Pioneer sells equipment for DJs that can do real-time "scratching" with CDs. The "turntables" are pressure-sensitive, so you can even slow the track down by gently pressing on them. My roommate has a pair of these and they're really fun.
i agree with you completely about the kids thing. now the Max Headroom world of "illegal off switches" on televisions doesn't seem that funny anymore.
by the way, there are some organized folks as worried about corporate control as you (we) are. i'd encourage people to pay a visit to Adbusters. their print magazine is good, too.
I work for Liberate Technologies, a software company heavily involved in the interactive TV space.
There are many companies trying to get pieces of this market right now. You've got service providers (ISPs, Telcos, and cable companies), hardware manufacturers (for set top boxes / cable boxes), middleware suppliers (who write embedded client software for the set top boxes and server software at the provider end to support all the client boxes), and content providers (who create and/or run servers to house ITV content).
Liberate is a middleware (software) supplier. Our biggest competitor right now is (of course) MicrosoftTV (don't know the official URL). So far we've been holding our own against them (even stealing customers from them sometimes, which is satisfying), but they have a way of sneaking up on you. Another competitor is OpenTV.
As far as protocols go, Liberate builds on open and existing standards (MPEG, HTML, JavaScript, Java). OpenTV uses their own proprietary protocols, as does MicrosoftTV I believe (haven't seen much from them yet).
Slashdot Mirror
So what's the alcohol consumption per capita there? Do they also have the highest numbers for "wee flying pigs"?
"I'm gonna sing the Doom Song now.... doom doom doom, doomy-doomy doom... Doom! doomy doom doom..."
"You've got milk!"
Pioneer sells equipment for DJs that can do real-time "scratching" with CDs. The "turntables" are pressure-sensitive, so you can even slow the track down by gently pressing on them. My roommate has a pair of these and they're really fun.
See Pioneer's page for the CDJ-1000 for marketing.
I'd love to be able to pull out my single CPU and put in a new one, all without shutting the machine down ;)
Great geek party trick.
Vendor: The Frogurt is also cursed.
Homer : That's bad.
i agree with you completely about the kids thing. now the Max Headroom world of "illegal off switches" on televisions doesn't seem that funny anymore.
by the way, there are some organized folks as worried about corporate control as you (we) are. i'd encourage people to pay a visit to Adbusters. their print magazine is good, too.
sorry.
bill hicks remains relevant years after his death... watch this bit: The War on Drugs
requires RealPlayer .
There are many companies trying to get pieces of this market right now. You've got service providers (ISPs, Telcos, and cable companies), hardware manufacturers (for set top boxes / cable boxes), middleware suppliers (who write embedded client software for the set top boxes and server software at the provider end to support all the client boxes), and content providers (who create and/or run servers to house ITV content).
Liberate is a middleware (software) supplier. Our biggest competitor right now is (of course) MicrosoftTV (don't know the official URL). So far we've been holding our own against them (even stealing customers from them sometimes, which is satisfying), but they have a way of sneaking up on you. Another competitor is OpenTV. As far as protocols go, Liberate builds on open and existing standards (MPEG, HTML, JavaScript, Java). OpenTV uses their own proprietary protocols, as does MicrosoftTV I believe (haven't seen much from them yet).
-- I speak for myself, not for Liberate.