Still doesn't solve the problem where you have to wear regular glasses just to watch a 2D film at all and then you have to somehow fit these "no 3D" glasses over the top of the regular glasses which doesn't really work. Or the fact that the 3D showing of the film usually costs anywhere up to $5 more than the 2D showing depending on theater chain and is not eligible for any of the cheap tickets deals (e.g. "cheap Tuesday" or "all tickets cheaper before 5pm")
1.Finding a 2D session can be hard. I live in a major Australian state capital city with at least 14 different multiplexes (each having at least 4 screens) and there was ONE session of Thor in 2D anywhere in the city that was at a time suitable to me (and this was on opening day, the rest of the week wasnt any better). It was in the crappiest theater in the place too. No problems finding a 3D session at all times of the day.
2.Far too many "3D" films (including Thor) are really 2D films converted into "3D" in post processing with digital effects so the studio can make more money. The ONLY 3D films that work are live-action films shot in 3D (e.g. Avatar) or CGI films rendered with proper left and right eye frames. Yet the industry continues to spend this big bucks on these crappy "3D" conversions just so they can make more money on ticket sales.
and 3.I have eye problems that prevent me from viewing 3D films properly. I am sure I am not the only one who has problems with 3D (eye problems, headaches, issues with the 3D glasses not working alongside their regular glasses etc).yet the industry continues to (per point #1) make it hard for those who can't view 3D films to enjoy the films they like and want to see. Eventually, it will be to the point where there is no 2D version at all or where a suitable 2D session is not available anywhere convenient. This will lead to me not seeing the film in the theater at all but instead either pirating it or waiting for the DVD.
As for 3DTVs, the biggest problem is that the industry cant agree on a spec for the active-shutter 3D glasses. 3DTVs that work like movie theaters (including home theater projectors) do exist but they cost a fortune and no-one is really seriously exploring that avenue or trying to bring them mainstream/bring the cost down.
There is also a complete lack of 3D content for these 3DTVs unless you count a handful of 3D blu-ray disks, a few 3D PS3 games and some sporting matches.
3D Blu-Ray is also destined to fail thanks to the stupid decisions by studios to make certain films exclusive to certain TV manufacturers (Avatar being the most notable example). If the studios released every single piece of 3D content they have as a full release for everyone to buy then there would be more reasons to buy 3D kit (leading to more sales of 3D content)
How does the streaming service know what market you are in so it can apply these blackouts and why hasn't someone figured out a way to fool it into thinking you are in another market?
More to the point, why do the leagues have these blackouts in the first pace? If it was to get more people to go to stadiums and watch the game, I would understand. But its not (blackouts happen even if games are sold-out and they happen in areas where it would take 3 days drive to get to the relavent stadium to watch the game live)
Quite a few things here in Australia are measured in imperial units.
The way they measure TV sets and monitors is strange. Most CRT TV sets I have seen are measured in cm (mine is a 51cm CRT) yet LCD/Plasma/flat panel TVs are measured in inches (e.g. 32", 40" etc)
Monitors on the other hand are always measured in inches (I have a 17" CRT sitting next to me right now for my Gentoo box and a 19" LCD for my main machine)
Google should create a defensive patent pool for Android. Basically the idea is that any company partnering with Google on Android can join the pool.
Joining the pool means that you agree not to sue any member of the pool for patent violations connected to Android products. But in return, you get the right to use patents from any member of the pool as a defensive weapon in the event that a non-pool-member sues you for patent violations connected to Android products.
Collectively, I am sure that the big android players (Google, Samsung, HTC, Motorola, LG and others) would have a large enough patent pool to fight lawsuits from the likes of Apple, Microsoft and Oracle.
The US government has no Constitutional right to pay farmers a single cent in subsidies either. But that doesn't stop them from doing it even though farm subsidies are one of the root causes of the massive chronic disease problems (obesity, heart disease, diabetes, cancer etc) facing the united states today. Even more so if you include subsidies paid to Tobacco growers as well as those paid to farmers producing food crops like Corn, Wheat, Soybean and others.
I don't think its the casinos that are against online gambling.
Of all the dollars spent on these poker sites, almost none of it would have gone to a B&M casino had the online site not existed. In fact, I suspect most of the large B&M casino operators (Wynn, Adelson, MGM etc) would rather see online gambling legalized and regulated so they could offer their own online casinos. and capture all the money they would otherwise get none of.
My guess is that the biggest opposition comes from states where gambling is banned (who hate online operations for getting around their bans) and from conservative Christian groups who think gambling of all kinds (poker included) is the tool of the devil.
Ask a bricks & mortar casino who is loosing money to online poker if they think its a victimless crime... Ask a government who is loosing gambling tax revenue if they think its a victimless crime...
Even if a new hypersonic aircraft was developed that could go from New York to London in less time than the cab ride to the airport, people wouldn't take it unless it had similar costs to existing airlines.
Concorde ultimatly failed because it was too expensive and there just weren't enough people willing to pay (the Air France crash just hastened its demise)
High speed rail in the USA wont work unless it can be price competitive with the low-cost carriers like JetBlue, Southwest and Virgin.
The money likely flows to places where the US cant touch it like China or Russia.
What they are doing makes a lot of sense in this case. They are seizing all the domain names all the known variants of the bot are programmed to look for and will be pointing them at a command and control server run by the US government. This server will direct the bot to shut itself off, stop stealing peoples private information and to stop spreading to other machines.
Actually, the METLDR keys are in the PS3 low level bootloader and cant be changed by Sony except with a new hardware revision with a new low level bootloader and new METLDR keys. And if you have the METLDR keys, you can decrypt, modify and resign any other part of the PS3 system software.
If the people setting the tests and exams are worried about students comming into the exam with a calculator full of programs and notes, just design the test or exam so that even having a calculator full of programs and notes wont help you beat the exam.
The academic world (at the school level anyway) should teach math the way its used in the real world. And in the real world, using a computer or calculator instead of doing hard math in your head is perfectly acceptable.
I was in one of the first high school classes that used graphics calculators (specifically in my case the Casio CFX-9850G) and they didnt care if you had programs and notes on the calculators. They did have a list of "approved" graphics calculators for high-school level though.
At university I used my graphics calculator (programs included) for the one math unit I had to take for my Computer Science degree. (the rule at the time was "Calculator: No QWERTY keyboard" or something)
For all this talk of "budget savings" no politician has the guts to tackle REAL savings by cutting the stuff that will actually make a difference in the long run.
How about stopping payments to farmers to grow crops on land that is otherwise un-viable to grow those crops on? How about spending less money on buying fancy new scanners for airports that do nothing to make airplanes safer from bad guys? How about giving less money to the coal industry? How about removing tax cuts and subsidies for the big end of town and making them pay their fair share? How about spending less money on IP enforcement on behalf of the big content companies?
Oh wait, this is America where big corporations and special interests rule the day and where saying bad things about corn can get you sued for everything you own and then some.
Diablo 2 had some good co-op (and it definatly was co-op in that you could have multiple players in your party all wandering around the world with you and fighting the same bad guys as in the SP campaign, only harder)
If an in-browser PDF reader was written such that: 1.It was more lightweight than Acrobat 2.It didn't use ANY Acrobat code or binaries and 3.It had clear options to 100% disable all the extra crap (forms, JavaScript, embedded flash, embedded media etc etc) that cause all the problems with PDF then it would be a good thing IMO.
The perfect example of why copyright is screwed up is that you need one license to download an MP3 file and and stick it on your cellphone and listen to it with the cellphone media player via the cellphone speakers.
Then you need a different license to take the same MP3 file on the same cellphone and play it via the same MP3 playing code in response to an incoming call.
A good example of content that is likely locked in a vault never to be seen again is the Aussie sitcom Hey Dad...! It is a classic sitcom that was much loved in its time. Some small parts of it were released on DVD (I have a disk titled "Best of Hey Dad...!" myself).
But one of the characters made allegations that the lead character of the show molested her and because of that, the show is likely to be buried, never to be seen again.
There is also the story of Andy Muirhead who's show "Collectors" got yanked (and later relaunched in a different format without Andy) the moment the Australian Broadcasting Corporation bosses got word that he was alleged to be involved with child porn, even though it was just an allegation. (it seems like even the tiniest hint that you have done something wrong involving kids is enough to cause you to be tainted for life even if you are cleared of all charges and the real bad guy is locked in jail)
There are no doubt other cases where actors have gotten in some form of trouble and become blacklisted or had their shows pulled off air. I just wish Hollywood would do the same to Charlie Sheen and stop airing 2&1/2 men (maybe then we can get some GOOD TV on for once:)
Microsoft should be saying "if you want the best possible OEM pricing, you are not allowed to do xyz" where xyz might be "knowingly install keyloggers, rootkits, spyware, or malware"
Just like back in the day when Nintendo limited the number of games any one developer could have on the market at once, I suspect Microsoft wants to limit the number of titles (so that the money consumers spend on games gets spread over fewer titles, thus more profit per title). I suspect they also want to keep a lid on the number of free/near free titles (the more free options there are, the less likely it is that people will buy the expensive premium titles since the free ones give them enough things to play)
Slashdot Mirror
No, that was a way for CD-ROM drives to play audio CDs, and was used until OSs and media players could read the data from the audio CD digitally.
Still doesn't solve the problem where you have to wear regular glasses just to watch a 2D film at all and then you have to somehow fit these "no 3D" glasses over the top of the regular glasses which doesn't really work. Or the fact that the 3D showing of the film usually costs anywhere up to $5 more than the 2D showing depending on theater chain and is not eligible for any of the cheap tickets deals (e.g. "cheap Tuesday" or "all tickets cheaper before 5pm")
1.Finding a 2D session can be hard. I live in a major Australian state capital city with at least 14 different multiplexes (each having at least 4 screens) and there was ONE session of Thor in 2D anywhere in the city that was at a time suitable to me (and this was on opening day, the rest of the week wasnt any better). It was in the crappiest theater in the place too. No problems finding a 3D session at all times of the day.
2.Far too many "3D" films (including Thor) are really 2D films converted into "3D" in post processing with digital effects so the studio can make more money. The ONLY 3D films that work are live-action films shot in 3D (e.g. Avatar) or CGI films rendered with proper left and right eye frames. Yet the industry continues to spend this big bucks on these crappy "3D" conversions just so they can make more money on ticket sales.
and 3.I have eye problems that prevent me from viewing 3D films properly. I am sure I am not the only one who has problems with 3D (eye problems, headaches, issues with the 3D glasses not working alongside their regular glasses etc).yet the industry continues to (per point #1) make it hard for those who can't view 3D films to enjoy the films they like and want to see. Eventually, it will be to the point where there is no 2D version at all or where a suitable 2D session is not available anywhere convenient. This will lead to me not seeing the film in the theater at all but instead either pirating it or waiting for the DVD.
As for 3DTVs, the biggest problem is that the industry cant agree on a spec for the active-shutter 3D glasses. 3DTVs that work like movie theaters (including home theater projectors) do exist but they cost a fortune and no-one is really seriously exploring that avenue or trying to bring them mainstream/bring the cost down.
There is also a complete lack of 3D content for these 3DTVs unless you count a handful of 3D blu-ray disks, a few 3D PS3 games and some sporting matches.
3D Blu-Ray is also destined to fail thanks to the stupid decisions by studios to make certain films exclusive to certain TV manufacturers (Avatar being the most notable example). If the studios released every single piece of 3D content they have as a full release for everyone to buy then there would be more reasons to buy 3D kit (leading to more sales of 3D content)
How does the streaming service know what market you are in so it can apply these blackouts and why hasn't someone figured out a way to fool it into thinking you are in another market?
More to the point, why do the leagues have these blackouts in the first pace? If it was to get more people to go to stadiums and watch the game, I would understand. But its not (blackouts happen even if games are sold-out and they happen in areas where it would take 3 days drive to get to the relavent stadium to watch the game live)
Australia has the metric system and we still have 6 inch and foot-long subs at Subway.
Quite a few things here in Australia are measured in imperial units.
The way they measure TV sets and monitors is strange.
Most CRT TV sets I have seen are measured in cm (mine is a 51cm CRT) yet LCD/Plasma/flat panel TVs are measured in inches (e.g. 32", 40" etc)
Monitors on the other hand are always measured in inches (I have a 17" CRT sitting next to me right now for my Gentoo box and a 19" LCD for my main machine)
Google should create a defensive patent pool for Android.
Basically the idea is that any company partnering with Google on Android can join the pool.
Joining the pool means that you agree not to sue any member of the pool for patent violations connected to Android products. But in return, you get the right to use patents from any member of the pool as a defensive weapon in the event that a non-pool-member sues you for patent violations connected to Android products.
Collectively, I am sure that the big android players (Google, Samsung, HTC, Motorola, LG and others) would have a large enough patent pool to fight lawsuits from the likes of Apple, Microsoft and Oracle.
Won't work, there are laws that make it legal for government employees to violate copyright law if required in the course of their jobs.
The US government has no Constitutional right to pay farmers a single cent in subsidies either. But that doesn't stop them from doing it even though farm subsidies are one of the root causes of the massive chronic disease problems (obesity, heart disease, diabetes, cancer etc) facing the united states today. Even more so if you include subsidies paid to Tobacco growers as well as those paid to farmers producing food crops like Corn, Wheat, Soybean and others.
I don't think its the casinos that are against online gambling.
Of all the dollars spent on these poker sites, almost none of it would have gone to a B&M casino had the online site not existed. In fact, I suspect most of the large B&M casino operators (Wynn, Adelson, MGM etc) would rather see online gambling legalized and regulated so they could offer their own online casinos. and capture all the money they would otherwise get none of.
My guess is that the biggest opposition comes from states where gambling is banned (who hate online operations for getting around their bans) and from conservative Christian groups who think gambling of all kinds (poker included) is the tool of the devil.
Ask a bricks & mortar casino who is loosing money to online poker if they think its a victimless crime...
Ask a government who is loosing gambling tax revenue if they think its a victimless crime...
Even if a new hypersonic aircraft was developed that could go from New York to London in less time than the cab ride to the airport, people wouldn't take it unless it had similar costs to existing airlines.
Concorde ultimatly failed because it was too expensive and there just weren't enough people willing to pay (the Air France crash just hastened its demise)
High speed rail in the USA wont work unless it can be price competitive with the low-cost carriers like JetBlue, Southwest and Virgin.
The money likely flows to places where the US cant touch it like China or Russia.
What they are doing makes a lot of sense in this case.
They are seizing all the domain names all the known variants of the bot are programmed to look for and will be pointing them at a command and control server run by the US government. This server will direct the bot to shut itself off, stop stealing peoples private information
and to stop spreading to other machines.
Actually, the METLDR keys are in the PS3 low level bootloader and cant be changed by Sony except with a new hardware revision with a new low level bootloader and new METLDR keys.
And if you have the METLDR keys, you can decrypt, modify and resign any other part of the PS3 system software.
If the people setting the tests and exams are worried about students comming into the exam with a calculator full of programs and notes, just design the test or exam so that even having a calculator full of programs and notes wont help you beat the exam.
The academic world (at the school level anyway) should teach math the way its used in the real world. And in the real world, using a computer or calculator instead of doing hard math in your head is perfectly acceptable.
I was in one of the first high school classes that used graphics calculators (specifically in my case the Casio CFX-9850G) and they didnt care if you had programs and notes on the calculators. They did have a list of "approved" graphics calculators for high-school level though.
At university I used my graphics calculator (programs included) for the one math unit I had to take for my Computer Science degree. (the rule at the time was "Calculator: No QWERTY keyboard" or something)
For all this talk of "budget savings" no politician has the guts to tackle REAL savings by cutting the stuff that will actually make a difference in the long run.
How about stopping payments to farmers to grow crops on land that is otherwise un-viable to grow those crops on?
How about spending less money on buying fancy new scanners for airports that do nothing to make airplanes safer from bad guys?
How about giving less money to the coal industry?
How about removing tax cuts and subsidies for the big end of town and making them pay their fair share?
How about spending less money on IP enforcement on behalf of the big content companies?
Oh wait, this is America where big corporations and special interests rule the day and where saying bad things about corn can get you sued for everything you own and then some.
Diablo 2 had some good co-op (and it definatly was co-op in that you could have multiple players in your party all wandering around the world with you and fighting the same bad guys as in the SP campaign, only harder)
The problem is that all you really have a choice between is "jagoff A" or "jagoff B"
If an in-browser PDF reader was written such that:
1.It was more lightweight than Acrobat
2.It didn't use ANY Acrobat code or binaries
and 3.It had clear options to 100% disable all the extra crap (forms, JavaScript, embedded flash, embedded media etc etc) that cause all the problems with PDF
then it would be a good thing IMO.
The perfect example of why copyright is screwed up is that you need one license to download an MP3 file and and stick it on your cellphone and listen to it with the cellphone media player via the cellphone speakers.
Then you need a different license to take the same MP3 file on the same cellphone and play it via the same MP3 playing code in response to an incoming call.
I have owned many desktops (currently own 2, one of which is a Gentoo Linux box) and have never owned a laptop or tablet or netbook.
A good example of content that is likely locked in a vault never to be seen again is the Aussie sitcom Hey Dad...!
It is a classic sitcom that was much loved in its time. Some small parts of it were released on DVD (I have a disk titled "Best of Hey Dad...!" myself).
But one of the characters made allegations that the lead character of the show molested her and because of that, the show is likely to be buried, never to be seen again.
There is also the story of Andy Muirhead who's show "Collectors" got yanked (and later relaunched in a different format without Andy) the moment the Australian Broadcasting Corporation bosses got word that he was alleged to be involved with child porn, even though it was just an allegation. (it seems like even the tiniest hint that you have done something wrong involving kids is enough to cause you to be tainted for life even if you are cleared of all charges and the real bad guy is locked in jail)
There are no doubt other cases where actors have gotten in some form of trouble and become blacklisted or had their shows pulled off air. :)
I just wish Hollywood would do the same to Charlie Sheen and stop airing 2&1/2 men (maybe then we can get some GOOD TV on for once
Microsoft should be saying "if you want the best possible OEM pricing, you are not allowed to do xyz" where xyz might be "knowingly install keyloggers, rootkits, spyware, or malware"
Just like back in the day when Nintendo limited the number of games any one developer could have on the market at once, I suspect Microsoft wants to limit the number of titles (so that the money consumers spend on games gets spread over fewer titles, thus more profit per title). I suspect they also want to keep a lid on the number of free/near free titles (the more free options there are, the less likely it is that people will buy the expensive premium titles since the free ones give them enough things to play)
Better yet, why not just make the Shuttle software open source...