Um, except, VHS became the dominant format for many years, until (the more draconian) DVD unseated it. So the Betamax/VHS issue doesn't really serve to predict the failure of both formats, nor the rise of a new format which is more open.
Yes, but I guess nowadays most people are assuming that consumers won't want to get involved in a corporate battle for format control like they did not then, not knowing that their newly purchased betamax machines would be shiny pieces of garbage as they had to buy a second VCR. I think acknowledging this as Betamax/VHS is to acknowledge the fact that it's wise not to get involved while the two respective companies duke it out. Which is exactly what a lot of people will do, while continuing to buy DVDs.
Unfortunately, the video companies did not learn one of the factors that made CD a success: a single format. Although many formats were proposed, only one was chosen and accepted by the music industry. They saw what happened with Quad (seven incompatible formats), and were determined that CD not meet the same fate.
Due to the format war going on between the two DVD successors, I will stay with DVD and sit out the war until long after there is a victor. For me, DVD is good enough for now and I have no pressing reason to move to either format. It is the same reason that I am staying with CD, versus going with either of the CD successors.
I wouldn't be surprised if the above paragraph reflects the views of many people concerning the new formats.
I think the move to plain text e-mail is a good one for the DoD. Besides the reduction of risk of malicious code, there are at least two other advantages of people using plain text for their e-mails:
People concentrate on what their message says, instead of deciding what the message should look like. Per Dave Barry (when he was discussing word processing - paraphrased): For every minute you spend actually writing, you will spend 10 minutes deciding how it should look.
The receiver has the freedom how to decide how the message should look, since appearance is separated from content. I can view a received e-mail in a font that is easy for me to read.
I agree with others that if formatting is so important, the best thing to do is include a formatted attachment with an e-mail. One thing to consider is that HTML provides only limited control over appearance, and it can vary based on application. Something simple like not double spacing between paragraphs is difficult (without the use of style sheets).
As the above writer suggested, a limited subset of HTML for e-mail might be a good way to go. I think a better, and more secure way, might be to develop an XML format specifically for e-mail which only allows for formatting and no executable code.
One feature of the format should be that the only e-mails that will be accepted are those that contain only legitimate tags. If an e-mail contains a single invalid tag (regardless of the reason) it is rejected and a message is sent to the sender.
Don't worry, your precious trees will be saved when the high-contrast e-paper reader panels become omnipresent (soon). The only environtmental pollution will be trashed PoD vending machines...
E-paper reader panels are already here. I have the new Sony e-book reader and the screen looks about as good as paper. The screen is slightly grey which makes it easier to read than bright white paper, and unlike PDA screens it does not have to be backlit to be visible. In fact, it doesn't have a backlight and relies on the same lighting as regular books. The screen resolution is high enough to allow you to read graphic novels and manga on the device.
Although print-on-demand books have potential, they still have the problem of having to store the actual books. Electronic books offer advantages over printed books: the advantage of instant availability and the advantage of not having to store a physical book.
Central storage of books offer advantages, but most people have a need to have an actual copy of the book, ready for immediate access without the need to contact an external system. In the same way, what makes an e-book work for me is the ability to carry the e-book with me on my own reader device, just as I can carry a conventional book. I don't have to be tied to reading them on my computer.
Batman Begins was arguably the best superhero movie ever.
I agree. The movie captured the essence of Batman perfectly, and worked as good foundation for future Batman movies. It also continues the movement of comic movies in a more series direction.
Hulk was a Shakespearian, father-son conflict, tragedy shot comic book panel style. The only reason people thought it was awful was because they came wanting to see some piece of shit like Fantastic 4 and instead got a more thoughtful, artistic masterpiece. It was a highbrow movie about lowbrow subject matter.
I think the reason that many people did not like Hulk is that many were expecting much more action than they got. For me, I actually found the personal interactions between the characters the most interesting part of the movie, much more interesting than the "Hulk Out" part of the movie.
The director (Ang Lee) brought much of emotional feeling of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon to the Hulk and it worked. In a way, the emotionality of the movie reminded me of The Incredible Hulk TV series, with Bruce Banner reflecting the tortured nature of David Banner.
PalmOS is a crusty nightmare under the hood but somehow it's still the only thing out there that delivers a seamless *USER* experience. No loading time for app launches, excellent mapping of functions to single button presses or taps, etc.
When I want a system that's great for coders and tweakers, I use Linux on my desktop. I don't want that experience on my phone - I want a device that JUST WORKS NOW and lets me run the apps I want to run (devices that are closed to open-source or freeware developers fail it.)
I agree that for sheer usability the Palm OS is terrific. When I got my first Palm handheld (a Palm Vx), I barely had use the instruction book other than for instructions on on the initial install of the PC software and connecting the hardware. Everything else was basically self-explanatory and learning Graffiti 1 was not difficult. The key with the Palm OS is that it was outstanding at what it was designed for.
For example, the resolution of the original screen was 160 x 160 pixels. By today's standards it is low, but it was designed to allow the display of an entire day's calendar on one screen.
Thinking about it, I get the same feeling when using an iPod. Its interface is as intuitive as the Palm OS, and it is outstanding at the task it is designed for. Like with Palm OS devices, syncing with the iPod is as seemless as Hotsyncing a Palm OS device.
For me, the time I spend adjusting the defaults of a program is not to make it work like another program, its to ensure the program does not fight me and is easier to use. An example of this in MS Word is making the paragraph marks and tab marks visible by default, something I find very important in controlling my formatting.
My dad could pick it apart within minutes, and he doesn't normally care about software at all.
I've seen this problem several times. It's not that OO wouldn't do what he wants, it's that it doesn't do it by default. So since it looks a bit different and operates a little different it's going to be alien and people have a hard enough time with computers as it is. Unfortunatly the average user has difficulty learning how to use an application and once they have they don't want to migrate away from it unless they really need to. Why do you think so many software companies will give their software for free or close to free for schools? We geeks scoff at such things, but to a user it's a big deal.
This is not just an issue with OpenOffice. When I get a new copy of MS Word I spend the first 15 minutes with the program adjusting all of the settings so that it works the way I need it to. I have the same experience with most of the programs I use. For me it is just a normal part of using the program. All I ask is that the settings be easy to locate and change.
Most CDs do not have any copy protection and can be copied to a PC and to an MP3 player easily
AFAIK, to be called a "CD", the disk cannot have random protection schemes stuffed in it. Companies should be forbidden from selling such disks as CDs. and pay a fine of EUR0.3 per unit sold. to me.
The whole DRM issue is the reason that I prefer to buy my music on Red Book standard CDs. That way, if my player dies (due to damage, old age, wearing out, etc.) I will still have the music itself. I want to only have to buy a song one time, not have to rebuy it everytime the DRM changes.
As far as DRM on CDs, it should be legally mandated that this be clearly disclosed on the CD packaging. Before I buy a CD I want to be sure that it is completely safe to use on all of my players. This should be the function of the official CD logo, but many CDs don't have the logo on them.
I follow the guide that if a CD that has copy protection clearly labeled as such then it is my fault for any damage it does to my system. But if the CD has copy protection but it is not clearly labeled, then it is the fault of the releasing company for any damage that occurs.
One advantage the soft distribution (via on-line) of music has for the record companies that it is much less expensive than the hard distribution (via CDs). It would be in the record companies interest for people to move to soft formats for music. But DRM is a very good reason for people to continue to stay with CDs.
Minidisc has been around for 15 years, what exactly is the failure there?
Maybe you don't like ATRAC, but it is a decent codec, and requires far, far less computing power than MP3 does (or did anyways). Don't forget, the first portable MP3 player, the Saehan MPMan, was released seven years after Minidisc entered the market. And you still have to look around to find mp3 players that record. You'd have to look harder for an MP3 unit that records, and has optical input.
Maybe it's not the format for everyone, but it certainly had its purpose. Most of the crap users have had to endure has been because of Sony Music forcing the hardware folks to do stupid crap (SonicStage for instance.)
Considering that Minidisc is still available in the stores would indicate that it was a modest success. I think one of the factors that hindered Minidisc from being an all-out success is the cost of the players/recorders.
What also worked against Minidisc was timing. It was the appearance of of recordable CDs and skip-proof portable players soon after Minidisc's introduction that took away most of the Minidisc's advantages for the average listener.
Honestly, if the sheep would stop buying crippled music, the crippled-music industry would die in less than 10 days. baa baa
Stop buying CDs altogether and the **AA suing everyone's grandmother would die in less than 30 days. baa baa
The problem with not purchasing any music is that it doesn't send a clear message of what you object to. In that situation, a drop in sales could be blamed on piracy (to provide an example) as the main factor.
I think what would send a very clear message is for people to stop purchasing music with any form of DRM. As an example: If the sales of music drop by 50% and 95% of that drop is of music that is DRM protected it would provide a clear indicator of why sales have dropped, especially if the sales of all other music is little unaffected, or increases.
Thanks for the information. The version I have doesn't appear to support the OpenDocument format, but I've checked for a new version of AbiWord and and and update has been released for it since the version that I have. I will check it out.
ODT works well... hell, for that matter RTF works well enough for most people.
I agree that RTF is a very usable format for most writing. It generally provides the formatting that most people actually need (and doesn't have the formatting limitations that basic HTML has), is human readable, and it also has the advantage of keeping the file size small.
I've noticed both Notepad and Wordpad are not vulnerable.
I'll just stick with these inferior applications while boasting a smug sense of superiority.
Ha-HA!
I disagree that Notepad and Wordpad are inferior applications compared to Microsoft (MS) Word. I think that each is better for its intended purposes than MS Word is. I think a better phrase to use for them would be: a more limited application than MS Word.
Rather than MS Word, I use a word processor called Jarte for my writing. It basically adds missing functionality to Wordpad to make it a full word processor and I've been very pleased with it. For simple, straight-forward word processing it is a terrific program. It is also a great text editor too. Also, since it does not have macro capability it is not vulnerable to Word macro viruses even when viewing MS Word files.
While you wrote your preamble.tex I typed my letter, printed a label for the envelope, put a stamp on it and put it in the post box. Then I got back and made a cup of tea, played minesweeper, got a new high score. By which time you'd compiled the latex document.
But seriously, I use OpenOffice most of the time, but last year I wrote my 300 page thesis in LaTeX. I would always advocate LaTeX for large/complex documents. Each has their place. Hopefully Open Document, and it's common implementation in applications that also have PDF export (eg OOo), will lead to people using it correctly, ie Open Document for collaboration and PDF for sharing.
I think the key is to use the right format for the right job. I use StarOffice for complex documents, but most of the time I use an RTF word processor (Jarte). I find that a small word processor usually has more than enough power to allow me to write the documents I need to and is must easier to use.
I choose to use RTF because it is a widely available standard that every word processor understands. I hope that the OpenDocument format becomes as widely available as RTF is right now. One thing that would help is the development of small word processors that use it as a native format, designed for easy of use, speed, and small size.
I think it depends on the music. If I'm listening to Mahlers 'Resurection' on my iPod, I'm going to want a lossless rip of the CD. If I'm listening to Kid Rock, I could care less.
I think this isn't so much of an issue as it was 5 years ago. When you have a 5gb iPod, that's only 8 CDs...when you have a 80GB one, that's over 100. Big difference. I STILL only load 5-6 at a time on my iPod, because I don't feel I need to carry my entire collection around with me everywhere I go. I don't listen to 1/8 of my collection in a year anyway...why would I want to have it all in my pocket?
But then again...that's just my opinion.
Besides the amount of music you can store on your player, another factor is the battery life. The larger the files, the shorter your players battery life will be, a significant disadvantage of higher bit rates.
I encode my music files at 192kbs which increases the size of the files by 50% and I've noticed a decrease in my player's battery life. With a fully charged battery, the longest my iPod has continually played is just under 8 hours (just hitting the play button and then not hitting any other buttons or changing the volume until the battery ran out).
With lossless files, the battery life would be even shorter. One advantage of lossless compression is that the battery life would be longer than when playing WAV files without a loss in sound quality.
To be perfectly honest, no. 128 KB MP3 is good enough (although I do hear a difference).
I used to encode my MP3s at 128kb. After first I thought it was adequate, but that opinion changed after hearing the clipping of the strong drum beats at the beginning of "Only Yesterday" by The Carpenters. The crisp drum beats became more like dull thuds at that bit rate.
Since then, I've been encoding my music at 192kb and my spoken word recordings at 160kbs At those bit rates I've found it difficult to tell the MP3 file from the CD original.
My opinion is that it is possible to get acceptable sound quality from an MP3 encoded at 128kb, but everything has to be just right. The low bit rate does not provide much headroom for the music. To use a car analogy, encoding an MP3 at 128kb is like driving down a alley that is 48 inches wide in a car that is 46 inches wide: you can do it, but you don't have much room for error.
Portable media players only last about 3-4 years, so we haven't even really seen the first big replacement wave yet.
This will be the final proof of the success/failure of the Zune: When their Zune wears out how many people will buy another one? For me, one of the strongest proofs of the success of the iPod is that most people readily replace their worn-out iPod with a new one.
I've used a Zune for a few minutes at a store and overall I liked it, although I didn't care for the non-working scroll wheel, I'd rather they just put a five-button + pad instead to reflect reality. But a major factor in it's success will be how well it's supporting software works. The ease of use of iTunes is one of the reasons for the iPod's success.
I think that Microsoft should have concentrated on making the Zune an outstanding music-only player with a lower price point and a longer battery life (a key issue for me with compressed digital audio players). This would have avoided a head-on controntation with the iPod and would give the Zune a good chance to find its place in the marketplace.
This is why they lost out on BetaMax VCRs. For a year or two we'll see Blu-ray marketed along side HD-DVD, but later, we'll find Sony dropping Blu and adopting the standard. Unless the license it to other manufacturers!!! That's the only way to arrive at the best technology, let the two compete in the open market. Ten MFRS making both formats at comparable price points. Movie lovers will decide the match by purely democratic means.
It appears that Sony has done this with their CD-MP3 players. Until recently, all of their CD-MP3 players played standard CDs, and both MP3 files, and ATRAC3/ATRAC3Plus files. ATRAC3/ATRAC3Plus was Sony's own proprietary format and they included software with their players that allowed you to make you own ATRAC3/ATRAC3Plus files and burn them to a CD for use with the player.
Now I've noticed that they have dropped ATRAC3/ATRAC3Plus support from their CD-MP3 players. They still support the MP3 format.
Heh... stick around, and someone will eventually trot out the tried-and-true, "B-b-but there's no such thing as unbreakable protection. A friendly hacker will eventually come along and deprotect the work!" argument, using lofty-sounding language worthy of Madison himself.
However, such hacker will be punishable under DMCA if he does this while there are still copyright-protected works around protected by that DRM scheme. And that's what we object to.
On the other hand, if all works protected by the scheme are out of copyright, it would theoretically be legal to crack the scheme, but with so much fewer people interested in the works by then, there will be too little motivation (glory) to do so...
To me, the above would be a simple way to handle the DRM issue:
Allow legal protection for the DRM scheme for a specific period of time (say 30 years) after it stops being used as part of the dominant format.
Once the DRM scheme protection ends all works using that DRM protection fall into the public domain and the DRM protection can be legally circumvented.
The above would protect the interests of the copyright holders for a period of time, but would allow works on formats they no longer support to enter the public domain in time. The copyright holders want to keep the format protected, they still have to support the format.
Most importantly, in 50 or 60 years when the copyrights actually expire, will you still even want your 128kbps mp3? Of course not. The public domain file will be provided in a superior format from a master recording.
And where, pray tell, would this recording come from? All would be fine and dandy if the original master recording is still around. But for all we know, the company having done such recording may long have gone bust, or they might still be around, but unwilling to provide it for whatever reason. So, the only way to keep companies honest would be to force them to deposit an DRM-unencumbered copy at the Library of Congress. But, AFAIK, there is no such law. And even if there were, who's gonna check that all those zillions of media deposited daily are indeed compliant?
Moreover, there's no fundamental reason why future DRM can't include a system which automatically disables DRM upon copyright expiration. But of course, any system which checks the validity of DRM licenses would be attacked as an invasion of "privacy."
The concern of the loss of the original recordings is not an unreasonable concern. In the mid-1980s I remember reading in a magazine that when the music of Simon and Garfunkel was first released on CD the producers had to use second-generation tapes because the original master tapes had been lost (the tapes may have been found by now). At the time this would have been less than 25 years after the original recordings were made.
Another concern is: Will there be equipment still able to play those recordings once they enter the public domain? For example, how many people can actually play an 8-track tape now? (Per the movie "So Wrong They're Right" there is still interest in the 8-track format but the number of available players will decrease as they wear out). I doubt the holders of the original tapes will release them to the public once they fall into the public domain.
Overly Critical Guy wrote and included with a post:
That's simply not true. Apple has the worst lock in sceme in the entire consumer electronics industry
No, they don't. As a matter of fact, most people have plain old MP3s on their iPods.
I am one of those individuals: virtually all of the files on my iPod are MP3 files that I ripped from my own CDs. The ability to play ordinary MP3 files prevents you from being locked into the iPod and is one of the factors in its success.
I think that any player which does not support the MP3 format is doomed to failure because of the lock in issue. For myself, I will disregard any compressed audio player that does not allow you to directly play (meaning without conversion) MP3 files. I would not be surprised if many other people think the same way.
Although other formats may sound better at the same bitrate (I simply encode my MP3s has a higher bitrate to deal with that issue, 1.5MB per minute instead of 1MB per minute is not a concern for me), the vast support of the MP3 format provides a good reason for me to choose it over other, less supported, formats. Also working against other formats (especially purchased music) is the whole DRM issue. This will cause many people to purchase their music in the CD format, rather than any DRMed format.
YEs but you also have the fact that people are also not willing to upgrade their TVs, DVD collections, and anything else they need to either.
People tried to upgrade CDs (remember audio DVDs and Minidisk) The market said screw you and jumped to MP3 around 10 years later. I suspect the same will happen
I think another factor causing people not to upgrade to the new format is that for most people DVD is a good enough video format. Also, I think all future formats are going to be so locked down by DRM that they won't allow the relatively free use that current DVDs have.
DRM lockdown is a reason that I think that both DVD-Audio and SACD will not succeed in the marketplace. I do think they will end up occupying a niche in the market, similar to the place that open-reel tape decks occupied during the LP era. In order for these formats to succeed they are going to have to be as readily available and usable as CD is right now. Like with DVD, I suspect that for most people the CD format is good enough.
I think there were many factors which led to the lack of success of the minidisc format, including:
The very high cost of the recorders: When I first looked for a recorder (about a year after the format was introduced) the lowest cost home deck I could find cost $1,000. At the same time I found a DCC deck for $400 and so I chose that format.
The introduction of recordable CDs, non-skipping portable CD players, and the MP3 format: These three factors together allowed you to store much more music on a CD and take it with you. Minidisc was limited to 80 minutes of compressed audio on a disc and I think the introduction of HD-minidisc was too late for the format.
I think a mistake that was made with the attempt to introduce a successor to the CD format is that it was not done as part of the DVD format. If the audio industry had got together when the DVD standard was being established, and established a single audio format as part of the standard that could be played on all DVD players it might have succeeded.
I prefer a device which uses drag and drop file management and does not require a platform dependant application.
I've wanted to see a player where you: (1) create a folder on your hard drive, (2) place your music in that folder, arranging it as you like, and (3) the player automatically mirrors that directory when connected to the computer. This would allow you to create and maintain several different music collections, and easily choose the one you want on the player.
If people want a player locked into one store, they will get an ipod.
Strange... I own an ipod and I don't feel locked in. I've never bought a thing from iTunes. I don't even use the iTunes software. Yet there it is, chock full of legally purchased music that must have come from somewhere.
I, too, have an iPod and don't feel locked in. As far as I can see, the only part of the iPod that truly locks you in is if you purchase music from iTunes.
I think it is a combination of the player and the software that has been the biggest success in the iPod's success. I find iTunes a very good program for managing my music files, and one of its best features is its ability to mass tag files. Since I rip my files in MP3 format, they are not tied to the iPod and can be used with any compressed music player.
One thing that worked for Apple's advantage is that they concentrated on making the iPod a great music player first, the other later features (such as video) were able to be incorporated smoothly. With the Zune, it seems like Microsoft is going to have to do everything right at one time, with no time for experimentation. This is likely to be a difficult hurdle for them to overcome.
I find the whole thing hilarious: the first palm that had an IRDA port had an app for 'wireless email'
The IR port was intended to allow users to pass data (such as address book entries) between Palm PDAs and was effective for a distance of about 3 feet. You could also designate an address book entry as a business card and easily send it to someone else from the main screen.
The first Palm that could do wireless e-mail was the Palm VII, and it could also do web clipping. Web clipping inserted downloaded data into preloaded forms (it didn't require you to download entire webpages), it reduced the amount of data you had to download. Early Palm PDAs did a hotsync with your e-mail program, it allowed you to compose e-mail on your PDA, hotsync it to your computer, and then send them through your computer. You could also read and respond to received e-mail through your PDA. For many people it was an important use for their PDA.
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danpsmith wrote and included with a post:
Unfortunately, the video companies did not learn one of the factors that made CD a success: a single format. Although many formats were proposed, only one was chosen and accepted by the music industry. They saw what happened with Quad (seven incompatible formats), and were determined that CD not meet the same fate.
Due to the format war going on between the two DVD successors, I will stay with DVD and sit out the war until long after there is a victor. For me, DVD is good enough for now and I have no pressing reason to move to either format. It is the same reason that I am staying with CD, versus going with either of the CD successors.
I wouldn't be surprised if the above paragraph reflects the views of many people concerning the new formats.
I think the move to plain text e-mail is a good one for the DoD. Besides the reduction of risk of malicious code, there are at least two other advantages of people using plain text for their e-mails:
I agree with others that if formatting is so important, the best thing to do is include a formatted attachment with an e-mail. One thing to consider is that HTML provides only limited control over appearance, and it can vary based on application. Something simple like not double spacing between paragraphs is difficult (without the use of style sheets).
As the above writer suggested, a limited subset of HTML for e-mail might be a good way to go. I think a better, and more secure way, might be to develop an XML format specifically for e-mail which only allows for formatting and no executable code.
One feature of the format should be that the only e-mails that will be accepted are those that contain only legitimate tags. If an e-mail contains a single invalid tag (regardless of the reason) it is rejected and a message is sent to the sender.
E-paper reader panels are already here. I have the new Sony e-book reader and the screen looks about as good as paper. The screen is slightly grey which makes it easier to read than bright white paper, and unlike PDA screens it does not have to be backlit to be visible. In fact, it doesn't have a backlight and relies on the same lighting as regular books. The screen resolution is high enough to allow you to read graphic novels and manga on the device.
Although print-on-demand books have potential, they still have the problem of having to store the actual books. Electronic books offer advantages over printed books: the advantage of instant availability and the advantage of not having to store a physical book.
Central storage of books offer advantages, but most people have a need to have an actual copy of the book, ready for immediate access without the need to contact an external system. In the same way, what makes an e-book work for me is the ability to carry the e-book with me on my own reader device, just as I can carry a conventional book. I don't have to be tied to reading them on my computer.
Mark Maughan wrote:
I agree. The movie captured the essence of Batman perfectly, and worked as good foundation for future Batman movies. It also continues the movement of comic movies in a more series direction.
I think the reason that many people did not like Hulk is that many were expecting much more action than they got. For me, I actually found the personal interactions between the characters the most interesting part of the movie, much more interesting than the "Hulk Out" part of the movie.
The director (Ang Lee) brought much of emotional feeling of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon to the Hulk and it worked. In a way, the emotionality of the movie reminded me of The Incredible Hulk TV series, with Bruce Banner reflecting the tortured nature of David Banner.
isaac wrote:
I agree that for sheer usability the Palm OS is terrific. When I got my first Palm handheld (a Palm Vx), I barely had use the instruction book other than for instructions on on the initial install of the PC software and connecting the hardware. Everything else was basically self-explanatory and learning Graffiti 1 was not difficult. The key with the Palm OS is that it was outstanding at what it was designed for.
For example, the resolution of the original screen was 160 x 160 pixels. By today's standards it is low, but it was designed to allow the display of an entire day's calendar on one screen.
Thinking about it, I get the same feeling when using an iPod. Its interface is as intuitive as the Palm OS, and it is outstanding at the task it is designed for. Like with Palm OS devices, syncing with the iPod is as seemless as Hotsyncing a Palm OS device.
For me, the time I spend adjusting the defaults of a program is not to make it work like another program, its to ensure the program does not fight me and is easier to use. An example of this in MS Word is making the paragraph marks and tab marks visible by default, something I find very important in controlling my formatting.
permawired wrote:
This is not just an issue with OpenOffice. When I get a new copy of MS Word I spend the first 15 minutes with the program adjusting all of the settings so that it works the way I need it to. I have the same experience with most of the programs I use. For me it is just a normal part of using the program. All I ask is that the settings be easy to locate and change.
bazorg wrote:
The whole DRM issue is the reason that I prefer to buy my music on Red Book standard CDs. That way, if my player dies (due to damage, old age, wearing out, etc.) I will still have the music itself. I want to only have to buy a song one time, not have to rebuy it everytime the DRM changes.
As far as DRM on CDs, it should be legally mandated that this be clearly disclosed on the CD packaging. Before I buy a CD I want to be sure that it is completely safe to use on all of my players. This should be the function of the official CD logo, but many CDs don't have the logo on them.
I follow the guide that if a CD that has copy protection clearly labeled as such then it is my fault for any damage it does to my system. But if the CD has copy protection but it is not clearly labeled, then it is the fault of the releasing company for any damage that occurs.
One advantage the soft distribution (via on-line) of music has for the record companies that it is much less expensive than the hard distribution (via CDs). It would be in the record companies interest for people to move to soft formats for music. But DRM is a very good reason for people to continue to stay with CDs.
Mordaximus wrote:
Considering that Minidisc is still available in the stores would indicate that it was a modest success. I think one of the factors that hindered Minidisc from being an all-out success is the cost of the players/recorders.
What also worked against Minidisc was timing. It was the appearance of of recordable CDs and skip-proof portable players soon after Minidisc's introduction that took away most of the Minidisc's advantages for the average listener.
AlHunt wrote:
The problem with not purchasing any music is that it doesn't send a clear message of what you object to. In that situation, a drop in sales could be blamed on piracy (to provide an example) as the main factor.
I think what would send a very clear message is for people to stop purchasing music with any form of DRM. As an example: If the sales of music drop by 50% and 95% of that drop is of music that is DRM protected it would provide a clear indicator of why sales have dropped, especially if the sales of all other music is little unaffected, or increases.
Thanks for the information. The version I have doesn't appear to support the OpenDocument format, but I've checked for a new version of AbiWord and and and update has been released for it since the version that I have. I will check it out.
erroneus wrote as part of a post
I agree that RTF is a very usable format for most writing. It generally provides the formatting that most people actually need (and doesn't have the formatting limitations that basic HTML has), is human readable, and it also has the advantage of keeping the file size small.
Anpheus wrote:
I disagree that Notepad and Wordpad are inferior applications compared to Microsoft (MS) Word. I think that each is better for its intended purposes than MS Word is. I think a better phrase to use for them would be: a more limited application than MS Word.
Rather than MS Word, I use a word processor called Jarte for my writing. It basically adds missing functionality to Wordpad to make it a full word processor and I've been very pleased with it. For simple, straight-forward word processing it is a terrific program. It is also a great text editor too. Also, since it does not have macro capability it is not vulnerable to Word macro viruses even when viewing MS Word files.
MountainMan101 wrote:
I think the key is to use the right format for the right job. I use StarOffice for complex documents, but most of the time I use an RTF word processor (Jarte). I find that a small word processor usually has more than enough power to allow me to write the documents I need to and is must easier to use.
I choose to use RTF because it is a widely available standard that every word processor understands. I hope that the OpenDocument format becomes as widely available as RTF is right now. One thing that would help is the development of small word processors that use it as a native format, designed for easy of use, speed, and small size.
CptTripps wrote:
Besides the amount of music you can store on your player, another factor is the battery life. The larger the files, the shorter your players battery life will be, a significant disadvantage of higher bit rates.
I encode my music files at 192kbs which increases the size of the files by 50% and I've noticed a decrease in my player's battery life. With a fully charged battery, the longest my iPod has continually played is just under 8 hours (just hitting the play button and then not hitting any other buttons or changing the volume until the battery ran out).
With lossless files, the battery life would be even shorter. One advantage of lossless compression is that the battery life would be longer than when playing WAV files without a loss in sound quality.
anss123 wrote:
I used to encode my MP3s at 128kb. After first I thought it was adequate, but that opinion changed after hearing the clipping of the strong drum beats at the beginning of "Only Yesterday" by The Carpenters. The crisp drum beats became more like dull thuds at that bit rate.
Since then, I've been encoding my music at 192kb and my spoken word recordings at 160kbs At those bit rates I've found it difficult to tell the MP3 file from the CD original.
My opinion is that it is possible to get acceptable sound quality from an MP3 encoded at 128kb, but everything has to be just right. The low bit rate does not provide much headroom for the music. To use a car analogy, encoding an MP3 at 128kb is like driving down a alley that is 48 inches wide in a car that is 46 inches wide: you can do it, but you don't have much room for error.
LaughingCoder wrote at the end of a post:
This will be the final proof of the success/failure of the Zune: When their Zune wears out how many people will buy another one? For me, one of the strongest proofs of the success of the iPod is that most people readily replace their worn-out iPod with a new one.
I've used a Zune for a few minutes at a store and overall I liked it, although I didn't care for the non-working scroll wheel, I'd rather they just put a five-button + pad instead to reflect reality. But a major factor in it's success will be how well it's supporting software works. The ease of use of iTunes is one of the reasons for the iPod's success.
I think that Microsoft should have concentrated on making the Zune an outstanding music-only player with a lower price point and a longer battery life (a key issue for me with compressed digital audio players). This would have avoided a head-on controntation with the iPod and would give the Zune a good chance to find its place in the marketplace.
Bobbolytic wrote:
It appears that Sony has done this with their CD-MP3 players. Until recently, all of their CD-MP3 players played standard CDs, and both MP3 files, and ATRAC3/ATRAC3Plus files. ATRAC3/ATRAC3Plus was Sony's own proprietary format and they included software with their players that allowed you to make you own ATRAC3/ATRAC3Plus files and burn them to a CD for use with the player.
Now I've noticed that they have dropped ATRAC3/ATRAC3Plus support from their CD-MP3 players. They still support the MP3 format.
ArsenneLupin wrote and included with a post:
To me, the above would be a simple way to handle the DRM issue:
The above would protect the interests of the copyright holders for a period of time, but would allow works on formats they no longer support to enter the public domain in time. The copyright holders want to keep the format protected, they still have to support the format.
ArsenneLupin wrote as part of a post:
The concern of the loss of the original recordings is not an unreasonable concern. In the mid-1980s I remember reading in a magazine that when the music of Simon and Garfunkel was first released on CD the producers had to use second-generation tapes because the original master tapes had been lost (the tapes may have been found by now). At the time this would have been less than 25 years after the original recordings were made.
Another concern is: Will there be equipment still able to play those recordings once they enter the public domain? For example, how many people can actually play an 8-track tape now? (Per the movie "So Wrong They're Right" there is still interest in the 8-track format but the number of available players will decrease as they wear out). I doubt the holders of the original tapes will release them to the public once they fall into the public domain.
Overly Critical Guy wrote and included with a post:
I am one of those individuals: virtually all of the files on my iPod are MP3 files that I ripped from my own CDs. The ability to play ordinary MP3 files prevents you from being locked into the iPod and is one of the factors in its success.
I think that any player which does not support the MP3 format is doomed to failure because of the lock in issue. For myself, I will disregard any compressed audio player that does not allow you to directly play (meaning without conversion) MP3 files. I would not be surprised if many other people think the same way.
Although other formats may sound better at the same bitrate (I simply encode my MP3s has a higher bitrate to deal with that issue, 1.5MB per minute instead of 1MB per minute is not a concern for me), the vast support of the MP3 format provides a good reason for me to choose it over other, less supported, formats. Also working against other formats (especially purchased music) is the whole DRM issue. This will cause many people to purchase their music in the CD format, rather than any DRMed format.
falcon5768 wrote:
I think another factor causing people not to upgrade to the new format is that for most people DVD is a good enough video format. Also, I think all future formats are going to be so locked down by DRM that they won't allow the relatively free use that current DVDs have.
DRM lockdown is a reason that I think that both DVD-Audio and SACD will not succeed in the marketplace. I do think they will end up occupying a niche in the market, similar to the place that open-reel tape decks occupied during the LP era. In order for these formats to succeed they are going to have to be as readily available and usable as CD is right now. Like with DVD, I suspect that for most people the CD format is good enough.
I think there were many factors which led to the lack of success of the minidisc format, including:
I think a mistake that was made with the attempt to introduce a successor to the CD format is that it was not done as part of the DVD format. If the audio industry had got together when the DVD standard was being established, and established a single audio format as part of the standard that could be played on all DVD players it might have succeeded.
Technician wrote as part of a post:
I've wanted to see a player where you: (1) create a folder on your hard drive, (2) place your music in that folder, arranging it as you like, and (3) the player automatically mirrors that directory when connected to the computer. This would allow you to create and maintain several different music collections, and easily choose the one you want on the player.
gsslay wrote and included with a post:
I, too, have an iPod and don't feel locked in. As far as I can see, the only part of the iPod that truly locks you in is if you purchase music from iTunes.
I think it is a combination of the player and the software that has been the biggest success in the iPod's success. I find iTunes a very good program for managing my music files, and one of its best features is its ability to mass tag files. Since I rip my files in MP3 format, they are not tied to the iPod and can be used with any compressed music player.
One thing that worked for Apple's advantage is that they concentrated on making the iPod a great music player first, the other later features (such as video) were able to be incorporated smoothly. With the Zune, it seems like Microsoft is going to have to do everything right at one time, with no time for experimentation. This is likely to be a difficult hurdle for them to overcome.
Breakfast Pants wrote:
The IR port was intended to allow users to pass data (such as address book entries) between Palm PDAs and was effective for a distance of about 3 feet. You could also designate an address book entry as a business card and easily send it to someone else from the main screen.
The first Palm that could do wireless e-mail was the Palm VII, and it could also do web clipping. Web clipping inserted downloaded data into preloaded forms (it didn't require you to download entire webpages), it reduced the amount of data you had to download. Early Palm PDAs did a hotsync with your e-mail program, it allowed you to compose e-mail on your PDA, hotsync it to your computer, and then send them through your computer. You could also read and respond to received e-mail through your PDA. For many people it was an important use for their PDA.