n00b questions about ipods and linux (fedora 6 and 7)

[Craig White]

On Sat, 2008-01-12 at 13:17 -0800, Dean S. Messing wrote:
> Michael A. Peters wrote:
> > Dean S. Messing wrote:
> > > I am thinking about buying a 160 GB iPod for my daughter for her
> > > approaching golden birthday (she's turning 18).
> > >
> > > I know _zero_ about iPods (or any other external device toys).
> > I've had excellent luck with gtkpod - but with brand new models, it 
> > sometimes takes some time.
> 
> Would you elaborate this, please?
> 
> > With respect to AAC - my experience is that Apple's AAC encoder is 
> > better than faac (linux encoder) but it's been awhile.
> 
> How does one use Apple's AAC encoder?  Can it be used under Linux?  We
> do not own an Apple or a M$-based PC though I have a minimal
> installation of XP running in VMware---just enough to be able to use
> Word and PowerPoint when I must.
> 
> > I myself just use lame to encode to mp3 -  I use preset-standard and the 
> > quality is fine, but if she has an excellent musical ear, she may want a 
> > higher bitrate. I prefer to use mp3 because mp3 works with everything 
> > out there.
> > 
> > As far as how it compares with AAC - that's something audiophiles argue 
> > about all the time.
> > I can't tell the difference between a 192VBR lame encoded MP3 and a 
> > 192VBR quicktime (iTunes) encoded AAC. But I don't have a good musical 
> > ear, let alone a trained good ear.
> 
> I have a fair "musical ear", but not a good physical one: I can't hear
> very well above about 17KHz and I have a bad case of tinitus.  But my
> daughter says she hears "funny stuff" in 192 Kbs MP3 so I now rip to
> .wav.
----
for relativity...A Wave file is the native, uncompressed format. I had
some trouble with the DVD drive ripping a Yes CD of mine and so I did it
on Linux. This is the comparative sizes...

6611310 2008-01-12 16:53 ive_seen_all_good_people.aac
7152674 2007-08-05 16:41 ive_seen_all_good_people.mp3
72919100 2007-08-05 15:48 ive_seen_all_good_people.wav

$ file ive_seen_all_good_people.*
ive_seen_all_good_people.aac: MPEG ADTS, AAC, v2 LC, 44.1 kHz, stereo
ive_seen_all_good_people.mp3: Ogg data, Vorbis audio, stereo, 44100 Hz,
~128000 bps, created by: Xiph.Org libVorbis I
ive_seen_all_good_people.wav: RIFF (little-endian) data, WAVE audio,
Microsoft PCM, 16 bit, stereo 44100 Hz

Generally, an aac or mp3 is about 10% of the size of the wav file ripped
from a CD but of course, they are both lossy

Craig