Apple Lossless Encoder

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One new iTunes feature that slipped by me was the new ‘Apple Lossless Encoder’. Unlike music formats like MP3, AAC and Ogg Vorbis, lossless encoding results in no loss of quality – the music file sounds exactly like the original. The downside to this is that files compressed using lossless compression are typically quite a bit larger than their lossy counterparts.

With the largest iPod topping 40GB it’s hardly surprising that Apple have adopted this – I’m sure the majority of people will never fill that much (even I have only 6-7GB) so the extra space can be set aside for higher quality files. What is surprising is that Apple chose to adopt their own format, and not one of the (many) other lossless encoding formats.

If you thought there was a format war amongst lossy encoders then you’ll be knocked back by how many lossless ones are out there. There’s at least 14, although not all of them are as good as each other. Thankfully, lossless formats are easier to compare since output quality isn’t a factor, but a good format will have quick encoding, a small output file size, many features, and would preferably be open source too.

The most popular is FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec), which is now being steered by the Xiphophorus Foundation who are also steering the Ogg Vorbis format. It’s arguably not the best format out there but it’s good enough and it’s entirely open source. It’s well represented on almost all platforms and is even in some hardware players. Monkey’s Audio is a little faster but isn’t so well supported, being restricted to Windows and a command line encoder in Linux. Although it is open source, development has been a little slow of late, and it lacks some features compared to FLAC. Shorten is another popular format.

Apple Lossless Encoder (or ALE for short – nice acronym), is, sadly, based on none of these. It’s a new format which is closed source and currently only works in iTunes (Mac and Windows) and through QuickTime, although a dBpowerAMP codec is apparently in the works. It is quite well featured, offering streaming and seeking support (which a surprising number of other formats lack), and is obviously supported on the iPod with the addition of the latest firmware update, so on paper it has a similar number of features to FLAC. It is, however, slower at encoding and decoding, and files are typically a megabyte or so larger, according to this comparison provided by the FLAC project, however this HydrogenAudio topic suggests it is faster. I’m guessing Apple may have optimised it for the PowerPC processor, in which case compile times on Mac OS X would be better than in Windows.

It’s just a pity that Apple took the decision to re-invent the wheel when good alternatives already exist, although this Macworld column reckons this is because Apple may want to add DRM to it in future so that punters can buy higher quality files from the iTunes Music Store. AAC was an open(-ish) format and look how quickly that was cracked. On the other hand, I doubt the record labels would be interested in giving away their songs on the internet at full quality, based on their previous boneheaded decisions.

There may also be reasons, such as patents or problems with embedding FLAC in the iPod firmware, but seeing as other hardware manufacturers have managed it this seems strange.

In any case, it’s an interesting development. Any support for lossless audio in iTunes is a good thing, I just wish that Apple had gone with the herd rather than go on a tangent and then confuse people. What I would like to know is whether the WMA import function of iTunes allows you to convert them to ALE, since then you wouldn’t lose any quality – I couldn’t find anything that suggested this in my research for this article.

GMail is for real

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According to Reuters (and many other sources), GMail really isn’t an April Fools Joke. This year’s joke was the jobs on the moon prank, whereas GMail is a legitimate service that is soon to launch.

It does sound interesting, although I have to admit I was one of those who thought it was a joke, mostly because it was like no other email system I’ve heard of and the press release seemed somewhat suspect. So, seeing as it is legitimate, what do I think?

While I probably won’t use it myself (I already have, theoretically, 1GB of email storage), something like this is a very bold step for Google and could set an interesting precedent. It will certainly turn the heat up on Google’s rivals and re-invigorate the webmail market.

But next time I hope they don’t announce something like this on April Fool’s Day.

Boing

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Hope you enjoy that extra day we have to stick in every 4 years so that the seasons remain in order!

No special plans, although I’ve spent almost half of it asleep now since I only just got up. And then when messing around with Real Alternative I realised I’d missed out on this week’s Radio 4 comedy shows, so that was another hour wasted.

Thanks for the comments about the re-design, I’m glad to hear that all of you who have commented like it.

My second Blogiversary!

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Today is the second anniversary of my first post to this blog! Over that time, I’ve managed:

  • 1528 entries (including this one)
  • 1102 user comments
  • 151 trackback pings

Most of all, I’m impressed at how long the site has lasted – I’ve run a number of sites prior to this and not one has survived as long as this one. It’s probably a testament to Movable Type (and Blogger) that my interest has remained for so long.

Today I go back to university, ahead of my (written) exam on Friday on SQL. I’m going back today to give me time to settle in beforehand. It also meant I could download today’s MS Security patches on a reasonably fast connection. Also, last night I moved MT’s files so that it is running under cgiwrap, which apparently makes the whole thing more secure. I would have had it there originally but I didn’t find the option until a couple of weeks ago.

Media Player Classic

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A screenshot of Media Player Classic on Windows XP

This post was originally written in 2004; I’d now recommend using MPC-HC, an improved fork of Media Player Classic.

Does this program look familiar to you? It may well do, because it’s rewrite of Windows Media Player 6, except it’s open source and released under the GNU GPL, and doesn’t have the annoyances of MS’s original. The interface is similar but a little more up-to-date and XP friendly, and comes with some more advanced features.

But probably the best thing about this player is the range of formats it supports. It’ll play just about anything you throw at it, whether it’s an MP3, an Ogg, a WMA, even a QuickTime file. And with Real Alternative (which Media Player Classic is bundled with), you can add RealMedia files to that list, negating the need for RealOne Player, which has to be enough reason to download it in itself.

You can also (probably) ditch QuickTime while you’re at it, since MPC doesn’t take an age to load, doesn’t annoy you with an ‘Upgrade to QuickTime Pro’ popup and lets you view movies in full screen. Unless you have iTunes installed in which case you’ll need to keep it.

Media Player Classic is available on its own from SourceForge but I’d recommend also installing Real Alternative and then deleting RealOne Player, since you won’t want to use it anymore. Anil found Real Alternative about the same time as me, and came to similar conclusions, so you needn’t just take my word for it.

End of year quiz

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No idea who started this meme, but Google shows quite a lot of results. In any case, I’ve nicked it from LordRich.com, although I managed to find question 29. 21 is still a mystery.

1.What did you do in 2003 that you’d never done before?

Drink a pint of lager. No, seriously.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

Kind-of, and yes. I did reduce my drinking, eventually, but I really need to exercise more and eat better food. So they’ll be my resolutions. Oh, and try to save even more money.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

My cousin and his wife now have a lovely daughter called Eve, born in September. She’s adorable.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

Yes, my godfather, back in August.

5. What countries did you visit?

Just France this year.

6. What would you like to have in 2004 that you lacked in 2003?

A girlfriend? Although I’ve lacked that in 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999…

7. What date(s) from 2003 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

Probably my godfather’s funeral.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Passing my first year with a 64.8% average.

9. What was your biggest failure?

Not passing with better marks.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Injury: odd sore finger, but that’s it. As for illness, I seem to have had every cold going, plus the ‘flu. But nothing too serious – I’ve never been a hospital inpatient apart from when I was born.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

Difficult one. I’m pleased with my Duex MP3 player

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?

All my friends.

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?

Tony Blair for being a suck-up and not taking time to get his ‘facts’ checked out properly.

14. Where did most of your money go?

You tell me.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Sometimes even little things get me excited so the list here would be too long.

16. What song will always remind you of 2003?

Probably either “Fly on the Wings of Love” by XTM or “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” by The Darkness.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

  1. happier or sadder? Much happier.
  2. thinner or fatter? Probably a bit fatter. See new year’s resolutions.
  3. richer or poorer? Slightly richer in terms of money in the bank, quite a bit poorer if it’s offset against how much I owe in loans.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Socialising and exercise. Unless someone opens a pub in the gym the two are hard to mix.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Playing Solitaire. That thing has wasted far too much of my time. And eating junk food.

20. How will you be spending Christmas?

Hrm, no-one told me I should’ve done this last week…

21. Who deleted question 21?

I blame Elmo.

22. Did you fall in love in 2003?

Not really.

23. How many one-night stands?

None. Like I’d ever be in a position to get a one-night stand.

24. What was your favourite TV program?

It’s a tie between the repeats of Coupling, My Family, QI and Have I Got News For You.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

Other than Blair, no. In fact the inverse is more true.

26. What was the best book you read?

“Just For Fun” by Linus Torvalds. Although admittedly that was the only book I read 🙂 .

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Probably “Time to Fly (Climax 69 Remix)” by Lyala. There wasn’t much decent trance out this year unfortunately, and any half-decent stuff was by established artists.

28. What did you want and get?

Probably that MP3 player again.

29. What did you want and not get?

World peace and new mobile phone.

30. What was your favourite film of this year?

Probably Return of the King, but I only saw a handful of films this year.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

Attempted to go out but couldn’t get in anywhere. I was 19.

32.What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

A really close friend.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2003?

Less beige, more dark green and black. And scarves.

34. What kept you sane?

My friends. Although my sanity parted company with me years ago.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

I tend not to fancy celebrities, but Cate Blanchett is pretty fit.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?

Top-up fees, followed by the War in Iraq,

37. Who did you miss?

Friends from college.

38. Who was the best new person you met?

There were several.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2003.

Too many to name, but not as many as last year.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

I’ll do what Richard did and quote a Warrior lyric: “If you’re standing accused and you’re lost and confused, you don’t have to take the blame. If your life’s rushing by you I’ll be there beside you, I’ll help you to ease the pain.” I don’t really like the vocalist but the song is good.

Merry Christmas!

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(oh come on, what else could I have called this entry?)

So it’s Christmas morning, and in fact I have rather more presents than expected – I wasn’t expecting that much since the new laptop was supposed to be a present.

Anyway, you can divide my presents pretty much into three categories: sweets, booze and socks. I have all manner of chocolate, Turkish delight and Kendal mint cake to devour over the coming weeks, plus a selection of mini-bottles of Absolut vodka and two pairs of socks. I also got one of those chargeable mini remote control cars, a new top (which I’m wearing now) and, the main present: a tripod for my camera. It’s quite a good one since it can stand around 5 feet off the ground – I’ve wanted one for doing decent night-time shots as I need something to keep the camera steady, otherwise the picture becomes blurred.

So, it’s off for breakfast. I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, and I hope that you get all the presents that you wanted. And don’t get too drunk on the brandy. 😉

WeeMee

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The above is my ‘WeeMee‘ character. It’s a silly thing for MSN6 that allows you to create a cartoon image to use as your avatar while talking to people – that was my best attempt at getting one that looked like me. Though obviously I’m a bit taller. And at the moment I have considerably less hair, although no doubt it’ll be that long in a few weeks.

For some reason, you need IE for it, even though it only uses Flash – it wouldn’t load in Firebird. If it suits you better you can create your own South Park character.

Finally, other than using glorified Flash-animations to draw cartoons of myself, I’m not doing anything much tonight, if it interests you.

John Bramham 1944 – 2003

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A photo of John Bramham at his daughter's wedding. He's wearing a green suit and a top hat

My godfather, John Bramham, died of a heart attack earlier this week – we just found out today. My parents are both devastated – my father has known him since grammar school and he’s been a friend of the family ever since. He has also worked for my mother’s charity, so when I phoned her at work to tell her it was a shock to the whole office.

He was the sort of person you couldn’t not know – he was a very eccentric, friendly and amusing character whose name always brings happy memories. Probably my best memory of him was at his eldest daughter’s wedding (where the photo shown was taken) where he organised everything, leaving his daughter and her newlywed husband to merely ‘follow orders’. That said, it was very well-planned and everyone had a very enjoyable day.

He will leave behind many friends, whether they are friends of the family, friends at places he has worked at, or friends in his local village where he was a member of the local parish council and was very much involved in village events.

We’ll miss you, John.

Why Thunderbird is better than OE

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You may have heard that despite reports earlier in the week, Microsoft will still develop Outlook Express after all. But unless Microsoft pull off something truly remarkable, I’m not going to switch back from my beloved Mozilla Thunderbird. And what’s more, I’ve given you a list of reasons why I’m not switching, in no particular order 🙂 .

  1. Themes – bored of the normal look? Change it. 10 themes are already available and it’s only at version 0.1
  2. Extensions – add on extra features without using shell hooks (like OEQuoteFix uses).
  3. Junk Mail filtering – considering OE is the world’s most popular mail client, I’m surprised this isn’t already in. But it isn’t. Thunderbird uses Bayesian filtering which is one of the best forms.
  4. Better message filtering – much more powerful than the rather basic filtering in OE, and easier to use too! Great for adding a filter to mark out mail that SpamAssasin thinks is spam, since you can specify custom header matching.
  5. Not full of security bugs – I can open an email infected with Klez and know that I won’t be automatically infected. And not a security patch in sight.
  6. HTML Sanitization – you can either view HTML messages in their full glory, or with things like images and CSS removed so that your address cannot be tracked as easily. You can even view them all as plain text.
  7. Sanitization for Junk Mail – if you like pretty messages but still want privacy, you can enable sanitization only for emails marked as junk.
  8. Cross platform – you probably could run OE in Wine on Linux, but this baby runs natively on Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. And it’s already being ported to all manner of other OSes.
  9. Text Zooming – it’s been nearly a year since I used OE properly so I can’t remember if it does this, but if IE is anything to go by, even if it did it wouldn’t do it properly. You can make text larger or smaller in all emails, whether they use CSS or not. Great if your aunty sends everything in 64pt fonts.
  10. Automatic folder compression – those DBX files can get awfully big in OE, even if you delete all your mail. Thunderbird can compress them automatically, rather than waiting for you to do it yourself.
  11. Javascript Console – I’ll but good money that OE will never have this feature.
  12. Three-pane vertical layout – Outlook has this, but OE does not. But Thunderbird does 🙂
  13. Customisable start page – Yes, you can change it in OE but only by going into the registry or using X-Setup (a blatant plug because I wrote that plug-in myself 🙂 ). Thunderbird has it on the opening tab of the Options dialogue.
  14. On-screen alerts – You can have it pop up a message near the system tray when mail arrives. Handy that.
  15. Message labelling – Have important emails marked as red, or personal ones marked in green, although naturally you can change the colours easily. And you can set mail filters to do this automatically.
  16. Graphical emoticons – MSN Messenger has this, why doesn’t OE?
  17. Spellchecker – yes, OE has it but in some cases it’s buggy. And you can also change the language without buying a new OS.
  18. Doesn’t get hijacked – one of my ISPs decided to add an ‘Infobar’ to the bottom of OE once, taking of valuable screen real estate. And then there was the Hotmail advertising bar, and the ‘Outlook Express provided by…’. Yes, again X-Setup can fix those but how many users in the world have X-Setup? Probably about 0.1% or something.

I’ve probably missed many others, but that’s 18 features that I personally find useful that OE doesn’t have. Are you convinced yet? 😉

Added: meanwhile, there’s a guide for switching from OE to Thunderbird, complete with screenshots and very simple instructions. Check it out! 🙂

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