse entirely different file formats.
"Don't worry, this is HP. They'll make up for it somehow, probably by raising the price of ink even higher. And as an added bonus, they'll make their printer drivers even more unstable and difficult to install."
Trends, huh? Just like their making the printers with bizarre hump shapes so you can't set anything on top of them. The wide black mouth of the 5550 printer gapes and laughs, like some sort of plastic ink-guzzling sinister giant clam: "Yes, you have IRREVOCABLY lost this desk space!" This is an example of outright poor design: form defeating function. Canon is at least as bad.
Co-inventor is more accurate. He did co-invent it with IBM. The Microsoft software was a crucial and integral part of the first PC. He didn't invent the microcomputer: there were plenty around before 1982. Just the PC.
Just one thought. It seems more odd/obtrusive to have DRM embedded in the new cartridges, which amount to something more like a mere bottle of ink instead of an entire ink delivery system like the existing cartridges are.
This could make it easier to have alternative vendors for these new cartridges. Unless HP has some devious plan. I actually did read the FA and did not see reference to it...
""Remember, coffee WANTS to be free!"), then because I am "owning" the coffee, and making the coffee do something that the store owner didn't want it to do (namely, leave, without being paid for), then the store owner is somehow to blame for this?"
Yes, he's to blame, and he is going to have to give you millions once you spill the stolen coffee on your lap and sue him.
"Inheritance doesn't disappear because you present one anecdote about a guy who became rich without inheritance. You truly believe people don't inherit money?"
Some do, some do not. However, we were talking about criminal "rich white" CEO's. Not only was it 'one guy', it was several, including the very worst, like Ken Lay and the Tyco guy, who did not inherit wealth. Read the Slate article.
"Apparently you're not familiar with affirmative action policies -- only propaganda"
"Propaganda" being a meaningless word here you have used for "information you do not like". I am quite familiar with the policies, and have looked at the text.
"Affirmative action is often implemented this way (based on parental wealth)."
Most of the time, however, it is based on skin color or gender. Perhaps you are referring to policies to help the poor specifically? These are not usually (ever?) called "affirmative action". Perhaps this is where the confusion lies.
"I think this is addressed above; your delusions about the ultra-advantaged minorities "
I have no delusions. I just know the FACT that any time someone is given a boost while someone else is (necessarily) shut out, based on race, it is not fair, and does not fit any real justice.
"led you to some strange conclusions about what affirmative-action supporters believe."
Forgive me. I have the disadvantage of being familiar with actual affirmative action policies (mostly college admissions/grading, workplace hiring/promotion, and government contracts).
"but now you say you don't believe it's your business to care about racial distribution of wealth"
At least I am being consistent. I just don't care what someone's race is. The "Funny you don't care" line shows that you did a poor job of reading the comments.
"... impugns the dignity of those rich idols who, you're sure, made their money the hard way."
Yet another example of poor reading comprehension. If they are my idols, why did I say they were bad, or the worst involved in scandals?
"Don't look into the sky and drive. Look into the road ahead."
I don't know.... that kind of driving sort of fits when someone has one of those "In case of Rapture, Car Will Be Driverless" bumper stickers.
"What about inheritance? Do you still deny that people inherit money, and that the inherited wealth in America is disproportionately in the hands of white families?"
What is "dispoportionate"? Besides, the topic was those bad rich white CEO's, and the inheritance factor sort of went away when I pointed out how so many of the worst (Ken Lay, etc) started out hardscrabble.
"Affirmative action is often applied incorrectly in practice"
There is no "correct" application of a policy designed to punish individuals for having the wrong skin color.
"but do you understand the basic reason for it? It is that the already-wealthy have an unfair advantage."
What does this have to do with affirmative action, which rarely if ever uses wealth as a factor? Nothing at all.
"It's an attempt to mitigate the unfairness."
What is more unfair than being rewarded or punished solely on something as trivial as skin color? It only increases the unfairness. You don't make things more fair by adding more boneheaded race-based decisions.
"Sorry, no. Race matters to racists and to the people affected by them"
No, not to them. No-one has an excuse to be racist.
"One shouldn't treat others specially based on race, but to ignore that there exist racial discrimination"
Yes, racial discrimination exists. You even argued in favor of an example of it.
"....and racial disparities in wealth is willful ignorance (and indirectly racist in itself)."
What someone has in their wallet is not my business, no matter what their race is.
"Our murder rate has continually dropped after abolition and is way lower than that in the US"
It sure spiked a lot during the 1990s. By a very large amount. There were ceremonies involving the commemoration of just some of the murders from this time.
"You've been listening to too much right-wing agitprop."
How is there a left-wing or right-wing advantage in reporting or mispreporting murder statistics.
Bring a portable pocket TV and hope it is being aired on some station. Last time I heard, security and other requirements keep spectators back far from the launch site. Even if you do get something arranged where you are going to get real close, if it turns out that things fall apart or you were given bad information, you can at least look at that little TV when you are stuck in the middle of nowhere or stuck in traffic or lost.
"So saying that 'evil' rich people are white is not racist, but pointing out that a disproportionate number of black people are in prison is?"
This is an excellent point about the racist hypocrisy where it is OK to generalize the rich as white but bad to generalize convicts as black. Why is any such generalization pursued by anyone with a bit of sense?
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The difference is much more than just the file extension.
"us with your theoretically superior intellect and technological knowledge?..."
No. It does not take a rocket scientist to know that Apple does not deal in MP3 files at all, and that AAC files are not the same as MP3 files.
"as the term mp3s usually equates to music, at least in the common vernacular. "
Are you now making stuff up to cover your earlier mistakes in this? There is a big difference. Or, do you think that "VHS equates to movies", which makes it OK to confuse VHS with DVD?
"However, your apparently small and feeble mind has fixated on the three small letters at the end of the file name."
They are important, and make the statement that Apple gives away MP3's entirely incorrect. Once again you are saying that the only difference in the file formats is the extension on the end. You seem to be unaware of the basic tech issue of different file formats, and the incompatibilities which arise from them. Again and again, you say it is just a matter of the extension, and not the file content itself. Do you actually think that these mp3 files Apple gives away will play on most mp3 players? Since we know that they won't, are you still insisting that it is OK to call these files "mp3" when they won't even work?
"The point you seem unwilling or unable to grasp is that I, like quite a few other people, buy MUSIC, not file formats"
I am perfectly aware of that. However, the original incorrect statement about Apple actually referred to a specific file format, not "music".
"And as long as I have a reasonable expectation of fair use, which FairPlay grants, I could care LESS what format it's in. "
That is an entirely different subject. "FairPlay" does not grant a reasonable expectation of fair use. It is a kludge if I have to burn and re-rip from a CD, or seek out dubious Hymm programs in order to get it to a format that will play on my hardware. If Apple actually DID deal in MP3's, this would not be a problem.
Or do you have some sort of super-sophisticated OS we do not know about it that performs such complex apples-to-oranges file conversion operations instantly merely by renaming the files?
Your idea that "an AAC is really an MP3 file with a a non-MP3 extension" is intriguing.
Have you ever used a computer? Or an MP3 player? How can anyone in this age think that the only difference between file formats is the extension: "Want to convert your html file to a Word doc? Just rename it from thisfile.html to thisfile.doc !!!"
" distinction that I'm sure is highly significant to you and perhaps five other people."
I'm sure it is much more than 5 million, not 5. Only an idiot newbie would confuse entirely different file formats.
The contributions of the grammer nazi are always welcome.
I was actually wondering what Xerox had to do with the invention of the PC, not something that happened in evolution a few years later (GUI, etc.)
You have a very good point. There was much more "embracing and extending" going on than there was "inventing anything" on Microsoft's part!
What did Xerox contribute?
That is not part of the definition and compatibility of an MP3 file.
"Could I remove the DRM if I chose?"
MP3's don't even have DRM.
"Can I burn them to CD and have MP3's whenever I want?"
The ability to potentially turn A into B does not mean that A is the same as B.
"No, I don't get it at all..."
That is quite obvious!
Trends, huh? Just like their making the printers with bizarre hump shapes so you can't set anything on top of them. The wide black mouth of the 5550 printer gapes and laughs, like some sort of plastic ink-guzzling sinister giant clam: "Yes, you have IRREVOCABLY lost this desk space!" This is an example of outright poor design: form defeating function. Canon is at least as bad.
Co-inventor is more accurate. He did co-invent it with IBM. The Microsoft software was a crucial and integral part of the first PC. He didn't invent the microcomputer: there were plenty around before 1982. Just the PC.
This could make it easier to have alternative vendors for these new cartridges. Unless HP has some devious plan. I actually did read the FA and did not see reference to it...
Yes, he's to blame, and he is going to have to give you millions once you spill the stolen coffee on your lap and sue him.
Some do, some do not. However, we were talking about criminal "rich white" CEO's. Not only was it 'one guy', it was several, including the very worst, like Ken Lay and the Tyco guy, who did not inherit wealth. Read the Slate article.
"Apparently you're not familiar with affirmative action policies -- only propaganda"
"Propaganda" being a meaningless word here you have used for "information you do not like". I am quite familiar with the policies, and have looked at the text.
"Affirmative action is often implemented this way (based on parental wealth)."
Most of the time, however, it is based on skin color or gender. Perhaps you are referring to policies to help the poor specifically? These are not usually (ever?) called "affirmative action". Perhaps this is where the confusion lies.
"I think this is addressed above; your delusions about the ultra-advantaged minorities "
I have no delusions. I just know the FACT that any time someone is given a boost while someone else is (necessarily) shut out, based on race, it is not fair, and does not fit any real justice.
"led you to some strange conclusions about what affirmative-action supporters believe."
Forgive me. I have the disadvantage of being familiar with actual affirmative action policies (mostly college admissions/grading, workplace hiring/promotion, and government contracts).
"but now you say you don't believe it's your business to care about racial distribution of wealth"
At least I am being consistent. I just don't care what someone's race is. The "Funny you don't care" line shows that you did a poor job of reading the comments.
"... impugns the dignity of those rich idols who, you're sure, made their money the hard way."
Yet another example of poor reading comprehension. If they are my idols, why did I say they were bad, or the worst involved in scandals?
Again, what is disproportionate?
Check the file format of those iPod downloads. Are they MP3 files? Oh, they aren't? Now you get it.
"Don't look into the sky and drive. Look into the road ahead." I don't know.... that kind of driving sort of fits when someone has one of those "In case of Rapture, Car Will Be Driverless" bumper stickers.
"Choices? I got choices, bub. Smith.... or Wesson?"
It was a pretty good journal under its previous moniker, "Mom's Basement Monthly".
What is "dispoportionate"? Besides, the topic was those bad rich white CEO's, and the inheritance factor sort of went away when I pointed out how so many of the worst (Ken Lay, etc) started out hardscrabble.
"Affirmative action is often applied incorrectly in practice" There is no "correct" application of a policy designed to punish individuals for having the wrong skin color.
"but do you understand the basic reason for it? It is that the already-wealthy have an unfair advantage."
What does this have to do with affirmative action, which rarely if ever uses wealth as a factor? Nothing at all.
"It's an attempt to mitigate the unfairness."
What is more unfair than being rewarded or punished solely on something as trivial as skin color? It only increases the unfairness. You don't make things more fair by adding more boneheaded race-based decisions.
"Sorry, no. Race matters to racists and to the people affected by them"
No, not to them. No-one has an excuse to be racist.
"One shouldn't treat others specially based on race, but to ignore that there exist racial discrimination"
Yes, racial discrimination exists. You even argued in favor of an example of it.
"....and racial disparities in wealth is willful ignorance (and indirectly racist in itself)."
What someone has in their wallet is not my business, no matter what their race is.
You know, those Intel automatic doors? They'd been programmed to open real slow if someone involved with AMD is trying to get in.
Argument gone. I did not find much of that last post objectionable.
There was a film about a similar weapon, "The Nude Bomb" (title of film, name of weapon and perhaps an accurate critical description).
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081249/
It is but a minor matter to change such a bomb so it obliterates other materials besides clothing.
It sure spiked a lot during the 1990s. By a very large amount. There were ceremonies involving the commemoration of just some of the murders from this time.
"You've been listening to too much right-wing agitprop."
How is there a left-wing or right-wing advantage in reporting or mispreporting murder statistics.
Bring a portable pocket TV and hope it is being aired on some station. Last time I heard, security and other requirements keep spectators back far from the launch site. Even if you do get something arranged where you are going to get real close, if it turns out that things fall apart or you were given bad information, you can at least look at that little TV when you are stuck in the middle of nowhere or stuck in traffic or lost.
Do you know why? Regulation got rid of it. Basically, regulation of the "it's illegal and we are killing you for ever doing it" type.
"And feudalism was based on coercion
Yes, regulation....
This is an excellent point about the racist hypocrisy where it is OK to generalize the rich as white but bad to generalize convicts as black. Why is any such generalization pursued by anyone with a bit of sense?
No, no-one deserves such "breaks" as those unfair advantages offered by Jim Crow or affirmative action.
Race matters....only to racists.