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Is that interlaced, or could this do the 480 progressive (480p) display that DVD is capable of? You'd still have to match it with a DVD player that can output 480p (not many - the Toshiba 5109 comes to mind).

The resolution on the 800 x 640 model is actually 832 (H) x 624 (V), and it's the 'PC Glasstron, PLM-S700'. It also says that it's equivalent to 'only' a 30" screen approximately 6 feet ahead (different from the 52" mentioned in the cheaper, low-res version). Good news - it's got composite video in, woo-hoo!

The problem here is - the TV I want to match up to a Toshiba 5109 is the Toshiba Cinema series 36" TV - 6" larger than the 'apparent' size of this thing, plus the TV is about $600 cheaper. Of course, I'll also be sitting more than 6' away from the TV. :) Then again, this ain't much good for when company comes over. *sigh*

Decisions, decisions.

To check out the expensive version, check this URL .

Sorry, the right link is here.

There is another version which can be used on your computer, creating a high-resolution, virtual 30-inch image. It has VGA/SVGA input capability, but unfortuantely, this version costs $2599.00, which is a little bit expensive in my opinion.

If anyone can find more information on this product such as max. resolution, and number colors, please share it with us.

You can find this computer version here.

The new version (in Japan only) has an 8 gig drive, as opposed to the 4 gig in the present picturebook.

Here is a link to the sony page. Not much bigger than a Newton 2000/2100, smaller than the Newton and keyboard.

Mine does, if I want it to. It's a Sony SA3ES.

Ok.. seeing as how this thread is dead, this is really for the benefit of tc and anyone who might happen to see this some time in the future.

The game segement (including pc and ps) is far less then 50%. In fact it makes up only a little less than 7% of Sony's income. Check out their quarterly report.

Let me begin by pointing you to the Fundam entals page for Sony on CBS Marketwatch. Sony is currently valued by the market at around $110 billion -- this is the market capitalization. There are, according to this page, 411 million shares outstanding. Over the last 200 trading days, an average of 205,100 shares have been traded each day, or 4/100ths of 1 percent of the shares.

I compared this stock to General Electric, which is another extremely large, established company. In spite of the fact that General Electric is worth about 4 times as much as Sony (comparing market caps), 3 times as many shares in GE as a percentage of its total number of shares outstanding trade each day.

This means that GE is much more liquid (easy to trade) than Sony. That is potentially a good reason to split Sony stock, because the easier it is to buy or sell a stock, the less wildly the price tends to swing. Liquidity is considered a good thing by institutional investors and people who trade stocks for a living. By contrast, lack of liquidity is the reason that Internet companies move up and down fairly violently on a daily basis.

The reason that some stock market newcomers think stock splits are indicators that the company is moving boldly is that recently, many companies that have announced splits have seen their stock prices soar immediately afterward. This initially happened with Internet-related companies like Amazo n.com, but it has gotten really out of hand lately, with companies like Qualc omm.

Stock splits are really market neutral events. If a stock is at 100 the day before the split, and it splits 2-for-1, it's value at the open should be 50. I say "should be" because a stock often does not open at exactly the same price as it closes, so if there is a 2-for-1 split, the stock should open at around half the price of the close the previous day.

This brings us to another fallacy in the article. It says that a stock split is a "financial maneuver that is a risky move". The stock that traded for 100 per share yesterday was not issued by the company yesterday -- it was issued at some time in the past. The trade at 100 that took place yesterday was between two participants in the stock market who (probably) had no relationship to the company.

So, when the stock opens at 50 on the next day, after splitting two for one, not only did the people who traded the stock not lose anything (since they automatically have 2x the number of shares), but the company did not lose anything since they did not own the stock that was traded yesterday. Of course, any stock that the company is holding on its balance sheet (generally called treasury shares) did not increase or decrease in value, since the number of shares doubled while the price was cut in half.

I could go on with this analysis all night, but let me jump to the end of the Daily Radar article. The author makes the statement:

The company is building its entire product line around the PlayStation2. If the console fails, Sony's entire market plan will be lost.

All I can say about this is that he must mean that the company is building its entire video game console product line around PlayStation2. Sony does a lot more than produce game consoles. In addition to its video game console business, it owns 11 different recording labels, a TV and movie production business which produces such insignificant products as the TV series Dawson's Creek, and Sony Electronics which makes everything from chips to Jumbotrons.

That's why the company is worth over $110 billion, and that's just a few reasons why this article is so humorous to people who enjoy analyzing businesses and buying small pieces of them.

--

Dave Aiello

Let me begin by pointing you to the Fundam entals page for Sony on CBS Marketwatch. Sony is currently valued by the market at around $110 billion -- this is the market capitalization. There are, according to this page, 411 million shares outstanding. Over the last 200 trading days, an average of 205,100 shares have been traded each day, or 4/100ths of 1 percent of the shares.

I compared this stock to General Electric, which is another extremely large, established company. In spite of the fact that General Electric is worth about 4 times as much as Sony (comparing market caps), 3 times as many shares in GE as a percentage of its total number of shares outstanding trade each day.

This means that GE is much more liquid (easy to trade) than Sony. That is potentially a good reason to split Sony stock, because the easier it is to buy or sell a stock, the less wildly the price tends to swing. Liquidity is considered a good thing by institutional investors and people who trade stocks for a living. By contrast, lack of liquidity is the reason that Internet companies move up and down fairly violently on a daily basis.

The reason that some stock market newcomers think stock splits are indicators that the company is moving boldly is that recently, many companies that have announced splits have seen their stock prices soar immediately afterward. This initially happened with Internet-related companies like Amazo n.com, but it has gotten really out of hand lately, with companies like Qualc omm.

Stock splits are really market neutral events. If a stock is at 100 the day before the split, and it splits 2-for-1, it's value at the open should be 50. I say "should be" because a stock often does not open at exactly the same price as it closes, so if there is a 2-for-1 split, the stock should open at around half the price of the close the previous day.

This brings us to another fallacy in the article. It says that a stock split is a "financial maneuver that is a risky move". The stock that traded for 100 per share yesterday was not issued by the company yesterday -- it was issued at some time in the past. The trade at 100 that took place yesterday was between two participants in the stock market who (probably) had no relationship to the company.

So, when the stock opens at 50 on the next day, after splitting two for one, not only did the people who traded the stock not lose anything (since they automatically have 2x the number of shares), but the company did not lose anything since they did not own the stock that was traded yesterday. Of course, any stock that the company is holding on its balance sheet (generally called treasury shares) did not increase or decrease in value, since the number of shares doubled while the price was cut in half.

I could go on with this analysis all night, but let me jump to the end of the Daily Radar article. The author makes the statement:

The company is building its entire product line around the PlayStation2. If the console fails, Sony's entire market plan will be lost.

All I can say about this is that he must mean that the company is building its entire video game console product line around PlayStation2. Sony does a lot more than produce game consoles. In addition to its video game console business, it owns 11 different recording labels, a TV and movie production business which produces such insignificant products as the TV series Dawson's Creek, and Sony Electronics which makes everything from chips to Jumbotrons.

That's why the company is worth over $110 billion, and that's just a few reasons why this article is so humorous to people who enjoy analyzing businesses and buying small pieces of them.

--

Dave Aiello

In the video world, Firewire is available in almost every cool DV camcorders, including the Sony VX-1000, the most used DV camcorder for broadcast uses (interviewing people living in trees, or for use in Kosovo without sticking out like a BetaCam would).

If the human genome project succeeds, most of these concerns will rendered moot. The goal of the project isn't just to map the human genetic code, but also to make the sequence totally and freely accessible to all. That would essentially remove the concerns regarding proprietary information and its use for purely financial gain.

Humanity will have a struggle, but with equal access for all, I doubt it will be the horror story some imagine it to be. Our society will not become anything like what is portrayed in the movie "Gattaca" , although some aspects of the technology portrayed in that movie will indeed pop up.

I think I can safely say that we all value our privacy a great deal. I just can't see the day when everyone will be so brain-dead that that isn't so. Some might argue that things are already becoming that way, but I see the opposite. I see privacy becoming a larger issue the more technology advances, not smaller.

Straight from their mouth...

What is VAIO?

Is this going to be another formats war?

Sony has the rival format Super Audio CD which claims to "produce nothing less than a quantum leap in music resolution." Yeah, right, but at least it is available now.

However, Sony's argument for this format does not excite me:

What are the benefits of SACD?
In addition to exceptional sound quality through the DSD system, the SACD format can accommodate more than four times the information of the current CD format. With this extra capacity, a standard Super Audio CD will provide space for 2-channel stereo data, as well as an area for up to 6-track multi-channel data, storage capacity for text and images, disc variations, copyright protection and much more.

Sony SACD FAQ

I read this a "copyright protection and maybe something else if we can think of it, perhaps". It does not seem like a compelling argument, and it certainly does not seem like we need two different formats for this.

Any chance that Audio DVD will silently die now?

Is this going to be another formats war?

Sony has the rival format Super Audio CD which claims to "produce nothing less than a quantum leap in music resolution." Yeah, right, but at least it is available now.

However, Sony's argument for this format does not excite me:

What are the benefits of SACD?
In addition to exceptional sound quality through the DSD system, the SACD format can accommodate more than four times the information of the current CD format. With this extra capacity, a standard Super Audio CD will provide space for 2-channel stereo data, as well as an area for up to 6-track multi-channel data, storage capacity for text and images, disc variations, copyright protection and much more.

Sony SACD FAQ

I read this a "copyright protection and maybe something else if we can think of it, perhaps". It does not seem like a compelling argument, and it certainly does not seem like we need two different formats for this.

Any chance that Audio DVD will silently die now?

Is this going to be another formats war?

Sony has the rival format Super Audio CD which claims to "produce nothing less than a quantum leap in music resolution." Yeah, right, but at least it is available now.

However, Sony's argument for this format does not excite me:

What are the benefits of SACD?
In addition to exceptional sound quality through the DSD system, the SACD format can accommodate more than four times the information of the current CD format. With this extra capacity, a standard Super Audio CD will provide space for 2-channel stereo data, as well as an area for up to 6-track multi-channel data, storage capacity for text and images, disc variations, copyright protection and much more.

Sony SACD FAQ

I read this a "copyright protection and maybe something else if we can think of it, perhaps". It does not seem like a compelling argument, and it certainly does not seem like we need two different formats for this.

Any chance that Audio DVD will silently die now?

Sony already has a device that fits your description. The PC Glasstron has a flip up shutter for when you want to see where you're heading. Resolution isn't great, but it is 1st generation product after all.

Sony already has a device that fits your description. The PC Glasstron has a flip up shutter for when you want to see where you're heading. Resolution isn't great, but it is 1st generation product after all.

More RAM! Sony Viao A decent toolkit Free Dirt Intelligent callers The AOL'er who tried to use his leet ping flood on me strung up by his eyebrows A trenchcoat, for those cold Vegas nights A girlfriend, for said nights (and days) GeForce 256 w/DDR ram Sony Music Clip Cessna 182 RG (w/onboard GPS) Private pilot's license to fly said aircraft 1 unopened can of Spam An Aibo. PSX2 (on pre-order of course) Flight of The Old Dog, by Dale Brown. T-3 line Barring that, a loop length small enough to get ADSL. A 3 story tall bottle of Diet Coke An Otaku Wars! thread by Lord Xarph that's understood. Sony Walkman MS 2 Shrodinger's Cats. A Palm III w/Don't Panic! emblazoned on the cover. And finally... A LIFE.

The Sony Aibo also has programable 'personality', though it is not as admittedtly functional as mindstorms, it does more with less effort put into it.

Yeah, how long until we start oppressing all the ones who dont have the power? Looks like a restructuring of society here.

Its getting to be the mythological "future," with robotic dogs for pets and new groundbreaking technology on a daily basis. The geeks finally have a loud voice. But that means its more difficult for the average person to recieve that status. I'm pretty sure most people dont have a computer, or access to a computer that is feasable (i'm not loading any stat programs for a /. post.) But now that we are in charge, lets try not to make the mistakes people of power have done in the past. Oh, wait.. too late for that, we already are.

How long until the "peasants rebellion?"
--------------------------------

After asking the guys at work (the Eudora software lab at Qualcomm has about 50 computers in it, and many KVM switches), I finally found the best switch: the 4 port MasterView Plus Switch from Aten.

It has an amazing resolution (1920 x 1440 @ 75Hz -- take a long look at the resolution/refresh rate of other switches), and drives my high-res monitor perfectly (the Belkin I borrowed from work forced me into 1280 x 1024, which is not why I paid US$1200 for my monitor; the display also seemed fuzzy, which sucked). It's a smart switch, meaning you can reboot a machine without having to switch to that machine (the keyboard/mouse are kept active, so the machine thinks it has what it needs). It does PS/2 and serial mice/keyboards, and the lights on front also tell you what machine you're using. Another very cool feature is that it will even keep the capslock/numlock/scroll lock status the same when you switch between machines.

And to top it all off it has the coolest accessory of any KVM switch ever: a stainless steel foot pedal switch. You'll really like this. If you are the type that uses keyboard shortcuts, you'll really impress your friends with the foot switch. Your hands never leave the keyboard. I've even got my Aten KVM switch tucked out of sight, and it doesn't bug me at all because I can hit the pedal when I need to switch. It's very cool.

Get the Aten, you'll like it a lot. It's fairly pricey (about US$250), but worth it.

-B

Then why is it that their online game, although written in Java, only works in Windows, because of the way it stores files? I've tried it in Linux and in MacOS. They don't respond to my emails. I love the game but I can't play it in Linux.

Specifically here

--Dan

Microsoft and Harmon remote

Sony RM-AV2000

Philips Pronto

I got a catalog a while ago called "Sony Xtras Direct" or something. They have a sweet-looking remote control with a huge LCD that they claim is "a programmable, teachable remote" that can "control up to 12 different items, including teaching it to recall multiple command sequences with a single touch." They have a website, http://www.sony.com/direct/, but I haven't looked for it there. The quoted price is $179.99. I would think it's worth looking into, given the one you're talking about it quite a bit more expensive.

I don't know about VAIO, but according to Sony's site, "The first two letters of the word AIBO stand for Artificial Intelligence. AIBO is also a robot with eyes, so you can think of it as an eye-bo(t). Finally, AIBO is also named after the Japanese word for "pal," because AIBO is a great companion for people." A bit contrived, but at least it's not an arbitrary number sequence. Besides, it sounds like a pet's name--perfect for the people they are marketing to.

Sony have a 24" widescreen monitor out. Similar height to a 21", but with a couple more inches on either side.

Info: The Sony Multiscan GDM-W900 24-inch Graphic Display

Nice, but it'd both kill my wallet and my desk :)

qube

• Titrax (hour tallying program)
• PocketMoney (keep track of my spending habits)
• Strip (secure storage of my passwords)
• Date Mate (make me remember birthdays!)
• DiddleBug (paint package)
• Nag Screen (really useful utility!)

Well I don't remember Beyond 2000 _promising_ us anything (I do miss that show though) but there have been many products over the years that brought Head Mounted Displays (HMDs) to the consumer marketplace (I'm not even going to get into scientific/educational HMDs here).

All of them have been plagued by motion sickness, dizyness, and eyestrain, not to mention, especially in the consumer marketplace, unrealistic expectations (chalk it up to hollywood and a populace ignorant of technology).

I figure my eyes have gotten bad enough I'm hoping for the full on cyber replacements but that's an even more off topic post.

Anyway, for the momment being my favorites are the Sony Glasstron's mentioned in the post above. Keep in mind there are two models, the Glasstron PLM-S700, which is capable of 800x600 resolution meant for computers, and the Glasstron PLM-A55, which does 800x225 and is meant for portable DVD playback personal widescreen style.

Sony's Pages are:
PLM-S700 PC Glasstron

PLM-A55: Silly bastards have them under camcorder accessories...

An excellent source I found for these and other HMDs is Mindflux though keep in mind prices there are in Austrailian Dollars.

And BTW, I remember a DOS program called Acidwarp that if you used a certain command line switch would dump out several pages of text intructions on how to build exactly this type of device for projecting it's visuals onto a wall.

There is nothing new in the world, only new implementations of old ideas, and newbies discovering the same old shit.

Well I don't remember Beyond 2000 _promising_ us anything (I do miss that show though) but there have been many products over the years that brought Head Mounted Displays (HMDs) to the consumer marketplace (I'm not even going to get into scientific/educational HMDs here).

All of them have been plagued by motion sickness, dizyness, and eyestrain, not to mention, especially in the consumer marketplace, unrealistic expectations (chalk it up to hollywood and a populace ignorant of technology).

I figure my eyes have gotten bad enough I'm hoping for the full on cyber replacements but that's an even more off topic post.

Anyway, for the momment being my favorites are the Sony Glasstron's mentioned in the post above. Keep in mind there are two models, the Glasstron PLM-S700, which is capable of 800x600 resolution meant for computers, and the Glasstron PLM-A55, which does 800x225 and is meant for portable DVD playback personal widescreen style.

Sony's Pages are:
PLM-S700 PC Glasstron

PLM-A55: Silly bastards have them under camcorder accessories...

An excellent source I found for these and other HMDs is Mindflux though keep in mind prices there are in Austrailian Dollars.

And BTW, I remember a DOS program called Acidwarp that if you used a certain command line switch would dump out several pages of text intructions on how to build exactly this type of device for projecting it's visuals onto a wall.

There is nothing new in the world, only new implementations of old ideas, and newbies discovering the same old shit.

Paranoia ?
In 3000, I'm dead so I'don't really care, but what I do care about is that robots can make life easier.
For example, take that little dog from SONY.
It just rocks, it is the same as a dog except you don't have to feed it and it does not leave "unwanted things" in your rooms :)
Go to the SONY website for this cute dog :)


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Belgium HyperBanner
http://belgium.hyperbanner.net

However, the thing does indeed look funny. It could be the possible love-child of a HP 712/60 and a component CD player .

So the company that makes the Super Slim VAIO is investing in the TiVo. It would be very cool to have the TiVo as slim as the VAIO. Will this technology and entertailment exchange with TiVo Sony's Computing Division to give us the VaTiVio?

Sony, the oft-forgotten codeveloper of IEEE 1394, markets its FireWire technology as iLink (since Apple owns the FireWire trademark). Most, if not all, Sony DV cams come with iLink, and most DV cams come with some form of 1394 capability. Check out 1394ta.org, Apple's FireWire Site, and Sony's site for more 1394 info and devices.

Remember, this is Sony we're talking about. They are far larger than Intel and I doubt they'll let a technology they helped develop just die. PSX2's going to have FireWire ports for external hard drives and stuff, I don't know about USB2. I doubt FireWire's going anywhere.

It's obvious to me...
kibblebytes are what AIBO eats.
--

But it still sounds funny that Sony's dog AIBO costs more ($2500) than the butler ($500).

Federico
:-D

Sony has the KL-W9000 monitor which looks awesome. I posted it here but I guess it wasn't as cool as all that Amiga vaporware. I have a question regarding LCDs I hope someone can answer it. I posted it through "Ask Slashdot" but i guess it wasn't that important either. Do images in LCDs get burned in, like in CRTs? I ask because I heard that if you have a 16:9 TV and only see 4:3 programs eventually you will notice the side bars in widescreen movies. Is any of this true?

PS2 is 100% backward compatible, so you can think of it as an 'upgrade' if you'd like...
Also, the N64 has a RAM expansion pack for enhanced textures.

I'm excited to see Passport... I believe (and obviously sega and sony do too) that there's a strong market for a Box that boots in 15 seconds and is always connected to the net. I tie my computer up with long renders on a regular basis, so having a cheap surfing machine would be great. A net connection also eliminates most of the PCs advantages in gaming - multiplayer, extra levels, updates. Next Generation has great coverage of these machines, such as this article about a Japanese Baseball game with a pay-per-use model. (The articles are usually more in depth than this one.) They could also charge for upgraded rosters, trades, etc. As far as resolution, I remember reading that either the Dreamcast or PS2 would have VGA out, which would be a blessing until I get my wega....

Sony has a nice looking system out that is extremely small. It's kind of pricey though.

click

But is this the same?
Because this is called Glasstron but is 25 hundred
not 9 hundred dollars. Strange to me.
picture

The URL I was referring to is http://www.sel.sony.com/SEL/consumer/ss5/home/camc order/camcorderaccessories /plm-a55_specs.shtml I must've put a typo in there somehow

Here we go:
http://www.sel.sony.com/SEL/consumer/ss5/portable/ camcorder/camcorderacc essories/plm-a55_specs.shtml
HELP! Slashdot is busted! The above link should NOT have as space in "plm-a55", and doesn't as I write it, but the preview has a space there. Get rid of that space, and send a nasty note to CmdrTaco.

The other Glasstrons, for computer use, are here:
http://www.ita.sel.sony.com/prod ucts/av/glasstron/
They have 832x624 resolution, and support HD15 as well as RCA inputs. However, they're $2600 as opposed to $800.

Here we go:
http://www.sel.sony.com/SEL/consumer/ss5/portable/ camcorder/camcorderacc essories/plm-a55_specs.shtml
HELP! Slashdot is busted! The above link should NOT have as space in "plm-a55", and doesn't as I write it, but the preview has a space there. Get rid of that space, and send a nasty note to CmdrTaco.

The other Glasstrons, for computer use, are here:
http://www.ita.sel.sony.com/prod ucts/av/glasstron/
They have 832x624 resolution, and support HD15 as well as RCA inputs. However, they're $2600 as opposed to $800.

If you check out the actual sony specs (at http://www.sel.sony.com/SEL/consumer/ss5/portable/ camcorder/camcorderacc essories/plm-a55_specs.shtml), you'll see that the actual resolution of each LCD is 800x255, on a .7" LCD. The input is a standard NTSC RCA plug, so I don't know how they fit the 4:3 aspect ratio into this resolution.

Another cool feature is the viewing mode adjustment. Apparently there's a shutter, so you can close it for movie viewing or such, and open it so you can also see what's going on IRL, which would be more appropriate for wearables-style apps.

Y'know, looking at the picture, doesn't this remind you a whole lot of the chick from Neuromancer, with the built-in silver sunglasses? Get these surgically implanted and you're set!

The page I'm looking at on sony's site says that the goggles are $2599.00.

I can't connect to the site listed on your message either.

The specs for these glasses say 'virtual 30" screen' and not 52", maybe these are two/three different sets of glasstrons... doesn't seem likely though.

As for the article saying that they'd be available in September...um, they're available right now. If I wanted to drop $900 + tax, I could have walked home with one yesterday. Metreon had about 20 in boxes.

One thing that wasn't mentioned is that the Glasstron demoed at PC Expo is only the low-end model. There is a second, higher-end (and much more expensive) Glasstron, the PLM-S700 PC. The PLM-S700 can do up to 832x624, and has a VGA connector in addition to the NTSC/PAL inputs. I haven't been able to take that one for a test drive, but the MSRP on it is $2600. You can see the specs on it at http://www.ita.sel.sony.com/produ cts/av/glasstron/.

The ZDNet article has an incorrect price for the goggles. The price as shown by Sony's page on the goggles, is $799.

Just thought I'd mention that.

Well, being the happy owner of a Sony 200-disc CD-changer, I'm waiting anxiously for their DVD-version to be released this fall. Of course, I don't know how good this player /really/ is, but I can't imagine it's possible to own this player and not be happy with it :)
--

Ah, this is a little off-topic, but an extremely small MD recorder would be good for you (perhaps, read on)

That is truely where MD shines - good hardware.
There is a lot of BAD ASS kit that is being released in japan. Go to http://www.minidisc.org to read up on the latest japanese units.

With regards to getting an extremely small recorder: The sony MZ-R55 is the one to buy. The price is around $350 msrp ($275 discounted street price?) and it is the top-o-the heap recorder at the moment. It's even pretty easy to get a hold of one.

With regard to recording at concerts:
Depending on the type of music you are recording (this applies particularly to symphonic music) using binural microphones (a tiny stero pair that can be clipped to your ears) can yield remarkable fidelity. You should check out this article.

Cheers!

If you're looking for a good use for Java on the web, take a look at Art Technology Group's Dynamo Application Server, written entirely in Java. It's a truely excellent application server. We've been using it for about 6 months and we're very happy with it. It powers some real high end sites too, like Sony and even Sun and it runs on Linux too.