The Null Device

Posts matching tags 'cddb'

2004/5/12

Fact 1: If you write a CD-RW in packet mode (i.e., if you set it up so that you can write files to it one at a time, rather than burn disc images to it), it is formatted as one long track, and data is somehow written into the middle of this track. Which means that if you put it into a CD player or other device, it sees a disc with one data track of 74 or so minutes' length.

Fact 2: computer-based CD playing/ripping software recognises track titles by matching a profile of track lengths against a large database of titles, artists and track listings. This occasionally comes up with collisions, especially for singles or 1-track CDs. Which can be briefly amusing when it mistakes your favourite band's latest single for a European boy band or a rap-metal action-movie tie-in from 5 years ago or something odd like that.

Conclusion: When it looks at FreeDB, Grip recognises a formatted Verbatim CDRW as "Mi maletn", by the well-known artist "Windows XP".

Oddly enough, one can imagine that in a decade or two's time, there may well be a European retro-pop band named Windows XP. Whether their albums clock in at one 74-minute track is another question altogether.

cd-rw cddb freedb tech trivia windows windows xp 0

2002/10/7

When the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra sent out a promotional CD recently, they were horrified to discover the song titles replaced by pornographic descriptions of sex acts. It appears that this occurred when some helpful volunteer uploaded their version of the track listing to commercial CD database cddb.com. Yes, the same cddb.com which took a free, volunteer-collected database, fenced it off and locked out free clients, and which relies on unpaid submissions from users to build up its proprietary database. As they say, if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.

Apparently the New Zealand police are looking into it, and various parties are crying "hacking" and looking for someone to prosecute. Is it a crime to volunteer incorrect data to cddb.com?

cddb gracenote new zealand porn pranks sex 2

2001/3/10

Scumbags in action: Remember CDDB? The free online database of CD track listings assembled by volunteers from all over the Net, that was bought by some company who promptly declared it proprietary information? Well, now they have blocked "unlicensed" applications from accessing it. What does an application have to do to be licensed? Well, it needs to show ads for CDDB, prohibit the use of any other CD databases, and not allow the data to be exported to other applications. The Slashdot thread is here.

cddb corporatism gracenote skulduggery 0

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