By encoding at a fixed bitrate you're either wasting space or losing quality, based on the song. Some files might sound well at bitrates below 96 or even 64 whiles others would need more than 160 or 192. Quality-based encoding gives each song what it needs to keep a consistent level of quality.
iTunes really should drop the bitrate crap and use quality-based encoding like LAME and oggenc. Using "--preset standard" on lame some tracks encode below 128 and other encode above 224. It all depends on what the song needs. The level of quality is the same, to where I cannot tell a difference between that and the original. This way you're not wasting bits on files that can be encoded at lower rates or losing quality on files that need more bits. Each get what's required.
At the very least it should default to VBR rather than CBR. The store should start selling VBR tracks as well.
There's a great security T-shirt out there that carries the slogan "Once you're penetrated, you're ****ed" (except with the canonical 4LW instead of ****).
You can fucking say "fucked" on fucking Slashdot. Fuck.
I haven't had that fail me. If you need to install something from source that needs to be accessible for other users, install it in/opt/[appname] and add the above things to/etc/bashrc. It works well.
* Package repositories exist for a reason. Use them.
The only thing I bought from iTunes was Kittie's "Never Again EP", which was only released online. iTunes had an exclusive track that's still not available anywhere else. I ended up buying it there both for the extra track and all the others stores used WMA (I use Linux and Macs. No Windows on personal machines.).
There is a good movie that borrows from 1984 and Brave New World pretty heavily. It's called "Equilibrium" (warning: link contains spoilers). Basically everyone is required to take a drug called prozium that suppresses emotion. People who don't take the drug are called "Sense Offenders" and are burned alive when caught. People are encouraged to turn them in, and they do. The people are monitored constantly. The "Father" (like big brother) censors anything that can cause people to feel.
What you posted sounds very much like the lyrics to this Anti-Flag song. It was written soon after 9/11.
The Anatomy of Your Enemy by Anti-Flag on "Mobilize"
10 easy steps to create an enemy and start a war: Listen closely because we will all see this weapon used in our lives. It can be used on a society of the most ignorant to the most highly educated. We need to see these tactics as a weapon against humanity and not as truth.
THIS IS HOW TO CREATE AN ENEMY! THIS IS HOW TO START A WAR! THIS IS HOW TO CREATE AN ENEMY!
First step: create the enemy. Sometimes this will be done for you.
Second step: be sure the enemy you have chosen is nothing like you. Find obvious differences like race, language, religion, dietary habits fashion. Emphasize that their soldiers are not doing a job, they are heartless murderers who enjoy killing.
Third step: Once these differences are established continue to reinforce them with all disseminated information.
Fourth step: Have the media broadcast only the ruling party's information this can be done through state run media. Remember, in times of conflict all for-profit media repeats the ruling party's information, therefore all for-profit media is state-run.
Fifth step: show this enemy in actions that seem strange, militant, or different. Always portray the enemy as non-human, evil, a killing machine.
THIS IS HOW TO CREATE AN ENEMY. THIS IS HOW TO START A WAR. THIS IS HOW TO CREATE AN ENEMY.
Sixth step: Eliminate opposition to the ruling party. Create an "Us versus Them" mentality. Leave no room for opinions in between. One that does not support all actions of the ruling party should be considered a traitor.
Seventh step: Use nationalistic and/or religious symbols and rhetoric to define all actions. This can be achieved by slogans such as "freedom loving people versus those who hate freedom." This can also be achieved by the use of flags.
Eighth step: Align all actions with the dominant deity. It is very effective to use terms like, "It is god's will" or "god bless our nation."
Ninth step: Design propaganda to show that your soldiers have feelings, hopes, families, and loved ones. Make it clear that your soldiers are doing a duty; they do not want or like to kill.
Tenth step: Create and atmosphere of fear, and instability then offer the ruling party as the only solutions to comfort the public's fears. Remembering the fear of the unknown is always the strongest fear.
THIS IS HOW TO CREATE AN ENEMY! THIS IS HOW TO START A WAR! THIS IS HOW TO CREATE AN ENEMY!
We are not countries. We are not nations.(enemy) we are not religions. We are not gods. We are not weapons. We are not ammunition.(enemy) We are not killers.We will NOT be tools.
Mother fuckers I will not die I will not kill I will not be your slave I will not fight your battle I will not die on your battlefield I will not fight for your wealth I am not a fighter I am a human being
Record companies don't notice, they got their money and I'm not sharing the unprotected files.
Record companies did notice. The noticed that you bought a DRM-crippled format, which only serves to encourage them to add more DRM in the future. After all, it sells. Add more.
If you're still stuck with dialup (which I unfortunatley am in this damn area), buy a 3com 5610. It's a full hardware modem and works out of the box and every distro I've tried. It's a bit of a bitch to get working on Windows, though (2000 at least).
Ubuntu, in its vanilla install, has very inferior configuration tools. To do anything sophisticated (E.g. A static IP address) you need to vi stuff in/etc.
Very true. I temporarily switched to Mandriva at 10.1 and found the configuration tools to be very nice, but I ended up switching back to Redhat (Fedora) after a few months. Fedora also has decent config tools (system-* are quite nice). Fedora pissed me off for the last time a few months ago, so I'm now an Ubuntu user. I was really supprised by the lack of decent config tools, and the networking scripts are quite bad. I ended up having to write my own.
Have they finally fixed the update proplem? When I was using it I kept having to manually change mirrors every few weeks as one would stop responding. That's what I like about yum, it automatically switches to a different mirror when one isn't reachable. With Ubuntu the listed servers are always up and fast.
Ubuntu is gnome based, I think KDE is better.
I used to think that until 2.14, and I've used KDE as my desktop since '99. With the progress Gnome has finally made, it's going to take a lot to make me switch back to KDE. Give it another try.
Horrible artwork.
Have you seen the defaults in Fedora or (even worse) RHEL? Mandriva is beautiful by comparison. So is Windows 95.
You can't retrieve Songs from the iPod. (yes there are programms available)
You don't need a program to copy songs off of an iPod. There's a folder on the iPod called "iPod_Control", which is set as hidden. There is a sub folder there called "Music". All of the songs on the iPod are stored there, though the names are like "gtkpod003240.mp3" in my case. If you use iTunes it's a couple of letters and then the extension. They're all tagged, so you could then drag it into (say) iTunes.
If you have decent hardware, you shouldn't have Linux or FreeBSD crash. One thing that's been a very common cause of instability for me (including on the Windows machines I administer) has been power supplies.
My Athlon 64 running Ubuntu would occassionally lock up, but after switching the power supply with a better one it's completeley solid. Even when maxing out the RAM and processor for a few days. With the old power supply it would occassionally end up locking up before the process was done. If anyone's curious, I used the origial power supply for about 4 months and the current one for about 8.
I've encountered this with many $300 computers as well.
I think what he means is that a $300 pc is expandable. Need a second hard drive (I currently run 4)? Pop one in. Need a new wireless card? Pop one in. Need a faster video card? Pop one in. With Apple, you only get that flexibility if you pay $1500+ for a MacPro.. The mini is nice, but I'm not buying something I can't expand. The only Mac I have is my PowerBook, but it's still anoying how it doesn't have pcmia slots.
It'd be really awesome if Apple released something with the specs of a Mac Mini, but with PCI and AGP slots. I'd also finally be able to convice my friends to dump Windows and switch to OS X.
That would actually be nice. Couldn't be much worse than the native (x11 only) port. I use OpenOffice exclusivley on Linux and Windows, but on my PowerBook I got fed up enough with it to just buy iWork.
Slashdot Mirror
By encoding at a fixed bitrate you're either wasting space or losing quality, based on the song. Some files might sound well at bitrates below 96 or even 64 whiles others would need more than 160 or 192. Quality-based encoding gives each song what it needs to keep a consistent level of quality.
iTunes really should drop the bitrate crap and use quality-based encoding like LAME and oggenc. Using "--preset standard" on lame some tracks encode below 128 and other encode above 224. It all depends on what the song needs. The level of quality is the same, to where I cannot tell a difference between that and the original. This way you're not wasting bits on files that can be encoded at lower rates or losing quality on files that need more bits. Each get what's required.
At the very least it should default to VBR rather than CBR. The store should start selling VBR tracks as well.
You can fucking say "fucked" on fucking Slashdot. Fuck.
export PATH=$PATH:$HOME/apps should be export PATH=$PATH:$HOME/apps/bin
If you absolutely need to install from source*, here is a good way to do it:
./configure --prefix=$HOME/apps
.bashrc add:
/opt/[appname] and add the above things to /etc/bashrc. It works well.
make
make install
In
export PATH=$PATH:$HOME/apps
export CFLAGS="$CFLAGS -L$HOME/apps/lib -I$HOME/apps/include"
I haven't had that fail me. If you need to install something from source that needs to be accessible for other users, install it in
* Package repositories exist for a reason. Use them.
RedHat/Fedora:
yum remove [appname]
Debian/Ubuntu:
apt-get remove [appname]
AutoPackage (distro independent package system):
package remove [appname]
All do a clean uninstall.
Huh huh, penetration.
</beavis_and_butthead>
Who started giving this title?
Looks like the First Church of Censorship strikes again...
The only thing I bought from iTunes was Kittie's "Never Again EP", which was only released online. iTunes had an exclusive track that's still not available anywhere else. I ended up buying it there both for the extra track and all the others stores used WMA (I use Linux and Macs. No Windows on personal machines.).
There is a good movie that borrows from 1984 and Brave New World pretty heavily. It's called "Equilibrium" (warning: link contains spoilers). Basically everyone is required to take a drug called prozium that suppresses emotion. People who don't take the drug are called "Sense Offenders" and are burned alive when caught. People are encouraged to turn them in, and they do. The people are monitored constantly. The "Father" (like big brother) censors anything that can cause people to feel.
Well, you probably shouldn't be playing with your Wii all the time. You could go blind.
What you posted sounds very much like the lyrics to this Anti-Flag song. It was written soon after 9/11.
The Anatomy of Your Enemy
by Anti-Flag on "Mobilize"
10 easy steps to create an enemy and start a war:
Listen closely because we will all see this weapon used in our lives.
It can be used on a society of the most ignorant to the most highly educated.
We need to see these tactics as a weapon against humanity and not as truth.
THIS IS HOW TO CREATE AN ENEMY! THIS IS HOW TO START A WAR!
THIS IS HOW TO CREATE AN ENEMY!
First step: create the enemy. Sometimes this will be done for you.
Second step: be sure the enemy you have chosen is nothing like you.
Find obvious differences like race, language, religion, dietary habits
fashion. Emphasize that their soldiers are not doing a job,
they are heartless murderers who enjoy killing.
Third step: Once these differences are established continue to reinforce them with all disseminated information.
Fourth step: Have the media broadcast only the ruling party's information
this can be done through state run media.
Remember, in times of conflict all for-profit media repeats the ruling party's information, therefore all for-profit media is state-run.
Fifth step: show this enemy in actions that seem strange, militant, or different.
Always portray the enemy as non-human, evil, a killing machine.
THIS IS HOW TO CREATE AN ENEMY. THIS IS HOW TO START A WAR.
THIS IS HOW TO CREATE AN ENEMY.
Sixth step: Eliminate opposition to the ruling party.
Create an "Us versus Them" mentality. Leave no room for opinions in between.
One that does not support all actions of the ruling party should be considered a traitor.
Seventh step: Use nationalistic and/or religious symbols and rhetoric to define all actions.
This can be achieved by slogans such as "freedom loving people versus those who hate freedom."
This can also be achieved by the use of flags.
Eighth step: Align all actions with the dominant deity.
It is very effective to use terms like, "It is god's will" or "god bless our nation."
Ninth step: Design propaganda to show that your soldiers
have feelings, hopes, families, and loved ones.
Make it clear that your soldiers are doing a duty; they do not want or like to kill.
Tenth step: Create and atmosphere of fear, and instability
then offer the ruling party as the only solutions to comfort the public's fears.
Remembering the fear of the unknown is always the strongest fear.
THIS IS HOW TO CREATE AN ENEMY! THIS IS HOW TO START A WAR!
THIS IS HOW TO CREATE AN ENEMY!
We are not countries. We are not nations.(enemy)
we are not religions. We are not gods. We are not weapons. We are not ammunition.(enemy) We are not killers.We will NOT be tools.
Mother fuckers
I will not die
I will not kill
I will not be your slave
I will not fight your battle
I will not die on your battlefield
I will not fight for your wealth
I am not a fighter
I am a human being
Record companies did notice. The noticed that you bought a DRM-crippled format, which only serves to encourage them to add more DRM in the future. After all, it sells. Add more.
Yeah sure. Wanting to listen to purchased music on Linux systems is wrong.
The DRM will leave you Xploited.
Ubuntu includes Nvidia's (it's in linux-restricted-modules).
If you're still stuck with dialup (which I unfortunatley am in this damn area), buy a 3com 5610. It's a full hardware modem and works out of the box and every distro I've tried. It's a bit of a bitch to get working on Windows, though (2000 at least).
Very true. I temporarily switched to Mandriva at 10.1 and found the configuration tools to be very nice, but I ended up switching back to Redhat (Fedora) after a few months. Fedora also has decent config tools (system-* are quite nice). Fedora pissed me off for the last time a few months ago, so I'm now an Ubuntu user. I was really supprised by the lack of decent config tools, and the networking scripts are quite bad. I ended up having to write my own.
Have they finally fixed the update proplem? When I was using it I kept having to manually change mirrors every few weeks as one would stop responding. That's what I like about yum, it automatically switches to a different mirror when one isn't reachable. With Ubuntu the listed servers are always up and fast.
I used to think that until 2.14, and I've used KDE as my desktop since '99. With the progress Gnome has finally made, it's going to take a lot to make me switch back to KDE. Give it another try.
Have you seen the defaults in Fedora or (even worse) RHEL? Mandriva is beautiful by comparison. So is Windows 95.
Nope:
> ls -l
-rw-r--r-- 1 shawn shawn 39271522 2006-09-09 17:08 tonight_is_war.flac
-rw-r--r-- 1 shawn shawn 39759682 2006-09-09 17:08 tonight_is_war.m4a
-rw-r--r-- 1 shawn shawn 80737148 2006-09-09 17:08 tonight_is_war.wav
You don't need a program to copy songs off of an iPod. There's a folder on the iPod called "iPod_Control", which is set as hidden. There is a sub folder there called "Music". All of the songs on the iPod are stored there, though the names are like "gtkpod003240.mp3" in my case. If you use iTunes it's a couple of letters and then the extension. They're all tagged, so you could then drag it into (say) iTunes.
If you have decent hardware, you shouldn't have Linux or FreeBSD crash. One thing that's been a very common cause of instability for me (including on the Windows machines I administer) has been power supplies.
My Athlon 64 running Ubuntu would occassionally lock up, but after switching the power supply with a better one it's completeley solid. Even when maxing out the RAM and processor for a few days. With the old power supply it would occassionally end up locking up before the process was done. If anyone's curious, I used the origial power supply for about 4 months and the current one for about 8.
I've encountered this with many $300 computers as well.
I got tired of waiting for them to update to OpenOffice 2.x. It seems it's getting there now, but I'll wait a little before giving it another try.
I think what he means is that a $300 pc is expandable. Need a second hard drive (I currently run 4)? Pop one in. Need a new wireless card? Pop one in. Need a faster video card? Pop one in. With Apple, you only get that flexibility if you pay $1500+ for a MacPro.. The mini is nice, but I'm not buying something I can't expand. The only Mac I have is my PowerBook, but it's still anoying how it doesn't have pcmia slots.
It'd be really awesome if Apple released something with the specs of a Mac Mini, but with PCI and AGP slots. I'd also finally be able to convice my friends to dump Windows and switch to OS X.
Try using both. I usually have to fight with Wine to get it to run something properly, but whenever I demo Codeweavers it usually just works.
That would actually be nice. Couldn't be much worse than the native (x11 only) port. I use OpenOffice exclusivley on Linux and Windows, but on my PowerBook I got fed up enough with it to just buy iWork.