this summary is misleading. they were asked to choose which they thought sounded better. the listeners DID notice a difference between the two, and for some reason 1/3 of the participants enjoyed the lower bitrate version better. perhaps it had less harsh high tones or something about it was more pleasurable to them... that doesn't mean that the higher bitrate didn't honestly sound more accurate to the source material. Perhaps uncompressed audio should have also been incorporated into the test. If they still choose the lower bitrate over uncompressed, then it's clear that some listeners prefer the song with the changes inherent to compression.
this was a very unscientific study, with a very small sample size, and really shouldn't be front page on slashdot.
if it's obsolete it should not be for sale on new computers. but that's not the case here. Win 3.1 is obsolete. it's NOT like you can still go to a store and buy a new PC with Windows 3.1. But you certainly can with XP.
since vista can't run well enough on netbooks and windows 7 isn't ready yet, XP is truly the best option in many situations. don't blame the user for choosing the best option available to them (apart from using either a generic UI on top of Linux, or having to install their own stuff.)
i think the GP's point was that they're still bringing in new revenue on XP sales, and as such they should be able to staff a team to continue squashing bugs until a time when Windows 7 is widely available and has replaced XP on most netbooks.
i do agree that Ubuntu 9.04 looks slick. i installed a few of my favorite fonts (Futura, Droid) and adjusted the theme. (it's really simple... anybody who complains about the default really needs to learn how to click System -> Preferences -> Appearance and choose one of the alternatives, including *gasp* blue/gray themes! That's right, THEY'RE INCLUDED! YOUR MAIN GRIPE AGAINST UBUNTU IS SOLVED!:-P ) I must say though, those Gnome folks have really improved the font situation in Linux over the years, to the point where fonts look just as nice in Linux as they do on a Mac, IMHO.
but what isn't slick is support for some webcams (mine "works" but in an unusable state), media codecs that must be installed separately and then don't always work (in my personal experience, even VLC has run poorly)... which may be caused by still inferior (to Windows') video card drivers (even when using 1st party drivers from ATI/nVidia). The sad truth is that a hacked together osx86 install gives better media performance and capabilities than a legit Ubuntu install.
I would love for a release of Ubuntu to focus primarily on multimedia and drivers. this is where Ubuntu must concentrate in order to convince users to switch from Windows (if that is in fact a goal). i understand the licensing issues that prevent some codecs from being included. but is there really a need for my Dell's onboard sound card to be listed as a Pulseaudio device AND an ALSA device AND an OSS device? Why not unify this? I plugged in a webcam which had it's own mic, and suddenly i have a dozen possible devices to choose from as an input device in every application that can use a mic. how about just two?
medibuntu repositories should be available by default. people DO want codecs and 3rd party software like Skype, despite what people like RMS might think. they don't need to be installed by default, but at least have the capability there by default. (Totem does go out and search for codecs now at least, which is a good thing.)
in my experience, it's still not there as a desktop OS yet, but Ubuntu is progressing. with each release, we get closer.
Weren't they going to ditch the brown already? I thought I read a Slashdot story about Ubuntu getting a new theme that doesn't attempt to inspire retching subliminally.
if you don't like it you can change from the default theme with like 3 clicks. seriously, there are bigger issues to deal with than this.
i used mlb.tv last year and subscribed again this year (go phils!). they've made a lot of improvements to the flash player this year, with a slider (almost like a volume control) to increase picture quality/bandwidth usage, and new abilities to jump to specific innings of prerecorded games.
these features look and work great. plus flash has way more penetration on the desktop than silverlight. i really don't see many compelling reasons (unless microsoft is throwing a lot of money their way) to rush into silverlight.
when i first saw the silverlight player i considered trying it out. but when i looked into it, netflix made it clear that this would make silverlight your only option. i didn't really want to go full-on with silverlight so I just passed up on it.
it's not like netflix hid the fact that you couldn't use the WMP version. it wasn't discreetly placed in the fine print.. it was pretty clear.
now, i don't really understand why they are forcing it to be an all-or-nothing decision.. but don't blame them for something they told you ahead of time about, and you had to opt into.
or was it their intention all along to release such a great new feature that you couldn't upgrade to without upgrading the whole phone, thereby having to buy a new one?
if competitive gaming ever hopes to become even slightly as respected as other sporting competitions, they will need to enact drug testing, just as they do in golf, cycling, baseball and every other sport. Having certain competitors be on a different playing field because of chemical alterations is just turns people off the sport. it no longer comes down simply to skill, but rather who has the most positive reaction to the chemicals taken.
i'll always be fond of maddog, as it was a book he wrote, "Red Hat Linux for Dummies" in 1999 that gave me my first real introduction to Linux. it fostered an intense curiosity into open source software and Linux that remains with me to this day.
sales of the Elite are not high simply because it didn't offer that much more over the premium model. if it had included HD-DVD, that would no longer have been the case, and sales would have reflected this.
i guess what you are paying for is a unified friends list, achievements, cross game messaging, matchmaking, and honestly, pretty good uptime, from my experiences. i agree, free would be nicer, but i've been pretty happy with Xbox Live and I'm pretty sure I'll renew once my current subscription is up.
Slashdot Mirror
this summary is misleading. they were asked to choose which they thought sounded better. the listeners DID notice a difference between the two, and for some reason 1/3 of the participants enjoyed the lower bitrate version better. perhaps it had less harsh high tones or something about it was more pleasurable to them... that doesn't mean that the higher bitrate didn't honestly sound more accurate to the source material. Perhaps uncompressed audio should have also been incorporated into the test. If they still choose the lower bitrate over uncompressed, then it's clear that some listeners prefer the song with the changes inherent to compression.
this was a very unscientific study, with a very small sample size, and really shouldn't be front page on slashdot.
if it's obsolete it should not be for sale on new computers. but that's not the case here. Win 3.1 is obsolete. it's NOT like you can still go to a store and buy a new PC with Windows 3.1. But you certainly can with XP.
since vista can't run well enough on netbooks and windows 7 isn't ready yet, XP is truly the best option in many situations. don't blame the user for choosing the best option available to them (apart from using either a generic UI on top of Linux, or having to install their own stuff.)
i think the GP's point was that they're still bringing in new revenue on XP sales, and as such they should be able to staff a team to continue squashing bugs until a time when Windows 7 is widely available and has replaced XP on most netbooks.
it's been a while since we all got to vent our frustrations out on darl. to be fair, SCO has been a fun punching bag over the years, if nothing else.
even our very own CmdrTaco ran AnimeFu.com, which seems to have fallen by the wayside.
i do agree that Ubuntu 9.04 looks slick. i installed a few of my favorite fonts (Futura, Droid) and adjusted the theme. (it's really simple... anybody who complains about the default really needs to learn how to click System -> Preferences -> Appearance and choose one of the alternatives, including *gasp* blue/gray themes! That's right, THEY'RE INCLUDED! YOUR MAIN GRIPE AGAINST UBUNTU IS SOLVED! :-P ) I must say though, those Gnome folks have really improved the font situation in Linux over the years, to the point where fonts look just as nice in Linux as they do on a Mac, IMHO.
but what isn't slick is support for some webcams (mine "works" but in an unusable state), media codecs that must be installed separately and then don't always work (in my personal experience, even VLC has run poorly)... which may be caused by still inferior (to Windows') video card drivers (even when using 1st party drivers from ATI/nVidia). The sad truth is that a hacked together osx86 install gives better media performance and capabilities than a legit Ubuntu install.
I would love for a release of Ubuntu to focus primarily on multimedia and drivers. this is where Ubuntu must concentrate in order to convince users to switch from Windows (if that is in fact a goal). i understand the licensing issues that prevent some codecs from being included. but is there really a need for my Dell's onboard sound card to be listed as a Pulseaudio device AND an ALSA device AND an OSS device? Why not unify this? I plugged in a webcam which had it's own mic, and suddenly i have a dozen possible devices to choose from as an input device in every application that can use a mic. how about just two?
medibuntu repositories should be available by default. people DO want codecs and 3rd party software like Skype, despite what people like RMS might think. they don't need to be installed by default, but at least have the capability there by default. (Totem does go out and search for codecs now at least, which is a good thing.)
in my experience, it's still not there as a desktop OS yet, but Ubuntu is progressing. with each release, we get closer.
Weren't they going to ditch the brown already? I thought I read a Slashdot story about Ubuntu getting a new theme that doesn't attempt to inspire retching subliminally.
if you don't like it you can change from the default theme with like 3 clicks. seriously, there are bigger issues to deal with than this.
at least it's made in Germany. You know the Germans always make good stuff.
what exactly is the winning video parodying? did you even bother to watch it before you came here to complain?
i used mlb.tv last year and subscribed again this year (go phils!). they've made a lot of improvements to the flash player this year, with a slider (almost like a volume control) to increase picture quality/bandwidth usage, and new abilities to jump to specific innings of prerecorded games.
these features look and work great. plus flash has way more penetration on the desktop than silverlight. i really don't see many compelling reasons (unless microsoft is throwing a lot of money their way) to rush into silverlight.
You are also free to take your business ( and code ) elsewhere and put them out of business.
this does not work. (see: US auto industry)
when i first saw the silverlight player i considered trying it out. but when i looked into it, netflix made it clear that this would make silverlight your only option. i didn't really want to go full-on with silverlight so I just passed up on it.
it's not like netflix hid the fact that you couldn't use the WMP version. it wasn't discreetly placed in the fine print.. it was pretty clear.
now, i don't really understand why they are forcing it to be an all-or-nothing decision.. but don't blame them for something they told you ahead of time about, and you had to opt into.
The guy wasn't totally retarded when it came to backups, just 80% retarded.
never go full retard.
Piracy is not synonymous with theft. Here's a visual aid showing the key distinction.
none more black.
or was it their intention all along to release such a great new feature that you couldn't upgrade to without upgrading the whole phone, thereby having to buy a new one?
no apple would NEVER do something like that.. ;-)
you gotta have a lot of balls to ship a billion mice
Dark and Shattered Lands until WoW...
if competitive gaming ever hopes to become even slightly as respected as other sporting competitions, they will need to enact drug testing, just as they do in golf, cycling, baseball and every other sport. Having certain competitors be on a different playing field because of chemical alterations is just turns people off the sport. it no longer comes down simply to skill, but rather who has the most positive reaction to the chemicals taken.
this is not exactly the bullet point you want on your resume when looking to find a new $125,000 it job.
i know! somebody needs to stand up for the little guy.
apt
i'll always be fond of maddog, as it was a book he wrote, "Red Hat Linux for Dummies" in 1999 that gave me my first real introduction to Linux. it fostered an intense curiosity into open source software and Linux that remains with me to this day.
sales of the Elite are not high simply because it didn't offer that much more over the premium model. if it had included HD-DVD, that would no longer have been the case, and sales would have reflected this.
i guess what you are paying for is a unified friends list, achievements, cross game messaging, matchmaking, and honestly, pretty good uptime, from my experiences. i agree, free would be nicer, but i've been pretty happy with Xbox Live and I'm pretty sure I'll renew once my current subscription is up.
not as much because i have something against THIS stuart scott, but my first thoughts were of stuart scott