Well, You can't sell a video in retail in the UK without the BBFC sticker. As I understand, it leads to a lot of censorship just so that the company can sell the video at a certain age rating in the UK, and some porn gets banned period.
In France, they seem to have a thing against sales against certain kinds of artifacts comming from post WWI to WWII Germany.
Heck, Germany as a whole seems pretty happy to try to forget its own past rather than stare it down and truly fix the problems that are still comming up as a result.
The former states of the USSR are in significant political and economic chaos.
Sooo, how long does the average Italian government hold power?
A lot of Asian countries have some more xenophobic tendencies and are at times more racist, and several are very conformist to the point of making outcasts a lot quicker than you see elsewhere.
Let's all face it, every country is different and has its own little quirks. America looks like it has the sum of all those quirks because it has decendants that come from those originating in just about every country on earth. Every group has its own ideas about what is good and what is bad, it's difficult to objectively put one culture above another because many people are blind to possible problems in their own culture.
I personaly don't understand why anyone would even want to play a playstation anymore, I would rather use a computer with emulation because they can enhance every aspect.
There's the social aspect to think of. Most of the time using computers is a fairly solitary task for people, TV is much more sociable because of the way people setup their computer stations and their TV entertainment area. I don't yet know of anyone that's put a computer in their entertainment area in place of a TV, although some do this, it is uncommon and expensive to get a decent display size.
It's cheap to buy a 32" TV and have four players on it. IMO even a 21" monitor is too small for more than one person and most computer setups are simply too cramped. Sure, there's the LAN play option but not everyone wants to haul their computers to a LAN party, except for the die-hard gamers.
It's not that common that your programs will leap out of the screen and become a physical object? Even if you think you are creating something out of nothing, once you are done, I can't hold your program. I might be able to see it on the screen or read a printout.
Programs are abstract. The only reason we use them is that they can be made to work with non-abstract objects. The thing is, most programmers only have access to printers and monitors for output methods, which aren't bad but IMO that can limit the experience and capabilities of the programmer.
I am something of a programmer and something of an engineer, the benefit I get from that is that _I_ can make physical objects that are a result of my programs, or make electromechanical circuits that actually have real world interactivity.
And you can walk into a store and buy all of these separate applicances. So how can engineers complain that the CS people aren't making them?
Just because it is programmable doesn't mean a CS type programmed it.
I also believe that the ACM comments went too far but they do have a point, although I don't think that CS is all to blame.
So many people have the attitude that technology solves all of our problems. The thing is that technology seems to cause as many problems as it solves, and that blame can be spread everywhere, from consumers to politicians to VCs to designers to engineers to programmers, etc.
Maybe you misunderstand the MO technology? You need the laser beam in order to change the magnetic properties of the medium.
I have never had magnetic flux problems with MDs.
Actually I abuse my MDs (compared to CDs) and I've had fewer problems with them. My MD player is easily more resilient to shock than an equivalent CD player, it's fallen on concrete several times and still works.
IIRC the speed of electrons in copper is about 0.3c. But I have forgotten the source of that data though, so if you are trying to make useful calculations that data should be looked up.
I think most of the others not mentioned are probably sub-companies of those you listed. Miramax would be under Disney, etc.
Also of note, the only anime DVD that is big in the US anime market that has anything to do with the MPAA is Princess Mononoke, from Miramax of Disney. Interestingly, it is probably *the best* anime DVD made in the US on technical grounds, being progressive and animorphic encoded with I think three languages in DD5.1 audio. The actual content is up to some debate but it's a good movie IMO.
To get back on topic for this particular thread, I don't think the MPAA makes money on DVDs produced for non-MPAA members unless there is a distribution agreement. The DVD consortium makes some royalties per player though, not much, like a few dollars, and a lot of that goes to IP royalties, not the movie companies.
From what little I heard, the PS2 is a firmware upgrade away from getting the 31.4 progressive component out.
I am totally unaware of VGA RGB out on dreamcasts. I haven't heard of it and I haven't seen any adaptors or upgrades that allow this. Are they included with the console?
The difference here, as I presume you are referring to the Sony PS2, is that you can get an entire functioning console/w a DVD player for $300. That's actually not a bad deal, IMO, particulary to get a game console with component outs.
Of course, I don't own any nVidea or Playstation related products.
I think the expiring keys would also lead to expiring music. This can be good and bad. Who listens to New Kids on the Block anymore? I know that musicians and their music don't last forever, but it's still possible to buy and listen to music recorded on drums, 8-track, LPs etc, provided that you have a player, and they still exist to an extent, even if new players and music aren't made any more.
But that would also mean that in the future "obsolete" music would just die as a useless data file. Also given how the players and codecs seem to rise and die by the year, will future players and codecs still be able to read them? Player obsolesence is a huge issue for me. IIRC, CD has been around for about 20 years now. A CD made 15 years ago should still be playable on all new CD and DVD players. It wasn't until this year and last year that a truly marketable replacement has been put up for sale. I am talking DVD-Audio and SACD. I believe the survivor of that battle will continue to exist for quite some time, unless players are made to handle both (I understand it is possible, unless politics precludes it) and both formats might be able to coexist for quite some time.
Another problem you have is enforcing the date thing. If you reset the clock and re-enter the key, can one still play the music? My guess is that the keys would probably have to be transmitted and entered using a proprietary system, that would also properly set the date.
It is something of a lifestyle thing. People seem to think that getting things done faster mean that they'll have more free time. That's not really true. They'll just find more things to do in the same time frame. The 'faster' thing seems to get into our psychology and we start demanding things come sooner and sooner.
I know people like to do or handle multiple things at once (call on the phone while driving while shaving / doing makup) but I wonder how much this affects long term emotional stability.
You are right for the most part, but there are lots of little things that pop up. I don't think any real Japanese culture can be gleaned from DBZ or Gundam. That shows some shows are better at that than others.
To say anime shows us all of their culture is like saying Baywatch or VIP shows all of our culture. There is a LOT more to it. (You _did_ mention excapist media)
There are a lot of things I don't like about Japanese culture, and there are a lot of things I don't like about American culture, and there are lots I like about both too. It's dangerous to idealize culture because there are lots of complexities and how shall I say it, dark sides.
And IMO TV anime generally really was made for kids ('cept for Hentai), but it's a little more accepted that college students and such to be fans too. I really enjoy watching it nevertheless.
All this aside, I suggest for the general reader:
The Anime Companion, by Gilles Poitras, It covers the "Japan" in "Japanese Animation" in good detail so that the reader can easily recognize the cultural aspects that seep into anime, some of them obvious or confusing, others are very subtle and still of some interest.
The second half was pretty much what I was going to say.
We have natural clones and for the most part they seem to be adapting to life well enough.
Right now, even non-clones, non-twins have general tendencies to feel incomplete, so that would likely be the same case with artificial clones.
My question is, of what value is it to humanity to make clones? Vanity? Infertility? Parents want their dead child recreated? A false sense of immortality? I believe Earth has enough people and problems of its own to consider making _more_ of both. Then there's the question of thinking 50+ years down the road, whether this is a valid concern or not, will it ever get to the point that natural reproduction is considered obsolete? Will artificial gestation be possible? Should it ever be used? Will it reduce the maternal bonding, and how much of our mental and emotional development requires being in a living womb?
All in my opinion of course, and the questions I raise are hardy original and I can't say I can answer any of them. That is the point of the debates.
Um, that's the point of this discussion. The thing is, it is to the point where the next generation browser will _require_ next generation computers. People that have a Pentium 133 that does the job just well enough shouldn't feel forced to upgrade to an Athlon or P!!! just to view a _web_page_, because browsers are excessively bloated as they are. Forcing people to upgrade in many cases means forcing them to buy a new computer. I know several people that use the internet and computers as a toy or are whatnot, and have no need to blow money on a new computer just to see the latest sites. Sometimes it is a money thing, sometimes they have better things to spend money on. Not everyone really cares about their computers as most slashdot types, but like using them to find product information, communicate, etc.
So in short, intentionally not supporting the older browsers means that you don't give jack about the people that don't want to customers that are pushed around by companies or the usual web wonk or elitist developer.
Sorry about the looser / loser thing. I am taking Japanese class and stuck in the mindset, well, in their words are 'spelled' in their sylabic character _exactly_ how they sound. Odd how lose's long o sounds longer than the 'oo' in loose.
Well, that was too far off topic. I thought I had to explain my brain fart.
I _really_ should proofread stuff before sending it! Sorry!
Why would someone buy something in a process to slam the method of how that product was made? Particularly when trying to expose an evil? That would be supporting that evil in a small way.
I think he was illustrating a possible hypocracy. It is somewhat like saying Windows is for loosers yet owning and using a copy at the same time, trying to pretend not to be a looser.
Why would someone buy something using a process to slam the method of slamming how that product was made?
Some do, particularly TV shows, and almost all anime in the US. The set top DVD players available can play 24/25fps film at 30fps (on NTSC) sometimes by manipulating extra information encoded in the stream and also interpolating it by taking advantage of the interlace frame scanning.
I really don't believe that Microsoft's rise and fall really has any impact on the economy
Own any mutual funds?
OK, maybe I should have stated that differently. The existence or non-existence of any particular company or industry really isn't going to save or destroy America (and most other countries). So what if Microsoft's price fluctuations has a noticable price influence on mutual funds. That's not the point. If there is a reasonably satisfiable market demand for a product, there will almost always be a company or group that will go in and try to fill it.
A mix of both? Are they wanting to outlaw ameteurism and hobbies? Oh no! A hobbyist coder at the keyboard! Sheriff, arrest that scoundrel! Coding is something only corporations should do!
Again this shows that some groups believe they are at the center of the universe. I really don't believe that Microsoft's rise and fall really has any impact on the economy or the American way.
Heck, I remember the American Way as doing everything for yourself with your own two hands, even to the point of making your own tools, working in communities in a few projects and not relying on companies for your survival. Of course there is a lot more to it, good and bad, but if they are trying to remove the hobbyist 'hacker' and force them to use commercial products then they really are a monopolistic evil entity. They must get their ideas from the tragedy / satire "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley.
For gaming, I thought 30 was the absolute minimum for smooth believable motion.
People are begging for 200fps average frame rate so that it never gets below 60.
On film, however, 24/25 fps is the standard because that's what is available for projection and cameras. It's very easy to see the limitation on motion scenes.
You have only one side being used in this situation, why not a system that writes the same data to both sides? If a head dies or side of the platter goes bad you still could have access to your data.
I really do appreciate any effort towards reliability. Most companies seem to treat it as last priority behind 'paper' performance, price and time to market, leaving people that can't tolerate down time out in the cold.
It's relatively easy to buy CD players that can run 70+ hours on a pair of AA's. My little MD player can run close to 10 hours on a single good alkaline AA.
Sure it's not as handy as having 6GB of MP3s but it appears they need to work on their power engineering.
Unfortunately the first revision of hardware often has bugs but they shouldn't have released it without a good beta test program.
Slashdot Mirror
Well, You can't sell a video in retail in the UK without the BBFC sticker. As I understand, it leads to a lot of censorship just so that the company can sell the video at a certain age rating in the UK, and some porn gets banned period.
In France, they seem to have a thing against sales against certain kinds of artifacts comming from post WWI to WWII Germany.
Heck, Germany as a whole seems pretty happy to try to forget its own past rather than stare it down and truly fix the problems that are still comming up as a result.
The former states of the USSR are in significant political and economic chaos.
Sooo, how long does the average Italian government hold power?
A lot of Asian countries have some more xenophobic tendencies and are at times more racist, and several are very conformist to the point of making outcasts a lot quicker than you see elsewhere.
Let's all face it, every country is different and has its own little quirks. America looks like it has the sum of all those quirks because it has decendants that come from those originating in just about every country on earth. Every group has its own ideas about what is good and what is bad, it's difficult to objectively put one culture above another because many people are blind to possible problems in their own culture.
I personaly don't understand why anyone would even want to play a playstation anymore, I would rather use a computer with emulation because they can enhance every aspect.
There's the social aspect to think of. Most of the time using computers is a fairly solitary task for people, TV is much more sociable because of the way people setup their computer stations and their TV entertainment area. I don't yet know of anyone that's put a computer in their entertainment area in place of a TV, although some do this, it is uncommon and expensive to get a decent display size.
It's cheap to buy a 32" TV and have four players on it. IMO even a 21" monitor is too small for more than one person and most computer setups are simply too cramped. Sure, there's the LAN play option but not everyone wants to haul their computers to a LAN party, except for the die-hard gamers.
It's not that common that your programs will leap out of the screen and become a physical object? Even if you think you are creating something out of nothing, once you are done, I can't hold your program. I might be able to see it on the screen or read a printout.
Programs are abstract. The only reason we use them is that they can be made to work with non-abstract objects. The thing is, most programmers only have access to printers and monitors for output methods, which aren't bad but IMO that can limit the experience and capabilities of the programmer.
I am something of a programmer and something of an engineer, the benefit I get from that is that _I_ can make physical objects that are a result of my programs, or make electromechanical circuits that actually have real world interactivity.
And you can walk into a store and buy all of these separate applicances. So how can engineers complain that the CS people aren't making them?
Just because it is programmable doesn't mean a CS type programmed it.
I also believe that the ACM comments went too far but they do have a point, although I don't think that CS is all to blame.
So many people have the attitude that technology solves all of our problems. The thing is that technology seems to cause as many problems as it solves, and that blame can be spread everywhere, from consumers to politicians to VCs to designers to engineers to programmers, etc.
Maybe you misunderstand the MO technology? You need the laser beam in order to change the magnetic properties of the medium.
I have never had magnetic flux problems with MDs.
Actually I abuse my MDs (compared to CDs) and I've had fewer problems with them. My MD player is easily more resilient to shock than an equivalent CD player, it's fallen on concrete several times and still works.
ALL I WANT IS A WELL THOUGHT OUT STAR TREK SERIES WITH NO RELATIONSHIP
;-)
I guess we could leave it to lonely trekie geeks to get sour about their main escape turn to 'relationship crap'.
IIRC the speed of electrons in copper is about 0.3c. But I have forgotten the source of that data though, so if you are trying to make useful calculations that data should be looked up.
I think most of the others not mentioned are probably sub-companies of those you listed. Miramax would be under Disney, etc.
Also of note, the only anime DVD that is big in the US anime market that has anything to do with the MPAA is Princess Mononoke, from Miramax of Disney. Interestingly, it is probably *the best* anime DVD made in the US on technical grounds, being progressive and animorphic encoded with I think three languages in DD5.1 audio. The actual content is up to some debate but it's a good movie IMO.
To get back on topic for this particular thread, I don't think the MPAA makes money on DVDs produced for non-MPAA members unless there is a distribution agreement. The DVD consortium makes some royalties per player though, not much, like a few dollars, and a lot of that goes to IP royalties, not the movie companies.
From what little I heard, the PS2 is a firmware upgrade away from getting the 31.4 progressive component out.
I am totally unaware of VGA RGB out on dreamcasts. I haven't heard of it and I haven't seen any adaptors or upgrades that allow this. Are they included with the console?
The difference here, as I presume you are referring to the Sony PS2, is that you can get an entire functioning console /w a DVD player for $300. That's actually not a bad deal, IMO, particulary to get a game console with component outs.
Of course, I don't own any nVidea or Playstation related products.
I think the expiring keys would also lead to expiring music. This can be good and bad. Who listens to New Kids on the Block anymore? I know that musicians and their music don't last forever, but it's still possible to buy and listen to music recorded on drums, 8-track, LPs etc, provided that you have a player, and they still exist to an extent, even if new players and music aren't made any more.
But that would also mean that in the future "obsolete" music would just die as a useless data file. Also given how the players and codecs seem to rise and die by the year, will future players and codecs still be able to read them? Player obsolesence is a huge issue for me. IIRC, CD has been around for about 20 years now. A CD made 15 years ago should still be playable on all new CD and DVD players. It wasn't until this year and last year that a truly marketable replacement has been put up for sale. I am talking DVD-Audio and SACD. I believe the survivor of that battle will continue to exist for quite some time, unless players are made to handle both (I understand it is possible, unless politics precludes it) and both formats might be able to coexist for quite some time.
Another problem you have is enforcing the date thing. If you reset the clock and re-enter the key, can one still play the music? My guess is that the keys would probably have to be transmitted and entered using a proprietary system, that would also properly set the date.
The fast computer isn't nesseccarily the problem.
It is something of a lifestyle thing. People seem to think that getting things done faster mean that they'll have more free time. That's not really true. They'll just find more things to do in the same time frame. The 'faster' thing seems to get into our psychology and we start demanding things come sooner and sooner.
I know people like to do or handle multiple things at once (call on the phone while driving while shaving / doing makup) but I wonder how much this affects long term emotional stability.
You are right for the most part, but there are lots of little things that pop up. I don't think any real Japanese culture can be gleaned from DBZ or Gundam. That shows some shows are better at that than others.
To say anime shows us all of their culture is like saying Baywatch or VIP shows all of our culture. There is a LOT more to it. (You _did_ mention excapist media)
There are a lot of things I don't like about Japanese culture, and there are a lot of things I don't like about American culture, and there are lots I like about both too. It's dangerous to idealize culture because there are lots of complexities and how shall I say it, dark sides.
And IMO TV anime generally really was made for kids ('cept for Hentai), but it's a little more accepted that college students and such to be fans too. I really enjoy watching it nevertheless.
All this aside, I suggest for the general reader:
The Anime Companion, by Gilles Poitras, It covers the "Japan" in "Japanese Animation" in good detail so that the reader can easily recognize the cultural aspects that seep into anime, some of them obvious or confusing, others are very subtle and still of some interest.
The second half was pretty much what I was going to say.
We have natural clones and for the most part they seem to be adapting to life well enough.
Right now, even non-clones, non-twins have general tendencies to feel incomplete, so that would likely be the same case with artificial clones.
My question is, of what value is it to humanity to make clones? Vanity? Infertility? Parents want their dead child recreated? A false sense of immortality? I believe Earth has enough people and problems of its own to consider making _more_ of both. Then there's the question of thinking 50+ years down the road, whether this is a valid concern or not, will it ever get to the point that natural reproduction is considered obsolete? Will artificial gestation be possible? Should it ever be used? Will it reduce the maternal bonding, and how much of our mental and emotional development requires being in a living womb?
All in my opinion of course, and the questions I raise are hardy original and I can't say I can answer any of them. That is the point of the debates.
Upgrade your browsers!
Um, that's the point of this discussion. The thing is, it is to the point where the next generation browser will _require_ next generation computers. People that have a Pentium 133 that does the job just well enough shouldn't feel forced to upgrade to an Athlon or P!!! just to view a _web_page_, because browsers are excessively bloated as they are. Forcing people to upgrade in many cases means forcing them to buy a new computer. I know several people that use the internet and computers as a toy or are whatnot, and have no need to blow money on a new computer just to see the latest sites. Sometimes it is a money thing, sometimes they have better things to spend money on. Not everyone really cares about their computers as most slashdot types, but like using them to find product information, communicate, etc.
So in short, intentionally not supporting the older browsers means that you don't give jack about the people that don't want to customers that are pushed around by companies or the usual web wonk or elitist developer.
Doh!
Sorry about the looser / loser thing. I am taking Japanese class and stuck in the mindset, well, in their words are 'spelled' in their sylabic character _exactly_ how they sound. Odd how lose's long o sounds longer than the 'oo' in loose.
Well, that was too far off topic. I thought I had to explain my brain fart.
I _really_ should proofread stuff before sending it! Sorry!
Why would someone buy something in a process to slam the method of how that product was made? Particularly when trying to expose an evil? That would be supporting that evil in a small way.
You really have no point whatsoever, do you?
I think he was illustrating a possible hypocracy. It is somewhat like saying Windows is for loosers yet owning and using a copy at the same time, trying to pretend not to be a looser.
Why would someone buy something using a process to slam the method of slamming how that product was made?
Just a hypothetical case.
dvds actually have 30 frames per second
Some do, particularly TV shows, and almost all anime in the US. The set top DVD players available can play 24/25fps film at 30fps (on NTSC) sometimes by manipulating extra information encoded in the stream and also interpolating it by taking advantage of the interlace frame scanning.
I really don't believe that Microsoft's rise and fall really has any impact on the economy
Own any mutual funds?
OK, maybe I should have stated that differently. The existence or non-existence of any particular company or industry really isn't going to save or destroy America (and most other countries). So what if Microsoft's price fluctuations has a noticable price influence on mutual funds. That's not the point. If there is a reasonably satisfiable market demand for a product, there will almost always be a company or group that will go in and try to fill it.
A mix of both? Are they wanting to outlaw ameteurism and hobbies? Oh no! A hobbyist coder at the keyboard! Sheriff, arrest that scoundrel! Coding is something only corporations should do!
Again this shows that some groups believe they are at the center of the universe. I really don't believe that Microsoft's rise and fall really has any impact on the economy or the American way.
Heck, I remember the American Way as doing everything for yourself with your own two hands, even to the point of making your own tools, working in communities in a few projects and not relying on companies for your survival. Of course there is a lot more to it, good and bad, but if they are trying to remove the hobbyist 'hacker' and force them to use commercial products then they really are a monopolistic evil entity. They must get their ideas from the tragedy / satire "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley.
For gaming, I thought 30 was the absolute minimum for smooth believable motion.
People are begging for 200fps average frame rate so that it never gets below 60.
On film, however, 24/25 fps is the standard because that's what is available for projection and cameras. It's very easy to see the limitation on motion scenes.
On-disk mirroring?
You have only one side being used in this situation, why not a system that writes the same data to both sides? If a head dies or side of the platter goes bad you still could have access to your data.
I really do appreciate any effort towards reliability. Most companies seem to treat it as last priority behind 'paper' performance, price and time to market, leaving people that can't tolerate down time out in the cold.
Three hour battery time?
IMO pathetic.
It's relatively easy to buy CD players that can run 70+ hours on a pair of AA's. My little MD player can run close to 10 hours on a single good alkaline AA.
Sure it's not as handy as having 6GB of MP3s but it appears they need to work on their power engineering.
Unfortunately the first revision of hardware often has bugs but they shouldn't have released it without a good beta test program.
OK, exactly _how_ does playing MP3s slow down such a fast system? On my four year old 500MHz system MP3 playback 'only' takes roughly 1% CPU...
Or are your particular sound card drivers that inefficient? I've noticed some Linux sound drivers were _very_ slow. I never did inquire why.