To me, the Genie effect is and is meant to be eye candy. Something that the new rendering technology made easy to implement. Exposé is meant to actually aid in getting around all of those windows that you can have open now (since you don't have to worry about one program crashing all the others).
I think Exposé is a better solution. Instead of flipping through all of the open windows, you press one button and get a thumbnail of all open windows, or all open windows for "this" app. Exposé is something that becomes more and more a part of the experience the more you use it. This would seem to be "cool" for the first few minutes but I'd go back to dragging and dropping the old way quickly.
Now compare the price of Final Cut Pro, Motion and Shake to comparable programs where the software developer ISN'T subsidized by hardware sales. Shake is a perfect example. When being sold by itself it was $9990, then they cut the price to $4950 and then again to $2999. (Of course since the Windows version doesn't mean another OSX box gets sold, it's price remains high, some would say artificially so.)
This way of pricing makes MORE sense if you look at Apple as a hardware company that develops compelling software (so you'll buy the hardware) instead of just a software company.
Re:DivX 6 is Out...for Windows 2000/XP.
on
DivX 6.0 is Out
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· Score: 1
The ISO MPEG-4 standard uses the QuickTime container. Any standard MPEG-4 will play IN QuickTime and any other MPEG-4 compliant player. If your file ends in.mov you'll need a QuickTime compatible player. If your file ends in.mp4, you'll need an MPEG-4 compatible player.
Microsoft's is NOT an ISO standard which means that regardless of how efficient it is, it isn't compatible with the ISO MPEG-4 standard.
Re:DivX 6 is Out...for Windows 2000/XP.
on
DivX 6.0 is Out
·
· Score: 1
It's similar but not and ISO standard. Which doesn't mean much since Microsoft can shove anything down the yawning pieholes of the masses.
OK, well not music, but most anything else.
Re:I LIVE for the Menus on DVDs
on
DivX 6.0 is Out
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· Score: 1
There are DVD players out now that will intelligently skip the menu and go directly to the first Video Chapter. Doesn't work on some Anime DVD's but works on most television and theatrical releases.
MPEG-4 can do a menuing system, and much more. You can find more info about MPEG-4's interactive features in this document.
The only reason for this container format was to try to make DivX relevant again in the face of a more capable H.264/AAC combination for content creation. Content that will play on ALL future (standard) MPEG-4 players which makes a bet on it fairly future-proof (at LEAST as future-proof as MPEG-1 was and that STILL plays on a wide variety of machines as well).
I felt it may be an issue with Safari, so I tried it in Firefox and worked great. Thanks for the tip, now to travel to distant websites and figure out if it can be decoded!
Maybe TiVo should offer their software OR connections to their scheduling servers as a service. That way, you could roll your own PVR and then put the "TiVo OS" on it. They make money off subscriptions and are no longer beholden to the MPAA because since you're just using their front end and scheduler, whatever happens with the files once their on your HD isn't their legal issue anymore (because you sign an agreement to use their software responsibly, the EULA).
There's no problem, really. Unless you're going to twist off the top in the store, you still have to buy the Pepsi which in most places goes for more than 99 cents anyway (though I've gotten some on sale near the beginning of the promotion 2 for a dollar!)
Re:Sure, this works for now...
on
PSPCasting
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· Score: 1
As the post right above you states, SONY has written software that does the same thing these programs do, create MPEG4 standard video (H.263 codec) for play on the PSP. If their Image Converter software isn't a gimmick for "watch videos on the go with your PSP!" then I don't know what is!
But that 14 day FREE Trial only gives you 11 MB to download. It wasn't like that always, but once the news got around on Slashdot about how to rip the tracks, they shut it down.
Transcoding will always lead to a quality degradation. I haven't been able to tell the difference, but it's supposedly there. Of course, if you just STOP using iTunes then there's no problem at all!
And, just like Hymn users had a problem upgrading when they found their music missing, in this instance, you don't even have a backed up DRM'd copy of the music to go back to.
Why not just resist buying music from the iTunes Music Store? As long as CD's are made, then you'll be able to do what you want with the music ripped from the CD.
When using the iTMS, you agree to their terms (if anyone would actually read them) so just don't use it, and you're free and clear!
No, that would take real talent.:) The iTunes protection is weak and has been since the beginning. It's more like a deterrent than anything, just to keep honest people honest.
When you consider that the thing DVD Jon is best known for wasn't even his own work, it's not surprising that he keeps pecking at the low man on the DRM totem pole.
As the shuffle has shown, screens aren't necessary at all!
However, if you're going to be looking at a screen (going through your libraries to find a playlist, change settings, etc.), the color one is a lot clearer than the monochrome one. I think the only reason why the photos are there is because if Apple had came out with a new iPod and touted it's "crisp color screen for enhanced readability" screen, there would have been people shouting,"It's in COLOR now, why oh WHY didn't they add Photo viewing?"
And don't forget, the iPod photo can also display those pictures on a television using the composite or S-video outputs, so now you have to beware of people with slides AND with iPod photos!!
Actually, it IS a color screen...as long as you only want two colors... and no choice as to what those colors are (when the light's on, it like a bright blue and a darker blue and a few "shades" of blue so you get BONUS colors!!)
Well, are there any cameras that I can play music/store addresses/view calendar/play solitaire on? (Well there is MAME for Digita cameras:)
I think it's just to have, really. The color screen does look a LOT better under different light situations than the normal LCD, plus, at a higher resolution it's even more readable. You could say that they decided to put photos on it as a result of going to a more readable screen instead of the other way around. PLUS, if you're giving a presentation and you're having problems with your other equipment, you can always fall back on your iPod photo.
I think it really comes down to how bad they want to make your life miserable. With user records being yanked from torrent services, all they have to do is throw up the "illegal" flag on this thing, and anything they do after that point would be "justified".
Slashdot Mirror
To me, the Genie effect is and is meant to be eye candy. Something that the new rendering technology made easy to implement. Exposé is meant to actually aid in getting around all of those windows that you can have open now (since you don't have to worry about one program crashing all the others).
I think Exposé is a better solution. Instead of flipping through all of the open windows, you press one button and get a thumbnail of all open windows, or all open windows for "this" app. Exposé is something that becomes more and more a part of the experience the more you use it. This would seem to be "cool" for the first few minutes but I'd go back to dragging and dropping the old way quickly.
This way of pricing makes MORE sense if you look at Apple as a hardware company that develops compelling software (so you'll buy the hardware) instead of just a software company.
The ISO MPEG-4 standard uses the QuickTime container. Any standard MPEG-4 will play IN QuickTime and any other MPEG-4 compliant player. If your file ends in .mov you'll need a QuickTime compatible player. If your file ends in .mp4, you'll need an MPEG-4 compatible player.
Microsoft's is NOT an ISO standard which means that regardless of how efficient it is, it isn't compatible with the ISO MPEG-4 standard.
OK, well not music, but most anything else.
There are DVD players out now that will intelligently skip the menu and go directly to the first Video Chapter. Doesn't work on some Anime DVD's but works on most television and theatrical releases.
The only reason for this container format was to try to make DivX relevant again in the face of a more capable H.264/AAC combination for content creation. Content that will play on ALL future (standard) MPEG-4 players which makes a bet on it fairly future-proof (at LEAST as future-proof as MPEG-1 was and that STILL plays on a wide variety of machines as well).
I felt it may be an issue with Safari, so I tried it in Firefox and worked great. Thanks for the tip, now to travel to distant websites and figure out if it can be decoded!
Maybe TiVo should offer their software OR connections to their scheduling servers as a service. That way, you could roll your own PVR and then put the "TiVo OS" on it. They make money off subscriptions and are no longer beholden to the MPAA because since you're just using their front end and scheduler, whatever happens with the files once their on your HD isn't their legal issue anymore (because you sign an agreement to use their software responsibly, the EULA).
There's no problem, really. Unless you're going to twist off the top in the store, you still have to buy the Pepsi which in most places goes for more than 99 cents anyway (though I've gotten some on sale near the beginning of the promotion 2 for a dollar!)
As the post right above you states, SONY has written software that does the same thing these programs do, create MPEG4 standard video (H.263 codec) for play on the PSP. If their Image Converter software isn't a gimmick for "watch videos on the go with your PSP!" then I don't know what is!
But that 14 day FREE Trial only gives you 11 MB to download. It wasn't like that always, but once the news got around on Slashdot about how to rip the tracks, they shut it down.
Transcoding will always lead to a quality degradation. I haven't been able to tell the difference, but it's supposedly there. Of course, if you just STOP using iTunes then there's no problem at all!
And, just like Hymn users had a problem upgrading when they found their music missing, in this instance, you don't even have a backed up DRM'd copy of the music to go back to.
When using the iTMS, you agree to their terms (if anyone would actually read them) so just don't use it, and you're free and clear!
You can't get as much as you want on the 14 day trial anymore. They limit downloads until you're a paying member.
When you consider that the thing DVD Jon is best known for wasn't even his own work, it's not surprising that he keeps pecking at the low man on the DRM totem pole.
Agreed, they're going the way of the PC in which the guy who can put it together cheapest wins.
Actually if you check this link you'll see that the iPod 20 and the iPod SE still ship with FireWire cables.
However, if you're going to be looking at a screen (going through your libraries to find a playlist, change settings, etc.), the color one is a lot clearer than the monochrome one. I think the only reason why the photos are there is because if Apple had came out with a new iPod and touted it's "crisp color screen for enhanced readability" screen, there would have been people shouting,"It's in COLOR now, why oh WHY didn't they add Photo viewing?"
And don't forget, the iPod photo can also display those pictures on a television using the composite or S-video outputs, so now you have to beware of people with slides AND with iPod photos!!
Actually, it IS a color screen...as long as you only want two colors... and no choice as to what those colors are (when the light's on, it like a bright blue and a darker blue and a few "shades" of blue so you get BONUS colors!!)
I think it's just to have, really. The color screen does look a LOT better under different light situations than the normal LCD, plus, at a higher resolution it's even more readable. You could say that they decided to put photos on it as a result of going to a more readable screen instead of the other way around. PLUS, if you're giving a presentation and you're having problems with your other equipment, you can always fall back on your iPod photo.
I think it really comes down to how bad they want to make your life miserable. With user records being yanked from torrent services, all they have to do is throw up the "illegal" flag on this thing, and anything they do after that point would be "justified".
http://bvim-qt.vitalstream.com/HitchhikersGuide/HG 2G_Trailer2_0197_3000.mov