[CoLoCo] Amazon MP3's

[Nelson E. Ingersoll]

TC,

   It's been a while since I examined Amazon's MP3 pricing closely and
they may have changed their policy.  However, the only way to download an
album is to download an album with their downloader.  Otherwise one has to
download each track/song individually.  One can call it an album when one
has all the songs on the album if one chooses.  I call it too much work
and too expensive.

   One could of course pay the extra money and download the album one song
at a time. However, my point remains completely valid.  There is NO
TECHNOLOGICAL reason why Amazon requires the downloader.  All of the songs
could easily be congregated into one ZIP file before the fact or at time
of purchase on the server,  There are of course MANY sleazy reasons why
Amazon might want you to download their software.

   What Amazon is doing is still sleazy and all computer users, those
assimilated or not, should be very wary of what Amazon is doing.  In my,
obviously strong, opinion people should not use the downloader and not do
MP3 business with Amazon until Amazon drops the sleaze.

   A little FUD is in order... how do you know that their software does
not install a root-kit?  You don't!  Because we do not have the source we
won't.  Plus they are playing a game every bit as stupid as Sony's CD
protection scheme... which BTW had a ROOT-KIT!  DRM is wrong.  Don't
support it in any way.

- Nelson

TC wrote:
> Well, you don't have to have the downloader to download albums, they
> just give you a discount off of the price of a complete album if you do.
> 
> Very subtle distinction.
> 
> Nelson E. Ingersoll wrote:
>> <flame>
>>
>>    Amazon requires us to have their "SPECIAL" downloader in order to buy
>> an album from them.  And no one here seems to think that is ODD?
>> Unreasonable?  No one protests?
>>
>>    Is everyone so *happy* that "Linux" is "being recognized" that they
>> miss the entire fact that Amazon is playing a really sleazy game?  There
>> is NO reason we need to have a SPECIAL program in order to download MP3
>> albums from Amazon except that Amazon wants to put some sleazy piece of
>> crap software on OUR computers.  Ask yourself why?  By what right?  For
>> WHO'S benefit?
>>
>>    Amazon is lying!  They are being dishonest and treating their customers
>> like crooks.  Anyone who downloads Amazon's SPECIAL downloader just to be
>> able to buy an album from Amazon is a sucker.
>>
>> </flame>
>>
>> Check out http://cdbaby.com where you buy albums cheaper and don't have to
>> have a SPECIAL downloader.  Granted CD Baby isn't a big as Amazon; but
>> they do understand that honest people should not be treated dishonestly.
>> It is TIME for honest people to tell dishonest companies, like Amazon, to
>> screw off and go away.  I am NOT a crook and DO NOT LIKE being treated
>> like one.
>>
>> - Nelson
>>
>> TheZorch wrote:
>>> Not the first, but one of many stepping stones towards full mainstream
>>> acceptance of Linux in 2008.  As far as I know this is the first online
>>> music store that actively supports Linux users other than maybe
>>> Songbird, but that's not a real music store since you can download music
>>> using that without paying.
>>>
>>> The fact that the Amazon music store doesn't use DRM is also a plus.
>>>
>>> Chomafin wrote:
>>>> http://www.amazon.com/gp/dmusic/help/amd.html/002-0964719-6480026?ie=UTF8&forceos=LINUX&ASIN=&isTrack=
>>>> <http://www.amazon.com/gp/dmusic/help/amd.html/002-0964719-6480026?ie=UTF8&forceos=LINUX&ASIN=&isTrack=>
>>>>
>>>> Not sure if anyone else has noticed this, but it is news to me. 
>>>> Amazon has created a GUI Client for downloading music for Linux.  It's
>>>> nice to see that some of the bigger companies are starting to help out
>>>> the Linux front.  Now if they would only open the source so that it
>>>> can be Incorporated into RhythmBox :D
>>>>
>>>> From the FAQ:
>>>> What are the technical specifications of MP3 Music Download files?
>>>>
>>>> Here's more information about music files from the Amazon MP3 Music
>>>> Downloads store:
>>>>
>>>>     * *Bit Rate:* Where possible, we encode our MP3 files using
>>>>       variable bit rates for maximum audio quality and smaller file
>>>>       sizes, aiming at an average of 256 kilobits per second (kbps).
>>>>       Using a variable bit rate allows us to allocate a higher bit
>>>>       rate to the more complex sections of music files while using a
>>>>       smaller bit rate for the less complex sections. The average of
>>>>       these rates is then calculated to produce an average bit rate
>>>>       for the entire file that represents the overall sound quality.
>>>>       Some of our content is encoded using a constant bit rate of 256
>>>>       kbps. This content will have the same excellent audio quality at
>>>>       a slightly larger file size.
>>>>
>>>>     * *File Size:* A typical 3-minute song takes up approximately 5MB
>>>>       of storage space.
>>>>
>>>>     * *Download Times:* A single MP3 file 5MB in size will download in
>>>>       less than one minute on a typical broad-band Internet
>>>>       connection. A similar download on a 56k dial-up connection can
>>>>       take up to 30 minutes.
>>>>
>>>>     * *Album Cover Art:* Album cover art is included with each song
>>>>       you download.
>>>>
>>>>
>>> -- 
>>> Michael "TheZorch" Haney
>>> thezorch at gmail.com
>>> http://thezorch.googlepages.com/home
>>> AIM: thezorch at gmail.com
>>> Yahoo IM: zorchhaney
>>> ICQ: 343230252
>>> GoogleTalk: thezorch
>>> MSN Messeger: haneymichael at hotmail.com:
>>>
>