My very favorite technical book is Programming Perl, a.k.a. The Camel Book, by Larry Wall et al. It is indeed a rare gem to find a book with such complex technical concepts, that is so much fun to read, you can take it with you on the train commute, or on holiday, and read it from cover to cover.
The reason I decided to go to the orthopaedic physician was because, at the behest of a friend, I went to a chiropractor who prescribed the following treatment: that I should visit him for an "adjustment" twice a week for six months; then once a week for three months after that; and then he would re-evaluate my "condition" and see where we'd go from there.
His massage relieved much of the pain on my first visit, at least in the short-term, so I was very impressed and agreed to the treatment. However, when I went the second time that week, he barely looked at me, asked me if I had pain, slightly felt my neck, and sent me on my way with his bill for the "treatment".
It was right then that I realized I had been taken for a fool, and I was probably just funding his summer vacation or his kids' private school. Imagine, almost an entire year's worth of "treatment" pre-planned, at $60 or $80 a visit! Of course, most people don't see this as a problem since they don't pay for it out of pocket. But I thought that there must be a better way.
Common sense dictated to me that the proper specialist to treat back problems should be a physician with experience in bone and skeletal structure, and after some research I learned that such discipline exists, and it is called orthopaedics, a true and trusted branch medicine. Lo' and behold, even my insurance covered it!
Of course, he only provided the diagnosis and recommended treatment. The real work in solving my problem was done by the physical therapists who, like your wife, offered some very effective treatment and exercises for me to follow for a few weeks.
So, on my behalf, convey my appreciation to your wife and her chosen discipline.
Ok, I agree with you there. However, you still got me all wrong: I wasn't singing the praises of DRM; I hate it out of principle. I just don't see much "lock-in" in Apple's iPod or iTunes. Yes, it is inconvenient to transcode your music when you purchase it from the iTMS, but it is not impossible nor illegal. And, of course, you don't have to buy from iTMS in order to have your iPod work--I don't.
This has been answered in other posts above. Simply, the answer is that the RIAA re-negotiated with Amazon and some other sites the selling of DRM-free music in order to give them an edge at competing with iTMS. This is because they feel, and rightly so, that Apple may have too much power in the market, and they fear losing control.
But you don't have to jump through hoops. You have a choice. And if other people don't mind jumping through those hoops, then they also have that choice.
This is hardly the argument that Apple is locking all their users into their own proprietary hardware and formats, which was your original point before it was difused.
I have an iPod, and I like it very much. It's simple, intuitive, small and pretty. I also use iTunes at home, not only to sync, my iPod but to organize my music collection. I find it to be very versatile, simple, intuitive, and well, pretty.
I have never visited the iTunes Music Store. I have never bought an MP3 in my life. I dislike MP3s and lossy compressions in general, though I do own a few compressed files. I don't pirate music, nor use any P2P software to download music. I buy only CDs (I own quite a few) and rip them into iTunes, using FLAC or some other lossless encoding. Sometimes I even use ALAC (Apple Lossless Encoding), just to save some disk space. But I make sure I always have a mechanism to transcode it back to anything else I want.
My point is that I find no lock-in whatsoever in using my iPod or in storing my music in iTunes. I did not have to jump through hoops at all in order to set up my collection (other than ripping my CDs, of course, but using iTunes was a cinch).
I understand that this may not be the most typical scenario for the common iPod user, and I do hate DRM out of principle; but it seems to me that purchasing an iPod, or using the iTunes music player does not immediately and inherently represents a vendor lock-in trap. I have the choice of what I put in it, and how I use it; and so have all the others who decide out of their own will to buy music from the iTMS.
Funny, some people I know have observed the complete opposite: Their iPods play anything from from iTunes Music Store, Amazon.com, and even stuff they randomly download from the Web; but a generic MP3 player will not play stuff from iTMS directly, even though it's the site that has the biggest collection of the music they like to hear.
So, once again, your argument degenerates from music from iTunes is so restrictive, I cannot copy them or play them whereever I want; to iTunes does offer some non-DRM music, and I can easily copy and transcode those with DRM, but I rather not be bothered, and instead will blame Apple.
That's not very accurate. Music sold through iTunes may be destructively compressed, but when you encode it into a CD, the quality is maintained. Ripping it from the CD will keep the same "destructively compressed" quality as the original, which you seem to accept as sufficient to play on your Sandisk.
Unless you happen to rip it from the CD into an even more lossy compression than the original. But then you're stupid to do that, and it has nothing to do with Apple.
So your argument just changed from: Many iTunes tracks can only be played with Apple hardware... to iTunes tracks can be played anywhere, unless you're lazy...
That's a very big difference. Uninformed arguments like this is why most people in this forum are desensitized to anti-apple complaints, and why this Apple boycott will probably fizzle away.
Here's one said even more beautifully, by someone about whom you may have:
"[...] accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed."
Very true. However, don't forget the one event in the history of medicine which is incontrovertibly important in the progress of humanity: the discovery of germ theory and its application in antiseptic treatment. Other than that, yes, it's a toss up.
I agree. I stopped going to chiropractors and decided to go to an orthopaedic physician (orthopaedician?) to have my back examined once and for all. After some tests, some x-rays, and some bone measurements, it turned out that one of my legs was slightly longer than the other, causing my hip to tilt and my spine to twist in order to compensate. Thus, it was scoliosis, caused by an adjusted posture, that caused my pain.
The evidence was rather obvious: even my neck lacked its normal forward curvature, and instead stuck straight up from my shoulders. With a small, articulated scale model of a human back and hip bones, he was able to show me how a slight tilt in the hip could force the spine to twist in order to keep the head level.
He prescribed a very simple and effective treatment: Some short-term physical therapy to ameliorate the pain I was having at the moment; some simple exercises that I should perform once in a while in order to strengthen my back and neck muscles; and the key of it all, a small wedge in one of my shoes to straighten my gait and relieve the torsion imposed on my spine.
This was all about 10 years ago, and I am happy to report that it all has worked marvellously.
Slashdot Mirror
Then, check out this new one, High Order Perl:
http://hop.perl.plover.com/
I'm half way through it, and I already can't wait to see how it ends! Heh :)
-dZ.
Also, Microsoft had a great more influence in the industry, not afraid of exploiting their monopoly position in the market.
-dZ.
I too use it on my Mac Mini and it's very stable and everything works fine.
Oh no, wait, that's OS X.
-dZ.
And in DOS.
-dZ.
My very favorite technical book is Programming Perl, a.k.a. The Camel Book, by Larry Wall et al. It is indeed a rare gem to find a book with such complex technical concepts, that is so much fun to read, you can take it with you on the train commute, or on holiday, and read it from cover to cover.
-dZ.
The reason I decided to go to the orthopaedic physician was because, at the behest of a friend, I went to a chiropractor who prescribed the following treatment: that I should visit him for an "adjustment" twice a week for six months; then once a week for three months after that; and then he would re-evaluate my "condition" and see where we'd go from there.
His massage relieved much of the pain on my first visit, at least in the short-term, so I was very impressed and agreed to the treatment. However, when I went the second time that week, he barely looked at me, asked me if I had pain, slightly felt my neck, and sent me on my way with his bill for the "treatment".
It was right then that I realized I had been taken for a fool, and I was probably just funding his summer vacation or his kids' private school. Imagine, almost an entire year's worth of "treatment" pre-planned, at $60 or $80 a visit! Of course, most people don't see this as a problem since they don't pay for it out of pocket. But I thought that there must be a better way.
Common sense dictated to me that the proper specialist to treat back problems should be a physician with experience in bone and skeletal structure, and after some research I learned that such discipline exists, and it is called orthopaedics, a true and trusted branch medicine. Lo' and behold, even my insurance covered it!
Of course, he only provided the diagnosis and recommended treatment. The real work in solving my problem was done by the physical therapists who, like your wife, offered some very effective treatment and exercises for me to follow for a few weeks.
So, on my behalf, convey my appreciation to your wife and her chosen discipline.
-dZ.
Ok, I agree with you there. However, you still got me all wrong: I wasn't singing the praises of DRM; I hate it out of principle. I just don't see much "lock-in" in Apple's iPod or iTunes. Yes, it is inconvenient to transcode your music when you purchase it from the iTMS, but it is not impossible nor illegal. And, of course, you don't have to buy from iTMS in order to have your iPod work--I don't.
Cheers!
-dZ.
>> what they are unaware of is the alternatives
You were unaware that there was the Amazon alternative in the UK. You proved the point to which you were replying. :)
-dZ.
Because of DRM, DOH!
Oh and because of teh ev11l appl$$$e!!!!!111one
-dZ.
>> Oh, right, you're a simpering fanboy rationalizing the virtues of a vertical monopoly.
Right. You know me so well.
>> Lucky for you the trend is toward *more* DRM
Really? What is the basis of that assertion? There is every indication that the industry may be moving away from DRM.
-dZ.
This has been answered in other posts above. Simply, the answer is that the RIAA re-negotiated with Amazon and some other sites the selling of DRM-free music in order to give them an edge at competing with iTMS. This is because they feel, and rightly so, that Apple may have too much power in the market, and they fear losing control.
-dZ.
But you don't have to jump through hoops. You have a choice. And if other people don't mind jumping through those hoops, then they also have that choice.
This is hardly the argument that Apple is locking all their users into their own proprietary hardware and formats, which was your original point before it was difused.
-dZ.
I have an iPod, and I like it very much. It's simple, intuitive, small and pretty. I also use iTunes at home, not only to sync, my iPod but to organize my music collection. I find it to be very versatile, simple, intuitive, and well, pretty.
I have never visited the iTunes Music Store. I have never bought an MP3 in my life. I dislike MP3s and lossy compressions in general, though I do own a few compressed files. I don't pirate music, nor use any P2P software to download music. I buy only CDs (I own quite a few) and rip them into iTunes, using FLAC or some other lossless encoding. Sometimes I even use ALAC (Apple Lossless Encoding), just to save some disk space. But I make sure I always have a mechanism to transcode it back to anything else I want.
My point is that I find no lock-in whatsoever in using my iPod or in storing my music in iTunes. I did not have to jump through hoops at all in order to set up my collection (other than ripping my CDs, of course, but using iTunes was a cinch).
I understand that this may not be the most typical scenario for the common iPod user, and I do hate DRM out of principle; but it seems to me that purchasing an iPod, or using the iTunes music player does not immediately and inherently represents a vendor lock-in trap. I have the choice of what I put in it, and how I use it; and so have all the others who decide out of their own will to buy music from the iTMS.
-dZ.
Funny, some people I know have observed the complete opposite: Their iPods play anything from from iTunes Music Store, Amazon.com, and even stuff they randomly download from the Web; but a generic MP3 player will not play stuff from iTMS directly, even though it's the site that has the biggest collection of the music they like to hear.
-dZ.
There you go: point proof. :)
-dZ.
So, once again, your argument degenerates from
music from iTunes is so restrictive, I cannot copy them or play them whereever I want;
to
iTunes does offer some non-DRM music, and I can easily copy and transcode those with DRM, but I rather not be bothered, and instead will blame Apple.
Nice.
-dZ.
OK, then try:
AAC > CD > FLAC
or
AAC > CD > PCM WAVE
-dZ.
That's not very accurate. Music sold through iTunes may be destructively compressed, but when you encode it into a CD, the quality is maintained. Ripping it from the CD will keep the same "destructively compressed" quality as the original, which you seem to accept as sufficient to play on your Sandisk.
Unless you happen to rip it from the CD into an even more lossy compression than the original. But then you're stupid to do that, and it has nothing to do with Apple.
-dZ.
So your argument just changed from:
Many iTunes tracks can only be played with Apple hardware...
to
iTunes tracks can be played anywhere, unless you're lazy...
That's a very big difference. Uninformed arguments like this is why most people in this forum are desensitized to anti-apple complaints, and why this Apple boycott will probably fizzle away.
-dZ.
No, no. People are dumb.
-dZ.
Here's one said even more beautifully, by someone about whom you may have:
"[...] accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed."
-dZ.
Wow, that's an interesting argument. It was my understanding that most atheists were, in practice, closet agnostics.
But two can play that game: How do your atheistic views distinctively (from an agnostic) affect your own actions in everyday life?
-dZ.
Very true. However, don't forget the one event in the history of medicine which is incontrovertibly important in the progress of humanity: the discovery of germ theory and its application in antiseptic treatment. Other than that, yes, it's a toss up.
-dZ.
I agree. I stopped going to chiropractors and decided to go to an orthopaedic physician (orthopaedician?) to have my back examined once and for all. After some tests, some x-rays, and some bone measurements, it turned out that one of my legs was slightly longer than the other, causing my hip to tilt and my spine to twist in order to compensate. Thus, it was scoliosis, caused by an adjusted posture, that caused my pain.
The evidence was rather obvious: even my neck lacked its normal forward curvature, and instead stuck straight up from my shoulders. With a small, articulated scale model of a human back and hip bones, he was able to show me how a slight tilt in the hip could force the spine to twist in order to keep the head level.
He prescribed a very simple and effective treatment: Some short-term physical therapy to ameliorate the pain I was having at the moment; some simple exercises that I should perform once in a while in order to strengthen my back and neck muscles; and the key of it all, a small wedge in one of my shoes to straighten my gait and relieve the torsion imposed on my spine.
This was all about 10 years ago, and I am happy to report that it all has worked marvellously.
-dZ.
*whoosh*!
-dZ.