I'm not done talking yet

[vovat]

There were a few things I wanted to write about in my last entry but forgot, so here's another entry. I probably should start taking notes about what I want to write about, but I'll often think of possible topics when I'm driving or otherwise unable to write, so I don't know that that would really work. So here we go:

1. I'm thinking that maybe I should go ahead and download iTunes, since I can use it now, and there are a few exclusive songs on there that I wouldn't mind having (mostly Frank Black stuff). Is it true that iTunes uses its own format that isn't compatible with anything else? If so, is there any way to convert iTunes tracks into more typical formats (MP3 or WAV) without burning them to a CD and then ripping them? Just curious.

2. I saw that Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy movie trailer that people have been talking about. (If you haven't seen it and you want to, it's up on Amazon.) I thought it actually looked pretty good, although I'm not sure about Zaphod Beeblebrox having one head under the other, or however that was being handled. I thought his most significant physical trait was that he had two easily visible heads. Oh, well. I also found it interesting that his first name was pronounced with a long A. I've heard people pronounce it that way, but I thought it had a short A when I first read it. I haven't heard the original radio plays, though, and I'm assuming the movie staff has, so I suspect that they're right and I'm wrong, as far as the pronunciation issue goes.

3. Yesterday, I had problems with my Gmail account not receiving messages. I didn't get my LJ comment notifications, or replies from bethje. I've since received them, but I wonder what was up. The annoying thing is that Hotmail was also having problems, so I didn't really have a reliable e-mail account. They both seem to be working now, but who knows what could go wrong?

4. It's snowing outside. I hope it doesn't accumulate or anything. So far it doesn't seem to be doing so.

Comments

[3x1minus1.livejournal.com]

i don't know where you heard that about itunes. it plays mp3's. it's the best program for that.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Sorry, I wasn't totally clear. I meant that the format that songs come in when you download them from iTunes is some exclusive thing, not that the player won't play MP3s.

[aliste.livejournal.com]

The songs you buy from the iTunes store are in AAC format, but you can play the mp3s and wavs (and even oggs and maybe other stuff too) you already have, and you can choose to rip your CDs as either AAC or mp3. But you are right that if you have a file that's already an AAC you can't convert it to mp3 without burning & re-ripping (and thus experiencing some loss of fidelity).

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Can you make an iTunes playlist with both AAC and MP3 files in it? I'm not sure I'd want to, since I'm pretty attached to Winamp, but I guess it would work.

[aliste.livejournal.com]

Yes, the different formats all integrate seamlessly in your music library—in normal use/play, you wouldn't know the songs were of different kinds unless you specifically checked the file info or looked at the actual file. And you can burn a regular audio CD from a playlist including both kinds of files.

I really love iTunes. Yes, I'm a hardcore Mac user so of course I would say that :P, but I find it organizes my fairly large music library (about 25GB) in a logical, elegant, and beautiful way.

[obsessical.livejournal.com]

i saw an action figure of Zaphod with one head, and it severely angered me. But if you say one's gonna be under the other, that's much better than just having one head, which what i originally thought. Zaphod's is the only reason I read the books, and I stopped reading them after my friend said that what happened in Restraunt in the End of the Universe wasn't....reversed. (I'm sure you've probably read it, but I don't want to take the off chance that you haven't. I hate when people ruin the endings of things.) Anyways, i haven't picked it back up yet. Even after my friend admitted that he was joking.

I always pronounced it Zah-fod. Hmmm.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

There was one scene in the trailer where one head was revealed to be under the other one. I have no idea whether it's going to be like that throughout the whole movie or what.

Zaphod's is the only reason I read the books, and I stopped reading them after my friend said that what happened in Restraunt in the End of the Universe wasn't....reversed.

I've read it, but I'm not sure what you're talking about. Zaphod has a fairly significant role in the third book, but he isn't in the fourth or fifth at all.

[obsessical.livejournal.com]

when he and trillian dissapear. my friend said he died and never came back. so i just stopped reading, because i fricking love zaphod.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

when he and trillian dissapear. my friend said he died and never came back.

Well, I can assure you that doesn't actually happen.

[dave-noisy.livejournal.com]

Hey dood - i was having Gmail probs yesterday (and a bit today)..seems like they were gummed up!

[revme.livejournal.com]

The TV series (I haven't listened to the radio show despite owning it on CD...) always said it as "zay-fod", which was weird the first time I'd heard it, because I'd always read it as "Zap-Hod". Strangely, so did my friends, so yeah. I now say "Zay-fod", though, and it doesn't sound weird anymore.

As for iTunes -- I remember hating the windows version (though that was a much earlier version), but I love the Mac version. And, I haven't ever bought anything in the iTunes store, but I thought you could convert between aac/mp3. Although, all my AACs are stuff I've ripped. With these, however, what you do (this is for Mac, you might have to adjust for PC): Go to Preferences, then the "Importing" tab. Change the Format from AAC Encoder to MP3 Encoder. Click on the track you'd like to convert, and go to "Convert Selection to Mp3" -- this is also available under the Advanced menu.)

Fair warning, as I said, I've never done this with a Bought iTunes Song. So they might have a checkbox marked that says "DRM'D!!!!" and won't let you do it. But at least it is possible at the very least to convert Standard AACs to mp3 format. (Also, if you don't do the Preferences Thing, you'll get "Convert file to AAC format". So, uh, yeah. Don't let that throw you.)

[vovat.livejournal.com]

The TV series (I haven't listened to the radio show despite owning it on CD...) always said it as "zay-fod", which was weird the first time I'd heard it, because I'd always read it as "Zap-Hod".

I always used to say "zaff-od." I think "zay-fod" sounds all right, though. It just doesn't seem to be spelled that way.