Slashdot Mirror


Online Video Suddenly Gets Brainy

David Kesmodel writes "Several online-video efforts are under way that offer a more cerebral alternative to the typical fare seen on the Web, the Wall Street Journal reports. The ambitious Fora.tv, for example, intends to establish relations with all of the lecture series from the nation's scores of think tanks, civic groups, bookstores and the like, and then put tapes of their speeches and panel discussions online in an easily searchable fashion."

79 comments

  1. It will be better than CSPAN book tv by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    If by "better" you mean "more flash ads."

    1. Re:It will be better than CSPAN book tv by Petra_von_Kant · · Score: 1
      This may well be stating the bleedin' obvious, but the biggest problem is making sure everyone is able to access this through big pipes. Everywhere. For trivial cost (think people on welfare or minimum wage) for all you can eat download. Sadly, the nr of places in the world that can do this are extremely limited and I'm guessing the US isn't that different to the rest of the world. Indeed, IIRC, within the last fortnight, there has been /. commentary on certain ISPs doing a bit of price gouging.


      There needs to be a more equitable access to fast and deep 'net access to ALL strata of humanity if this is going to work and provide education (unhindered by commercial/political/religious censoring).



      "You've got a chart filling a whole wall with interlocking pathways
      and reactions to shock and the researcher says "If I can just control
      this one molecule/enzyme/compound I'll stop the whole negative
      physiologic cascade of post haemorrhagic shock." Yeah, right."

  2. that's gonna hurt by cyphercell · · Score: 1, Funny

    ...put tapes of their speeches and panel discussions online...

    So, these experts get to watch the drooling masses compare their work with the last episode of American Idol.

    --
    Under the influence of Post-Cyberpunk Gonzo Journalism
  3. Won't work by slusich · · Score: 4, Insightful

    No one wants an online video service unless it's filled up with whiney emo kids complaining about how badly their lives suck.

    Seriously, while it sounds like a good idea, implementation is everything. It'll be interesting to see how they do.

    1. Re:Won't work by intchanter · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      The parent isn't flamebait. It's tongue-in-cheek humor followed by a reasonable comment. If it were flamebait, an hour wouldn't pass without a single knee-jerk flame.

    2. Re:Won't work by cyphercell · · Score: 1

      For context, here's the first sentance of the article.

      It was bound to happen: just as the Internet was settling into its role as haven for videos about car crashes, Britney Spears and teenage confessions, people had to come along to ruin it all by trying to be serious.
      --
      Under the influence of Post-Cyberpunk Gonzo Journalism
    3. Re:Won't work by The+Great+Pretender · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Not too much different to reading Slashdot filled up with whiny IT guys complaining about how badly their lives suck.

      --
      A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.
    4. Re:Won't work by cyphercell · · Score: 2, Funny

      Hey! I whine about my life on myspace, around here I just complain about Microsoft! Take it back!

      --
      Under the influence of Post-Cyberpunk Gonzo Journalism
  4. i wonder by ncohafmuta · · Score: 1

    I wonder how online video will affect cable providers.
    I'm sure online web sites like CNN, MSNBC, FOX News have gauged how much of viewership they lost on cable stations with the evolution of information via their web sites.
    I wonder how much online video will change this?

    -Tony

    1. Re:i wonder by Drew+McKinney · · Score: 4, Informative

      It has already for some time. "Big Media" calls the phenomena of short internet videos and blurbs "infosnacking". Blogs, aggregate sites and sites like Youtube are included as sources of infosnacks.

      CNN and MSNBC have both tried versions of online blogs and infosnack videos with little commercial success. A few years ago MSNBC launched its big campaign to many oohs and aahs from insiders but few people on the 'outside' paid little attention. While small internet news productions like Rocketboom took off from such content. It seems industry still hasn't caught on.

      PBS did a great documentary on this called the "News Wars" - i think part 4 of 4 or 3 of 4 is where they talk about infosnacking.

    2. Re:i wonder by pfhlick · · Score: 2, Informative

      The News War documentary is free online here. Highly recommended!

      --
      So long, and thanks for all the fish
  5. Why? by MyLongNickName · · Score: 4, Funny

    Why do we need this when we have Slashdot?

    --
    See my journal for slashdot ID's by year. Mine created in 2005. http://slashdot.org/journal/289875/slashdot-ids-by-year
  6. so... by cosmocain · · Score: 2, Interesting

    those who actually ARE interested in the world's affairs get an easier method to feed their information hunger.

    but i really don't believe that anoybody, who wouldn't watch news channels and use - maybe even international - websites to stay up-to-date with what's happening, will just because of a new possibility start to be interested. you can even find some informational stuff on youtube, but as long you are not interested in this kind of things, you'll still type in "boobs" instead of "global warming".

    1. Re:so... by RedElf · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      this just in...global warming causes an increase in...

      oh wait, that's not what this article was about, dang it.

      --
      You know, I have one simple request. And that is to have sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads!
    2. Re:so... by Red+Flayer · · Score: 3, Insightful

      but as long you are not interested in this kind of things, you'll still type in "boobs" instead of "global warming".
      Maybe it's just me, but even for those of us interested in those type of things, we still find our fingers typing in "boobies" despite commands from our brain to type in $SERIOUS_TOPIC. It's the unavoidable curse of being male and on the internet.

      That said, I agree that it's not likely to draw a huge amount of interest among people without prior interest -- except by referral. If someone sends me a link to a good video, I'm likely to look for additional videos from that source. This is where the high signal-to-noise ratio pays off in attracting and keeping users.
      --
      "Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
    3. Re:so... by danpsmith · · Score: 3, Funny

      but i really don't believe that anoybody, who wouldn't watch news channels and use - maybe even international - websites to stay up-to-date with what's happening, will just because of a new possibility start to be interested. you can even find some informational stuff on youtube, but as long you are not interested in this kind of things, you'll still type in "boobs" instead of "global warming".

      Then there's only one rational solution: to educate these people we need to tag videos about global warming with "boobs." In theory, this wouldn't be really misleading, as the more global warming occurs, the more spring/summer weather months we have further from the equator and the less clothing girls will wear during those months. Who knows, maybe some of them will even go wild on winter break.

      --
      Judges and senates have been bought for gold; Esteem and love were never to be sold.
  7. That's better... by JamesTRexx · · Score: 2, Insightful

    First thing I get here is the famous "Nothing to see here, move along." message. I hope that's not going to be the default when looking for intelligent videos on the net. :-P

    I'm glad to see another opportunity to enhance knowledge on the net. Seeing more free course material (as in those of MIT) and getting more info from discussions etc. might just make it more accessible for people to gain knowledge and not hang around the tv all day because they can't afford a decent education.

    --
    home
  8. MIT Open CourseWare by The+Media+Mechanic · · Score: 5, Informative

    MIT's Open CourseWare has online videos of undergraduate and graduate course lectures of actual math, engineering, physics professors... Many of whom are top researchers in their fields. This is about as brainy as you can get!

    For example...

    http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Physics/8-01Physics-IFal l1999/VideoLectures/index.htm

    --
    I can throw as many stones as I wish; my house is made of transparent aluminum.
    1. Re:MIT Open CourseWare by compro01 · · Score: 2, Informative

      one of the instructors at my collage has been doing something similar for the past 3 months or so. every lecture is posted in both video/video and pure audio (for the dial up users among us).

      it's very handy when i have to miss a class, as i can just get the video and find out what happened that day.

      --
      upon the advice of my lawyer, i have no sig at this time
    2. Re:MIT Open CourseWare by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Must be an art collage.

    3. Re:MIT Open CourseWare by compro01 · · Score: 1

      not sure if you're trolling or not, but i am presently enrolled in a computer engineering course.

      --
      upon the advice of my lawyer, i have no sig at this time
    4. Re:MIT Open CourseWare by dave1g · · Score: 1

      it was a joke about misspelling college as "collage"

  9. Right ... by Bearpaw · · Score: 1

    ... just as soon as Sanjaya gets a doctorate and a job at a think-tank.

    I'm sure there'll be *some* audience crossover, but I'm guessing not much.

    1. Re:Right ... by cyphercell · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Who is Sanjaya?

      --
      Under the influence of Post-Cyberpunk Gonzo Journalism
    2. Re:Right ... by Bearpaw · · Score: 1

      Sanjaya is one of the current batch of American Idol contestants, which I only know because his goofy smile keeps popping up on Google News.

    3. Re:Right ... by cyphercell · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Googled him after I replied. I don't think it's that farfetched to think that one of these gets to slash and/or digg, from slash/digg to youtube, youtube to myspace, and bingo we've got the seething drooling masses being incredulously idiotic in public forum at someone's expense. Course you're probably right, 99% of the time people will not pay attention to what they don't understand.

      --
      Under the influence of Post-Cyberpunk Gonzo Journalism
    4. Re:Right ... by Deagol · · Score: 1

      Isn't he the one with "the hair"?

    5. Re:Right ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
  10. Eye Catching by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Unless these people plan on discussing European economic policy while dropping mentos in Diet Coke, or speculate on the future of tribal cultures in a changing political word whilst dancing to the latest incarnation of Numa Numa, I would not hold out hope to the viability of such content to mass audiences.

    More power to them though.

  11. Slashdot not so brainy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Seems as shrill, polarizing, and with the same lack of perspective as much of the MSM. And even on the technical and science articles, we see too much of the same over-blown headlines and "cancer cures" and such. Precious little than trolling for page views, if you ask me.

  12. It would be nice if by zappepcs · · Score: 2, Interesting

    some cable station actually created a news and info channel that performed as well as my use of the Internet for news? Seriously, a couple of hosts out front and a couple dozen web searchers, a few people coordinating the display of data... 30 minutes of the news Internet style without typing or clicking... hmmmmmm

    No, I don't mean something stupid, but for every story I read about, I can quickly verify with a second or third source. When a new word or entity pops up I can hit Google or Wikipedia or other sites for reference quickly....

    Well, not sure how it would work, but I wish news stations would take a clue from how the Internet is used.

  13. nice idea by Lord+Ender · · Score: 0

    I, for one, welcome our intellectual webcasting overloards.

    --
    A slashdotter who didn't build his own computer is like a Jedi who didn't build his own lightsaber.
    1. Re:nice idea by $RANDOMLUSER · · Score: 1

      I, for one, welcome our intellectual webcasting overloards. -- You are making a tired and unfunny Microsoft joke--Cancel or Allow?
      Tail recursion: see Tail recursion
      --
      No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
  14. It is about time by Orion+Blastar · · Score: 1

    we have had online encyclopedias, online open source books, it is only a matter of time before we get online videos that educate instead of appeal to the lower common denominator.

    In the USA we have an education problem, people dropping out of high school or college or never going to college. If professors and experts want to make educational videos to stimulate the mind, go right ahead. I can enjoy that sort of video. It would be like taking a Telecourse for a college.

    --
    Remember, Slashdot does not have a -1 disagree moderation, and no, troll, flamebait, and overrated are not substitutes.
  15. Reminds me of Keeping up Appearances... by benhocking · · Score: 1

    Specifically that great intellect known as Onslow, who was always trying to better himself by watching Open University.

    --
    Ben Hocking
    Need a professional organizer?
  16. So now... by enc0der · · Score: 1

    ...instead of having to be there and fall asleep in an uncomfortable chair, you can stay at your computer and fall asleep drooling on your keyboard :) All joking aside, there are certainly a lot of people I'd like to listen to their speeches that I would not typically have access to.

  17. Of course this will work by starfishsystems · · Score: 1
    Of course this will work. It's the same principle that gave rise to the Internet and FTP and HTTP and all the rest.

    With the cost of entry converging toward zero, it's not hard to cross the point where it's easier and cheaper to just do it than to worry about how to make money doing it.

    --
    Parity: What to do when the weekend comes.
  18. Yes, that will be MUCH brainier... by ScentCone · · Score: 1

    ... because there's nothing like good, intellectual think tank , I always say.

    --
    Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    1. Re:Yes, that will be MUCH brainier... by Synic · · Score: 1

      Don't forget all the ones that give a helping hand to technology companies (Microsoft, SCO, etc) and political orgs (RNC).

  19. TED by DrWho520 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    TED

    --
    The cancel button is your friend. Do not hesitate to use it.
  20. Mediasite - 13,000 presentations by BaumSquad · · Score: 3, Interesting
    There is already a great site for this type of smart content. YouTube for Braniacs, if you will. Check out Mediasite.com There are over 13,000 presentations available to peruse through, and even cooler, you can search within these presentations and it will find the words you search both in the OCR text of the supporting materials (powerpoint, doc cam, or whatever) and even within the spoken text! Really cool tech.

    I am affiliated with the site, as I work for the manufacturer, Sonic Foundry, of the technology that creates the content that all of this is made from. But it's still way cool, and certainly the search tech is really cool, and it's really available, right now. Sweet.

  21. This won't be complete.. by Rob+T+Firefly · · Score: 1

    ..unless each video ends with the professorial type energetically lip-synching to a foreign pop-song.

  22. Might be nice by CastrTroy · · Score: 1

    It might be nice to have some intelligent content on the web for once. I go to the top 100 videos on Google video (via sageTV) once in a while. It's disappointing that at least 80% of it is half naked 16-24 year old girls and guys getting kicked in the balls. You'd think that people would get tired of watching that stuff after a while. I know I did. It would be nice to go to a site where the content is supposed to stimulate your brain. Other sites have their uses, but I think it's kind of depressing that nobody wants to do anything that requires thinking.

    --

    Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
    1. Re:Might be nice by Hatta · · Score: 1

      It's disappointing that at least 80% of it is half naked 16-24 year old girls

      Half-naked? That is disappointing.

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
  23. Yet another niche search engine by michaelmalak · · Score: 2, Interesting
    YouTube has plenty of this stuff already. It's just that YouTube's search facilities are a still immature. But not impossible. You can subscribe to "channels". You can click on your favorite authors and see what they've produced lately.

    It's like all those niche search engines that were supposed to compete against Google. Yes, some people use them, but not as many as the niche search engine developers would have liked.

    BTW, OT, my two favorite YouTube fictional series are:

    1. AfterWorld
    2. We Need Girlfriends
    1. Re:Yet another niche search engine by RealGrouchy · · Score: 1

      YouTube has plenty of this stuff already. No, it said "Online Video Suddenly Gets Brainy", not Grainy!

      - RG>
      --
      Hey pal, this isn't a pleasantforest, so don't waste my time with pleasantries!
    2. Re:Yet another niche search engine by British · · Score: 1

      YouTube's search engine while I agree is immature(you can't do specific searches on tags/metadata that you can input in uploaded videos), but still 100 times better than google video's crude layout & search.

      I swear any search I do on google video ends up with Charlie Rose programs in the search results. Like I wanna see him!

  24. That's better...Free degrees. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "I'm glad to see another opportunity to enhance knowledge on the net. Seeing more free course material (as in those of MIT) and getting more info from discussions etc. might just make it more accessible for people to gain knowledge and not hang around the tv all day because they can't afford a decent education."

    And how many people have their degrees through Download-U?

  25. They need better web page design. by Ungrounded+Lightning · · Score: 1

    They need better web page design (or perhaps more testing against various browser configurations or web page standards).

    I tried viewing their site:
      - using firefox 1.5(.0.9) (the latest my Employer's IT people certify),
      - with expanded fonts (for my poor aged eyes on a hi-res LCD screen)
    and found it unusable.

    The positions of various items are forced in such a way that the text is all overlapping and the "advanced search" box (along with several other items) is buried under the sample program selections - just for two problems.

    --
    Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
    1. Re:They need better web page design. by Ungrounded+Lightning · · Score: 1

      - using firefox 1.5(.0.9) (the latest my Employer's IT people certify),

      Oops: Mozilla 2.0(.0.1)

      It's broken the same way on both.

      --
      Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
    2. Re:They need better web page design. by Ungrounded+Lightning · · Score: 1

      Oops: Mozilla 2.0(.0.1)

      Double oops: That should have been Firefox 2.0(.0.1)

      --
      Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
  26. Not free degrees, free Knowledge! by JamesTRexx · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Not having a degree != being dumb, as is having a degree != being smart.
    This is one convenient way to provide knowledge to people. Those that really want a piece of paper for proof can always do official exams.

    --
    home
  27. How about all the old Educational TV Programs by shoor · · Score: 1

    Before PBS there was National Educational Television, which had a miniscule audience
    but there were shows that people liked. Max Morath had a show about ragtime for example.
    I remember a show called "Two For Physics" which was done by a couple of Physics Professors
    and very low budget, but I liked it and learned a thing or two from it.

    PBS also had a show called "Mathnet". And there was "3-2-1 Contact!". Why not resurrect
    some of these shows and make them available?

    --
    In theory, theory and practice are the same; in practice they're different. (Yogi Berra & A. Einstein)
    1. Re:How about all the old Educational TV Programs by Ctrl-Z · · Score: 1

      How about bringing back programs that teach us how to spell words like "minuscule"?

      --
      www.timcoleman.com is a total waste of your time. Never go there.
  28. It would be nice if-IoTV. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Well, not sure how it would work, but I wish news stations would take a clue from how the Internet is used."

    They already did.

  29. Next step in progression by jasmak · · Score: 1

    Will be to have people sumarize each of the online videos and dumb them down and repost their own version so that people will actually have the patience to read them because you know that the general public doesnt want to have to think for themselves

    --
    It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
  30. bloggingheads.tv by jalefkowit · · Score: 2, Informative

    Another example of brainier-than-usual video that isn't mentioned in TFA is bloggingheads.tv, which hosts hour-long dialogues between two experts on various issues of the day (mostly political, but sometimes they have science, religion & culture too).

    Of course, since "experts on various issues of the day" tend not to be among the most attractive people in the world, and the video is just of them talking, I have no idea why they don't just do audio-only and save bandwidth. But if you've got a Mickey Kaus pin-up on you're wall, consider your day made!

  31. Next step in digression by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Will be to have people sumarize each of the online videos and dumb them down and repost their own version so that people will actually have the patience to read them because you know that the general public doesnt want to have to think for themselves"

    Uh, huh. Well that would explain the low number of posts to the slashdot science stories.

  32. interesting lecture about privacy by polar+red · · Score: 1

    privacy, liberty: the history
    http://fora.tv/fora/showthread.php?t=889

    --
    Yes, I'm left. You have a problem with that?
  33. Here's a GIRL trying to brain it up on YouTube :-) by chazzzzy · · Score: 1

    She teaches you the origin of a new word each week.. plus she's hot :-)

    http://www.youtube.com/hotforwords

  34. I don't get it, how is that not a $SERIOUS_TOPIC? by msouth · · Score: 2, Funny

    I mean, I searched for boobies and found this.

    I would think video of that would be very educational. What are you guys on about? You don't think zoology is cerebral?

    --
    Liberty uber alles.
  35. Easily Searchable by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I tried searching for the name of the guy I was watching on Fora.tv and could not find it.

  36. other offerings... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
  37. Penis Power vs. Vagina Power by GuyMannDude · · Score: 0, Troll

    Funny you should post this story about the educational value of the web today. I just watched a video of an Atlanta public access TV show in which the woman gives a very insightful explanation of the evils of men who are good in bed. Before online video, only the good folks of Atlanta would be able to enjoy this material. Today, you can all watch and learn by clicking this link.

    Watch the video before modding me down, guys. I think you'll find it very Informative and perhaps even Insightful.

    GMD

  38. new trend, but not *really* new. by morethanapapercert · · Score: 3, Informative
    I have been watching two sites regularly for "brainy TV". Both consist of generally very good public speakers giving a lecture or presentation about important concepts. The first I found was TED which focuses more on future concepts, developing trends in society and that sort of forward looking stuff. The second was one I first discovered on my local PBS station (TV Ontario) and later hunted down online. The show is Big Ideas which features mainly the most skilled Canadian College and University lecturers talking about the subjects that they teach.

    I particularly liked Jacalyn Duffin's lecture about the history of medicine during the Rational Movement and it's relation to the scientific method in making a diagnosis.

    If anyone knows of any other good webcast sites (other than the MIT open courseware project, which I already have.) please let me know.

    --
    I need a wheelchair van for my son. Help me get the word out. https://www.gofundme.com/wheelchair-van-for-jj
  39. Long Now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I attend almost every seminar from the Long Now Foundation (http://www.longnow.org), they record and post everything on their website, powered by FORA.tv; it is very nifty, each session is indexed to the word, so you can click on any word in the context and the video will jump to that particular point.

  40. I'm psyched by seandiggity · · Score: 1

    There's definitely an audience for this, and I can think of dozens of my own friends who'd be interested (some of them teachers). Academia has been waiting for a service like this to be available for some time. Right now, I get my lectures through P2P and torrents but this will be nice for stuff I don't want to keep, don't want to wait for, or can't find elsewhere.

    --
    Geeks like to think that they can ignore politics, you can leave politics alone, but politics won't leave you alone.-rms
  41. Perimeter Institute by Secret+Rabbit · · Score: 1

    The Perimeter Institute has been putting its lectures online for some time now.

    http://www.perimeterinstitute.ca/

    Now I agree that it's good to have a central location for this sort of thing, but its hardly revolutionary.

  42. Nico Nico Douga by Dorceon · · Score: 1

    This Japanese YouTube clone (currently in closed gamma) lets viewers add their comments in the form of subtitles that scroll across the video. It's like the inanity of YouTube mixed with the inanity of 2ch. Wait, maybe this wasn't a good response to a post about online video getting brainy.

    --
    What sound do people on rollercoasters make? Hint: it's not Xbox 360.
  43. YouTube has Brainy by Ctrl-Z · · Score: 1
    --
    www.timcoleman.com is a total waste of your time. Never go there.
  44. Here's some brainy fare by WamBamBoozle · · Score: 2, Informative

    I enjoy the Stanford CS Colloquium.

    The article doesn't actually link to the subject sites, so here you are: fora.tv and ResearchChannel.

  45. Video on FORA.tv you should check out by dbsynergy · · Score: 1

    There is a pretty amazing video on FORA.tv with Will Wright from MAXIS talking about programming generative systems and showing a demo of his new game Spore. The whole clip is backed up by Brian Eno playing generativly created music. http://fora.tv/fora/showthread.php?t=451

  46. Faster to read than to watch by Mandrel · · Score: 1

    I can find and absorb information through transcripts much faster and more reliably than by watching or listening to a lecture. The way material is presented can be enlightening or entertaining, but this is usually when the aim is entertainment rather than learning.

    The most important part of an oral presentation is the post-lecture question and answer session. Oral debate does allow for rapid to and fro, though usually the thoughts presented are more shallow and half-baked than is the case for written debates. I've written more about this here.

    1. Re:Faster to read than to watch by morethanapapercert · · Score: 1
      I agree, if I am trying to study and learn I do much better with a well written and illustrated textbook. Watching the babble box is different, that's something I do to relax and be entertained. Mainstream TV offends me however, and being a geek, I find watching a deep documentary or well presented lecture to be relaxing, engaging and fun! My wife (yes, a slashdotter who is actually married!) does not share my tastes in TV programming* however, so when I want to sit and veg out in front of the tube, it's at my monitor, not the set in the living room.




      *Or several other forms of personal entertainment. Our last vacation, I packed a Java textbook I borrowed from the library, she packed a sudoku book bought at a news-stand.

      --
      I need a wheelchair van for my son. Help me get the word out. https://www.gofundme.com/wheelchair-van-for-jj
  47. And the search box only allows sixtee by mnemotronic · · Score: 1

    The default "search" box only allows 16 characters. For more than 16 chars, you have to use the "Advanced search". I guess that means, for the brainiac network, use of 17 characters makes you "advanced". Woohoo.

    --
    The Russians have won. They have made the world a cesspool of distrust, greed, fear and hate.
  48. And some of them are open source video, too... by christian.einfeldt · · Score: 1
    London's largest daily newspaper, The Daily Telegraph, recently did a story on open source video:

    According to proponents of a burgeoning new genre of independent film - "open source" cinema - New Line's U-turn [in adopting changes demanded by the prospective film audience] foreshadows the future of filmmaking, one where audiences control what kind of movies get made.
    More info on open source video can be found on Wikipedia's article on the subject. Newsforge's very own Joe "Zonker" Brockmeier has also penned an article about the subject. Bias disclosure: I have sunk a bunch of money into producing a free open source video project called the Digital Tipping Point, and we are giving away our "source code" for free (as in free speech and free beer) on the Internet Archive's Digital Tipping Point, which you are going to have to google yourself, because I don't want to do too much shameless self-promotion here.
  49. Eggheads? Nice term. by polyex · · Score: 1

    The article states : Suddenly,The Web Is Giving Eggheads Something to Watch. I imagine that "eggheads" a rather dumb epithet, could sometimes be applied to the very folks who designed "the web" at CERN in the first place.