Minor things that bother you

[DenverBrian]

I was just ripping some CDs

Is this post from 2023 or 2005?

[1995hoo]

I was just ripping some CDs

Is this post from 2023 or 2005?

I got a new Astell & Kern high-rez player last month, in part to feed a pair of KEF wireless speakers, and rather than reuse the old CD rips from my iPod I decided to re-rip some of them in FLAC (and to rip some I'd never gotten around to ripping before). An iPod inexplicably cannot handle FLAC files. I'm certainly not going to buy new copies of all the music I already have, except in limited instances (like the "Super Deluxe" version of Let It Be I got from HDTracks.com last week).

[MultiMillionMiler]

That Long Island's speed limits were never raised to 65 mph after the national 55 mph limit was repealed. The fact that people think that a 65 or 75 mph speed limit on roads like this:

Long Island Expy
https://maps.app.goo.gl/zgVRLyXRXF8aEh6K8

would be unsafe and dangerous LOL

[hbelkins]

Minor annoyances of this afternoon:

I was just ripping some CDs and, like many other ripping applications, the software (which is not iTunes) accessed the Gracenote CD database. Whoever "organized" that thing left a lot to be desired. A two-disc album, such as Quadrophenia, is a single album. The "Discnumber" field should be populated according to the disc on which a given track appears ("The Real Me" is on disc one; "Love, Reign O'er Me" is on disc two). Instead, for some inexplicable reason, they treat each disc as a completely separate album with [Disc 1] or [Disc 2] appended to the album name. Song titles are also replete with spelling and capitalization errors (e.g., the Springsteen song is named "Born to Run," not "Born To Run") and the sorting is never set properly (e.g., Bruce Springsteen should sort under "S," not under "B"). So invariably one winds up spending half an hour or so using tag-editing software to clean up all the weirdness.

Similar things happen with other databases, such as Discogs or MusicBrainz.

I was just ripping some CDs

Is this post from 2023 or 2005?

I still much prefer physical CDs to downloaded music. I can count on one hand the number of albums I've purchased via download instead of a physical copy.

[elsmere241]

I still much prefer physical CDs to downloaded music. I can count on one hand the number of albums I've purchased via download instead of a physical copy.

I've never downloaded an album, and I'm holding on to my CDs.  Things like Spotify won't be around forever.

[Takumi]

A lot of music I listen to is only available on digital, but I still prefer to buy CDs when I can.

I'll never use Spotify. They don't pay artists enough.

[ZLoth]

I much prefer purchasing physical media over downloading digital as I can control the quality of the MP3 rip. Many of my CDs were limited editions and are almost impossible to replace, so I have the physical CD ripped to a MP3 files stored on my media server and then they are available for playback using the PlexAmp application on my mobile phone, so I can happily stream music on the rare occasion that I'm driving.

Of course, it's annoying that I have to use PlexAmp application instead of the main Plex mobile application.

[roadman65]

That Long Island's speed limits were never raised to 65 mph after the national 55 mph limit was repealed. The fact that people think that a 65 or 75 mph speed limit on roads like this:

Long Island Expy
https://maps.app.goo.gl/zgVRLyXRXF8aEh6K8

would be unsafe and dangerous LOL

Suffolk should be 65 mph at least.

[1995hoo]

Contrary to popular belief, CDs are digital.

Regarding the streaming services, one problem with relying on them is what happens when they don't carry an artist you like, or when the artist gets into a dispute with your preferred service and suddenly that artist's music is no longer available via that service. Why let someone else control your access to the music you like?

[MultiMillionMiler]

That Long Island's speed limits were never raised to 65 mph after the national 55 mph limit was repealed. The fact that people think that a 65 or 75 mph speed limit on roads like this:

Long Island Expy
https://maps.app.goo.gl/zgVRLyXRXF8aEh6K8

would be unsafe and dangerous LOL

Suffolk should be 65 mph at least.

Watch the legislators in NY be like: "BUt iF We rAiSe iT to 65 eVeRyOnE WiLl gO 75-80" in response to such a proposal.

Yeah, and? 75-80 is reasonable for such roadways as well. So if a road is designed for 75-80 and with a 65 mph limit everyone is going......75-80...what's the issue?

[hbelkins]

Contrary to popular belief, CDs are digital.

Regarding the streaming services, one problem with relying on them is what happens when they don't carry an artist you like, or when the artist gets into a dispute with your preferred service and suddenly that artist's music is no longer available via that service. Why let someone else control your access to the music you like?

I did a trial subscription of Spotify a few years ago for the purpose of snagging albums using audio capture software and converting them to MP3s. I took note of the number of artists whose music wasn't available on that service -- at the time, Kiss and Metallica were two notable ones.

I'll never use Spotify. They don't pay artists enough.

Don't blame Spotify. Blame the artists for not negotiating a better deal. Obviously they're happy with what they're getting, or else they wouldn't allow their music on that service.

[Takumi]

Don't blame Spotify. Blame the artists for not negotiating a better deal. Obviously they're happy with what they're getting, or else they wouldn't allow their music on that service.

Suffice to say it's not that simple. Many artists don't even own the rights to their music and are at the mercy of their labels.

[1995hoo]

Contrary to popular belief, CDs are digital.

Regarding the streaming services, one problem with relying on them is what happens when they don't carry an artist you like, or when the artist gets into a dispute with your preferred service and suddenly that artist's music is no longer available via that service. Why let someone else control your access to the music you like?

I did a trial subscription of Spotify a few years ago for the purpose of snagging albums using audio capture software and converting them to MP3s. I took note of the number of artists whose music wasn't available on that service -- at the time, Kiss and Metallica were two notable ones.

While I have never used Spotify, and while I don't listen to her music, I recall there was a kerfuffle a few years ago when Taylor Swift got her management to remove all of her music from said service. That's a reason why I don't rely on streaming services for music–who is to say some artist to whom I listen wouldn't do the same? (Setting aside that some bands to whom I listen, like Mott the Hoople, are likely too obscure for the streaming services.)

[roadman65]

When you hit AA on your phone or tablet and AS comes up. Considering your finger didn't move and you hit the same spot twice should have the same results.  Either it should be SS or AA and not AS.

[bm7]

Contrary to popular belief, CDs are digital.

Regarding the streaming services, one problem with relying on them is what happens when they don't carry an artist you like, or when the artist gets into a dispute with your preferred service and suddenly that artist's music is no longer available via that service. Why let someone else control your access to the music you like?

I did a trial subscription of Spotify a few years ago for the purpose of snagging albums using audio capture software and converting them to MP3s. I took note of the number of artists whose music wasn't available on that service -- at the time, Kiss and Metallica were two notable ones.

While I have never used Spotify, and while I don't listen to her music, I recall there was a kerfuffle a few years ago when Taylor Swift got her management to remove all of her music from said service. That's a reason why I don't rely on streaming services for music–who is to say some artist to whom I listen wouldn't do the same? (Setting aside that some bands to whom I listen, like Mott the Hoople, are likely too obscure for the streaming services.)

I listen to a lot of fairly obscure music, and I rarely encounter anything that I want to listen to that isn't on Spotify, and artists removing their songs from streaming services is also very rare. I also just looked up Mott the Hoople on Spotify and they have songs with tens of millions of listens, so they might not be as obscure as you think. There's over a million artists whose music is on Spotify, so it probably has just about anything you can think of.

[mgk920]

The only reason why I sometimes use Spotify is to check current trends and playlists.  I won't subscribe to it nor any other streaming service as if/when I let the subscription lapse, all of the (supposedly) 'saved' files go bye-bye.  I LIKE having the .mp3 files and keep a copy of them all in my 160 GB 'old school' iPod for regular play.  It works great when fed to a couple of cheap desktop computer speakers that I have put on the back seat floor of my car.

Mike

[skluth]

Automatic software updates that put unwanted crap on the desktop or phone screen. Mostly shortcuts though occasionally previously deleted bloatware. Recent updates recently placed shortcuts for Microsoft Edge and Adobe Acrobat on my desktop which immediately went into the Recycle Bin. (To channel Andy Rooney, why is it called the Recycle Bin when you're essentially throwing it in the trash? Though it could be commentary on the state of the recycling industry in the US where most of what's picked out as recycled still ends up in landfills.)

[roadman65]

Responding to a text message that ends up in a different sendees mailbox

[1995hoo]

Automatic software updates that put unwanted crap on the desktop or phone screen. Mostly shortcuts though occasionally previously deleted bloatware. Recent updates recently placed shortcuts for Microsoft Edge and Adobe Acrobat on my desktop which immediately went into the Recycle Bin. (To channel Andy Rooney, why is it called the Recycle Bin when you're essentially throwing it in the trash? Though it could be commentary on the state of the recycling industry in the US where most of what's picked out as recycled still ends up in landfills.)

The main reason it's called the Recycle Bin is because of copyright infringement litigation Apple brought against Microsoft alleging that Windows ripped off the Mac's graphical user interface. The only part of the case Apple won was the part alleging that its trashcan icon was original and protected by copyright. So Microsoft used a recycle bin instead. You can now rename it, but at least in the early years of Windows 95 the Recycle Bin was the one icon you could not rename in order to avoid any possibility of people calling it the trashcan.

[J N Winkler]

Automatic software updates that put unwanted crap on the desktop or phone screen. Mostly shortcuts though occasionally previously deleted bloatware. Recent updates recently placed shortcuts for Microsoft Edge and Adobe Acrobat on my desktop which immediately went into the Recycle Bin.

If a piece of software actually has functionality I care about, I often go out of my way to prohibit updates.  I have had ES File Explorer in its last non-evil version as my workhorse file chooser on my Android tablet and old phone, and I installed it on both as a sideload, to prevent Google Play trying to update it.  The recent versions have introduced ads and extra charges for essential features like SMB 2.  Unfortunately, I cannot get any of the older ones to install on my current phone.



Other minor annoyances:

*  Prompts to set permissions on app launch that don't include, as an option, the permissions the app actually needs to function, forcing me to go to phone settings

*  Notification request dialogs that don't tell me what I'm letting myself in for if I allow them

*  Layered notification management models (e.g., ones with Focus Assist) that require multiple iterations of fiddling with notification controls, meaning I spend ever more time figuring out how to get the phone to shut up

[Big John]

Getting spam text where there is no option to delete on my Android.

[Billy F 1988]

Getting spam text where there is no option to delete on my Android.

Bugger me! That's as bad as getting robo calls on my cell phone, bruh! I've been robo dialed from, not one, not two, not five, but, FIFTEEN states. Namely Montana, Washington state, Wyoming, Illinois, Georgia, and Texas! I've had a plethora of robo dials from the 833 to 888 family of numbers. And, none of them have been answered and I intend to keep it that way! Thank goodness my Alcatel flip phone has the ability to block these robo dialers. I just wished the carriers would block it before it reaches you. But, beggars can't be choosers, I guess.

[hbelkins]

Use of the phrase "intensive purposes," as seen on the "lowest route number you don't have a picture of" thread.

it's "intents and purposes." "Intents and purposes."

This ranks right down there with "publically" instead of "publicly" in my book.

[Bruce]

My Pixel phone has a neat feature where it will screen calls and show a little transcription. It has prevented a lot of spam from reaching my ears but also allowed in good calls because I can actually read a little snippet before picking up the call.

[zachary_amaryllis]

Getting spam text where there is no option to delete on my Android.

Bugger me! That's as bad as getting robo calls on my cell phone, bruh! I've been robo dialed from, not one, not two, not five, but, FIFTEEN states. Namely Montana, Washington state, Wyoming, Illinois, Georgia, and Texas! I've had a plethora of robo dials from the 833 to 888 family of numbers. And, none of them have been answered and I intend to keep it that way! Thank goodness my Alcatel flip phone has the ability to block these robo dialers. I just wished the carriers would block it before it reaches you. But, beggars can't be choosers, I guess.

Oh, wait till you read about 'ringless voicemail'. They can inject messages straight into your voicemail without the phone even ringing.