Downloading Music

Cheers George.

Does anyone have an ipod? they're so sexy. I'm totally thick but I'm thinking of buying one. Are they worth my hard earned cash? I download from Kazaa (damn good site) - is it relatively easy to get my downloads onto the ipod. I use windows XP - Any advice and info would be sweet. Love and liquorish. Nice sneak/Rudy

I use an MP3 player in the car... absolutely brilliant. Dont know about ipods though. I dont download music, i buy it legitimately. :oX

Ralph I've been reading your work on ABCtales and I really like it. In fact it's so good I've downloaded it all and I'm going to put it up on my new creative writing site called Freeload-dot-con under my own name. Obviously you won't mind me doing that because copyright isn't an issue with you.

That's a good point well made.

Of course you can Garth. Did you used to be in 'Birds of a Feather'. R

I downloaded some old echo and the bunnymen stuff just before Xmas and then went out and bought a couple of their cd's from hmv. If the technology is there its going to happen? I'm gradually converting my cds into mp3 files. It's convenient. Convenience wins every time for me. To ipod or not to ipod, that is the question. sneak and gravy. isn't it foggy?

Sneaky, you rodent harbouring toe-rag, there are better MP3 players around than an ipod. All Macintosh hardware is grossly over-priced and mostly under-specified. It is the electronic equivalent of Louis Vuiton or Gucci; a 'designer' brand. They DO look very stylish but that's it! I use an Archos. it's far better value for money and the latest model holds 20,000 MP3's, or 60 full length movies 9it can be connected to a TV set and played back or records directly from the TV with an adapter), or 1,000,ooo photographs. It's USB2 connectable as well. I can download my 2000 songs in less than 45mins. Oh yes, it's cheaper too! PS. Did the poisoned rat food arrive OK?

I was only teasing just now Ralph, but there is a moral dilemma here. As potential authors and poets how can we support action that denies other creative people their rightful royalties. I know some of those "other creative people" are egomaniacal rock stars, but others are just humble wordsmiths like us who may only have written lyrics for one or two successful songs. If you were to write the words to a bestselling song isn't it fair to say you would kind of modify your position on this issue?

Ah, at last! Someone who knows his sh!t. It's a shame it has to be you but I have little time or inkling to be fussy. Right then Mississippi (hamster baiter extraordinaire) firstly, I've never heard of an 'Archos' is that the model name or the manufacturer and where the hell would a sneak such as I find one. I bet Dixons don't do em. Have you ever tried buying anything at Dixons? Years ago I tried to buy an answering machine. I didn't need one. I just liked them....? Anyway, I asked the assistant about it and all he did was go on about the plug!? What the fcuk is all that about? I was going to get my ipod from there but I'm not looking forward to the experience. I can't shop online as I'm rarely home for deliveries. I've yet to train Rudy to answer the door and to be honest, he's so cute he might get messed with. I wouldn't want that. Anyway, my second question Mrs. Sippi. What's with these USB2 ports all of a sudden? I've only just got a pc with USB ports full stop! Don't tell me they've gone and altered everything again? Can I still connect using my original usb's - Please say I can or I will really cry. I hate computers. They're far too complicated for the sneaks of this world. So, if you can answer me those questions without your usual aggressive attitude I would be very grateful. There are some questions amongst that lot somewhere. I may think of more at a later date. You really shouldn't have said anything. Ipod's are sexy though aren't they? That was another thing I wanted to ask - This 'Archaos' - is it sweet, sexy, slim... what colour is it? How is it powered? Does it make toast and is it hamster friendly? I must go now as Rudy's wheel seems to have seized up. nice sneak and vegetables isn't it 2004?

That was funny Sneak. Do you Rhumba? Ralph

Actually Ralph, it's funny you should bring up the joys of the Rumba. My skills have not exactly been shouted from the hilltops, but yes, I do Rumba. How astute of you. What gave me away? Only by the light of a full moon, however, will you see me Rumba Ralph. It goes back to the early 18th century when a distant relative of mine was disowned by his parents after a disgraceful lawn mowing argument. He was only four years old and, unable to fend for himself, was raised by an owl. They would Rumba the nights away and sleep during the day. Such innocent and peaceful times. How I yearn for such simplicity now. Instead I find myself surrounded by technology that seems determined to drag me, kicking and screaming, into the abyss of information overload. During many a full moon I have often found myself sitting in the tree outside of my house and imitating the mating call of the great white owl. I guess it's in my blood Ralph, along with the many narcotics that are currently racing through my insufficient veins. Please, someone remind me, what the fcuk was this thread meant to be about? How easily we are led into the darkened alley-ways of subject change. I fear we may never recover this thread from here on in. I take the responsibility square on the beak my friend. Thus it is I, the great white owl, that shall eventually declare, 'I've lost the fcuking plot' If only my bstard cousin, four times removed and replaced only to be judged an ass and whipped to within various metric conversions, had not argued with his apparent parents about mowing the lawn. It saddens me to think that I am a descendant of such derangement. I can only hope that, in time, my owl like ways will be accepted by those around me. The Rumba is the only true simple pleasure I have left in life Ralph. Don't let them take it away. sneak on ....? isn't it frightening?

OK you rat-lover, here's your answers as best as I can give 'em. Yes, 'Archos' is the make. They produce several models from a basic mp3 player to an all-singing all-dancing wonderplayer. USB2 is what is needed for fast downloading (not from the web, but from your PC to an MP3 player, which also has to be USB2 compatible. The Archos I have, an 'AV140 Multimedia' is compatible obviously) Standard USB (full name USB1.1) is very slow, the later USB2 version is up to 45 times faster. My brother has '1.1' and it took several hours to copy my MP3's to his machine. Nobody makes USB1.1 machines anymore; they are history. DON'T buy ANYTHING from Dixons! They charge the earth and give you old technology. They DO sell the 'Archos' but are STILL stocking old USB1.1 models and charging full price for them. They will NEVER haggle with you over price. My MP3 player had a list price of £400 but I got it for £355 in Tottenham Court Road. (They do make cheaper models, and in fact the one I have is much cheaper now.) It's about the size of a standard walkman, has a 40GB hard drive and a colour screen. They have illustrations on their site. Here's their homepage. Now you can do me a favour and shut the f.uck up about your shitty little rat.

OH ****! I've done it AGAIN!!

I give up, it's 'www.archos.com' you work it out.

Try this one.

BOLLOCKS!

Lol. Fu*k I thought I was the only useless member here? Thanks for all that Mrs. Sippi. The usb thang is a bit of a pis$er isn't it? Do I have this right - It will still connect to the standard usb port? I can't afford to upgrade my laptop too. Ball$ to that! The ipod's connection is usb2 too. Ba$tards, can't they leave anything alone. I know you're right about Dixon’s, it's just convenient for me. They are $hit, you can just tell that half of them don't know what they're on about - Not that I do, but that's the point. I need advice, not some moron trying to flog me an extended warranty that's not worth the paper it's written on. Anyhow, I'm off to check that site now.... I'll try Ralph's suggestion first I think (-: Thanks for the info - If ya could just clear the usb thang up that would be sweet. oven baked sneak isn't it January? See, I never even mentioned my hamster!

USB 2 is compatible with USB1.1 but it will run at the lower specification, therefore to get it to work at the speed intended you would need to upgrade your PC. It is not expensive. You don't need a new motherboard as there are PCI USB2 cards available for about £12. They plug into an empty slot on the MB and you connect via the back of the PC. If you only have a laptop there is a USB2 PCMCIA card available, providing you have an expansion port on the machine. If you don't wish to go this route, suffer the slower transfer rates. If all else fails insert a mains lead in your hamsters a.rse and turn on the power. The light show and sound effects will amaze you.

I shall treat the hamster comment with the ignorance and distain it deserves. However, I do appreciate your help and advice with my bloody usb thang. I think I'll just stick to a slower transfer rates when I finally get sorted. So long as it will connect ok to my existing slot (I should re-phrase that but I can't ars£d) I can always upgrade later. I know a man with a brain who may be able to help me there. I shall now go and check out that site. I got bogged down with other nutters on abc earlier. This site has so many issues and they're not all technical. It's a good job I'm here. sneak noodle isn't it Jacobean

The number of CDs I buy has shot up since I started downloading music. Most of the bands I now like, I would never have heard of without the internet, and would never have had the confidence to spend money on without having heard a track or two first. For the most part, it's not artists that are scared about downloading music, (or at least, it's not creative and well-informed artists who are scared). It's record company people, whose vast incomes depend on charging obscene amounts for albums. If you write music, the way to make money from it is to put your stuff out online, do gigs, and sell home-made cd's yourself from a website for much less than shop prices. The vast majority of bands would make more money working in a chip shop than being signed, it's only the tiny few that we hear about on MTV who are raking it in. If the biz wants to survive, it shouldn't try to hold back the advance of technology (never a very successful plan in the past) and embrace it as a promotional tool, a way to scout talent, and a warning about the way they distribute their money.

Clever reasoning Gorjer, but all you are doing is justifying the unjustifiable -because it happens to be convenient. From whichever direction you look at it, downloading music for free is theft. It may not feel like theft, it may not look like theft, it may not pose the same risks to you as theft, but theft it is. Let's at least be honest about this.

Well I believe that playing anything in my presence without my express permission is also theft. Theft of my right to peace and quiet. It may not look like theft. It may not sound like theft. But theft it is. If it's ok for the music industry to supply the means to steal my peace and quiet, it's ok for me to steal their means to steal my peace and quiet. The truth is that most 'theft' of music on the web is from the minute percentage of overpaid artists anway. No one is downloading those that fail to make the grade, so therefore no one is denying them income. The whole of society is now based on greed so we may as well all join in before we go under.

I think i heard damon allbarn on an interview once saying that iut had been proven that folk who download music are folk who buy the most stuff... id like to see where he got that statistic from, though it does sound reasonable to me... I download masses of music, but i also buy more than just about anyone i know. (i lied earlier obviously)

I once heard that Madonna put out lots of mp3s on file sharers which were labelled as her latest song at the time, but which were in fact just a recording of her, shouting "what the hell do you think you're doing, thief! etc etc". I tried to get a copy of it, since it sounded great fun to me, but just kept getting real mp3s of her song, unfortunately.

I've also downloaded loads of music for free, but it's still theft. I've stopped doing it because the music industry increasingly is inserting viruses and things like that into the pool of freely downloadable tracks and I can't afford for my PC to go down.

So is charging exorbitant amounts of cash for what turn out all too often, to be crap albums.

I have a Mac with holes in the pockets. And a bag of sweeties. Smashing. [%sig%]

I had a big mac at lunchtime and I download stuff from Kazaa.

Which reminds me. My Aunty asked me, on N Y Day, to d/l her something about Three Bells and Jimmy sombebody or other. He died before he was born or something. Or maybe he just dies before he's born when my auntie sings it every year after half a bottle of Bailies (sp) I use Kazaa don't know if it's any good for Mac, Ralph.