Re: [slim] Rhapsody Won't Play
Just this morning rhapsody stopped working. It says "Internal rhapsody error cannot authenticate the user". The same thing happens if I try to login through squeezenetwork. My account there is in good standing. Their support is blaming it on the squeezebox. -- opaqueice opaqueice's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=4234 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=53148 ___ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
Re: [slim] Best way to get artwork?
I just did this - MP3Toys found most of my album art. It's fully automated, uses multiple web sources for the images, and reads tags, filenames, and directory structure to identify the tracks. All you have to do is download it and point it to your music and it does the rest. The only problem is that the program seems to be very unstable - it crashed (gently) after a while just about every time I ran it. My guess is that this is because I have some free format MP3 files, which most players can't handle - if so, it won't affect anyone else. Anyway it found just about all my album art for me in about an hour, so I don't care :-). -- opaqueice opaqueice's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=4234 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=37105 ___ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
Re: [slim] Is there a lawyer in the house?
sstatman;196183 Wrote: > > For free, for no email address or credit card or anything, you can > listen to 25 tracks a month at http://www.rhapsody.com. You can use it > with Firefox or MSIE or Safari on Windows, Linux, or OS-X. All legal, > all above board, all pretty easy, and it's the full Rhapsody catalog > (3+ million tracks) at 128kbps. > Are there any plans to provide higher bitrate streams at some point? -- opaqueice opaqueice's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=4234 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=34366 ___ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
Re: [slim] Is there a lawyer in the house?
tyler_durden;195704 Wrote: > In the future, you will pay someone for the images hitting your retinas > (you're looking at MY house, and I paid for the house, so you gotta pay > me to look at it..)... You're a real optimist, aren't you, Tyler? How much do I owe you for reading your post? -- opaqueice opaqueice's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=4234 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=34366 ___ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
Re: [slim] Is there a lawyer in the house?
Skunk;195700 Wrote: > > Also, isn't owning an idea called a patent? At least originally, patents were granted only for very specific devices or processes (not for ideas in general), and gave you the right to limit who could produce or use them *for profit*. There isn't anything illegal about building a patented device for your own use. So patents really aren't at all like ownership - they merely provide a limited form of control over commerce in that item. Now that things like gene sequences are patented, the situation is becoming rather less clear - but that's exactly the kind of slippage that worries me. It's interesting to think about how the world would change if copyrights didn't exist. Does anyone really think artists would stop making art, or musicians stop making music? If patents didn't exist, would that stop university researchers, or secret industrial research? It seems to me (following Thomas Jefferson) that the benefits to society would be enormous. -- opaqueice opaqueice's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=4234 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=34366 ___ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
Re: [slim] Is there a lawyer in the house?
jeffmeh;195680 Wrote: > Well, there is certainly a fundamental difference in that copying > intellectual property does not deprive the owner of the intellectual > property, while taking an apple deprives the owner of that apple. On > the other hand, if we stipulate that the IP owner has rights associated > with the IP, then copying the IP deprives the owner of those rights, > just as taking an apple deprives the owner of the right to do what he > pleases with the apple. > I just don't think this is a good way to think about things - it's forcing a square peg into a round hole. Look at the language you used - you said "taking an apple deprives the owner of the right to do what he pleases with the apple", when you could have simply said "taking the apple deprives the owner of the apple". Wouldn't that be much clearer and less convoluted? But in order to make the concept of ownership fit abstractions like music we are forced into these kind of rhetorical knots. I think it's even a bit dangerous - if you can own an abstraction like a song, then it's a short step to owning an idea, and I don't really want to live in a world where one can own ideas. Instead, can't we just admit that copyright is not ownership? Music or the text of a book simply isn't property, it's something new and different. The question we should ask ourselves is whether it's a good idea to allow creators to have control over copying their creations, or not, and that's NOT the same question as whether people should be allowed to own apples or houses. I think it should be a question of optimizing the law to maximally encourage creativity, art, and the spread of ideas in our society. If we decide a 20 year term of copyright is best, fine - no big deal. If you want to see how different that is from real ownership, imagine if all physical property became public domain 20 years after its creation :-). -- opaqueice opaqueice's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=4234 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=34366 ___ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
Re: [slim] Is there a lawyer in the house?
mswlogo;194806 Wrote: > > I hear more arguments that the big music giants are rich. What's few > ripped songs. Does that mean I can go to walmart and stuff a an Ipod in > my coat poacket without paying. Their rich. > I hate it when people equate copyright violations with theft. They are simply not at all alike. If I copy a digital music file from its owner, I haven't taken anything away from them, or deprived them of anything. It's completely unlike stealing something (which doesn't necessarily make it right, just different). Sometimes people argue that in copying, you are depriving the rights owner of possible future income, since you are now less likely to purchase the music (which itself is an assumption), and have therefore "stolen" something from them. But you might as well argue that in choosing to buy one bottle of wine over another, you're depriving the other vineyard of potential profits, and are therefore guilty of theft. If you stay home and don't buy anything, are you stealing from every company you might have bought something from? Obviously not - the concept of property and ownership just isn't the correct one for these cases, and it's a shame it's gotten conflated with it. This isn't an issue of moral right, it's an issue of what is best for our society. In the case of physical property we have decided collectively it's best to allow owenership and make theft a crime and an immoral act. But the question of copyright is relatively very recent, and nothing is forcing us to choose any particular path. It's no more clear that copying music is wrong than it is that preventing music from being copied is wrong. It's just not a moral issue, at least not to me - it's a question of what is best. -- opaqueice opaqueice's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=4234 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=34366 ___ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
[slim] Re: 30-second freeze?
What's odd is that this happens to me on my _local_ SS, with a reliable full strength wireless signal and the computer idle. So I suspect some sort of bug in SS and/or the SB firmware is at least partly responsible. -- opaqueice opaqueice's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=4234 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=23988 ___ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
[slim] Re: Slimserver and 384 kbps mp3s
Just an update on this in case anyone else cares - mediacoder, a free transcoder, has kindly added support for the LAME codec, so it can now transcode batches of files from 384 kbps mp3 to FLAC (or many other formats). You can get it here: http://mediacoder.sourceforge.net/ -- opaqueice opaqueice's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=4234 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=23275 ___ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
[slim] Re: 30-second freeze?
I also have a problem like this - both the SB display and the slimserver web interface will occasionally hang for around 30 seconds while browsing the library. Commands via the remote seem to queue up and be released all at once when the freeze ends. The web interface sits and grinds away trying to load the new page. CPU activity during this is nil. I have a wireless SB, and have just switched to a new wireless net, which had no effect on this problem as far as I can tell. My signal strength is now around 95%, and there are usually no non-essential processes running on the server (a modern PC running windows 2000) when this happens. Slimserver and firmware were recently updated. Is there any fix for this? It's not a big deal, but annoying and occasionally embarassing (like when you want to show off your SB!). -- opaqueice opaqueice's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=4234 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=23988 ___ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
[slim] Re: Strange SB bug
jonheal Wrote: > Often, when the monitor "resets" itself, the GPU on the video card has > crashed (for whatever reason ...). If you have an ATI video card and > you have installed the Catalyst drivers, by default, the GPU will > restart itself when it crashes. I think it keeps a log somewhere, too, > of the event. Or it might appear in the Windows Event Log (if you're on > Windows). > I do have an ATI card, and I think that GPU recover function is enabled, so that sounds reasonable. I'll look for a log when I get a chance later this week - if that's what it was I suppose it can't have had anything to do with the SB, and was probably a power problem. -- opaqueice opaqueice's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=4234 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=24482 ___ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
[slim] Re: Strange SB bug
Skunk Wrote: > Not sure really. Just now I jostled the cord on the PC until it shut > down, and it didn't restart automatically. Same behavior as yesterday > actually- (had to flip the rocker switch in back, then use the power > button in front). > > I should have tried with Slimserver running, to try getting static > again... Yeah, I think that's the usual behavior. As for static, a few times my computer has crashed, or been shutdown, and the SB keeps playing for a few seconds until it uses up its buffer, and then simply stops - no static. But I suppose a surge could have less predictable effects. -- opaqueice opaqueice's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=4234 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=24482 ___ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
[slim] Re: Strange SB bug
Skunk Wrote: > Like a self fullfilling prophecy- I read your post earlier while the > stereo was warming up, only to have the same happen to me. > > I had the volume pretty high, and was fairly entranced by the music, > then suddenly all music stopped and faint static from the speakers. The > PC in the other room shut down, and I thought the lights may have > flickered, but my roommate sitting near me but facing away said they > didn't. I believe the washer may have switched to spin cycle at the > same moment, the dryer continued to run. > > Having read your post I jumped up and unplugged re-plugged SB and was > greeted by the display and no static 'at all' (amen to the > thankfully). > > The PC reset makes me suspect a surge, but I heard the same static you > described sans music- which seems strange for a surge. I was using the > coax out to a DAC, which along w/ SB is plugged into a surge protector > that didn't trip. > > It did have to be a surge though, didn't it? That sounds the same - on my coax out there _was_ a little bit of static, but much fainter than the analogue out (and with no music audible). I guess the primary suspect is a surge or temporary outage (would your PC have restarted if it was an outage?), but you have to wonder if this isn't some rather serious bug... -- opaqueice opaqueice's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=4234 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=24482 ___ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
[slim] Strange SB bug
I've had my SB3 for several months, and it has worked beautifully. However this morning I was listening to music through the SB and working at my computer, and suddenly my computer monitor reset itself (turned off and then on again immediately). All the applications I had running kept working fine. At the same time the sound from the SB changed completely - it was still playing, but with very heavy distortion. It sounded a bit like a faint radio station with lots of static. This was through the analogue outs - I checked both digital outs, and there was no sound at all. Restarting the computer had no effect, but unplugging/plugging the SB fixed the problem (thankfully!). Has anyone else experienced this? Because of the computer monitor resetting, I'm inclined to think it could have been a minor power surge that caused this, but I didn't notice the lights flicker or dim (but there was a lot of sunlight in the room and I might not have noticed that). -- opaqueice opaqueice's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=4234 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=24482 ___ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
[slim] Re: Interesting article on DRM
Michaelwagner Wrote: > > With no intellectual property rights, many performers, writers of > computer programs, designers, etc, would have no income stream and no > incentive to do what they do other than altruism, which only goes so > far putting bread on the table. > Your Bach analogy has problems. Bach had a rich sponsor, several > actually. But his music was only for the rich, so almost no "popular > with with the poor" music has survived from that time, because no one > paid for it to be written down. > > If we give up performance royalties, we get only music suitable for the > rich and powerful. > > Personally, I don't want to listen to "The War on Iraq, an incomplete > sonnet in 3 parts, commissioned by G. W. Bush" for the next 50 years. That's an interesting argument, but your doomsday scenario is far from the only possibility. For example, suppose copyright was abolished entirely and replaced with an "art tax" paid into a fund. The tax might be on blank media, or simply be part of an income tax, and the fund would support artists, perhaps based on popularity of their work. Of course things like that already exist, for example any institution which supports the arts and recieves government funding, but imagine it on a larger scale, and more formalized. Of course artists could continue to make money via live performances, sponsors, etc., just as they do now. Does anyone really think that such a system would result in less music/art being available to the public? I think quite the opposite. The fact is, nobody really knows - but one thing is clear, that art has always existed, long before copyright laws, and was accessible to rich and poor. I don't think that's going to change. -- opaqueice opaqueice's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=4234 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=23869 ___ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
[slim] Re: Interesting article on DRM
To me, the very phrase "intellectual property" is an oxymoron. I think the concept of property should only be applied to tangible objects - things which can be damaged or destroyed, or things which when someone takes them from you you no longer have them. This is not the case with music, or books, or anything else which can be copied exactly without changing the original. The entire concept needs to be re-thought, and the laws need to be re-written. Copyright (in the US at least) was originally intended as a balance between providing an incentive for artists (very unclear that this is necessary - did a lack of copyright protections stop Bach from composing?) and the public good, which benefits from having free access to art and information. The current term for copyright is life of the author plus 70 years, and is extended periodically - so it's effectively eternal. There is no longer any balance. While Joe Sixpack may not care about this, I think the ease with which the law can be (and is) violated using computer technology will eventually force a change. -- opaqueice opaqueice's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=4234 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=23869 ___ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
[slim] Re: Best FLAC converter?
street_samurai Wrote: > If you have trouble with installing EAC, try installing Nero's ASPI > driver: http://ww2.nero.com/nero6/us/ASPI_Driver.html > > 1) Close down EAC. > 2) Install wnaspi32.dll file into the EAC folder > 3) Restart EAC. > 4) Go to EAC menu. > 5) Choose EAC options. > 6) Click the interface tab (see image's below). > 7) Select your new external ASPI / ASAPI interface. > 8) OK your selection and restart EAC. > > This often fixes problems with EAC. > > ss. I had this problem as well, but fixed it by selecting the "Native ASPI interface", or something close to that. I'm using Windows 2000. Oddly, EAC sometimes decides to undo this choice by itself and I have to re-set it and restart EAC to get it working again. -- opaqueice opaqueice's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=4234 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=23758 ___ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
[slim] Re: squeezeboxes flying off the shelves?
Andyoz Wrote: > I actually think there is room in the market for a more expensive > version of the Squeezebox that takes in some of the upgrades the > modders are discovering. > > In my main system, the Squeezebox replaced a CD player that cost a > ridiculous amount of money. There has been a (slight) loss in quality > as expected and I would be prepared to buy one "super" Squeezebox for > the main system and then use the "standard" players for other rooms > (bedroom, study, etc.). Which mods would be most important to you? Personally I would also like to see an audiophile version, with components upgraded in some way to be determined by Slim Devices with the goal of improving sound quality. There is definitely a market there which they are actually missing out on by pricing it so low. -- opaqueice opaqueice's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=4234 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=23505 ___ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
[slim] Re: How much longer for a really slim SlimServer?
Michaelwagner Wrote: > > I think someone would have to come up with a box about the size of a > Buffalo linkstation, but with a serious processor and memory in it, > room for 2 hard disks, small quiet fan or else finned case. > > Bad news is, it probably can't cost more than a squeezebox. Amazingly, you can buy a new Dell running Windows, with a DVD drive, monitor, keyboard, etc. and a 160 GB HD... for $320 - $20 more than a wireless SB. -- opaqueice opaqueice's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=4234 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=23496 ___ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
[slim] Re: How much longer for a really slim SlimServer?
Why not just have an external HD that the SB can plug into directly? If it has a USB/firewire connection, you could load music onto it that way, or maybe also over the net. -- opaqueice opaqueice's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=4234 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=23496 ___ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
[slim] Re: squeezeboxes flying off the shelves?
snarlydwarf Wrote: > > Of course, since my employer's main business is TV... that may be why. > I'm the freak that left the TV off for 10 years. I don't have one, and I also worked (briefly) in the TV industry. Maybe there's a pattern there... -- opaqueice opaqueice's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=4234 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=23505 ___ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
[slim] Re: How much longer for a really slim SlimServer?
My girlfriend really loves my squeezebox (is it just me, or does that sentence sound a little strange?), but she doesn't have a PC at home. She has a laptop, but sometimes it stays at the office. So she's thinking of buying a desktop for home just so she can buy a SB as well, which is really kind of overkill... so slim devices, get on the ball - we need some squeezestorage! -- opaqueice opaqueice's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=4234 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=23496 ___ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
[slim] squeezeboxes flying off the shelves?
In the two months I've owned a SB3, four friends have bought one as a direct consequence of seeing mine. The thing is so obviously a great idea, works so well, sounds so good, and looks so nice, it just sells itself. I'll probably buy another one for my office soon, where even more people will see it. Have others had the same experience? If so, I suggest buying stock in slimdevices, as this is an exponential process... -- opaqueice opaqueice's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=4234 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=23505 ___ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
[slim] Re: Slimserver and 384 kbps mp3s
Ben Sandee Wrote: > > If you used lame to generate the files, surely it can decode them? > > lame --decode > Ben That does work, and furthermore the mp3 files which (for some reason) slimserver won't play work fine once converted to wavs. Thanks again! -- opaqueice opaqueice's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=4234 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=23275 ___ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
[slim] Re: Slimserver and 384 kbps mp3s
T Wrote: > > > Doubtful, as there is no way to tell an mp3 stream that it is 384 kbps. > The > header has no way to encode that bit-rate. > Tom Well, freeamp knows what bitrate they're at. Although I noticed it sometimes says 383 rather than 384, so possibly it's somehow analyzing the file, rather than using header info? Ben Sandee Wrote: > > If you used lame to generate the files, surely it can decode them? > I didn't encode them (I purchased them like that). I'm sure you're right, I just haven't had a chance to try it yet. I'll report back later. -- opaqueice opaqueice's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=4234 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=23275 ___ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
[slim] Re: Slimserver and 384 kbps mp3s
OK, great - thanks! Unfortunately foobar can't understand these files (unless there's a plugin I couldn't find) but there must be something which can. -- opaqueice opaqueice's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=4234 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=23275 ___ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
[slim] Re: Slimserver and 384 kbps mp3s
Ben Sandee Wrote: > > You might consider converting the files to FLAC. You won't lose any > quality > and it will be more reliably supported. > Ben Great suggestions - thanks! That hadn't occurred to me. It's certain there's no quality loss in that conversion? -- opaqueice opaqueice's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=4234 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=23275 ___ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
[slim] Re: Slimserver and 384 kbps mp3s
T Wrote: > 384 is only for Layer 2, not layer 3. Are you sure that they are Layer > 3 > encoding? > > Tom Yes - they are mp3. Apparently the LAME encoder allows arbitrary bitrate with the free format switch enabled, and that's how these were encoded. -- opaqueice opaqueice's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=4234 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=23275 ___ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
[slim] Slimserver and 384 kbps mp3s
I have some audio files in a non-standard 384 kbps mp3 format. Most audio players won't play that (an exception is freeamp), but slimserver will - most of the time. According to the slimserver FAQ, it only handles up tp 320 kbs mp3s, so this isn't an officially supported format. There are a couple of issues, however: slimserver incorrectly displays the bit rate - it shows something more or less random when it plays these files. more seriously, occasionally it won't play one at all (while freeamp will). Unfortunately I don't know what it is that determines when slimserver won't play these files - it's happened in I think 2 out of about 30 files so far. Any suggestions? Is this likely to be something that's supported in future releases? -- opaqueice opaqueice's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=4234 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=23275 ___ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
