NYT: 14 Media & Technology Convergence Trends

securitas writes "The New York Times Business/Media section looks at 14 media and technology industry convergence trends and ideas to watch in 2004 (Google link). Trends range from the stampede to flat-screen TV/display business, Japan's 3G mobile phone experiment, biometrics as a global ID system for security, identification and authentication, the impact of PVRs (personal video recorders), Internet advertising and paid search engine listings, the Google IPO and venture capital technology investment, what the movie studios call piracy but what is really copyright infringement, and many other trends and ideas. It will take you a while to read through all 14 pages, but it's definitely good food for thought. Which 2004 technology and media trends and ideas did the New York Times staff miss? Discuss."

Comments

Technology convergence they missed...

[Channard]

They missed the Beagle 2 lander apparently converging with the Martian surface at high velocity, apparently.

Re:Technology convergence they missed...

[Anonymous Coward]

They missed the Beagle 2 lander apparently converging with the Martian surface at high velocity, apparently.

Thanks for the update from the department of redundancy department.

Re:Technology convergence they missed...

[codename_par]

Jokes about Beagle2 'probable' landing failure are not funny anymore.

Re:Technology convergence they missed...

[strictnein]

Thanks for the update from the department of redundancy department.

Actually, that's not redundant. It is apparent that the Beagle 2 hit Mars a little too hard. It is also apparent that the article missed that convergence. So there's no redundancy, and it's also not redundant.

It will take you a while to read through...

[beders]

This is /.! I couldn't be bothered with the end of that sentence :)

New Dot Com Boom?

[bsharitt]

Maybe the Google IPO will lead to a new dot com boom. This time I'm old enough to get in on it.

Re:New Dot Com Boom?

[Anonymous Coward]

An IPO would mean the end of Google as we know it, and a significantly less fun internet. Publicly traded companies have a responsibility to their shareholders to stop being cool and only do things that can mean more profits.

Google is fine like it is -- they don't need the money going public would bring.

Worldwide media releases....

[commo1]

DVD region codes. This will be a huge issue this year, as discussed a few days ago in /. . The world market for digital content distribution will become just that: a world market. I for one am looking forward to getting the latest Coldplay album & singles at the same time as our friends in the UK, almost as much as they are looking forward to simultaneous releases of movies & TV shows. I think that real-time, same-day releases will become more and more prevalent (a la Matrix Revolutions release). THis will be the year that this becomes a big contested issue. It's also one of the best points for the p2p model.

Re:Worldwide media releases....

[Anonymous Coward]

I for one am looking forward to getting the latest Coldplay album & singles at the same time as our friends in the UK.

Isn't that what Kazaa is for?

Re:Worldwide media releases....

[Anonymous Coward]

I thought that was for pron? You can get music too whats the internet comming to

Re:Worldwide media releases....

[Trurl's Machine]

DVD region codes. This will be a huge issue this year, as discussed a few days ago in /. . The world market for digital content distribution will become just that: a world market. I for one am looking forward to getting the latest Coldplay album & singles at the same time as our friends in the UK

What about choir singing of the Coldplay's "We Live In A Beautiful World" of Coldplay fans worldwide via audio-equipped instant messengers, the day the regions die?

Re:Worldwide media releases....

[codename_par]

And don't forget that some pira... err... copyright rule breaking is motivated by people simply not wanting to wait for the release in their DVD zone. Like the music industry is saying now, p2p also happens because people whant stuff that they are not delivering.

Re:Worldwide media releases....

[commo1]

(to the tune of Don McLean's American Pie): "....the day....the regions...died. I was singing...Bye, bye Miss American Bias....."

Re:Worldwide media releases....

[commo1]

Exactly! Let the recording industry (movies, music (am I forgetting something?) give us everything we want! Instead of the old business model which was designed to maximize profits in a segregated world, this market segregation will no longer work. Hold onto your profits by making it convenient and affordable to play nice.... I for one buy a copy of everything I like after sampling it off p2p. If it's not available or price way, way out of my price range, what choice do I have?

Re:Worldwide media releases....

[Firethorn]

It's the movie industry, not the music, saying this. Blockbust was the one to come out and say that piracy is thriving on the staggered release schedules the producers are fond of. And region encoding doesn't stop them.

Re:Worldwide media releases....

[janbjurstrom]

I do agree, and hopefully the flow of these forms of information will improve, but...

One must remember that mature sectors like these hate risks. Most of what they do now - lawsuits, technological barriers, lobbying, cartels, hyper advertising/marketing, etc. - are 'simply' means to remove uncertainty and avoid risk. The goal being to ensure a predictable, stable-or-increasing, revenue stream.

Consider the situation if most of the obstacles - artificial scarcity, et al., that we lament over today - were removed.

This would essentially mean for them to give up a large amount of control, and put a lot of trust in consumers. Which in turn would translate roughly into competing with quality (possibly also by meeting - rather than creating - customer demand).

Media corps would have to go through radical, nay, fundamental changes to be able to handle these things. Are they willing? Are they even able?

And of course, trust and creating quality 'anything' is unpredictable and risky.

I believe media corps of today show much determination to avoid that scenario at considerable "cost" (consumer dissatisfaction).

Re:Worldwide media releases....

[Anonymous Coward]

In the music business about 1 release in 10 is profitable. I think the film business does a little better. But not much. That sounds fairly risky to me. Can you please explain how investing in, developing and and releasing content with those odds (especially when it can all be pirated on or even before release date) qualifies as hating risk? These businesses are not especially profitable either--the music industry especially, is laying off and consolidating like crazy.

Re:Worldwide media releases....

[janbjurstrom]

Fair points, I'll try to adress them (but please log in - you're not trolling/flaming/&c. - so why ACing?).

As for the semantics: hating risks doesn't mean not taking risks. Obviously, nothing is ever 100% risk free. Doing business is, to a fair extent, to take risks. Calculated risks; avoid if possible, minimize if not.

Like I said, this is especially true in mature sectors/markets, where:

• market size is fairly stable: focus shifts to finding adjecent markets and "synergies".
• many innovations and investments are already made: less need for costly investment in basic R&D, infrastructure, brand recognition, etc.
• competition is strong (it's costly to increase market share): focus often becomes guarding your position, mergers, cutting costs, etc.

There's a lot of literature on this, as a starting point I enjoyed Marketing Strategy & Competitive Positioning (Hooley, Saunders, et al.). I've got the 1st & 2nd edt., but there's a 3rd edt. (October 2003) now.

The profitability of these companies. I'm sure you're right in that they're struggling. Many companies/sectors are. "Hard times" they call it ;). But, considering the sizes of these companies (and their still substantial wealth, influence, etc.), I'd say it pays off for the media/entertainment industry. Clearly not as much as before, but still.. And they had a good number of decades making crazy dollars, didn't they? (And now, with rapidly changing and hard times, the choice: guarding the cash cows - avoid risk, or innovate - take substantial risks, etc.). I have no hard numbers to back that up right now - i.e. I could certainly be wrong :) - but their very size/existence and omniprescence in today's world tells me something.

Plus, it's really not just the music or movies is it? All the different spin-offs, merchandise, etc. Soundtracks, t-shirts, McDonald's toys, whatever, rakes in cash as well. I don't know if your 1 in 10 assertion takes this into account(?).

But lets say it does.

Consider LOTR. that thing alone is making (and will be making for years to come) billions in profit. A few years time and a couple of hundred million in investments are surely considerable risks. But I'd think any business would love those kind of odds. Even if the companies involved only get ROI like that for 1 in 50, they and their investors/VCs are made.

Or take Rawling's Potter phenomenon. She's personally up, what, a billion.. The risk? I'd say well worth it :).

And Elvis is still making money ;). Granted, all these examples are stellar successes, and there's plenty of abject failures. My argument - which again, might be flawed - is that this level of risk, by camparison, seems very attractive (e.g. compare the examples with AMDs need to invest billions for a next-gen. chip shop, or the amount of investment/risk Ford does to get a new Navigator on the market.)

new tech

[brysnot]

IP Technology

See previous story...

[Channard]

Looks like they missed mentioning Voice Over IP for a start, which hopefully will get bigger over the next year.

Re:See previous story...

[Obyron]

And it looks like you've been sucked into the growing trend of not 'R'ing the 'FA'.

Barratry as a business model

[southpolesammy]

The growing trend of organizations such as the RIAA, MPAA, and SCO to attempt to bring in revenues via lawsuits instead of fixing their broken business models is the most significant trend of 2003.

However, I don't see it as a long-term trend, since nature abhors a vacuum and as long as there is a want/need, there will be people trying to fulfill that need and legalities be damned.

Re:Barratry as a business model

[Channard]

However, I don't see it as a long-term trend

I wish I shared your optimism. Unless something drastic happens, I can see this continuing. What I'd like to see would be for the mass media to actually pick up on the RIAA's scattergun tactics, and for the negative press to cause stock prices in the various RIAA member companies to plummet. Ah, I can dream.

Re:Barratry as a business model

[HiThere]

Do note that as long as you blame the RIAA, and not the individual record companies, you have insulated the labels from their actions.

OTOH, it's possible to get a list of the RIAA members, and at least refuse to patronize them. This basicaly leads to not buying anything carried by Tower Records, but I don't anymore.

Equivalently, I will only see foreign films. Or occasionally I'll rent an old video (they get almost no profit from that...and none directly).

If you patronize those who engage in this business model, even indirectly, then you are supporting it. If that's what you want to do, it's ok with me, but do know that you're doing it.

Re:Barratry as a business model

[tommck]

I just want to thank all our friends from outside the USA for introducing the word "barratry" to us. Now, all around the US, teenage geeks are impressing their parents with this word :) (And 30-somethings like myself... I knew what it meant, but never bothered to use it in a sentence before I saw it used here so much. hehe)

T

Re:Barratry as a business model

[southpolesammy]

Since the RIAA is made up of such companies as Warner Records, Sony, and so forth, then blaming the RIAA equates to blaming these companies due to logical inference. It's like saying that you hate seafood -- implicitly you also hate tuna, swordfish, lobster, shrimp, and all the other delectables of the sea. (Not that I hate seafood -- I actually love it, but for comparison's sake, ya know...)

Trust me, I'm well aware of whom I am implicating when I use the cover-all term of RIAA or MPAA. While I have to agree with their actions to combat piracy, I have serious misgivings with the fact that they could have prevented much of this non-sense had they realized that their business model was broken and attempted to adapt to the new technologies, but they chose to ignore the new means of content delivery that nearly every other media company has embraced, and subsequently, the void was filled in their absence. They had their chance, but they missed it and instead of realizing their gaffe and making amends to use the new distribution channel, they told us, the consumers, that we have no other choice but to continue to pay a non-returnable, full price fee for music and movies that may only contain very little redeeming content. So when people logically dissented and found alternative means for getting only the music and movies they wanted, the RIAA and MPAA companies decided to address the problem only by suing the perpetrators and not to fix the underlying problem since the ability to pick and choose only the quality products from their catalogues, even if offered by them, severely damages their profit margins, and that is the crux of the matter. As a example of an industry that did figure this out, take a look at the PC gaming industry and their reliance on downloadable demo games to entice the customer. Of course, the profit margins in that industry are way down as well, but they're maintainable now, and games are continuing to become of increasing quality due to competition.

They are going to have to realize that their old business model is permanently broken and that people are increasing going to realize that they will not pay 100% for a product that contains only 8% value. When the RIAA/MPAA companies admit that filesharing isn't the problem, but that their own lack of quality is the problem, only then will they be able to address the situation.

Re:Barratry as a business model

[Simonetta]

and for the negative press to cause stock prices in the various RIAA member companies to plummet. Ah, I can dream.

Actually your dream is coming true.

The RIAA companies are all owned by five global media corporations that are obsessed with both merging with each other for the benefit only of their chief executives, and the dumping of their music divisions onto one of the other chumps who still believe that these divisions can continue to be profitable in the future.

As a result their stock prices have fallen almost as much as the companies in the tech sector in the past three years. Tech will probably bounce back somewhat, but these jokers?

To give them some credit, they were able to get rid of Steve Case and Jean '5-M'(Jean Marie Messier - Moi-Meme - Maitre de Merde). Maybe Time magazine will go back to being the world's master of the five word sentence and Vivendi can ensure that people in France get the water that they've paid for (which might prevent thousands of people dying in next summer's heat wave).

Don't waste any time wishin' and hopin' for bad luck on the world's giant media corporations. They're ready, willin' and able to destroy themselves automatically.

First get your own money out and then just sit back and enjoy the show!

Not THAT huge of an issue

[AtariAmarok]

The DVD region system is one of my pet peeves. However, I don't think it will ever be a big deal in the U.S. Just about everyone here is happy as long as they can get their "Bad Boys II" and Hillary Duff movies.

Re:Not THAT huge of an issue

[commo1]

You're right about it not being a huge issue Stateside. However, it will be a huge issue outside of the US and Canada (where almost everything is simultaneous). Which brings me to my next point: Why are the US and Canada so in-sync in terms of media release schedules and standards, wether it be HBO or DVD region codes? Because we are so close geographically. In the new world (digital distribution, legal or not)order, the importance of geographical proximity is lessened to the point it is a matter of a few more hops and a bit more latency to get the contecnt you need. So: It will be a big issue because the media (a large portion, anyway) originates in the US. Regardless of piracy running rampant around the world, if the pirated content is of US origin, the US will wake up and take notice. Hopefully, instead of leaving sanctions in place (region codes and seperated release schedules), they will combine all media into one large push (which will increase their economies of scale anyway) and cut their losses at the source, instead of at the tail end, the pirating user and the p2p distribution models.

Re:Not THAT huge of an issue

[HiThere]

And I'm equally happy as long as I can avoid them. Region codes haven't been a big problem for me, as I generally refuse to buy anything that has them, though it's because I won't deal with the vendor rather than because of that particular unethical practice. But those particular movies... I almost think you deserve the MPAA.

Re:Not THAT huge of an issue

[Fred IV]

The DVD region system is one of my pet peeves. However, I don't think it will ever be a big deal in the U.S. Just about everyone here is happy as long as they can get their "Bad Boys II" and Hillary Duff movies.

Meh, there are DVD players for those of us who aren't willing to limit our selection of movies to one region. I'm using a Sampo now and regularly watch PAL encoded media from another region on my NTSC television with no problem at all.

Who's Hillary Duff?

Re:Not THAT huge of an issue

[janbjurstrom]

I generally refuse to buy anything that has [region codes]

Ah, but doesn't that limit your selection of DVDs pretty drastically. I dunno, but aren't most DVDs 'protected' with these region codes?

Re:Not THAT huge of an issue

[HMA2000]

Not to nitpick too much but I would suggest that the release dates are the same in the US and Canada not because of geographical proximity but instead because of the huge amount of trade the two nations engage in (the largest amount of trade between any two nations I believe.)

This is related to location but entirely. But either way I think you are right about the growing convergence of media release schedules.

Re:Not THAT huge of an issue

[ajs318]

I thought the idea was to release a film on, say, the eighth of April in the USA and the fourth of August the same year in the rest of the world. Then they could write the release date in figures on the posters, and use just one print run for the whole world.

Re:Not THAT huge of an issue

[Simonetta]

I can understand why DVD region codes would be such a big issue in Canada since (according to those Canadian government tourist brochures that we get here in the USA) everyone is bilingual in English and one of those silly European legacy languages (I can't remenber which one). Not having the correct code on the DVD player set means that the thousands of titles from the advanced and prolific European film industry that are flown to Canada as soon ast they hit the theatres in Europe are unable to be viewed.

If this is a real problem, and since DVD players are relatively inexpensive, why not just buy two of them and set the region codes differently on each one?

Perhaps it's not Hollywood who's behind the region code debacle, maybe it's the DVD makers themselves.

Re:Not THAT huge of an issue

[Jardine]

Why are the US and Canada so in-sync in terms of media release schedules and standards, wether it be HBO or DVD region codes?

Where are you getting HBO in Canada?

Re:Not THAT huge of an issue

[Feztaa]

If this is a real problem, and since DVD players are relatively inexpensive, why not just buy two of them and set the region codes differently on each one?

I have a better idea, why not just buy one for every possible region? Hmmmm?!

Re:Not THAT huge of an issue

[grips]

You've got many more other dates which wouldn't be a problem, like 1st January, 2nd February ... and you could still have one print run and one release date. Bingo!

idea

[theMerovingian]

14 media and technology industry convergence trends and ideas to watch in 2004

NYT: Hey guys, we need more synergy between our media and our technology. Let's put the newspaper online, and then make people register to view it. That way, we can scrape their personal information and charge more for advertising!

Re:idea

[Anonymous Coward]

That way, we can scrape their personal information and charge more for advertising!

1. Create Hotmail email account "thisisafakeusername@hotmail.com"
2. Register with NYT using said email
3. Check email, abandon forever
4. Enjoy hassle-free "registered" account

Now was that so hard?

missed conceptions

[segment]

Which 2004 technology and media trends and ideas did the New York Times staff miss? Don't know 'bout you but I'm thinking SoIP (Sex0r Over Internet Protocols) is all the rage for 2004. Thats is until VDoIP, Cooties Over IP, or Claps Over IP comes and spoils the show for everybody.

Hey! >:| um Happy New Year and stuff

I believe the term is..

[Channard]

'cyberdildonics' - yes, really. I caught a clip about this on some late night Channel 5 show, and it didn't look like it'd take off. As for the consequences, isn't that what Antivirus software's for?

Re:I believe the term is..

[Anonymous Coward]

oh well you need to add 'over ip' to that... or 'p2p' or something. THEN you'll have a hit

Re:I stepped into the goatse guy

[Anonymous Coward]

please clarify

RTFA

[Anonymous Coward]

Cable companies are hoping to grab a good share of the traditional phone business in 2004 by using Internet technology to deliver voice calls over cable lines. Phone companies, too, are planning to offer lower-cost Internet calling and expand bundled services to attract customers.

On Projection TV's and PVR's

[MtViewGuy]

Two comments:

1. I think projection TV's are going to be an interesting race between OLED and new generation "slimline" rear-projection TV's that use DLP, LCD or LCOS technologies. Plasma displays (in my humble opinion) will become a passing fad due to the fact that plasma TV's tend to lose picture quality after a few years of use.

2. PVR's will become much more common in the next few years, especially with the lowering of hardware costs and the increasing capacity of hard disk drives (TiVo PVR's with 400 GB hard drives could arrive within 24 months). Also, what we may see PVR's do fairly soon is updating programming information using data piggybacked on a broadcast signal instead of having to "call back" using a telephone line or an Ethernet connection.

Re:On Projection TV's and PVR's

[Via_Patrino]

TiVo PVR's with 400 GB hard drives could arrive within 24 months

If you're not mentioning two 200 GB hard drives, i think that's difficult to happen because data density in hard disks are near it's limits.

If the magnetic crystals that hold the data get very small they can loose their magnetic charge easily, don't being able to hold data reliably.

And also is difficult to reduce the size of the drive heads, that also need to be very small.

I bet using better compression on PVR is a better solution to increase their storage capacity. I don't mean using that (better/slower) compression real-time but to compress the data already recorded (with a worse/faster algorithm)

Re:On Projection TV's and PVR's

[Blahbbs]

Also, what we may see PVR's do fairly soon is updating programming information using data piggybacked on a broadcast signal instead of having to "call back" using a telephone line or an Ethernet connection.

The combo DirecTV/TiVo units already do this. They get the program listings over the satellite. The phone is only used for recording pay-per-view transactions, for downloading software updates, and perhaps a few other things.

Re:On Projection TV's and PVR's

[karnal]

The amazing thing about any technology, though, is that it's always seemingly pushed to it's limits. While I don't doubt we're near our limit on current storage technologies, something will come along to either:

1. Replace hard drive technology as we see it today... as in not a rotating mass with magnetism being the storage transfer medium.

2. Make them a bit bigger. Why not make the ultra-high-storage drive fit in a full size 5"+ drive bay? We all have em (well, except for the tivo application possibly, as well as small form factor PC's.... and servers... ok.. you got me there.) I would think that if it's massive home or business storage that is driving the need, most could accept a different form factor.

As well, with the TIVO scenario in mind, you could also implement new encoding algorithms (sp?) to compress the data further, with similar quality ratings. There would be no trouble in doing this since hardware always gets faster it seems, and technically, the TIVO was designed to store data for itself only; not necessarily to "archive"...

Re:On Projection TV's and PVR's

[MtViewGuy]

The combo DirecTV/TiVo units already do this. They get the program listings over the satellite. The phone is only used for recording pay-per-view transactions, for downloading software updates, and perhaps a few other things.

I think it's theoretically possible to have TiVo work on a one-way data connection since what you really need is program listing updates and updates to the software, which can be transmitted as a piggyback signal to the standard broadcast signal at preset intervals. You do need two-way communication if you're updating access to premium content from cable and satellite TV, though.

Re:On Projection TV's and PVR's

[MtViewGuy]

I've heard that improved recording techniques that several hard drive companies are working on will make it possible to have 400 GB two-platter 1/3 height 3.5" hard drives fairly soon. There's still a lot of disk recording technology that has not yet been fully exploited yet.

One they didn't, but forgot to name.

[Anonymous Coward]

I remember, when I was a kid, news was news. It wasn't bullshit wrapped in hype distilled into a soundbite. Now that's just the "news" as it were.

Unbelievably, after watching TV stations lower the bar, the newspapers instead of leading, have decided to follow into the darkage. The NYT, appearently being no exception. "I've got a fantastic idea, instead of researhing a story, which is hard, or just making shit up, which is almost as hard, why don't we just mention a lot of trends together and fill up the space with nothing! Brilliant! Now I've got time enough to drink Guiness from the bottle, at work! Brilliant!"

BBC, they all suffer from it. I fear that if I ever saw real news again, I'd be startled and confused.

15th media and technology convergence trend

[Anonymous Coward]

Weblogs making it impossible for old media giants to bury scandals involving reporters who fabricate stories.

How the hell did the NY Times miss that?

They totally missed the convergence...

[Anonymous Coward]

...of mandatory website registration and me no longer reading the articles.

Re:They totally missed the convergence...

[parkanoid]

Actually, the /. link is google-partnerized, so you don't have to register.

Dude, stop saying "Hella"

[Anonymous Coward]

*tksskt* Thanks Martian control, but we asked for a Bud light.

Impact of PVRs? Great so far

[Gunfighter]

Just got a new Toshiba DMS w/ 80 hour Tivo built in (Thanks Santa!). Commercials beware >:)

Re:Parent Offtopic; MOD DOWN!

[southpolesammy]

RTFA....

Piracy: Studios Fight Piracy With Education

The text actually states that the MPAA is using lawsuits as a method for protecting their interests because "few in Hollywood are confident that such [technological] approaches can stop piracy in the long run". So instead of using available technology to protects these movies and other media, they continue business as usual on the product front and step up the lawsuit front to deal with their lack of innovation.

This is entirely on-topic.

Re:Parent Offtopic; MOD DOWN!

[TrollBridge]

"RTFA...."

You're new here, aren't you?

too many links

[Guano_Jim]

Is it just me or was that article way over-linked?

In keeping with submitters' tendencies to link to every single page on the web in the hopes of making the front page, I propose that all slashdot articles have links on every character of every word. For example:

S l a s h d o t.

Wouldn't want to miss any trivial pieces of information, after all.

Re:too many links

[tommck]

Wow... I had no idea that "slashdot.com" even worked...
Oh, how I long for the days when you could only use "http://slashdot.org". None of that "www" crap for us nerds!

Whatever

[Anonymous Coward]

''Which 2004 technology and media trends and ideas did the New York Times staff miss? Discuss.''

I don't know. I refuse to click through their login to read the story. Who do they think that are?

VOIP

[semanticgap]

My prediction is that the biggest thing in 2004 will be the beginnings of wide spread adoption of VOIP along with emergence of new gadgets such as IP aware answering machines.

We need verification - NOT identification

[Anonymous Coward]

The rush to global biometric identification has stamped over a MUCH better solution - verification. Businesses DON'T need your DNA in order to better market to you. It's a pity that slashdot hasn't picked up on this critical distinction, or the latest news on this.

Wired recently ran an article about the advances in verification. It's at:

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.01/start.htm l?tw=wn_tophead_7

Re:We need verification - NOT identification

[joe_plastic]

Thanks for the link at wired
I am making Free Fingerprint Imaging Software and have added you link. I also have the gelatin Artificial Gummy Fingers, link. And a link to Bruce Schneier saying Biometrics are unique identifiers, but they are not keys or secrets I think that biometrics by themselves can be badly misused and have things end up being worse.
I think that Bruce has said something like a false sense of security is worse then no security.
Intrinsicly fingerprints can only provide collabarating evidence if and only if some proper proceduces are in place. Washbins at border crossings might be amusing;-> Another thing though is that for example the 911 people didn't use fake ID, so what was the point again anyway? I think that banks using fingerprints on their customers when the open accounts etc, DMV when people get ID, seems more likely. Only real things I worry about is what about when the Justice system fails and people have legitament reasons to hide; What about stalkers, wife beaters,etc; What about the witness protection program, secret agents, etc;-> The government would have real problems getting proper cover stories for people if biometric information on people was widespread. I don't know why they are pushing it as much, it might actually end up hurting them more than it helps.

This one is

[Anonymous Coward]

Jokes about Beagle2 'probable' landing failure are not funny anymore.

This one is:

Beagle 2: yet another electrical system fault from a British vehicle.

Missed this media trend:

[foo fighter]

Too many commercials on television and before movies. (At least here in the US.)

For the past few years TV has been almost completely unwatchable for me. Four minutes of programming to five minutes of advertising is insulting to me.

But I have several friends who watch many hours of TV a day and have the latest plot advancements of several sitcom, drama, and unscripted (nee "reality") shows committed to memory. The last half of 2003 I began hearing comments from even them, my friends the TV junkies, that they are getting tired of so much advertising. It seems the straw that broke the camel's back was the corner adverts that come on when a program comes back on after a commercial break. They keep watching of course because they are addicted, but they are at least complaining out loud now.

Movies are almost as bad. Crowds at my local theater have taken to booing and shouting to the effect of "turn off the #$@!ing tv commercials" when non-movie-trailer ads come on. I also hear much grumbling about the excessive trailers. Six or seven five-minute plot synopses that give away the movies that they are supposed to be promoting while tacking 20 to 30 minutes onto the feature's play time are not popular. They almost ruined LotR: RotK for me by turning a 3:30 butt-number into a 4:00+ marathon endurance test.

I know there are work-arounds to these bugs in the system. But Tivo and other prepackaged DVRs are expensive and home-brew DVRs have all the same problems as desktop linux. Also, DVRs do nothing about the corner-screen adverts nor product placement. Not watching TV is like not smoking cigarettes: it's better for your long-term health but to an addict the separation is a difficult and painful thing.

Sure you can arrive late to movies, but with general admission theater seating you are gambling where you end up sitting, or even if you get a seat in the case of blockbusters. If I'd arrived late to any showing of LotR: RotK since it opened at my theater the odds are I would be stuck in a nasty corner or front row or next to an unwashed freak, or not getting a ticket at all because it sold out.

Re:Missed this media trend:

[LordK2002]

But I have several friends who watch many hours of TV a day and have the latest plot advancements of several sitcom, drama, and unscripted (nee "reality") shows committed to memory. The last half of 2003 I began hearing comments from even them, my friends the TV junkies, that they are getting tired of so much advertising. It seems the straw that broke the camel's back was the corner adverts that come on when a program comes back on after a commercial break. They keep watching of course because they are addicted, but they are at least complaining out loud now.

With this I would have to agree. Fortunately I live in the UK where we have a mere 3 minutes of adverts for 12-15 minutes of programming on the commercial channels, but I have watched DivXs of Frasier and Friends recorded off American TV and shrinking the show into a little window to fit adverts on the screen during the actual program is just taking the piss.

I am totally unable to comprehend why so much advertising would be necessary, and if that sort of thing happened over here I would be certain to make a mental note never to buy anything from a company that invaded a TV program to show advertising.

K

Re:Missed this media trend:

[Anonymous Coward]

I would be stuck in a nasty corner or front row or next to an unwashed freak

That was me you ass!

;-)

Re:Missed this media trend:

[ragnar]

Every once in a while I need a reality check, as I don't have a television antenna (I watch movies at home). I'm amazed anyone watches anymore. Recently at a theatre I was aghast at the advertisements. I think I'll write a letter to my local theatre and vote with my feet if things don't improve.

Re:Missed this media trend:

[sapped]

It seems the straw that broke the camel's back was the corner adverts that come on when a program comes back on after a commercial break.

I recently spent some time at home and watched some TV again. (Normally I just watch DVD's from Netflix) I also noticed this annoying "feature". What makes it even more annoying are the new adverts which have sound as well thereby not only obscuring parts of the screen, but parts of the dialogue as well. This is more than annoying - they are now in fact stealing parts of the movie from me that they agreed to show me.

However, talking of Netflix, I noticed another nasty trend there lately. When you press play to start the movie (after all the adverts are finished) then they stuff another ad in there directly before the movie starts. I have come across 2 like this so far and if I encounter another 1 like that then Netflix is getting a letter from me about it.

Re:Missed this media trend:

[Pionar]

It always amazes me how people complain about things that are free. Network TV is advertising supported. Without that annoying VISA advert in the score bar, you wouldn't get the NFL game or that NASCAR race you've been waiting all season to watch. American TV averages (as it has for the past 10 or so years) 16 minutes of commercials per hour of programming.

It's not that they're stuffing more commercials in there, it's that they're stuffing them in the middle of the shows now. If you'll notice, broadcast TV has very little "downtime" anymore between shows. It may only show 1 commercial now, whereas it would be 4 or 5. However, the marketing drones realize that people change the channel after the shows are over, so they atart putting them in the middle, making for longer commercial breaks, not less show time.

As for in-show adverts, these have been around as long as TV. Ever watch the old game shows on the Game Show Network? If you'll notice, just before they go to commercial, the host is just about to start saying some spiel for an advertiser. TiVO and other PVR's will just increase this trend. Say what you will about marketing people, they're not stupid.

Re:Missed this media trend:

[jred]

IIRC, I've seen this on movies that I've *purchased*. I tend to get a lot of my DVDs "previously viewed" from Blockbuster, so that might be where I'm getting that idea, though.

Re:Missed this media trend:

[babyrat]

If I'd arrived late to any showing of LotR: RotK

So you arrived early. Not to see the 'commercials' but to get a seat. Then you sat. You could have stared at a blank screen...or they could put ads up on it and help keep ticket prices from going up.

Not seeing the big deal.

Re:Missed this media trend:

[foo fighter]

So you arrived early.

Not how I see it. I arrived on time, but the movie started 30 minutes late because of all the advertising.

Re:Missed this media trend:

[Feztaa]

For the past few years TV has been almost completely unwatchable for me. Four minutes of programming to five minutes of advertising is insulting to me.

Get your television off bittorrent like the rest of us do. All the commercials are (often) removed, plus you get the added benefit of being able to pause and rewind.

Real television can't compete with an MPEG :)

TCP over IP

[argent]

With the increasing number of protocols based on UDP or IPSEC, and the resulting management problems (ranging from unmanaged congestion due to poor ad-hoc flow control to overly broad firewall rules due to poor protocol designs) I'm praying 2004 will see a resurgence of TCP over IP.

Only half-smiley on this one.

That is not region encoding

[AtariAmarok]

Meh, there are DVD players for those of us who aren't willing to limit our selection of movies to one region. I'm using a Sampo now and regularly watch PAL encoded media from another region on my NTSC television with no problem at all.

You are confusing two issues: the PAL vs NTSC incimpatibility, and the region coding system.

Most players can play PAL DVD's on NTSC. However, only some are region-free. The Sampo line happens to be pretty good at the region-free problem as well, but whether or not the player can convert PAL discs to NTSC has nothing to do with whether or not it can play Region 2 discs on Region 1.

"Who's Hillary Duff?

Sounds like the first lady of Springfield beer to me.

Re:That is not region encoding

[Fred IV]

You are confusing two issues: the PAL vs NTSC incimpatibility, and the region coding system.

Actually, I was trying to address both compatibility issues at once. My Sampo will play DVDs from any region in addition to "region-free" discs. Overriding the region codes alone isn't enough to watch content created for a different television standard.

Re:what they missed

[Anonymous Coward]

They want information. It doesn't have to be real. {Or are you just bitching 'cause you can't be arsed to make something up?} In fact, the more obviously bogus it is, then the better; because if anybody is actually looking at the information then they will see it's bogus.

Remember, kiddies, if a grown-up asks you a question and the answer is none of their damn business, then it isn't really lying.

They want the information to work out what kind of adverts to show you {according to the following: poor man => cheap video games, rich man => expensive video games, poor woman => cheap shoes, rich woman => expensive shoes}, but my Squid Proxy Server will block whatever adverts they try to show the person they think I am. I know I am doing nothing wrong, as I would never have bought the stuff anyway.

vocabulary

[Anonymous Coward]

/. would be a better website if the moderators kept their English usage ideas to themselves in re: hacker/cracker piracy/copyright infringement.

sheesh. give it a rest.

Im stuck on step one....

[Anonymous Coward]

This username is already taken:

thisisafakeusername@hotmail.com

Can you provide assistance?

workshop on multimodal user authentication

[Anonymous Coward]

For all those interested in the NYT ID article:
There was a workshop on how to use a number of modalities (face recognition, fingerprint, voice identification...) for more reliable user authentication. The proceedings aren't online yet, however. Here's the web site: http://mmua.cs.ucsb.edu
m.

"Barratry" definition - links tommck!

[janbjurstrom]

Lazy /.ers like m'self (20-something euro who didn't know) need it spelled out in detail ;). And with something to click! This time, I shall assist you:

barratry, n. (pl. barratries)

1. The offense of persistently instigating lawsuits, typically groundless ones.
2. An unlawful breach of duty on the part of a ship's master or crew resulting in injury to the ship's owner.
3. Sale or purchase of positions in church or state.

Disregard that

[parkanoid]

Individual pages still require registration, doh! Never mind.

Stupid privacy advocate...

[dave1g]

UGH so fake the reg info! quit whining!

creators/humankind converge to repel unprecedented

[Anonymous Coward]

evile?

& why not? what other options are there for us?

eyecon0meter: survival most sought after feature? (Score:0)
by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 29, @02:48PM (#7829586)

creators' badtoll over corepirate nazi execrable (Score:0)
by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 29, @02:46PM (#7829567)
disposal?

newclear power dissed/cussed? (Score:0)
by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 29, @02:41PM (#7829536)

newclear powered blips explore corepirate nazi (Score:-1, Offtopic)
by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 29, @07:53AM (#7826913)
cesspool?

pheWWW.

lookout bullow. the daze of the phonIE payper liesense ?pr? ?firm? hypenosys stock markup FraUD softwar gangster execrable, is WANing into coolapps/the abyss, at the increasing speed of right.

consult with/trust in yOUR creators.... get ready to brighten up?

mynuts won: solar(is) power included?

NEW YORK TIMES DETECTED

[Anonymous Coward]

Better double-check the facts and make sure they're not lying again.

TV ad solution

[rakerman]

1. Buy TV shows on DVD
2. Cancel cable

A small translucent station logo in the corner I could handle. Useful actually, for navigating the channel universe. But these popup ads, big solid animated logos... I can't take it any more.

Biometrics?

[worldcitizen]

Biometrics as a technology to watch in 2004? Nah, probably Identity Theft will have more growth (I know, it sucks big time) :(