ChanSiuLun.com

Ok folks. I know each of us probably have a million or two mp3 files on our hard disk of our favourite music. We can say we’ve almost taken the mp3 format for granted all these years. A little known fact to those not in the business though is that mp3 is a proprietary format and they are actually charging a hefty sum for royalty payment!

Little do we know that when we do podcasting with mp3 files. While the sound that comes out of the file is copyrighted by us. The fact that you’re using a mp3 format to stream your podcast is enough for you to pay for a license before you use it!

Those in the business knows all about this. They also know about an open-source alternative codec that is truely free to use and distribute and free from royalty called ‘Ogg Vorbis’. But for one reason or another, major manufacturers of mp3 players (Apple) are not incoporating support for ogg files on their players!

Many smaller manufactuers of mp3 players such as iRiver have been incorporating such features for a while now! Guys, I believe it is time to re-encode all our files into ogg.

Come on, make some noise for ogg! (Flac is a lossless alternative format)

http://www.vorbis.com/

I’m officially switching alliegance to the ogg format. Though my iPod nano has no chance in playing ogg. I’ll have to just endure a slight delay when I use iTunes to re-encode ogg into aac for the iPod. No biggie, and at least I know that I’m not paying some tossers who’ve come up with the mp3 file format just to have some sort of patent on it and collecting royalties for something that should never have been.

I would like to pledge those who’re in the music ’scene’ to start releasing files in ogg format!

Later
/rant over

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phorm

If we don’t stop them, every web page we go on will be monitored by this advertising agency! We’ll get much more spam! AND the potential of eventually ISP and government agencies can spy on what sites we go on!

Keep the net free and anonomous! Sign the petition!

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/ispphorm/

My house has been invaded by bees. They appear to be making a new nest somewhere between my roof and my bedroom. I can hear them really loud and clear through the walls. I believe they’re right on the other side of the plaster.

I can’t tell which bee they are. That’s really what I’m worried about. As I’m lead to believe honeybees do not burrow through wood, but there are ones that does. The constant noise coming from next to my bed sounds as though they’re constantly digging away at the wood. Though it very could just be a lot of bees walking around the wall and the hive that is making that sound….*fingers cross*

I can see them from outside the window, but can’t tell really. They’re quite small and they’re definitely not wasps as they don’t appear to be brightly coloured so I think they’re honey bees.

*sigh*… why did the bees picked my house… or better yet… in a wall next to my bed! Now I’m not gonna be able to sleep there. Got to get a beekeeper/pest control guy to come and verify. I think in the end even if they’re honey bees they have to go cause it’s causing me no end of pain.