Why would anyone by something new that restricts their existing options?
Why indeed? Maybe it's because most people have no idea that this is happening.
Slightly off-topic here, but I was recently at my local Wal-Mart, (I know, I know...), looking at DVD players with my cousin who was visiting from Europe. I asked the guy in the electronics department if they had any region-free players. He didn't know what I was talking about. There was another customer there who asked me what region-free meant. So I explained it to both of them. Neither one really seemed to get it or really care. They just kinda shrugged it off...
With that attitude, do you really expect the general public to understand what DRM really means?
It's sad to say, but it seems that the dumbing down of America is almost complete...:-(
Yup. It's very plain - which I don't mind because I rarely look at it. The cool thing about FooBar is that you can program global hot-keys. Starting stopping, pausing, and resuming can be done without using the interface. If I'm working in another app and the phone rings, or the boss walks in to shoot the breeze, I just press CTL+SHF+ALT+X to pause play - the same keystroke resumes when I'm ready to crank it up again.
Foobar also seems to have a better random function than WinAmp. I rarely get the same song twice in a 10-hour day. Of course, that may be due to the fact that I currently have 2422 songs in the playlist, (all legally ripped from CDs I own, BTW).
On your recommendation, I browsed the Quintessential Player site and it looks pretty nice. But at a download size more than three times the size of FooBar, I'm just not interested. I usually have between 6-10 large apps open at a time on my workstation here at work, (Office, CAD, e-mail, browser, etc...). Having an OGG player with a tiny memory footprint and programmable hot-keys works best for me.
Since I hadn't heard of QP, I just went and modded your post as 'Informative'. QP may be just what other folks are looking for. It's just not for me.
It may even end up being the case where they release a new major version number, and it ends up being so bad that everyone sticks with the previous one instead!
Or maybe they'll just switch to another player. Foobar is the antithesis of Winamp, WinMP, and their ilk. It's small, simple, and even supports OGG. 10 minutes after installing it, Winamp was yanked off my system & I've never looked back...
Watching a friend or a loved one slowly rot away and trying to get them help which they refuse or which doesn't work. It feels futile and seeing someone die because of "their own decision" still greatly affects people around them.
What you say is true. I've seen it in my own family. My dad killed himself with alcohol and tobacco and my mother-in-law is busy doing the same thing right now. Neither of these substances are illegal. So why is that? The grandparent poster was correct in saying that these other drugs are not as addictive as alcohol or tobacco. So why are some substances illegal while others are not? Methinks the situation is motivated by politics and profit and has little to do with protecting people from themselves - which is impossible to do. If there is one thing I learned from watching my dad drink himself to death it's this; if a person wants to drink, they will. You can't make them stop no matter how much money you throw at the problem. This is why the war on drugs is doomed to failure. People even find ways to get high while incarcerated. You just can't legislate sobriety.
And please, "cheap" drugs. Tobacco is heavily taxated as well, which makes it NOT cheap.
How cheap do you think it would be 'on the street' if it was illegal? Do you really think it would cost less than the current over-the-counter price?
Maybe. I still don't see the allure of paying nearly the same amount for an inferior product. I much prefer to buy the CD, (used), and rip it for mobile convenience and backup purposes.
But then again... I don't file-share online either.
Re:Microsoft Bob will never go out of fashion.
on
Software Fashion
·
· Score: 1
From the article... "We are expanding our product offerings and enhancing Dell.com, and doing it in time for the holiday buying period so important to consumers."
Who is he trying to kid? I'd venture to say that the holiday shopping season is a lot more important to retailers and manufacturers than it is to 'consumers'.
Heh - I do the same when using Google. I do think PDF has its place in the digital world though. I do a lot of design work using CAD. Having the ability to 'print' my drawings to an easily accessible format has been a huge boon to me when making proposals to my clients. And yes, I know that there are other, more 'free' formats available - but not to most of the people that I deal with. Most of them don't even seem to understand the distinction between Acrobat and the Reader.
Of course, these are the same people that consistently attach excel spreadsheets when e-mailing me. Sigh...
Noone really wants to download a PDF and page through it at their desk and I don't know too many people taking laptops to the toilet, bathtub, or park in order to read. The problem isn't really with eBooks per-say, its that there really isn't a convenient way to view the content.
I agree, PDF stinks for online viewing. There's nothing worse than scrolling up and down to read multiple columns on a page. But there is this fairly ubiquitous little alternative called HTML. I can't figure out why it doesn't see more use for these kinds of applications.
I've downloaded several novels from Baen Books, as well as numerous text files from Project Gutengberg. While I appreciate the work that goes into Project Gutenberg, I really do prefer to read pages that have a bit of formatting as per Baen. Hyperlinking the TOC to individual chapters is a nice touch too.
many consumers (myself included) just don't see the point in buying a device to read a book as opposed to just buying the paper book and not having to worry about charging it up before making a coast-to-coast flight
This is why I've never bought an eBook reader. I've managed to find enough reading material through openly available sources that don't try to lock me into a proprietary format. And yes, that includes the dead-tree variety as well. For electronic reading, my laptop works great while my wife is driving or I'm sitting in the hammock in the back yard, or whatever.
And how long until it's cross-referenced with your grocery buying habits? Tons of people have opted in to shopping club cards.
"Sorry Mr. Doh, your claim has been denied since your shopping history indicates that you gave yourself diabetes with excessive amounts of ice cream and chocolate sodas."
My point is that keeping the disk plays into that 'tacit assumption' that you're talking about. The industry won't change their draconian approach until enough people begin to say "enough is enough". Returning the CD as defective is a small step in the right direction - and not that much of a hassle compared to putting up with limited functionality (IMHO).
I personally haven't bought a new CD from the RIAA in over two years. I buy everything used or from CD Baby. Buying from CD Baby puts my money directly into the hands of the musicians while costing me less than buying music produced through the RIAA machine.
Judging by the current stories stating that CD prices are being slashed, I'd say enough people are doing similar things. And maybe, just maybe, the RIAA affiliates are beginning to get the message.
Instead of keeping it, why not return it as 'defective'. That will send a better message to the industry than playing it in two-song chunks as you drive back & forth.
I don't get your point. Would you prefer that all music be played on acoustic instruments without any effects at all? I'm sure that's not what you mean, (I hope).
What I was trying to say was that the auto-tuner is just a tool. A tool that can be used for good as easily as for evil - just like distortion on the guitar. I use it, but not all the time. Sometimes I play a completely clean, un-effected sound. It just depends on what the music calls for. Or is that what you were trying to say?
Not trying to be a smart-ass here - just trying to clarify what I meant...
Slashdot Mirror
... but they were all out of the used bin. The RIAA can have some of my money again when they give me a decent product at a decent price.
Why does a DVD with 6 hours of material cost $14.99 while a CD with 1 hour of material cost $16 to $19?
I believe it might be better stated as...
Wow! You're a poet
And you didn't even know it
But your feet sure do show it
They're long fellows...
ok, sorry 'bout that...
did you see the screenshots?
;-]
Heh - yeah. I got a kick out of the one labeled "KDE tray applications work". I pulled it up and found a picture of kscd displaying an error.
Way to proof-read your website guys!
Hmmm... Followed your link and everything I see in there is dated over a year ago and labeled Xandros 1.0.
Maybe they just haven't updated their ftp archives yet?
Slightly off-topic here, but I was recently at my local Wal-Mart, (I know, I know...), looking at DVD players with my cousin who was visiting from Europe. I asked the guy in the electronics department if they had any region-free players. He didn't know what I was talking about. There was another customer there who asked me what region-free meant. So I explained it to both of them. Neither one really seemed to get it or really care. They just kinda shrugged it off...
With that attitude, do you really expect the general public to understand what DRM really means?
It's sad to say, but it seems that the dumbing down of America is almost complete...
Yup. It's very plain - which I don't mind because I rarely look at it. The cool thing about FooBar is that you can program global hot-keys. Starting stopping, pausing, and resuming can be done without using the interface. If I'm working in another app and the phone rings, or the boss walks in to shoot the breeze, I just press CTL+SHF+ALT+X to pause play - the same keystroke resumes when I'm ready to crank it up again.
Foobar also seems to have a better random function than WinAmp. I rarely get the same song twice in a 10-hour day. Of course, that may be due to the fact that I currently have 2422 songs in the playlist, (all legally ripped from CDs I own, BTW).
On your recommendation, I browsed the Quintessential Player site and it looks pretty nice. But at a download size more than three times the size of FooBar, I'm just not interested. I usually have between 6-10 large apps open at a time on my workstation here at work, (Office, CAD, e-mail, browser, etc...). Having an OGG player with a tiny memory footprint and programmable hot-keys works best for me.
Since I hadn't heard of QP, I just went and modded your post as 'Informative'. QP may be just what other folks are looking for. It's just not for me.
.. to the term 'Solar Flare'...
*** rimshot ***
Sorry to have to inform you of this but
Persis Khambatta passed away in 1998.
Looks like you'll have to find yourself another future wife...
How cheap do you think it would be 'on the street' if it was illegal? Do you really think it would cost less than the current over-the-counter price?
Maybe. I still don't see the allure of paying nearly the same amount for an inferior product. I much prefer to buy the CD, (used), and rip it for mobile convenience and backup purposes.
But then again... I don't file-share online either.
Well, here's one.
But why?...
From the article...
"We are expanding our product offerings and enhancing Dell.com, and doing it in time for the holiday buying period so important to consumers."
Who is he trying to kid? I'd venture to say that the holiday shopping season is a lot more important to retailers and manufacturers than it is to 'consumers'.
I already work eight days a week - you insensitive clod!
Here are some good places for newbies to start with Linux...
Hope this helps!
If I had a C64, I'd be happy to hook it, (or anything else), up to broadband. If it was available where I live, that is.
Thanks for nothing Verizon...
Heh - I do the same when using Google. I do think PDF has its place in the digital world though. I do a lot of design work using CAD. Having the ability to 'print' my drawings to an easily accessible format has been a huge boon to me when making proposals to my clients. And yes, I know that there are other, more 'free' formats available - but not to most of the people that I deal with. Most of them don't even seem to understand the distinction between Acrobat and the Reader.
Of course, these are the same people that consistently attach excel spreadsheets when e-mailing me. Sigh...
I've downloaded several novels from Baen Books, as well as numerous text files from Project Gutengberg. While I appreciate the work that goes into Project Gutenberg, I really do prefer to read pages that have a bit of formatting as per Baen. Hyperlinking the TOC to individual chapters is a nice touch too.
This is why I've never bought an eBook reader. I've managed to find enough reading material through openly available sources that don't try to lock me into a proprietary format. And yes, that includes the dead-tree variety as well. For electronic reading, my laptop works great while my wife is driving or I'm sitting in the hammock in the back yard, or whatever.
And how long until it's cross-referenced with your grocery buying habits? Tons of people have opted in to shopping club cards.
"Sorry Mr. Doh, your claim has been denied since your shopping history indicates that you gave yourself diabetes with excessive amounts of ice cream and chocolate sodas."
Far-fetched? Maybe...
Yeah - more likely it'd be Celine Dion.
Oh wait...
My point is that keeping the disk plays into that 'tacit assumption' that you're talking about. The industry won't change their draconian approach until enough people begin to say "enough is enough". Returning the CD as defective is a small step in the right direction - and not that much of a hassle compared to putting up with limited functionality (IMHO).
I personally haven't bought a new CD from the RIAA in over two years. I buy everything used or from CD Baby. Buying from CD Baby puts my money directly into the hands of the musicians while costing me less than buying music produced through the RIAA machine.
Judging by the current stories stating that CD prices are being slashed, I'd say enough people are doing similar things. And maybe, just maybe, the RIAA affiliates are beginning to get the message.
I certainly hope so.
Instead of keeping it, why not return it as 'defective'. That will send a better message to the industry than playing it in two-song chunks as you drive back & forth.
Dear Mr. Coward,
Please feel free to return to slashdot after you have learned to use Google
600 Pennsylvania Avenue
;-]
Washington, DC
C'mon, big talker. I'll be waiting...
I don't get your point. Would you prefer that all music be played on acoustic instruments without any effects at all? I'm sure that's not what you mean, (I hope).
What I was trying to say was that the auto-tuner is just a tool. A tool that can be used for good as easily as for evil - just like distortion on the guitar. I use it, but not all the time. Sometimes I play a completely clean, un-effected sound. It just depends on what the music calls for. Or is that what you were trying to say?
Not trying to be a smart-ass here - just trying to clarify what I meant...