New and Noteworthy: Report on the relative quality of AAC compared to MP3; Apple offers "Early Bird" Workshops at WW

Report on the relative quality of AAC compared to MP3 A Record Store review rates the AAC audio format, used by Apple's new iTunes music store, in comparison to the MP3 format. The conclusion "On the whole, there weren't any surprises. My observations echo what most people have said about AAC vs. MP3. AAC is higher quality at the same bit rate, so you can use a smaller file to achieve the same quality as MP3 which is a good thing for portable and computer users. Ultimately, both formats still sound pretty bad in their practical ranges compared to CD. I didn't test 256 or 320 kbps because it's impractical for most users to use these encodings. The Apple Music Store for example uses 128 kbps, and if you have room for 320 kbps and you care about sound that much you'll probably use AIFF or just play the CDs themselves." More.

Apple offers "Early Bird" Workshops at WWDCApple has announced that it will offer WWDC attendees the opportunity to attend Early Bird workshops at no additional charge on Sunday, June 22. Apple engineers and third party specialists will conduct these "first-come, first-served" hands-on sessions. Attendees will be presented with the opportunity to implement the featured technologies at dedicated workstations provided during the workshops. More.

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