I like what you suggest, despite my dislike of Real
I can add another justification as well: iTunes requires Mac OS or Windows 2000/XP/2003. Realplayer runs on Windows 98/ME, so this could be seen as an extension of the market.
Incidentally, I recall an announcement of cross-integration of codecs between Realplayer and Quicktime, which never came about, although I do not know why. Perhaps with this evidence of a falling-out between Apple and Real in the past an alliance is less than likely.
The user's points are valid and aren't excessively redundat/duplicated either.
Mod me down if you will, (Karma:Excellent so it won't do me much harm) but wvitXpert deserves an Insightful for that, I'd do it myself if I had points currently but I don't.
The whole point of OSS development is that it has no need to be led by Market economics.
I'm not a developer, but I respect their ability and it must be a tremendous goodwill moment when the executable you hand-crafted runs properly for the first time.
Would you deny the authors that satisfaction just because their choices are economically unsound?
Also - why shouldn't someone who already owns the expensive PC want to try an XboX game without spending the price of a console?
US politics may work differently but it's my understanding that Liberalism is kind of opposite to fascism.. can't make your mind up?
Liberal Fascists would be wearing artificial-leather jackboots and forcing jews to march at their own pace to the social services office for a state compensation handout and an offer of councelling while affirming their right to be jewish and to live.
I would far rather be on an unpatched Linux box than on Win9x or XP where you kjnow its patched but have no way of checking the integrity of the official patches.
Lets face it, all the security warnings in the world about Linux are hypothetical in this case as hackers and script kiddies look for easy targets, and the easiest targets are unprotected Windows machines.
Sun's JDS even offers some protection against Realplayer as you'd have to search for a Linux version instead of soothing one-click installations you could do by accident..
What they are discussing is migration from NTx to *nix
While I look forward to the day a Linux distro can upgrade an NT system, carrying forward system settings, user passwords, domain logons and applications carried across into WINE, this isn't happening anytime soon.
I'd be surprised if it doesn't happen eventually, though.
I was surfing a tech forum and this guy was commenting on browser-IDs. This was about the time of Moz 1.0 when some sites still only worked in IE and rejected other browsers.
He'd been into his site logs and found several visits from a browser called "Fuckstick 3000". Which was puzzling to say the least....
I share the hope that the EU manages what the US Dept of Justice flunked.
However, as a citizen of the EU, I'd advise against getting your hopes too high. Our legal systems have considerable ability to delay and obstruct, for companies with enough money and determination.
The US DoJ looked set to implement a proper solution just a few years ago, but the election of President Bush put an end to that.
Changes of government in European states are not infrequent and can change the direction of the whole loose alliance that is the EU. Don't overlook the possibility that if the EU's governments move to the right, this case may be damaged.
In fairness though, Europe's courts are less subject to policital interference, so here's to hoping!
I used to use Passport to sign into eBay UK but it failed about every other time. I ended up abandoning that account and starting a new one due to the low reliability.
I lost several good auctions thanks to that POS system!
I suspect my experience wasn't atypical and has led to this.
" This seems correct, that these AAC files are just "pre ripped" files. interesting that 50% of the slashdotters didn't seem to catch that"
Interesting. How does DRM work, using Apples Fairplay implementation as an example? Do you get a licence file you have to upload with the AAC file, or does the file itself somehow sense whether it's on a PC and thus requiring authentication, or on a mobile device and can just play?
Is there any guarantee that these files will be playable on portable digital music devices at all?
Slashdot Mirror
..but they expect net proceeds of $50m
As an accountant, I'd be wary of these guys
I like what you suggest, despite my dislike of Real
I can add another justification as well: iTunes requires Mac OS or Windows 2000/XP/2003. Realplayer runs on Windows 98/ME, so this could be seen as an extension of the market.
Incidentally, I recall an announcement of cross-integration of codecs between Realplayer and Quicktime, which never came about, although I do not know why. Perhaps with this evidence of a falling-out between Apple and Real in the past an alliance is less than likely.
Question: Should Apple buy RealNetworks?
The user's points are valid and aren't excessively redundat/duplicated either.
Mod me down if you will, (Karma:Excellent so it won't do me much harm) but wvitXpert deserves an Insightful for that, I'd do it myself if I had points currently but I don't.
"I didn't know that the BSA had offices in Karachi and Djibouti. Who the fuck cares about Microsoft certification in the third world?"
Everyone, since US corporations can put the squeeze on a country by way of their influence in matters of international commerce
Stomp on a big Western corp too many times and just watch the trade tariffs on your exports rise.
Rumour has it that we Europeans will get access to the iTunes Music Store within a year
I'll say it now... If we are expected to pay more than the Americans for downloaded music, I'll keep on using file-sharing clients instead.
We get gouged on CDs, on computer parts, on iPods.. but digital music is one place we can draw the line. I will only buy music at US prices.
yeah, but LAME only supports Mp3
OMG! Recursive argument!
The whole point of OSS development is that it has no need to be led by Market economics.
I'm not a developer, but I respect their ability and it must be a tremendous goodwill moment when the executable you hand-crafted runs properly for the first time.
Would you deny the authors that satisfaction just because their choices are economically unsound?
Also - why shouldn't someone who already owns the expensive PC want to try an XboX game without spending the price of a console?
OK, Can any sicilian slashdotter with a carrier pigeon or a battery powered CB radio confirm this?
lol Interesting coverage
The Register's coverage
Can any Sicilian slashdotter confirm this seemingly unlikely story?
I had a success installing Mandrake 8.1 on a (living) chestnut tree, but it got hacked via a platform-specific Root exploit.
Why would blacks or hispanics receiving handouts be a problem for you but whites apparently, not?
Social Security is hardly a fascist concept anyway - those who attack it using racist language, however......
US politics may work differently but it's my understanding that Liberalism is kind of opposite to fascism.. can't make your mind up?
Liberal Fascists would be wearing artificial-leather jackboots and forcing jews to march at their own pace to the social services office for a state compensation handout and an offer of councelling while affirming their right to be jewish and to live.
Realistically, its not gonna happen.
Kinda walked into that one, didn't I?
I can just feel an "in Communist China"... gag brewing....
Realistically, the biggest threats faced by the home user are as follows:
1) Viruses - worm, trojan or spambot 2) Spyware 3) Realplayer
I would far rather be on an unpatched Linux box than on Win9x or XP where you kjnow its patched but have no way of checking the integrity of the official patches.
Lets face it, all the security warnings in the world about Linux are hypothetical in this case as hackers and script kiddies look for easy targets, and the easiest targets are unprotected Windows machines.
Sun's JDS even offers some protection against Realplayer as you'd have to search for a Linux version instead of soothing one-click installations you could do by accident..
Macosrumors.com has an article suggesting an IBM chip known as the PPC975 may be used for future Apple Macintosh computers at speeds of up to 3Ghz.
http://www.macosrumors.com/33004M.html
Please note that MOSR has a long history of being completely and utterly wrong in their predictions, so don't get your hopes too high...
It does the same overlap thing about every 5th visit, in Moz 1.6 on WinXP as well.
What they are discussing is migration from NTx to *nix
While I look forward to the day a Linux distro can upgrade an NT system, carrying forward system settings, user passwords, domain logons and applications carried across into WINE, this isn't happening anytime soon.
I'd be surprised if it doesn't happen eventually, though.
Bear in mind recent MS Product announcements: Microsoft is going after Apple in the Portable Digital Player market
Were I Apple, I'd be preparing for a fight against the clones, too.
You can download the Office Resource Kit to install Office 2003 file formats on older versions of Office. It's my belief that Office 97 is included.
This is free software from Microsoft, available on the Office website.
I was surfing a tech forum and this guy was commenting on browser-IDs. This was about the time of Moz 1.0 when some sites still only worked in IE and rejected other browsers. He'd been into his site logs and found several visits from a browser called "Fuckstick 3000". Which was puzzling to say the least....
I share the hope that the EU manages what the US Dept of Justice flunked.
However, as a citizen of the EU, I'd advise against getting your hopes too high. Our legal systems have considerable ability to delay and obstruct, for companies with enough money and determination.
The US DoJ looked set to implement a proper solution just a few years ago, but the election of President Bush put an end to that.
Changes of government in European states are not infrequent and can change the direction of the whole loose alliance that is the EU. Don't overlook the possibility that if the EU's governments move to the right, this case may be damaged.
In fairness though, Europe's courts are less subject to policital interference, so here's to hoping!
I used to use Passport to sign into eBay UK but it failed about every other time. I ended up abandoning that account and starting a new one due to the low reliability.
I lost several good auctions thanks to that POS system!
I suspect my experience wasn't atypical and has led to this.
" This seems correct, that these AAC files are just "pre ripped" files. interesting that 50% of the slashdotters didn't seem to catch that"
Interesting. How does DRM work, using Apples Fairplay implementation as an example? Do you get a licence file you have to upload with the AAC file, or does the file itself somehow sense whether it's on a PC and thus requiring authentication, or on a mobile device and can just play?
Is there any guarantee that these files will be playable on portable digital music devices at all?