Windows Vista has a performance analyzer tool (or some such) that tells you what "performance number" your PC is (on a 5-star scale - this is not high tech stuff!)
The concept is that they will be able to put a star rating or something on games and then joe sixpack will know if your PC can run it in-store, without memorizing how much RAM or whatever you have. Nice idea I think, if it works.
WMA 9 pro is actually a pretty good codec, but it isn't supported by any portable devices AFAIK. WMA 9 standard has relatively good hardware support, but can't reach transparency at any bitrate (according to hydrogen audio listening tests). At sub-100 kbit/s bitrates, it does outperform MP3.
For higher bitrates, I would use it over the FhG or Xing MP3 encoders, but not Lame. For lower bitrates, I'd recommend HE-AAC instead.
Sort of... SQLite isn't daemonized, it is more of a db library and set of apps like berkeley is. But usage-wise, it is a full SQL DBMS and therefore competes with MySQL.
Actually I wonder about contamination... bacteria can and will take up stray DNA, and if the container was autoclaved after the first run, some of the mutant DNA would still be in there. The second batch of bacteria would take it up and act as if they'd invented it!
Re:Pffft...that's why I bought an iRiver.
on
Apple Sues Creative
·
· Score: 1
I have to disagree a bit on the UI.
I currently use a 30GB iPod Video, which just replaced my old 20GB Nomad Jukebox 3. The interfaces are essentially identical, but the creative players have a handy "right-click" context menu (accessed by pressing the wheel) that lets you do things like "add track to current playlist", "save playlist" etc. which I used frequently and miss a lot. Sure, Apple went for pure simplicity, but I find the Nomads are just as easy to use, and include some useful power features as well.
Having said that, the iPod is a fine, fine piece of engineered plastic.
Re:Pffft...that's why I bought an iRiver.
on
Apple Sues Creative
·
· Score: 1
Not convinced on the UI, to be honest.
First some background: I happily owned a 20GB Nomad Jukebox 3 for years, and as it finally died right before Christmas, it has been replaced by a 30GB iPod Video.
The interface is essentially the same (Nomad had a scroll wheel. Newer models have a touch slider), but the Creative players have a handy "right-click"-style menu where you can do things like "add track to play list" for instance. The iPod interface, in the pursuit of simplicity, does not have any such feature, so you can't generate a playlist on the fly for instance. Ignoring the context menu (which was accessed on the JB3 by simply pressing the scroll wheel), the interfaces are essentially identical and my mother could use either.
I do really like my new iPod though. I can appreciate engineering excellence as well as anyone, and it is a fine, fine piece of plastic.
As an anthropologist who is still undecided as to whether or not Neanderthals could even speak (despite having lots of complete skulls), I also was like "whaaa? since when can they do that??"
The argument I am constantly having with myself is:
"I want a laptop... OSX is so well designed and elegant, and I can't wait to learn Cocoa and objC and do some development for it. But I really wish I could play Civ4 between classes. Maybe Windows isn't sooo bad..."
So you can see why a dual-boot option looks pretty damn good. I will be shelling out for a new MacBook in the next few weeks.
Their standards don't go out the window - its a budget, integrated circuit doing what it is designed to do... 2D and basic 3D acceleration at minimal cost. As the review said, (oops, I admitted that I read it. so embarassing!) it can still run fairly complex games under reduced settings.
Having said that, I am disappointed that I'd have to drop another $700 for a Radeon 1600 (in the MacBook Pro, which is actually slower!). Not gonna go there.
Yeah, but you then end up with the oposite problem. Like when Nuclear stopped being cool, they had to renamed NMRIs to MRIs or people would refuse to get scanned!
hence the difference between the terms "open source" (meaning that the source is openly available) and "free software" (meaning that the source is free as in freedom).
RISC makes the whole concept of pipelining much easier to implement, though - its probably the main reason why X86 chips aren't internally CISC anymore.
The problem with this mentality is that if everyone just shrugs and quits every time the going gets tough, then the industry as a whole can just keep cutting and cutting, and people will just keep shuffling and shuffling around. This HAS been happening, and us union supporters (commie pinkos, yada yada) call it the "Race to the Bottom".
Just because X86 can do something in 1 instruction does NOT mean it can do it in one clock cycle, though. X86 instructions can take a variable number of clock cycles to complete, which makes for a very convoluted architecture. This is why those instructions are quickly translated into something more manageable internally.
To say that the binaries should be more compact though, is correct. cache is cheap though - this is why loop unrolling is generally considered an optimization, not a hindrance these days.
The current version of Rockbox for iPod doesn't use CPU frequency scaling, and the code is generally unoptimized, so yeah... currently it is running at about 50% the battery efficiency of the default firmware. This will improve though, since both are being addressed.
Ogg does suck batteries, but so does high-bitrate MP3 (320 kbps files fill the buffer twice as fast as 160 kbps files, regardless of bitrate, necessitating more hard-disc reads). I'm actually not sure how Ogg compares to AAC as far as CPU usage goes, though.
Personally, I use 160 kbit/s AAC (VBR) files made in iTunes... which is the best codec (at least at 128 kbit/s) according to the latest hydrogenaudio.org ABX tests. I might switch to Rockbox if/when they get gapless support for iTunes AAC files.
Although i can't point you to the listening tests, generally the iPod earbuds are considered to be very good ones; almost as good as Senheiser MX-400s.
Having said that, earbuds still suck by design. I picked up some Shure E4c in-ear phones and man oh man, are they sweet.
pssst... I have a secret for you... companies that do things purely out of altruism don't exist for long. Of course Sun is doing Java to benefit Sun. Otherwise the shareholds sure would be pissed!
Why do some people think that companies trying to make money is a dirty little secret? Its the whole point!
EAC is the best CD-ripper out there, and it is only available on PC. It is the only "secure" ripper out there, to my knowledge (with the partial exception of Plextools, which only works on Plextor drives). Secure mode works by reading everything twice and compares the results. If the results do not match, it slows down the drive and re-reads each erroring sector 10 times.
EAC can even compare the result to the online accuraterip database, to compare your results to others. Usually bit-perfect rips are possible (except with some new copy-protected discs, but at least EAC can read them!).
Slashdot Mirror
Windows Vista has a performance analyzer tool (or some such) that tells you what "performance number" your PC is (on a 5-star scale - this is not high tech stuff!)
The concept is that they will be able to put a star rating or something on games and then joe sixpack will know if your PC can run it in-store, without memorizing how much RAM or whatever you have. Nice idea I think, if it works.
Totally - look how many /.ers don't understand evolution!
wow. Count the straw person falacies in the parent post to win a prize!
WMA 9 pro is actually a pretty good codec, but it isn't supported by any portable devices AFAIK. WMA 9 standard has relatively good hardware support, but can't reach transparency at any bitrate (according to hydrogen audio listening tests). At sub-100 kbit/s bitrates, it does outperform MP3.
For higher bitrates, I would use it over the FhG or Xing MP3 encoders, but not Lame. For lower bitrates, I'd recommend HE-AAC instead.
You mean it shrinks??
-Elaine
Ack! I missed that, too... good troll. Comment revoked!
oh for chrissakes don't turn this into a "java is slow" argument. 1996 called, and they want their discussion back.
Sort of... SQLite isn't daemonized, it is more of a db library and set of apps like berkeley is. But usage-wise, it is a full SQL DBMS and therefore competes with MySQL.
Nor would MS want you to. For real-time process control, you'd use Windows CE.
Actually I wonder about contamination... bacteria can and will take up stray DNA, and if the container was autoclaved after the first run, some of the mutant DNA would still be in there. The second batch of bacteria would take it up and act as if they'd invented it!
I have to disagree a bit on the UI.
I currently use a 30GB iPod Video, which just replaced my old 20GB Nomad Jukebox 3. The interfaces are essentially identical, but the creative players have a handy "right-click" context menu (accessed by pressing the wheel) that lets you do things like "add track to current playlist", "save playlist" etc. which I used frequently and miss a lot. Sure, Apple went for pure simplicity, but I find the Nomads are just as easy to use, and include some useful power features as well.
Having said that, the iPod is a fine, fine piece of engineered plastic.
Not convinced on the UI, to be honest.
First some background: I happily owned a 20GB Nomad Jukebox 3 for years, and as it finally died right before Christmas, it has been replaced by a 30GB iPod Video.
The interface is essentially the same (Nomad had a scroll wheel. Newer models have a touch slider), but the Creative players have a handy "right-click"-style menu where you can do things like "add track to play list" for instance. The iPod interface, in the pursuit of simplicity, does not have any such feature, so you can't generate a playlist on the fly for instance. Ignoring the context menu (which was accessed on the JB3 by simply pressing the scroll wheel), the interfaces are essentially identical and my mother could use either.
I do really like my new iPod though. I can appreciate engineering excellence as well as anyone, and it is a fine, fine piece of plastic.
As an anthropologist who is still undecided as to whether or not Neanderthals could even speak (despite having lots of complete skulls), I also was like "whaaa? since when can they do that??"
The argument I am constantly having with myself is:
"I want a laptop... OSX is so well designed and elegant, and I can't wait to learn Cocoa and objC and do some development for it. But I really wish I could play Civ4 between classes. Maybe Windows isn't sooo bad..."
So you can see why a dual-boot option looks pretty damn good. I will be shelling out for a new MacBook in the next few weeks.
Their standards don't go out the window - its a budget, integrated circuit doing what it is designed to do... 2D and basic 3D acceleration at minimal cost. As the review said, (oops, I admitted that I read it. so embarassing!) it can still run fairly complex games under reduced settings.
Having said that, I am disappointed that I'd have to drop another $700 for a Radeon 1600 (in the MacBook Pro, which is actually slower!). Not gonna go there.
Yeah, but you then end up with the oposite problem. Like when Nuclear stopped being cool, they had to renamed NMRIs to MRIs or people would refuse to get scanned!
hence the difference between the terms "open source" (meaning that the source is openly available) and "free software" (meaning that the source is free as in freedom).
RISC makes the whole concept of pipelining much easier to implement, though - its probably the main reason why X86 chips aren't internally CISC anymore.
I don't even know you, but I think i'm willing to let you take a stab at it.
The problem with this mentality is that if everyone just shrugs and quits every time the going gets tough, then the industry as a whole can just keep cutting and cutting, and people will just keep shuffling and shuffling around. This HAS been happening, and us union supporters (commie pinkos, yada yada) call it the "Race to the Bottom".
Just because X86 can do something in 1 instruction does NOT mean it can do it in one clock cycle, though. X86 instructions can take a variable number of clock cycles to complete, which makes for a very convoluted architecture. This is why those instructions are quickly translated into something more manageable internally.
To say that the binaries should be more compact though, is correct. cache is cheap though - this is why loop unrolling is generally considered an optimization, not a hindrance these days.
The current version of Rockbox for iPod doesn't use CPU frequency scaling, and the code is generally unoptimized, so yeah... currently it is running at about 50% the battery efficiency of the default firmware. This will improve though, since both are being addressed.
Ogg does suck batteries, but so does high-bitrate MP3 (320 kbps files fill the buffer twice as fast as 160 kbps files, regardless of bitrate, necessitating more hard-disc reads). I'm actually not sure how Ogg compares to AAC as far as CPU usage goes, though.
Personally, I use 160 kbit/s AAC (VBR) files made in iTunes... which is the best codec (at least at 128 kbit/s) according to the latest hydrogenaudio.org ABX tests. I might switch to Rockbox if/when they get gapless support for iTunes AAC files.
Although i can't point you to the listening tests, generally the iPod earbuds are considered to be very good ones; almost as good as Senheiser MX-400s.
Having said that, earbuds still suck by design. I picked up some Shure E4c in-ear phones and man oh man, are they sweet.
pssst... I have a secret for you... companies that do things purely out of altruism don't exist for long. Of course Sun is doing Java to benefit Sun. Otherwise the shareholds sure would be pissed!
Why do some people think that companies trying to make money is a dirty little secret? Its the whole point!
EAC is the best CD-ripper out there, and it is only available on PC. It is the only "secure" ripper out there, to my knowledge (with the partial exception of Plextools, which only works on Plextor drives). Secure mode works by reading everything twice and compares the results. If the results do not match, it slows down the drive and re-reads each erroring sector 10 times.
EAC can even compare the result to the online accuraterip database, to compare your results to others. Usually bit-perfect rips are possible (except with some new copy-protected discs, but at least EAC can read them!).