cd recordings v's minidisc recordings
 

On 13/03/2010 15:24, Jim Lesurf wrote:
In article6dCdnTyMYPMkOAbWnZ2dnUVZ_jmdnZ2d@giganews. com, Arny
Krueger
wrote:
"Jim wrote in message


One consequence of which has become the use of PPT files on the web.
(Sometimes converted crudely into PDF.) Generally meaning an
excessively large file with very little info as content presented as a
series of bloated bitmaps. Alas you often can't tell what the
contents/bloat ratio will be until after you have fetched the file and
looked at it!

That's one reason why we have high speed internet these days.

It may well be one of the reasons *you* have it. But it certainly isn't one
of mine! I have no wish to waste my time or HD space on such daft and lazy
behaviours propagated by ignorant MicroSoftHeaded users. :-)

However I'd expect it to be trivial with a Linux machine to write a
simple app (program) that plays files in a user-controlled way on
cue. I'd hope the same was true with a Windows box but can't say.
I'd also assume someone has already done this. Have they not?

Why would I care?

Go to the trouble of writing a program just to run a presentation?

???????????????

Your confusion may be because you assumed I meant writing a simple app
for a *presentation*. But my point was an app just to do what the OP
was interested in. To be able to play SFXs from a set of audio files
in a simple and convenient manner.

From a user standpoint, PPT does that job, and well.

Yes, you can indeed use a sledgehammer to crack a nut, as we already
agreed.

You also may assume the OP will choose Windows.

Or Mac. There is PPT on the Mac, ya know.

Yes. But does it also run "well" on small mp3 players that might
cost rather less than the "399 USD" you mention below?... If so,
that is news to me.


However for a box to use just for playing/arranging/editing sfx files
it might make more sense for him to use something cheaper/older and
run a lighter OS that will work with lower resources, etc.

Yeah sure. We're supposed to take our $399 PCs with 100's of MIPs of
processing power, gigabytes of RAM and Terabytes of disk and worry
ourselves to death about "lower resources"?

You can of course spend your own money as you choose and do things as suit
you. I'm just pointing out that others may choose other ways which they
find more convenient, cheaper, etc, even if daring to be different to
yourself. The point being that they can choose to follow you or do
otherwise as suits them *once* they know alternatives exist. I have no
idea what would suit the OP best. But simply saying "use PPT" doesn't
strike me as what I'd call an extensive menu of options. Although I
guess it would suit MicroSoft nicely if people believed there were
no alternatives. :-)


Your notion of choice could be a little tedious.

Microsoft has been dragged through the courts precisely because of its
restrictive behaviour, which has in turn influenced what a lot of people
learn and see. It's not right, but choice is fettered and it takes a
little bit more than you seem to suggest to pick an option.

Wake up man, lightweight OSs are even being expunged from cellphones.

What a superbly chosen technical argument. :-) Particularly when
a "lightweight OS" might have left them more memory space and CPU
power for the actual applications they wanted to run. Isn't modern
technology wonderful! :-)


Intuitively, I agree, although I think the 'fat' shows in battery life.
Memory and CPU aren't issues.

Rob

cd recordings v's minidisc recordings
 

In article ,
Don Pearce wrote:
Well, the discs themselves are still around at about a quid apiece.
I'm guessing that from here on that will be going up rather than down.
I wonder how many recorders are still functional though - no idea how
robust the mechanisms are.

I've got six of them - all still working. Think they're a bit more robust
than a CD writer.

--
*Age is a very high price to pay for maturity.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

cd recordings v's minidisc recordings
 

On Sun, 14 Mar 2010 10:22:57 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

In article ,
Don Pearce wrote:
Well, the discs themselves are still around at about a quid apiece.
I'm guessing that from here on that will be going up rather than down.
I wonder how many recorders are still functional though - no idea how
robust the mechanisms are.

I've got six of them - all still working. Think they're a bit more robust
than a CD writer.

Are they all shelf units, or do you have the walkman ones as well?

d

cd recordings v's minidisc recordings
 

In article ,
Don Pearce wrote:
On Sun, 14 Mar 2010 10:22:57 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

In article ,
Don Pearce wrote:
Well, the discs themselves are still around at about a quid apiece.
I'm guessing that from here on that will be going up rather than down.
I wonder how many recorders are still functional though - no idea how
robust the mechanisms are.

I've got six of them - all still working. Think they're a bit more
robust than a CD writer.

Are they all shelf units, or do you have the walkman ones as well?

All Sony domestic mains units - two models. Used for studio stuff so
didn't need a portable. All modified to balanced in/out. One has also has
a pair of mic amps with phantom power.

--
*Stable Relationships Are For Horses.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

cd recordings v's minidisc recordings
 

On Sun, 14 Mar 2010 10:31:43 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

I've got six of them - all still working. Think they're a bit more
robust than a CD writer.

Are they all shelf units, or do you have the walkman ones as well?

All Sony domestic mains units - two models. Used for studio stuff so
didn't need a portable. All modified to balanced in/out. One has also has
a pair of mic amps with phantom power.

Ah. You've invested heavily in equipment (with moving parts) which is
no longer supported. Maybe an underground support culture will
develop, as for some analogue tape gear. Though I rather doubt as
many people have fallen in love with minidisk as did with their Ampex
or Otari :-)

cd recordings v's minidisc recordings
 

"Don Pearce" wrote in message

On Sat, 13 Mar 2010 15:22:00 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Plowman
(News)" wrote:

In article ,
Jim Lesurf wrote:
Bottom line, though, is that there are a variety of
ways to do this, so the 'best' will be whatever suits
the OPs taste, requirements, and experience.

Absolutely.

The last thing you want when playing in SFX etc to a
'live' event is overcomplicated hardware or software. A
MiniDisc which plays the cue then re-cues waiting for
the next - so all you have to do is hit the play button
at the right time - is fine. One with a play button four
times the size of any other even better...;-)

But it must have a decent display to tell you exactly
what is cued up - nothing worse than the clips getting
out of sync and no way to recover bar playing them out
until you find the right one.

Many modern digital players provide exactly that kind of display.

cd recordings v's minidisc recordings
 

In article ,
Laurence Payne wrote:
On Sun, 14 Mar 2010 10:31:43 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

I've got six of them - all still working. Think they're a bit more
robust than a CD writer.

Are they all shelf units, or do you have the walkman ones as well?

All Sony domestic mains units - two models. Used for studio stuff so
didn't need a portable. All modified to balanced in/out. One has also
has a pair of mic amps with phantom power.

Ah. You've invested heavily in equipment (with moving parts) which is
no longer supported. Maybe an underground support culture will
develop, as for some analogue tape gear. Though I rather doubt as many
people have fallen in love with minidisk as did with their Ampex or
Otari :-)

Not 'invested heavily' - and they've all long since paid for their keep.
As has the 360.

--
*I used to have an open mind but my brains kept falling out *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

cd recordings v's minidisc recordings
 

In article ,
Arny Krueger wrote:
But it must have a decent display to tell you exactly
what is cued up - nothing worse than the clips getting
out of sync and no way to recover bar playing them out
until you find the right one.

Many modern digital players provide exactly that kind of display.

As does MiniDisc - one of the things which attracted me to it as a
replacement for 1/4" tape and NAB cart machines etc for SFX use.
Of course things have moved on - but if it was fine then it will still be
fine now.

Does anyone do software designed for this sort of use? Cool Edit etc are
just too complicated, IMHO, for someone who just wants something basic.

--
*The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

cd recordings v's minidisc recordings
 

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote

Does anyone do software designed for this sort of use? Cool Edit etc are
just too complicated, IMHO, for someone who just wants something basic.

Not sure what you mean by "this sort of use". Do you preparing SFXs, or
playing them out?

If the former I'd say that Cool Edit is exactly the sort of thing you need,
but it's not appropriate for play out. I've found WMP to be fine for that.

David.

cd recordings v's minidisc recordings
 

In article , Rob
wrote:
On 13/03/2010 15:24, Jim Lesurf wrote:
In article6dCdnTyMYPMkOAbWnZ2dnUVZ_jmdnZ2d@giganews. com, Arny
Krueger wrote:


You can of course spend your own money as you choose and do things as
suit you. I'm just pointing out that others may choose other ways
which they find more convenient, cheaper, etc, even if daring to be
different to yourself. The point being that they can choose to follow
you or do otherwise as suits them *once* they know alternatives exist.
I have no idea what would suit the OP best. But simply saying "use
PPT" doesn't strike me as what I'd call an extensive menu of options.
Although I guess it would suit MicroSoft nicely if people believed
there were no alternatives. :-)


Your notion of choice could be a little tedious.

Only as "tedious" the individual chooses - and as the default view allows
(cf below). But yes, reality does mean that at times we have to put in some
effort if we want to do anything other that "follow sheep".

Microsoft has been dragged through the courts precisely because of its
restrictive behaviour, which has in turn influenced what a lot of people
learn and see. It's not right, but choice is fettered and it takes a
little bit more than you seem to suggest to pick an option.

I'd agree with the bulk of the above. But that is, I am afraid, the
reality. If people cannae be bothered then they will simply pick the
'popular' option. Again that is their choice. The question is regarding if
it is an *informed* choice, of course.

I used 'popular' above deliberately as I've noted MicroSoft use that term
on more than one occasion. e.g. in this week's "Click" TV prog on BBC News
24 where the M$ browser was said to be "popular" by their droid. Yes it is,
of course, in the same sense that "death" and "taxes" are 'popular'... 8-]

In the end, education and understanding do take some effort, time, etc. And
we do find at times that big companies, etc, get into dominating positions
where they end up fogging the view people have of alternatives. But as the
maxim says, "If you think Education is expensive - try ignorance!"

As I think I've said more than once, of people cannae be bothered and just
take a default that is their choice, and the outcomes then follow. Either
they are happy with that or not. Their choice. All I and others can do is
point out that alternatives do exist. Up to people to investigate or not as
they choose.

Wake up man, lightweight OSs are even being expunged from cellphones.

What a superbly chosen technical argument. :-) Particularly when a
"lightweight OS" might have left them more memory space and CPU power
for the actual applications they wanted to run. Isn't modern
technology wonderful! :-)


Intuitively, I agree, although I think the 'fat' shows in battery life.
Memory and CPU aren't issues.

That depends on the application and circumstances. e.g. I don't want a CPU
that essentially demands a noisy fan if the box is to be for playing music.
The higher the power demand of the CPU, the more likely you will end up
needing a fan or extra hardware of some other kind. And memory is like
money. It doesn't matter *once* you have 'enough'. :-)

Slainte,

Jim

--
Please use the address on the audiomisc page if you wish to email me.
Electronics http://www.st-and.ac.uk/~www_pa/Scot...o/electron.htm
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