...I believe the fact that it's possible to store so much music at all in such a tiny (and portable) space is amazing. If you think about it, we're going a step back in sound quality (compared to CD-Audio) when lossless compression is usedw. That said, turning a CD collection into FLAC takes up about perhaps 4 times as much space as a turning the collection into a set of decent bitrate.ogg or.mp3 files. Taking up 4 times as much space really isn't much when you consider how fast storage space quotas are growing (think: exponentially). What I'm saying is: in the end, saving X amount of space by means of compression isn't really too necessary, as the space will soon exceed the music library requirements.
Researchers in Manchester have almost succeeded in developing Velcro-like pads to fix to the feet of volunteers who will then be able to scuttle over the town hall or the Guardian's northern headquarters like lizards, with no risk of falling.
Well, then I'll "almost" be able to complete this task.
Of course, when you turn your newly burned CD (from the AAC iTunes tracks) into MP3, the quality will be very diminished, because AAC and MP3 compress in rather different ways. You're essentially compressing it twice; once as AAC, and once as MP3 (the artifacts in each compression will be compounded). PlayFair will remove the need to reencode it, thus improving the quality.
... preowned and in perfect shape from Gamestop. Apparently, they reduced the preowned XBOX prices in anticipation of the Microsoft price drop. Of course, I had to add the price of the USB extension cable, a USB memory stick (my digital camera wasn't recognized by the XBOX), and another controller dongle connector in order to throw Linux on it, but the device even had a Samsung drive (the best of the 3 possible drives)!
Sony plans to release FOUR new devices in April. They are expected to cost $200 for the MZ-NH600D, $250 for the MZ-NHF800, $300 for the MZ-NH900, and $400 for the MZ-NH1, with Hi-MD blanks costing about $7. They are also planning to release a bookshelf system, the LAM-X1.
There are a few concept ideas also. Look here (Japanese) to see a bunch of other Hi-MD items, including a Hi-MD Camera!
Click here for a translated (Babelfish) document with a bit of technical information.
Re:Compatible with PC. What about Mac? Linux?
on
New Sony Minidisc Players
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· Score: 2, Interesting
Actually, I'd like to point something out. While this device will work just fine for file storage in Linux using Mass Storage Device modules, transferring audio in ATRAC format (in listenable form) is not really supported in Linux now. So far, NetMD does not work in Linux (although there are multiple projects working on it). If somebody knows that the USB Mass Storage Device setup will solve this problem (copying audio via Sony's proprietary NetMD), please correct me.
Actually, I'm pretty sure Sony would release it in Strawberry in Japan. [The Japanese] tend to release more colors for their electronics than they sell here in the US.
GPRS does indeed have a market (here in the US, it's possible to get unlimited GPRS internet from T-Mobile for $20 a month provided you subscribe to a voice plan, $30 if you don't). I always thought that GPRS was more practical than WiFi because the access range is far wider. The obvious downside, however, is the speed. There is a lot of catching up to do before wireless internet can be truly practical, but it does have a place (i.e. checking email in a hotel without having to pay high phone call or WiFi costs)...
Versace makes a really terrific laptop bag. I saw it in a local store for under $600 ($595). It's made of some pretty high quality nylon and is lightly padded. Plus, you get the added benefit of an included carrying strap.
I stopped using my iPod after getting this phone...it just saves space in my luggage (not that the iPod is huge, it's just nice carrying less cables and stuff around, and the SE P800 has an optional tiny travel charger). You can plug in regular headphones with a cheap adapter purchased from Radio Shack etc., the battery life is really not bad when playing audio files, and (this is the most important feature), there is an.ogg player (aside from most other formats, including MP3 and MPEG4 video)!!! So far the largest media this phone has is a 128MB Memory Stick DUO (a smaller version of the memory stick which comes with an adapter to turn it into a normal sized one), which is plenty for shorter trips (these cards are so tiny that it's possible to bring a few, but 256MB would be nice). The phone is actually very well designed for audio playback, as the players work either with the clamshell open or closed, and the jog dial multi-dealie thing controls everything including song change, pause, and volume. I was surprised that the volume goes more than high enough (at least with the included stereo headphone/headset combo), and they even make a headphone/headset combo that has a little FM radio built in with volume control and a little blue display. I really couldn't be happier with this solution (just add more storage space, but that's always on the wish list)...
Perfect pitch means one is able to identify a given pitch (according to Western systems, do, re, mi, fa, so, la, si, and the accompanying sharps/flats)
Absolute pitch means that one is able to sing a given pitch.
By the way, I think that Shenkerian (the Shenkerian who posted above me, that is) is correct in saying that good relative pitch is the most necessary requirement, and a machine that corrects the relative pitch would be the most useful.
As somebody who has both perfect and absolute pitch, I certainly agree that anything which does not conform to Western standards (here in NYC we usually tune to A442, classical-speaking) can be quite bothersome as long as the 442-tuned pitch remains active in the head. However, a far more aggravating assault on my ears remains to be faulty relative (from one note to another) intonation. Because of this, I do not mind listening to old record transfers (usually quite sharp, A444 or higher) as long as the relative pitch stays in tune. In order for me to listen to things such as bagpipes or Indian music (microtones etc.), I basically have to throw my perfect pitch out the door and tell myself that music doesn't have to be perfectly in tune to provide satisfaction (I love bagpipe music, being part Scottish myself). My guess is that bagpipers of centuries ago probably didn't play "in tune", according to today's strict standards....in order to stay true to form, I think it is alright for bagpipers etc. to bend the pitch and color the intonation (intentionally or not!), to create a genuine feel.
Cryogenics. Take your CD, and freeze it in a largish vat of liquid nitrogen or some better coldish susbstance. Then wait until technology improves for bringing your CD back to life - you'll have your data back!
While this seems like a fine proposition, I have found that there is very little reception in many/most museums, especially those that delve underground with basement levels or have thick stone walls. Because of this, I think a lot of work would have to happen in order to make this work...
I'm somewhat lucky that my building is pre-wired for Verizon's DSL internet (read: ethernet jacks on the walls) in NYC, so I don't have to sign up for a blasted land voice line (I was researching it, and, sure enough, the rates+taxes are incredibly high!). I just use my cell phone for talking... Do DSL providers usually require voice subscription?
I think that the keys on this phone, while small, may be about the best possible solution for a device of this size. They appear to be very tactile, and are elevated enough to feel decent when typing. Although perhaps I shouldn't be talking, as a violinist who must hit notes that can be just a couple millimeters apart...the fingerboard of my violin sure doesn't have any sort of elevation or tactile characteristics!
I'm pretty sure whoever purchases this fine vessel will beach it. My guess is a museum will buy it (with private funding perhaps) and put it on display out of the water (or docked, as the USS Intrepid is, which has been docked on Manhattan for over 20 years).
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...I believe the fact that it's possible to store so much music at all in such a tiny (and portable) space is amazing. If you think about it, we're going a step back in sound quality (compared to CD-Audio) when lossless compression is usedw. That said, turning a CD collection into FLAC takes up about perhaps 4 times as much space as a turning the collection into a set of decent bitrate .ogg or .mp3 files. Taking up 4 times as much space really isn't much when you consider how fast storage space quotas are growing (think: exponentially). What I'm saying is: in the end, saving X amount of space by means of compression isn't really too necessary, as the space will soon exceed the music library requirements.
Researchers in Manchester have almost succeeded in developing Velcro-like pads to fix to the feet of volunteers who will then be able to scuttle over the town hall or the Guardian's northern headquarters like lizards, with no risk of falling.
Well, then I'll "almost" be able to complete this task.
Haha you could almost fit an entire SONG in the FLAC format on this amazing device!
Well, in England, most police aren't even allowed to carry handguns...
Of course, when you turn your newly burned CD (from the AAC iTunes tracks) into MP3, the quality will be very diminished, because AAC and MP3 compress in rather different ways. You're essentially compressing it twice; once as AAC, and once as MP3 (the artifacts in each compression will be compounded). PlayFair will remove the need to reencode it, thus improving the quality.
Actually, I think the list in order of priority is: 1. Middle East 2. Canada 3. North Korea
... preowned and in perfect shape from Gamestop. Apparently, they reduced the preowned XBOX prices in anticipation of the Microsoft price drop. Of course, I had to add the price of the USB extension cable, a USB memory stick (my digital camera wasn't recognized by the XBOX), and another controller dongle connector in order to throw Linux on it, but the device even had a Samsung drive (the best of the 3 possible drives)!
Plans to build a steel shell around reactor #4...hope it gets built soon...
Haha ... actually, I think that the ol' Silicon Graphics machines (Indy, O2, etc.) had the best boot-up sounds...
Sony plans to release FOUR new devices in April. They are expected to cost $200 for the MZ-NH600D, $250 for the MZ-NHF800, $300 for the MZ-NH900, and $400 for the MZ-NH1, with Hi-MD blanks costing about $7. They are also planning to release a bookshelf system, the LAM-X1.
There are a few concept ideas also. Look here (Japanese) to see a bunch of other Hi-MD items, including a Hi-MD Camera!
Click here for a translated (Babelfish) document with a bit of technical information.
Actually, I'd like to point something out. While this device will work just fine for file storage in Linux using Mass Storage Device modules, transferring audio in ATRAC format (in listenable form) is not really supported in Linux now. So far, NetMD does not work in Linux (although there are multiple projects working on it). If somebody knows that the USB Mass Storage Device setup will solve this problem (copying audio via Sony's proprietary NetMD), please correct me.
Actually, I'm pretty sure Sony would release it in Strawberry in Japan. [The Japanese] tend to release more colors for their electronics than they sell here in the US.
GPRS does indeed have a market (here in the US, it's possible to get unlimited GPRS internet from T-Mobile for $20 a month provided you subscribe to a voice plan, $30 if you don't). I always thought that GPRS was more practical than WiFi because the access range is far wider. The obvious downside, however, is the speed. There is a lot of catching up to do before wireless internet can be truly practical, but it does have a place (i.e. checking email in a hotel without having to pay high phone call or WiFi costs)...
Versace makes a really terrific laptop bag. I saw it in a local store for under $600 ($595). It's made of some pretty high quality nylon and is lightly padded. Plus, you get the added benefit of an included carrying strap.
How does compare to the much cheaper Soundbug?
I stopped using my iPod after getting this phone...it just saves space in my luggage (not that the iPod is huge, it's just nice carrying less cables and stuff around, and the SE P800 has an optional tiny travel charger). You can plug in regular headphones with a cheap adapter purchased from Radio Shack etc., the battery life is really not bad when playing audio files, and (this is the most important feature), there is an .ogg player (aside from most other formats, including MP3 and MPEG4 video)!!! So far the largest media this phone has is a 128MB Memory Stick DUO (a smaller version of the memory stick which comes with an adapter to turn it into a normal sized one), which is plenty for shorter trips (these cards are so tiny that it's possible to bring a few, but 256MB would be nice). The phone is actually very well designed for audio playback, as the players work either with the clamshell open or closed, and the jog dial multi-dealie thing controls everything including song change, pause, and volume. I was surprised that the volume goes more than high enough (at least with the included stereo headphone/headset combo), and they even make a headphone/headset combo that has a little FM radio built in with volume control and a little blue display. I really couldn't be happier with this solution (just add more storage space, but that's always on the wish list)...
Perfect pitch means one is able to identify a given pitch (according to Western systems, do, re, mi, fa, so, la, si, and the accompanying sharps/flats)
Absolute pitch means that one is able to sing a given pitch.
By the way, I think that Shenkerian (the Shenkerian who posted above me, that is) is correct in saying that good relative pitch is the most necessary requirement, and a machine that corrects the relative pitch would be the most useful.
As somebody who has both perfect and absolute pitch, I certainly agree that anything which does not conform to Western standards (here in NYC we usually tune to A442, classical-speaking) can be quite bothersome as long as the 442-tuned pitch remains active in the head. However, a far more aggravating assault on my ears remains to be faulty relative (from one note to another) intonation. Because of this, I do not mind listening to old record transfers (usually quite sharp, A444 or higher) as long as the relative pitch stays in tune. In order for me to listen to things such as bagpipes or Indian music (microtones etc.), I basically have to throw my perfect pitch out the door and tell myself that music doesn't have to be perfectly in tune to provide satisfaction (I love bagpipe music, being part Scottish myself). My guess is that bagpipers of centuries ago probably didn't play "in tune", according to today's strict standards....in order to stay true to form, I think it is alright for bagpipers etc. to bend the pitch and color the intonation (intentionally or not!), to create a genuine feel.
Cryogenics. Take your CD, and freeze it in a largish vat of liquid nitrogen or some better coldish susbstance. Then wait until technology improves for bringing your CD back to life - you'll have your data back!
While this seems like a fine proposition, I have found that there is very little reception in many/most museums, especially those that delve underground with basement levels or have thick stone walls. Because of this, I think a lot of work would have to happen in order to make this work...
I'm somewhat lucky that my building is pre-wired for Verizon's DSL internet (read: ethernet jacks on the walls) in NYC, so I don't have to sign up for a blasted land voice line (I was researching it, and, sure enough, the rates+taxes are incredibly high!). I just use my cell phone for talking ... Do DSL providers usually require voice subscription?
I think that the keys on this phone, while small, may be about the best possible solution for a device of this size. They appear to be very tactile, and are elevated enough to feel decent when typing. Although perhaps I shouldn't be talking, as a violinist who must hit notes that can be just a couple millimeters apart...the fingerboard of my violin sure doesn't have any sort of elevation or tactile characteristics!
For some strange reason, the person that pops into my head immediately is Milton from Office Space...
I use a WM called Windows XP with no plugins. It means I get no window decorations and no bloat or overhead. It's hosted at www.microsoft.com.
I'm pretty sure whoever purchases this fine vessel will beach it. My guess is a museum will buy it (with private funding perhaps) and put it on display out of the water (or docked, as the USS Intrepid is, which has been docked on Manhattan for over 20 years).