"Several readers wrote to me from.mac addresses, and one of them actually looked into this. He wrote to an Apple representative and asked, "Is Apple willing to license FairPlay to other hardware vendors and/or other online download providers? If so, can you send me details about the licensing agreement?" The short but sweet reply he received from her was, "The answer is no."
"2. I still wish other media players would support AAC + FairPlay."
There is a Winamp plug-in that allows you to play iTMS' DRM'ed AACs, albeit with a few limitations. There's another point to Winamp's Awesomeness.
"'3. Buy an overpriced, overhyped, overengineered piece of hardware'
Either you're broke and bitter or you've never used an iPod or iPod Mini before."
Though I feel the iPod is a great DAP, as I myself own one, I will admit it's a bit overhyped. Through some clever marketing and some "extreme fanboy" backing, Apple has managed to create aperceived quality gap between the iPod and other MP3 players, which the general public has accepted and ate up. While yes, the majority of MP3 players are crap, there are some out there that are just as good as the iPod in terms of style/UI/features, if not better. The Rio Karma comes to mind.
"I would also suspect that licensing AAC from Apple is an easier process than licensing MP3 would be from Thompson."
Interestingly enough, I found these quotes off a recent AAC/WMA article:
"Several readers wrote to me from.mac addresses, and one of them actually looked into this. He wrote to an Apple representative and asked, "Is Apple willing to license FairPlay to other hardware vendors and/or other online download providers? If so, can you send me details about the licensing agreement?" The short but sweet reply he received from her was, "The answer is no." What I don't understand is why Apple doesn't make the iPod capable of playing WMA files. If that's where they make their money, wouldn't it make sense for them to make it capable of supporting all those other online music stores? Give people using MusicMatch, Napster, BuyMusic.com, or Wal-Mart's online service a reason to buy an iPod, right? The hardware is capable of it; it uses PortalPlayer silicon and software, just like Creative, Rio Audio, Samsung, and many others. I spoke with Microsoft and confirmed that they certainly would license WMA to Apple in a heartbeat."
Though I'm not entirely sure what the Opera 7 browser brings to the Mac world as I'm mostly a PC user, nor could I say how it stacks up against Safari, but I can vouch for it's performance on Windows.
1. It's VERY customizable. Aside from the hundreds of skins you can download... Buttons, toolbars, panels, etc., can be dragged anywhere you want. There's even a window you can open with all the possible buttons that you can drag'n drop onto where you want them on thr browser. This may not be as much of a selling point for Mac users (i.e. iTunes brushed metal look vs. Winamp's nearly unlimited possibilities for it's GUI/appearance), but being able to alter the browser to fit my needs, instead of having to learn to adapt to the browser's limitations, was very much appreciated.
2. Want to search for something on google? Type "g query" in the toolbar, and you're here. Amazon? "z query". Ebay? "e query". I can barely program, but even an idiot like me figured out how to alter a few lines of code so "t query" gave me the results at thesaurus.com for a word I needed synonyms for.
3. DAMN GOOD implementation of mouse gestures--which of course are highly customizable. I can open windows in the background, open links in new windows, go back a couple pages, with the quickest of movements. I barely even touch the navigation buttons.
6. I can turn off images/stylesheets with a quick click.
7. Userful for when web designing: Opera shows current size of window in it's title bar. Also, checking if a page's code is validated can be accessed by hitting ctrl-alt-v.
Lunch cards are a way to prepay for the music you listen to. You put money on the card and then use it instead of a credit card when it's time to check out. Lunch cards have two huge benefits:
1. You don't have to search for your credit card when you check out. When you put money on your lunch card, you can speed through the check out.
2. For a limited time we are going to throw in some free tracks to sweeten the deal. By using a lunch card you are saving money. Now that's smart.
It might not be an iTunes killer, but it still sure as hell is a lot better service in terms of selection (quality > quantity) and weighing you down with DRM.
Now if only they could get Polyvinyl Records on there..
I suppose someone with a small business could check out what sort of nearby competition they have using this.
Also, when researching for possible locations for a business, maybe someone could type in their zip code to see whether or not the neighborhood already has people providing the planned service/goods?
Re:I AM WILLING TO PAY FOR TOP QUALITY! ARG!
on
iPod Mini Sells Out
·
· Score: 1
why was this modded as flamebait? independent testing has shown that other MP3 players like the karma and iRiver products sport audio quality much more impressive than the iPods... Plus, they support gapless playback, which iPod doesn't.
Winamp 5.02's encoder (which got a lot of help from hydrogenaudio's own Menno, a FAAD AAC-decoder developer/Ahead MPEG4 developer) wasn't included in the listening test because of a bug they found before testing.
Too bad, too. I would've loved to have seen how it compared.
proximity mines + facility map = BEST EVER
i'd hole myself up in the bathroom, trapping all the walls to block the nearby stairway, creating Waco-esque stand-offs.
Not that I advocate music piracy, but if you don't know by now how to download decent quality and virus free music without having to pay for it (i.e. Using non-Kazaa p2p), how the hell did you end up on Slashdot?
The amount of Bittorrent, Soulseek, DC++, Waste, Emule, WinMX, and Shareaza users dwarfs the amount of people paying for music with iTunes/Napster. The amount of Kazaa users who have decided to switch over to paying for iTunes and Napster's DRM'ed music coupled with the near-insignificant number of people who have been scared off Kazaa by the RIAA, is probably a laughable comparison to those who just "got with the times" and migrated to newer p2p communities.
Justin recently announced that he has resigned from AOL and Nullsoft:
Trying landoleet.org
Attempting to finger justin@landoleet.org
-
Login: justin - - - - - - - - - - Name: Justin
Directory:/home/deadbeef - - - - Shell:/usr/local/bin/tcsh
Never logged in.
New mail received Thu Oct 9 15:07 2003 (PDT)
- - Unread since Mon Mar 10 12:28 2003 (PST)
Mail forwarded to: justin@blorp.com
Plan:
Jan 22, 2004
Well, it took a bit longer than I (or likely anybody else expected), but after four and a half years, I've resigned from my position at AOL. Yay/sigh/etc.
This will likely be the last time I update this.plan, but I might find myself updating the.plan of justin@blorp.com.
peace out.
eof
-
End of finger session
Fortunately, this won't really result in a loss of quality with future Winamp versions. their two main coders, "Francis and Christophe," Will be taking over most of the development. From what I've heard, they did most of the work with Winamp 5. And as most of those who've taken the time to really check out Winamp 5... It really whips the llama's ass.
If you're going to be so anti-microsoft (not that I'm pro-MS, or M$, or whatever you guys are wanking over nowadays), the least you could do is not be so generic about it.
From a recent Wired article:
Over the years, one company has stuck by Apple through thick and thin.
While plenty of other companies, friend and foe alike, abandoned the Mac platform, one firm's support never wavered.
And when other companies failed to make products compatible with Macs, this software maker frequently made sure it shipped cross-platform products.
In fact, without the backing of this firm, Apple likely would have died. Who is Apple's guardian angel? It's the firm that Mac users most love to hate, the bogeyman of the Mac universe, the one company whose products some Mac fans refuse to use on principle: Microsoft.
Though many Mac users might be loathe to admit it, Microsoft has solidly supported the Mac from the get-go.
"A lot of developers quit the Mac platform, but Microsoft wasn't among them," said a former Apple marketing manager who worked at the company through the mid- and late 1990s and asked to remain anonymous.
"During the dark days they kept developing Office, and that was way important," the source added. "That was the true test of loyalty. Others weren't so loyal." The source said Office is so important to the Mac, without it the platform would have withered away.
"To have a mainstream platform, you've got to have Office," he said."
Re:Why would Microsoft care about any of this?
on
No WMA for HP iPod
·
· Score: 1
If you're going to be so anti-microsoft (not that I'm pro-MS, or M$, or whatever you guys are wanking over nowadays), the least you could do is not be so generic about it.
From a recent Wired article:
Over the years, one company has stuck by Apple through thick and thin.
While plenty of other companies, friend and foe alike, abandoned the Mac platform, one firm's support never wavered.
And when other companies failed to make products compatible with Macs, this software maker frequently made sure it shipped cross-platform products.
In fact, without the backing of this firm, Apple likely would have died.
Who is Apple's guardian angel? It's the firm that Mac users most love to hate, the bogeyman of the Mac universe, the one company whose products some Mac fans refuse to use on principle: Microsoft.
Though many Mac users might be loathe to admit it, Microsoft has solidly supported the Mac from the get-go.
"A lot of developers quit the Mac platform, but Microsoft wasn't among them," said a former Apple marketing manager who worked at the company through the mid- and late 1990s and asked to remain anonymous.
"During the dark days they kept developing Office, and that was way important," the source added. "That was the true test of loyalty. Others weren't so loyal."
The source said Office is so important to the Mac, without it the platform would have withered away. "To have a mainstream platform, you've got to have Office," he said."
Re:you can't listen to this in winamp, so who care
on
Icecast 2.0 Released
·
· Score: 0
my mistake. feel free to mod me down and shoot me in the face.
Re:you can't listen to this in winamp, so who care
on
Icecast 2.0 Released
·
· Score: 2, Informative
The wonderful thing about shoutcast is, all you need to really run your own internet radio station is WinAmp, shoutcast software, and a playlist.
Icecast sounds like a good idea, but the part where others have to download a plug-in to hear your stream would sound like too much work to the potential listener.
It you'd bothered to look at any of HP's computers in the past year and a half, you'd notice that nearly all of their computers are gray.
I'd prefer a gray ipod of the blue, anyday.
It seems as if the new mini-ipod is playing catch up with the already-announced Rio Nitrus.
It's equally priced, stores 4 GB as well, is the same size if not smaller, is actually lighter, has double the battery time, and is expected to ship this month, instead of february, like the mini pod.
Although you could cop out with the "stylish design" argument before, the shots of the new minipods, even with all the new colors... well, they look like butt.
The nitrus, from what I've seen of it's current 1.5 gig version, is pretty quick to pickup with it's ease of use, as well.
The only real advantages i see the minipods having is the firewire and mac compatibility....
"iTunes is definitely the best in terms of overall quality and and ability"
Sometimes, users get so attached to their product of choice, they don't even realize how much they've fallen victim to the company's hype machine. While yes, iTunes is regarded by many as a worthwhile music app, it'd be foolish to assume the rest of the world (especially those who've taken the time to explore other options and features) agrees.
There's more to Winamp/Foobar/QCD/etc than just the number of codecs and a smaller download. The large margin between iTunes and other mp3-players is artificial, meant to downplay the features and hard work put into their competition. Have you really looked at Winamp 5? While it may not have it's own store, the media library is just as powerful if not more, and it's Internet TV implementation runs easier than I've seen with any other program (And of there's free pr0n, too). Throw in all the customization possibilities as opposed to iTunes limiting look, and the strong community support with plug-ins for nearly anything imaginable... It's hard to imagine this program not only uses drastically less resources than iTunes, but even Winamp 2x.
I use iTunes on my Mac, but there are much better alternatives, in terms of "quality and ability," on the PC.
the new winamp 5 has a bundled in feature like this, which pops up a little bubble from the bottom right of your taskbar i think, announcing the new track, from what i've heard.
Slashdot Mirror
I read this in a recent article: "2. I still wish other media players would support AAC + FairPlay."
There is a Winamp plug-in that allows you to play iTMS' DRM'ed AACs, albeit with a few limitations. There's another point to Winamp's Awesomeness.
"'3. Buy an overpriced, overhyped, overengineered piece of hardware'
Either you're broke and bitter or you've never used an iPod or iPod Mini before."
Though I feel the iPod is a great DAP, as I myself own one, I will admit it's a bit overhyped. Through some clever marketing and some "extreme fanboy" backing, Apple has managed to create aperceived quality gap between the iPod and other MP3 players, which the general public has accepted and ate up. While yes, the majority of MP3 players are crap, there are some out there that are just as good as the iPod in terms of style/UI/features, if not better. The Rio Karma comes to mind.
Interestingly enough, I found these quotes off a recent AAC/WMA article:
Though I'm not entirely sure what the Opera 7 browser brings to the Mac world as I'm mostly a PC user, nor could I say how it stacks up against Safari, but I can vouch for it's performance on Windows.
1. It's VERY customizable. Aside from the hundreds of skins you can download... Buttons, toolbars, panels, etc., can be dragged anywhere you want. There's even a window you can open with all the possible buttons that you can drag'n drop onto where you want them on thr browser. This may not be as much of a selling point for Mac users (i.e. iTunes brushed metal look vs. Winamp's nearly unlimited possibilities for it's GUI/appearance), but being able to alter the browser to fit my needs, instead of having to learn to adapt to the browser's limitations, was very much appreciated.
2. Want to search for something on google? Type "g query" in the toolbar, and you're here. Amazon? "z query". Ebay? "e query". I can barely program, but even an idiot like me figured out how to alter a few lines of code so "t query" gave me the results at thesaurus.com for a word I needed synonyms for.
3. DAMN GOOD implementation of mouse gestures--which of course are highly customizable. I can open windows in the background, open links in new windows, go back a couple pages, with the quickest of movements. I barely even touch the navigation buttons.
4. This is what F12 quickly lets you do.
5. It's frickin' FAST.
6. I can turn off images/stylesheets with a quick click.
7. Userful for when web designing: Opera shows current size of window in it's title bar. Also, checking if a page's code is validated can be accessed by hitting ctrl-alt-v.
It might not be an iTunes killer, but it still sure as hell is a lot better service in terms of selection (quality > quantity) and weighing you down with DRM.
Now if only they could get Polyvinyl Records on there..
If I had mod points to give, you sir, would have them.
I suppose someone with a small business could check out what sort of nearby competition they have using this.
Also, when researching for possible locations for a business, maybe someone could type in their zip code to see whether or not the neighborhood already has people providing the planned service/goods?
why was this modded as flamebait? independent testing has shown that other MP3 players like the karma and iRiver products sport audio quality much more impressive than the iPods... Plus, they support gapless playback, which iPod doesn't.
Winamp 5.02's encoder (which got a lot of help from hydrogenaudio's own Menno, a FAAD AAC-decoder developer/Ahead MPEG4 developer) wasn't included in the listening test because of a bug they found before testing.
Too bad, too. I would've loved to have seen how it compared.
proximity mines + facility map = BEST EVER i'd hole myself up in the bathroom, trapping all the walls to block the nearby stairway, creating Waco-esque stand-offs.
Not that I advocate music piracy, but if you don't know by now how to download decent quality and virus free music without having to pay for it (i.e. Using non-Kazaa p2p), how the hell did you end up on Slashdot?
The amount of Bittorrent, Soulseek, DC++, Waste, Emule, WinMX, and Shareaza users dwarfs the amount of people paying for music with iTunes/Napster. The amount of Kazaa users who have decided to switch over to paying for iTunes and Napster's DRM'ed music coupled with the near-insignificant number of people who have been scared off Kazaa by the RIAA, is probably a laughable comparison to those who just "got with the times" and migrated to newer p2p communities.
Atom Boy was made by Treasure, the same company that brought us the classic and action-packed "Gunstar Heroes."
There's a review over here if you want to read more about it. I've played it, and it's quite fun.
Justin recently announced that he has resigned from AOL and Nullsoft:
/home/deadbeef - - - - Shell: /usr/local/bin/tcsh
.plan, but I might find myself updating the .plan of justin@blorp.com.
Trying landoleet.org
Attempting to finger justin@landoleet.org -
Login: justin - - - - - - - - - - Name: Justin
Directory:
Never logged in.
New mail received Thu Oct 9 15:07 2003 (PDT)
- - Unread since Mon Mar 10 12:28 2003 (PST)
Mail forwarded to: justin@blorp.com
Plan:
Jan 22, 2004
Well, it took a bit longer than I (or likely anybody else expected), but after four and a half years, I've resigned from my position at AOL. Yay/sigh/etc.
This will likely be the last time I update this
peace out.
eof
-
End of finger session
Fortunately, this won't really result in a loss of quality with future Winamp versions. their two main coders, "Francis and Christophe," Will be taking over most of the development. From what I've heard, they did most of the work with Winamp 5. And as most of those who've taken the time to really check out Winamp 5... It really whips the llama's ass.
If you're going to be so anti-microsoft (not that I'm pro-MS, or M$, or whatever you guys are wanking over nowadays), the least you could do is not be so generic about it.
From a recent Wired article:
Over the years, one company has stuck by Apple through thick and thin.
While plenty of other companies, friend and foe alike, abandoned the Mac platform, one firm's support never wavered.
And when other companies failed to make products compatible with Macs, this software maker frequently made sure it shipped cross-platform products.
In fact, without the backing of this firm, Apple likely would have died. Who is Apple's guardian angel? It's the firm that Mac users most love to hate, the bogeyman of the Mac universe, the one company whose products some Mac fans refuse to use on principle: Microsoft.
Though many Mac users might be loathe to admit it, Microsoft has solidly supported the Mac from the get-go.
"A lot of developers quit the Mac platform, but Microsoft wasn't among them," said a former Apple marketing manager who worked at the company through the mid- and late 1990s and asked to remain anonymous.
"During the dark days they kept developing Office, and that was way important," the source added. "That was the true test of loyalty. Others weren't so loyal." The source said Office is so important to the Mac, without it the platform would have withered away.
"To have a mainstream platform, you've got to have Office," he said."
If you're going to be so anti-microsoft (not that I'm pro-MS, or M$, or whatever you guys are wanking over nowadays), the least you could do is not be so generic about it. From a recent Wired article: Over the years, one company has stuck by Apple through thick and thin. While plenty of other companies, friend and foe alike, abandoned the Mac platform, one firm's support never wavered. And when other companies failed to make products compatible with Macs, this software maker frequently made sure it shipped cross-platform products. In fact, without the backing of this firm, Apple likely would have died. Who is Apple's guardian angel? It's the firm that Mac users most love to hate, the bogeyman of the Mac universe, the one company whose products some Mac fans refuse to use on principle: Microsoft. Though many Mac users might be loathe to admit it, Microsoft has solidly supported the Mac from the get-go. "A lot of developers quit the Mac platform, but Microsoft wasn't among them," said a former Apple marketing manager who worked at the company through the mid- and late 1990s and asked to remain anonymous. "During the dark days they kept developing Office, and that was way important," the source added. "That was the true test of loyalty. Others weren't so loyal." The source said Office is so important to the Mac, without it the platform would have withered away. "To have a mainstream platform, you've got to have Office," he said."
my mistake. feel free to mod me down and shoot me in the face.
The wonderful thing about shoutcast is, all you need to really run your own internet radio station is WinAmp, shoutcast software, and a playlist.
Icecast sounds like a good idea, but the part where others have to download a plug-in to hear your stream would sound like too much work to the potential listener.
i'd say this was a good thing, if QT on Windows wasn't the software equivalent of AIDS.
It you'd bothered to look at any of HP's computers in the past year and a half, you'd notice that nearly all of their computers are gray. I'd prefer a gray ipod of the blue, anyday.
It seems as if the new mini-ipod is playing catch up with the already-announced Rio Nitrus. It's equally priced, stores 4 GB as well, is the same size if not smaller, is actually lighter, has double the battery time, and is expected to ship this month, instead of february, like the mini pod. Although you could cop out with the "stylish design" argument before, the shots of the new minipods, even with all the new colors... well, they look like butt. The nitrus, from what I've seen of it's current 1.5 gig version, is pretty quick to pickup with it's ease of use, as well. The only real advantages i see the minipods having is the firewire and mac compatibility....
"iTunes is definitely the best in terms of overall quality and and ability"
Sometimes, users get so attached to their product of choice, they don't even realize how much they've fallen victim to the company's hype machine. While yes, iTunes is regarded by many as a worthwhile music app, it'd be foolish to assume the rest of the world (especially those who've taken the time to explore other options and features) agrees.
There's more to Winamp/Foobar/QCD/etc than just the number of codecs and a smaller download. The large margin between iTunes and other mp3-players is artificial, meant to downplay the features and hard work put into their competition. Have you really looked at Winamp 5? While it may not have it's own store, the media library is just as powerful if not more, and it's Internet TV implementation runs easier than I've seen with any other program (And of there's free pr0n, too). Throw in all the customization possibilities as opposed to iTunes limiting look, and the strong community support with plug-ins for nearly anything imaginable... It's hard to imagine this program not only uses drastically less resources than iTunes, but even Winamp 2x.
I use iTunes on my Mac, but there are much better alternatives, in terms of "quality and ability," on the PC.
unless you're retarded, it takes about 2 minutes of experience to learn how to get a good quality, no hassles or fakes, mp3 on kazaa.
the new winamp 5 has a bundled in feature like this, which pops up a little bubble from the bottom right of your taskbar i think, announcing the new track, from what i've heard.
it's in there, for free too.