The iPhone, Apple's current cash cow and best selling cellular phone in the United States, is a completely closed phone in that only applications from the App Store can be installed on the phone. However, by jailbreaking the iPhone you can install applications from whatever source you want, which might be desirable if an application you want isn't allowed into the App Store by Apple. The Cupertino company has never had an official stance on jailbeaking, but this has now changed: according to them, it's a breach of copyright.
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Member since:2009-01-15
It's the same reason people keep voting for the same corrupt politicians and keep consuming the same low-quality mindless trash on the radio and tv. It's popular, and they're more socially accepted if they conform. It's popular because the media tells them it is. That simple. It's sad, but it's true.
Another factor, I think is that it's more expensive. I don't know what it's like in other parts of the world, but here the more money you spend (waste) the higher your social status. Welcome to the United States. The world leader in ignorance and decadence.
Edited 2009-02-14 04:26 UTC
Member since:2006-04-22
Member since:2008-07-15
Not that I'm defending Apple, or the quality of their iPods, but can you name me another media player that has all of the following features:
* Plays both MP3 and AAC (should be an easy one, and would prefer it to have ogg as well)
* Plays both MPEG4 and h.264 video, and can do so in such a way that if the correct encoding options are supplied, the video is of good quality all the way from an iPod Nano to a large SD TV set
* takes advantage of the MP4 container's chapter marks hack
* has the ability to speak its menus aloud
While Rockbox can solve both 1 and 4, there are no currently manufactured players with the ability to run rockbox, which means finding a used or referbished player. I haven't yet found another media player that can handle number 2, as all the rest seem to need the videos to be converted before you can load them up, whereas the iPod can take up to 1.5mbps mpeg4 and baseline h.264 encoded at standard loose anamorphic, and will adjust the resolution accordingly using the pixel aspect ratio atom. This means you only need make one rip of your DVDs if you do it properly, and you can transfer them without a lengthy conversion process. I realize the MP4 chapter mark feature is a hack, and as far as I know Apple are the big supporters of that though VLC can now use them too.
Are there other media players that meet all of the above? The iPod may not have the best sound quality, it doesn't, but where it wins is being most things to most people. It's not perfect and isn't designed to be, it's designed to be minimum fuss to the majority of users. This is why, in my opinion, it's so popular. The majority of users won't ever run up against its restrictions. I am actually asking, if there are players that can do all of this or even come close I'd like to know about them. Even better if they're USB MSC compliant.
Member since:2005-07-06
* Plays both MP3 and AAC (should be an easy one, and would prefer it to have ogg as well)
* Plays both MPEG4 and h.264 video, and can do so in such a way that if the correct encoding options are supplied, the video is of good quality all the way from an iPod Nano to a large SD TV set
* takes advantage of the MP4 container's chapter marks hack
* has the ability to speak its menus aloud
ever heared of cowon?
for example the movieplayer of the A3 supports:
Fileformate: AVI, WMV, ASF, MP4, MATROSKA (MKV), MPG/MPEG, DAT, MTV, OGM
Video Codec: DivX 3.11/4/5/6, XviD, MPEG-4 SP/ASP, WMV 9/8/7, H.264 MP, M-JPEG, MPEG 1/2
Video-Resolution Max 1280x720, 30 fps
Audio Codec: MPEG1 Layer 1/2/3, WMA, FLAC, OGG Vorbis, AAC/AAC+, AC3, BSAC, True Audio, WavPack, G.726, PCM
Samplerate: Max 96kHz, 1,4Mbps
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The new WebKit Opera for Android has been released. "Opera 14 for Android is built on top of Chromium 26, with a total overhaul of the UI in native code, making it fit well with the latest Android design guidelines. Go get the build from Google Play or point your browser to m.opera.com, and give it a spin!"
The Verge pointed me to a blog post by Leap Motion - which reveals how their Kinect-like motion control works with Windows 8. "From the second you plug in your Leap Motion Controller, you'll be able to browse the web and interact with your computer just by moving your hands and fingers in the air. With Leap Motion technology and Windows, you can do everything that's possible with multi-touch inputs - without actually touching anything. This also means that existing applications in Windows 7 and 8 will respond to your natural hand and finger movements. Soon, we'll show you how Leap Motion will work with Mac OS X." Quite cool.PocketNow interviews Marc Dillon, and there's an interesting note about why Jolla is keeping the display properties under wraps: "We're leaving some of those details out because we do understand that there are a lot of really big players in the market and they tend to take certain components in the market and dominate them. We created the ability to actually be able to run Sailfish on multiple hardware displays and be able to swap components, so this is part of the demand and supply planning phase. We are committed to this industrial design which is a 4.5-inch display, an 8 megapixel camera on the back and a front-facing camera at the front, and the exact specs of the display we'll provide when we're close to delivery." Something you rarely hear anything about."This is my NeXTstation Turbo Color booting the Mac System 7.1 Operating System using a hardware add-on called 'Daydream'. The Daydream has a Mac ROM and a few custom ICs in it and hooked up to the NeXTs DSP port. Turns your NeXT into a full fledged 68k powered Mac." So cool.
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Member since:
2006-07-16
I don't understand why Apple crap is so popular!?! Is it because their junk is pretty? Take iPods for example: I can list several better media players that are cheaper and offer more features. So the iPhone is pretty and innovative... so what?!? Apple's draconian business practices are invasive and too restrictive. It's like having your parents standing over you while you make out with your significant other!!! This latest claim is ridiculous and practically unenforcible. I'm glad I'm not an Apple customer.