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Apple-Facebook Controversy Over Ping Rooted in API Usage, Feature May Return
Earlier today, we reported on confusion surrounding the brief appearance of Facebook Connect functionality in iTunes 10's "Ping" social networking feature that initially appeared to allow users to find friends by checking their Facebook contacts. The feature quickly disappeared from Ping without explanation from Apple.
All Things Digital now follows up with a report claiming that the disappearance is due to Apple's unauthorized usage of the Facebook Connect application programming interfaces (APIs) after the two companies failed to reach a deal regarding access.
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According to the report, Facebook and Apple remain in discussions about bringing Facebook Connect connectivity to Ping, so it may make a reappearance at some point in the future.
According to the report, Facebook and Apple remain in discussions about bringing Facebook Connect connectivity to Ping, so it may make a reappearance at some point in the future.
Maybe they can do it through LiveJournal.
t /bitch
This is pretty neat. 28 HTML5 Features, Tips, and Techniques you Must Know: [link]
There's some cool stuff coming our way.
Completely random first-world whine....
Remember back when 128 kbps was considered "CD-quality" for mp3s? Of course nowadays, stuff you get from iTunes and eMusic is usually 256 kbps, and I usually rip stuff at about 190 kbps with variable bit rate.
Anyway, now when one of my 128 kbps mp3s comes up in a random playlist, I can immediately tell by the inferior sound quality. And then I get sad.
I can't tell the difference between 128 kbps and anything higher, so I'm good. Ignorance is bliss!
Although now I want to actually do a real test and rip a song to 128 and 256 and see if, with the same song, I can actually tell which one is the higher bit rate.
Although now I want to actually do a real test and rip a song to 128 and 256 and see if, with the same song, I can actually tell which one is the higher bit rate.
Try it with good headphones or speakers.
Also, the more "complex" a song is, the more you might notice the difference. An mp3 of someone singing acapella would probably sound fine at 128 kbps, but the more instruments you add, the more you might notice a drop in quality.
eta: I think my hearing is more sensitive than most people's. Like I immediately notice if a cat walks in front of a speaker.
I can definitely tell. the 128 kbs seem lower in volume.
I have terrible hearing, so audio bitrates are pretty meaningless to me.
I've actually found the opposite to be true. Good acapella recordings, at least to my ears, are some of the first ones to reveal their poor source material. The human brain is very well suited to lo listening to the human voice.
Huh. Maybe my ears are more attuned to non-human sounds.
So maybe a better example would be that a single monophonic instrument (say, a trumpet) would sound better at 128 kbps than a song with lots of instruments.
