As others in this thread have said, DivX is a hacked up implementation of MPEG-4 part 2. So is Xvid, for that matter.
H.264 is totally different. It's MPEG-4 part 10. It's about as big a leap over MPEG-4 part 2 as MPEG-4 was over MPEG-2.
Considering mplayer and other open source apps support H.264, there is *no* reason for anyone to be using DivX or Xvid any more. You will get *better* quality *and* smaller file sizes by using H.264.
When the point was put to the head of Apple's iPod division, Jon Rubenstein - who in the past oversaw the development of the Titanium PowerBook - the one that killed off Wi-Fi reception, because metal cages do that - he replied: "Nah, you don't really think that? It's made of the hardest polycarbonate... You keep it in a pocket with your keys?"
To play back an analog motion picture, you need a lamp, a shutter, a motor (or handcrank), and a lens (optional with a pinhole aperature). All of this can be made from scratch fairly easily. Even if a motion picture were found thousands of years from now (which with certain types of film stock is actually possible), it wouldn't be that hard to figure out, even with no prior knowledge.
To read a data DVD, you need electronics that take billions of dollars worth of factories to produce, a considerable amount of software to go with it, and lots of prior knowledge.
Not only did the article specifically state its figure did NOT include development costs, but the guy above you said they spend $5 billion in R&D. Divide that by your 80 million/year figure, and you get $62 per chip, just for R&D.
Your point is wrong because you misunderstand. Some things are not free because they are limited and thus acquire value based on rarity. Other things are not limited. Information isn't something that is suitable for building an economy on.
Why not? Just because it's easy to copy doesn't mean it's easy to create. And until it's created, it's a rare as can be -- zero copies exist!
I've been reading his sob stories for years. He always follows the same pattern:
Attempt to conduct business in some way
Discover there are aspects of this task that he hasn't thought of
Instead of learning the things he needs to do, he throws a fit and starts in on one of his "everybody in the world is an idiot except me!" rants
He could have avoided his troubles with PayPal, if he had done like this guy says.
That isn't to say that PayPal doesn't suck, but the fact remains: someone else was able to pull it off without a hitch, using the exact same resources that were available to him.
Show me something that backs up the post I was replying to and predates it. My contention was that the poster had no proof of his claim. I stand by that contention.
I content that this is nothing but a false rumor, an urban legend, a lie. Where is your source for this? I've seen this repeated many, many times, but so far not one source has ever been named. I expect none ever will, because it simply didn't happen. The FAA has had no reports of air vehicles being fired upon.
When all this shit is over, people are going to need a better excuse than that.
Most impressive to me are venuzuala and cuba who we have animosity with as a nation.
Haha. I don't think the motives of Chavez and Castro are altruistic. They know their offers of help will never be accepted; that's why they are so willing to make them. They like seeing America look bad, and these platitudes are their way of rubbing it in.
Can you drive the Rio with one hand, without looking? That's probably the best litmus test when comparing any player's interface to the iPod. If you're going to interact with it while doing other things, it's got to be comfortable and easy.
Some of the parent post's complaints have been addressed, such as true line level out (can be had from the dock connector on newer iPods). Gapless playback is probably the #1 requested feature, so we may yet see that. But overall I agree that the Karma did have some nice features that are still unmatched by any player. I wouldn't say it's categorically better than other players, but it did do some things better. Hopefully the best features will someday find their way into more mainstream players, perhaps with partial help from third-party addons.
Some coworkers and I used to play multiplayer Carmageddon after hours. One guy forced himself to go through a mandatory one hour "cooling off" period for that very reason.
What do all those checked items about legislation, politicians, government, "market-based", opt-out, "Sending email should be free", and other nonsense have to do with his post?
then those people can buy Apple hardware in a year or two when they upgrade.
They can buy Apple hardware right now if they want, but they don't. And they still won't in your scenario. Why? Same reason as today: because they'll take one look at the price and buy a Dell instead.
Rampant pirate copies of OS X will not change that.
So... you hated blogs because they were so easily accessible by the common person. Then a techno-celebrity said it was okay to like them, so you changed your mind.
Think about it: do either of the positions described above seem at all rational to you? Really, you sound like a techno-elitist with no opinion of his own.
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H.264 is totally different. It's MPEG-4 part 10. It's about as big a leap over MPEG-4 part 2 as MPEG-4 was over MPEG-2.
Considering mplayer and other open source apps support H.264, there is *no* reason for anyone to be using DivX or Xvid any more. You will get *better* quality *and* smaller file sizes by using H.264.
In other words, it was a trial balloon, to see how people would react to the idea.
To read a data DVD, you need electronics that take billions of dollars worth of factories to produce, a considerable amount of software to go with it, and lots of prior knowledge.
There you go ... another difference.
Not only did the article specifically state its figure did NOT include development costs, but the guy above you said they spend $5 billion in R&D. Divide that by your 80 million/year figure, and you get $62 per chip, just for R&D.
Your point is wrong because you misunderstand. Some things are not free because they are limited and thus acquire value based on rarity. Other things are not limited. Information isn't something that is suitable for building an economy on.
Why not? Just because it's easy to copy doesn't mean it's easy to create. And until it's created, it's a rare as can be -- zero copies exist!
People seem to forget: every new computer will come with Vista. That alone will put it all over the place in a very short time.
He could have avoided his troubles with PayPal, if he had done like this guy says.
That isn't to say that PayPal doesn't suck, but the fact remains: someone else was able to pull it off without a hitch, using the exact same resources that were available to him.
Show me something that backs up the post I was replying to and predates it. My contention was that the poster had no proof of his claim. I stand by that contention.
Regarding people shooting at helicopters. My post stands. I'm not passing on any "false rumors"; I'm trying to stop them.
Gates doesn't really deny saying it. The current claim is simply that no one can prove he said it.
Are they going to un-block the W3C validator now? Currently it's 403.
The US has plenty of resources. What is needed are leadership & organization to put those resources to good use.
There's plenty of blame to go around. You wanna keep score? That's one against the mayor, 5 against the Federal government. Your turn.
I content that this is nothing but a false rumor, an urban legend, a lie. Where is your source for this? I've seen this repeated many, many times, but so far not one source has ever been named. I expect none ever will, because it simply didn't happen. The FAA has had no reports of air vehicles being fired upon.
When all this shit is over, people are going to need a better excuse than that.
Haha. I don't think the motives of Chavez and Castro are altruistic. They know their offers of help will never be accepted; that's why they are so willing to make them. They like seeing America look bad, and these platitudes are their way of rubbing it in.
(In comparison, Fuddruckers.com only accounts for a measly 4% or so, but that was apparently enought to make him go apeshit.)
Oh, and:
5. He hotlinked to the slaughterhouse images.
Looks like he thinks hotlinking is okay for everyone except Fuddruckers.
I could go for an ostrich burger right about now.
Some of the parent post's complaints have been addressed, such as true line level out (can be had from the dock connector on newer iPods). Gapless playback is probably the #1 requested feature, so we may yet see that. But overall I agree that the Karma did have some nice features that are still unmatched by any player. I wouldn't say it's categorically better than other players, but it did do some things better. Hopefully the best features will someday find their way into more mainstream players, perhaps with partial help from third-party addons.
Some coworkers and I used to play multiplayer Carmageddon after hours. One guy forced himself to go through a mandatory one hour "cooling off" period for that very reason.
Did you just fill in the list at random?
He's got a pube sitting on top of it in this picture. Guy needs to lay off the porn.
They can buy Apple hardware right now if they want, but they don't. And they still won't in your scenario. Why? Same reason as today: because they'll take one look at the price and buy a Dell instead.
Rampant pirate copies of OS X will not change that.
Think about it: do either of the positions described above seem at all rational to you? Really, you sound like a techno-elitist with no opinion of his own.