Luis Rei

So you downloaded an album in the cue/FLAC format (a cue sheet + a flac file) and I want to convert it to multiple mp3 files? Here’s what you need to do: Install the necessary software: audio-convert, gstreamer-flac, mp3splt. Assuming you’re using Ubuntu and have enabled the universe repository, open a terminal and type

sudo apt-get install audio-convert gstreamer-flac mp3splt

Now cd into the directory where the flac file is and type

audio-convert CDImage.flac

(replace CDImage for whatever you flac file is called). After selecting “mp3” for the file format and the quality preset you want, audio-convert goes to work for a while: first decompressing the CDImage.flac into a wav and then compressing the latter into an mp3. Now to “cut” the single mp3 into multiple files - one for each track:

mp3splt -f -c CDImage.cue CDImage.mp3

And that’s it. Additionally you can also install the audio-convert-nautilus-script or SoundConverter if you don’t want to use the command line for converting from flac to mp3.

Beta.

Beta is still defined in the dictionary as

preliminary or testing stage of a software or hardware product; “a beta version”; “beta software”

which implies “buggy”. I know something is wrong with the world whenever I find myself agreeing with a mac blogger.

Indeed it seems that to the general public “beta” now means “new & cool”. The World+Dog is now labeling their released software and even normal web pages (i.e. not web2.0/AJAXy) as beta to try and get some of the word’s “cool factor” that makes users willing to put up with bugs, lack of functionality. Even actually decent, not-so-buggy release-worthy software/web pages are being labeled “beta” just because people think it’s cool. Amazing.


Runner Up: The Nintendo Wii
Though not as amazing as changing the de facto meaning of a word, Nintendo as managed to do something pretty awesome: sell people overpriced  budget hardware and have people praise and even thank them for it. Granted, Apple did that for a long time (until the switch to Intel - some would argue it still does) but it did so by pretending its hardware was good and worthy of a premium fee. Nintendo is openly selling hardware everyone knows sucks.

Samsung’s latest and greatest is the SGH-D900 better known as Black Carbon. You can see a small video of it here. To match the amazing design it also has what looks like a great interface. It’s not easy to judge from 1 minute of video if the interface is as cool as it looks. It does remind me a bit of the interface of my sony camera (the p200).

I’ve been looking at possible replacements for my Nokia 6230i (which I didn’t actually chose in the first place). It’s a bit slow and I don’t like the interface but my main problem with it is that it just feels like a huge brick in my pocket.

While my 6230i and it’s limitations can sometimes annoy me, I’m in no hurry to switch. But when I do, I’ll probably switch to Samsung: I never liked the Nokia bricks, Motorola sucks in both hardware and software quality and I have yet to meet anyone happy with their Motorola phone, Sony-Erickson seems more interested in selling Walkmans that actual phones and do other brands even exist nowadays? Besides I like the Samsung design and features - even if their interface is still lacking… I wish they’d license Palm or something. The thing is, I don’t want to listen to music, watch TV, play games, browse the internets or whatever manufacturers and carriers are trying to push these days. I want to make/receive calls/SMS and it’s is extremely convenient for me to have a camera on my phone since I don’t usually carry around my camera. That’s it. How hard is it to make a phone with those features that looks good, feels good (i.e. doesn’t feel like a brick) and has a decent, fast, responsive, easy to use interface? Apparently either I’m the only one to have these requisites or it’s mysteriously hard because manufacturers sure seem unable to do it though the only one that seems to even be trying is Samsung.

UPDATE:
Review: http://www.mobileburn.com/review.jsp?Id=2733

I need to get around to booting into windows and try eEye’s free Blink Personal Edition. I’m making this blog post so I don’t forget it. Hopefully I’ll install it later tonight on the laptop and maybe update this post
The free personal version features:

- Personal Firewall (Application and System)
- Identity Theft Protection
- Protocol-Based Intrusion Prevention
- Application Protection
- Registry Protection
- Execution Protection
- Local Vulnerability Assessment

The semester is almost over. Only minor stuff to do now.

Yesterday I read Dan Kaminsky’s Learning From Sony: An External Perspective. I would argue that the AV industry will not take the side of their customers in the future and it has made that clear. I remember Symantec stating that their definition of rootkit includes “malicious intent” and apparently they get to define “malicious”. Kaminsky argues that the AV industry is in the business of giving users control over their PCs. If that is the case, it has failed miserably. The Sony rootkit is only the tip of the iceberg. Things like Blizzard’s warden will continue to go unchecked. An AV product should at least inform users of shady components of so called “legal software” and if necessary help them remove those components (or the entire software).

I believe that the thin line between software makers like Blizzard (or music distributors like Sony) rights and “malicious intent” is drawn at both the ability of the users to make an informed decision to give consent for the software to run and their ability to revoke that consent at any time of their choosing.

And don’t talk to me about EULAs! People don’t read them, I don’t read them and in all likelihood you don’t read them either. And even worse, how many of the EULAs out there were written to be fully understood by common people and how many were made to confuse users and appear harmless while allowing for the installation of spyware/rootkits (or spyware/rootkit-like) software?
So, AV products only detect a small percentage of new malware and on top of that they refuse to protect users from shady software (which many consider spyware or rootkits) made by unscrupulous companies - in Sony’s case, even after it acknowledged wrongdoing, the AV companies continued to decline users requests for them to help them clean up the software they should have prevented from being installed in the first place.

I’m so glad I use an OS that doesn’t require me to feed money to these corporate jerks.

Yesterday me, Relax and a few others went to watch the WWE Smackdown event in Lisbon. It was fun :)