[skunark]

Not that Apple has prevented anyone from using ALAC, all cries and fears about it not being open source can be wiped away:
http://alac.macosforge.org/post/welcome-to-the-apple-lossless-audio-codec-project/

It's under the Apache 2.0 license as well.

The world can sleep better tonight knowing there is another open source choice for compressed lossless format for audio playback.

[Æ]

I wish you would have told us yesterday, because I tossed and turned all last night!

[ratso]

interesting timing this. i wonder if with a new guy in charge apple will start to loosen the reins somewhat on the way they do things. i think they have really shot themselves in the foot PR wise in the last few years.

[jjc1]

Ratso, have you been in an Apple store lately? I went to one yesterday at 4pm for the first time ever. There must have been 1,000 people there. Don't have any idea what they were all doing. Doesn't anyone work anymore?

[JDUBS]

interesting timing this. i wonder if with a new guy in charge apple will start to loosen the reins somewhat on the way they do things. i think they have really shot themselves in the foot PR wise in the last few years.

Really?  Their stock price wouldn't seem to indicate this.

-Jim

[dB Cooper]

Nor would years of setting sales and profit records every quarter.

[dB Cooper]

Anyway, I thought ALAC was simply a 'tag' for a type of .m4a codec which originated at Fraunhofer, as did the mp3 codec.... smh

[cujobob]

interesting timing this. i wonder if with a new guy in charge apple will start to loosen the reins somewhat on the way they do things. i think they have really shot themselves in the foot PR wise in the last few years.

Having control over everything they do is clearly a benefit I would think. Even if you look at iOS apps vs. Android apps, Windows vs. Mac OSX, the refinement and security shown has proven to be a huge factor in their success. Some people want more customization, but there are an awful lot of people in society who just want something that works without tinkering. This is their business model moreso than fancy case-work and next gen technology. In the last few years, they've released the Ipad which has like 90% of internet use amongst tablets I read somewhere.

As for ALAC being open source, I don't see how this particular situation should prove to be an issue for the company so it's likely a good decision. I still hate iTunes, but I'm forced to keep ALAC versions of some of my collection for the iPod. One of these days I'll break down and get me a Mac Mini like the rest of Audiocircle and use it for my main rig.

[skunark]

I think most folks miss out on the fact that Apple uses open source within the OS.  From the printer drivers, to the compilers and scripting languages are all the key underpinnings of the utilizes around the OS.  Also Apple has funded huge improvements and interesting new features to GCC and especially LLVM compilers.   Of course they are not along here: Intel, AMD, Red Hat, SuSE, Ubuntu, nVidia, Oracle and Google have all contributed and all offer propriety products and solutions.   (SuSE has a licensing deal with Microsoft as well, great way to get funded i guess). 

I would assume open sourcing ALAC is probably one of the first step to open source h.264, which is another codec that isn't actively requiring folks to license, but not exactly open source.

[Æ]

Ratso, have you been in an Apple store lately? I went to one yesterday at 4pm for the first time ever. There must have been 1,000 people there. Don't have any idea what they were all doing. Doesn't anyone work anymore?

Same thing here at my local Apple Store, Arden Fair Mall. I went in there early one morning, the mall was lifeless, quiet, but when I got to the Apple Store it was buzzing like a hive. Unfortunately most of the employees are new at it and often don't know diddle.

[cujobob]

They're paid next to nothing, it's pretty understandable honestly.