I was lucky enough to see F2k back on Jan1. We had a few people in town and I'd been following the release semi-closely since I had loved the orriginal, the result was that we had a group of about 10 people ranging in age from 2-60 of both sexes.
On the whole everyone enjoyed it. The one piece that had almost universal apeal was "Rhapsody in Blue", followed closely by "Carnival of Animals" easily the shortest piece shown (unfortunately).
The total run for the movie is 70 minutes, and I believe this may have been partially responsible for the exclusion of more of the original pieces, as well as the brevity of those included.
Things to note about the show: My niece (who had just turned 2) was often scared by some of the pieces, especially "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" and "The Sorceror's Aprentice" (although she did keep going 'Its Micky!':) and "The Firebird". She sat through it all though (and it was her first movie).
F2K had much fewer 'abstract' pieces, in fact the only abstract piece I can think of is the opening, which harkens back very much styalistically to the opening of the original Fantasia (on purpose I'm sure).
The one 'carry over' piece "The Sorcerors Aprentice" was nice to see but stood out glaringly compared to the other pieces. I assume that the grainy-ness and the lack of colour purity was due to the difference in resolution between what it was orriginally designed for and the Imax format, however it truly detracted from the work. I wish Disney had taken the time to either clean it up or had not included it. Of course if they hadn't included it, we would have been complaining about THAT so I guess it was a no win situation for them:)
As lots of other people have said, the visuals are breathtaking, and the sound is fun. The transitions don't add alot to the whole movie, but I still liked them, espectially the 'bridge' sequence from "Sorceror's Aprentice" to "Pomp and Circumstance" (if you've seen the original Fantasia you'll see what I mean).
Overall everyone who went to see it loved the movie, and several would even consider going back. It seems to be suited for all ages (my niece walked out and had really enjoyed it dispite the fact that she had wanted to leave in the middle earlier because she was scared), but you may have to reasure youngsters, and there are some parts that just might be too scary for them.
Considering their lack of profitability, how long could they actually maintain a 'Patent battle' in the courts? (as they may innevitably have to face).
First off the interview was great. I'll be the first one to admit that parts of it went over my head (too many I fear... time to brush off the dusty old text books and review) but I also had another problem, I couldn't stop chuckling.
Did anyone else keep picturing a large purple dinosaur as the 'mastermind' behind this new language designed, not to 'help everyone love each other' but to 'take over the world'. Yes... its Barney's evil twin (doesn't everyone have one?) Bjarne.
This is an article written when the Mozilla project was 1 year old (april 1999), at the top of the 'HIGHLIGHTS' section they mention how the code was originally the 'work in progress' code for Communicator 5.
If you then skim down to the 'LOWLIGHTS' section they talk about the decision to jetison the code and start over. When rereading this all I'm not sure if they will be naming the next Communicator 5 or not, the code rev for Mozilla I believe refers to it as 6 (rev5 being the code Mozilla.org started with, and their 'from scratch' rev6).
This doesn't mean that Communicator will be numbered 6, but I can't see Netscape not using the opportunity to 'lap' IE, much as Microsoft is known for doing.
Of some of use antiquated things like Binary (10011100010000)
and considering that Slashdot is on the net, and the net uses IP, and IP uses Decimal representations of Byte Notated numbers, 39.16 is apropriate but doesn't really SAY anything:)
Now... 40.0 will be really big! (that 10100000000000 for you Binary geeks, or 10240 for you Decimal shovanists:)
Will NS5 work on modern platforms? Actually NS5 will never see the light of day. NS5 was the code they had started on that they handed over to the Mozilla group originally. After about 6 months of trying to get it to work, the Mozila group decided it would be better/faster to scrap it all and start from scratch, hence NS6.
Well, at the company I'm at we use a webserver as a presentation mechanism for our customers.
In order to give them access to reports. This allows a central repository, password control and a relatively easy to program GUI.
At one of the customers we use Javascript quite intensely to give the site the navigation they wanted. When you have multiple frames within a page that need to update themselves in response to a user selection, Javascript seemed the only way given the screen layout they demanded (if the frames would have lined up better we could have just refreshed the lot of them). It also allowed us to blank out the unused frames if the user started changing critera for a new report. Lastly, that anoying feature of poping up a new window was quite usefull for displaying the report they picked while leaving their sellections and other choices intact (and thus allowing them to easily select another report).
I'm not saying the site was 'gorgeous' or a 'paradigm' that all web sites should strive to emulate:) (god knows it was a cobble together of CGI, Javascript and HTML). All I'm saying is that there are some cases where a smattering of Javascript will let you do something that would be much more convoluted without.
Amen, On the other hand, considering how long the batteries on WinCE devices last, if that was the only thing holding you to the platform, the PalmIIIc's battery life should seem like nirvana:)
I believe it was a Suzuki 4-whell drive (ie. Jeep... but Jeep is trademarked by Chrysler), that basically rolled over (possibly more then once but I don't really remember) while they were driving it to the test course:)
Due to this 'undocumented feature' it got the nickname "Suzuki Suicide" (vs. Suzuki Samuri(sp?) which I believe was the vehicles original name).
Of course what hapening more and more (from what I've seen) is that small houses just release disks without Region codes on them, and consumers either buy a region 1 system (DVD player and DVDs) or else pass on the whole thing.
I think a significant portion of the world players are now set to Region 1, no matter WHERE they are. That alone shuold say something.
Maybe thats their goal. Intel tried to compete in the Video card market and failed. Maybe they are trying to move into the market again but from the other end.
I could see an Intel chipset that had a video out, not as an agp slot, but as a cable connector, that would connect up to the monitor with an 'Intel Only' vid card inside of it.
They can promote it as a new standard of video security, and incidentally remove competition, all from your good friends at Intel.
Hmmm so... I have to ask (yet again). When is the net going to declare its independence? I could see major CoLo and the MAE sites being designated as Counsolates maybe... how do we get a seat on the U.N.... since when is a Nation solely about geographic space?;)
Actually, although most of us wouldn't see this as a problem, if he downloaded it from a remote site, then there might be an argument that he imported it from overseas.
1) How many people are on the net? 2) How many people read slashdot? 3) How many people could donate $100?
Multiply either 1*3*100 or 2*3*100 and see what sort of numbers you come up with. If Folks use what they would have spent on their next few DVDs (price varrying) then we can actually pick up quite a few shares.
Well... they've been making hardware for a while (MS Mouse, Keyboard, Joystick), of course my Sidewinder 3D Pro joystick stopped working as soon as I connected it to my new Athlon 600 running Windows 98... ... it also no longer works on my old PII 266 Win95 machine now either.
I think its sort of the chicken and egg syndrome. Sometimes you need the increased resources before the aplications that can take advantage of them come along. Personally I see Voice Recognition as the 'next big thing' to hit PCs en masse and that will definately eat up those lovely clock cycles:)
Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't the Athlon motherboards do this now?
I thought their archetecture allowed you two instructions per clock tick so the 100mhz bus effectively operated at 200mhz (for comparison purposes only).
Pat Gelsinger, an Intel vice president, said the new OS requires 250 more megahertz of chip power to get the equivalent user experience. Analysts at the Intel event said that was a fairly large speed bump and were surprised that a close Microsoft ally would say that. from this article about Dell switching website to Win2K
If Win2K really needs that sort of a Mhz boost then Microsoft HAS to push intel to release as fast as they can, so people feel obliged to upgrade, and they can turn out the 'old' machines that would run NT4 just fine, but would run NT5^H^H^HWin2K like a dog.
Well... I haven't actually gone through this (but i've seen it done a thousand times...)
The real issue is the marrige license (at least here in the US). That needs the signatures of all involved (judge/clergy, bride, groom, witnesses). Outside of that everything else is really just ceremony. If the bride & groom sign the marrige license, the witnesses sign it, and then something happens and the wedding itself doesnt happen, so long as someone files the license, it doesnt matter (in the eyes of the courts... in the eyes of your mother-in-law you had better have a ceremony:)
This would definately be true, however I envision the following as equally likely:
1. FSP impliments feature X first. 2. EvilCorp, Inc. impliments feature X. 3. EvilCorp, Inc. is granted a Patent on feature X (Dont tell me it couldn't happen, it very well could with the current poor reviewing) 4. EvilCorp, Inc. sues FSP for infringing their patent on feature X.
It is now up to FSP to prove they came first, it very well may be possable to prove in court, but the question is, how much money/time will it take?
Will they (EvilCorp, Inc.) be able to get a Judge to grant a temporary injunction against the FSP project to essentially _suspend_ all developement on it?
What effect would some enforced suspention of developement have on most projects over the period of time a legal battle usually involves? Will the project be able to maintain its momentum or will it 'shed' people?
If on the other hand FSP has already patented feature X then they no longer have to worry about patent infringment over it, as well as having something to barter with as you mentioned.
If there was a better method of patent review, then a patent on this would most likely be shot down die to prior art (in this case RT Linux, for one), however, in the current climate at the USPTO the patent obviously would be granted (there are other examples of Prior Art before RT Linux from my understanding).
Slashdot Mirror
I was lucky enough to see F2k back on Jan1.
:)
We had a few people in town and I'd been following the release semi-closely since I had loved the orriginal, the result was that we had a group of about 10 people ranging in age from 2-60 of both sexes.
On the whole everyone enjoyed it.
The one piece that had almost universal apeal was "Rhapsody in Blue", followed closely by "Carnival of Animals" easily the shortest piece shown (unfortunately).
The total run for the movie is 70 minutes, and I believe this may have been partially responsible for the exclusion of more of the original pieces, as well as the brevity of those included.
Things to note about the show:
My niece (who had just turned 2) was often scared by some of the pieces, especially "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" and "The Sorceror's Aprentice" (although she did keep going 'Its Micky!':) and "The Firebird". She sat through it all though (and it was her first movie).
F2K had much fewer 'abstract' pieces, in fact the only abstract piece I can think of is the opening, which harkens back very much styalistically to the opening of the original Fantasia (on purpose I'm sure).
The one 'carry over' piece "The Sorcerors Aprentice" was nice to see but stood out glaringly compared to the other pieces. I assume that the grainy-ness and the lack of colour purity was due to the difference in resolution between what it was orriginally designed for and the Imax format, however it truly detracted from the work. I wish Disney had taken the time to either clean it up or had not included it. Of course if they hadn't included it, we would have been complaining about THAT so I guess it was a no win situation for them
As lots of other people have said, the visuals are breathtaking, and the sound is fun. The transitions don't add alot to the whole movie, but I still liked them, espectially the 'bridge' sequence from "Sorceror's Aprentice" to "Pomp and Circumstance" (if you've seen the original Fantasia you'll see what I mean).
Overall everyone who went to see it loved the movie, and several would even consider going back. It seems to be suited for all ages (my niece walked out and had really enjoyed it dispite the fact that she had wanted to leave in the middle earlier because she was scared), but you may have to reasure youngsters, and there are some parts that just might be too scary for them.
I'll agree with the "Moderator on Crack" comment... but I didn't think it was a troll or flamebait... I thought it was funny :)
(granted I've got a warped sense of humor)
Which does birng to mind a question...
Considering their lack of profitability, how long could they actually maintain a 'Patent battle' in the courts? (as they may innevitably have to face).
First off the interview was great. I'll be the first one to admit that parts of it went over my head (too many I fear... time to brush off the dusty old text books and review) but I also had another problem, I couldn't stop chuckling.
Did anyone else keep picturing a large purple dinosaur as the 'mastermind' behind this new language designed, not to 'help everyone love each other' but to 'take over the world'. Yes... its Barney's evil twin (doesn't everyone have one?) Bjarne.
This is an article written when the Mozilla project was 1 year old (april 1999), at the top of the 'HIGHLIGHTS' section they mention how the code was originally the 'work in progress' code for Communicator 5.
If you then skim down to the 'LOWLIGHTS' section they talk about the decision to jetison the code and start over. When rereading this all I'm not sure if they will be naming the next Communicator 5 or not, the code rev for Mozilla I believe refers to it as 6 (rev5 being the code Mozilla.org started with, and their 'from scratch' rev6).
This doesn't mean that Communicator will be numbered 6, but I can't see Netscape not using the opportunity to 'lap' IE, much as Microsoft is known for doing.
Of some of use antiquated things like Binary
:)
:)
(10011100010000)
and considering that Slashdot is on the net, and the net uses IP, and IP uses Decimal representations of Byte Notated numbers,
39.16 is apropriate but doesn't really SAY anything
Now... 40.0 will be really big!
(that 10100000000000 for you Binary geeks, or 10240 for you Decimal shovanists
I bet NS6 is out before the year is up.
Well, at the company I'm at we use a webserver as a presentation mechanism for our customers.
:) (god knows it was a cobble together of CGI, Javascript and HTML). All I'm saying is that there are some cases where a smattering of Javascript will let you do something that would be much more convoluted without.
In order to give them access to reports. This allows a central repository, password control and a relatively easy to program GUI.
At one of the customers we use Javascript quite intensely to give the site the navigation they wanted. When you have multiple frames within a page that need to update themselves in response to a user selection, Javascript seemed the only way given the screen layout they demanded (if the frames would have lined up better we could have just refreshed the lot of them). It also allowed us to blank out the unused frames if the user started changing critera for a new report. Lastly, that anoying feature of poping up a new window was quite usefull for displaying the report they picked while leaving their sellections and other choices intact (and thus allowing them to easily select another report).
I'm not saying the site was 'gorgeous' or a 'paradigm' that all web sites should strive to emulate
Amen, :)
On the other hand, considering how long the batteries on WinCE devices last, if that was the only thing holding you to the platform, the PalmIIIc's battery life should seem like nirvana
I believe it was a Suzuki 4-whell drive (ie. Jeep... but Jeep is trademarked by Chrysler), that basically rolled over (possibly more then once but I don't really remember) while they were driving it to the test course :)
Due to this 'undocumented feature' it got the nickname "Suzuki Suicide" (vs. Suzuki Samuri(sp?) which I believe was the vehicles original name).
While definately not as nice a price as the Circuit City $150-$190. 0950906976@@@@&BV_EngineID=dalhckjeegibe mfcfkmcgcg.0&bookmark=bookmark_0&oid=18772&index=0
:)
Circuit City online has them listed at $179.99
http://www.circu itcity.com/detail.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0228002481
Buy.com also seems to have a limited lot of them for sale also at $255.95.
http://www.buy.com/clearance/ product.asp?sku=70000060
I thought I would throw that in for the geek that must have one and can't find them anywhere else or doesn't want to get out of bed
(also interesting in terms of comparison)
Of course what hapening more and more (from what I've seen) is that small houses just release disks without Region codes on them, and consumers either buy a region 1 system (DVD player and DVDs) or else pass on the whole thing.
I think a significant portion of the world players are now set to Region 1, no matter WHERE they are. That alone shuold say something.
I agree but they also suffer from less trolls/1st posters, and O.T. conversations... of course maybe not ;)
While its beyond the Comment period, its still well within the Reply period.
Read the guidelines and reply
Maybe thats their goal.
Intel tried to compete in the Video card market and failed. Maybe they are trying to move into the market again but from the other end.
I could see an Intel chipset that had a video out, not as an agp slot, but as a cable connector, that would connect up to the monitor with an 'Intel Only' vid card inside of it.
They can promote it as a new standard of video security, and incidentally remove competition, all from your good friends at Intel.
Hmmm so... I have to ask (yet again). ... since when is a Nation solely about geographic space? ;)
When is the net going to declare its independence?
I could see major CoLo and the MAE sites being designated as Counsolates maybe... how do we get a seat on the U.N.
Actually, although most of us wouldn't see this as a problem, if he downloaded it from a remote site, then there might be an argument that he imported it from overseas.
1) How many people are on the net?
2) How many people read slashdot?
3) How many people could donate $100?
Multiply either 1*3*100 or 2*3*100 and see what sort of numbers you come up with. If Folks use what they would have spent on their next few DVDs (price varrying) then we can actually pick up quite a few shares.
Well... they've been making hardware for a while (MS Mouse, Keyboard, Joystick), of course my Sidewinder 3D Pro joystick stopped working as soon as I connected it to my new Athlon 600 running Windows 98...
... it also no longer works on my old PII 266 Win95 machine now either.
I figure this is just a sign of things to come.
I think its sort of the chicken and egg syndrome. Sometimes you need the increased resources before the aplications that can take advantage of them come along. Personally I see Voice Recognition as the 'next big thing' to hit PCs en masse and that will definately eat up those lovely clock cycles :)
Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't the Athlon motherboards do this now?
I thought their archetecture allowed you two instructions per clock tick so the 100mhz bus effectively operated at 200mhz (for comparison purposes only).
from this article about Dell switching website to Win2K
If Win2K really needs that sort of a Mhz boost then Microsoft HAS to push intel to release as fast as they can, so people feel obliged to upgrade, and they can turn out the 'old' machines that would run NT4 just fine, but would run NT5^H^H^HWin2K like a dog.
Well... I haven't actually gone through this (but i've seen it done a thousand times...)
:)
The real issue is the marrige license (at least here in the US).
That needs the signatures of all involved (judge/clergy, bride, groom, witnesses). Outside of that everything else is really just ceremony. If the bride & groom sign the marrige license, the witnesses sign it, and then something happens and the wedding itself doesnt happen, so long as someone files the license, it doesnt matter (in the eyes of the courts... in the eyes of your mother-in-law you had better have a ceremony
This would definately be true, however I envision the following as equally likely:
1. FSP impliments feature X first.
2. EvilCorp, Inc. impliments feature X.
3. EvilCorp, Inc. is granted a Patent on feature X
(Dont tell me it couldn't happen, it very well could with the current poor reviewing)
4. EvilCorp, Inc. sues FSP for infringing their patent on feature X.
It is now up to FSP to prove they came first, it very well may be possable to prove in court, but the question is, how much money/time will it take?
Will they (EvilCorp, Inc.) be able to get a Judge to grant a temporary injunction against the FSP project to essentially _suspend_ all developement on it?
What effect would some enforced suspention of developement have on most projects over the period of time a legal battle usually involves? Will the project be able to maintain its momentum or will it 'shed' people?
If on the other hand FSP has already patented feature X then they no longer have to worry about patent infringment over it, as well as having something to barter with as you mentioned.
If there was a better method of patent review, then a patent on this would most likely be shot down die to prior art (in this case RT Linux, for one), however, in the current climate at the USPTO the patent obviously would be granted (there are other examples of Prior Art before RT Linux from my understanding).