Does anybody else think that Shaft got the "white treatment" in the new film? I said that in my own review a while ago, which was immediately dismissed by the public as being more of my unintelligible psychotic ramblings. But sure enough, a week later I saw at least two "real" reviewers agreed with me, including TNT's Roughcut. Did any of you get that same vibe?
To me it's more proof that Hollywood has a real problem with color (as if that idea still needed to be proven).
On Titan A.E., does anybody else agree that it would have worked better as an all-CGI movie? The movie failed on its opening weekend because teenagers though it was a kiddie movie. They're less likely to think that about a CGI feature (I know I didn't feel silly going to see Toy Story 2, but I'll wait to rent Titan cause, well, its a cartoon).
The noise my P.C. makes actually doesn't bother me... it's the incredible stench that rises from it when it's on. Is that normal? It's kind of a burning sulfur smell. If you look carefully you can see a light haze rising from the case, almost like steam. The paint on the wall behind the P.C. has turned brown over time and is starting to peel.
If I use the computer for more than 15 minutes in a row I get lightheaded from the fumes. I actually passed out once. Does anybody else have this problem?
"...the Ministry of State Security "has been able to track individual e-mail accounts through monitoring devices on Internet Service Providers. Internet bulletin boards were subject to round-the-clock monitoring..."
Dude, I'll bet over there if you go to a message board topic just to write "Woohoo!! First Post!!" the cops come and shoot you in the head. Cool.
Hmmm... I hadn't though about doing a full-body skin, but now that you mention it...
And could we get customized weapons skins? As in, could I skin the railgun, make it look like I'm carrying around a wombat instead wildly firing projectiles out of its butt?
I don't care if I do need a personal network to do that. I'll build a network if that's what it takes to make the wombat thing happen.
Napster has had to age a little before the niche tracks have started to show up (still not much help for Jackyl fans). That's always been the cool thing about Napster, though. As time has passed I've found it easier and easier to come up with the obscure tracks.
Maybe I have an untrained ear, but it really does sound "CD quality" to me (again, show me all the graphs and data you want, we're talking about my ears here). Maybe I would have to hear the tracks (MP3 vs. CD) played back to back on a high-end system to hear the subtle little differences...
For instance, I just downloaded a copy of William Shatner's "Mr. Tamborine Man" this morning, and it's crystal clear.
"..half the time I end up loving the other 10 even more..."
That's true sometimes, but for me it's 10X more likely I'll love a song/video and blow 16.99 on the CD, then find out the other 11 songs are horrid (or are a completely different style of music than the released track).
But even then, I think the Napster guys were right in their memo: Napster is helping drive demand for albums... not stifling it. I've bought two CD's since Napster began because I was able to check out other tracks by downloading them.
And remember, forecasting the death of the rock album paradigm (no matter what the napster internal memos say) is way, way too premature. Album sales are up after Napster, not down. I download a lot of music, but I haven't changed my CD buying habits one bit...
Of course, I assume the incriminating part is there the Napster guys talk about users trading pirated music, such as this quote about halfway down the article:
"It goes on to quote Parker's message to Fanning: ''Users will understand that they are improving their experience by providing information about their tastes without linking that information to a name or address or other sensitive data that might endanger them (especially since they are exchanging pirated music)."
The parts you pointed are of course just internal cheerleading, and not incriminating (as least not under the terms as I understand them). But if quotes like the above convince the court that the people running Napster KNOW the service is being used for illegal material... well...
Anybody know how soon a ruling on the injunction is expected?
Ourageous. Why do scientists make such false and unrealistic promises just to grab publicity?
I understand the whole "better than 20/20 vision" thing, but for Williams to promise that, quote, "within five years this technology will allow an average adult to stand in his back yard and scan the surface of Mars without a telescope. " Does anybody really believe this?
And even worse, there is this later on in the article: "...eye-care giant Bausch & Lomb says once this technology matures, it will allow humans to actually see into the future with only a simple pair of contact lenses which will refract light waves from the fourth dimension... and possibly to bypass the physical realm altogether and gaze directly into a man's soul."
Come on, now. Let's at least come up with some self-cleaning contacts before we focus on this science fiction mumbo-jumbo.
I bring this all up because I still buy CD's at the same rate I used to... but I use Napster to sample them first...
I won't spend $15.00 on a CD that has ONE SONG I like. Screw that, I'll download that one song (or rip it off a friend's CD). But if there are 3-4 songs I like, I have no problem paying for it, and getting the cover art, lyrics, etc.
I mean, let's face it. If I like an entire album, it's a huge pain to download EVERY song, convert them to wavs, burn them to a CD that won't have the same quality or scratch resistance that a factory disc has....
So maybe the record industry won't be the hardest hit... maybe it'll be those "artists" who had one catchy song in them, and were hoping to sell 5 million albums based on that one single...
Doesn't that help promote the albums?
on
Napster Wars
·
· Score: 1
When I heard about songs getting "leaked" before the release dates, I secretly wondered if that wasn't a ploy by the artist (or somebody) to do sort of a pre-release... see how the song goes over before you start throwing promotional money behind it.
Maybe I'm way off base here, but I know Napster was ablaze with early tracks off of N'Sync's (or one of those boy groups) last album before the album came out. That was the album that then set the all-time record for first-week sales once it hit record shops.
I know several publications, including Entertainment Weekly, soon pointed out that there was one instance where the leaked tracks helped build hype over the album. Makes sense to me.
You don't even have to go that far with it. The music companies aren't doomed to extinction, but they'd better damned well change they way they do business if they want to keep the same profit margins. As in, offer us something we can't get off Napster.
In fact, the biggest reason I root for Napster is because I know it will force the music distribution people to offer us more, or offer us the same for less money, in order to keep our business. They've been gouging us on the price of CD's since their debut, and now the pressure is on.
You listening, Columbia? You want me to buy the new N'Sync album, rather than just download the tunes? Well, what kind of deal are you willing to make me, you greedy bastards? (insert evil laughter here)
Come on, guys. You can spend millions on your lawyers fighting pointless lawsuits for the next ten years, or you can use that money to bring your company into the digital age. Deal with the new reality.
That really is the beauty of Napster, and is what has allowed it to last this long... if they had a huge server full of illegal MP3's operating in the open they would have been shut down within four seconds of opening.
But in reality, they don't have a single illegal piece of software on their servers.
The other, related problem for the music industry, of course, is that millions of us Napster users already have the MP3's on our hard drives, THEREFORE if they shut Napster down, and a replacement arises (as is already happening) we don't have to start over... the files are still out there, on C drives around the world.... just waiting for another piece of software to connect them.
IF any of you can answer these questions, I'll give you my car-
1. IF Napster is killing off the recorded music industry, why was Eminem able to sell 1.7 million copies of his new album within ONE WEEK of its debut? The demographic he's selling to are also, coincidentally, the heaviest Napster users...
2. Even if overall CD sales are down... how can it be PROVEN IN A COURT OF LAW that it's Napster's fault, and not other market forces?
Now, I'm not saying it's not Napster's fault - I'm just saying it's gonna be tough to prove. What will they do, poll everyone who didn't buy a CD that week to find out why? And even if they present that data, how will they possibly prove that those same people would have bought CD's if Napster hadn't been around? You see where the waters start to get muddy?
I used to work in a law office. If you're gonna make a claim like "Napster is hurting our sales!" you'd better damned well be able to prove it, or else the judge will just give you a long, hard stare and tell you to get the hell out of his courtroom.
From childhood I've dreamed of replacing my existing arms with a flamethrower and a chainsaw... but sadly this would reduce my effectiveness as a data entry clerk significantly (up to 20%, by my estimates).
However, if I could grow two new arms, then I could have the best of both worlds, and finally achieve my potential as a human being.
Slashdot Mirror
Does anybody else think that Shaft got the "white treatment" in the new film? I said that in my own review a while ago, which was immediately dismissed by the public as being more of my unintelligible psychotic ramblings. But sure enough, a week later I saw at least two "real" reviewers agreed with me, including TNT's Roughcut. Did any of you get that same vibe?
To me it's more proof that Hollywood has a real problem with color (as if that idea still needed to be proven).
On Titan A.E., does anybody else agree that it would have worked better as an all-CGI movie? The movie failed on its opening weekend because teenagers though it was a kiddie movie. They're less likely to think that about a CGI feature (I know I didn't feel silly going to see Toy Story 2, but I'll wait to rent Titan cause, well, its a cartoon).
The noise my P.C. makes actually doesn't bother me... it's the incredible stench that rises from it when it's on. Is that normal? It's kind of a burning sulfur smell. If you look carefully you can see a light haze rising from the case, almost like steam. The paint on the wall behind the P.C. has turned brown over time and is starting to peel.
If I use the computer for more than 15 minutes in a row I get lightheaded from the fumes. I actually passed out once. Does anybody else have this problem?
"...the Ministry of State Security "has been able to track individual e-mail accounts through monitoring devices on Internet Service Providers. Internet bulletin boards were subject to round-the-clock monitoring..."
Dude, I'll bet over there if you go to a message board topic just to write "Woohoo!! First Post!!" the cops come and shoot you in the head. Cool.
Hmmm... I hadn't though about doing a full-body skin, but now that you mention it...
And could we get customized weapons skins? As in, could I skin the railgun, make it look like I'm carrying around a wombat instead wildly firing projectiles out of its butt?
I don't care if I do need a personal network to do that. I'll build a network if that's what it takes to make the wombat thing happen.
it's right here. Pretty cool, actually.
The exterior of my new home is almost entirely made of large lego-style blocks. I chose red as the color.
This brand didn't snap together like Legos, so we had smear a gray, granular compound between each one to get them to bond.
I don't know who makes these blocks, but I think they company just calls them "bricks"
Woof.
Woof. Woof. Woof! WOOF!
WOOF!! WOOF!! woof.
grooowwwllllll...
Napster has had to age a little before the niche tracks have started to show up (still not much help for Jackyl fans). That's always been the cool thing about Napster, though. As time has passed I've found it easier and easier to come up with the obscure tracks.
Maybe I have an untrained ear, but it really does sound "CD quality" to me (again, show me all the graphs and data you want, we're talking about my ears here). Maybe I would have to hear the tracks (MP3 vs. CD) played back to back on a high-end system to hear the subtle little differences...
For instance, I just downloaded a copy of William Shatner's "Mr. Tamborine Man" this morning, and it's crystal clear.
MR. TAMBOURINE MAAAAAAAANNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!
"..half the time I end up loving the other 10 even more..."
That's true sometimes, but for me it's 10X more likely I'll love a song/video and blow 16.99 on the CD, then find out the other 11 songs are horrid (or are a completely different style of music than the released track).
But even then, I think the Napster guys were right in their memo: Napster is helping drive demand for albums... not stifling it. I've bought two CD's since Napster began because I was able to check out other tracks by downloading them.
And remember, forecasting the death of the rock album paradigm (no matter what the napster internal memos say) is way, way too premature. Album sales are up after Napster, not down. I download a lot of music, but I haven't changed my CD buying habits one bit...
Of course, I assume the incriminating part is there the Napster guys talk about users trading pirated music, such as this quote about halfway down the article:
"It goes on to quote Parker's message to Fanning: ''Users will understand that they are improving their experience by providing information about their tastes without linking that information to a name or address or other sensitive data that might endanger them (especially since they are exchanging pirated music)."
The parts you pointed are of course just internal cheerleading, and not incriminating (as least not under the terms as I understand them). But if quotes like the above convince the court that the people running Napster KNOW the service is being used for illegal material... well...
Anybody know how soon a ruling on the injunction is expected?
Ourageous. Why do scientists make such false and unrealistic promises just to grab publicity?
I understand the whole "better than 20/20 vision" thing, but for Williams to promise that, quote, "within five years this technology will allow an average adult to stand in his back yard and scan the surface of Mars without a telescope. " Does anybody really believe this?
And even worse, there is this later on in the article: "...eye-care giant Bausch & Lomb says once this technology matures, it will allow humans to actually see into the future with only a simple pair of contact lenses which will refract light waves from the fourth dimension... and possibly to bypass the physical realm altogether and gaze directly into a man's soul."
Come on, now. Let's at least come up with some self-cleaning contacts before we focus on this science fiction mumbo-jumbo.
It's shameful, really.
I remember I had an interesting article on this very topic on my web site, which also happens to be THE internet source for home-made moonshine and other fine products.
Web site whores like that should be shot.
I bring this all up because I still buy CD's at the same rate I used to... but I use Napster to sample them first...
I won't spend $15.00 on a CD that has ONE SONG I like. Screw that, I'll download that one song (or rip it off a friend's CD). But if there are 3-4 songs I like, I have no problem paying for it, and getting the cover art, lyrics, etc.
I mean, let's face it. If I like an entire album, it's a huge pain to download EVERY song, convert them to wavs, burn them to a CD that won't have the same quality or scratch resistance that a factory disc has....
So maybe the record industry won't be the hardest hit... maybe it'll be those "artists" who had one catchy song in them, and were hoping to sell 5 million albums based on that one single...
heyyyyy Macarena......
David Wong
When I heard about songs getting "leaked" before the release dates, I secretly wondered if that wasn't a ploy by the artist (or somebody) to do sort of a pre-release... see how the song goes over before you start throwing promotional money behind it.
Maybe I'm way off base here, but I know Napster was ablaze with early tracks off of N'Sync's (or one of those boy groups) last album before the album came out. That was the album that then set the all-time record for first-week sales once it hit record shops.
I know several publications, including Entertainment Weekly, soon pointed out that there was one instance where the leaked tracks helped build hype over the album. Makes sense to me.
-David Wong
You don't even have to go that far with it. The music companies aren't doomed to extinction, but they'd better damned well change they way they do business if they want to keep the same profit margins. As in, offer us something we can't get off Napster.
In fact, the biggest reason I root for Napster is because I know it will force the music distribution people to offer us more, or offer us the same for less money, in order to keep our business. They've been gouging us on the price of CD's since their debut, and now the pressure is on.
You listening, Columbia? You want me to buy the new N'Sync album, rather than just download the tunes? Well, what kind of deal are you willing to make me, you greedy bastards? (insert evil laughter here)
Come on, guys. You can spend millions on your lawyers fighting pointless lawsuits for the next ten years, or you can use that money to bring your company into the digital age. Deal with the new reality.
-David Wong
That really is the beauty of Napster, and is what has allowed it to last this long... if they had a huge server full of illegal MP3's operating in the open they would have been shut down within four seconds of opening.
But in reality, they don't have a single illegal piece of software on their servers.
The other, related problem for the music industry, of course, is that millions of us Napster users already have the MP3's on our hard drives, THEREFORE if they shut Napster down, and a replacement arises (as is already happening) we don't have to start over... the files are still out there, on C drives around the world.... just waiting for another piece of software to connect them.
David Wong
IF any of you can answer these questions, I'll give you my car-
1. IF Napster is killing off the recorded music industry, why was Eminem able to sell 1.7 million copies of his new album within ONE WEEK of its debut? The demographic he's selling to are also, coincidentally, the heaviest Napster users...
2. Even if overall CD sales are down... how can it be PROVEN IN A COURT OF LAW that it's Napster's fault, and not other market forces?
Now, I'm not saying it's not Napster's fault - I'm just saying it's gonna be tough to prove. What will they do, poll everyone who didn't buy a CD that week to find out why? And even if they present that data, how will they possibly prove that those same people would have bought CD's if Napster hadn't been around? You see where the waters start to get muddy?
I used to work in a law office. If you're gonna make a claim like "Napster is hurting our sales!" you'd better damned well be able to prove it, or else the judge will just give you a long, hard stare and tell you to get the hell out of his courtroom.
-David Wong
Pointless Waste of Time.com
The Severed Limb That Regrows Itself?
Actually, I'm waiting for the extra limb option.
From childhood I've dreamed of replacing my existing arms with a flamethrower and a chainsaw... but sadly this would reduce my effectiveness as a data entry clerk significantly (up to 20%, by my estimates).
However, if I could grow two new arms, then I could have the best of both worlds, and finally achieve my potential as a human being.
The future can't get here soon enough!
-David Wong, Pointless Waste of Time.com
I sent the URL to the studio to see if they wanted to use that concept for their print ad campaign. They never did get back to me.
-David Wong
CEO
Pointless Waste of Time.com