Re: FSF offers 5 reasons to avoid iPhone 3G

DevilsPGD <spam_narf_spam@crazyhat.net> wrote:

> >Integrity - to prove the item has not changed since it was signed.
> >
> >and that's it.
>
> By refusing to run unsigned apps, the iPhone is the definition of DRM.

no, it's just verification of the developer, it has nothing to do with
"content".

The Bob <nospam@bob.com> wrote:

> They are hardly obscure. flac is the leader in lossless file use, and shn
> is not far behind.

but they are still a fraction of 1% even on the best days.

> And one more to add to the list that is also widely used and not supported
> by the iPhone- wma.

wma isn't a good enough quality format.

Oxford <apony@pasture.com> amazed us all with the following in
news:apony-5E0E14.18131015072008@news.qwest.net:

> The Bob <nospam@bob.com> wrote:
>
>> They are hardly obscure. flac is the leader in lossless file use,
>> and shn is not far behind.
>
> but they are still a fraction of 1% even on the best days.

Maybe to a neophile like you. To most serious audiophiles, they are the
only way to go.

>
>> And one more to add to the list that is also widely used and not
>> supported by the iPhone- wma.
>
> wma isn't a good enough quality format.
>

Compared to what?

In article <Xns9ADCAAC1B7256bob@216.196.97.136>, The Bob
<nospam@bob.com> wrote:

> They are hardly obscure. flac is the leader in lossless file use, and shn
> is not far behind.

people don't generally put lossless music on a portable music player
because it takes up too much space and it's impossible to hear the
difference anyway, so the fact that it doesn't play flac is moot.

> And one more to add to the list that is also widely used and not supported
> by the iPhone- wma.

itunes converts it.

nospam <nospam@nospam.invalid> amazed us all with the following in
news:150720081726222173%nospam@nospam.invalid:

> In article <Xns9ADCAAC1B7256bob@216.196.97.136>, The Bob
> <nospam@bob.com> wrote:
>
>> They are hardly obscure. flac is the leader in lossless file use,
>> and shn is not far behind.
>
> people don't generally put lossless music on a portable music player
> because it takes up too much space and it's impossible to hear the
> difference anyway, so the fact that it doesn't play flac is moot.

With larger storage capacity, space is not a concern. And the fact that it
does not play it demonstrates that it's not the "media-friendly" device
that Oxtard purports it to be.

>
>> And one more to add to the list that is also widely used and not
>> supported by the iPhone- wma.
>
> itunes converts it.

But it doesn't play it. With conversion comes data loss. With data loss,
comes sound degradation. If it were the wundertoy that the fanbois claim
it to be, conversion would not be necessary. Especially for such a common
file type.

In article <Xns9ADCC25D12EB3bob@216.196.97.136>, The Bob
<nospam@bob.com> wrote:

> nospam <nospam@nospam.invalid> amazed us all with the following in
> news:150720081726222173%nospam@nospam.invalid:
>
> > In article <Xns9ADCAAC1B7256bob@216.196.97.136>, The Bob
> > <nospam@bob.com> wrote:
> >
> >> They are hardly obscure. flac is the leader in lossless file use,
> >> and shn is not far behind.
> >
> > people don't generally put lossless music on a portable music player
> > because it takes up too much space and it's impossible to hear the
> > difference anyway, so the fact that it doesn't play flac is moot.
>
> With larger storage capacity, space is not a concern.

one will always be able to load more mp3/aac songs than lossless,
regardless of how much space is on the device (any device). there's
always a tradeoff.

> And the fact that it
> does not play it demonstrates that it's not the "media-friendly" device
> that Oxtard purports it to be.

lossless (not just flac) is a niche format that doesn't really matter
to most users, whether it's an ipod or any other media player. the
vast majority of people listen to ipods and other players in situations
where any difference will not be noticable, and also using less than
perfect headphones, so why waste the space for lossless when it will
sound the same?

> >> And one more to add to the list that is also widely used and not
> >> supported by the iPhone- wma.
> >
> > itunes converts it.
>
> But it doesn't play it. With conversion comes data loss. With data loss,
> comes sound degradation. If it were the wundertoy that the fanbois claim
> it to be, conversion would not be necessary. Especially for such a common
> file type.

that only matters if a difference can be heard. but as i've said
before, if you have a lot of wma then the ipod isn't the best choice.

The Bob <nospam@bob.com> wrote in
news:Xns9ADCAAC1B7256bob@216.196.97.136:

> And one more to add to the list that is also widely used and not
> supported by the iPhone- wma.
>
>

wma, wmb, ogg, flac, rm, rma, rmb, avi, xvid, MP4 are all covered with a
few free codec installs and mplayer on the N800.....(c;

.....AND, you can set the tablet in offline mode so nothing interrupts the
movie! If the separate sellphone rings, of course, the movie goes on
playing as if it hadn't....(c;

....of course, all the streams play, including realvideo/audio and Flash...

nospam <nospam@nospam.invalid> wrote in news:150720081832159306%
nospam@nospam.invalid:

> that only matters if a difference can be heard. but as i've said
> before, if you have a lot of wma then the ipod isn't the best choice.
>
>

Let's talk about STREAMING.....

What do we do, convert the WM and Realvideo/audio to AAC on the fly?

I'm watching CCTV-4 from Bejing on the N800 from my wifi at the moment:

mms://72.166.136.132/cctv4-200

using mplayer in streaming mode. The picture is beautiful, but
everybody is talking backwards...(c; There's some kind of Communist job
show on at the moment. I'm for candidate 3, myself. He looks like a
nice guy that deserves it.....whatever it is....(c;

Full Screen 4:5 color video and mono audio from the front speakers...

I hope they have lots of coverage of the games when they start.

There's something odd about this gameshow. All the questions are
multiple choice and the question and answers are in Chinese, of course.
But, very curiously, each answer is labeled:

A -

B -

C -

D -

not in Chinese text....??

I also noticed the "contestants" all seem to be foreigners, not Chinese.
Maybe they're selling them as slaves!....

Back to the topic at hand...what do we do about streaming??

It's a shame iPhone won't play realvideo or realaudio from BBC's great
webpages. I'm sure a deal for the sake of the customers could be made
between Steve and Real, like it was with Nokia....

Ah, I think I figured out the gameshow! It's about foreigners' ability
to speak, read and write CHINESE! That's what the panel of experts
seems to be critiquing...

Grand prize is an extended visa...losers will be sent to the work camps.

Beer Drinking Dog <photodoglv@yahoo.com> wrote in news:vgefk.27454
$tN1.20467@newsfe14.phx:

> We need to get a game show like that here for all the illegals to play.
>
>

Big advertising campaign about the big prizes and amnesty. "Contestant
Door" opens right up to the back of the ICE prisoner bus. When that one's
loaded, another one replaces it as the first bus is on its way to the
border...(c;

Larry wrote:
> I'm watching CCTV-4 from Bejing on the N800 from my wifi at the moment:
>
> mms://72.166.136.132/cctv4-200
>
> using mplayer in streaming mode. The picture is beautiful, but
> everybody is talking backwards...(c; There's some kind of Communist job
> show on at the moment. I'm for candidate 3, myself. He looks like a
> nice guy that deserves it.....whatever it is....(c;
>
> There's something odd about this gameshow. All the questions are
> multiple choice and the question and answers are in Chinese, of course.
> But, very curiously, each answer is labeled:
>
> A -
>
> B -
>
> C -
>
> D -
>
> not in Chinese text....??
>
> I also noticed the "contestants" all seem to be foreigners, not Chinese.
> Maybe they're selling them as slaves!....
>
> Ah, I think I figured out the gameshow! It's about foreigners' ability
> to speak, read and write CHINESE! That's what the panel of experts
> seems to be critiquing...
>
> Grand prize is an extended visa...losers will be sent to the work camps.

We need to get a game show like that here for all the illegals to play.