Flying Music -- iTunes PIREP

[Jay Honeck]

A recent thread talked about downloading music for playing in the plane.
Being an old fossil, I had never done this before, and solicited suggestions
and help regarding this unknown (to me) area of the internet.

Several sites were suggested and explored, but the only "legal" (meaning
"pay per song") music site I found was www.iTunes.com , which has turned out
to be a marvelous experience -- thanks to whomever suggested it!

Here's how it works: The iTunes software is free, easy to install, and
fairly easy to use. It's basically a specialized, secure browser that lets
you access their on-line music library. It has many features, most of which
are intuitive and logical. (Some of the navigational buttons are a bit odd,
but -- once you figure them out -- are handy and fast.) Setting up my
account so that it would bill my Discover card was fast, simple, and not
overly burdensome, as these things go.

Music can be categorized in many ways, but I found "by genre" to be most
useful. For example, if you want "Blues," you select it, and then ALL of
the blues groups are displayed. Clicking on one -- say, Stevie Ray
Vaughn -- pops up a window of all albums published by him.

You can then either select the album of choice to see the songs on that
particular album, or you can select "ALL" and see all of his music from all
of his albums. It's easy, and quick. Best of all, click on "Texas Flood"
and you will hear 30 seconds of that song! This really helps when you're
looking up a song you can't quite remember.

Example: There is a particularly haunting song from the movie Titanic (NOT
the Celine Dion "theme" song) that I've always wanted. I had NO idea what
the name was, but with iTunes I was able to simply listen to 30 seconds of
each song off the soundtrack album, and voila! -- I had my song.

When you find a song you want, just click on "Buy this song" and it
downloads in MP3 format. Downloading is incredibly fast -- of course, I
have broadband. Dial-up might be pretty frustrating, but I guess that goes
without saying nowadays. After checking out the free (and apparently
illegal) service at "SoulSeek," the speed of download was especially
refreshing. (SoulSeek is a peer-to-peer arrangement, meaning that your
downloads depend not only on YOUR connection speed, but on the "donor's"
connection speed. It was agonizingly slow on the night I tried it...)

You can also search for music using any number of parameters. Type in the
word "FLY," for instance, and you'll get every song in their library with
the word "fly" in it, or in the group's name! (There are an amazing number
of them, by the way. Flight has inspired a LOT of music...)

Here's the best part of the whole thing: At the end, when you've got your
80 minutes (or so) of music downloaded, you burn the CD with a SINGLE CLICK.
There is none of the hassle of opening another program, or formatting a
disk -- iTunes has its own built-in CD burning software that creates a CD,
playable in ANY CD player. Again, painless, quick, and easy.

Bottom line: I now have an entirely new collection of "flying CDs" without
ever leaving my house, and without having to buy 35 (at least!) CDs. Our
plane will be ROCKING on our next flight!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Paul Tomblin]

In a previous article, "Jay Honeck" > said:
>Bottom line: I now have an entirely new collection of "flying CDs" without
>ever leaving my house, and without having to buy 35 (at least!) CDs. Our
>plane will be ROCKING on our next flight!

Even better: You can get an iPod, and plug it into the music-in jack on
your panel. Rip all your legal CDs and transfer the stuff you bought from
iTunes Music Store ("ITMS" in the vernacular) and Bob's your uncle. I've
got 2660 songs on this one (and some of those are long classical pieces).
I think that translates into something over 1000 hours of music.


--
Paul Tomblin > http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
Windows gives you a nice view of clouds so you can't see any potentially
useful boot time messages.
-- Bill Hay

[Jay Honeck]

> Even better: You can get an iPod, and plug it into the music-in jack on
> your panel. Rip all your legal CDs and transfer the stuff you bought from
> iTunes Music Store ("ITMS" in the vernacular) and Bob's your uncle. I've
> got 2660 songs on this one (and some of those are long classical pieces).
> I think that translates into something over 1000 hours of music.

Wow -- that's all on ONE disk?

Or doesn't an iPod use disks?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Tom Pappano]

Paul Tomblin wrote:
> In a previous article, "Jay Honeck" > said:
>
>>Bottom line: I now have an entirely new collection of "flying CDs" without
>>ever leaving my house, and without having to buy 35 (at least!) CDs. Our
>>plane will be ROCKING on our next flight!
>
>
> Even better: You can get an iPod, and plug it into the music-in jack on
> your panel. Rip all your legal CDs and transfer the stuff you bought from
> iTunes Music Store ("ITMS" in the vernacular) and Bob's your uncle. I've
> got 2660 songs on this one (and some of those are long classical pieces).
> I think that translates into something over 1000 hours of music.
>
>
And even cheaper, you can get a portable CD player that is MP3
compatible. (some are under $30) One 800mb disk holds a *lot* of
MP3 encoded tracks.

Tom Pappano, PP-ASEL-IA-MP3-MP3CDR/W

[ET]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in
news:OcaSb.176689$I06.1801285@attbi_s01:

>> Even better: You can get an iPod, and plug it into the music-in jack
>> on your panel. Rip all your legal CDs and transfer the stuff you
>> bought from iTunes Music Store ("ITMS" in the vernacular) and Bob's
>> your uncle. I've got 2660 songs on this one (and some of those are
>> long classical pieces). I think that translates into something over
>> 1000 hours of music.
>
> Wow -- that's all on ONE disk?
>
> Or doesn't an iPod use disks?

Ipod has a hard disk in it...

--
ET >:)


"A common mistake people make when trying to design something
completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete
fools."---- Douglas Adams

[Larry Fransson]

On 2004-01-29 07:37:31 -0800, "Jay Honeck" > said:

> When you find a song you want, just click on "Buy this song" and it
> downloads in MP3 format.

It's not actually MP3 format. It's AAC (Advanced Audio Codec). That
difference might be lost on most people, but it's important. Playing from
your computer (using iTunes) or burning to a CD is no problem. But if
you're planning to transfer your tunes to a portable player, you'll want to
make sure that it supports AAC. A lot of manufacturers are going with the
"Microsoft Standard" of WMA, and excluding AAC.

One way around that is to burn the tunes to CD and then rip them to
whichever format you need. Audiophiles will howl (because you're adding
losses upon losses), but the rest of us probably won't be able to tell the
difference.

--
Larry Fransson
Seattle, WA

[Peter R.]

Larry Fransson ) wrote:

> It's not actually MP3 format. It's AAC (Advanced Audio Codec). That
> difference might be lost on most people, but it's important. Playing from
> your computer (using iTunes) or burning to a CD is no problem. But if
> you're planning to transfer your tunes to a portable player, you'll want to
> make sure that it supports AAC. A lot of manufacturers are going with the
> "Microsoft Standard" of WMA, and excluding AAC.
>
> One way around that is to burn the tunes to CD and then rip them to
> whichever format you need. Audiophiles will howl (because you're adding
> losses upon losses), but the rest of us probably won't be able to tell the
> difference.

Good to know. Thanks, Larry.

--
Peter












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[Peter Duniho]

"Martin Hotze" > wrote in message
...
> bottom line: buy a MAC!

Why? iTunes works just fine on Windows. So do any number of other
pay-for-download sites, not all of which work as seamlessly on a Mac.

There are lots of good reasons to buy a Mac, just as there are lots of good
reasons to buy Windows. But music download isn't one of them.

Pete

[Bob Fry]

"Jay Honeck" > writes:

> After checking out the free (and apparently
> illegal) service at "SoulSeek,"

Unlikely "Soulseek" is illegal. There may be files on the
peer-to-peer network that appear to be in violation of copyright law,
but that doesn't mean the service is illegal.

[John Galban]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message news:<%M9Sb.176619$I06.1794771@attbi_s01>...

> When you find a song you want, just click on "Buy this song" and it
> downloads in MP3 format.

Are you sure about the MP3 format? Back when I looked into this,
they were delivering files in some not-MP3 format. I prefer MP3
because my CD player plays MP3 format CDs.

John Galban=====>N4BQ (PA28-180)

[Jay Honeck]

> Unlikely "Soulseek" is illegal. There may be files on the
> peer-to-peer network that appear to be in violation of copyright law,
> but that doesn't mean the service is illegal.

Providing the means and method with which to break the law isn't illegal?

By that logic, (and admittedly this is an extreme example) the guy who
supplied the explosives to blow up the Federal Building in Oklahoma City
should be released. All he did was provide the means, right?

And Soulseek is providing these means on a truly grand scale. I'm no
lawyer, but using the site sure "felt" illegal!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Jay Honeck]

> Are you sure about the MP3 format? Back when I looked into this,
> they were delivering files in some not-MP3 format. I prefer MP3
> because my CD player plays MP3 format CDs.

As someone else said, the songs actually come across in something called
".AAC" format.

Whatever it is, it rips straight to a CD without a problem, and apparently
plays in the iPod player (which I don't own).

I suppose there must be a way to convert it to MP3 format? For me this is
a non-issue, but I can see why it would be critical from your end...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Ron Natalie]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message news:L8eSb.181253$xy6.869765@attbi_s02...

> Providing the means and method with which to break the law isn't illegal?

In general not. Otherwise every gun store owner and manufactuer would
already be locked up. Depending on the local laws, it may or may not
be legal for me to carry locksmithing tools with me. In some cases it's
only illegal for me to carry them if I intend to use them to break the law.

In the case of communications, you've really got to provide a convincing
case (or a lot of bribe money, er I mean, campaign donations) to place
a restriction on it.

> By that logic, (and admittedly this is an extreme example) the guy who
> supplied the explosives to blow up the Federal Building in Oklahoma City
> should be released. All he did was provide the means, right?

I'm not sure who you are talking about. If you're talking about Nichols,
he did more than just provide explosives...he was found guilty of conspiracy.

> And Soulseek is providing these means on a truly grand scale. I'm no
> lawyer, but using the site sure "felt" illegal!

Using it may be illegal, but that doesn't make the site owners liable.

[Jay Honeck]

> > Providing the means and method with which to break the law isn't
illegal?
>
> In general not. Otherwise every gun store owner and manufactuer would
> already be locked up. Depending on the local laws, it may or may not
> be legal for me to carry locksmithing tools with me. In some cases it's
> only illegal for me to carry them if I intend to use them to break the
law.

Good point. The law really does seem to be schizophrenic about this issue.

Figuring out where someone becomes an "accessory" to a crime is a really,
really fine line.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Ron Natalie]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message news:aVeSb.51839$U%5.286277@attbi_s03...

>
> Good point. The law really does seem to be schizophrenic about this issue.

Not much more than anything else.
>
> Figuring out where someone becomes an "accessory" to a crime is a really,
> really fine line.

Generally, you need specific knowledge about the criminal act. Prior restraint
on free speech is a hard thing to enforce even with a statute (or else these sites
would be long gone).

These sites will argue that they exist only to facilitate legal sharing of information.
The fact that they could be used for illegal activity doesn't making them (by their
argument) any more liable than Xerox is if someone sticks a $100 bill in the copier
and starts running off copies.

[Tom Fleischman]

In article <%M9Sb.176619$I06.1794771@attbi_s01>, Jay Honeck
> wrote:

> A recent thread talked about downloading music for playing in the plane.
> Being an old fossil, I had never done this before, and solicited suggestions
> and help regarding this unknown (to me) area of the internet.
>
> Several sites were suggested and explored, but the only "legal" (meaning
> "pay per song") music site I found was www.iTunes.com , which has turned out
> to be a marvelous experience -- thanks to whomever suggested it!
<SNIP>
>
> Here's the best part of the whole thing: At the end, when you've got your
> 80 minutes (or so) of music downloaded, you burn the CD with a SINGLE CLICK.
> There is none of the hassle of opening another program, or formatting a
> disk -- iTunes has its own built-in CD burning software that creates a CD,
> playable in ANY CD player. Again, painless, quick, and easy.

Welcome to the wonderful world of Apple. It's *ALL* this nice when you
use a Mac :-)

I love having 2500 songs on my iPod to chose from while I fly.

[Newps]

Tom Fleischman wrote:


> Welcome to the wonderful world of Apple. It's *ALL* this nice when you
> use a Mac :-)
>
> I love having 2500 songs on my iPod to chose from while I fly.

My kid has an Ipod, 10GB I think. A Mac is not needed or desired.

[Tom Sixkiller]

"Tom Pappano" > wrote in message
y.com...
> And even cheaper, you can get a portable CD player that is MP3
> compatible. (some are under $30) One 800mb disk holds a *lot* of
> MP3 encoded tracks.

About 200-225 at 128Mbit.

These disks can also be played on most of the new DVD players as well.

[G.R. Patterson III]

Jay Honeck wrote:
>
> > > Providing the means and method with which to break the law isn't
> illegal?
> >
> > In general not. Otherwise every gun store owner and manufactuer would
> > already be locked up. Depending on the local laws, it may or may not
> > be legal for me to carry locksmithing tools with me. In some cases it's
> > only illegal for me to carry them if I intend to use them to break the
> law.
>
> Good point. The law really does seem to be schizophrenic about this issue.

Not at all. Anybody can make and sell anything that has a legal use. It is using
the item to break the law that's illegal, and that includes conspiring to do so.
Nothing schizoid about it.

George Patterson
Love, n.: A form of temporary insanity afflicting the young. It is curable
either by marriage or by removal of the afflicted from the circumstances
under which he incurred the condition. It is sometimes fatal, but more
often to the physician than to the patient.

[Garner Miller]

In article <%M9Sb.176619$I06.1794771@attbi_s01>, Jay Honeck
> wrote:

> Several sites were suggested and explored, but the only "legal" (meaning
> "pay per song") music site I found was www.iTunes.com , which has turned out
> to be a marvelous experience -- thanks to whomever suggested it!

As Martin pointed out, that's generally how things from Apple work. A
nice clean presentation, an easy learning curve, and a very powerful
tool, all rolled into one. Their computers are the same way. :-)

While the Windows version came out just a few months ago, I first used
the iTunes music store when it debuted for the Macs last April. I've
been hooked ever since; it really IS a neat thing. I'm glad you've
discovered it. If you're a Pepsi drinker, check out apple.com for
news about the free-music-download giveaway they're doing next month.
1 in 3 bottles will have a code for a free song download. Very nice.

I'll second the iPod recommendation as well. I've had one for a
while now; it interfaces very well with my LightSpeed Twenty 3G
headset. Makes those long flights go a little easier, and the
auto-mute when the radio comes to life is very handy.

--
Garner R. Miller
ATP/CFII/MEI
Manchester, CT =USA=

[Maule Driver]

"Tom Fleischman" > >
> Welcome to the wonderful world of Apple. It's *ALL* this nice when you
> use a Mac :-)
I have an iPod for Windows because I'm a Windows user. My buddy has an iPod
for MAC because he is a Mac user. They both work great. The Mac setup is
friendlier, more integrated but you have to be a Mac person. The PC setup
works fine but you have to do more than say, "Computer..." Actually the PC
is bit more flexible. I can find just about any music for free or fee. My
buddy gave up trying anything beyond iTunes.

Hey, I wish I flew behind a Garmin 1000 in a Cirrus but I have a Garmin 300
in Maule for a fraction of the cost. My buddy listens to his iPod on the
interstate in a SUV. I listen to mine a mile up.
>
> I love having 2500 songs on my iPod to chose from while I fly.

Yes, I do too. One trick control and access to 20megs of music.

The iPod is not only nice to the touch... hell, I almost wanted to save the
packaging. High quality design and packaging has a beauty all it's own.
The new ones are even nicer.

[Paul Tomblin]

In a previous article, "Jay Honeck" > said:
>> iTunes Music Store ("ITMS" in the vernacular) and Bob's your uncle. I've
>> got 2660 songs on this one (and some of those are long classical pieces).
>> I think that translates into something over 1000 hours of music.
>
>Wow -- that's all on ONE disk?
>
>Or doesn't an iPod use disks?

The iPod has a single hard disk. You plug in into your computer and use
iTunes to copy tunes onto it.

--
Paul Tomblin > http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
Every fleeting thought you've ever had in your life, no matter how bizarre,
is someone's lifelong obsession. And he has a website.
-- Skif's Internet Theorem

[Morgans]

"Paul Tomblin" > wrote in message
...
> In a previous article, "Jay Honeck" > said:
> >> iTunes Music Store ("ITMS" in the vernacular) and Bob's your uncle.
I've
> >> got 2660 songs on this one (and some of those are long classical
pieces).
> >> I think that translates into something over 1000 hours of music.
> >
> >Wow -- that's all on ONE disk?
> >
> >Or doesn't an iPod use disks?
>
> The iPod has a single hard disk. You plug in into your computer and use
> iTunes to copy tunes onto it.
>
> --
> Paul Tomblin > http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/

Wrong. "RAM" type memory.
--
Jim in NC

[Garner Miller]

In article >, Morgans
> wrote:

> > >Wow -- that's all on ONE disk?
> > >
> > >Or doesn't an iPod use disks?

> > The iPod has a single hard disk. You plug in into your computer and use
> > iTunes to copy tunes onto it.

> Wrong. "RAM" type memory.

You couldn't be more wrong if you tried:

http://www.apple.com/ipod/specs.html



First thing under "capacity":

Capacity
- 4GB, 15GB, 20GB or 40GB hard disk drive
- Holds 1,000, 3,700, 5,000 or 10,000 songs in 128-Kbps AAC format
- Stores data via FireWire or USB 2.0 hard drive


That took me all of 10 seconds to research.

--
Garner R. Miller
ATP/CFII/MEI
Manchester, CT =USA=

[Chris Schmelzer]

In article <2004012909433416807%newsgroups@larryandjennynet>,
Larry Fransson > wrote:

> On 2004-01-29 07:37:31 -0800, "Jay Honeck" > said:
>
> > When you find a song you want, just click on "Buy this song" and it
> > downloads in MP3 format.
>
> It's not actually MP3 format. It's AAC (Advanced Audio Codec). That
> difference might be lost on most people, but it's important. Playing from
> your computer (using iTunes) or burning to a CD is no problem. But if
> you're planning to transfer your tunes to a portable player, you'll want to
> make sure that it supports AAC. A lot of manufacturers are going with the
> "Microsoft Standard" of WMA, and excluding AAC.
>
> One way around that is to burn the tunes to CD and then rip them to
> whichever format you need. Audiophiles will howl (because you're adding
> losses upon losses), but the rest of us probably won't be able to tell the
> difference.


But the iPod itself commands >25% of the market, and it plays AAC great..

[Peter Duniho]

"Garner Miller" > wrote in message
...
> In article >, Morgans
> > wrote:
> > Wrong. "RAM" type memory.
>
> You couldn't be more wrong if you tried:

Oh, come on. Give him some credit. Surely if he *tried* he could've been
more wrong. After all, at least many digital audio players do use some form
of RAM to store music, even if the iPod doesn't. He could've said something
*really* outlandish like "bar codes" or "punch cards" or something like
that.

Pete

[Peter Duniho]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
news:hoeSb.51691$U%5.285585@attbi_s03...
> I suppose there must be a way to convert it to MP3 format? For me this
is
> a non-issue, but I can see why it would be critical from your end...

As Larry said, one easy way is to just burn the music to an audio CD and
then reencode it to whatever new format you want (e.g. MP3 or WMA). Use a
CD-RW to avoid wasting blanks.

Software exists to do similar conversions between various audio formats, but
they will all essentially wind up doing the same thing: decode the one
format into raw audio and reencode into another format. They may do it at a
higher quality than CDDA (16-bit, 44.1Khz) but anyone exposed to airplane
noise on a regular basis would never notice the difference. :)

Pete

[Peter Duniho]

"Tom Fleischman" > wrote in message
rthlink.net...
> It is not needed. They make iPods for Windows. But they were designed
> for Macs and everything, including the iPod, works better on a Mac

Really? Please elaborate on the differences between how an iPod works with
a Mac versus a Windows machine. In particular, in what way does it work
better on a Mac, exactly?

Pete

[EDR]

In article >, Garner Miller
> wrote:

> Capacity
> - 4GB, 15GB, 20GB or 40GB hard disk drive
> - Holds 1,000, 3,700, 5,000 or 10,000 songs in 128-Kbps AAC format
> - Stores data via FireWire or USB 2.0 hard drive

the 4Gb model is the new "mini-iPod". It is slightly smaller than the
15/20/40 Gb iPods, comes in different colors, and is the lowest priced
of the models.

[Paul Sengupta]

"Larry Fransson" > wrote in message
news:2004012909433416807%newsgroups@larryandjennyn et...
> One way around that is to burn the tunes to CD and then rip them to
> whichever format you need.

http://www.dbpoweramp.com/dmc.htm

Just googled for it. Converts AAC to MP3 in software.

Paul

[Tom Sixkiller]

"G.R. Patterson III" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> Jay Honeck wrote:
> >
> > > > Providing the means and method with which to break the law isn't
> > illegal?
> > >
> > > In general not. Otherwise every gun store owner and manufactuer
would
> > > already be locked up. Depending on the local laws, it may or may not
> > > be legal for me to carry locksmithing tools with me. In some cases
it's
> > > only illegal for me to carry them if I intend to use them to break the
> > law.
> >
> > Good point. The law really does seem to be schizophrenic about this
issue.
>
> Not at all. Anybody can make and sell anything that has a legal use. It is
using
> the item to break the law that's illegal, and that includes conspiring to
do so.
> Nothing schizoid about it.

(Maybe I'm missing the context here) Really? Try building your own .45 Auto
just to keep around the house or shoot at the range..

[BigNick73]

what about it? you live in cali where they're funny about that? cause ive
built several of my own guns including a .45, .308 FAL, AR-15 etc.(next
will be a AK) but as long as you do it within the boundaries of state and
federal laws its perfectly legal. -Nick (also a FFL holder)

> (Maybe I'm missing the context here) Really? Try building your own .45
Auto
> just to keep around the house or shoot at the range..
>
>
>

[Jens Krueger]

Jay Honeck > wrote:

> Several sites were suggested and explored, but the only "legal" (meaning
> "pay per song") music site I found was www.iTunes.com , which has turned out
> to be a marvelous experience -- thanks to whomever suggested it!

I did, glad you like it. Watch for some cool ads during superbowl. Apple
just started a big promotion with Pepsi.

> When you find a song you want, just click on "Buy this song" and it
> downloads in MP3 format.

Actually it is not MP3, it is a format called AAC. Which is an extension
to the new MP4-Standard to include the so called
digital-rights-management. It is based on an open standard, like mp3.
Which makes it IMO more desirable than WMA, which is
Microsoft-controlled format.

> Here's the best part of the whole thing: At the end, when you've got your
> 80 minutes (or so) of music downloaded, you burn the CD with a SINGLE CLICK.

With the same single-click you can also import your own CDs into iTunes
and mix some of your own stuff with songs that you bought.

> Our plane will be ROCKING on our next flight!

Cool!

Cheers,
Jens

--
I don't accept any emails right now. Usenet replys only.

[Gig Giacona]

I doubt anyone you know built their own firearm. At least what the BATF
classifies as a firearm. In the case of the 1911 Style .45 it is the frame.
In the case of the AR-15 it is the lower receiver. those are the parts with
the serial number on them.

I've assembled several guns but I've never manufactured one. The paperwork
to do so would be ridicules.

Gig Giacona
www.peoamerica.net/N601WR

"BigNick73" > wrote in message
.. .
> what about it? you live in cali where they're funny about that? cause ive
> built several of my own guns including a .45, .308 FAL, AR-15 etc.(next
> will be a AK) but as long as you do it within the boundaries of state and
> federal laws its perfectly legal. -Nick (also a FFL holder)
>
> > (Maybe I'm missing the context here) Really? Try building your own .45
> Auto
> > just to keep around the house or shoot at the range..
> >
> >
> >
>
>

[Peter Duniho]

"Martin Hotze" > wrote in message
...
> jay told us how seamingless and well it went with itunes. and I said that
> (almost) everything from Apple works that way.

I have found (almost) everything from Microsoft to work that way too. But
we were talking about iTunes and music downloads in general here. I fail to
see how this conversation in any way naturally leads to the conclusion "buy
a Mac".

Pete

[BigNick73]

well i was refering to assembly and not manufactoring
but u can make your own firearms
With certain exceptions a firearm may be made by a nonlicensee provided it
is not for sale and the maker is not prohibited from possessing firearms.
[18 U. S. C. 922( o), (r), (v), and 923, 27 CFR 178.39, 178.40, 178.41 and
179.105]


and yes i do know people that have done this and also assembled silencers
LEGALY. I'm not saying it isnt a pain in the ass and that alot of the laws
are iffy (like on FALs and AKs you must have X number of american made parts
and what types of accesories they have on em etc etc.). but you can do it.
and from what i hear the paperwork isnt that bad its the taxes ($200 for
silencers and $200 just to transfer a Class III/Full auto) and the 3 month
wait to get a reply. anyway this is too ot i think.

"Gig Giacona" > wrote in message
...
> I doubt anyone you know built their own firearm. At least what the BATF
> classifies as a firearm. In the case of the 1911 Style .45 it is the
frame.
> In the case of the AR-15 it is the lower receiver. those are the parts
with
> the serial number on them.
>
> I've assembled several guns but I've never manufactured one. The paperwork
> to do so would be ridicules.
>
> Gig Giacona
> www.peoamerica.net/N601WR
>
> "BigNick73" > wrote in message
> .. .
> > what about it? you live in cali where they're funny about that? cause
ive
> > built several of my own guns including a .45, .308 FAL, AR-15 etc.(next
> > will be a AK) but as long as you do it within the boundaries of state
and
> > federal laws its perfectly legal. -Nick (also a FFL holder)
> >
> > > (Maybe I'm missing the context here) Really? Try building your own .45
> > Auto
> > > just to keep around the house or shoot at the range..
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
>
>

[Malcolm Teas]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message news:<hoeSb.51691$U%5.285585@attbi_s03>...
> > Are you sure about the MP3 format? Back when I looked into this,
> > they were delivering files in some not-MP3 format. I prefer MP3
> > because my CD player plays MP3 format CDs.
>
> As someone else said, the songs actually come across in something called
> ".AAC" format.

This ACC format is actually MPEG 4, aka "MP4". The iTunes software
can understand and store files in ACC, AIFF, MP3, and WAV formats.
You can select this in the Importing Preferences. According to the
MPEG organization, ACC provides the better representation of all the
formats.

Note also that you can make a CD containing MP3 files using iTunes
(MP3 format CD). Just change the Preferences for burning a CD in the
iTunes software.

These formats are known as lossy compression methods. (Except for
AIFF, which is raw data, and I don't know about WAV.) They save space
by throwing away information that either can be inferred, isn't
necessary, or can be represented more compactly. There is some
necessary, but small, loss in fidelity of the sound. However, this
loss is small enough that unless you have top of the line equipment,
very good hearing, and a trained ear, you won't miss it.

In the usual use where there is normal amplifiers, speakers or
headphones, background noise, etc. then even a trained ear can't
really hear the difference.

> Whatever it is, it rips straight to a CD without a problem, and apparently
> plays in the iPod player (which I don't own).

Yup, we've got our whole CD collection on my wife's 15 GByte iPod with
space left over. YMMV. Of course we filled up the remaining space
with songs we'd purchased... <grin> Figure a full CD is 750 MBytes of
data. Typically perhaps 500-600 MBytes is used on a music CD. The
ACC compressed results for a few albums is below:

Aqualung: 40 MBytes
Andrea Bocelli's Romanza: 65.1 MBytes
Be Good Tanya's Blue Horse: 50.1 MBytes
Zap Mama's Seven: 69 MBytes
Bach's Das Wohltemperierte Klavier, Teil I: BWV 846 - BWV 857 : 48.5
MBytes
Bob Dylan's MTV Unplugged Live 1996: 73.6 MBytes

As you see it varies some, but not with the type of music, but more
with how much the CD is filled. I think I counted 60 MBytes/CD disk
for my estimate and it came out pretty well. As usual, there's some
space on the iPod drive taken up by overhead and housekeeping data
storage, but a surprising part of the space is available.

> I suppose there must be a way to convert it to MP3 format? For me this is
> a non-issue, but I can see why it would be critical from your end...

Yes, using iTunes, you can export files to MP3. Just drag the file
from the iTunes window to the desktop on the Mac. Might be the same
thing on Windows too, I dunno about that.

The iTunes/iPod combination is a great one in my view. It packages
something we all like in an easy to carry and easy to manage system.
As far as it's use in a plane, as a pilot I don't want the music for
me for the same reason I have some problems with drivers using cell
phones. But my passenger likes it. We've got a headset with an
external input that my wife uses. She sets the volume so she can hear
me and the music. Works for us.

We've also got the iTrip from Griffin, a little short-range FM
transmitter that plugs into the top of the iPod. There's a few quirks
in it's usage - the volume has to be set right for example - by it's
great for car use of the iPod.

-Malcolm Teas
"I play a software geek in real life"

[Jay Honeck]

Thanks for the primer, Malcolm. This is neat stuff, and it's good to hear
from a "power user"...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

> -Malcolm Teas
> "I play a software geek in real life"

[Jay Honeck]

> With the same single-click you can also import your own CDs into iTunes
> and mix some of your own stuff with songs that you bought.

Really? Now that is neat -- I wouldn't have even thought of trying that.

Thanks for the info -- twice! :-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Peter R.]

Malcolm Teas ) wrote:

> As far as it's use in a plane, as a pilot I don't want the music for
> me for the same reason I have some problems with drivers using cell
> phones.

Malcom, thanks for the information in the rest of your post, but I wanted
to comment on the above.

IMO and experience, listening to music is nowhere near the same level of
distraction as driving while talking on a cell phone. Talking to ATC
while flying; now that equivalent to driving while talking on a cell
phone. :)

In my case, I listen to jazz while flying longer XC flights but never when
on approach (due to POH restrictions). Over the years I have conditioned
myself to use certain types of music to enhance my concentration. This
started when I was in college when I would tune in a local jazz station
while studying. Thus, I believe that I actually feel sharper and more
alert with some background music playing over the headsets while flying.

I just wanted to point out my reasons for an opposing viewpoint. Of
course, all bets are off if I had to listen to "Aqualung" while flying. ;)

--
Peter












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[Peter Duniho]

"Malcolm Teas" > wrote in message
om...
> This ACC format is actually MPEG 4, aka "MP4".

For what it's worth (not much, I know) I find the use of the contraction
"MP4" misleading. "MP3" is really MPEG Layer 3 compression, and using "MP4"
implies incorrectly that there's a "Layer 4" compression being used to
compress audio for AAC, WMA and related formats, when there's not. Also, no
one uses ".mp4" as a file extension, whereas ".mp3" is quite common.

Google agrees with me, showing 15 times as many instances of "MPEG4" and
"MPEG-4" as "MP4". I suppose the subtlety of the distinction is lost on
many people, but hey, what's Usenet for if not to make subtle distinctions?
:)

> These formats are known as lossy compression methods. (Except for
> AIFF, which is raw data, and I don't know about WAV.)

WAV is a generic format in that it actually comprises multiple audio
formats, each using its own codec. The WAV file header tells the software
what kind of encoding is actually used. But it is almost always either
completely uncompressed (the most common usage) or compressed using a
lossless format (usually some form of PCM). The only lossy method of
compression used with WAV that I'm aware of is simply reducing the sample
size, which IMHO is more properly classified as "downsampling" rather than
"compression".

> They save space
> by throwing away information that either can be inferred, isn't
> necessary, or can be represented more compactly.

Actually, in the above statement only the "isn't necessary" applies to lossy
compression specifically. Compression techniques in general ALL rely on
encoding the information so that the original information can be inferred
from a more compact representation, whether lossy or not.

> There is some
> necessary, but small, loss in fidelity of the sound. However, this
> loss is small enough that unless you have top of the line equipment,
> very good hearing, and a trained ear, you won't miss it.

And the engineers working on lossy compression algorithms believe that
eventually, they will have mapped out human perceptual response well enough
that even with good hearing and a trained ear, you still won't miss the
information tossed out.

That's the whole point of how lossy algorithms like MP3 and MPEG4 work.
They identify portions of the audio signal that are not perceived by the
human ear anyway, and eliminate them. By eliminating some the information
content of the signal, they reduce the amount of information that needs to
be compressed, which reduces the total size of the compressed signal.

Examples of things that are eliminated are frequencies considered outside
the range of hearing (or near the edge of the range of hearing), and
portions of the signal that are significantly quieter than other portions
and so which aren't normally perceived anyway.

Of course, they also allow a sliding scale of what gets tossed out. At the
lower bitrates, portions of the audio signal detectable by the human ear
also get tossed out. But prioritization is used to try to ensure that even
in those cases, it's still the least significant portions of the signal.

> In the usual use where there is normal amplifiers, speakers or
> headphones, background noise, etc. then even a trained ear can't
> really hear the difference.

Well, that really depends on the bitrate. It's certainly true that at
192Kbps and greater for MP3, and 128Kpbs and greater for AAC, WMA and other
forms of MPEG4, the difference is nearly imperceptible. But I assure you
that even some random tone-deaf schmoe would be able to notice the loss in
quality when playing back 32Kpbs MP3 (for example). At some point, it gets
so bad, anyone can tell. :)

Pete

[EDR]

In article <bAzSb.59680$U%5.346880@attbi_s03>, Jay Honeck
> wrote:

> Thanks for the primer, Malcolm. This is neat stuff, and it's good to hear
> from a "power user"...

And with iMovie, you can cut/paste and mix you favorite tracks and
export them back to iTunes. Just like the old Dr Demento tunes!

[Larry Fransson]

On 2004-01-30 13:54:53 -0800, "Peter Duniho" >
said:

> Also, no one uses ".mp4" as a file extension, whereas ".mp3" is quite
common.

FWIW, Mac OS X & iTunes use ".m4p" for AAC tracks with DRM, as you would
buy from the iTunes Music Store. Tracks that have been ripped from CD and
encoded to AAC by iTunes have the extension ".m4a".

--

Larry Fransson
Seattle, WA