I pit misleading news story re the ipod.

[CynicalGabe]

http://money.cnn.com/2006/05/22/technology/business2_launchpad0522/index.htm

Unlocking the iPod
If you want to buy content for Apple’s iPod, you have to go through iTunes. Navio Systems is hoping to change that.

Boy, thats not the least bit misleading. Actually, you can buy a CD and legally rip it to the iPod. At least, I hope that is still legal.

[Airman_Doors_USAF]

Read further:

Even iTunes competitors, like Napster and Microsoft’s (Research) MSN Music, have a limited set of devices that play the content they sell. And eMusic, which sells unprotected MP3 files, has a limited selection. (Sure, sure, you can buy physical CDs and rip the songs off them to any MP3 player, but that hardly seems like a digital-age solution to the problem.)

In other words, who buys CDs anymore? They do have a point in that regard. The CD/cassette physical music model is dying.

[mhendo]

@CynicalGabe

Actually, you can buy a CD and legally rip it to the iPod. At least, I hope that is still legal.

If the CD has any copy protection, then circumventing that protection is a violation of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act.

[Buckler_of_Swashing]

This does not mesh with my experience.

I have been able to play mp3s from any source on my iPod Mini. Is this country-specific or something?

[ParentalAdvisory]

I don’t know, but it sounds like good marketing. If you make uneducated consumers think that the only way to use the iPod is that they must buy music from iTunes, then guess where the money is going…

[asterion]

@Buckler of Swashing

This does not mesh with my experience.

I have been able to play mp3s from any source on my iPod Mini. Is this country-specific or something?

Don’t think so. And the other stores aren’t selling mp3s, they’re selling DRMed WMA. Completely different encoding.

[CynicalGabe]

@asterion

Don’t think so. And the other stores aren’t selling mp3s, they’re selling DRMed WMA. Completely different encoding.

Depends on the store.

[Mikahw]

@Airman Doors

In other words, who buys CDs anymore? They do have a point in that regard. The CD/cassette physical music model is dying.

All the cool people that want non DRM’d (well, most of the time) higher quality audio that they can rip to whatever format they want (do AAC or WMA even support gapless playback?) and like having physical booklets they can flip through so they get something for their money other than a file on their hard drive, of course.

inhales

[Ponder_Stibbons]

What the heck is “gapless playback”?

[Excalibre]

@Mikahw

All the cool people that want non DRM’d (well, most of the time) higher quality audio that they can rip to whatever format they want (do AAC or WMA even support gapless playback?) and like having physical booklets they can flip through so they get something for their money other than a file on their hard drive, of course.

inhales

Totally. I wasn’t aware that CDs were dead - should I stop buying them? I want to be cool!

I’m sticking with CDs for the near future. None of the downloaded options have the same sound quality; even though I listen to my music in MP3 form, it would bother me to know that I was purchasing it with reduced sound quality. Besides, I don’t want my hard disk to fail and leave me without my entire music collection.

[Troy_McClure_SF]

Get used to it; I’ve been hearing this one for years. Makes me wonder how popular it would be if you could get music from somewhere other than the iTunes Music Store.

[SpaceDog]

@Ponder Stibbons

What the heck is “gapless playback”?

Playback. Without gaps.

Sorry, I assume he’s talking about the fact that some CDs depend on one track running directly into the next with no silence. This didn’t work on some CD players and I don’t belive it’s possible on many protable digital players unless you rip that group of songs as one file (and even then it might not work properly).

I buy CDs and rip 'em, and that seems like a perfectly fine solution. My major problem with the iPod (even though I have one) is that iTunes sucks and sucks badly. Even if I was inclinded to buy DRMed, non-physical music I’m not sure I’d use iTunes just cos the rest of the software is so sucky.

SD

[interface2x]

So is it possible yet to buy mp3’s from any of these services with a higher rate than 128kbps? There’s no way I’m paying money for that crap. I’ll keep buying physical cd’s until they start offering decent sounding mp3’s.

[mhendo]

@interface2x

So is it possible yet to buy mp3’s from any of these services with a higher rate than 128kbps? There’s no way I’m paying money for that crap. I’ll keep buying physical cd’s until they start offering decent sounding mp3’s.

I don’t know the answer to your question, but this is precisely why i’ve stuck with CDs.

I’m not interested in all the DRM crap and other restrictions attached to some download sites, and i’m not interested in paying good money for a bunch of mediocre 128kbps CBR mp3s.

[Mikahw]

@Excalibre

Totally. I wasn’t aware that CDs were dead - should I stop buying them? I want to be cool!

I’m sticking with CDs for the near future. None of the downloaded options have the same sound quality; even though I listen to my music in MP3 form, it would bother me to know that I was purchasing it with reduced sound quality. Besides, I don’t want my hard disk to fail and leave me without my entire music collection.

Oh, come on, the cool thing was a joke! I swears!

As to gapless playback, yep, a lot of albums have at least two tracks that run into each other without a gap between them. Ogg Vorbis on my iRiver H120 with Rockbox works wonderfully. I suppose you could rip them all to a single file if you want to use other formats/players (luckily,Rockbox has been ported to a fair number of players), if you have the original CD. None of the download services I know of will even give you that option.

[Bookkeeper]

@mhendo

If the CD has any copy protection, then circumventing that protection is a violation of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act.

Not for me. Did it last week. Perfectly legal.

[Excalibre]

@Bookkeeper

Not for me. Did it last week. Perfectly legal.

Well, obviously things are different in the lawless northland. You guys don’t have the RIAA to worry about, just polar bears.

[tdn]

I’m new to all this, so please fight my ignorance hear.

So let’s say I want to put, say, Abbey Road on my mp3 player. I don’t own the CD. I want it to play back as intended. What do I do?

[rjung]

@tdn

So let’s say I want to put, say, Abbey Road on my mp3 player. I don’t own the CD. I want it to play back as intended. What do I do?

Two possibilieis:

1. Petition the Beatles’ estate(s) to stop being dipsticks and license the Beatles music for sale on one of the online music services, then buy and use a player that works with that service.

Or

2. Buy a CD with Abbey Road, rip it to your computer, and then install it on the MP3 player of your choice.

[tdn]

@rjung

1. Petition the Beatles’ estate(s) to stop being dipsticks and license the Beatles music for sale on one of the online music services, then buy and use a player that works with that service.

Really? No Beatles online? Hardly worth it. I suppose they don’t have much in the way of Brahms, either.

2. Buy a CD with Abbey Road, rip it to your computer, and then install it on the MP3 player of your choice.

I could do that, but there’s still the whole gapless deal.