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First Episode of NerdTV Released

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the hope-they-are-ready-for-nerd-traffic dept.

kurosawdust writes "The first ever episode of Robert Cringely's long-awaited NerdTV is now available for download. This episode features Andy Hertzfeld, member of the original Macintosh team who always has a few good stories to tell. Episode 1 is available in MP4 Video (whole episode and smaller-sized snippets) MP3, Ogg, AAC, and good old-fashioned text transcript (for those of you who watch your TV in vi, like God intended). NerdTV is released under the Creative Commons license."

165 comments

  1. Re:i want to be the first by John+Nowak · · Score: 0

    Oh be quiet Linus.

  2. He seems to dislike WindowsCE by ReformedExCon · · Score: 4, Insightful

    One of his quotes is that he would feel very uneasy riding in an airplane where WindowsCE was controlling the cabin pressure. I realize that he is a diehard anti-Microsoft person, as his long history with Apple and recent history with Open Source suggests, but I wonder if he is taking his gut feeling about the company and judging the technical worth of its products sight unseen.

    I'm no fan of WindowsCE. I think that it has a lot of warts, though these have been smoothed over in recent releases as Microsoft seems to be moving away from "it's just like Windows!" and more towards a real embedded OS. But it's still pretty slow in scheduling ISRs and requires a fair bit of fiddling to get power management working correctly in the drivers. But all-in-all it isn't a bad system. It's not prone to crashes any more than any other embedded system is, and it's much more resistant to crashes than desktop Windows is.

    For something as straightforward as cabin pressure and lights in an airplane, something like WindowsCE is actually pretty easy to implement and use. I, for one, wouldn't worry a bit about it running such systems.

    --
    Jesus saved me from my past. He can save you as well.
    1. Re:He seems to dislike WindowsCE by gowen · · Score: 4, Insightful
      It's not prone to crashes any more than any other embedded system is
      That's just crap. It's about as stable as many other multi-purpose, palm-top OS... but none of those are good enough either.

      If something's keeping me alive, I want something with extremely high-reliability, near hard realtime performance, coded in a language that's as errorproof as possible in language design (Ada, perhaps) and preferably that's been proven bugfree.

      Windows CE is "good enough" for many many tasks. Life critical tasks are not among them.
      --
      Athletic Scholarships to universities make as much sense as academic scholarships to sports teams.
    2. Re:He seems to dislike WindowsCE by ReformedExCon · · Score: 1

      Do you have proof of this? Do you have examples of devices running Windows CE 4.x+ (I believe that the Pocket PC still runs v3.0, but I may not be up to date on this) that have stability problems?

      --
      Jesus saved me from my past. He can save you as well.
    3. Re:He seems to dislike WindowsCE by Cyberax · · Score: 3, Informative

      WinCE is not a hard realtime system. That's quite enough to exclude it from lots of mission-critical applications.

    4. Re:He seems to dislike WindowsCE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      WinCE, I think I'd wince at the idea of wince running anything that my life depends on.

    5. Re:He seems to dislike WindowsCE by ReformedExCon · · Score: 1

      It's not the best name Microsoft ever thought of, that's for sure.

      --
      Jesus saved me from my past. He can save you as well.
    6. Re:He seems to dislike WindowsCE by SamSeaborn · · Score: 1, Redundant
      he would feel very uneasy riding in an airplane where WindowsCE was controlling the cabin pressure. [...] I wonder if he is taking his gut feeling about the company and judging the technical worth of its products sight unseen.

      A used car salesman has sold you problematic cars for the past 20 years, and he says he finally has a good car to sell you. Are you going to examine the car for "technical worth" or are you going to let your previous experiences with that salesman influence your buying decision?

      Sam

    7. Re:He seems to dislike WindowsCE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      The software used to control anything in aeroplanes is written to the Common Criteria standard. It is mathematically proven to do only what it is asked, when it is asked to do it. No off-the-shelf OS, be it Windows or *nix based, could ever be certified to do that.

    8. Re:He seems to dislike WindowsCE by metamatic · · Score: 5, Interesting
      --
      Jesus saved me from my past. He can save you as well.

      Why do I need saving from your past?

      --
      GCHQ Quantum Insert installed. If only our tongues were made of glass, how much more careful we would be when we speak
    9. Re:He seems to dislike WindowsCE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Rather amusing that the first Microsoft apologist in this thread would be an "ex con."

      I don't suppose you've ever heard of QNX before? If not, you might want to consider looking it up. It's one of the embedded, real-time operating systems using in medical equipment, and yes, it is FAR less prone to crashes than Windows CE is.

      What is it that keeps you weighing in on topics you know nothing about? You couldn't even wrap your head around a simple phishing scheme without help.

    10. Re:He seems to dislike WindowsCE by golgotha007 · · Score: 1

      Most of the people hitting this comment area is really just trying to find a useable torrent.

      TORRENT IS HERE!!!!

      p.s. sorry to piggyback
      p.s.s. please don't mod this up

    11. Re:He seems to dislike WindowsCE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm no fan of WindowsCE. [...] It's not prone to crashes any more than any other embedded system

      My experience directly contradicts your assertion.

      I bought a WINCE powered handheld. The first weekend I had it it crashed three times (and I never installed anything on it - just used the stuff that it came with). I returned it the following monday and got a palm. I've been using it for two years, and it hasn't crashed once.

    12. Re:He seems to dislike WindowsCE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >> Jesus saved me from my past. He can save you as well.

      > Why do I need saving from your past?

      SHHH!! Don't stop him from preaching. It's the best way to identify these kooks!

    13. Re:He seems to dislike WindowsCE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It isn't *legal* to use M$ OS products in safety-critical systems.

          That's because their use in such roles is forbidden by M$' EULA.

          And _that_ is because M$ know full well that their software isn't remotely reliable enough for such jobs, and they don't want to be sued into a million tiny pieces every time a jet controlled by CE smacks into a mountainside / flies upside down into the ground / crashes and requires a five-minute power-cycle-and-reboot just as the 'plane is reaching its final approach.

          Still, don't let me put you off. Enjoy your flight!

    14. Re:He seems to dislike WindowsCE by Lagged2Death · · Score: 1

      Microsoft's habit of not letting anyone see all of their source code means that any system built on a Microsoft OS cannot undergo a real safety audit. MS systems are inherently unsuited to avionics and the like for this reason, their quality or capabilities aside.

    15. Re:He seems to dislike WindowsCE by bluekanoodle · · Score: 1
      Oh yeah, well I bought a palm once and it locked up on me. I returned it and got a Pocketpc and it's worked perfectly ever since.

      My anectodal comment cancels out your anectodal comment, so we both just wasted approximately 2 minutes of our lives on something that sums up to 0.

    16. Re:He seems to dislike WindowsCE by shokk · · Score: 1

      In his past he was stalking you.

      --
      "Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart, he dreams himself your master."
    17. Re:He seems to dislike WindowsCE by fbg111 · · Score: 1

      For something as straightforward as cabin pressure and lights in an airplane, something like WindowsCE is actually pretty easy to implement and use. I, for one, wouldn't worry a bit about it running such systems.

      Risk should always be measured not only by probability of failure, but also by consequences of failure. So for something that has a low probability and low consequences, fine use Windows CE. Even for something with high probability and low consequences, like a PDA, use Windows CE. But for something with any probability and high consequences, like failure of cabin pressure potentially causing the death of a passenger with a tendancy for blood clotting, then use the most reliable, rock solid embedded OS you can find, regardless of the cost and popularity factor.

      --
      Flying is easy, just throw yourself at the ground and miss. -Douglas Adams
    18. Re:He seems to dislike WindowsCE by ReformedExCon · · Score: 1

      The article you mention is very vague in regards to the actual information it provides. I do not doubt that deep vein thrombosis (economy class syndrome) is a very real threat for those with a pre-existing tendency towards it. In addition, the article you linked ties the stresses of lowered pressure to DVT, not the sudden loss of cabin pressure (which has its own problems). And even if it were proven (which Dr. Dixon admits it is not) that cabin air pressure was a contributing factor to the condition, what does that have to do with system reliability?

      A system such as the cabin pressure system of an airplane is relatively simple. There is a pressurizing device which is told to raise or lower pressure determinant upon some external factor such as altitude or external pressure. It really doesn't take much more than a UART to implement the interface, and any embedded OS worth its salt has a fully-implemented UART driver. So even an OS like Windows CE can be trusted to run signals between the main airplane systems and the cabin control devices.

      If you want "reliable, rock solid" systems, those are out there. I believe Green Hills has a huge business in providing a zero-delay interrupt handling operating system to device manufacturers who need that kind of reliability. That kind of thing is useful when you want your fly-by-wire flaps to react immediately when you adjust the stick. But to manage the cabin controls? There's no need for that kind of response time just to adjust the pressure every few seconds, play multiple streams of videos at once (I doubt that the Green Hills system is even capable of that; it's just not part of its design), turn the cabin lights up and down, or to allow flight attendants to communicate with each other from different galleys.

      Here's what I think it all boils down to. You don't like Windows CE, you don't like Microsoft. That's great. But would you really be afraid to fly in a plane that had its cabin pressure controls driven by Windows CE? Would you ask at the counter each time you boarded the plane and ask to be transferred to another flight if you found out the awful truth? According to the linked interview, that's exactly what the Apple developer would do, it seems. That is fanaticism.

      And lest you think this is all academic, Microsoft is installing CE in a jet to control the cabin pressure (which is why I brought up the topic in the first place). Please have a look at the interview linked from the article.

      --
      Jesus saved me from my past. He can save you as well.
    19. Re:He seems to dislike WindowsCE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you want to be saved you should turn the The Great Spaghetti Meatball Monster. May you forever be touched by His noodely apendage.

  3. Java applet doesn't need a plugin? by l_bratch · · Score: 5, Funny

    Still in development but coming soon is a Mediaframe Open Source Java applet player, which will play NerdTV video right in your browser without any plug-ins.

    Incredible how that works - I usually need to use a Java plugin to view Java applets in my browser.

    1. Re:Java applet doesn't need a plugin? by metamatic · · Score: 1
      Incredible how that works - I usually need to use a Java plugin to view Java applets in my browser.

      They're Mac guys, remember?

      Java is part of the OS on the Mac. Safari doesn't need a plugin. It has native support for PDF too.

      --
      GCHQ Quantum Insert installed. If only our tongues were made of glass, how much more careful we would be when we speak
    2. Re:Java applet doesn't need a plugin? by NavyNasa · · Score: 0

      Why not do some research on AJAX? You don't need a plug-in to view Google Maps, do you?

      --
      Space Cadet
    3. Re:Java applet doesn't need a plugin? by Halfbaked+Plan · · Score: 1

      How can they make 'java' part of the OS? Shouldn't we convene a panel from the Department of Justice to demand that Apple make it trivial to completely uninstall the Java components, in case I want to install a non-Apple Java engine??

      --
      resigned
    4. Re:Java applet doesn't need a plugin? by metamatic · · Score: 1

      Apple does not fit the legal definition of a monopoly.

      --
      GCHQ Quantum Insert installed. If only our tongues were made of glass, how much more careful we would be when we speak
    5. Re:Java applet doesn't need a plugin? by Halfbaked+Plan · · Score: 1

      How does 'monopoly' have to do with it? If I can't uninstall their 'official' JVM and install the one I prefer instead, they are doing the same thing as Microsoft with IE.

      --
      resigned
  4. maybe it will... by FudRucker · · Score: 1

    a 93.6 meg video file? it will be a miricle if it finishes downloading considering the parent web page was posted at /.

    --
    Politics is Treachery, Religion is Brainwashing
    1. Re:maybe it will... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Seems to be doing alright so far...

    2. Re:maybe it will... by FudRucker · · Score: 2, Informative

      it started out downloading at a good pace, as it continued it slowed to almost a crawl, i canceled it...

      i will check back in a few days

      --
      Politics is Treachery, Religion is Brainwashing
  5. No Torrent? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I checked the site and couldn't find a .torrent file (at least in an obvious place). This surprised me greatly.

    Nerds (geeks) + Creative Commons = Perfect Opportunity for a Torrent.

    Is there a problem with mainstream adoption of .torrents? It would seem to me that bittorrent should be the FIRST option for distribution of this kind of content.

    I had a similar experience downloading Ubuntu Linux. There was a torrent file available but I had to hunt (briefly) for it. Shouldn't these kind of projects capitalize on the cheap bandwidth for their free content?

    1. Re:No Torrent? by lga · · Score: 5, Informative

      Bob mentioned bittorrent when he talked about NerdTV in July. He explained that people downloading NerdTV via bittorrent would only seed the last one or two episodes, and that he would instead build a distributed network similar to Akamai.

      From the article: "so the real heavy lifting for NerdTV will be done through a network of distributed servers I've created as a kind of "poor man's Akamai." My distribution cost using this system, by the way, works out to be approximately ONE PERCENT of Akamai's retail price, which shows how much profit there is in that business, or should be."

      --
      A latent existence
    2. Re:No Torrent? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No seriously... someone post a torrent!

      Keywords[Torrent|Cowboy Neal|Profit!|/.|Pirst Fost?|Goatse|Mozilla|Google|Terra-Peta-Flop|vi|cow -orkers|Mod Parent Up|OSS]

    3. Re:No Torrent? by whathappenedtomonday · · Score: 4, Insightful
      "poor man's Akamai."

      ...is giving me 6.7kbyte/s..no, 5.4...no...5.1 and falling.

      people...would only seed the last one or two episodes

      huh?! he could seed the missing files himself or only offer older episodes as direct download. nerds...

      --
      I hope I didn't brain my damage.
    4. Re:No Torrent? by kwark · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Silly me was just thinking that a bunch of PBS owned seeds distributed over the net would lower their upload costs and speedup anyones download.

      The current "solution" makes sure there are no seeders at all, ever. A brilliant solution for the possibility of no seeders for old stuff.

      The net effect is that the average download is 5kb/s

    5. Re:No Torrent? by abonstu · · Score: 1

      so why not just torrent up the most recent episodes then and move them to your pet 'distrobution network' once the peak demand has passed? i think even akamai would struggle with /. all pounding a large video file at once...

    6. Re:No Torrent? by lga · · Score: 1

      Well I didn't say I agreed with his decision. Given the current download speed I think we will see a torrent for next weeks episode.

      --
      A latent existence
    7. Re:No Torrent? by TheSHAD0W · · Score: 1

      I'd make a torrent if I had a complete download... Or if someone out there has already downloaded it, I can teach 'em how to torrent it and will provide tracker service...

    8. Re:No Torrent? by opusman · · Score: 1

      I guess that's why I'm getting 2.48kb/sec at the moment...

    9. Re:No Torrent? by nikconwell · · Score: 2, Funny

      I'll create a torrent in 4 days, 6 hours, 24 minutes, 35 seconds.

    10. Re:No Torrent? by ncc74656 · · Score: 2, Informative
      "poor man's Akamai."

      ...is giving me 6.7kbyte/s..no, 5.4...no...5.1 and falling.

      With a download manager pulling in 4 chunks at once, I was getting around 17 kbps a few minutes ago. I switched to the torrent someone else posted earlier. It's now maxing out my T1. :-)

      --
      20 January 2017: the End of an Error.
    11. Re:No Torrent? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Link to the torrent:
      http://nerdtv.net/video/NTV001/ntv001.mp4.torrent

  6. Below expectations by NamShubCMX · · Score: 4, Informative
    The interview is really interesting but I was somewhat disappointed by the "TV" part.

    It could really well be NerdRadio, since there is absolutely nothing happening on the screen but that guy's lips moving.
    For +1h.

    Save your bandwidth and get the Ogg audio version.

    --
    We've always been at war with Eurasia.
    1. Re:Below expectations by hritcu · · Score: 1

      You are right, the mp4 is three times larger then the ogg ... but downloading it using the torrent is five times faster. Really!

      --
      If you don't fail at least 90 percent of the time, you're not aiming high enough. (Alan Kay)
    2. Re:Below expectations by sinserve · · Score: 2, Funny

      It could really well be NerdRadio, since there is absolutely nothing happening on the screen but that guy's lips moving.
      For +1h.

      Not true! At 00:34:02 - 00:34:18 he scratches his arm.

  7. watch your TV in vi, like God intended by smittyoneeach · · Score: 5, Funny

    I feel your research into the topic of editor theology may be incomplete.

    --
    Get thee glass eyes, and, like a scurvy politician, seem to see things thou dost not.--King Lear
    1. Re:watch your TV in vi, like God intended by mattjb0010 · · Score: 1

      I feel your research into the topic of editor theology may be incomplete.

      The answer is either here or here.

  8. mp4 format by freddej · · Score: 0

    Couldn't he made it with a PSP compatible mode, such shows would have been perfect to watch while commuting. Now I have to play games instead.

  9. Good for PBS! by Ph33r+th3+g(O)at · · Score: 3, Insightful

    For not requiring streaming of the show in a DRM format. It's exactly what taxpayer and donor subsidized entities should be doing. NPR, take note.

    --
    I too have felt the cold finger of injustice.
    1. Re:Good for PBS! by cmorgan47 · · Score: 1

      ironically, their frontline episodes are streamed.

      --
      no i have not shot my gun in the air and gone 'Ahh!'
    2. Re:Good for PBS! by Anonymous+Freak · · Score: 1

      Many NPR shows ARE available as mp3s. Through iTunes Podcast directory, even. I subscribe to Science Friday this way, along with some more local public radio podcasts; and other major public radio shows such as 'Whad'Ya Know', 'On The Media', 'The World', and 'Studio 360' are available. (In fact, NPR themselves have 17 different casts available on the iTunes directory.)

      --
      Another non-functioning site was "uncertainty.microsoft.com."
      The purpose of that site was not known.
    3. Re:Good for PBS! by Ph33r+th3+g(O)at · · Score: 1

      That's good to hear. The last time I visited (admittedly, some time ago), only Real (ugh) and Windows Media DRM Edition (9 IIRC) were available. An email to suggest the use of more open formats was blown off with a boilerplate reply, after which I became a non-contributor.

      --
      I too have felt the cold finger of injustice.
  10. Autobots by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Episode 1 is available in MP4 Video

    Heh. I can only imagine what the MPAA's autobots are making out of that comment...

    1. Re:Autobots by Quarters · · Score: 4, Funny

      The Autobots are the good guys. The MPAA would employ Decepticons.

  11. Interactive TV by martalli · · Score: 5, Funny
    A little correction for the original poster. vi is interactive TV. If you just want to watch TV, I suggest less.

    Bryan
    "less is more, but less is better"

    --
    Building a healthy future; Connecting communities
    1. Re:Interactive TV by circusboy · · Score: 1

      I won't watch it 'til it's emacs compatible...

      --
      -- it's ridiculous how many people misspell ridiculous... (damn, damn, damn...)
  12. Nerd eye for the straight guy... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Subject says it all...

  13. GNU/HURD TV by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    nerd TV? haven't you heard of GNU/HURD tv???

  14. Astroturfer for hire by ReformedExCon · · Score: 1

    Well, heh. I didn't think I was coming off so enthusiastically for WindowsCE. Looks like I'm somehow intimately involved in the product or something.

    Anyway, my point that I was (badly) trying to make was that blind allegiance or blind hatred should not be your guiding motivation for accepting or dismissing a technology out of hand.

    Linux, CE, VxWorks, they are all great and work wonderfully. It's just as scary to fly with a VxWorks-controlled cabin pressure system as it is with a CE-controlled system. Which is to say, not at all.

    --
    Jesus saved me from my past. He can save you as well.
  15. I would LOVE it if Bill G and Balls-mer took off by crovira · · Score: 2, Funny

    in a plane controlled by Windows.

    I wouldn't have to worry about them, ever again...

    --
    MSBPodcast.com The opinions expressed here are my own. If you don't like 'em... Think up your own stuff.
  16. Tried to download it and must say by Schlaefer · · Score: 1, Insightful

    you get what you paid for.

  17. Am I interactive??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Am I interactive?? How do I tell? Is nerd TV interactive???

  18. IPTV on old school TV by phildog · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I've been watching more and more IPTV stuff these days--Rocketboom, NerdTV, systm, homestarrunner, etc. Can anyone recommend a good dedicated piece of hardware for watching IPTV stuff on a real TV?

    Bonus points if HDTV support is baked in.

    But the biggest factor is it has to pass the "wife test". The UI should be simple and intuitive.

    Does such a product exist? The Pinnacle Showcenter 200 and D-Link Wireless Media player sound close, but I worry about the usability factor.

    From what I've heard XBMC is a great solution, but I want something I can actually buy online or in a store somewhere. I'm more into hacking software than hardware these days.

    Thanks!

    --
    slashsearch.org - slashdot search. powered by google.
    1. Re:IPTV on old school TV by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But the biggest factor is it has to pass the "wife test".

      Yeah right, like you actually had a wife, hehe! Keep on dreaming of having a real wife like the rest of us.

    2. Re:IPTV on old school TV by hoggoth · · Score: 1

      > it has to pass the "wife test"

      Interestingly, I have rejected some potential wives because they didn't pass the "gadget test".

      --
      - For the complete works of Shakespeare: cat /dev/random (may take some time)
    3. Re:IPTV on old school TV by hackstraw · · Score: 3, Informative

      Can anyone recommend a good dedicated piece of hardware for watching IPTV stuff on a real TV?

      Bonus points if HDTV support is baked in.

      Recipe:

      1 Apple PowerBook/mini or other product with DVI outputs
      1 HDTV with DVI inputs
      1 DVI cable

      Optionally garnish with a bluetooth mouse and keyboard.

      Enjoy!

    4. Re:IPTV on old school TV by Chuqmystr · · Score: 1
      Hmmm, well, brand new and on sale for $69 I could no longer resist the Tivo. I was going the Myth route at first but once I got a box dialed in well (used on of my linux development boxen (I SAID BOXEN YOU BASTARDS! :-P )) enough for my wife to agree to me building a permanent system the sticker shock kinda blew it for me.

      The system I wanted to build was close to $800. The Tivo with life time subscription was still much less money and indeed, much less work. Now, how does this help you? Well, turns out that Tivo just released it's system 7.2 software and accompanying windoze desktop stuff. It just so happens that said arrangement will serve up mpeg files directly to your Tivo. It also so happens that there's some perl project(s) that can, at least, serve MP3's and pictures up to the Tivo. (sorry, too lazy/busy to link, Google is your friend).

      I've not tried it yet but the idea is to do a bit of hackery with the existing perl stuff and see if it is possible to get it serving video as well. The worst case scenario (well, unless you prefer windows) is that you'll need to run a windows partition or box. You'll need that anyway if you want to rip tivo content from the DVR unless you want to hack the DVR too. Lots about that out there.

    5. Re:IPTV on old school TV by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Recipe:

      1 Apple PowerBook/mini or other product with DVI outputs...

      How does Mac OS pass phildog's "wife test," which he says is the biggest factor? He defined it as a simple and intuitive UI for watching IPTV stuff on a real TV.

      Also, the G4 is a poor processor for playing HD video in any of the common formats of IPTV (MPEG-2, MP4, H.264, etc), unless you consider 720p at 100% processor load and dropped frames to be acceptable performance.

    6. Re:IPTV on old school TV by GWBasic · · Score: 1

      ... Not yet. I believe the iPod mini is rather TV-friendly, and ATI's graphics cards support HDTV (via component video) with a cheap dongle. Personally, my HDTV has an RGBHV in, which can take a VGA source by merely using an adaptor cable. I plug my laptop directly into my TV, and it works with any resolutions that have 480 lines in the Y-axis at 60hz. Because the TV is widescreen, I need to use programs like Zoom Player (for Windows) to eliminate distortion.

      --
      No, I will not work for your startup
    7. Re:IPTV on old school TV by Halfbaked+Plan · · Score: 1

      Are you sure it wasn't because their preferred 'gadget' uses 6 'D' cells, not two 'AAA' penlite cells?

      --
      resigned
  19. I hate javascript by Jessta · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Why do I need javascript enabled to download these links?
    Quite annoying, elinks doesn't do javascript.
    I'm sick of people using javascript for pointless reasons.

    --
    ...and that is all I have to say about that.
    http://jessta.id.au
    1. Re:I hate javascript by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      Here's the direct links to the content:

      Entire video
      MP3 Audio

    2. Re:I hate javascript by kwark · · Score: 1

      Stop! Don't use these links, by using them you will not get the benefits of the low cost, high speed dstrubuted network used to move this content.

    3. Re:I hate javascript by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The JavaScript will be gone by this evening. I'm told.

  20. Mirror? by vsarunas · · Score: 1

    Anyone have a mirror? I'm getting 4kB/sec...

    1. Re:Mirror? by jaredmauch · · Score: 3, Informative

      Yes, folks should feel free to use this (fast host, and i've survivded slashdotting before, easily). Mirror of mp4: Nerd TV MP4 Episode 1

    2. Re:Mirror? by baadger · · Score: 1

      Cheers. 4.0 KBps from PBS was a joke.

    3. Re:Mirror? by euxle · · Score: 1

      thx a lot
      someone please donate him or pbs an akamai account. akamai is cheap these days...

    4. Re:Mirror? by jaredmauch · · Score: 1

      Someone at PBS can email me (not like i'm hard to find) to set something like this up. If things get ugly, I can host it on more than one host, but the peak I saw (and it's well below that now) was ~10Mb/s. I can even stick it on a host I have in Asia so folks there can get it at higher speeds (due to tcp window*delay foo). I know last time in Tokyo i downloaded stuff at ~1MB/s in my hotel room from that machine. (I hate that we don't have that speed links here in the US.. sigh).

  21. Ugh! Sloooow. by Control42 · · Score: 1

    I let it download for alomst a minute, and it was still hardly at 10%. Probably too many nerds trying to get it.

    1. Re:Ugh! Sloooow. by MarkGriz · · Score: 1

      "I let it download for alomst a minute, and it was still hardly at 10%. Probably too many nerds trying to get it."

      Either that, or the Alpha Beta's are trashing the servers.

      --
      Beauty is in the eye of the beerholder.
  22. feedback page, torrent by MarkJenkins · · Score: 0

    They have a feedback page. http://www.pbs.org/cringely/nerdtv/feedback/ Be sure to mention the T word.

  23. Easy fix by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Get the transcript http://www.pbs.org/cringely/nerdtv/transcripts/001 .html and run it through /usr/bin/festival

  24. Bill the used car salesman by SamSeaborn · · Score: 5, Insightful
    he would feel very uneasy riding in an airplane where WindowsCE was controlling the cabin pressure. [...] I wonder if he is taking his gut feeling about the company and judging the technical worth of its products sight unseen.

    A used car salesman has sold you problematic cars for the past 20 years, and he says he finally has a good car to sell you. Are you going to examine the car for "technical worth" or are you going to let your previous experiences with that salesman influence your buying decision?

    Sam

    1. Re:Bill the used car salesman by Skim123 · · Score: 1

      A used salesman posts duplicate messages to Slashdot. When you see his name are you really going to bother investigating the message or just 'assume' that it's another dup? (Of course, if there's any site where dups are the norm, it's /.)

      --

      I could not justify my existence if I were a turkey farmer. Would I terminate myself? Undoubtably, yes.

    2. Re:Bill the used car salesman by SamSeaborn · · Score: 1
      I hit the wrong reply link, then posted it again to get it in the right place. So sue me. Or better yet, ask slashdot for the ability to move the location of a post.

      Sam

  25. There is a torrent... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Here is the torrent... unfortunately there are no seeds at the moment though.
    Found here, the link seems to be hidden by default.

    1. Re:There is a torrent... by TheSHAD0W · · Score: 1

      Dunno why he didn't put up a seed. That's just silly.

      I'm torrenting up the little bit I've already downloaded, and I see at least one other person has done the same. Would someone with a full download please help out?

    2. Re:There is a torrent... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Can we get a couple people that have completed this download (or even downloaded a large portion of it) to seed it for a bit.. we're all stuck at 35%... :(

    3. Re:There is a torrent... by Danathar · · Score: 1

      If you are using Azureus.....can you post the magnet URI address (for trackerless torrent)?

    4. Re:There is a torrent... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      magnet:?xt=urn:btih:ZRVEWETTI3QBZTBUPDCYUO5WA6V2LC P2

  26. Where is the podcast? by wscott · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I just was to subscribe to the audio portion of the show so I don't miss any future shows. How can this really be nerdy without a podcast?

    1. Re:Where is the podcast? by Stalin · · Score: 1

      That would be "trendy" not "nerdy."

    2. Re:Where is the podcast? by LarsG · · Score: 2

      The expression 'podcast' is trendy, but the functionality is nerdy.

      --
      If J.K.R wrote Windows: Puteulanus fenestra mortalis!
    3. Re:Where is the podcast? by Halfbaked+Plan · · Score: 1

      Heck, it could be totally nerdy by only being available on 1/4" reel-to-reel tape, and that's two-track so you have to use a 1950's era deck to play it.

      'Nerdy' does not mean 'ooooh! shiny!' in case you wondered.

      --
      resigned
  27. Power Management vs. Cabin Pressure by itomato · · Score: 2, Funny

    If a device requires a "fair bit of fiddling" to do what it is supposed to do, it is not the device I want in control of life-sustaining services on a flying coffin.

    Jesus or any of Vishnu's other avatars can save you from a lot. But WinCE on a JumboJet?!

  28. TORRENT by fabs64 · · Score: 5, Informative

    Here's the official torrent.
    No seeds as yet, hopefully the /. crowd will quickly change that ;-)

    1. Re:TORRENT by dpoolman · · Score: 1

      The power of the community - getting over 80KiB/s now with 66 seeds. Thanks for the torrent link.

    2. Re:TORRENT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No seeds as yet, hopefully the /. crowd will quickly change that ;-)

      Well something sure did!
            * Regular download link: ~7 KiB/s
            * BitTorrent link: ~175 KiB/s (close to the max for my DSL line)

      I lika de BitTorrent.

    3. Re:TORRENT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      [2005-09-07 08:31:50] "ntv001.mp4" : rejected by tracker - This tracker requires new tracker protocol. Please use our Easy Downloader or check blogtorrent.com for updates.

      Does this mean my dl is bad?

    4. Re:TORRENT by Ingenium13 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The torrent link is dead now. Why would they remove a link to a torrent file that is saving them bandwidth??

    5. Re:TORRENT by Danathar · · Score: 1

      Can you post the Magnet URI? The tracker is down. With the URI at least we could attach via dht.

    6. Re:TORRENT by baadger · · Score: 1

      Dijjer seems to work just as well as HTTP when there is no p2p connections and doesn't suffer from the lack of torrent.

      http://dijjer.org/get/http://64.106.205.160/video/ NTV001/ntv001.mp4

  29. Meedio by tacokill · · Score: 3, Informative

    Well, I can't recommend a self contained unit because I have yet to find one that meets my needs. Nothing seems to play ALL the stuff I have and most importantly, many of the solutions out there are difficult to use or have significant limitations. I can, however, recommend a piece of software that can be "hacked" to make it whatever you want.

    My network setup is simple. I have a server on my network that holds (4) categories of media. Pictures, movies (SVCD, DiVX, XViD, etc), TV shows (same as movies), and Music collection (mp3). I also play the occasional internet radio station. I wanted ONE box next to my TV that allows me to play all of the above through my home theatre, thus freeing me from burning DVD's to play on my Philips 642.

    So anyway, I decided to use a standard computer with S-video out and digital audio out. Both video and audio go directly into my home theatre receiver. The HTPC computer is controlled by a $29 streamzap remote control. Now the trick to this whole deal is finding an interface that I can use with a remote (this is the wife test!). I don't want to use a mouse or keyboard at all. (sidenote: have you ever tried to use windows using nothing more than a remote? good luck.)

    After, literally, 6 months of searching, I accidentally found this. I am not associated with these guys in any way shape or form but I can say that their software is pretty slick. Basically, it's a Tivo-like frontend that you can customize A LOT. There are plug-ins to do all kinds of things, like weather and news. And best of all, it's designed for use with a remote so you don't need a mouse or keyboard at all. So after about 4 hours of customizing, I have it setup to do the following:

    - everyday (at 4am), it goes out to my shared media folders and imports any new items in those folders into the Meedio library. Movies, TV shows, pictures, and music. Note: it only imports new items since the last import. And for movies, I have many movies that are (2) files. Meedio will combine the two files into one entry, which is nice.

    - for movies, it goes out and auto-downloads cover art and IMDB info

    - everyday, it downloads weather info (including animated radar)

    - everyday, it downloads the Streamcast radio stations and organizes them by genre and bitrate

    - While I don't have it setup, you can also install a TV module and make it a PVR. I have TiVo so I didn't need this functionality. But it's there if you want it.


    The net result is that I have ALL of my stuff integrated into Meedio. So when I run Meedio, I can play ANY of my media on my network shares. And Meedio will use the codecs installed on the local machine so playback is not an issue. Since everything I want to play is inside the Meedio library (which updates everyday, per above), I haven't needed to burn a DVD or transfer a file since I installed it.

    All in all, it's a pretty cool setup and I don't forsee needing to change it for quite sometime. I have yet to find a "glitch" with it except that some of the navigation within Meedio is counter-intuitive. But fixing that is as simple as editing an xml-based config file. And this shouldn't be a problem for anyone who is a power-user or better.

    1. Re:Meedio by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The Xbox Media Center does all this, and costs a lot less. It even uses the standard Xbox remote for all it's functions. The only requirement is a modded xbox, but this can be done without a modchip on older models with a flashable TSOP. The interface is super cool too.

  30. Ever try the air at FL360? by Hasai · · Score: 1

    "....It's not prone to crashes any more than any other embedded system is...."

    I take it that you've never worked on aerospace or military systems, correct? If you had, you'd have choked before making a statement like that.

    And, speaking of choking, ever been in an aircraft that just dumped cabin pressure at 36,000 feet?

    --

    Regards;

    Hasai

  31. Rapidshare mirror by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Audio mirror

  32. While you're at it, use the Coral Cache by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://64.106.205.160.nyud.net:8090/video/NTV001/N TV001.ogg

  33. MOD UP PARENT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Torrent is working and complete.

  34. God? by Jules+Labrie · · Score: 2, Funny
    for those of you who watch your TV in vi, like God intended

    Please don't blaspheme RMS !!!

  35. broken site: 'javascript:/' by rnews · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Sadly, the site designer wants to pop up a new window and have me view the video in my web browser. They're so aggressive about that desire that they demand I break my proxy to allow them to script my system rather than just providing me a download link.

    Skip it. No content so "protected" is worth watching.

    1. Re:broken site: 'javascript:/' by MrPerfekt · · Score: 1

      Sadly, the site designer wants to pop up a new window and have me view the video in my web browser. They're so aggressive about that desire that they demand I break my proxy to allow them to script my system rather than just providing me a download link.

      The link popup contains a link to download the video, Genius.

      --
      I just wasted your mod points! HA!
  36. EMACS by rhetland · · Score: 2, Funny

    I use *EMACS* to watch my TV, like god actually intended.

  37. Torrent? by LarsG · · Score: 1

    Torrent, anyone? The server is so busy right now that Firefox just times out when trying to download.

    --
    If J.K.R wrote Windows: Puteulanus fenestra mortalis!
  38. EMACS rules, vi drools by NockPoint · · Score: 0, Redundant
    for those of you who watch your TV in vi, like God intended

    Gasp! EMACS is what God intended.

    --

    Sig? What sig?

  39. Definition of Torrent: by nhnfreespirit · · Score: 1

    Torrent: The only known object on the www to actually benefit from a good slashdotting

    Tried the sites dl. link and got about 5 kb/s. the torrent is maxing out my adsl a ~220 kb/s :-)

    1. Re:Definition of Torrent: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You mean "on the Internet".

      Torrents have nothing to do with the WWW.

    2. Re:Definition of Torrent: by kwark · · Score: 1

      Other than that most trackers and "The WWW" share the same communications protocol: HTTP

  40. folklore.org and Google by mparaz · · Score: 1

    Andy has more stores at folklore.org, previously covered here. He didn't say anything about joining Google.

  41. All Hail Charlie Rose by ReadParse · · Score: 1

    Let's not underrate Charlie Rose by saying that, just because this is an interview show, it's like Charlie Rose. Charlie is a fantastic interviewer, one of the very best on TV. Also the production is very good. Multiple cameras around that round table and you don't even notice it.

    I agree with a previous poster about how this is barely worth the video -- the audio would be good enough.

    I'm glad this exists, but I was looking forward to seeing Robert ask the questions. I haven't seen him do any video since the Nerd documentary.

    RP

    1. Re:All Hail Charlie Rose by BigMooch · · Score: 1

      I agree, but to say that this is Charlie Rose for nerds, isn't Charlie Rose already for nerds? Unless you are under 10 watching PBS pretty much makes you a nerd.

  42. Formats by oldbenway · · Score: 0

    What, no PSP video?

  43. Mangled Andy by mustafap · · Score: 1

    I should have realised something was wrong when the download stopped at 20MB. It played ok for about 10 minutes, until Andy melts on camera.

    http://www.drivesentinel.co.uk/mac.jpg

    Jeez, it was like watching a horror movie :o)

    --
    Open Source Drum Kit, LPLC deve board - mjhdesigns.com
  44. Jesus saves.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Jesus saves... he passes to Moses who shoots....AND SCORES!!!!!

    I love sports too.

    Anyway, tell you what. YOU get in an airplane controlled by Windows CE. I'll stick with something non-MS, thanks.

  45. Linkable by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    MediaFrame.

  46. Dear Andy by NubKnacker · · Score: 2, Funny

    Dear Andy, Please let us know when you get sued by the **AA. Thanks.

  47. Coming from a BBS background... by daviee · · Score: 1

    I prefer ANSI art! And at this day and age I want subtitles to go with it!

    1. Re:Coming from a BBS background... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      VLC will do acsii art video :)

  48. Not Found.... by phsdv · · Score: 1

    The requested URL /bm/torrents/ntv001.mp4.torrent was not found on this server.

  49. REAL nerdtv torrent coming by brainsik · · Score: 1

    The real torrents will be up soon. The one you found was a test torrent not intended for public consumption. I'll post when the real torrents are available. There will be 9 torrents, one for each of the files they are serving.

  50. NP if you've got a Mac... by beetle496 · · Score: 1
    No problem, just get Toast 7!

    From: Toast 7 Titanium (First Look) under Video:

    Perhaps a bit more useful for most of us, though, is the ability to burn DivX to conventional DVD discs for playback on our existing set-top DVD players. Toast 7 makes it dead-simple to turn a downloaded DivX movie into a DVD you can carry into your living room, kick back and watch.
    --
    I paid the going retail price for a Windows screen reader and got a free Unix computer!
    1. Re:NP if you've got a Mac... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're kidding, right? Transcode for several hours to get a reduced quality DVD from an already less-than-optimal source.. right. Just get an Xbox and mod it, chuck XBMC on it. Alternatively, a Myth TV Box.

    2. Re:NP if you've got a Mac... by beetle496 · · Score: 1

      One of the examples cited was trying to put way too much content on a single disc. Yes, that made the encoding time and quality unacceptable. Hour long programs are no problem. Your suggestions are too much work and not spouse friendly (one of the prerequisits). Myth TV may be a geeks wet dream, but it is far from ready for prime time.

      --
      I paid the going retail price for a Windows screen reader and got a free Unix computer!
  51. mplayer said no :( by hritcu · · Score: 1

    donald@catalin:~$ mplayer /common/downloads/ntv001.mp4
    MPlayer 1.0pre7-3.3.5 (C) 2000-2005 MPlayer Team
    CPU: Intel Pentium 4/Xeon/Celeron Foster (Family: 8, Stepping: 9)
    Detected cache-line size is 64 bytes
    CPUflags: MMX: 1 MMX2: 1 3DNow: 0 3DNow2: 0 SSE: 1 SSE2: 1
    Compiled for x86 CPU with extensions: MMX MMX2 SSE SSE2

    Playing /common/downloads/ntv001.mp4.
    Win32 LoadLibrary failed to load: avisynth.dll, /usr/lib/codecs/avisynth.dll, /usr/lib/win32/avisynth.dll, /usr/local/lib/win32/avisynth.dll
    Seek failed

    --
    If you don't fail at least 90 percent of the time, you're not aiming high enough. (Alan Kay)
    1. Re:mplayer said no :( by quenda · · Score: 1
      Win32 LoadLibrary failed to load: avisynth.dll, /usr/lib/codecs/avisynth.dll,

      That version of mplayer works fine for me, and I dont have a file called 'avisynth.dll' anywhere. It also seems to work without any win32 DLLs. You must have a version compiled without Quicktime support. Did you compile your own? Try downloading a pre-built binary for your distro.

  52. MAGNET TORRENT URI PLEASE!!! by Danathar · · Score: 1

    The tracker is down...somebody post the Magnet URI address so we can attach to the swarm decentralized!

  53. I put up a torrent... by MrPerfekt · · Score: 1

    You can find it here: http://thepiratebay.org/details.php?id=3380389

    --
    I just wasted your mod points! HA!
  54. Interview impression. by ezzzD55J · · Score: 1
    What a likable nerd!

    The interview is not so great. They're a bunch of uninspired questions with very little interactivity. The interviewer often doesn't seem to know how to respond to the replies he gets. (He just goes "Wow." and that's about it.)

    But I really like Andy :-)

  55. Re:EGp. by WilliamSChips · · Score: 1

    Wow, that looks like the kind of post that would have a goat.cx link...

    --
    Please, for the good of Humanity, vote Obama.
  56. REAL torrents now avail by brainsik · · Score: 1

    We just put up the real torrents:

    http://www.pbs.org/hplink/redir/http://nerdtv.net/ video/NTV001/ntv001.mp4.torrent
    http://www.pbs.org/hplink/redir/http://nerdtv.net/ video/NTV001/NTV001.m4a.torrent
    http://www.pbs.org/hplink/redir/http://nerdtv.net/ video/NTV001/ntvjuicy001.mp4.torrent
    http://www.pbs.org/hplink/redir/http://nerdtv.net/ video/NTV001/ntvnerdy001.mp4.torrent
    http://www.pbs.org/hplink/redir/http://nerdtv.net/ video/NTV001/NTV001.ogg.torrent
    http://www.pbs.org/hplink/redir/http://nerdtv.net/ video/NTV001/NTV001.mp3.torrent

  57. REAL OFFICIAL Torrents available by brainsik · · Score: 3, Informative

    We just put up the *real* torrents. The other nerdtv.net torrent file was never intended for public consumption.

    Use these:

    http://www.pbs.org/hplink/redir/http://nerdtv.net/ video/NTV001/ntv001.mp4.torrent
    http://www.pbs.org/hplink/redir/http://nerdtv.net/ video/NTV001/NTV001.m4a.torrent
    http://www.pbs.org/hplink/redir/http://nerdtv.net/ video/NTV001/ntvjuicy001.mp4.torrent
    http://www.pbs.org/hplink/redir/http://nerdtv.net/ video/NTV001/ntvnerdy001.mp4.torrent
    http://www.pbs.org/hplink/redir/http://nerdtv.net/ video/NTV001/NTV001.ogg.torrent
    http://www.pbs.org/hplink/redir/http://nerdtv.net/ video/NTV001/NTV001.mp3.torrent

    1. Re:REAL OFFICIAL Torrents available by hritcu · · Score: 1

      We just put up the *real* torrents.

      Do you mean that the interview I watched last night was just a fake? How are those torrents better?

      --
      If you don't fail at least 90 percent of the time, you're not aiming high enough. (Alan Kay)
    2. Re:REAL OFFICIAL Torrents available by brainsik · · Score: 1

      Specifically, I was talking about the actual .torrent files, not the content. My comment was in response to seeing slashdot comments linking to a .torrent file on nerdtv.net which wasn't meant for public distribution (and as far as I know, wouldn't actually get you the interview since no one was seeding). The .torrent links I posted above are the ones to use.

    3. Re:REAL OFFICIAL Torrents available by hritcu · · Score: 1

      The "unofficial" torrents worked just fine for me.

      --
      If you don't fail at least 90 percent of the time, you're not aiming high enough. (Alan Kay)
  58. Try the .torrent by Rhinobird · · Score: 1

    Torrential goodness:

    http://nerdtv.net/video/NTV001/ntv001.mp4.torrent

    --
    If Mr. Edison had thought smarter he wouldn't sweat as much. --Nikola Tesla
  59. I don't know where you looked but it's right here. by Rhinobird · · Score: 1

    http://nerdtv.net/video/NTV001/ntv001.mp4.torrent

    I clicked on "watch the show" and was given 2 choices, just download the show, or use bit torrent.
    You must be blind.

    --
    If Mr. Edison had thought smarter he wouldn't sweat as much. --Nikola Tesla
  60. FTP is better for them by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why? Torrents are slow to start and seldom as fast as local mirrors. I usually have the whole CD image from my countrys official mirror of Debian or Ubuntu before BitTorrent has even gained up speed.

    Torrents are only good when you don't already have a proper distribution network. Projects such as big Linux distros, Scene.org, and most probably NerdTV as well(?), is much better served from FTP mirrors, who gladly donate the bandwidth anyway.

    Don't use tools just because they're cool. Use what does the job best.

  61. I am the King of Charleston, South Carolina by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...Congratulations.

  62. That's Funny.. by TheJOsh!(tm) · · Score: 1

    i'm downloading via BT right now. Started off at 266kbps, now it's bouncing between 180 and 210...it was link number two under the "watch this show" button...

    --
    Rise up in the cafeteria and STAB them with your plastic forks!
  63. Moderate parent up! by porttikivi · · Score: 1

    Dijjer!? Great! I didn't now about that!

    --
    Anssi Porttikivi / app@iki.fi
    1. Re:Moderate parent up! by baadger · · Score: 1

      For Windows users get http://dijjer.org/dijjer.jar
      instead of the exe installed, it's build 118 as opposed to build 117.

      It's also cleaner to run and cleanup and you can see all the inner workings going on.

  64. God and vi by can56 · · Score: 1

    Thank you Bob (and Nerd TV), for providing a text-transcript of your interview with Andy. For people without broadband/torrent/mp4/audio stuff on their computer, text is the only way. Kinda like books.

  65. AS God intended, NOT 'like' God intended by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yes, a pedantic shot at English usage, but it seems like, well, you know, that, like, these youngsters, like overuse the, well, uh, word "like."

  66. 2nd episode of NerdTV available by Detached1 · · Score: 1

    The 2nd episode is now available for download here http://distribution.nerdtv.net/video/NTV002/ntv002 .mp4 #2 Max Levchin September 13, 2005: Max Levchin, best known for co-founding PayPal, explains why he is starting his 5th through 7th companies and the virtues of staying up all night. Enjoy!