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Post by jude on Jan 23, 2007 19:08:16 GMT -5
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Post by water_moon on Jan 24, 2007 13:30:41 GMT -5
I take it you need an iPod to view it?
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Post by jude on Jan 25, 2007 23:53:24 GMT -5
Not at all... All you need it the free iTunes app. Then you can watch it on your computer. You actually need iTunes to download it, too. There are always some free things for download (music TV shows, films, podcasts) at the iTunes store (accessed through the free iTunes application). www.apple.com/itunes/download/Hmmm, I guess I thought everyone had iTunes by now... Guess that's what comes with hanging out with Mac users! (iTunes comes installed with all Macs) Jude EDIT: Even if you don't ever go to the iTunes store, iTunes is a great MP3 player for your computer for listening to music, and can be used to convert music to MP3s for your MP3 player, and burn mix CDs to listen to on your CD player.
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Post by water_moon on Jan 26, 2007 13:52:50 GMT -5
While most folks now a days may very well have iTunes, I don't have or want an MP3 player, I hate MP3s. The audio fidelity is lacking, even with a subwoofer they tend to sound clipped and tinny. So while they're okay for a few clips, they get annoying after a bit. I prefer either the original CD or .wav files. I'll look into getting it, but generally I avoid anything like that b/c I don't agree with the user aggrement. BTW, for anyone intrested in alternatives for finding music, check out this blog post from my favorite USA today techie. blogs.usatoday.com/techspace/2007/01/music_service_p.html#comments
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Post by jude on Jan 27, 2007 0:51:47 GMT -5
I hate the "user agreement" security crap, too. The only stuff I've download from iTunes with the "protection" on it, is free stuff. I refuse to knowingly buy something and then not really own it. (Although I got tricked into buying some shareware that has the "must dial home to check" scheme--won't buy from them again). This is difficult for me because some of the music I want is not available on CD, only through the iTunes store. But I am refraining unless they drop the crippleware aspect of it. I agree about the sound quality of MP3s. Unfortunately, many retail CDs aren't being made with the best sound quality, nowadays, either. I burn my songs at a pretty high bit rate, which makes for larger files and less songs in my MP3 player, but I like the sound quality better. You can set the converting preferences in iTunes. I am also pretty particular about my speakers and headphones. ITunes can also convert into lossless formats, like .aiff for Mac, and I think the Windows version can convert into .wav, but not having any Windows-running machines, I can't check for you. The protection scheme is only on stuff downloaded from the iTunes store (and not all stuff--the podccasts aren't "protected", for example). ITunes was developed from a previous (non-Apple owned) app called SoundJam, which I used all the time a few years ago, mostly to group my favorite songs from my CDs and burn them to "mix" CDs. I have checked out eMusic before. You may also be interested in BeSonic.com. I find a lot of cool free music on the websites of indie groups and singer/songwriters. Also, Spiralfrog is planning to try something new with downloads, using advertising, similar to radio business: apnews.excite.com/article/20070126/D8MT7IAO0.htmlAs for the Dresden Files, episode 2 is on Sunday at 9 on the Sci Fi Channel. Jude
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Post by water_moon on Jan 29, 2007 14:44:01 GMT -5
I agree about the sound quality of MP3s. Unfortunately, many retail CDs aren't being made with the best sound quality, nowadays, either. I burn my songs at a pretty high bit rate, which makes for larger files and less songs in my MP3 player, but I like the sound quality better. You can set the converting preferences in iTunes. I am also pretty particular about my speakers and headphones. My dad is in the audio industry (designs speakers and studio monitors) and one of the things he found is that if you burn a CD at a slower burn rate, because it's not as fast as the commercial burn, you can get a better fidelity. This works better with some CDs than others, and the differnce isn't noticed on all systems... but it can make a noticable-to-the-untrainted differnce on a good set up. My uncle (a musician) swore the burned CD was equalized and wouldn't belive it was the same digitaly until Dad sat down and burned another copy for him with my uncle watching.
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Post by jude on Jan 31, 2007 1:50:44 GMT -5
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