Time for Heathrow to overbook the slot pairs then, just in case some airlines don't really use them. Airlines ought to appreciate the treatment, considering how familiar they are with the process!
Biggest problem with the new layout: Menu scrolling broken. The menu stays there consuming real estate as you scroll down every page.
We all know where the "Home" key is on the keyboard and can easily get back to the menu should we need it. Having it always present on the screen is not worth the real estate it consumes. If you make it scroll with the rest of the page (as anything on the page should) then I could probably get used to the new layout.
The right column on the main page is rather too big, but it does go away automatically if you make the window smaller (nice!) so not a big issue. I might have moved the threshold up so that it goes away sooner. At the smallest window width, literally only *half* of the window width is actually used for content, the rest is borders and the right column. That's not enough -- we're here for the content. A smaller right column size for borderline cases would be nice.
I'm Leif and I design (among other things) user interfaces for a living.
As an example, for plain ol' FM Stereo it's a matter of squeezing as much audio as cleanly as possible into the allotted frequency bandwidth without overmodulating (+/- 75 kHz), while staying compatible with all receivers, and sounding as "good" to the human ear as possible. Check http://www.claessonedward.com/ -- and check http://www.orban.com/ and http://www.omnia.com/ for the competition.:)
All I want is a 1/8" stereo plug that doesn't start failing after 6 months. There's nothing more annoying that having to diddle the wire near the plug so the sound stops cutting out.
I tried buying an end plug from Radio Shack and getting it to work but I couldn't. It's only 4 wires... yeah I suck.
Tip/Ring/Sleeve.
Tip is left signal. Ring is right signal. Sleeve is common ground.
Expensive headphones use thick, proper cables that don't fail just because you stumble. It might yank the socket right out of your laptop, but at least you'll still have headphones:)
I just dont understand the obsession with headphones, especially when they are going to be pumping 160Kbps AAC out of an iPod.
That's not what these headphones are used for. In fact, they'd be lousy for it -- TFA even talks about how acoustically transparent they are to the surroundings (i.e. they're not earplugs), so I couldn't imagine using them on the subway with my mp3 player. For that, I'd use my Etymotic ER-4P canal-phones instead ($200 or so). 20dB attenuation across the board -- essentially earplugs with near-reference-quality headphones built in. Indispensable in an airplane!
If accuracy across the audio range is of primary importance, headphones will always severely pale compared with a set of reference monitors (a.k.a. speakers) due to their physical limitations.
Loudspeakers have to be placed somewhere.. Usually in a room. The acoustics of the room (echo / reverberation / cancellations) will severely impact the sound of speakers, and there's no way around it without spending thousands on deadening and soundproofing the room. Yes, you can RTA and EQ, and get speakers sounding almost as accurate as cans, but it will never be as tight, unless you have a sonically dead room.
A pair of reference cans, on the other hand, interface with your ears much more accurately, and are not at all affected by room acoustics. If they have flat frequency response on one pair of ears, chances are they will have flat frequency response on most other pairs of ears too.
My work requires me to critically listen to music almost constantly (I write audio algorithms / processors for broadcasting). I normally listen to music on calibrated speakers, but when it's time for extra critical listening, my I put my HD650s on. Speakers are no substitute -- they hide too much, smooth over problems. Reference cans give you the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth (whether you want to hear it or not!).
I currently own a pair of HD650s and they were worth every penny at around $500. Electrostatic cans (STAX brand) would be another step up in accuracy, but comes at a hefty price (cost, fragility, special high-voltage amplifier etc). Until I can audition a pair of HD800s for free, I'll stick with what I have.:)
I'm not convinced there's a point anyway. With headphones, you get so much difference in sound just from how little or how much the foam pads are compressed
Well.. No. No you don't. That's the thing -- one of the many differences between $5 headphones and $500 headphones.
I work with audio all the time (it's my job - I invent audio algorithms for broadcast, and related things), and I'm very happy with my HD650s. They were worth every dollar! However, if I get a chance to test the HD800s without having to buy them first, I certainly will.:)
The main reason why satellite links are so slow is that geostationary orbit is 36000 kilometers up. Going up there and back twice translates to a long ping time. Even though you can achieve good transfer rates with protocols that take this into account (standard tcp/ip certainly doesn't), it still feels unresponsive.
If the Stratellite(tm) is at 65000 feet, this may actually improve ping time compared to conventional connections, since the signal can now go in a straight line.
I've always used a pair of flatnose pliers to attach and detach CPU fans. You know, grab onto that little metal ear that sticks out and bend/push. Never had a problem.
Then I watched a friend install a cpu fan, and noticed that he was using a flathead screwdriver. Great, I thought!
So next time, when installing new 80mm cpu fans + heatsinks on my Dual Athlon MP 2000 system, I used a flathead screwdriver.
I slipped. Not once, not twice, but three times. Still, I didn't see a mark, so I figured maybe it was fine.
When powering up the system, i heard a crackling sound, and one of the CPUs burned.
I removed it, and the system ran fine on one cpu. I figured maybe I had crushed the CPU core, so I ordered another Athlon MP 2000 off ebay.
I got it, installed it, and the same thing happened. Crackling sound, and the smell of burning electronics.
I then realized it might be the motherboard. So, I went back to the store (realizing that for once I had paid for the replacement warranty!).
I had them test it there. They didn't have Athlon MP cpu's in stock anymore, so they tested with an XP 2000 instead. Worked fine, in both sockets!
I figured, maybe it's not so bad then.
When I came home, when installing my MP CPU, I slipped again, and stabbed the board for the fourth time.
This time, it wouldn't power up right. It made beeping sounds, like when the memory isn't seated right.
I figured, ah well, I'll just use the second CPU socket, that might work.
So I moved the CPU (without slipping) to the second socket, and powered up.
Crackling sound. Smell of burnt electronics.
So, my beautiful Tyan Tiger board, and THREE Athlon MP 2000 cpus were dead.
I damn near cried. It was one of those moments where it would have been awesome to have someone else to blame.
Anyway, I drove right back to the store, and actually got warranty credit for the board (since they don't carry it anymore) and bought a P4 2.6 with HT, an ASUS board, and DDR memory... $500 bucks later, lesson learned. Use pliers!///Leif
He's talking about putting it in the family room, and using it as a high definition TV. I assume this means he'll be sitting a few feet away.
Resolution isn't so much an issue at that point - but SIZE is.
I've had an RCA MM36110 (36" 4:3 CRT HDTV with two SVGA inputs) for a long time, and if i run it at 1024x768 I can just barely read icon text at a normal viewing distance - and many of my friends can't. So a 36" screen and 8ft viewing distance, 800x600 is a pretty universally readable resolution.. You'd probably have to be less than 4 feet away to read a 23" screen at HD resolution.///Leif
This reply might be too late, but I might as well..:)
Okay, Orban boxes sound good for what they do, and when not abused can actually sound really good. I usually say that Orban processors create the best sounding squarewave on the planet. (I actually worked there a few years back)
However, don't you mean that there's an Upper limit (which is 100% modulation, 75khz swing both ways)?
Here's the real kicker though:
digital signal provides a very clear upper limit (0 dB FS)
I must cry ignorance - CDs have the exact same limit, if not even clearer because the audio isn't encoded, but stored in raw pcm format. And they're clipping the CDs (trying to go above 0dBFS), as this thread was originally all about:). You really should read that article, it's interesting (and all true).
I often have to turn on the subtitles because if I turn up to hear alot of the dialog, other sections of the movie will fry the voice coils on my speakers
Isn't it funny how the movie industly keep increasing the dynamics, while the record industry keeps decreasing it?
I must say I prefer the MPAA to the RIAA then.. Because, dynamics can be compressed, but there's no way to un-clip a clipped signal!
(Oh, actually there is, but it'll never be quite the same)
because they aren't dumb enough to actually clip on a digital medium because that sounds like unbelievable garbage
See, that's the problem. They're no longer satisfied with just compression, they ARE actually clipping on the digital medium. Read the article, look at those images.. In fact, download any modern MP3 and load it up in your audio editor. It's just plain *clipped*.
Limiting/Compression will make quiet sounds louder, but it cannot make loud sounds louder. Clipping can, at the expense of distortion.
This happens to be right up my alley, as well as a pet peeve.
I design broadcast audio processors for a living, and most people would probably categorize me as an audiophile!
CDs have been mastered louder and louder since the beginning of time, but around 5 years ago is when they ran out of bits (headroom) and first started using limiting, later clipping, to go over the top.
As the article points out, noone wants to release a CD that is quieter than the other CDs! It must be just a little bit louder, always.
Forget any quality arguments, it's not about that. I used to think that 24bit/96khz (DVD-Audio) would be the salvation, but the same thing has already started to happen there!
Here's something the article missed:
Broadcast Audio Processors will in many cases actually *penalize* the overly loud/distorted audio, and make it quieter than clean audio would be, regardless of the original loudness of the CD! This is (very simplified) because they will normalize to an average "loudness" rather than a maximum "peak level", and when the input signal contains peaks it will subjectively sound louder than if it didn't.
I'm almost contradicting myself here, we're talking *subtle* loudness differences, but at the very least it will NEVER sound louder on the air because the CD was mastered louder.
By the way, Radio Stations have had loudness wars all on their own since the early 80's (when a company named Orban, http://www.orban.com introduced the Optimod 8100 audio processor, paving the way for broadcast loudness wars).
So the question is, if there's nothing to be gained, why do it? And if people don't care (which they obviously don't), again, why do it.
But they're doing it. Not just to Rush CDs but to virtually EVERY mainstream CD released.
Why?
Beats me, guys. It's gotten to the point where I'm moving away from mainstream music simply because I can't stand to listen to the ruined sound. Maybe that's a good thing in the end!
Slashdot Mirror
Anyone else thinks this is reminiscent of STVOY: Equinox? :)
Time for Heathrow to overbook the slot pairs then, just in case some airlines don't really use them. Airlines ought to appreciate the treatment, considering how familiar they are with the process!
Most important of all, can it do this ? https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
..because it works. There are pitfalls but I know where they are. Unlike every newer version I've ever tried, it gets out of the way and lets me work.
Biggest problem with the new layout: Menu scrolling broken. The menu stays there consuming real estate as you scroll down every page.
We all know where the "Home" key is on the keyboard and can easily get back to the menu should we need it. Having it always present on the screen is not worth the real estate it consumes. If you make it scroll with the rest of the page (as anything on the page should) then I could probably get used to the new layout.
The right column on the main page is rather too big, but it does go away automatically if you make the window smaller (nice!) so not a big issue. I might have moved the threshold up so that it goes away sooner. At the smallest window width, literally only *half* of the window width is actually used for content, the rest is borders and the right column. That's not enough -- we're here for the content. A smaller right column size for borderline cases would be nice.
I'm Leif and I design (among other things) user interfaces for a living.
Right, so a RAID5 drive of 78 2gb drives would be 154GB, not 158.
How about oldest piece of equipment in regular use?
I use a 1991 IBM Model M at my main workstation, which puts me at 18 years. They just don't make them like this anymore (well actually Unicomp does)
LOL! If I had mod points in this thread, I'd mod you up :-D.
Agh! Wrong link. http://www.claessonedwards.com/
As an example, for plain ol' FM Stereo it's a matter of squeezing as much audio as cleanly as possible into the allotted frequency bandwidth without overmodulating (+/- 75 kHz), while staying compatible with all receivers, and sounding as "good" to the human ear as possible. Check http://www.claessonedward.com/ -- and check http://www.orban.com/ and http://www.omnia.com/ for the competition. :)
All I want is a 1/8" stereo plug that doesn't start failing after 6 months. There's nothing more annoying that having to diddle the wire near the plug so the sound stops cutting out.
I tried buying an end plug from Radio Shack and getting it to work but I couldn't. It's only 4 wires... yeah I suck.
Tip/Ring/Sleeve.
Tip is left signal. Ring is right signal. Sleeve is common ground.
Expensive headphones use thick, proper cables that don't fail just because you stumble. It might yank the socket right out of your laptop, but at least you'll still have headphones :)
I just dont understand the obsession with headphones, especially when they are going to be pumping 160Kbps AAC out of an iPod.
That's not what these headphones are used for. In fact, they'd be lousy for it -- TFA even talks about how acoustically transparent they are to the surroundings (i.e. they're not earplugs), so I couldn't imagine using them on the subway with my mp3 player. For that, I'd use my Etymotic ER-4P canal-phones instead ($200 or so). 20dB attenuation across the board -- essentially earplugs with near-reference-quality headphones built in. Indispensable in an airplane!
If accuracy across the audio range is of primary importance, headphones will always severely pale compared with a set of reference monitors (a.k.a. speakers) due to their physical limitations.
Loudspeakers have to be placed somewhere.. Usually in a room. The acoustics of the room (echo / reverberation / cancellations) will severely impact the sound of speakers, and there's no way around it without spending thousands on deadening and soundproofing the room. Yes, you can RTA and EQ, and get speakers sounding almost as accurate as cans, but it will never be as tight, unless you have a sonically dead room.
A pair of reference cans, on the other hand, interface with your ears much more accurately, and are not at all affected by room acoustics. If they have flat frequency response on one pair of ears, chances are they will have flat frequency response on most other pairs of ears too.
My work requires me to critically listen to music almost constantly (I write audio algorithms / processors for broadcasting). I normally listen to music on calibrated speakers, but when it's time for extra critical listening, my I put my HD650s on. Speakers are no substitute -- they hide too much, smooth over problems. Reference cans give you the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth (whether you want to hear it or not!).
I currently own a pair of HD650s and they were worth every penny at around $500. Electrostatic cans (STAX brand) would be another step up in accuracy, but comes at a hefty price (cost, fragility, special high-voltage amplifier etc). Until I can audition a pair of HD800s for free, I'll stick with what I have. :)
I'm not convinced there's a point anyway. With headphones, you get so much difference in sound just from how little or how much the foam pads are compressed
Well.. No. No you don't. That's the thing -- one of the many differences between $5 headphones and $500 headphones.
I work with audio all the time (it's my job - I invent audio algorithms for broadcast, and related things), and I'm very happy with my HD650s. They were worth every dollar! However, if I get a chance to test the HD800s without having to buy them first, I certainly will. :)
Try Breakaway -
http://www.claessonedwards.com/
I think it will rock.
///Leif
The main reason why satellite links are so slow is that geostationary orbit is 36000 kilometers up. Going up there and back twice translates to a long ping time. Even though you can achieve good transfer rates with protocols that take this into account (standard tcp/ip certainly doesn't), it still feels unresponsive.
If the Stratellite(tm) is at 65000 feet, this may actually improve ping time compared to conventional connections, since the signal can now go in a straight line.
I've always used a pair of flatnose pliers to attach and detach CPU fans. You know, grab onto that little metal ear that sticks out and bend/push. Never had a problem.
///Leif
Then I watched a friend install a cpu fan, and noticed that he was using a flathead screwdriver. Great, I thought!
So next time, when installing new 80mm cpu fans + heatsinks on my Dual Athlon MP 2000 system, I used a flathead screwdriver.
I slipped. Not once, not twice, but three times. Still, I didn't see a mark, so I figured maybe it was fine.
When powering up the system, i heard a crackling sound, and one of the CPUs burned.
I removed it, and the system ran fine on one cpu. I figured maybe I had crushed the CPU core, so I ordered another Athlon MP 2000 off ebay.
I got it, installed it, and the same thing happened. Crackling sound, and the smell of burning electronics.
I then realized it might be the motherboard. So, I went back to the store (realizing that for once I had paid for the replacement warranty!).
I had them test it there. They didn't have Athlon MP cpu's in stock anymore, so they tested with an XP 2000 instead. Worked fine, in both sockets!
I figured, maybe it's not so bad then.
When I came home, when installing my MP CPU, I slipped again, and stabbed the board for the fourth time.
This time, it wouldn't power up right. It made beeping sounds, like when the memory isn't seated right.
I figured, ah well, I'll just use the second CPU socket, that might work.
So I moved the CPU (without slipping) to the second socket, and powered up.
Crackling sound. Smell of burnt electronics.
So, my beautiful Tyan Tiger board, and THREE Athlon MP 2000 cpus were dead.
I damn near cried. It was one of those moments where it would have been awesome to have someone else to blame.
Anyway, I drove right back to the store, and actually got warranty credit for the board (since they don't carry it anymore) and bought a P4 2.6 with HT, an ASUS board, and DDR memory... $500 bucks later, lesson learned. Use pliers!
1. Click ads.
2. ???
3. Profit!
He's talking about putting it in the family room, and using it as a high definition TV. I assume this means he'll be sitting a few feet away.
///Leif
Resolution isn't so much an issue at that point - but SIZE is.
I've had an RCA MM36110 (36" 4:3 CRT HDTV with two SVGA inputs) for a long time, and if i run it at 1024x768 I can just barely read icon text at a normal viewing distance - and many of my friends can't. So a 36" screen and 8ft viewing distance, 800x600 is a pretty universally readable resolution.. You'd probably have to be less than 4 feet away to read a 23" screen at HD resolution.
This reply might be too late, but I might as well.. :)
:). You really should read that article, it's interesting (and all true).
Okay, Orban boxes sound good for what they do, and when not abused can actually sound really good. I usually say that Orban processors create the best sounding squarewave on the planet. (I actually worked there a few years back)
However, don't you mean that there's an Upper limit (which is 100% modulation, 75khz swing both ways)?
Here's the real kicker though:
digital signal provides a very clear upper limit (0 dB FS)
I must cry ignorance - CDs have the exact same limit, if not even clearer because the audio isn't encoded, but stored in raw pcm format. And they're clipping the CDs (trying to go above 0dBFS), as this thread was originally all about
I often have to turn on the subtitles because if I turn up to hear alot of the dialog, other sections of the movie will fry the voice coils on my speakers
Isn't it funny how the movie industly keep increasing the dynamics, while the record industry keeps decreasing it?
I must say I prefer the MPAA to the RIAA then.. Because, dynamics can be compressed, but there's no way to un-clip a clipped signal!
(Oh, actually there is, but it'll never be quite the same)
because they aren't dumb enough to actually clip on a digital medium because that sounds like unbelievable garbage
See, that's the problem. They're no longer satisfied with just compression, they ARE actually clipping on the digital medium. Read the article, look at those images.. In fact, download any modern MP3 and load it up in your audio editor. It's just plain *clipped*.
Limiting/Compression will make quiet sounds louder, but it cannot make loud sounds louder. Clipping can, at the expense of distortion.
This happens to be right up my alley, as well as a pet peeve.
I design broadcast audio processors for a living, and most people would probably categorize me as an audiophile!
CDs have been mastered louder and louder since the beginning of time, but around 5 years ago is when they ran out of bits (headroom) and first started using limiting, later clipping, to go over the top.
As the article points out, noone wants to release a CD that is quieter than the other CDs! It must be just a little bit louder, always.
Forget any quality arguments, it's not about that. I used to think that 24bit/96khz (DVD-Audio) would be the salvation, but the same thing has already started to happen there!
Here's something the article missed:
Broadcast Audio Processors will in many cases actually *penalize* the overly loud/distorted audio, and make it quieter than clean audio would be, regardless of the original loudness of the CD! This is (very simplified) because they will normalize to an average "loudness" rather than a maximum "peak level", and when the input signal contains peaks it will subjectively sound louder than if it didn't.
I'm almost contradicting myself here, we're talking *subtle* loudness differences, but at the very least it will NEVER sound louder on the air because the CD was mastered louder.
By the way, Radio Stations have had loudness wars all on their own since the early 80's (when a company named Orban, http://www.orban.com introduced the Optimod 8100 audio processor, paving the way for broadcast loudness wars).
So the question is, if there's nothing to be gained, why do it? And if people don't care (which they obviously don't), again, why do it.
But they're doing it. Not just to Rush CDs but to virtually EVERY mainstream CD released.
Why?
Beats me, guys. It's gotten to the point where I'm moving away from mainstream music simply because I can't stand to listen to the ruined sound. Maybe that's a good thing in the end!
I much prefer DeCSS.
Oh, wait...
> Your analogy to Apple does not hold water. No one will mistake an 'apple -- see fruit' for an 'Apple --computer/business'.
Except for Forrest Gump.