Slashdot Mirror

Who mod this as off topic? If there's a video, it should appear on Sci-Fi or GDC, or maybe as a (free) download on iTunes.

After all, that is set in the future.

Yep. It's obviously gotta be present day. Which means...

Pay no mind to this. It's just SG-1 at it again.

It's not just HD-DVD, Blue-Ray players will almost certainly do this, and the HD-TiVo that was show at CES in January does this as well. To be fair to Toshiba, the player doesn't force the down-rezing. The _disc_ tells the player to downrez for component. So it's up to the studios to descide if they want to use this feature. http://blog.scifi.com/tech/archives/toshiba_demos_ hd_dvd_confirms_downrez_issue.html

I have no mouth and I must Scream - Ellison

Sheesh! That's a story I'd prefer not to see on film. And not because it's a bad one.

Actually, the dogs are the real overlords.

Check out a story by Eric Russell (ca 1950) called "Into your tent I'll creep".
http://www.scifi.com/sfw/issue205/books2.html

The headline made me think of an old sierra game set in the the Earthsiege (WOO GIANT ROBOTS) universe: Misson Force: Cyberstorm (its abadonware, download here). I picked it up from a bargin bin about 2 years after it came out, one of the only turn-based games I've ever enjoyed. Probably not related, but then again the flunkie that came up with the name could well be a gamer.

There is only ONE computer that could possibly handle these calculations.

I know of another.

It can also turn you into a dehumanized blob, which is a nice bonus for those pesky tax evaders.

You might want to read: this scifi.com article before sprouting info on this. It seems that the "company" wants to do something good, but really haven't gotten any input from Joss yet.

Actually, that was about the last thing on my mind. What I was referring to was this past Friday's episode of Battlestar Galactica, where they miraculously "discover" a cure for a major character's cancer. It seemed pretty timely to me, but apparently the mods have no sense of humor. Go figure.

It's raining new shows on Sci-Fi, apparently.

From the lineup, you'd have to say it's raining 'something' at the Sci-Fi channel that starts with "sh". They really need to start focusing on quality over quantity. I understand the theory of throwing a bunch of shit at the wall and seeing what sticks, but this is getting ridiculous.

I read about this a couple of months ago, and never knew it about the time. Apparently after the got cancelled, they revealed what was going to happen: http://www.scifi.com/sfw/issue326/news.html

http://www.scifi.com/johndoe/

"AI will be developed when we unravel the secrets to intelligence or when we produce enormously fast computer simulated evolution, but it will not come about as a side effect of people surfing porn."

I think I read a story about that ship already.

I mean, I know he eventually turned out to be a physics genius, what with inventing time travel and all, but still... Can you imagine 12 channels of Brady Kids music in coach? *shudder*

BSG has been renewed for a 3rd season. For some reason it appears as though the originating press release has been pulled from Sci-Fi's website.

Season 2.5 of BSG begins on January 6

BSG has been renewed for a 3rd season. For some reason it appears as though the originating press release has been pulled from Sci-Fi's website.

Season 2.5 of BSG begins on January 6

I'm a smoker, what's so negative about tobacco?

But seriously, on Ron Moore's(BSG's producer) blog someone asks him about the smoking doctor amongs other things and he says that it's his personal FU to the anti tobacco lobby.

I must say I'm a fan of that.

""I love the smoking doctor! Does he have a name? Isn't sickbay a little small considering the size of Galactica?"

I love the doctor too. The character's name is Major Cottle and I think we're only seeing one part of one Sickbay on the ship. It's worth keeping in mind that while Galactica is an enormous ship and was built to be manned by a very large crew, that she had only a skeleton complement on board at the time of the Cylon attack. That explains in large part why we see so few officers and why people like Kara are pressed into service in roles other than their primary one. There are probably several (unused) Pilot Ready Rooms aboard Galactica and possibly other Sickbay facilities as well. Dr. Cottle is our only physician onboard, but if she were fully staffed, Galactica would probably have a large medical staff and would have a sizable hospital facility.

"Why does the doctor smoke?"

Because smoking is cool. Don't let anyone tell you different, kid.

Seriously, we're showing people doing what people really do and not all of their choices are smart ones. We smoke, we drink, we have sex with the wrong partners -- we make lots of bad choices and some of them we do knowingly and in full cognizance of the risks and consequences. Dr. Cottle obviously knows the risks associated with smoking and he elects to do it anyway -- that's his choice.

I'm also frankly tired of all the anti-smoking p.c. crap that we're bombarded with these days and I decided that this was a world without all that. Call it my one sop to the idea of an idealized society, the notion that adults can make informed choices and not be nagged to death or run out of public spaces for making choices that others may not like or agree with."

http://blog.scifi.com/battlestar/archives/2005/02/ index.html

There was alot of press and public fervor about it, but the studies weren't complete yet. Well, the law was passed, and then the studies completed about 6 months later. The scientific studies concluded that while use of a cell phone in a car was somewhat distracting, it was only marginally more distracting than other legal in-car activites such as tuning the radio or talking to a passenger.

I think you mean Goa'uld?
http://www.scifi.com/stargate

In vitro meat is cool but it is much older than cyberpunk. C.M. Kornbluth and Frederick Pohl wrote a book in 1953 called "The Space Merchants" where corporations run the world and people are manipulated by constant advertising (Lucky we dodged that possible future, huh?). Anyway, one of the products that plays a role in the story is "Chicken Little" a chicken substitute made from a slab of tissue grown in a vat.

Here is a website with a summary

And a relevant quote from near the bottom of the summary/article:

One of the great, classic images of this book is Chicken Little--a neatly packaged, popular meat product that's actually a gigantic, living mass of vat-grown tissue fed and processed at the Chlorella plantation.

Could you please clarify the difference between clicking on a link to an MP3 file and a Podcast? I'm serious, this piece of technology has slipped by me and I really don't know what a "podcast" is.

For example, SciFi has some Battelstar Galactica "podcasts" here:

http://www.scifi.com/battlestar/downloads/podcast/

But they are just MP3 files. They do have a nice link about "learn more about podcasts" that I just read, and I guess what it amounts to is to turn an MP3 file into a "podcast" you need a special piece of software that goes and checks for updated MP3 files from time to time? They mention an "RSS" feed? This is something else I've never used.

Could someone tell me more about Podcasts? Thanks.

Steve

ummm...soylent green? http://www.scifi.com/sfw/issue55/classic.html

Maybe that's why Threshold has been cancelled, so as not to alarm the public. Maybe its already happened...

In regards to NBC including commercials, SciFiWire says:

"NBC's commercial-free deal with DirecTV will cover not only NBC shows such as the Law & Order series, but also a few shows on its cable networks, including USA Network."

(That includes NBC Universal-owned SCI FI Channel's Battlestar Galactica.)

Also note that it says commercial-free in there, as it does in the originally posted article.

You can increase surface gravity by increasing the moon/planet's density.
Have a look at Why Crush the Moon? - Wil MacCarthy.

I've heard that Battlestar Galactica rocks but I'm hesitant to spend the money on the whole season or whatever is out now [...]
I would love to go to the store and purchase a "1st episodes" DVD of TV shows that are already out.

Science fiction made its broadcast debut long before television. Hundreds of shows have been preserved, largely by the fan community, which thrives now more than ever thanks to mp3s and the Internet. Many shows were scripted by the classic sci-fi authors of the day, or were dramatizations of their published stories. Some are way better than TV.

Related article on sci-fi.com

A few of the many sci-fi/weirdness shows:

2000 Plus
2000 X
Atom Man
Beyond Our Ken
Beyond Midnight
Beyond Tomorrow
Buck Rogers
Ceiling Unlimited
Dark Fantasy
Dimension X
Exploring Tomorrow
The Fifth Horseman
Hall of Fantasy
Inner Sanctum
Journey Into Space
Orbit One Zero
Planet Man
Space Patrol
The Strange Dr. Weird
Superman
Tom Corbett, Space Cadet
The Unexpected
Weird Circle
Witch's Tale

Dood ... they missed one of the very best skiffy shows EVAR, Kolchak: The Night Stalker . X-Files creator Chris Carter cites Kolchak as key inspiration ... run down the five-DVD set, turn off the lights, and prepare to be creeped out, starting with the scariest theme song in the history of TV.

These are my favorite in no particular order:
Quantum Leap, Star Trek: Next Generation, Stargate SG-1, Battlestar Galactica (2004), Andromeda, and Tripping the Rift

These are my favorite in no particular order:
Quantum Leap, Star Trek: Next Generation, Stargate SG-1, Battlestar Galactica (2004), Andromeda, and Tripping the Rift

I also think it's mysterious that the star of Andromeda (Kevin Sorbo) signed on when SciFi brought it back. http://www.scifi.com/andromeda/

an unlimited supply of Xena tapes

F*ck that, Xena's a Cylon!

It was actually a Pigs In Space episode, where Ms. Piggy accidentially pushes the "Death Ray" button and Beeker gets toasted.

I don't know that many people are concerned about comets per se;

The Sci Fi Wire has an article up about it right now:

Myst Developer Closes Doors

It claims that it could theoretically reopen in the future, but don't hold your breath.

The Screwfly Solution
 
My favourite quote: "Man's religion and metaphysics are the voices of his glands" (in turn a quote within the story).
 
More to the point: behavioural changes caused by parasites are more likely to become part of the "common understanding" of a whole culture, the invisible backgroud radiation, as it were - and less that of individuals freaking out a la "body snatchers".
 
The really successful parasites, that is.
 
To take it to an extreme, you could argue that the factoid presented by Blue Stone [(582566) on 2005.09.03 23:44 (#13473066)] above might be connected with religious rituals, more specifically those of Christening or "rebirth" in Christianity. Why did you decide to immerse yourself in water? "It's just a ritual", "God told me to do it", or "actually, my desires are being influenced by parasites in my brain" - who can honestly tell the difference, from the inside?
 
N.b.: this only becomes really scary if the parasites infect only part of a population. As long as we're all on the same high, "weeeee" is the word.
 
/doffs tin-foil hat

Ron Moore of Battlestar Galactica said on his blog that with Star Trek: Enterprise cancelled and no plans on any future series or movies, that Star Trek had returned once more to its fans. I can understand now what he meant. Back when TOS was cancelled, fan run magazines popped up with fan fiction. Now, in the 21st century, the same thing is happening, only it's changed along with the technology we now have access to. And I can't think of any better hands for Star Trek to be in at the moment, then its fans.

What I want to know is how long will it be before we start seeing holographic ads in the sky and all around us (airvertising)? Not sure I like where this is going. Soon we will have to don anti airvertising goggles to block out the ads a la Steven Utley's 'The Real World' http://www.scifi.com/scifiction/originals/original s_archive/utley/utley3.html. Here we go....

Is it like one of these toasters?

Damn... now we know how the cylon virus worked...

-David

Not too long ago, I caught the tail end of a programme on sex dolls on Australian SBS. It seemed largely concerned with sex dolls (Abyss Creations featured heavily), but also showed various sex machines. A man selling robotic body parts (head and hips respectively, both with orifices in suitable places) interviewed at some 'Adult Entertainment' expo, claimed that androids was a question of when, not if, and also that he fully expected to be selling them in the not-too-distant future. And I don't know whether he'd be that wrong considering how the porn industry seems to driving all sorts of developments these days: VHS rather than Betamax; chat rooms; jpeg; secure payment over the net ...

I remember watching this programme thinking that Battlestar Galactica got it wrong: that blonde chick came first.

Im surprised no one mentioned Sci-Fi Channels site section called 'Seeing Ear Theatre' with Fantasy and SciFi stuff for listening, granted its online listening but you can rip it and have a LOT to listen to. Ranging from humour to serious, drama to horror, campy to chilling...

http://www.scifi.com/set

This being /. I thought SOMEONE would have mentioned this resource.

Wow! Talking about the Six Million Dollar Man!

But how to soften the financial blow those things are bound to cause.

I can just imagine...

Oh! Better yet...

Hey, just some suggestions. Those are tax dollars. We should have some say how they are used. Right?

Battlestar Galactica PodCast

As well as David Eick's Video Blog:

David Eick's Video Blog

I'll listen to them later so I don't ruin the seaswon opener tonight!

Battlestar Galactica PodCast

As well as David Eick's Video Blog:

David Eick's Video Blog

I'll listen to them later so I don't ruin the seaswon opener tonight!

Oooh, modpoints for using a bullshit buzzword! Why not just call it what it really is, an MP3?

Battlestar Galactica Episode 201 Commentary
- Listen to Executive Producer Ronald D. Moore's commentary while watching the Battlestar Galactica episode.

http://www.scifi.com/battlestar/downloads/podcast/ mp3/201/bsg_ep201_FULL.mp3

is also available... This is a full length commentary you can download to your mp3 player and listen to while you watch the episode. pretty cool, this is the kind of stuff usually reserved for DVD boxsets

Also, don't forget the Podcast of commentary that is available for the episode.

08:00 PM STARGATE SG-1 (SEASON 9) AVALON - PT 1
09:00 PM STARGATE ATLANTIS (SEASON 2) THE SIEGE - PT 3
10:00 PM BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (SEASON 2) SCATTERED

11:00 PM STARGATE SG-1 (SEASON 9) AVALON - PT 1
12:00 AM STARGATE ATLANTIS (SEASON 2) THE SIEGE - PT 3
01:00 AM BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (SEASON 2) SCATTERED

Man, you really are dense. Seriously, you guys shouldn't even mention the film until you understand the subplot of mecha in the movie. It seems the greatest critics of this movie are people who seriously don't get the ending (it was a horrible ending, but certainly had continuity).

Referred to as "superrobots":
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0212720/trivia

Spielberg on the super-mecha

Ian Watson who worked with Stanley Kubrick on AI's story:
And as for sentimental, well, at the end of his perfect day David is alone without his mother for ever and ever in a universe which contains no other life, only the evolved Mecha (robots, not visiting aliens!) who can only study the traces and leftovers of extinct human life.
Watson Interview

Yet another interview on the ending:
Kubrick Collaborator Jan Harlan