I’ve done a bunch of testing over the years including a similar test of ‘can people hear mp3 compression’ as well as comparison of mp3 variable bit rate qualities.
In practice, on average playback equipment (by which I mean decent hifi) in an average listening environment most people can’t tell the difference.
But… I’ve also done blind testing with a top mastering engineer on studio speakers and he was able to identifying 48 vs 192 reliably.
Mastering quality was ruined by the battle for perceived loudness. So masters with decent degrees of dynamic range is definitely helpful.
On the other hand, I visited a friend's recording studio in my prime listening years and remember being blown away when they played me some recording masters that were 24 bit/192 kHz. This was just one raw, uncompressed bit stream versus another. It was the first and only time I had felt that a straight up stereo speaker reproduction was completely transparent, like the performers must actually be there somehow in that acoustic space.
I've heard things get close using regular CD audio with some umpteen-channel DSP effects, but nothing like that from two speakers and a straight playback with no effects processing.
I've also had a binaural headset demo get really really close. I imagine it could be better, but this was for some generic model, not anything that is tuned to your own personal ear shape etc.
Cambridge University library have digitised hundreds of rare steel punches cut for John Baskerville in the 18th century and made them freely available online
Love this! One piece of UI feedback - on mobile particularly I often found it very difficult to access the departure timetable once I'd arrived at a station. I walked to Bercy Seine in Paris (so I could try and find a bus out) - but even when I had arrived I couldn't trigger the departure timetable....
One of the best constraints of the TV show is the limited budget (along with the lack of mobile phone). It's frequently the case that teams panic spend in order stay ahead, but are hurt by those decisions later in the race.
Over the series people have also developed strategies within those constraints - so it's quite frequent to see teams earning money in the penultimate leg and taking the time hit in order to splash out in the final leg.
It's a great show if you're able to get hold of it.
I like that idea in concept - I’ve often felt similarly about budgeting apps. Many of them feel targeted either at low income / high debt people (who need strict control to manage their way out), or at people who have a strong interest in optimising their finances.
I’m trying to find a middle ground though I think. I’m not strongly acquisitive - but want to be sensible about my finances. There needs to be a purpose to tracking and allocating - so I’d want intelligent prompting (e.g “you could easily move £x to a higher rate account each month and maintain a balance that will meet your outgoings”), as well as answering my own queries. I’ve seen that promise in other products - but it’s nearly always in a free product that uses those prompts to sell you financial products. I’d personally much rather pay for impartiality.
To my mind, the main purpose of the tracking is to quickly answer the question "am I overspending".
I can definitely see that quickly extending to "what do I do with my money" though.
The point about impartiality definitely resonates - this was always something I found distasteful when Mint was still around (RIP).
This has just had a major update to include other renewables (eg hydro, solar) as well as non-renewable energy sources (gas).
It’s also added grid boundaries and cabling recently - and I think there’s also wind roses planned?
My one UI wish - the energy sources filters are currently displayed as options on the map - rather than controls for the entire UI - which meant I missed them entirely at first. Would be great if they could be given more prominence.
Definitely wind roses planned, I posted about them on my LinkedIn page if anyone is curious (linked on the main map).
That's a great point about the controls. Originally the map only showed wind farms and as I've expanded the features the control system (and really the entire UX) hasn't kept up. I need to sit down and have a proper think about how best to design the controls and documentation.
Ah yeah the FAQ is very out of date and in need of a full rewrite. I'll get to that eventually. And you're right, I'll make sure to add some sort of glossary and perhaps also explain things better in-situ.
I suspect this may be driven by subscription consequences. In the UK consumer rights mean that you're able to cancel a subscription commitment if the offering is materially changed. I used this in the past when Adobe withdrew a product to cancel an annual license I no longer needed mid-term.
Making a zombie product probably has a lower impact on their revenues.
In practice, on average playback equipment (by which I mean decent hifi) in an average listening environment most people can’t tell the difference.
But… I’ve also done blind testing with a top mastering engineer on studio speakers and he was able to identifying 48 vs 192 reliably.
Mastering quality was ruined by the battle for perceived loudness. So masters with decent degrees of dynamic range is definitely helpful.
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