Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

The End of Headphone Jacks, the Rise of DRM

eff.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

191–200 of 350 posts

Re: The End of Headphone Jacks, the Rise of DRM

#191

Post by taigeair »

_ph_ wrote: post #189
AceJohnny2 wrote: post #178

> When you plug an audio cable into a smartphone, it just works. No, hardware-wise you're still going through a DAC, and the complex audio subsystem of the OS is still deciding, upon receiving the connection signal, to re-route the application audio through that headphone DAC. Or not. Jack or Lightning doesn't change this. > Apple can choose which manufacturers get to create Lightning-compatible audio devices. Sure.…

And it is worth noting that Apple was rather pushing the record industry to go off DRM and they finally succeeded in it.

Also people wouldn't buy their products if they forced DRM. Apple likes money.

Re: The End of Headphone Jacks, the Rise of DRM

#192

Post by natch »

X86BSD wrote: post #143

Interesting. All the whining and crying over a stupid headphone jack. It's almost like the complainers had their genitalia caught in their zippers. Why is everyone cooking up all these reasons for Apple nuking the stereo jack? Apple told you the reason. Where is all the distrust coming from that the complainers don't buy that reason? Space in that phone is at a premium. And nothing they said about the headphone jack…

I'm also tired of the haters. But the gratuitous crassness of this comment is a bit too much. There's no need for it.

A better approach would be addressing Cory Doctorow and the EFF's point directly by pointing out that the converter cable exists and comes with all new phones. And that when it comes to audio, Apple doesn't tend to deliver bad cables or low quality DACs.

Re: The End of Headphone Jacks, the Rise of DRM

#193

Post by jtrip »

_ph_ wrote: post #189
AceJohnny2 wrote: post #178

> When you plug an audio cable into a smartphone, it just works. No, hardware-wise you're still going through a DAC, and the complex audio subsystem of the OS is still deciding, upon receiving the connection signal, to re-route the application audio through that headphone DAC. Or not. Jack or Lightning doesn't change this. > Apple can choose which manufacturers get to create Lightning-compatible audio devices. Sure.…

And it is worth noting that Apple was rather pushing the record industry to go off DRM and they finally succeeded in it.

How did they succeed?

Re: The End of Headphone Jacks, the Rise of DRM

#195

Post by AndrewKemendo »

jrowley wrote: post #76
sigmar wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>why is that any different than the OS influencing what gets sent to the 3.5mm jack? Their issue seems to be that it is not analog. The lightening port and bluetooth connection are two-way data connections, and the phone will be able to identify what is attached (rather than just outputing an analog signal). Here's the quotes that make that clear- > But intentionally or not, by removing the analog port, Apple is givi…

Yeah, I'm imagining some scenario where say Spotify partners with Bose, and if you plug in Bose headphones then you get higher quality audio than you can get elsewhere. Or say tidal (Jay Z's streaming service) says you can only listen to some songs via Kanye's new headphones.

That's actually really interesting. Especially as everything is moving toward personalization. If you have a set of headphones that have a unique ID tied to you, the artist could even intro a song with your name - or in the future procedurally generated music could substitute a reference to your city into a song.

Re: The End of Headphone Jacks, the Rise of DRM

#196

Post by jshevek »

bitwize wrote: post #103
frandroid wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> How many times will it take you forgetting your dongle to just pony up and buy the apple approved headphones? Or do like I would do, which is buy an Android phone. I mean they only have 88% market share, how long will _they_ be around?

When Apple removed the floppy drive, CD drive, and ports older than USB, everyone else followed. What do you think is going to happen to Android phones' headphone jacks?

The headphone jack was already destined to be replaced by USB type-c on many (not all) portable devices. Apple's move may change the time line, but does not change this fact.

Re: The End of Headphone Jacks, the Rise of DRM

#197

Post by jshevek »

jellicle wrote: post #179
bitwize wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When Apple removed the floppy drive, CD drive, and ports older than USB, everyone else followed. What do you think is going to happen to Android phones' headphone jacks?

Nothing. The question is, who is going to win: the legion of teenagers and young adults who listen to audio via the headphone jack, or device makers? (It's the legion.) If you had a replacement that was better - cheaper, less of an annoyance than $5 headphones plugged into a cheap phone - then you might win. But the proposed replacement is superexpensive, battery-powered wireless headphones. When the no-strain-relief…

I would happily buy a phone with two type c ports which could detect and use analog headphones using pins on the type c plug for their analog signal.

Re: The End of Headphone Jacks, the Rise of DRM

#198

Post by sigmar »

dogma1138 wrote: post #168
sigmar wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The dongle: probably has a poor quality DAC, gets lost easily, and prevents the phone from being charged or tethered to a computer.

The dongle is a passive converter the lightning interface has a pinout for analog audio.

Do you have a source saying that the analog over lightning is being used here? Because the slide I posted in my other reply says it is "digital audio" over lightning, which I assume to be true for both lightning earpods and this adapter (though I very well could be wrong).

Re: The End of Headphone Jacks, the Rise of DRM

#199

Post by ricksplat »

jtrip wrote: post #193
_ph_ wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And it is worth noting that Apple was rather pushing the record industry to go off DRM and they finally succeeded in it.

How did they succeed?

By demonstrating they could make money without it. When nobody else could.

Re: The End of Headphone Jacks, the Rise of DRM

#200

Post by mcpherrinm »

jtrip wrote: post #193
_ph_ wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And it is worth noting that Apple was rather pushing the record industry to go off DRM and they finally succeeded in it.

How did they succeed?

Rumour is, Amazon threatened to stop selling CDs for record companies who wouldn't let them sell DRM-free MP3 files. Certainly they used their massive sales presence to negotiate a deal with the record companies.

I think that was the major tipping point for DRM on music. Apple followed after that.

Post reply on HN