For a few years I've been predicting that Apple would announce a service to enable us to store and stream music from their computers - cloud based iTunes. We wouldn't have to worry about how much storage we have on our PC or laptop, they'd take care of backups etc, and purchases would instantly appear in our libraries.
As a CD ripping service we could integrate with this, we'd rip your CDs and send them along to your part of the cloud. I've even upgraded our uploading line in anticipation. A couple of major Apple events have come and gone, still no CloudTunes.
But - fresh onto the scene comes Amazon with CloudDrive, an online music storage and streaming service. Clients get 5Gb for free (including us in the UK) with US users having the option to buy more space. Buying music from Amazon gives you a whole chunk of extra storage for free. As far as I can see there's nothing not to love about this - modest price, high peace of mind. I hope they roll it out here in the UK.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Another iPod Killer We Bid Farewell
Hard to think we've been ripping CDs for seven years, along the way many of the key landmarks have been the announcement of (yet another) portable music player described as an iPod killer.
Yesterday Macobserver reported that Microsoft would quietly drop their MP3 player, the Zune, in favour of leaving the name to describe music playing facilities on the Windows 7 phone. If Microsoft can't knock Apple off the top perch is there hope for any other supplier?
Yesterday Macobserver reported that Microsoft would quietly drop their MP3 player, the Zune, in favour of leaving the name to describe music playing facilities on the Windows 7 phone. If Microsoft can't knock Apple off the top perch is there hope for any other supplier?
Sunday, March 13, 2011
New look site
Welcome to the new look for podServe. We’ve been running with the old site for nearly two years and it was looking a bit jaded. As pages got added it got rather unwieldy, disorganised and some corners were choked with dust.
Spent some time trying to tweak a few bits, trying to spruce up the old format. Then it just seemed I was wasting my time, maybe even making things worse. So I decided to bite the bullet, trash the old site and start ago with this new look. Hope you like it.
Spent some time trying to tweak a few bits, trying to spruce up the old format. Then it just seemed I was wasting my time, maybe even making things worse. So I decided to bite the bullet, trash the old site and start ago with this new look. Hope you like it.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
iPod, iPad or iPhone Not Recognised?
Many people are reporting problems with the iOS based Apple devices (iPod Touch, iPhone & iPad) not being recognised. This follows the release of the latest version of iTunes (10.6) a few days ago.
Is there a fix?
Yes, but its complex and you might not like the look of it. But if its the only way to get your iPod going do you have a choice? The best source of information on this is Apple itself - the key pages are here, here and here.
You can also listen to a commentary on this in this week's Macobserver's Mac Geek Gab podcast.
Jeff Underwood
podserve.co.uk
CD ripping service
Is there a fix?
Yes, but its complex and you might not like the look of it. But if its the only way to get your iPod going do you have a choice? The best source of information on this is Apple itself - the key pages are here, here and here.
You can also listen to a commentary on this in this week's Macobserver's Mac Geek Gab podcast.
Jeff Underwood
podserve.co.uk
CD ripping service
Tuesday, March 01, 2011
24 bit music anyone?
We get asked a lot of questions, or the same questions time and again. So when I'm asked something new it's an event. Such an event happened this morning.
"Can podserve rip CDs into 24 bit files?"
Our potential client had been into a hi-fi store and asked what is the best quality music file and was told he should have 24 bit music files. Why did he get the answer 24 bit? Well, the number of bits used in computer addressing determines the volume of data that can be handled. Remember those puny original PCs? 8 bit. Today's systems use 64 bit addressing and handle massive amounts of memory. In most fields of computer work more is better. How does this relate to music?
Suppose 1 is the least amount of sound, well the highest number would be the most amount. Just now the greatest point is prescribed by 16 bit addressing. If we moved to 24 bit addressing the sound would be no louder but there would be many, many more finely tuned stopping points for sound along the way. The argument is that this extension of bits would deliver greater sound range, and smoother music. In fact all those features vinyl lovers say was lost in the move to CDs.
Wouldn't 24 bit be a massive step forward? Possibly not, I'm not sure if you're over 30 years of age you'd even be able to hear the difference. If you own a modern DAC then you'd need to upgrade it and that could be very expensive.
And you'd have to change your CDs, which have been mastered as 16 bit music files. You can't add in data that isn't there so you'd need to replace your CD collection. Wouldn't the music industry just love that?
So No, we don't rip to 24 bit at the moment; and there's no point in thinking about it until there's a massive shift in the way CDs are made.
Jeff Underwood
podserve.co.uk
"Can podserve rip CDs into 24 bit files?"
Our potential client had been into a hi-fi store and asked what is the best quality music file and was told he should have 24 bit music files. Why did he get the answer 24 bit? Well, the number of bits used in computer addressing determines the volume of data that can be handled. Remember those puny original PCs? 8 bit. Today's systems use 64 bit addressing and handle massive amounts of memory. In most fields of computer work more is better. How does this relate to music?
Suppose 1 is the least amount of sound, well the highest number would be the most amount. Just now the greatest point is prescribed by 16 bit addressing. If we moved to 24 bit addressing the sound would be no louder but there would be many, many more finely tuned stopping points for sound along the way. The argument is that this extension of bits would deliver greater sound range, and smoother music. In fact all those features vinyl lovers say was lost in the move to CDs.
Wouldn't 24 bit be a massive step forward? Possibly not, I'm not sure if you're over 30 years of age you'd even be able to hear the difference. If you own a modern DAC then you'd need to upgrade it and that could be very expensive.
And you'd have to change your CDs, which have been mastered as 16 bit music files. You can't add in data that isn't there so you'd need to replace your CD collection. Wouldn't the music industry just love that?
So No, we don't rip to 24 bit at the moment; and there's no point in thinking about it until there's a massive shift in the way CDs are made.
Jeff Underwood
podserve.co.uk
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