Actually, we're not particularly different - IIRC, the only difference in the Australian DVB-T standard compared to the rest of the world is that we mandate AC3 audio on HD.
Which is not so different from DVD standards - MP2+LPCM in R2&4, AC3+LPCM everywhere else.
Apart from the botched rollout, government & vested interest interference, and the generally fscked-up handling of the whole thing, the only other difference is the frequency bands. Which aren't specified in the DVB-T spec anyway, and so are left up to individual countries to determine. We get the legacy of our hybrid analogue VHF-UHF past.
Rightly or wrongly, the computer world has been drooling for the convergence of the PC and the loungeroom. So far, that's been a pipe dream - really, it seems the majority of people just don't feel the need for a PC that links into their entertainment systems like that. Which is why stand-alone devices, up to and including TiVo, have worked - while other things, like WinXP MCE, have pretty much been duds.
Given Apple's track record, their understanding of markets, and their ability to package a whole product which does what it claims to in a simple, useful, and aesthetically pleasing way, this would have a better chance than most previous attempts at being _the_ breakthough device they've been looking for.
What you denigrate as "cute packaging" - nice box, nice interface, etc - is essentially the only thing the people pushing for this kind of convergence have to offer.
Which is not to say I agree - despite having a PC permanently in the lounge room, hooked up up to my TV & digital PVR, I really can't see the point. The "converged PC" is a solution to a problem that exists only in the minds of marketers and the wet dreams of futurists - not in the minds of the market itself.
What? You thought it was "to protect the kiddies"? Or so employers can protect themselves from lost work time, allegations of failing to enforce policies to minimise sexual harassment, and lawsuits from employees who suddenly develop hairy palms?
No, it's all about making money and looking good...
$20 New DVD $02 But I don't get packaging. Minus $2. $01 I don't get fixed media. I have to store this myself. Minus $1 $05 DRMed to hell! I can't make backups! Minus $5. $05 I have to download it and pay for the bandwidth. Minus $5. ---- $8
Not being able to perform simple subtraction? Priceless...
"eMarkMonitor can not only help you make your mark but it also can aid you in protecting it. The comany provides software used to manage intellectual property on the Internet, including applications for brand management and trademark management, as well as protecting Web site domains and enterprise DNS information. eMarkMonitor also provides fraud protection applications used to detecting, analyze, and combat phishing attacks. The company's customers come from a wide range of fields and typically are attorneys, marketing and brand managers, and channel managers."
Y'know, if I was a domain-squatter who wanted to present a sophisticated face in order to target the high-end market, that's exactly the kind of copy I'd put on my website...
But Slashdot wouldn't be Slashdot if it didn't hype every trial balloon Google sent up. Soon you'll be seeing the following on high school logic tests:
Nothing against hydrogen per se, but half the nation seems to think of it as an energy source, which of course it isn't..
And, just to straighten it all out (and make a point;-), neither is oil. It's just that the time difference between energy input into the carrier/medium, and energy output, is measured in millions of years, not hours/days/weeks/months. And somebody else - Mother Nature - put in all the hard work of converting hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, and sunlight into a recoverable energy storage medium.
That is, of course, assuming that the oil industry & apologists are wrong, and there aren't huge colonies of bacteria producing millions of barrels of oil right now under our feet...
Nah, it'll be easy - all they have to do is tell everybody that this was mandated and started by the evil Clinton Demo_rats, backed by the lib'rul media cabal, and it would take too many valuable tax dollars for the government to back out of it now. Not to mention that all honest, God-fearing Republicans would shudder at the thought of government telling good honest corporations what to do.
(Was it even started by the Clinton government? I'm Australian, so I neither know nor care. But do you think that the actual truth of who started the ball rolling would make any difference to the media spin campaign?)
((I'm just laughing because your DTV changeover seems to be even more fscked up than ours;-))
* PHP is a scripting language and you can't do anything but write web pages with it.
Scripting language, yes. But it most certainly can [php.net] be used for things other than websites.
I once started to write a HTPC front-end using the PHP CLI - reading data from an IR receiver on a serial port via serproxy, writing directly to the IE DOM (via COM/DCOM) to build on-screen menus, and controlling Media Player Classic via its built-in HTTP server.
I will admit that I, someone who is most definitely not a programmer, eventually became so disgusted by the number of really nasty hacks I was implementing that actually worked that I gave it up in despair at the monster I'd created...
The Doctor holds a switch in his hands that will completely eradicate the Daleks, and refuses to use it since he believes that the good done in creating the united opposition to the Daleks outweighs the evil the Daleks do themselves.
From memory, in that storyline doesn't he end up blowing them up anyway? Admittedly, by then the explosives have been mis-aligned by the immature daleks so the end result is that their development is merely delayed, not stopped - but after his pontificating and indecision, all it took for him to change his mind was being choked half to death by some green bubblewrap;-)
Toshiba sell a similar HD PVR in Australia, but it's (a) buggy, (b) lacking some of the dual-recording features, (c) lacking the PC connection, and (d) not upgradeable as far as I know.
About 15 years ago, I was driving from Brisbane to Sydney one rainy night. All the way from the NSW border, I kept coming across warning signs saying "Roadworks Ahead - 5km", "Roadworks Ahead - 2km", "Roadworks Ahead - 1km", "Roadworks Ahead" - only to find the "roadworks" was a small pothole that had been filled in the day before.
Lulled into a false sense of security by this, and driving in the rain at 110kph, I saw a little sign by the side of the road on a blind corner saying "Roadworks Ahead" - and immediately hit a huge patch of lightly-tarred loose road base where they'd dug up an entire 200m stretch of the road from the apex of the corner!
After almost losing it and swerving to a stop, heart in my mouth, I looked over and saw 2 sets of headlights, both upside down and pointing into the sky. And this grizzled old country local walked up to my car, tapped on the window, and said "don't you city dickheads take any notice of signs!"
They're annoying, intrusive, and 99% of the time, irrelevant.
And with what?
Firefox and Adblock.
Do you view internet ads as different from say, TV ads?
Yes. Internet ads are more annoying, intrusive, and irrelevant than TV ads - yet easier to get rid of.
What about in a magazine?
If any of the magazines I buy changed to having annoying, intrusive, and 99% irrelevant ads, you bet I'd stop buying it.
Do you not buy a magazine because it has too many?
Yup. Gave up buying computer magazines about 15 years ago because of exactly this reason - that, the 4 month lag in stories, the paid product placement "reviews", and the 12-month story recycling.
Now that I've done your research for you, marketing weasel, fsck off back to whatever arsehole you crawled out of...
"And who's gonna fly it, kid - you?" "You bet! Why, I -" "Recording music ain't like dusting crops, boy. Without precise calculations you'd bury yourself in the mix, or sound too close to a pop tartlet, and that would end your trip real quick, wouldn't it?"
Doctor Doom wants to kill Reed Richards, but not really, since that would make his life purposeless... In the end, nothing has changed, and the writers can reuse the same characters and basic plot structures again and again infinitum.
What makes this interesting is how it relates to the American psyche. There's a huge parallel between this and the Cold War, from its proto-origins in the 20's and 30's, hitting its stride in the 50's and 60's. Hell, look around at what's going on now.
Peter Parker, Bruce Wayne... neither wanted to be heroes, but both felt they were forced into it. Yet they follow their paths with gusto, sure in the self-evident knowledge that they're on the side of Right rather than bully vigilantes...
At least in manga and anime it's not so clear-cut - the "hero" is not always the good guy, and when the job's done, the series ends - they (generally) don't go running around looking for something new to fight.
(Which incidentally is why - even though I'd love there to be more - I'd be satisfied if "Firefly" ends with "Serenity".)
So, you don't have multi-standard TVs in the US? Your DVD players don't do at least a half-arsed conversion from one standard to another? (What's the reverse of PAL-60? NTSC-50? So what if you lose 40-odd lines top and bottom?)
If that's the case: wow, what a backwards, insular country...
These things are pretty much standard in the rest of the world - any TV less than 10 years old is almost sure to natively handle PAL/SECAM & NTSC. And if you can't walk into a major retailer and buy a decent name-brand DVD player that's region-free out of the box (or with codes in the user manual), then you're not trying...
At least, that's the case in Australia. Hell, some of the major DVD retailers here stock R1 titles on the shelf alongside R4.
Sir, I'd like to shake your hand - on an Internet where spelling and grammer (sic) are approached losely (sic), I'm awarding you a gold star -> *
(May not be real gold. Actual colour will depend on variables including, but not limited to, user stylesheet and monitor calibration. Void where prohibited by law.)
In fact, I bet you even know why "whets" is the correct word, rather than "wets". It's just a pity nobody else does...
No, he's saying that it wouldn't make a list that's dedicated to real SciFi. And I tend to agree, though I'd probably include it if I was stuck to come up with anything else after the first 49. Because really, the only real SciFi aspect of it is that "robots" have developed a "religion" - and it fails to make much of that because their religion is so close to human religious beliefs.
Apart from that, as I've commented elsewhere it's really just "The Fugitive" - or one of 100's of other "chase, capture, escape in the nick of times" stories - with technologically sophisticated getaway vehicles. One could even make a fair argument that it shares more in common with "The Dukes Of Hazzard" than actual SciFi;-)
OK, so even assuming it's just a western, you'd have to admit it's a good western. Much deeper than the average 40's-70's western. More "Pale Rider" than anything starring Randolph Scott or the Duke.
But if you want to ignore that level of things, try explaining why BSG isn't just a souped-up version of "The Fugitive", or any of the 100's of other "running away, nearly caught, then escape just in time for the end of the episode" plotlines. Just substitute the 13th Colony / Earth for a one-armed man...
Beyond that, you're getting into "hard" vs "soft" SciFi territory. And, lets face it, hard SciFi where the technology is the point of the story just doesn't work in the visual medium - it needs to be read, so your mind and imagination can digest, discover, and consider the implications. It just doesn't work when it's 42 minutes @ 25fps, or even 120 minutes @ 24fps...
Slashdot Mirror
Actually, we're not particularly different - IIRC, the only difference in the Australian DVB-T standard compared to the rest of the world is that we mandate AC3 audio on HD.
Which is not so different from DVD standards - MP2+LPCM in R2&4, AC3+LPCM everywhere else.
Apart from the botched rollout, government & vested interest interference, and the generally fscked-up handling of the whole thing, the only other difference is the frequency bands. Which aren't specified in the DVB-T spec anyway, and so are left up to individual countries to determine. We get the legacy of our hybrid analogue VHF-UHF past.
Rightly or wrongly, the computer world has been drooling for the convergence of the PC and the loungeroom. So far, that's been a pipe dream - really, it seems the majority of people just don't feel the need for a PC that links into their entertainment systems like that. Which is why stand-alone devices, up to and including TiVo, have worked - while other things, like WinXP MCE, have pretty much been duds.
Given Apple's track record, their understanding of markets, and their ability to package a whole product which does what it claims to in a simple, useful, and aesthetically pleasing way, this would have a better chance than most previous attempts at being _the_ breakthough device they've been looking for.
What you denigrate as "cute packaging" - nice box, nice interface, etc - is essentially the only thing the people pushing for this kind of convergence have to offer.
Which is not to say I agree - despite having a PC permanently in the lounge room, hooked up up to my TV & digital PVR, I really can't see the point. The "converged PC" is a solution to a problem that exists only in the minds of marketers and the wet dreams of futurists - not in the minds of the market itself.
2 things:
What? You thought it was "to protect the kiddies"? Or so employers can protect themselves from lost work time, allegations of failing to enforce policies to minimise sexual harassment, and lawsuits from employees who suddenly develop hairy palms?
No, it's all about making money and looking good...
C'mon, if the 5th Element should be on there, so should Armageddon. At least it sucked like the vacuum of space through a pinhole in a spacesuit...
Maybe you shouldn't have chosen a digital TV standard different to the rest of the world?
The US as 'the France of the 21st century"? You wish...
One wearing a 7-of-9 costume...
But Slashdot wouldn't be Slashdot if it didn't hype every trial balloon Google sent up. Soon you'll be seeing the following on high school logic tests:
That is, of course, assuming that the oil industry & apologists are wrong, and there aren't huge colonies of bacteria producing millions of barrels of oil right now under our feet...
Nah, it'll be easy - all they have to do is tell everybody that this was mandated and started by the evil Clinton Demo_rats, backed by the lib'rul media cabal, and it would take too many valuable tax dollars for the government to back out of it now. Not to mention that all honest, God-fearing Republicans would shudder at the thought of government telling good honest corporations what to do.
;-))
(Was it even started by the Clinton government? I'm Australian, so I neither know nor care. But do you think that the actual truth of who started the ball rolling would make any difference to the media spin campaign?)
((I'm just laughing because your DTV changeover seems to be even more fscked up than ours
I'm An Individual
I will admit that I, someone who is most definitely not a programmer, eventually became so disgusted by the number of really nasty hacks I was implementing that actually worked that I gave it up in despair at the monster I'd created...
You want one of these:
Australian FTA SD digital version, UK SD digital FTA version, European SD digital satellite version. Twin digital tuners (record 1 channel, watch another; record 2 channels, watch a previous recording), USB connection so you can download recordings to a PC to burn to DVD, and upgradeable HDD (400GB & beyond).
Toshiba sell a similar HD PVR in Australia, but it's (a) buggy, (b) lacking some of the dual-recording features, (c) lacking the PC connection, and (d) not upgradeable as far as I know.
Lulled into a false sense of security by this, and driving in the rain at 110kph, I saw a little sign by the side of the road on a blind corner saying "Roadworks Ahead" - and immediately hit a huge patch of lightly-tarred loose road base where they'd dug up an entire 200m stretch of the road from the apex of the corner!
After almost losing it and swerving to a stop, heart in my mouth, I looked over and saw 2 sets of headlights, both upside down and pointing into the sky. And this grizzled old country local walked up to my car, tapped on the window, and said "don't you city dickheads take any notice of signs!"
Firefox and Adblock.
Yes. Internet ads are more annoying, intrusive, and irrelevant than TV ads - yet easier to get rid of.
If any of the magazines I buy changed to having annoying, intrusive, and 99% irrelevant ads, you bet I'd stop buying it.
Yup. Gave up buying computer magazines about 15 years ago because of exactly this reason - that, the 4 month lag in stories, the paid product placement "reviews", and the 12-month story recycling.
Now that I've done your research for you, marketing weasel, fsck off back to whatever arsehole you crawled out of...
"And who's gonna fly it, kid - you?"
"You bet! Why, I -"
"Recording music ain't like dusting crops, boy. Without precise calculations you'd bury yourself in the mix, or sound too close to a pop tartlet, and that would end your trip real quick, wouldn't it?"
Peter Parker, Bruce Wayne
Cause? Effect? Positive reinforcement? Coincidence?
At least in manga and anime it's not so clear-cut - the "hero" is not always the good guy, and when the job's done, the series ends - they (generally) don't go running around looking for something new to fight.
(Which incidentally is why - even though I'd love there to be more - I'd be satisfied if "Firefly" ends with "Serenity".)
So, you don't have multi-standard TVs in the US? Your DVD players don't do at least a half-arsed conversion from one standard to another? (What's the reverse of PAL-60? NTSC-50? So what if you lose 40-odd lines top and bottom?)
If that's the case: wow, what a backwards, insular country...
These things are pretty much standard in the rest of the world - any TV less than 10 years old is almost sure to natively handle PAL/SECAM & NTSC. And if you can't walk into a major retailer and buy a decent name-brand DVD player that's region-free out of the box (or with codes in the user manual), then you're not trying...
At least, that's the case in Australia. Hell, some of the major DVD retailers here stock R1 titles on the shelf alongside R4.
(May not be real gold. Actual colour will depend on variables including, but not limited to, user stylesheet and monitor calibration. Void where prohibited by law.)
In fact, I bet you even know why "whets" is the correct word, rather than "wets". It's just a pity nobody else does...
No, he's saying that it wouldn't make a list that's dedicated to real SciFi. And I tend to agree, though I'd probably include it if I was stuck to come up with anything else after the first 49. Because really, the only real SciFi aspect of it is that "robots" have developed a "religion" - and it fails to make much of that because their religion is so close to human religious beliefs.
;-)
Apart from that, as I've commented elsewhere it's really just "The Fugitive" - or one of 100's of other "chase, capture, escape in the nick of times" stories - with technologically sophisticated getaway vehicles. One could even make a fair argument that it shares more in common with "The Dukes Of Hazzard" than actual SciFi
OK, so even assuming it's just a western, you'd have to admit it's a good western. Much deeper than the average 40's-70's western. More "Pale Rider" than anything starring Randolph Scott or the Duke.
But if you want to ignore that level of things, try explaining why BSG isn't just a souped-up version of "The Fugitive", or any of the 100's of other "running away, nearly caught, then escape just in time for the end of the episode" plotlines. Just substitute the 13th Colony / Earth for a one-armed man...
Beyond that, you're getting into "hard" vs "soft" SciFi territory. And, lets face it, hard SciFi where the technology is the point of the story just doesn't work in the visual medium - it needs to be read, so your mind and imagination can digest, discover, and consider the implications. It just doesn't work when it's 42 minutes @ 25fps, or even 120 minutes @ 24fps...