My Sony handycam (it was a GIFT ok!?) uses mini-DVDs to record to. If you use a non-Sony one, you get to see a lovely "SONY DISK RECOMMENDED" message for several seconds before you can record. Some other features such as direct editing on the miniDVD don't seem to be supported on the non-Sony discs. Not that I'd ever use that feature anyway, DVDs are bad enough to PLAY, never mind direct editing on rewritables.
While still entirely reasonable, your post represents a very optimistic outlook.
Clearly the G.P. is concerned about his privacy and whether they'll use the data of free (and perhaps even paid) users for their own advantage, a la gMail. As others have said, the only way to be sure it to provide your own layer of encryption where good privacy is desired. Even though DropBox encrypt data in transit and in storage, it's only with their own keys, not yours
... because it's always guaranteed dead-easy to find an identical drive to the charred & label-less one you're holding in your hand. Even if you did carefully write down the model number in anticipation of a fire, you seriously think any of the "true geeks on./ (sic)" are going to rely on that?. Even then, it wouldn't protect from flooding/tsunami, concussion due to severe earthquake or any number of other dangers.
Dropbox is an excellent service, I'll third this. Even if you delete a file, it stays there indefinitely
I just signed up there, and I really can't decide if I want that or not! Seems like a good service with all the positive comments here from it's existing users, thanks guys!
Jobs would probably only need to install something like EFI-boot or Chameleon on the liver to fake the EFI interface, and even then only if he wanted to boot off it. Otherwise, simply holding down Apple+Option+P+R while regaining consciousness from the op. should do the trick.
At any rate, could you please elaborate? What makes media players bad under Linux?
Since you're the only one who asked politely, I'll share with you. Nothing necessarily makes media players bad under Linux, but similarly, nothing guarantees one will be good either. The reason I don't believe any Linux media players are good is simply that nobody has written one yet. While Amarok looks promising, that's all it looks, but next to a commercial offering like iTunes it's nothing. It's not that I particularly like iTunes, it's just that:
short version: bugs bugs bugs bugs bugs
The iTunes volume control is logarithmic, like it should be. Amarok's volume control is useless. I even looked at the Amarok source, and it looks like someone's tried to implement this, but they've certainly failed since about 60dB of control packed into the bottom 10%, and 6dB in the remaining 90%.
Gapless playback just happens in iTunes. I doesn't always in Amarok.
You ever resized columns in the Amarok playlist?
Ohh, the Amarok Playlist. Oh. My. God.
The Amarok GUI was clearly designed by an amateur. The iTunes GUI was clearly designed by someone who'd, uhm, designed an interface before.
Often when upgrading Amarok my database was completely gone or corrupt afterward. It's only media scores, so I didn't do the full post-mortem, point being I'm too damn busy. There may well have been some reason this happened or something I could have done to avoid this, and if so it still fails because people will not read release notes / upgrade instructions for a media player.
Amarok Visualisations. What an ugly waste of space. Remove them, and there'd be one less criticism. Because that's all they are.
Amarok's handing of errors in the sound layer beneath. And that is, "die now without saving the playlist". Or alternatively, handle the error gracefully, but retry for every single item in the playlist, in turn failing immediately and biasing all the scores downwards. Peg the CPU and ignore GUI events while every single playlist item is unsuccessfully attempted. Niiiice.
Nasty bugs in the past have required frequent rescanning/rebuilding.
Amarok Based on QT/KDE. Either you'll hear me on this one or you won't, but KDE has got to go.
All this ignoring the unacceptable quality of some sound drivers, the nForce4 AC97 being my current example, but most cards that I've used in the last ten years suffering OSS->esd->aRTS->ALSA and back again have exhibited artifacts, often DC bias in the output. I guess it's probably because a lot have been incompletely reverse engineered.
Believe me, I've never been a fan of iTunes either, but on the other hand it's given me no reason to hate it either. It does what's promised nice and smoothly, and stays out of my way. Ultimately, here's a hypotheical example of a key difference I believe to be between a commercial closed source player like iTunes and an OSS one like Amarok.
iTunes release version bump. Upgrade breaks database of 75% of users. iTunes project database dev gets fired, or never makes the mistake in the first place realising this and taking more care.
Amarok releases version bump. Upgrade breaks database of 75% of users. Devs cackle and laugh at idiots that not only didn't back up their database prior to the upgrade, but didn't even read the source to check it the changes would break. Elitist circle-jerks ensue on forums. Naysayers dissmissed as ignorant.
I accept that if you run Linux, Amarok is as good as you're going to get. Until a month ago, it was the best *I* had for about three years. (Before that was XMMS, but it became stable so Gentoo removed it). I hated every minute of it, and now that I've got the choice I'll never use it again.
Seriously, grow up, and in five years come back and read the comment you just wrote. You'll understand why you failed time and time again to switch people over to Linux with your condescending bare-assertion-filled rants. Care to tell me what exactly gives you the impression I don't "have any idea about the topic"?
It must bug you no end that such superior software goes so largely unused in the shadow of all the "agonizing bloated Windows software".
Funny, that's exactly the media player I'm referring to, Amarok 1.4, and every version before it. I only mention every version before it, because I believe completely losing the contents of my database with most upgrades to be a significant event. Then there's the non-log volume control it uses, where all the control is in the bottom 10% of the travel, with the remaining 90% being pracically unnoticable. Or the horrible redrawing while you resize columns. Or the Adobe-Photoshop-rivalling startup time? Or that the devs just-had-to use QT/KDE for it, nice one there guys.
While Amarok is indeed the best Linux media player available, it's still terrible, sorry.
I don't have any problems getting the modules to load, it's the quality of the output that's lacking for me (NForce4 chipset). Popping (DC bias) as you slide the volume fader up and down, as well as throughout playback is unbearable. Not to mention the state of media players on Linux...
Oh great. This happened to me two hours ago on a G4 (before I even read this article), and I suspect it's about to happen to me in about 10 minutes on my MacBook.
Slashdot Mirror
My banks website focusses the username box when the page finishes loading. By which time you've probably started to type your password.
Ah ha ha ha ha! Classic.
My Sony handycam (it was a GIFT ok!?) uses mini-DVDs to record to. If you use a non-Sony one, you get to see a lovely "SONY DISK RECOMMENDED" message for several seconds before you can record. Some other features such as direct editing on the miniDVD don't seem to be supported on the non-Sony discs. Not that I'd ever use that feature anyway, DVDs are bad enough to PLAY, never mind direct editing on rewritables.
Objectivity, on my Slashdot!? Begone with thee!
or if they held down Command-Option-P-R as he woke from the anesthetic. Should always zap the PRAM after significant hardware changes like that.
TelstraClear NZ are fucking monkeys, no doubt brother.
Geez, I had to look 'Pink Contract' up, for a minute my dirty mind had me thinking busloads of hookers.
A 42RU cabinet just for SORBS! No wonder they're being kicked out.
While still entirely reasonable, your post represents a very optimistic outlook.
Clearly the G.P. is concerned about his privacy and whether they'll use the data of free (and perhaps even paid) users for their own advantage, a la gMail. As others have said, the only way to be sure it to provide your own layer of encryption where good privacy is desired. Even though DropBox encrypt data in transit and in storage, it's only with their own keys, not yours
... because it's always guaranteed dead-easy to find an identical drive to the charred & label-less one you're holding in your hand. Even if you did carefully write down the model number in anticipation of a fire, you seriously think any of the "true geeks on ./ (sic)" are going to rely on that?. Even then, it wouldn't protect from flooding/tsunami, concussion due to severe earthquake or any number of other dangers.
I just signed up there, and I really can't decide if I want that or not! Seems like a good service with all the positive comments here from it's existing users, thanks guys!
Yep, completely forgot I was doing it, went outside and caught a bus. Wasn't until I got arrested that I realised.
Jobs would probably only need to install something like EFI-boot or Chameleon on the liver to fake the EFI interface, and even then only if he wanted to boot off it. Otherwise, simply holding down Apple+Option+P+R while regaining consciousness from the op. should do the trick.
Since you're the only one who asked politely, I'll share with you. Nothing necessarily makes media players bad under Linux, but similarly, nothing guarantees one will be good either. The reason I don't believe any Linux media players are good is simply that nobody has written one yet. While Amarok looks promising, that's all it looks, but next to a commercial offering like iTunes it's nothing. It's not that I particularly like iTunes, it's just that:
short version: bugs bugs bugs bugs bugs
All this ignoring the unacceptable quality of some sound drivers, the nForce4 AC97 being my current example, but most cards that I've used in the last ten years suffering OSS->esd->aRTS->ALSA and back again have exhibited artifacts, often DC bias in the output. I guess it's probably because a lot have been incompletely reverse engineered.
Believe me, I've never been a fan of iTunes either, but on the other hand it's given me no reason to hate it either. It does what's promised nice and smoothly, and stays out of my way. Ultimately, here's a hypotheical example of a key difference I believe to be between a commercial closed source player like iTunes and an OSS one like Amarok.
I accept that if you run Linux, Amarok is as good as you're going to get. Until a month ago, it was the best *I* had for about three years. (Before that was XMMS, but it became stable so Gentoo removed it). I hated every minute of it, and now that I've got the choice I'll never use it again.
It must bug you no end that such superior software goes so largely unused in the shadow of all the "agonizing bloated Windows software".
Reading comprehension. Get some.
While Amarok is indeed the best Linux media player available, it's still terrible, sorry.
I don't have any problems getting the modules to load, it's the quality of the output that's lacking for me (NForce4 chipset). Popping (DC bias) as you slide the volume fader up and down, as well as throughout playback is unbearable. Not to mention the state of media players on Linux...
Shit, that's reassuring.
If your phone was just 'bricked at one point', then you've either got some hook-ups, or 'brick' doesn't mean what you think it does.
How dare you distract everyone with your logic and reasoning while we're trying to handing a fucking pandemic here!?! huh!?
Oh great. This happened to me two hours ago on a G4 (before I even read this article), and I suspect it's about to happen to me in about 10 minutes on my MacBook.
Sorry for the misunderstanding: My comment was directed at the mods who modded you flamebait. I agree with you.
Jeez, mod it flamebait if you have to but there's nothing trollish about the parent, he's absolutely right. GP is a "Sky is Blue" post in the context.
But haven't the 'really big ones' hit so infrequently as to be negligible in the bigger picture?