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User: GWBasic

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Comments · 1,658

  1. Re:MP3 on Slashdot Asks: What's Your Preferred Music Streaming Service? · · Score: 1

    So then why do people claim they could hear quantization error? Was it bad mastering?

  2. Re:MP3 on Slashdot Asks: What's Your Preferred Music Streaming Service? · · Score: 1

    Dynamic range was up until the late 90s.

    Then someone invented noise shaping, which basically improves dynamic range where the ear is sensitive, and reduces it where the ear isn't as sensitive. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/....

    Basically, the tradeoff is that a small amount of high-frequency hiss is added where you can't hear. A CD (or 16-bit Flac) will have dynamic range problems when noise shaping isn't used.

  3. Re:MP3 on Slashdot Asks: What's Your Preferred Music Streaming Service? · · Score: 1

    For what it's worth if you're going to buy music online you should probably get it in a lossless format (FLAC) so that if you format-shift it won't result in additional degradation beyond what the lossy codec would normally involve. In practical terms it doesn't matter that much since audio codecs aren't changing terribly often and almost everything is backwards compatible with the older formats, but if you re-encoded your lossy files enough they would eventually sound like garbage.

    AAC, when done right, will sound better than CD when created with a 24-bit source. Just make sure to buy without DRM.

    Anyway, if you're streaming, should you care? You don't own it anyway.

  4. I still have a turntable on Slashdot Asks: What's Your Preferred Music Streaming Service? · · Score: 1

    I use my turntable a couple times a week. It's mostly because I want an excuse to get up from the computer to walk around while I flip the record, and because I like the artwork. New vinyl costs about $30 an album, so I only buy it when I really want it. Vinyl's really a crapshoot for audio quality, though. The modern digital remasters of anything printed before 2000-ish sound better than the original vinyl. A shibata stylus will reproduce the full human frequency range of hearing, although with more surface noise. (Humans can hear up to 28khz, but streaming services will limit it between 15-20khz.)

    For streaming, I use either Amazon Prime or Youtube. I still like having my collection of music; but I know its days are numbered.

    One thing that I'd like is an audiophile grade streaming service. There's evidence that humans can hear up to 28khz; although lossless 24/96 is overkill.

  5. Re:title seems to be misleading, at best. on Renewables Are Set To Overtake Gas and Coal By 2027 (computerworld.com) · · Score: 1

    It's all based on improvements in energy storage. Digging coal out of the ground can encounter interruptions, but we can stockpile enough of it to smooth over the interruptions. The same improvements can come with batteries and other forms of energy storage.

  6. Re:Finally! New Functionality! on Samsung To Roll Out In-TV Ads To Legacy Displays Via Software Update · · Score: 2

    That's why I bought a dumb TV, and then the smart dongle of the day. (HTPC, then a Chromecast, now an NVidea Shield.) Honestly, the Chromecast is so cheap, and Android TV on the up-and-up, that I see no reason to buy a smart TV.

  7. Makes sense, actually on YouTube To Roll Out 6-Second Ads That You Can't Skip (theverge.com) · · Score: 1

    I occasionally see an ad on Youtube, and I can skip it after watching for 5 seconds. So what do I do? I skip it after 6 seconds. Now I don't have to push buttons!

    The well-designed ads get their message across in 6 seconds, but the bad ads assume that they have my undivided attention and are still going through some artsy-fartsy fade-in when I hit skip. Good riddance to the long ads!

    Seems like this is really going to impact the advertisers more than the viewers. "You can no longer treat viewers like a captive audience, you have to get your message across in 6 seconds" is an important message to make to advertisers.

  8. Heavy??? on North Korea's Satellite Tumbling In Orbit · · Score: 0

    Uhhh, I don't know a lot about atomic bombs and rocketry; but I thought an atomic bomb was too heavy to put into orbit? The phrase "From this achievement it is a very short leap to aiming those payloads to impact any continent on Earth" just comes across as scare-mongering to me.

  9. MPAA is market-driven on Filmmaker Forces Censors To Watch 10-Hour Movie of Paint Drying (ibtimes.co.uk) · · Score: 1

    In the US, the MPAA is market-driven. As much as I don't like it, theaters stick with the MPAA guidelines. This is because theater owners hate getting calls from angry mothers about their 13-year-olds sneaking into particular movies.

  10. Re: Important to note on LSD Microdosing Gaining Popularity For Silicon Valley Professionals (rollingstone.com) · · Score: 1

    There is no good reason for these drugs to be illegal, and they are not manufactured by organized crime cartels that import cocaine and heroin. LSD is much more potent, so a small batch distributed among friends goes a long log way. Furthermore, most of the manufacturers are chemists associated with tech; its somewhere between a hobby and a religious devotion. Think of LSD more like making beer during prohibition, and sharing with friends. If you think that someone who made beer during prohibition is a criminal, than your distinction between right and wrong is corrupted by government propaganda and politics.

  11. And American Indians on The Mutant Genes Behind the Black Death · · Score: 1

    The plague of Justinian from 541 to 543 decimated nearly half the population in the Mediterranean, while the Black Death of the Middle Ages killed one in every three Europeans.

    Don't forget to include the American Indians. The plague decimated them, too.

  12. Re:I'm afraid to try on Sony Decides Its Waterproof Xperia Phones Are Not Actually Waterproof · · Score: 1

    I don't think it would have come to that. The chargeback is just final recourse if Sony didn't honor their warranty.

  13. Re:I'm afraid to try on Sony Decides Its Waterproof Xperia Phones Are Not Actually Waterproof · · Score: 1

    The USB port and SD card port have plastic flaps to keep the water out. The phone has a proprietary magnetic connector that doesn't need a flap for charging, though. Fortunately, there's plenty of knock-off connectors on Amazon for a few bucks.

    It's actually pretty cool, I picked up a cheap stand that I use to charge the phone at night, and I have a Sony car stereo that holds the phone in its magnetic connector.

  14. I'm afraid to try on Sony Decides Its Waterproof Xperia Phones Are Not Actually Waterproof · · Score: 1

    Honestly, I wish I dunked my Z2 the day it came in the mail. This way, if there was a problem, I could just chargeback. (I bought it straight from Sony.) Otherwise, the wettest I've gotten it is to dip a corner.

  15. Why not run for congress? on John McAfee On Why He's Running For President · · Score: 1

    I don't think McAfee has a snowball's chance in getting elected. Why doesn't he run for congress? That seems like a better way to get into government.

  16. Would you like a cookie? on Google Changes Logo · · Score: 1

    Seriously, this isn't a big deal. Why is everyone making a big deal of this?

    Specifically, why is Google making a big deal of this? When Intel changed its logo hardly anyone noticed.

  17. Re:Get a business partner on Ask Slashdot: Suggestions For Taking a Business Out Into the Forest? · · Score: 1

    In my experience, data coverage in the woods varies tremendously. What we call "in the middle of nowhere" is so relative; in the "middle of nowhere" in a state like Massachusetts is probably a mile or two "as the crow flies" to an area dense enough to have wireless data. "In the middle of nowhere" in California or Nevada will have excellent camping; but no data coverage.

    In my opinion, you're better off finding a handful of camping sites and general locations that you know will have rock-solid data coverage; and spend your working hours there.

  18. Just make sure you get along well with the admin on Ask Slashdot: Advice On Enterprise Architect Position · · Score: 1

    Just make sure you get along well with the admin. When problems occur you can look over his (or her) shoulder.

  19. Sony Xperia Z3 on Ask Slashdot: Best Big Battery Phone? · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I've had a Sony Xperia Z3 for 6 months, and the battery capacity is shockingly giant. Idle, browsing, and reading on Kindle hardly use the battery. GPS and talking also are rather gentle on the battery. The only thing that eats battery is copying 100 GB of music over WIFI. The phone has a stamina mode to help throttle applications as well; but IMO, I'd rather only use it in emergencies.

  20. Re:Could not agree more on Obama Unveils Major Climate Change Proposal · · Score: 1

    BUT, if you run the numbers, you will see that we NEED nukes

    I used to be for nuclear power. The problem is that, when nuclear reactors get old, they require hyper-vigilance to ensure that they aren't leaking radioactive materials. We just don't have the political climate to regulate a leaky nuclear power plant.

    If the US was pro-regulation, I think we could have enough checks and balances to run nuclear power safely. But, given how we don't like regulations, I'd rather just invest in energy sources that don't require such close watch.

  21. $35 Chromecast! on Ask Slashdot: Best Wireless PC-to-TV Solution? · · Score: 1

    Use a $35 Chromecast!

    You can send your entire screen to your TV with a Chromecast. You'll probably want to find some kind of wireless keyboard and/or mouse to do this.

    You could also look at Android TV and see if there's a screen mirroring application. I don't know if Android TV can run ordinary Android apps, but if it can, there's already a screen mirroring program.

    Finally, stick PCs are a thing. You could always run a screen sharing program on a stick PC.

    IMO, I think trying to connect a PC to a TV is quickly becoming more effort than it's worth. This is for the following reasons:

    • - I used to use my $1200 HTPC for Netflix and Youtube. Now, it's much easier to use a $35 Chromecast for these applications
    • - Now that Android TV came out, I think we'll get a much better experience with apps designed for a remote control instead of PC apps designed for a mouse and keyboard.
    • - Many smart TVs will have Android TV built-in.
  22. I fear that something like this is too bulky to be practical. Besides, when I need multiple monitors, I'm at a desk.

    Perhaps a better option would be a 19 or 21-inch laptop; or VR glasses?

  23. Re:Kinda similar ... on Ask Slashdot: What To Do With Empty Toner Cartridges? · · Score: 1

    In addition to the comments that explain that new printers come with almost-empty toner cartridges; remember that you have to go through the trouble to set up the new printer. Dropping in new toner to something that already works saves time.

  24. "Unfinished" areas on Ask Slashdot: If You Were Building a New Home, What Cool New Tech Would You Put In? · · Score: 1

    One thing I like about my house is that it has a large unfinished basement. Not only does it give me a lot of room to do messy projects, but it's very easy to run ethernet to anywhere it's needed on the first floor. I do wish I could get some kind of wired network onto the second floor, though.

    In my opinion, avoid installing lots of "tech" in your walls. My house is loaded with so much obsolete wire: An old intercom system, coaxial, old electric heating wires, an old split-lead from before there was cable TV. Conduits are good, and unfinished space where you can access the ends.

  25. Re:Low Maintenance on Ask Slashdot: If You Were Building a New Home, What Cool New Tech Would You Put In? · · Score: 1

    "for example; much easier to have time to spend with people or on new productive projects rather than doing the same old maintenance; less to remember or coordinate between multiple maintenance people"

    "If your municipality lets you, install a septic instead of connecting to city sewer. No sewer fee. (Just get it pumped every few years)."

    My parents and I live in the same town. They have septic, I have sewer. The sewer fee is very cheap; much more preferable to dealing with a septic tank. A septic tank is also a liability if you need to get it replaced.