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Post by Deleted on Aug 14, 2017 2:11:34 GMT
While I will admit to it not being literally true, "remotely" is overly harsh and unfair. That statement is the general word-of-mouth answer to they question about every platform, being on Windows, Mac, iOS and Android. As always, those who have specific needs know who they and why they can ignore the general advice. What platforms are you talking about, by the way? (Please don't say Linux.) Why shouldn't I say Linux? Does my use of it make me inferior in some way? But that isn't just what I mean, for those of us with media players not on Audibles approved list, can't use them for Audible content. I appologise if I implied use of Linux makes someone inferior. That was not my point. My point was more that most people don't consider it at all. I chose it as an example because it is fifth, after Windows, Mac, iOS and Android (first four not ordered). Edit: I just do not see how Audible not supporting literally every device justifies the statement "That's not even remotely true" (as different from not technically true, for example). Also, platform, not class of device. Would it be reasonable to define a platform as an operating system that other companies program for (app or website) so that it can be a platform for their own products/services? As for Microsoft, yes, it would be added to the list to make "companies who effectively are the internet / computing" (title not final). It does not belong on this list, however, because its customer base is different. Google and Amazon are primarily consumer-focussed companies, Microsoft is not. Microsoft gets most of its money from Windows, Office, and business services (such as Azure). Windows and Office are only used by many consumers because businesses used them first, and that is changing thanks to of smartphones and Google Docs. Finally, Windows is not a viable platform. Debatably, Chrome was the last "must-have" Windows app, and the top 10 Windows programs in 2012 were Chrome, iTunes and utilities to make Windows 8 more like Windows 7. Thus, Microsoft's consumer ecosystem is not stable like those of the other three are (although Apple's is kinda iffy, as a hardware company). Microsoft shutting down Zune, and many other consumer services, is not representative of what Google and Amazon will/can do. (I say all this in retrospect, however, and have made that mistake before.) In the case of the BBC, it shutting its store is slightly different to Google shutting Play or Apple shutting the iTunes Store. Ultimately, though, what muckpup said.
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Post by muckypup on Aug 14, 2017 2:35:10 GMT
It is your choice no to own the devices to play the old media you have, all of those players can still be purchased and you can still access those media if you want. and so can devices that play audible..... only joking buddy.......
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Post by Deleted on Aug 14, 2017 2:35:58 GMT
I normally listen to the audios I've purchased many times. It is your choice no to own the devices to play the old media you have, all of those players can still be purchased and you can still access those media if you want. DRM takes away your choice and gives it to companies that sold you the stuff in the first place. If that's not a problem for you, then fine, but for me it's a show stopper. I think that the value proposition is more that, by using companies who can afford to make and maintain apps on every platform*, there is the convenience of not needing to manage files. Thus people don't think about the files used behind the scenes, and whether they contain DRM or not. (Just wanted to point out that there is an advantage, you are not only giving up something.) *I guess I'm defining a platform as an operating system well-known enough to have an app store? Or, more generally, that other companies program for (app or website)? Take into account when looking at target markets? Anyway, what is your opinion of subscription services, such as Netflix?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 14, 2017 5:47:03 GMT
So price wise makes a sort of sense
What about Downloading to non-Amazon devices and sound quality?
Regards
mark687
Kindle and Audible apps are available on every platform. The iOS and Android apps are very nice and are updated regularly. However, the Windows apps not so much. The Kindle app is very usable (but is almost never updated, so it can't read magazines and newspapers*, for example). There is also a web version. Using modern browsers' offline capabilities you can download the books and bookmark read.amazon.com. The Audible app looks like it hasn't had a UI refresh since the '90s (so, probably never). Small text, small buttons, not user friendly. Unusable by today's standards. It even demands you download the files from the website, rather than in-app. There is a Windows 10 Store app, though, which is reasonable. I can't comment on either Mac app. Sound quality is reasonable for audiobook readings but, as others have stated, that's about all it is. I haven't tried anything more complex than two narrators reading the book, though. (One male, one female, reading the chapters told from the point-of-view of respective characters.) *As I understand it. Most of those are US only, so I have no personal experience. Not sure what device you're using the audible app on, but the android version is beautiful, much better than the Big Finiah one. It offers in-app purchasing and downloading and supports sideloading from your computer if you prefer.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 14, 2017 6:29:29 GMT
Kindle and Audible apps are available on every platform. The iOS and Android apps are very nice and are updated regularly. However, the Windows apps not so much. The Kindle app is very usable (but is almost never updated, so it can't read magazines and newspapers*, for example). There is also a web version. Using modern browsers' offline capabilities you can download the books and bookmark read.amazon.com. The Audible app looks like it hasn't had a UI refresh since the '90s (so, probably never). Small text, small buttons, not user friendly. Unusable by today's standards. It even demands you download the files from the website, rather than in-app. There is a Windows 10 Store app, though, which is reasonable. I can't comment on either Mac app. Sound quality is reasonable for audiobook readings but, as others have stated, that's about all it is. I haven't tried anything more complex than two narrators reading the book, though. (One male, one female, reading the chapters told from the point-of-view of respective characters.) *As I understand it. Most of those are US only, so I have no personal experience. Not sure what device you're using the audible app on, but the android version is beautiful, much better than the Big Finiah one. It offers in-app purchasing and downloading and supports sideloading from your computer if you prefer. The second paragraph is about the Audible Windows app.
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Post by jasonward on Aug 14, 2017 9:54:56 GMT
Why shouldn't I say Linux? Does my use of it make me inferior in some way? But that isn't just what I mean, for those of us with media players not on Audibles approved list, can't use them for Audible content. I appologise if I implied use of Linux makes someone inferior. That was not my point. My point was more that most people don't consider it at all. I chose it as an example because it is fifth, after Windows, Mac, iOS and Android (first four not ordered). Edit: I just do not see how Audible not supporting literally every device justifies the statement "That's not even remotely true" (as different from not technically true, for example). Also, platform, not class of device. Would it be reasonable to define a platform as an operating system that other companies program for (app or website) so that it can be a platform for their own products/services? As for Microsoft, yes, it would be added to the list to make "companies who effectively are the internet / computing" (title not final). It does not belong on this list, however, because its customer base is different. Google and Amazon are primarily consumer-focussed companies, Microsoft is not. Microsoft gets most of its money from Windows, Office, and business services (such as Azure). Windows and Office are only used by many consumers because businesses used them first, and that is changing thanks to of smartphones and Google Docs. Finally, Windows is not a viable platform. Debatably, Chrome was the last "must-have" Windows app, and the top 10 Windows programs in 2012 were Chrome, iTunes and utilities to make Windows 8 more like Windows 7. Thus, Microsoft's consumer ecosystem is not stable like those of the other three are (although Apple's is kinda iffy, as a hardware company). Microsoft shutting down Zune, and many other consumer services, is not representative of what Google and Amazon will/can do. (I say all this in retrospect, however, and have made that mistake before.) In the case of the BBC, it shutting its store is slightly different to Google shutting Play or Apple shutting the iTunes Store. Ultimately, though, what muckpup said. Sorry I find your invalidation of "platforms" on the basis that they don't have an app store, not only extremely odd, but falsifiable, Blackberry have an App store and so do some Linux's and invalidating "platform" because it's not the top 4 used "platform" is also odd. And to claim that MS is not consumer focused turns much of the games industry on its head. But as for Google et al not being able to do what MS can and have done is just weird, which the likelihood, at the moment anyway is small, all companies can and will cancel services they see as no longer viable or no longer fitting in with their overall aims. One only has to look at the Wikipedia page of discontinued Google services to see that they can services when they want, many of those services were aimed at consumers and some were extremely popular, even number one in their field at the time of withdrawal (Google Reader and Google Answers both fall into that category, then there is Orkut the social network that was extremely popular in Brazil and India).
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Post by Deleted on Aug 14, 2017 11:32:07 GMT
I appologise if I implied use of Linux makes someone inferior. That was not my point. My point was more that most people don't consider it at all. I chose it as an example because it is fifth, after Windows, Mac, iOS and Android (first four not ordered). Edit: I just do not see how Audible not supporting literally every device justifies the statement "That's not even remotely true" (as different from not technically true, for example). Also, platform, not class of device. Would it be reasonable to define a platform as an operating system that other companies program for (app or website) so that it can be a platform for their own products/services? As for Microsoft, yes, it would be added to the list to make "companies who effectively are the internet / computing" (title not final). It does not belong on this list, however, because its customer base is different. Google and Amazon are primarily consumer-focussed companies, Microsoft is not. Microsoft gets most of its money from Windows, Office, and business services (such as Azure). Windows and Office are only used by many consumers because businesses used them first, and that is changing thanks to of smartphones and Google Docs. Finally, Windows is not a viable platform. Debatably, Chrome was the last "must-have" Windows app, and the top 10 Windows programs in 2012 were Chrome, iTunes and utilities to make Windows 8 more like Windows 7. Thus, Microsoft's consumer ecosystem is not stable like those of the other three are (although Apple's is kinda iffy, as a hardware company). Microsoft shutting down Zune, and many other consumer services, is not representative of what Google and Amazon will/can do. (I say all this in retrospect, however, and have made that mistake before.) In the case of the BBC, it shutting its store is slightly different to Google shutting Play or Apple shutting the iTunes Store. Ultimately, though, what muckpup said. Sorry I find your invalidation of "platforms" on the basis that they don't have an app store, not only extremely odd, but falsifiable, Blackberry have an App store and so do some Linux's and invalidating "platform" because it's not the top 4 used "platform" is also odd. And to claim that MS is not consumer focused turns much of the games industry on its head. But as for Google et al not being able to do what MS can and have done is just weird, which the likelihood, at the moment anyway is small, all companies can and will cancel services they see as no longer viable or no longer fitting in with their overall aims. One only has to look at the Wikipedia page of discontinued Google services to see that they can services when they want, many of those services were aimed at consumers and some were extremely popular, even number one in their field at the time of withdrawal (Google Reader and Google Answers both fall into that category, then there is Orkut the social network that was extremely popular in Brazil and India). I'm actually trying to figure out a definition of "platform" as we speak, so thank you for that push. The operating systems I am defining as platforms are Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, Blackberry and Windows Phone (though I may have missed some). However, I will argue that only the first four count because iOS and Android make up 99.6% of smartphone sales (Gartner), and Linux is around 3% desktop market share (Net Market Share). More than that, most people only consider the first four when deciding what operating system their next device should come with. Is that reasonable? Microsoft is not customer focussed in the sense that it gets most of its income from businesses (and mostly from Office, Windows, and Azure). Xbox is not profitable. You are also correct about Google suddenly cancelling services, even popular ones. Google Reader was the first to come to my mind, as well. But how many of those did people pay money for? How many of those can be counted as stores which require Google continuing to function to be able to access your purchases? Because this discussion is not about whether they will suddenly shut a service, but whether they will suddenly close such a store.
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Post by jasonward on Aug 14, 2017 11:44:32 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 14, 2017 11:55:41 GMT
I struggling to find the will to continue this conversation. Fair enough. I appologise if I have sounded like I do not respect your position. It is a perfectly valid one.
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Post by tordred on Aug 14, 2017 14:14:00 GMT
For a Netflix/Spotify style service, I could see it as a range by range thing (eg pay $40, get a month of streaming access to all the 4DAs)
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Post by Deleted on Aug 14, 2017 14:52:33 GMT
For a Netflix/Spotify style service, I could see it as a range by range thing (eg pay $40, get a month of streaming access to all the 4DAs) Big Finiah already have a lot of older titles on Spotify. I can't see a general streaming option ever being viable for them, but of course, Audible don't offer a streaming service either, which I think is one of the big misunderstandings people have about them.
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