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Will Fastie

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About Will Fastie

  • Birthday 12/31/1947

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  • PlayStation Network ID
    Sony MZ-G750

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    http://www.fastie.net
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  1. I guess this is the last nail in the coffin. I only see one Sony MiniDisc recorder, the MZ-M200, and it does not support MP3 and WMA directly. On the other hand, I see several digital voice recorders with stereo mics priced well under $400 list. Of course, there is the fancy PCM-D1 recorder ($2K) on the pro side. Too bad. Will
  2. Looks like Sony is going the whole way. I received this in email a few minutes ago. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ August 30, 2007 Subject: Future of CONNECT Music Service To Our Valued Sony CONNECT Music Customers: Today Sony announced its intent to move to a Windows Media Technology platform for Walkman® products in the United States, Canada and Europe. We strongly believe that the decision to embrace a more open platform for these devices will enable us to provide you with a better overall experience. As a result of this change, we will be phasing out the CONNECT™ Music Service based on Sony's ATRAC audio format in North America and Europe. Specific timing will vary by region depending on market demand, but will not be before March 2008. We are fully committed to helping you through this important transition away from the CONNECT Music Service and providing you with the best possible guidance on how to successfully transfer your music library to an MP3 or Windows Media-compatible format, should you wish to do so. We recommend that you use any outstanding promotional codes, account credits or gift certificates available in your music account prior to March 2008, but even after the store closes you will continue to be able to play, manage, and transfer the music in your SonicStage library and on your existing ATRAC devices. If you obtain a new device, all of Sony’s new Walkman music and video players will support MP3 or Windows Media Audio format. In the coming months we will keep you informed of the status of the CONNECT Music Service phase out in your region. Periodic updates will be posted on the CONNECT music store and on the Sony Electronics customer service site, http://esupport.sony.com/EN/news/article215. Please note that the CONNECT e-book service for the Reader in the U.S. will not be affected. Thank you for your business and for your continued support as we work to complete this transition with as little disruption to you as possible. Sincerely, Sony CONNECT Music Team
  3. I don't think Sony is stupid or moronic or anything close to that. I think Sony is simply conflicted. It's got gobs of content that it wants to protect from illegal copying, hence the DRM that we all hate. I do not think Sony will retreat from that position. So what is it that we want? If we were on the phone with the right Sony executive, what constructive advice would we offer after we finished venting? If it's an open MP3 player, forget it. I can't imagine that happening. Digital recorder? Now that I've been corrected about uploading non-protected recordings (i.e., my content), it looks like Hi-MD is exactly that. Personally, I'm happy with DRM as long as it doesn't affect content that I own. Is the market for a disk-based recorder big enough to support the business? Apparently not. Will
  4. But not for professional use. After I make a recording (my own material), I don't reuse the MD but rather store it as a permanent archive. That's the huge advantage of inexpensive, removable media like MD. I do the same thing with my MiniDV tapes -- use the content I need, stick the tape on the shelf in case I ever need the original again. If I migrated to a flash- or HDD-based solution, I'd want to copy the material in digital form and without any lost of fidelity to an archival CD. Inexpensive removable media thus saves a time-consuming step in the archival process. Will
  5. I plead nolo contendre. Last week, a post I read on another forum mentioned multiple uploads but I was unable to confirm it with either the poster or at Sony's site. I plead guilty to not coming here first. Can anyone point me to Sony documentation to this effect? Yes, I was venting. Felt good, too! Thanks. Will
  6. Who cares if there's another generation? As long as Hi-MD can't be used effectively as a digital recorder, MiniDisc is dead. If Sony's DRM allowed my recordings to be uploaded more than once, I'd already own one of the new Hi-MD units and I'd be a big proponent. When Sony, through its DRM, tells me that I can't control my own material, it's time to say goodbye. Someday a 1GB flash memory card will cost less than today's MiniDisc. Now's the time for digital recorders that are not hobbled by DRM, even if they cost more. Will
  7. I'd use a Hi-MD device as my primary personal player, but I will not buy one with restricted recording abilities. So I add my 2 cents or my vote to the chorus of those asking Sony to wake up and smell the recorder!
  8. The more I read, the more I think that Wave Converter will be a disappointment to most of the folks here. I spent two chats and one long phone call with Sony trying to get to the bottom of "self recording" uploads, to no avail. Sony has strongly resisted getting digital recordings out of MD and now Hi-MD; why should we believe that Wave Converter will suddenly change all that? DRM is upon us whether we like it or not. I'd like to recast the question in different terms. Why is Sony restricting our access to material that did not come through its DRM system? Why isn't a recording we make marked with our copyright, or at least marked as a personal "self recording?" Of course, the answer to this is that Sony's DRM system can't know how we obtained the recording. We could have recorded the output from a CD player to obtain an illegal copy of a CD just as easily as we could have recorded a meeting or our guitar practice session. (Just ignore the fact that we could have borrowed a CD and used SonicStage to make the Hi-MD, avoiding the analog step.) From my perspective, Sony is assuming that what it calls "self recordings" are illicit and restricting them accordingly. As a Sony customer, I find this offensive. As someone looking for the best quality recording I can get in the smallest and least expensive form factor possible, I find it frustrating. Regarding Total Recorder, it's a creative, economical solution. However, it is a real time solution. We should be able to grab our own data off the disc at USB speeds without having to play the track. Will
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