Also, the nice thing about mplayer is that it supports all those wacky transports like rtsp. You can use it with an encoder to make ogg or mp3 files from real or windows media files.
Mplayer, an encoder, cron, and a little scripting make the ultimate automatic program grabber. Many urls are generated by the date, so it is easy to script.
For straight mp3 broadcasts, check out streamripper, which can automatically cut the stream into songs, and label them with metadata sent in the stream. It might not work the best for stations that crossfade song transitions, though.
I imagine it wouldn't be hard to script something that followed RSS feeds and used wget to snag mp3's off the web, as well.
All of these tools are readily available for no cost and without built-in restrictions. Hurrah for free software!
Yes, there is a lack of naviagation software for linux, but do you use such software anyway? I have found computer navigation to be lacking (ever try to follow mapquest's directions?), and generally don't have a problem with eyeing a map and finding a good route.
Once you know where you are going, things like GPS Drive are great.
Yeah, I had a DB50XG too. It was probably the best computer sound purchase I ever made.
The problem though, is that because 99% of everyone else had crap midi, game producers threw out midi in favor of CD-audio.
I think it was one of the final fantasy games that supported XG midi, and installed a soft-synth if you didn't have hardware XG. Other than that XG wasn't really supported in games. Too bad.
I ended up selling the DB50XG with the SB16 for about what I paid for the XG alone. Not too bad, but I still miss it a little bit.
OBEX isn't tied to a particular transfer medium. IR transfer most likely uses OBEX also.
Re:Balmer: Research it yourselves.
on
Ballmer on Linux
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· Score: 5, Insightful
Not everything that Microsoft does is bad, but saying that Microsoft will backup customers in a patent case, while disclaiming responsiblility in the EULA is a bit shady.
If you want ogg, get an iRiver. Otherwise, suck it up and rerip your collection in FLAC, which will allow you to transcode into the next supported format with no additional loss in quality.
While I really like the philosophy behind ogg, the fact of the matter is that ogg takes a lot more power to decode than mp3, especially at higher bitrates. For portables, battery life is often more important than perfect-sounding audio anyway.
As an end user, you shouldn't really be worried about the royalties on MP3. The patent owners are not seeking royalties from individuals, and in fact, have no mechanism for collecting them.
If you can't get past the ideology, get a iRiver, Karma, or Neuros audio device. Players are out there.
The closest I have found are old Handheld PC's like the NEC Mobilepro 780.
Too bad that the form factor has largely disappeared from the market. I would love to get one that has USB host support, a hard drive, and wifi built in.
I would argue that computers aren't really that great of an example of successful convergence. Take a look at your keyboard, mouse, and monitor. All of these components are a 'previous design' that have had new features hacked into them. (The keyboard especially, since it is derived from typewriters).
Using a keyboard or mouse is not intuitive for controlling a music player. The screen has not been designed for optimum viewing of song information.
I think the key to getting it right is to share components where it makes sense and to add to the system where another component would make it more natural. Modularity is key. For example, for a music player, I may want a USB device to plug into my computer that provides a display of the song as well as buttons to control the music. It can be an intuitive interface while still sharing the cpu , speakers, and storage with a general purpose computer.
"As others in this thread have pointed out, Roxio's products are under threat from new functionality in XP so there might not be a lot of growth left in the company."
I thought the XP cd-burning was licensed from roxio. If so, there isn't really any threat.
In one sense that statement could be considered correct, however. Once a file hits P2P networks, it is very difficult to remove.
One can shut off or even destroy one's computer, and the files will still be available to all.
The broadband bit doesn't seem to fit, unless they mean that the broadband connection will allow other P2P users to get all the files on your hard drive in a reasonable amount of time.
I'd like it to be lightweight, durable enough to stick in a backpack all day long, and be hinged with two screens on the inside so I can read it like it were a regular book.
I find that paperbacks don't last too long when I just through them into my backpack. The covers rip off in short order.
Also, I really dislike the way paperbacks are typically bound. I like to read while laying down, and it is uncomfortable to hold the book above me. The solution is to lay on my side while reading. Holding the book open against the bed works well until you get to the next page. Then you have to turn over, or hold the book in an uncomfortable manner (while constantly fighting the spring action of the binding with my pinky finger).
I would prefer a single page that I can just balance while laying down.
Like a URL, then? I didn't follow the link, but I bet you could combine tinyurl with file hosting to get the same effect. One uses a web form to upload the file, and a tinyurl could be created automatically, which you could then email to the recipient.
If the DOJ initiates the civil suit, it stands to reason that should keep any damages and put them toward the good of the public.
That doesn't make sense? Neither does someone other than the copyright holder initiating the civil suit. The damaged party should seek its own reparations.
Not true. Copyright covers ideas as well, which is how rightsholders can prevent derivative works.
Moore's Law doesn't hold for Handhelds
on
Mozilla's Mini-Me
·
· Score: 1
Are you sure that Lynx is not taking 3MB of memory? 3K seems low.
Unfortunately, Moore's law doesn't apply to handhelds very well. I was working with a 206Mhz 64MB iPaq almost three years ago. You still cannot buy a common handheld with more than 64 MB ram. 400 Mhz Xscale processors are only marginally more performant than the 206 MHz StrongArms in most tasks.
The innovation of the last three years seems to be wireless networking. Display, processor power, and ram have not improved much. VGA displays may be the next big improvement, but they are extremely uncommon at the moment.
I would love to have a 128+ MB PDA with a USB 2.0 Host controller, but I don't see it happening anytime soon.
The advantages that prosecutors have when going after the RIAA, are that the contract terms are in writing and the money to pay the artists is really there.
If you contrast that to P2P, you will find that a large amount of downloaded music would not have been purchased anyway. This makes it difficult to accurately determine the dollar effect of P2P infringement.
Slashdot Mirror
Also, the nice thing about mplayer is that it supports all those wacky transports like rtsp. You can use it with an encoder to make ogg or mp3 files from real or windows media files.
Mplayer, an encoder, cron, and a little scripting make the ultimate automatic program grabber. Many urls are generated by the date, so it is easy to script.
For straight mp3 broadcasts, check out streamripper, which can automatically cut the stream into songs, and label them with metadata sent in the stream. It might not work the best for stations that crossfade song transitions, though.
I imagine it wouldn't be hard to script something that followed RSS feeds and used wget to snag mp3's off the web, as well.
All of these tools are readily available for no cost and without built-in restrictions. Hurrah for free software!
... Or to include an image in a multipart mime email.
Most email clients can be set to not download remote images, but most users probably assume it is safe to view attached/mimed images.
Yes, there is a lack of naviagation software for linux, but do you use such software anyway? I have found computer navigation to be lacking (ever try to follow mapquest's directions?), and generally don't have a problem with eyeing a map and finding a good route.
Once you know where you are going, things like GPS Drive are great.
Yeah, I had a DB50XG too. It was probably the best computer sound purchase I ever made.
The problem though, is that because 99% of everyone else had crap midi, game producers threw out midi in favor of CD-audio.
I think it was one of the final fantasy games that supported XG midi, and installed a soft-synth if you didn't have hardware XG. Other than that XG wasn't really supported in games. Too bad.
I ended up selling the DB50XG with the SB16 for about what I paid for the XG alone. Not too bad, but I still miss it a little bit.
OBEX isn't tied to a particular transfer medium. IR transfer most likely uses OBEX also.
Not everything that Microsoft does is bad, but saying that Microsoft will backup customers in a patent case, while disclaiming responsiblility in the EULA is a bit shady.
If you want ogg, get an iRiver. Otherwise, suck it up and rerip your collection in FLAC, which will allow you to transcode into the next supported format with no additional loss in quality.
While I really like the philosophy behind ogg, the fact of the matter is that ogg takes a lot more power to decode than mp3, especially at higher bitrates. For portables, battery life is often more important than perfect-sounding audio anyway.
As an end user, you shouldn't really be worried about the royalties on MP3. The patent owners are not seeking royalties from individuals, and in fact, have no mechanism for collecting them.
If you can't get past the ideology, get a iRiver, Karma, or Neuros audio device. Players are out there.
The closest I have found are old Handheld PC's like the NEC Mobilepro 780.
Too bad that the form factor has largely disappeared from the market. I would love to get one that has USB host support, a hard drive, and wifi built in.
I would argue that computers aren't really that great of an example of successful convergence. Take a look at your keyboard, mouse, and monitor. All of these components are a 'previous design' that have had new features hacked into them. (The keyboard especially, since it is derived from typewriters).
Using a keyboard or mouse is not intuitive for controlling a music player. The screen has not been designed for optimum viewing of song information.
I think the key to getting it right is to share components where it makes sense and to add to the system where another component would make it more natural. Modularity is key. For example, for a music player, I may want a USB device to plug into my computer that provides a display of the song as well as buttons to control the music. It can be an intuitive interface while still sharing the cpu , speakers, and storage with a general purpose computer.
It's an Athlon XP. I'm tempted to take convergence to the extreme and use it to fry an egg.
It has been done.
"As others in this thread have pointed out, Roxio's products are under threat from new functionality in XP so there might not be a lot of growth left in the company."
I thought the XP cd-burning was licensed from roxio. If so, there isn't really any threat.
I also wonder who is responsible for the harassment. Katie T says it is the publisher, and the publisher denies it.
In one sense that statement could be considered correct, however. Once a file hits P2P networks, it is very difficult to remove.
One can shut off or even destroy one's computer, and the files will still be available to all.
The broadband bit doesn't seem to fit, unless they mean that the broadband connection will allow other P2P users to get all the files on your hard drive in a reasonable amount of time.
I thought AMD was king of egg frying.
I'd like it to be lightweight, durable enough to stick in a backpack all day long, and be hinged with two screens on the inside so I can read it like it were a regular book.
I find that paperbacks don't last too long when I just through them into my backpack. The covers rip off in short order.
Also, I really dislike the way paperbacks are typically bound. I like to read while laying down, and it is uncomfortable to hold the book above me. The solution is to lay on my side while reading. Holding the book open against the bed works well until you get to the next page. Then you have to turn over, or hold the book in an uncomfortable manner (while constantly fighting the spring action of the binding with my pinky finger).
I would prefer a single page that I can just balance while laying down.
Like a URL, then? I didn't follow the link, but I bet you could combine tinyurl with file hosting to get the same effect. One uses a web form to upload the file, and a tinyurl could be created automatically, which you could then email to the recipient.
It would be nice if they had attachment points on both the unit and the cap, so that the user can choose how to wear it.
With a stiff enough cap (or one that locked on), I can see attaching the strap to the cap.
Club Photo goes to 40x30, and they offer both normal posters and prints onto canvas.
If the DOJ initiates the civil suit, it stands to reason that should keep any damages and put them toward the good of the public.
That doesn't make sense? Neither does someone other than the copyright holder initiating the civil suit. The damaged party should seek its own reparations.
There are a couple of compactflash usb host controllers on the market (that you can use with an iPaq or Zaurus 5k series), but they are around $200.
Also note that all PC card USB controllers are 32-bit cardbus cards, and will not work in the 16 bit PCMCIA sleeve for the iPaq.
Not true. Copyright covers ideas as well, which is how rightsholders can prevent derivative works.
Are you sure that Lynx is not taking 3MB of memory? 3K seems low.
Unfortunately, Moore's law doesn't apply to handhelds very well. I was working with a 206Mhz 64MB iPaq almost three years ago. You still cannot buy a common handheld with more than 64 MB ram. 400 Mhz Xscale processors are only marginally more performant than the 206 MHz StrongArms in most tasks.
The innovation of the last three years seems to be wireless networking. Display, processor power, and ram have not improved much. VGA displays may be the next big improvement, but they are extremely uncommon at the moment.
I would love to have a 128+ MB PDA with a USB 2.0 Host controller, but I don't see it happening anytime soon.
The advantages that prosecutors have when going after the RIAA, are that the contract terms are in writing and the money to pay the artists is really there.
If you contrast that to P2P, you will find that a large amount of downloaded music would not have been purchased anyway. This makes it difficult to accurately determine the dollar effect of P2P infringement.
Teleporters are sooo 2003, MoIP (Matter-over-IP) is the Next Big Thing(tm).
Yeah, but the packet loss really is a downer.
Fast, Quiet, Cheap: pick two.