To date portable recordable Sony players to not support MP3 playback. MP3's are converted via software to a proprietary format which is a painstakingly long process.
The iPod will play MP3's with no strings attached.
When I purchased the iPod I had to pay a $25 media levy tax (even though apparently the device is limited to the iTunes Music store). I assume the media levy compensates for downloads the RIAA doesn't profit from. As such i haven't missed any sleep over downloading from allofmp3.com
not at all.. installing a new battery in an iPod is easy.. as is replacing the HD in a Powerbook.. according to apple neither of these items are user installable... if apple can do it so can i.
I just bought a mini with the least amount of ram possibe. Apple wants $500 for a 1GB RAM module.. I am sure I can get 1GB of RAM for half that elsewhere...
Would driving with your highbeams on classify as Reckless Disregard for Human Life? What you if you blinded a bus driver carrying a load of passengers?
I get the same impression... by dropping the media levy on devices that support MP3's the Canadian RIAA can start going after Canadian MP3 file traders. On the otherhand the levy on my iPod was $25... which irks me enough that I make a point to copy / pirate / trade everything just to get my moneys worth.
I did buy 10 hard to find tracks from the Canadian iTunes music store when it opened last week - good experience.
Unfortunately ever since Thunderbird.8 (for OS X) there has been compatibility issues between Thunderbird and the CodeTek virtual desktop for OSX. Codetek doesn't seem to want to get involved to fix the problem.. and the Thunderbird dev team doesn't seem to hold incompatibilities with commercial software as a high priority...
The problem with Archos is their advertised battery life is usually double real world results. Furthermore their technical support is slow and impersonal..
On the plus they do seem to be improving the look and feel of their portable players.
The "amateur revolution" is hardly new... in fact a brief look back at most pop culture / technology revolutions would reveal that those responsible were barely out of highschool / college.
The article talks about Rap music... when in general almost all popular music comes from artists in their late teens.
The article talks about Linux... when in fact the top operating systems today have their roots in college dropouts / 20 somethings who you would hardly call experts.
The article talks about games. How old was John Carmak when he build his first 3D gaming engine?
600 Mhz is underpowered for high resolution MPEG4 decoding (you shouldn't have to reencode everything you download)... and underpowered for hand writing recognition (isn't that supposed to the the stregth of a pad?)... it comes with a stylus but hand writing recognition is only "almost working"? there is no composite video out (pads are usually good for presentations)... and the pepper pad looks like a pile of garbage... those little round thumb keys split on either side are silly...
Mr. Glaser, What is your stance towards the reverse engineering of codecs and encryption schemes meant to create a glimmer of profitability in an industry plagued by pirates? What would you do if a competitor such as Microsoft reverse engineered the Real codec to turn a profit?
It's a lot bigger of a gamble for Apache to ignore MSFT than it is for MSFT to ignore Apache.
There are 56 Million domain names in existence (22 million of them active). 70% of these domain names are hosted with Opensource software and hence use Opensource mailservers (for the most part).
MS needs buy-in from the Opensource community or their market share will continue to slip.
My original point was that if the Nitrus had an original marketing campaign / strategy instead of duplicating Apple they would probably sell alot of product to the MASSES.
But when the new Rio Carbon has white headphones, a stainless steel back, a very similar box, and NO MARKETING, the masses will figure its just an iPod knockoff.
the ipod is all about marketing and hype. people who have NEVER USED IT drool over it. lets talk about usability...
1. the ipod cannot easily share files between windows and mac computers 2. the ipod battery life is relatively short 3. the ipod does not have a custom configurable EQ 4. the ipod does not have radio or recording 5. the ipod does not allow you remove tracks or create playlists on the fly (must be connected to computer) 6. the ipod earphones suck 7. the ipod music store doesnt work in most countries 8. the ipod doesn't allow you to drag mp3s to it via filesystem (only itunes) 9. the ipod doesn't come with a line level out adaptor for its lineout port 10. the ipod does not play standard audio formats such as OGG
with all that i still bought one... because its the coolest toy on the block. hype sells.
"Read again what you wrote. So basically it had piss-poor usability _and_ garbage software, but you still blame it on the marketing that it didn't sell?"
Yes... a product that looks good can be marketed heavily and sell... even if under the hood it is an under-achiever. Every review of the Rio Nitros agreed it looked good... slim and sleek.
In fact as I also pointed out the iPod suffers similar trepidation. Most reviews (especially from the Slashdot croud) lament that it does not support OGG, no recording capabilities etc... but Apple has brainwashed people with the marketing and a pretty face.
I just bought a 4G iPod 2 weeks ago... I can't stand the fact that I can't share it between my Windows and Mac machines without reformatting it to Fat32... or the fact that the iTunes Music store doesn't work in Canada...
But I love how everyone that sees it wants to play with it... Apple made sure I bought an iPod with an awesome marketing campaign.
Have you considered putting it next to the desk? That's what they were designed for (e.g. the optical media drive at the top).
Let me rephrase: The PowerMac G5's are way too massive to put on my desktop, beside my desktop, or under my desktop.
Furthermore for such a monstrous beast there sure isn't alot of internal expansion bays... which means I have to stack another foot of Firewire drives on top..
That's what they were designed for (e.g. the optical media drive at the top).
Is that why the front USB and Firewire ports are near the bottom?
Give me something the size of a 12" Powerbook without the integrated keyboard / LCD and I will be a happy camper.
Slashdot Mirror
To date portable recordable Sony players to not support MP3 playback. MP3's are converted via software to a proprietary format which is a painstakingly long process.
The iPod will play MP3's with no strings attached.
When I purchased the iPod I had to pay a $25 media levy tax (even though apparently the device is limited to the iTunes Music store). I assume the media levy compensates for downloads the RIAA doesn't profit from. As such i haven't missed any sleep over downloading from allofmp3.com
funny .. allofmp3.com works fine with my iPod
not at all .. installing a new battery in an iPod is easy .. as is replacing the HD in a Powerbook .. according to apple neither of these items are user installable ... if apple can do it so can i.
I just bought a mini with the least amount of ram possibe. Apple wants $500 for a 1GB RAM module .. I am sure I can get 1GB of RAM for half that elsewhere ...
Would driving with your highbeams on classify as Reckless Disregard for Human Life? What you if you blinded a bus driver carrying a load of passengers?
In any event I think they should come down just as hard, or harder, on kids who shine laser pens on movie theater screens ..
meta-wiki
To date hasn't almost every attempt at DRM failed? Why are we still talking about this?
Actively uploading is illegal .. passive uploading / sharing (ie. someone takes the file from you) is legal at this point ...
...
Actually, in Canada almost everything is legal
I get the same impression ... by dropping the media levy on devices that support MP3's the Canadian RIAA can start going after Canadian MP3 file traders. On the otherhand the levy on my iPod was $25 ... which irks me enough that I make a point to copy / pirate / trade everything just to get my moneys worth.
...
I did buy 10 hard to find tracks from the Canadian iTunes music store when it opened last week - good experience.
Ramble on
The C64 themes I still remember ...
Commando, MULE and Paperboy.
Unfortunately ever since Thunderbird .8 (for OS X) there has been compatibility issues between Thunderbird and the CodeTek virtual desktop for OSX. Codetek doesn't seem to want to get involved to fix the problem .. and the Thunderbird dev team doesn't seem to hold incompatibilities with commercial software as a high priority ...
try completing the application form. there is easily 40+ questions . by the end of it they know more about you than you know about yourself.
The problem with Archos is their advertised battery life is usually double real world results. Furthermore their technical support is slow and impersonal ..
On the plus they do seem to be improving the look and feel of their portable players.
The "amateur revolution" is hardly new ... in fact a brief look back at most pop culture / technology revolutions would reveal that those responsible were barely out of highschool / college.
... when in general almost all popular music comes from artists in their late teens.
... when in fact the top operating systems today have their roots in college dropouts / 20 somethings who you would hardly call experts.
...
The article talks about Rap music
The article talks about Linux
The article talks about games. How old was John Carmak when he build his first 3D gaming engine?
Fresh ideas coming from "amateurs" is the norm
have you seen the changes Lucas is making to Attack of the Clones??
http://www.mtonic.com/sw.html
600 Mhz is underpowered for high resolution MPEG4 decoding (you shouldn't have to reencode everything you download) ... and underpowered for hand writing recognition (isn't that supposed to the the stregth of a pad?) ... it comes with a stylus but hand writing recognition is only "almost working"? there is no composite video out (pads are usually good for presentations) ... and the pepper pad looks like a pile of garbage ... those little round thumb keys split on either side are silly ...
Mr. Glaser, What is your stance towards the reverse engineering of codecs and encryption schemes meant to create a glimmer of profitability in an industry plagued by pirates? What would you do if a competitor such as Microsoft reverse engineered the Real codec to turn a profit?
There are 56 Million domain names in existence (22 million of them active). 70% of these domain names are hosted with Opensource software and hence use Opensource mailservers (for the most part).
MS needs buy-in from the Opensource community or their market share will continue to slip.
if I paint my G2 iPod yellow and glue on a click wheel its still an iPod ..
..
if I paint my Nitrus silver and cut off the joy nipple its still a Nitrus
My original point was that if the Nitrus had an original marketing campaign / strategy instead of duplicating Apple they would probably sell alot of product to the MASSES.
But when the new Rio Carbon has white headphones, a stainless steel back, a very similar box, and NO MARKETING, the masses will figure its just an iPod knockoff.
the ipod is all about marketing and hype. people who have NEVER USED IT drool over it. lets talk about usability ...
... because its the coolest toy on the block. hype sells.
1. the ipod cannot easily share files between windows and mac computers
2. the ipod battery life is relatively short
3. the ipod does not have a custom configurable EQ
4. the ipod does not have radio or recording
5. the ipod does not allow you remove tracks or create playlists on the fly (must be connected to computer)
6. the ipod earphones suck
7. the ipod music store doesnt work in most countries
8. the ipod doesn't allow you to drag mp3s to it via filesystem (only itunes)
9. the ipod doesn't come with a line level out adaptor for its lineout port
10. the ipod does not play standard audio formats such as OGG
with all that i still bought one
Yes
In fact as I also pointed out the iPod suffers similar trepidation. Most reviews (especially from the Slashdot croud) lament that it does not support OGG, no recording capabilities etc
I just bought a 4G iPod 2 weeks ago
But I love how everyone that sees it wants to play with it
Let me rephrase: The PowerMac G5's are way too massive to put on my desktop, beside my desktop, or under my desktop.
Furthermore for such a monstrous beast there sure isn't alot of internal expansion bays ... which means I have to stack another foot of Firewire drives on top ..
That's what they were designed for (e.g. the optical media drive at the top).
Is that why the front USB and Firewire ports are near the bottom?
Give me something the size of a 12" Powerbook without the integrated keyboard / LCD and I will be a happy camper.