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    ahakkiRhett Jones
    5/14/17 3:17pm

    This Article is not correct. The licensing was not stopped because mp3 is obsolete (although it might well be), but simply because all patents on the codec have expired. Since no one owns the rights to mp3 now no one can license it.

    In fact this could actually lead to a surge in mp3 usage (because free).

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      Wayward Apologyahakki
      5/14/17 3:32pm

      Mostly right, the last key patent expired last month. Fraunhofer could probably make the legal case that there is related IP and drag it out longer but someone would probably challenge it legally and they just don’t think it is worth pursuing the whole program and legal challenge, especially when the generally accepted successor is AAC which Fraunhofer is also licensing patents on.

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      Thermite and Iceahakki
      5/14/17 3:33pm

      If this is true and the author failed to point it out, massive reporting fail

      Reply
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    Philnolan3dRhett Jones
    5/14/17 3:16pm

    I don’t know anyone who uses AAC. None of the music services I use offer it either. AAC files take up too much room.

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      HypnosiflPhilnolan3d
      5/14/17 3:21pm

      AAC is the standard alternative to mp3 offered by iTunes, the files take up barely any more space than mp3s (AAC is not a lossless format so it doesn’t take up the huge amount of room of something like AIFF, but it’s better at preserving the sound quality than mp3).

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      Babylon SystemPhilnolan3d
      5/14/17 3:22pm

      Look harder, the file extension isn’t always .aac.

      Image for article titled
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    NipAndTuckEverlastingRhett Jones
    5/14/17 3:20pm

    Unlike vinyl or the cassette, it seems unlikely that MP3 will ever have a nostalgic resurgence.

    Probably not, but this article made me remember what it was like when I first discovered MP3s, and the ensuing euphoria in realizing that I could convert all the songs on my CDs to fit on my hard drive, essentially turning my computer into a jukebox. Realizing that other people were doing the same thing and that these files were of a manageable size, it was even more exciting to think that we could share these files surreptitiously. And then came portable MP3 players, Napster, etc.

    God I sound old.

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      Lady CommentariatNipAndTuckEverlasting
      5/14/17 3:43pm

      It was a heady time indeed. /another old

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      moonbunnychanNipAndTuckEverlasting
      5/15/17 3:10am

      My first mp3 player was 200 dollars and held approximately 15 songs, but transferring songs from the internet to and carrying it into the real world felt like MAGIC. I will never forget getting hassled at an airport security screening over it because they had no idea what it was. Guy had never even heard of an mp3. My how times have changed. The ability to download music exposed me to a bunch of music I likely would never have otherwise discovered.

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    eftalanquestRhett Jones
    5/14/17 3:32pm
    The audio quality is trash by modern standards

    so you’re one of those audiophiles who can tell the difference between a v0 encoded mp3 and an uncompressed file?

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      %^$#@eftalanquest
      5/14/17 3:48pm

      I have some audio cables to sell him:

      https://gizmodo.com/363154/audiophile-deathmatch-monster-cables-vs-a-coat-hanger

      Reply
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      Broto-maneftalanquest
      5/14/17 5:07pm

      Nah this sounds like something the author’s audiophile friend probably gave a slightly more nuanced take on one time, but got reduced to a garbage binary statement when processed through the Moron Trying to Sound Educated Filter.

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    gpwdeuxRhett Jones
    5/14/17 4:22pm

    Come on man. I expect this sort of crap journalism from Engadget (They posted almost the exact same article two days ago), but Gizmodo? Very disappointed.

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      snogglethorpegpwdeux
      5/14/17 6:22pm

      C’mon, this kind of thing is classic Gizmodo...

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      ABgpwdeux
      5/14/17 7:21pm

      Have you been here long?

      Reply
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    ComedyOfErrsRhett Jones
    5/14/17 4:03pm

    Developers of the MP3 Officially No Longer Able To Profit Off It; Format Alive and Well

    Close though. Oddly, not as sexy a headline.

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    I am the LawrRhett Jones
    5/14/17 3:21pm

    So what does this mean for me and exporting my podcast in audacity?

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      eftalanquestI am the Lawr
      5/14/17 3:26pm

      nothing will change

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      Executor32I am the Lawr
      5/14/17 3:33pm

      It means they’ll legally be able to include the codec with Audacity instead of it being a separate download. Fraunhofer is terminating their licensing program because their patents expire this year, not because they’re killing an obsolete format, like Rhett seems to think.

      Reply
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    ImALeafOnTheWindRhett Jones
    5/14/17 4:36pm
    Image for article titled

    I remember buying a CDC-MP3 for my car in 2000- was one of the first in-dash MP3 players (except you had to burn your MP3s to a CD to play). Having more music in my dash vs filling my changer with CDs was a big deal. I loved ripping and encoding all my CDs and trading them with friends, but knew when I saw Napster that the mainstream abuse would cause a backlash so I refused to support them.

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      facwImALeafOnTheWind
      5/14/17 8:21pm

      My first (non-computer) mp3 player:

      Image for article titled

      And shortly thereafter my second:

      Image for article titled

      I actually have a 128MB SmartMedia card from the Nomad sitting on my desk for some reason.

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      TheBlightOfGreyfacw
      5/14/17 9:58pm

      I dropped off a first edition Creative Labs MP3 player at the Goodwill just yesterday. Mint condition! Includes original charger.

      Reply
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    randomguy109Rhett Jones
    5/14/17 3:20pm

    Broadband!

    It started back when ISDN was something we longed for.

    It started back when a download could be killed by someone picking up a phone to make a call.

    It started back when we had 2 gb free to hold music, and would add a secondary CD-ROM drive for an additional 2 X 700 mb music for a party.

    That is why 128 kbit was fine.

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      NOLA-Nickrandomguy109
      5/14/17 3:27pm

      128 is never fine. 320 or nothing.

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      randomguy109NOLA-Nick
      5/14/17 3:34pm

      Let me repeat, when all you have is 3,4 gb and that includes 2 CD-ROM drives with one lying on top of he computer, 128 kbit is just fine.

      I keep my master in FLAC format today, and a 320 version on one of these:

      Image for article titled

      In the car.

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    DiggerRhett Jones
    5/14/17 3:13pm

    MP3 isn’t dead. The creators’ patent expired, and now they want more money from a new format

    Reply