They (at hydrogenaudio.org) have previously done AAC codec tests at 64 and 128 kb/s, so this time 96 was chosen. Conducting what they condiser to be a proper and worthwhile test takes a lot of time and effort, on the part of both the talented people who administer the tests, as well as the pool of able and willing test subjects. So these tests are not done very frequently. Expected changes in quality due to codec development is also a factor. So tests at certain bitrates are not repeated until it is deemed worthwhile.
Why don't they test 160, 192, or 256 kb/s? At bit rates above 128 kb/s, the number of willing volunteers drops greatly. Why? The number of people able to produce meaningful test results drops greatly. Why?....
I'll leave the question of whether this speaks to the quality of lossy encoders, or the potential flaws in the test methodology, to other threads in the discussion.
''He committed no intentional crime. He was identified a security flaw, and provided this info to the bank before asking for money. Sure, it's a little like the guy who washes your windshield at a sopt light asking for money, but it's far from dishonest.
If the bank were a computer company with the present mindset, the bank would get to work on fixing the problem, and he'd have been ignored when he asked for cash, rather than prosecuted.''
I don't want someone evaluating my security unless I ask them to, just as I don't want anyone ''washing'' my windshield unless I ask them to. Both are trespasses. That being said, I suppose that if there was a strong case that the hacker's intentions were purely honorable (if he was unlikely to be attempting extortion), then perhaps I wouldn't want to render punishment that could have a devastating impact on their life. But given this man's past criminal record, (even if his record has been clean for the past 10 years), I would not have been so lenient. The severity of the punishment I'd render would depend upon factors such as how aggressively he demanded payment. Anyhow, I don't think it's safe to say his intentions were ''far from dishonest'' after only reading the article (which is clearly light on details).
''Allows the visitors'' - THE visitors = some visitors, or ALL visitors?
''Sometimes without the need for registration'' - Is registration a restriction, or just a measure against anonymous editing and/or automated mischief ?
Typically, the only crackpots that mandatory registration weeds out is those who can't come up with an email address.
Yes, they either meant Adam, or they don't understand the meaning of ''manic''. ...or I've missed all of the episodes when Jamie showed manic behaviour.
''To get something that sounds as good as an 160 AAC you need to have MP3 encode at 192 or higher.''
I think, respectfully, that your opinion is somehow skewed. I've seen a couple published blind abx tests * of various formats at 128 Kbps. iTunes AAC was rated equal to LAME MP3 (and Ogg Vorbis too). At higher bitrates, it's even more clear that AAC has no advantage because almost nobody can distinguish 160 or 192 Kbps files created by a decent encoder against the original CD. Especially on a device like an iPod.
The grandparent's statement did not mean that the example is unfortunate. Mr. Irwin's death is the unfortunate part.
Also:
Truly stupid people don't learn from mistakes (esp. others'). But maybe some smart people (who are quite capable of stupid acts) will learn from this...;)
''There are important differences between copyright infringement and theft. [...] one (copyright infringement) is a civil offence, and the other (theft) is a criminal offence.''
And I feel that this can, and perhaps should, be an important distinction. Not because one is less immoral, and therefore a person should feel less guilt about one than the other. Calling it "theft" bothers me when government misuses that term while they're trying to enact laws with penalties that are far more severe than they should be.
So maybe we should give careful consideration to how we label the offense of copyright infringement. If we allow it to become common practice to call it and think of it as "theft", then perhaps we're just making it easier for the legislature to act inappropriately.
"Most of the forums I have seen assume the user is already adept at the environment, and asking a 'n00b' question will normally just get my flamed by a linux troll. Good times."
Flaming of a 'n00b' is rare at the Ubuntu Forums. And since Ubuntu attracts a lot of n00bs, most beginner questions have been asked multiple times already. So if you are capable of using the forum Search....
November 20, 2005 - Breaking news from Ann Arbor, Michigan:
The University of Michigan has announced, that as many as 60,000 commas have escaped from, a campus laboratory, some time late, Saturday night or early Sunday, morning. University officials are still, unsure, at this time how, the escape happened. They are currently, working together with surrounding communities, to control, the spread of the outbreak.
"AOL says that since it will control the network, it can protect users from the sorts of viruses and spyware that infect other peer-to-peer systems."
If all they wanted to do is protect users they could simply use Bittorrent, which is perfectly safe as long as the source of the original seed is trustworthy. Hash checking ensures that the content I downloaded is exactly identical to the original source.
I might be willing to consume their advertising if they distributed the content via bittorrent. But there's no way I'll be installing their software. I'm sure there will be something about it I don't like, and I bet I'd only have to go as far as reading the EULA...
Whether it was sold or traded is not the point here. After you've relinquished ownership of the original CD, you no longer have the right to possess any copies of it. Is it such a difficult concept to understand? That if you traded it, you don't "own" it anymore?
Even if it was stolen from you or lost in a fire, you no longer have legal possession of it. That's not what backups are for, it's what insurance is for. Time to purchase a new copy.
"... I still buy my CDs burn them into iTunes uncompressed, and trade or ditch the CDs. Yes, I'm the labels nightmare in a sense, but I don't steal songs..."
You say that you don't "steal". But do you actually think that it's legal to own a copy of a CD after you've sold (or otherwise lost ownership of) the original?
Perhaps this practice may be considered legal somewhere, but I'm guessing that you don't live in such a place.
>> "Its like in star trek. Think about how many battles would have been won if they had a big red "fire phaser" and a green "modulate shield frequency" button an the captains chair (instead of wasting time speaking it out everytime):)"
> "Erm. You do realize that Patrick Stewart barks those orders [s]o the AUDIENCE knows what's going on, right?"
Well you do have a point, but there's more to it than that. The captian's job is barking out orders to his officers, whom then carry out the order. So regardless of whether a phaser can be fired by voice command or the pushing of a button, (or whether the audience needs to know what's going on), it's the job of the weapons officer (who's also in charge of tracking and targeting) to carry it out... not the captian.
"No late fees" means no fees, period. No matter how long you keep the rental. Right? Even if I decide to keep the rental for 4 years! Right?!?
Next up: a class action suit against restaurants that advertise "All you can eat buffet for $X.XX". Nothing on the sign indicates that you aren't purchasing all the food you can eat...for the rest of your life!
Seriously, you have to be incredibly naive or stupid to not know that there are sure to be conditions to the offer. Anyone with any common sense would naturally inquire about the stipulations.
To a scientist or engineer it is trivial, however to a (European) cop, or to someone buying butter it is not so trivial.
Changing the base unit from kilogram to gram wouldn't render the term "kilogram" obsolete, nor mean that we would have to stop using the expression in everyday life. An 80,000 gram perp would still weigh 80 kilograms, and 500 grams of butter would still be "half a kilo".
"Video was mentioned. Can a PII 233 decode a DVD and encode video to DivX in a reasonable amount of time?"
Sigh... Again I quote the article:
"I intend using it to store MP3s, images and video, and will stream music..."
STORE video!!!!! Not decode, not encode... STORE & serve! FFS, stop arguing about what it can't do, and let's remain focused on what the author intends it to do! This box is being put into service as a server, and surely he has other PCs for doing things that would require greater resources.
"This is pure BS. Poeple who try to lump Gambling in with true addictions such as drugs and smoking are simply wrong. There is no physical addiction with gambling. You won't go through withdrawl if...."
Your understanding of "addiction" is lacking. While physical dependency on a substance is indeed not the 'exact same thing' as an uncontrollable psychological compulsion, they both CORRECTLY fall under the same general definition of "addiction".
In other words, your opinion that physical addiction is the only "true addiction"... is simply wrong.
People like myself consider it "shady" because it preys upon human weakness. Much like the tobacco industry. Nobody forces anyone to smoke tobacco either...
One can callously point out that nobody is forced to (gamble/smoke), and that it's people's own stupidity that gets them into trouble. But I don't happen to believe that people that lack in intelligence, or have other weaknesses such as a proclivity towards (gambling/drug) addiction, deserve being taken advantage of.
I don't mean to sound like I'm preaching from my moral high horse. I just happen to have compassion for fellow human beings with imperfections and weaknesses. Hence my dislike for those who prosper by exploiting such.
Slashdot Mirror
They (at hydrogenaudio.org) have previously done AAC codec tests at 64 and 128 kb/s, so this time 96 was chosen. Conducting what they condiser to be a proper and worthwhile test takes a lot of time and effort, on the part of both the talented people who administer the tests, as well as the pool of able and willing test subjects. So these tests are not done very frequently. Expected changes in quality due to codec development is also a factor. So tests at certain bitrates are not repeated until it is deemed worthwhile.
....
Why don't they test 160, 192, or 256 kb/s? At bit rates above 128 kb/s, the number of willing volunteers drops greatly. Why? The number of people able to produce meaningful test results drops greatly. Why?
I'll leave the question of whether this speaks to the quality of lossy encoders, or the potential flaws in the test methodology, to other threads in the discussion.
I don't want someone evaluating my security unless I ask them to, just as I don't want anyone ''washing'' my windshield unless I ask them to. Both are trespasses. That being said, I suppose that if there was a strong case that the hacker's intentions were purely honorable (if he was unlikely to be attempting extortion), then perhaps I wouldn't want to render punishment that could have a devastating impact on their life. But given this man's past criminal record, (even if his record has been clean for the past 10 years), I would not have been so lenient. The severity of the punishment I'd render would depend upon factors such as how aggressively he demanded payment. Anyhow, I don't think it's safe to say his intentions were ''far from dishonest'' after only reading the article (which is clearly light on details).
''it seems Vodoo opened up the sources''
3dfx was acquired by NVIDIA in 2000.
''Allows the visitors'' - THE visitors = some visitors, or ALL visitors?
''Sometimes without the need for registration'' - Is registration a restriction, or just a measure against anonymous editing and/or automated mischief ?
Typically, the only crackpots that mandatory registration weeds out is those who can't come up with an email address.
Yes, they either meant Adam, or they don't understand the meaning of ''manic''.
...or I've missed all of the episodes when Jamie showed manic behaviour.
''To get something that sounds as good as an 160 AAC you need to have MP3 encode at 192 or higher.''
t s.html e sults.htm
I think, respectfully, that your opinion is somehow skewed. I've seen a couple published blind abx tests * of various formats at 128 Kbps. iTunes AAC was rated equal to LAME MP3 (and Ogg Vorbis too). At higher bitrates, it's even more clear that AAC has no advantage because almost nobody can distinguish 160 or 192 Kbps files created by a decent encoder against the original CD. Especially on a device like an iPod.
* http://www.rjamorim.com/test/multiformat128/resul
* http://www.maresweb.de/listening-tests/mf-128-1/r
If you want to refute my opinion, please, show me a published test that has some real statistical significance. Not just unprovable claims.
For the truths about audio encoding, see www.Hydrogenaudio.org
The grandparent's statement did not mean that the example is unfortunate. Mr. Irwin's death is the unfortunate part.
;)
Also:
Truly stupid people don't learn from mistakes (esp. others'). But maybe some smart people (who are quite capable of stupid acts) will learn from this...
http://www.truecrypt.org/
... (Episode #41)
an informative podcast about TrueCrypt : here
''There are important differences between copyright infringement and theft. [...] one (copyright infringement) is a civil offence, and the other (theft) is a criminal offence.''
And I feel that this can, and perhaps should, be an important distinction. Not because one is less immoral, and therefore a person should feel less guilt about one than the other. Calling it "theft" bothers me when government misuses that term while they're trying to enact laws with penalties that are far more severe than they should be.
So maybe we should give careful consideration to how we label the offense of copyright infringement. If we allow it to become common practice to call it and think of it as "theft", then perhaps we're just making it easier for the legislature to act inappropriately.
"Most of the forums I have seen assume the user is already adept at the environment, and asking a 'n00b' question will normally just get my flamed by a linux troll. Good times."
Flaming of a 'n00b' is rare at the Ubuntu Forums. And since Ubuntu attracts a lot of n00bs, most beginner questions have been asked multiple times already. So if you are capable of using the forum Search....
Of course it's going on in both directions. I expect that we (Americans) also spy on our allies, and they on us.
News about (cyber-) espionage between USA & China is certainly not shocking. But it is none-the-less newsworthy.
November 20, 2005 - Breaking news from Ann Arbor, Michigan:
The University of Michigan has announced, that as many as 60,000 commas have escaped from, a campus laboratory, some time late, Saturday night or early Sunday, morning. University officials are still, unsure, at this time how, the escape happened. They are currently, working together with surrounding communities, to control, the spread of the outbreak.
"AOL says that since it will control the network, it can protect users from the sorts of viruses and spyware that infect other peer-to-peer systems."
If all they wanted to do is protect users they could simply use Bittorrent, which is perfectly safe as long as the source of the original seed is trustworthy. Hash checking ensures that the content I downloaded is exactly identical to the original source.
I might be willing to consume their advertising if they distributed the content via bittorrent. But there's no way I'll be installing their software. I'm sure there will be something about it I don't like, and I bet I'd only have to go as far as reading the EULA...
Meh, I don't care if they break the internet. I already have several copies of it on CD kindly provided by AOL.
Whether it was sold or traded is not the point here. After you've relinquished ownership of the original CD, you no longer have the right to possess any copies of it. Is it such a difficult concept to understand? That if you traded it, you don't "own" it anymore?
Even if it was stolen from you or lost in a fire, you no longer have legal possession of it. That's not what backups are for, it's what insurance is for. Time to purchase a new copy.
You say that you don't "steal". But do you actually think that it's legal to own a copy of a CD after you've sold (or otherwise lost ownership of) the original?
Perhaps this practice may be considered legal somewhere, but I'm guessing that you don't live in such a place.
I've heard that using the peer-to-peer can lead to other bad habits, like watching the porn and even smoking the pot.
:o
>> "Its like in star trek. Think about how many battles would have been won if they had a big red "fire phaser" and a green "modulate shield frequency" button an the captains chair (instead of wasting time speaking it out everytime) :)"
;)
> "Erm. You do realize that Patrick Stewart barks those orders [s]o the AUDIENCE knows what's going on, right?"
Well you do have a point, but there's more to it than that. The captian's job is barking out orders to his officers, whom then carry out the order. So regardless of whether a phaser can be fired by voice command or the pushing of a button, (or whether the audience needs to know what's going on), it's the job of the weapons officer (who's also in charge of tracking and targeting) to carry it out... not the captian.
...but anyhow, we digress
"No late fees" means no fees, period. No matter how long you keep the rental. Right? Even if I decide to keep the rental for 4 years! Right?!?
...for the rest of your life!
Next up: a class action suit against restaurants that advertise "All you can eat buffet for $X.XX". Nothing on the sign indicates that you aren't purchasing all the food you can eat
Seriously, you have to be incredibly naive or stupid to not know that there are sure to be conditions to the offer. Anyone with any common sense would naturally inquire about the stipulations.
If you can't innovate, litigate.
In this case:
If you fail at innovation, expect litigation.
To a scientist or engineer it is trivial, however to a (European) cop, or to someone buying butter it is not so trivial.
Changing the base unit from kilogram to gram wouldn't render the term "kilogram" obsolete, nor mean that we would have to stop using the expression in everyday life. An 80,000 gram perp would still weigh 80 kilograms, and 500 grams of butter would still be "half a kilo".
STORE video!!!!! Not decode, not encode... STORE & serve! FFS, stop arguing about what it can't do, and let's remain focused on what the author intends it to do! This box is being put into service as a server, and surely he has other PCs for doing things that would require greater resources.
Well, from TFA: Does one really need a 1.X GHz CPU to accomplish that?
"This is pure BS. Poeple who try to lump Gambling in with true addictions such as drugs and smoking are simply wrong. There is no physical addiction with gambling. You won't go through withdrawl if...."
Your understanding of "addiction" is lacking. While physical dependency on a substance is indeed not the 'exact same thing' as an uncontrollable psychological compulsion, they both CORRECTLY fall under the same general definition of "addiction".
In other words, your opinion that physical addiction is the only "true addiction"... is simply wrong.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Addiction
One can callously point out that nobody is forced to (gamble/smoke), and that it's people's own stupidity that gets them into trouble. But I don't happen to believe that people that lack in intelligence, or have other weaknesses such as a proclivity towards (gambling/drug) addiction, deserve being taken advantage of.
I don't mean to sound like I'm preaching from my moral high horse. I just happen to have compassion for fellow human beings with imperfections and weaknesses. Hence my dislike for those who prosper by exploiting such.