ok, it's been established that it's time-warner, who distributes/creates/produces movies & music. they're trying to protecte this. who hosts 85% of all movies/music? cable/dsl users. why not just put a 200 MB a month cap on data uploads, excluding file transfer download requests, html requests, ect? the real warez kiddies would find a way around this, but like shitting down napster, it would kill approximatly 90% of the casual user from sharing at best more than a couple of songs or sending a Q3 mod to a friend so they can both play b/c filepnaet sucks ass. there's plenty of downstream bandwidth avalible.
the palm professional, palm III, palm VII, and m10x series all share the same "syncing" serial port. the palm V, Vx, m40x, 50x and palm 70x share a seperate, slimmer connector, but the same pinout. you could hack together a bluetooth connector for a palm V and wire it to your palm prof./III/m 10x
ah. sorry. i've never been particularly clear on what exactly is a megabit - recently i read that 1 megabit = 100kbps, of course, that's probably, kiloBYTEs, but yeah. 7 somthing. thanks again, you've helped clear up alot of things. although now i'm not so impressed by my "3 megabit" cable broadband connection;-)
my electric shaver, which is touted as 100% waterproof, has a "wireless" charging feature:) - what it does (to the best of my knoweldge) is the "base" modulates an electromagnetic field of some sort, which pushes a small piece of iron (or the likes) up and down, and somehow creating an electric charge from that, and charges the battery. of course, the charger and shaver have to be w/in 2 or 3 mm, but it's been doing the trick for about 3 years now. it's a panasonic, i think. standard feature. my friend looked into doing a "wireless power" for a science fair experiment - turns out the amount of radiation it would cause (he was thinking tesla-coil archs between components) would kill the user of either a) radiation poisioning in a week, or b) kill the user of radiation through cancer in a year or so. not exactly healthy.
kinetic recharge would be interesting. very doable, except that people are particularly gentle with PDA's, and are "worn" in the shirt pocket, or belt, which don't go "upside down" very often, if ever, unlike the wrist.
what i'd like to see is a hack job of a 3.0 v solar panel from radio shack (~$3) and letting it run off that. I don't know if it has enough amperage, though.
because A) most mac users don't have a serial port to connect to (or too cheap to buy a usb connector) their palm b) wireless is handy if you have a laptop in general c) wires suck, especially dongles. d) bluetooth is i think 7 megabits, which is faster than serial/paralell's 116500 bps. most likely it'll be faster.
heaven forbid that you're an existing palm user, with, say, a m100, or a IIIex (the cheap model), that were the last models to come out before the SDIO slot was standard. i guess this is the "killer hardware" to get people to upgrade. I'd still like to see a bluetooth "chip" that i can plug into the serial port of my m100.
there's a serial -> USB adaptor.... i'm sure that + a bluetooth card from Apple + lots of time and effort = a usable solution. of course; it won't work with any of palm's new spiffy bluetooth apps, such as "bluechat" (aim over bluetooth, essentially), and blueboard (networked "whiteboard" app)
personally what i'd like to see is a USB bluetooth adaptor like apple's d-link one, that has the driver software on it (linux, mac, windows) on 64k of flash memory, + java aim/jabber chat, lynx web browser, and dhcp built in. plug it into your ipaq, laptop, or school computer.
just curious, but what publication releases these sorts of numbers? the G.I.A. just recently went under, and a source like that would probably be a good replacement
"sub-pixel rendered text" = anti-aliased text? doesn't mac OS X, win XP and KDE 3.0 all do this? and it gets outputed to the monitor (be it lcd or crt) to be displayed...all that is done in software. or is there a difference here i'm missing? don't get me wrong, i love LCD displays, i'm ordering a nec 15" next week, but you may want to check your facts on that one.
most likely you'll end up doing a hack job of some sort, be it new cold cathrode tubes, or simply a hallogen light pointed at the back of the exposed LCD panel. backlights in laptops are generally propriataty, especially in the slim-line laptops. my powerbook g4 has an lcd display that's probably slightly more than 1/8th"" - and you just have to replace the entire thing, outercase and all. $400 : (
the geeky thing to do
on
No-click Mouse?
·
· Score: 2, Funny
the geeky thing to do would be to use your standard mouse, or maybe a serial mouse, plug it into a set of driving-game pedals (1 gas, 1 brake). Epoxy your mouse buttons in the up position, and don't use the click function until you hack together a driver that lets you do variable-force clicking.:)
just taking a stab at this, but when you have 1000 machines in a 50x50 room, you're gonna need a whole lot more aire flow than your standard a/c can produce, unless, of course, this room doubles as the main oven for the cafeteria or somthing:). The fans on the actual computers are only one source of noise. The room's cooling system is another major factor. You may want to look into how exactly the air comes from the outside, what exactly is filtering it, and what kinds of air filters are on your return air. Think of the room as a very large computer case - the smoother the air flow, the less air that needs to be pushed at high force through the system (case). If airflow was increased by 50%, you could drop the a/c usage by 50% (because of easier airflow), and probably at least a 30% cut in noise/general vibration (ac runs at less power, vibrates less, ect).
umm, slight mirror since it's being slashdotted...
on
2.4 Megabit Cellular Modem
·
· Score: 3, Informative
this is the meat of the article. the pictures aren't really worth too much looking at. get a dvd case out and two black pens. there you go. here's the article:
The System
The particular 3G technology under examination in this review is called 1xEV-DO, which is a CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) technology developed by Qualcomm. Picking apart the acronym is instructive. If you ask an engineer, the "1x" stands for "single carrier," which means it operates in a single 1.25 MHz frequency band just like existing CDMA cellular systems. If you ask a marketing rep, "1x" means the "first phase" of the third-generation wireless systems, implying more good things to come. The "EV" is for "Evolution," meaning the technology is an outgrowth of the base 1x standard, functioning as an interim solution for high-speed data while waiting for the "3x" multi-carrier systems being standardized by the ITU. "DO" stands for Data Only (the marketing guy would say "Data Optimized"), meaning that the entire 1.25 MHz channel is dedicated to data traffic and not shared with voice calls. So the present system implements the data-only variety of the evolution of the first phase of the third generation of wireless cellular technology. Got it?
If acronym soup isn't your bag, simply "fast" will do. 1xEV transmits in the same frequency bands as existing cellular systems and uses similar radio-frequency transmission equipment (the cell sites you see popping up everywhere), but employs packet-switched connections and a new radio link protocol optimized for high data throughput. The maximum speed of 1xEV -- no drooling now -- is 2.4 Megabits per second on the download link and 153.6 kilobits per second on the upload link. As you're probably thinking, that kind of bandwidth is on par with broadband wired connections like cable or DSL -- and the system delivers.
I was given the opportunity to test out an engineering prototype of a 1xEV-DO wireless cellular modem called the HDR Hornet, developed by Qualcomm as a reference design for their 3G chipsets. HDR is short for High Data Rate, Qualcomm's internal name for 1xEV. Qualcomm just makes the chips and does not sell retail devices, so you will not see this modem on the market. What you will see is a plethora of devices incorporating Qualcomm chips, from cell phones to PDAs to PC Cards to notebooks and devices that have yet to be conceived. Of course, any cellular technology without an appropriate infrastructure is about as useful as a frozen brick; Qualcomm also develops chips and software for cellular base stations, and the HDR modem under review was provided as part of a small over-the-air field trial conducted by Qualcomm in conjunction with the University of California, San Diego. There were three 1xEV cell sites set up on top of Qualcomm and UCSD buildings in the La Jolla, California area for the purpose of stress-testing the system in real-world conditions. Free bandwidth, in range of the beach? One stress test coming up! The Setup
The unit I was supplied with came in a plain white box and a static-proof bag, along with an AC adapter, a dongle to connect the modem to an Ethernet jack, a two-page quick-start guide, and four Velcro stickies to attach it to a laptop. The Hornet itself is something between the size of a DVD movie box and a VHS cassette, measuring 7 1/8" x 4 1/8" x 3/4" HWD (18 cm x 10.5 cm x 1.9 cm) and weighing about 3/4 lbs. (0.35 kg). As you can see, the unit has two 5 3/4" (14.6 cm) antennae that independently swivel up about 200 from alongside the unit, enabling diversity reception for a stronger signal. Keep in mind that this is an engineering prototype; you will probably not see retail devices with this form factor. PC Cards and PDA modules with the same chips inside will likely be the most popular paths to 3G in the near future.
The first thing that struck me about the Hornet is that it looks pretty darn smooth for an engineering reference design, no frills, but all the essentials: AC adapter plug, on/off switch, USB port on the bottom, Ethernet dongle on the right, and four status LEDs on top that wrap around to the back so as to be visible while the unit is stuck to your laptop lid.
Installation and set-up can't be any easier. Taking a cue from the quick-start guide, the process goes something like this:
1. Plug it in.
2. Turn it on.
3. You're good to go.
The unit I was supplied with interfaced via TCP/IP over standard 10 Mbit Ethernet. The Hornet has a built-in DHCP server that automatically serves up the correct TCP/IP settings to your laptop and acts as your default gateway to the network. The connection is "always on" and there is no special dial-up or logon procedure. Having connected this thing to a dozen different computers, I can say that setup was simply a non-issue and took at most two minutes.
USB connectivity was not implemented on the test unit I received, but I can't imagine it being any easier to use than the Ethernet connection. USB will probably be the interface found in most external devices for laptops; unfortunately, this means you are at the mercy of the manufacturer for driver support and you will probably have to install a CD full of video-mail-grandma-with-one-click software to make it work. On the other hand, TCP/IP over Ethernet is standard, well-understood, supported out of the box by every operating system, and already used for Internet connectivity by most laptops. An Ethernet-enabled wireless modem would be a drop-in replacement for a huge installed base of users, but USB + Plug-and-Pray is perceived as being easier for consumers. Go figure. I tested the Hornet through its Ethernet interface with desktops and laptops using a variety of Ethernet cards under Windows 95, 98, and Me, Windows NT4, 2000, and XP, MacOS 8, 9, and X, and Mandrake Linux 7.1 (kernel 2.2.17). All worked flawlessly. A big nod goes to Qualcomm for sticking with open systems and standards. We can only hope retail products will do the same.
Once the unit is connected up and turned on, it takes about five seconds to initialize and then begins searching for a connection. If you're in a covered area, the service light goes green and the receive and transmit lights flash as the fire-breathing modem awakes and stretches its muscles. After living with this unit for a while, the sight of those lights when service comes up is like the geek's version of a well-tuned big-bore Harley's guttural rumble.
but "Parker said people who are isolated, prone to boredom, lonely or sexually anorexic are much more susceptible to becoming addicted to online games."
.......
does this sound like a definition of anyone you know?
...sounds like the ultimate politically correct definition of a geek to me. i like the wordage of "sexually anorexic" - haha. almost as if they chose to be. granted, some people, due to depression can't control this, but we're talking about the majority here.
i thought the rule of thumb was to design for 400% increase in data traffic every year for 10 years. after that, either rip out everything existing, or put in a nex system on top of the old one, the old one becomming a backup. that's how they did it in king county municipal system at least.
yeah, i actually thought about that as i wrote the "1/2".... except that it was meant to justify the "for the 20 and under crowd", as being 18 and the title saying 20...may have raised some questions.
does anyone remember the "my teacher is an alien!! series? plot synopsis: 4th grader finds out teacher is an alien (suprise, suprise), teacher/alien sees him seeing him, and keeping glactic security safe, takes him up into the New Jersey (mega-big spaceship), and they cruise about, saving the universe.
anywho, i read (and probably own) the whole series in probably 4th grade, i'm 18 1/2 now. on one of their missions, they had special devices like this; except it attached to your throat muscles, which is probably a whole lot easier and less conspicious. the funny part was that they had to whisper, otherwise they'd "yell" right into the other people's earsets. good to know this stuff is comming to fruit
the interesting thing about the series, is that it explains in amazingly simple terminology, using a large noodle, how hyperspace works. i'd explain more, but i don't want to get modded offtopic TOO much. and i have to go to work.
the matrix has been sooo long in comming out with sequels though... i have a feeling that matrix 2 will have a crappy turn out (due to length of time between 1 and 2), and as a result will see box office revenues of romeo must die, and 3 will come out the next year in about 100 theaters across the nation, and every one of them will be packed. that's in the US. hong kong and japan are probably going to eat it right up - they already have the anime version of the matrix (haven't seen it, not sure how truthful it is to the "series" of movies).
hopefully matrix 2 and 3 will be more stunning than 1, but seeing as how they're filming it with (probably 2 year old equipment, people won't be nearlu as in awe of the special fx as 1)
still - good movie.
SW 1-6, LOTR 1-3, Matrix 1-3...
i calculate that out to be 30 hours (about) - LOTR: 11, SW:13, Matrix: 6... probably in that order; condition yourself for the long haul (SW) on friday night, watch SW all day saturday, go out and get pizza, sleep, and then recover with 6 hours of the matrix on sunday.
heh. better make that 12 hour marathons, once all three come out. i have a feeling that the R rated footage is probably still high quality, but by "high quality", i mean the same quality as the rock troll, as this is just extra footage that got edited out in mid-production b/c they realised it was too gory. still, a 7 hr star wars marathon was long, with eps 1-6 out by the end of 2006 (hopefully), and LOTR done by 03, you could spend an entire weekend watching pure geek vids! (and some Dr. Who to keep yourself entertained in the late night/early morning)
Slashdot Mirror
ok, it's been established that it's time-warner, who distributes/creates/produces movies & music. they're trying to protecte this. who hosts 85% of all movies/music? cable/dsl users. why not just put a 200 MB a month cap on data uploads, excluding file transfer download requests, html requests, ect? the real warez kiddies would find a way around this, but like shitting down napster, it would kill approximatly 90% of the casual user from sharing at best more than a couple of songs or sending a Q3 mod to a friend so they can both play b/c filepnaet sucks ass. there's plenty of downstream bandwidth avalible.
the palm professional, palm III, palm VII, and m10x series all share the same "syncing" serial port. the palm V, Vx, m40x, 50x and palm 70x share a seperate, slimmer connector, but the same pinout. you could hack together a bluetooth connector for a palm V and wire it to your palm prof./III/m 10x
ah. sorry. i've never been particularly clear on what exactly is a megabit - recently i read that 1 megabit = 100kbps, of course, that's probably, kiloBYTEs, but yeah. 7 somthing. thanks again, you've helped clear up alot of things. although now i'm not so impressed by my "3 megabit" cable broadband connection ;-)
my electric shaver, which is touted as 100% waterproof, has a "wireless" charging feature :) - what it does (to the best of my knoweldge) is the "base" modulates an electromagnetic field of some sort, which pushes a small piece of iron (or the likes) up and down, and somehow creating an electric charge from that, and charges the battery. of course, the charger and shaver have to be w/in 2 or 3 mm, but it's been doing the trick for about 3 years now. it's a panasonic, i think. standard feature. my friend looked into doing a "wireless power" for a science fair experiment - turns out the amount of radiation it would cause (he was thinking tesla-coil archs between components) would kill the user of either a) radiation poisioning in a week, or b) kill the user of radiation through cancer in a year or so. not exactly healthy.
kinetic recharge would be interesting. very doable, except that people are particularly gentle with PDA's, and are "worn" in the shirt pocket, or belt, which don't go "upside down" very often, if ever, unlike the wrist.
what i'd like to see is a hack job of a 3.0 v solar panel from radio shack (~$3) and letting it run off that. I don't know if it has enough amperage, though.
because A) most mac users don't have a serial port to connect to (or too cheap to buy a usb connector) their palm b) wireless is handy if you have a laptop in general c) wires suck, especially dongles. d) bluetooth is i think 7 megabits, which is faster than serial/paralell's 116500 bps. most likely it'll be faster.
:)
and hell, wireless is just so much cooler
heaven forbid that you're an existing palm user, with, say, a m100, or a IIIex (the cheap model), that were the last models to come out before the SDIO slot was standard. i guess this is the "killer hardware" to get people to upgrade. I'd still like to see a bluetooth "chip" that i can plug into the serial port of my m100.
there's a serial -> USB adaptor.... i'm sure that + a bluetooth card from Apple + lots of time and effort = a usable solution. of course; it won't work with any of palm's new spiffy bluetooth apps, such as "bluechat" (aim over bluetooth, essentially), and blueboard (networked "whiteboard" app)
personally what i'd like to see is a USB bluetooth adaptor like apple's d-link one, that has the driver software on it (linux, mac, windows) on 64k of flash memory, + java aim/jabber chat, lynx web browser, and dhcp built in. plug it into your ipaq, laptop, or school computer.
just curious, but what publication releases these sorts of numbers? the G.I.A. just recently went under, and a source like that would probably be a good replacement
"sub-pixel rendered text" = anti-aliased text? doesn't mac OS X, win XP and KDE 3.0 all do this? and it gets outputed to the monitor (be it lcd or crt) to be displayed...all that is done in software. or is there a difference here i'm missing? don't get me wrong, i love LCD displays, i'm ordering a nec 15" next week, but you may want to check your facts on that one.
most likely you'll end up doing a hack job of some sort, be it new cold cathrode tubes, or simply a hallogen light pointed at the back of the exposed LCD panel. backlights in laptops are generally propriataty, especially in the slim-line laptops. my powerbook g4 has an lcd display that's probably slightly more than 1/8th"" - and you just have to replace the entire thing, outercase and all. $400 : (
the geeky thing to do would be to use your standard mouse, or maybe a serial mouse, plug it into a set of driving-game pedals (1 gas, 1 brake). Epoxy your mouse buttons in the up position, and don't use the click function until you hack together a driver that lets you do variable-force clicking. :)
just taking a stab at this, but when you have 1000 machines in a 50x50 room, you're gonna need a whole lot more aire flow than your standard a/c can produce, unless, of course, this room doubles as the main oven for the cafeteria or somthing :). The fans on the actual computers are only one source of noise. The room's cooling system is another major factor. You may want to look into how exactly the air comes from the outside, what exactly is filtering it, and what kinds of air filters are on your return air. Think of the room as a very large computer case - the smoother the air flow, the less air that needs to be pushed at high force through the system (case). If airflow was increased by 50%, you could drop the a/c usage by 50% (because of easier airflow), and probably at least a 30% cut in noise/general vibration (ac runs at less power, vibrates less, ect).
just think of that gf who refused to swallow...
this is the meat of the article. the pictures aren't really worth too much looking at. get a dvd case out and two black pens. there you go. here's the article:
The System
The particular 3G technology under examination in this review is called 1xEV-DO, which is a CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) technology developed by Qualcomm. Picking apart the acronym is instructive. If you ask an engineer, the "1x" stands for "single carrier," which means it operates in a single 1.25 MHz frequency band just like existing CDMA cellular systems. If you ask a marketing rep, "1x" means the "first phase" of the third-generation wireless systems, implying more good things to come. The "EV" is for "Evolution," meaning the technology is an outgrowth of the base 1x standard, functioning as an interim solution for high-speed data while waiting for the "3x" multi-carrier systems being standardized by the ITU. "DO" stands for Data Only (the marketing guy would say "Data Optimized"), meaning that the entire 1.25 MHz channel is dedicated to data traffic and not shared with voice calls. So the present system implements the data-only variety of the evolution of the first phase of the third generation of wireless cellular technology. Got it?
If acronym soup isn't your bag, simply "fast" will do. 1xEV transmits in the same frequency bands as existing cellular systems and uses similar radio-frequency transmission equipment (the cell sites you see popping up everywhere), but employs packet-switched connections and a new radio link protocol optimized for high data throughput. The maximum speed of 1xEV -- no drooling now -- is 2.4 Megabits per second on the download link and 153.6 kilobits per second on the upload link. As you're probably thinking, that kind of bandwidth is on par with broadband wired connections like cable or DSL -- and the system delivers.
I was given the opportunity to test out an engineering prototype of a 1xEV-DO wireless cellular modem called the HDR Hornet, developed by Qualcomm as a reference design for their 3G chipsets. HDR is short for High Data Rate, Qualcomm's internal name for 1xEV. Qualcomm just makes the chips and does not sell retail devices, so you will not see this modem on the market. What you will see is a plethora of devices incorporating Qualcomm chips, from cell phones to PDAs to PC Cards to notebooks and devices that have yet to be conceived. Of course, any cellular technology without an appropriate infrastructure is about as useful as a frozen brick; Qualcomm also develops chips and software for cellular base stations, and the HDR modem under review was provided as part of a small over-the-air field trial conducted by Qualcomm in conjunction with the University of California, San Diego. There were three 1xEV cell sites set up on top of Qualcomm and UCSD buildings in the La Jolla, California area for the purpose of stress-testing the system in real-world conditions. Free bandwidth, in range of the beach? One stress test coming up!
The Setup
The unit I was supplied with came in a plain white box and a static-proof bag, along with an AC adapter, a dongle to connect the modem to an Ethernet jack, a two-page quick-start guide, and four Velcro stickies to attach it to a laptop. The Hornet itself is something between the size of a DVD movie box and a VHS cassette, measuring 7 1/8" x 4 1/8" x 3/4" HWD (18 cm x 10.5 cm x 1.9 cm) and weighing about 3/4 lbs. (0.35 kg). As you can see, the unit has two 5 3/4" (14.6 cm) antennae that independently swivel up about 200 from alongside the unit, enabling diversity reception for a stronger signal. Keep in mind that this is an engineering prototype; you will probably not see retail devices with this form factor. PC Cards and PDA modules with the same chips inside will likely be the most popular paths to 3G in the near future.
The first thing that struck me about the Hornet is that it looks pretty darn smooth for an engineering reference design, no frills, but all the essentials: AC adapter plug, on/off switch, USB port on the bottom, Ethernet dongle on the right, and four status LEDs on top that wrap around to the back so as to be visible while the unit is stuck to your laptop lid.
Installation and set-up can't be any easier. Taking a cue from the quick-start guide, the process goes something like this:
1. Plug it in.
2. Turn it on.
3. You're good to go.
The unit I was supplied with interfaced via TCP/IP over standard 10 Mbit Ethernet. The Hornet has a built-in DHCP server that automatically serves up the correct TCP/IP settings to your laptop and acts as your default gateway to the network. The connection is "always on" and there is no special dial-up or logon procedure. Having connected this thing to a dozen different computers, I can say that setup was simply a non-issue and took at most two minutes.
USB connectivity was not implemented on the test unit I received, but I can't imagine it being any easier to use than the Ethernet connection. USB will probably be the interface found in most external devices for laptops; unfortunately, this means you are at the mercy of the manufacturer for driver support and you will probably have to install a CD full of video-mail-grandma-with-one-click software to make it work. On the other hand, TCP/IP over Ethernet is standard, well-understood, supported out of the box by every operating system, and already used for Internet connectivity by most laptops. An Ethernet-enabled wireless modem would be a drop-in replacement for a huge installed base of users, but USB + Plug-and-Pray is perceived as being easier for consumers. Go figure. I tested the Hornet through its Ethernet interface with desktops and laptops using a variety of Ethernet cards under Windows 95, 98, and Me, Windows NT4, 2000, and XP, MacOS 8, 9, and X, and Mandrake Linux 7.1 (kernel 2.2.17). All worked flawlessly. A big nod goes to Qualcomm for sticking with open systems and standards. We can only hope retail products will do the same.
Once the unit is connected up and turned on, it takes about five seconds to initialize and then begins searching for a connection. If you're in a covered area, the service light goes green and the receive and transmit lights flash as the fire-breathing modem awakes and stretches its muscles. After living with this unit for a while, the sight of those lights when service comes up is like the geek's version of a well-tuned big-bore Harley's guttural rumble.
but "Parker said people who are isolated, prone to boredom, lonely or sexually anorexic are much more susceptible to becoming addicted to online games."
.......
does this sound like a definition of anyone you know?
...sounds like the ultimate politically correct definition of a geek to me. i like the wordage of "sexually anorexic" - haha. almost as if they chose to be. granted, some people, due to depression can't control this, but we're talking about the majority here.
i have karma to spare. mod me down, boys.
dude, go rent Dogma
so then what's the internal metal frame made out of? magnesium? aluminum? i'm guessing titanium
I can recall the first TiBook looking like this in the lab .....
are there pics of this? that'd be really interesting...
i thought the rule of thumb was to design for 400% increase in data traffic every year for 10 years. after that, either rip out everything existing, or put in a nex system on top of the old one, the old one becomming a backup. that's how they did it in king county municipal system at least.
yeah, i actually thought about that as i wrote the "1/2".... except that it was meant to justify the "for the 20 and under crowd", as being 18 and the title saying 20...may have raised some questions.
i can see rush limaugh getting his hands...er cheeks, on a set of these/this
does anyone remember the "my teacher is an alien!! series? plot synopsis: 4th grader finds out teacher is an alien (suprise, suprise), teacher/alien sees him seeing him, and keeping glactic security safe, takes him up into the New Jersey (mega-big spaceship), and they cruise about, saving the universe.
anywho, i read (and probably own) the whole series in probably 4th grade, i'm 18 1/2 now. on one of their missions, they had special devices like this; except it attached to your throat muscles, which is probably a whole lot easier and less conspicious. the funny part was that they had to whisper, otherwise they'd "yell" right into the other people's earsets. good to know this stuff is comming to fruit
my teacher is an alien on amazon.com
the interesting thing about the series, is that it explains in amazingly simple terminology, using a large noodle, how hyperspace works. i'd explain more, but i don't want to get modded offtopic TOO much. and i have to go to work.
does the sound work on a tibook? i've heard that the sound is at best unsupported.
of course! how could i forget...
the matrix has been sooo long in comming out with sequels though... i have a feeling that matrix 2 will have a crappy turn out (due to length of time between 1 and 2), and as a result will see box office revenues of romeo must die, and 3 will come out the next year in about 100 theaters across the nation, and every one of them will be packed. that's in the US. hong kong and japan are probably going to eat it right up - they already have the anime version of the matrix (haven't seen it, not sure how truthful it is to the "series" of movies).
hopefully matrix 2 and 3 will be more stunning than 1, but seeing as how they're filming it with (probably 2 year old equipment, people won't be nearlu as in awe of the special fx as 1)
still - good movie.
SW 1-6, LOTR 1-3, Matrix 1-3...
i calculate that out to be 30 hours (about) - LOTR: 11, SW:13, Matrix: 6... probably in that order; condition yourself for the long haul (SW) on friday night, watch SW all day saturday, go out and get pizza, sleep, and then recover with 6 hours of the matrix on sunday.
crazy.
heh. better make that 12 hour marathons, once all three come out. i have a feeling that the R rated footage is probably still high quality, but by "high quality", i mean the same quality as the rock troll, as this is just extra footage that got edited out in mid-production b/c they realised it was too gory. still, a 7 hr star wars marathon was long, with eps 1-6 out by the end of 2006 (hopefully), and LOTR done by 03, you could spend an entire weekend watching pure geek vids! (and some Dr. Who to keep yourself entertained in the late night/early morning)